German Romantics in Context by Roger Cardinal (review)

72 Books and philosophy of the arts. It has a number of excellent features lacking in many familiar collections; the essays are fresh and not partly reproduced from other anthologies. In addition, it is almost unique in containing largely the works of practicing (some eminent) artists and critics, many still alive. wholly devoted to the latest trends in art. As Kostelanetz states, it 'explores in depth the esthetic principles derived from studying the avant-garde arts, particularly those that have flourished since 1959.' It provides a perspective that the work of even the best professional aestheticians cannot match. The closeness of artists and critics to concrete artworks is a distinct advantage for reflection upon them and for endeavors to derive the principles they exemplify . Yet, that same closeness and the professional biases that inevitably go with it must be counterbalanced by the philosophical aesthetician's vantage point; from which he can survey the field more dispassionately and discern more readily patterns that too much closeness may fail to reveal. This is one reason why I deplore, with Kostelanetz, the fact that many '[alcademic aestheticians tend to ignore post-1960 art entirely' in their analyses and so fail even to grasp the need for a new, perhaps revolutionary aesthetic to accommodate contemporary developments. For I am in full agreement with both Kostelanetz and others, for example Stefan Morawski, that 'The avant-garde of today has definitely eroded the fundamentals of aesthetics which had seemed so firm for many centuries . .. Some scholars have forecast the death of art itself. This obituary seems wrongly conceived; and yet, there is an end to plausibility for certain definitional ideas of the traits of art' [in Inquiries into the Fundamentals of Aesthetics (1974) reviewed in Leonardo 12, 165 (1979). Quotation from the Epigraphs included by Kostelanetz at the beginning of his book. My italics.] I would also agree with Kostelanetz that some aestheticians 'use old fashioned criteria to dismiss nearly all of it [post-1960 art]'; but that some 'more modestly ... recognize the need for a new aesthetics they are unable to provide'. It is not too early for aestheticians to begin the essential and difficult task of formulating a new aesthetic; though such an aesthetic will need continual revision. In fact, it too may be completely superseded in time. (One thing in my view is clear: Some sort of 'messentialist", 'family-resemblance' concept alone can do justice to the concept of visual art, especially of contemporary examples of it.) The present anthology should help to rectify the situation in professional aesthetics that Kostelanetz describes . It should also stimulate students and professional aestheticians to go to similar sources relating to the latest developments in the arts. Most of all, I hope that it will stimulate them to study contemporary artworks with a more open mind, with more eagerness to learn. The collection is divided into two parts, introduced by the editor's Preface as well as the Epigraphs. Part I, introduced by an article by Kostelanetz entitled Contemporary American Esthetics, deals mainly with general aesthetics of nontraditional contemporary art; while Part II is generally devoted to individual arts or groups of arts. In fact, with the exception of photography and theatre, the major traditional forms of art are represented along with such 20th-century artworks and genres as Constructions, Ready-mades, Happenings, Conceptual art, Intermedia, Phenomenal art, Aleatory music and Random art. The collection should serve as an excellent main textbook or as a supplementary text for upper-level undergraduate courses in aesthetics and philosophy of the arts, as well as graduate seminars. In addition, it should prove valuable to artists, critics and professional aestheticians. The up-to-date selective Bibliography divided into Classical, Modern and Contemporary Aesthetics and Philosophy of the Arts should prove particularly helpful. German Romantics in Context. Roger Cardinal. Studio Vista, London, 1975. 160 pp., iIIus. £3.25. Paper, £1.50, Reviewed by John Milner* "Dept. of Fine Art, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne NEI 7RU, England. There are many difficulties that lie in the path of commentators upon the history of Romanticism. If Cardinal is unable to surmount certain of the problems, he is nevertheless aware of them, and to bring...