Comparing Smith, And Reimer's 'The Question Of Elitism'

The short story, “Degrees of Understanding”, by Robert Heilman describes the prejudice Douglas County citizens face on a day to day basis. One way the author manages to convey this, is when he had to correct an educated woman because she didn’t understand that art isn’t something you learn, by saying, “‘Just because you’re a poet or a dancer or a sculptor, that doesn’t mean that you appreciate beauty any more than a logger or a field hand does,’”(Heilman, 209). Another way his story accomplished this was when he thought about the conversation he had just had, thinking, “Elitism is a sign of ignorance, an ignorance which is the result of the blinding effects of prejudice, refined and cultured prejudice certainly, but prejudice, none the less.” (Heilman, p. 110.) These statements make the reader think about Douglas County as a culture in which they too, have been prejudiced towards.

Having posted this on World-Post, which is a news and blog website created through a partnership between Liberal news aggregator Huffington Post and a nonpartisan powerhouse, the Berggruen Institute on Governance, allows for this essay to not get exposed to the pro STEM or anti-arts parties. Sparking up the discussion of reintroducing the arts back into everyday society’s curriculum, you need to direct this essay towards both the audience, and the individuals who have the power to make this change. If Ma bring up a primarily pro-art focused paper, and only shares this piece of writing with mostly fellow supports of the arts, Ma misses the “equilibrium” that he spoke so highly about. If we can’t have both sides of the spectrum be able to analyze and discuss the ideas presented in this paper, then it’s going to be close to impossible to enact any change within society to reintroduce more of the arts back into

In “the Cult of the Best”, Bourne criticizes the acquisitive nature in American education and culture. Bourne argued that such habit of acquisition has led Americans to understand artistic appreciation merely as “the acquiring of a familiarity with ‘good works of art’ and with the historical fields of the different arts, rather than as the cultivating of spontaneous taste” (193). Influenced by this shallow and inaccurate understanding, American art education almost solely emphasized on what is “good”, the

In a world that has become immune to accepting all types of art, Marya Mannes believes we have lost our standards and ability to identify something as “good” or “bad”. In her essay, “How Do You Know It’s Good”, she discusses society’s tendency to accept everything out of fear of wrongly labelling something as being good or bad. She touches on various criteria to judge art, such as the artist’s purpose, skill and craftsmanship, originality, timelessness, as well as unity within a piece rather than chaos. She says that an individual must decide if something is good “on the basis of instinct, experience, and association” (Mannes). I believe that by using standards and the process of association, we will be able to judge what makes an art piece good in comparison to others. However, Mannes forces me to consider the difference between what may be appealing versus what is actually good, and when deciding which art we should accept, which is truly more important. I believe that “good” and “bad” are two ends of a large, subjective spectrum of grey area. It is possible for a piece of art to be good in some areas and bad in others, and if something does not live up to all of our standards, it does not necessarily mean it should be dismissed. Thus, I believe my personal standards for judging art are based on which my standards are largely based on the personal reaction evoked from a piece of art. Though I agree with Mannes’ standards to an extent, I believe that certain standards, such as evoking a personal response, can be more telling of if a piece of art is good as opposed to its timelessness, or the level of experience of an artist in his/her craft.

In the contemplation of art, or rather the conceptually intangible definition it currently possess, it is imperative to be mindful that “art” has been utilized as a promotional device, ceremonial item, aesthetically purposed article or perhaps none of these or all. It is because of this vague term that Carolyn Dean, in her text, “The Trouble with (The Term) Art”, makes a case for the consequences of applying the term “art” in societies that lacked such a notion which also accounts for the Western-centric lens the field intrinsically utilizes when viewing non-Western art. The claim is deftly supported by the utilization of expert accounts in the subject, alternative perspectives for what is considered the current norm, and self-examining questions,

Marya Mannes discusses the issue of evaluating the quality of art in her essay “How Do You Know It’s Good?” and encourages readers to speak up about our own opinions while also using her criteria to criticize art. Instead following other people’s opinion in fear of humiliation and rejection, we need to adhere to own personal thoughts to determine if an artwork is phenomenal or terrible. Mannes states that we need an order

It will also be used for the teacher to determine how often art appreciation is demonstrated in her students’ interest, hobbies, and choices. Although the survey is a form for the students rate themselves on, it will bring about an awareness of art related habits, whether the students are engaging in them or not. The survey presents art related activities for the students to consider. The objective is for demonstration of knowledge and application of art appreciation to improve among the seventh grade art students. The survey aids in this endeavor as it will not only provide some insight as to how often the students are proving their understanding of the value of art, but it will also support the teacher in the execution of her lessons for increasing their understanding. The teacher will also be able to reflect upon the information and use it to judge whether the student’s art interest have increased or

Elitists believe that only the views of a small body of experts can discern between works of fine art and works of lesser merit. Many parishes today are chock full of elitists who consider themselves as part of an "in crowd" who promote a so-called higher brand of cultural expression in Christian worship. They make use of pretentious language, using old hackneyed expressions such as, "God deserves only the best" and/or "Forbid us to praise the Lord carelessly" in order to advance their elitist agenda. But just as King David lusted after Bathsheba, elitists are guilty of lusting after numerous mundane items of mere temporal origin and beauty in the local church today.

When Jose Ortega y Gasset says that some people do not like modern art, he is implying that its new appearance makes it unpopular. The masses are against most modern art simply because they do not understand it yet. Initially they make the general public very curious, but soon it divides the spectators into two types of men. New art is skilled in making a distinction between the categories. Gasset refers to these two groups as the hostile majority and the favorably inclined few. The hostile majority are the people who hate what they cannot fully understand. It is not due to personal taste or other differences. Most only dislike a work of art when they feel humiliated that they do not understand it; they will have self-assertion to cope with

As literary critics, Plato and Aristotle disagree profoundly about the value of art in human society. Plato attempts to strip artists of the power and prominence they enjoy in his society, while Aristotle tries to develop a method of inquiry to determine the merits of an individual work of art. It is interesting to note that these two disparate notions of art are based upon the same fundamental assumption: that art is a form of mimesis, imitation. Both philosophers are concerned with the artist's ability to have significant impact on others. It is the imitative function of art which promotes disdain in Plato and curiosity in Aristotle. Examining the reality that art

Hume then applies this same standard to the evaluation of art, explaining one's reaction is driven by the same emotional factors as well as the connection one has with the art. Hume does not deny that all men can evaluate and find art agreeable or disagreeable, what Hume aims to do in his essay ‘Of the Standard of Taste’, is show that the layman has no standing when it comes to perceiving the real value of art, which can only be obtained by the idea

Only a few selected students could have occupied the front seats. In a concert or seminar, the front seats belong to the VIPs who have the capital to pay a higher price for a better position. These privileges represent the markers for what constitutes an elite. According to Dr. Tan Ern Ser, author of the book “Does Class Matter (2004)” and “Class and Social Orientations (2015)”, “Elites are few in numbers, and located at the apex of society”. The distinction between elites and elitism lies in one’s attitude. Dr. Tan explained: “Elitism suggests being snobbish and out of touch with the masses. By definition, there will always be one or more elite groups in society. As for elitism, this can be an attitude characteristic of a large group of people,

For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They have used abstract reasoning, human emotions, and logic to go beyond this world in the search for answers about arts' existence. For philosophers, art was not viewed for its own beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived during 420-348 B.C. in Athens, and Aristotle, Plato’s student who argued against his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take in order to understand the purpose of art and artists. Though these two philosophers made marvelous discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and

During the early twentieth century, art education was seen as unproductive and more often not cost effective. However, in the 1950’s opinions about art education made a drastic change as Americans craved more self-expression. Art education began to flourish as the importance of art involvement became known (DeHoyas).

The area of art is popularly known for heightening emotions, challenging stereotypes, and ultimately providing insights into how individuals view the surrounding world. The artist and the observer time and time again see pieces in overwhelmingly different ways. Individuals may wonder why this is so. What could possibly create such a drastic change from one perspective to another? When it comes down to it, experiences are the answer. The artist and the observer have different