ArtArts

There has been some discussion about ISALTA's use of the word "Art" rather than "Arts" which is addressed by this paper. I am grateful to Wyzard for raising the issue, and include the column here. -DrP
Art, Arts and a Useful Definition Carleton Palmer New York, 2007
Operational Definition of Artistic Process Operational definitions permit us to explore the implications of premises. If they prove useful we test their limitations and improve them. If they fail we look for others. A benefit of the operational definition of artistic process as “qualitative problem solving” is that the definition separates the artistic process from its possible problems and mediums. “The artistic process is qualitative problem solving; it is the controlled procedure of instituting qualitative relationships as means to the achievement of a qualitative end or total.”(1) The observation is inclusive if all acts of qualitative problem-solving toward qualitative ends are seen as artistic processes, It only describes the artistic process. It does not describe the problem, medium or offer any way to judge the success or failure of any artistic effort. It is a beneficial tool in that it separates these from one another for individual consideration. Ideas of “high” art, “low” art and “fine” art or “crafts” are not implicit in the definition. Arts implies Art “The arts” is an expression that assumes that there is a super-ordinate category “art,” of which various “arts” are the contents. Since common definitions of art suggest different sub-categories, and there are many different definitions of art, this kind of tacit understanding can be misleading. An important move prior to discussing “arts” would be to specify the super-ordinate definition of “art” of which particular “arts” are the elements, parts or contents. Many Definitions of Art Art seen as beauty, self-expression, glorification of God, representation, advancement of the State, self-analysis, argumentation, conceptualization, analysis of form, and other definitions lead to different possible candidates for the contents of the term which may or may not overlap one another. They are clarified if they are seen as specific problems addressed by artistic process rather than many different definitions of art. The arts with which one group is familiar, perhaps visual, musical, literary, theatrical, architectural, culinary, conceptual and so on, may not all be represented everywhere, or may elsewhere include unfamiliar contents like marital, scarification, olfactory or sexual among their arts. Among many stumbling blocks in English neutralized by this definition are the confusion of art as a general term with visual art in particular, and the many received assumptions about hierarchies between and within “arts.” Qualitative and Quantitative Neither qualitative nor quantitative reasoning is the exclusive province of either art or science. A qualitative problem in physics might be, “In a collision between a small car and a large truck, which exerts the greater force on the other?” The expected solution to the problem would be an application of Newton’s Third law with a quantitative demonstration. “Qualitative Reasoning/Analysis,” sometimes called qualitative physics, is an important part of artificial intelligence study. Studies in qualitative reasoning investigate the non-quantitative processes involved in what is sometimes called common-sense reasoning about complex systems, as is prevalent in everyday thought about physical systems. (4) In this way artificial intelligence research is working toward modeling that characteristic of human intelligence that allows the kind of decision-making on the basis of limited information which C.S. Peirce, with considerable wit, adds to the list of “deduction” and “induction” as “abduction.” (5) Although artists are rarely accused of an excess of common-sense, artists’ process takes the form of self-reflective and iterative low-detail overview of a problem described by Dr. Ecker: “Artists at their work think in terms of relations of qualities, think with qualities; their thought, in a word, is qualitative.” (1) Conversely, it is not unknown for artists to employ quantitative means to achieve their qualitative purposes, from the computational automata of the ancient Greek theater to 3D modeling, animation, and manipulation of computational rules. (6) Science and Art If the problems to be resolved are either quantitative or qualitative, and their solution processes are also either quantitative or qualitative, then an emphasis on qualitative problems resolved with qualitative strategies may be said to characterize artistic process, and an emphasis on quantitative problems resolved with quantitative strategies may be said to characterize scientific process. The purpose of any form of problem solving is to better understand the world by whatever means are appropriate. One would have probably been ill-advised to seek out Salvador Dali for psychiatric counseling, but his remarks on the unconscious are iconic. Braque and Picasso did not pretend to be mathematical physicists, but their strategies for simultaneity access quantum concepts. Conversely, some scientists cite imaginative literary speculations as exciting their interest in science to begin with, and as provoking lines of inquiry pursued professionally. John W. Campbell, author and editor of Astounding from 1937, insisted that Science Fiction writing be grounded in science, whether it was extrapolation of the implications of existing science, or speculation about scientific directions. That certainly defines a first step in scientific inquiry itself. Cognitive Style It is an unusually rarefied problem-solving atmosphere in which only one kind of thinking prevails, but it explains why dissertations in mathematics can be very few pages of symbols, while M.F.A. exhibitions and performances can be large participatory events. The quantitative/qualitative distinction implies preferential ways of reasoning conforming to the literature of cognitive styles. The cognitive style concept moves from Bertalanffy, (7) through Werner, (8) to Witkin, (9-10). Among the problems of cognitive style research are thinking in terms of paired opposites, and defining one characteristic as the failure to perform successfully on a test of the other. It is a common error to suppose that poor performance on quantitative tasks implies a qualitative cognitive style, explaining the instances when a child failing out of math gets a double dose of art. If one accepts this form of diadic reasoning for the sake of argument, it would be more productive to observe lability between cognitive styles, the ability to move between assumedly polarized cognitive styles as tasks demand as a form of mental efficiency. The Arts The universe of qualitative problems addressed qualitatively (art) can be examined by many different means, resulting in many different arts. Modality is most common, resulting in visual art, auditory music, literary writing, kinesic performance, sub-categories and combinations thereof. The overriding concept makes no distinction between these modalities of sense and any others, such as olfactory, taste, balance, thermal, orgasm (just to be slightly contentious, but is there another sensation like it?). Modality need not even enter into that universe at all. If a qualitative problem is addressed conceptually, as a thought-experiment, there is no need for a medium with which to express it. The universe of qualitative problems is immense, and it is multiplied by whether the problem precedes or follows the modalities. Again, the overriding concept makes no distinction between problems, leaving problem statements and arguments as a later concern. Aesthetics as Art Criticism If there can be good and bad questions, adequate and inadequate solutions, just as there is success and failure when attempting to solve any other problem there can be success and failure when attempting to solve qualitative problems. The more difficult the problem the more prone to failure is any particular solution. “If it was easy, everybody would do it.” The idea that art is somehow above evaluation disappears as a consequence of the definition of artistic process as qualitative problem solving. Having gone to the trouble to set this scene, we are provided with a set of tools of evaluation appropriate to the task in the developing branch of philosophy called aesthetics, and some strategies for qualitative evaluation. (11-12) That is a larger topic than can be fairly discussed here. Usefulness of the Concept Operational definitions are advantageous in that they don’t claim to be true or false, but useful. This operational definition of artistic process as qualitative problem solving has demonstrated its usefulness in a sizable body of research and practice, of which some elements are in the process of being collected online. (13) For example, a recent publication planned by the Academic Press of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" will chronicle one twenty-five year exploration of the implications of this concept. (14) Those who are uncomfortable with a definition that does not imply a hierarchy of arts or some structural taxonomy will be obliged to formulate a different operational definition on different terms than that of artistic process as qualitative problem solving, or justify such a system at a lower level of definition.
Notes (1) Ecker, David W., “The Artistic Process as Qualitative Problem solving,” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 21, No.3 (Fall 1963), pp. 283-290. (3) Ecker, D.W. & Kaelin, E.F .. "Levels of Aesthetic Discourse," chapter in Aesthetics and Arts Education, edited by Ralph A. Smith and Alan Simpson, (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991), pp. 301-306. (4) Kuipers , Benjamin, Qualitative Reasoning: Modeling and Simulation with Incomplete Knowledge, The MIT Press, 1994. (5) Sebeok, Thomas A., “One, Two, Three Spells UBERTY,” in: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce: The Sign of Three, Umberto Eco and Thomas A. Sebeok, Indiana University Press, 1983, pp. 1-10. (6) A handy interactive example being: Wolfram, Stephen, A New Kind of Science, Wolfram Media, Inc., 2002; Explorer. (7) Bertalanffy, Ludwig Von, General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, George Braziller, NY, 1968. (8)Werner, Heinz, Comparative Psychology of Mental development, International Universities Press, Inc., 1973 (copyright 1948). (9) Witkin, Herman A. and Donald R. Goodenough, Cognitive Styles: Essence and Origins, International Universities Pres, NY, 1981. (10) Witkin, H.A., et al., Psychological Differentiation: Studies of Development, John Wiley and Sons, 1974 ( copyright 1962). (11) Ecker, D.W. & Kaelin, E.F .. "Levels of Aesthetic Discourse," chapter in Aesthetics and Arts Education, edited by Ralph A. Smith and Alan Simpson, (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991), pp. 301-306. (12) Ecker, DW .. Editor, Oualitative Evaluation in the Arts. (New York: New York University, Division of Arts and Arts Education, 1981),208 pages. (13) ISALTA (International Society for the Advancement of Living Traditions in Art) website: http://ww.isalta.com (14) Dernini, Sandro, Plexus Black Box: A Multicultural Aesthetic Inquiry into an International Community Based Art Project, Academic Press of the University of Rome "La Sapienza," (in progress, 2007).

There has been some discussion about ISALTA's use of the word "Art" rather than "Arts" which is addressed by this paper. I am grateful to Wyzard for raising the issue, and include the column here. -DrP

Art, Arts and a Useful Definition

Carleton Palmer

New York, 2007

Operational Definition of Artistic Process

Operational definitions permit us to explore the implications of premises. If they prove useful we test their limitations and improve them. If they fail we look for others. A benefit of the operational definition of artistic process as “qualitative problem solving” is that the definition separates the artistic process from its possible problems and mediums. “The artistic process is qualitative problem solving; it is the controlled procedure of instituting qualitative relationships as means to the achievement of a qualitative end or total.”(1)

The observation is inclusive if all acts of qualitative problem-solving toward qualitative ends are seen as artistic processes, It only describes the artistic process. It does not describe the problem, medium or offer any way to judge the success or failure of any artistic effort. It is a beneficial tool in that it separates these from one another for individual consideration. Ideas of “high” art, “low” art and “fine” art or “crafts” are not implicit in the definition.

Arts implies Art

“The arts” is an expression that assumes that there is a super-ordinate category “art,” of which various “arts” are the contents. Since common definitions of art suggest different sub-categories, and there are many different definitions of art, this kind of tacit understanding can be misleading. An important move prior to discussing “arts” would be to specify the super-ordinate definition of “art” of which particular “arts” are the elements, parts or contents.

Many Definitions of Art

Art seen as beauty, self-expression, glorification of God, representation, advancement of the State, self-analysis, argumentation, conceptualization, analysis of form, and other definitions lead to different possible candidates for the contents of the term which may or may not overlap one another. They are clarified if they are seen as specific problems addressed by artistic process rather than many different definitions of art.

The arts with which one group is familiar, perhaps visual, musical, literary, theatrical, architectural, culinary, conceptual and so on, may not all be represented everywhere, or may elsewhere include unfamiliar contents like marital, scarification, olfactory or sexual among their arts. Among many stumbling blocks in English neutralized by this definition are the confusion of art as a general term with visual art in particular, and the many received assumptions about hierarchies between and within “arts.”

Qualitative and Quantitative

Neither qualitative nor quantitative reasoning is the exclusive province of either art or science. A qualitative problem in physics might be, “In a collision between a small car and a large truck, which exerts the greater force on the other?” The expected solution to the problem would be an application of Newton’s Third law with a quantitative demonstration.

“Qualitative Reasoning/Analysis,” sometimes called qualitative physics, is an important part of artificial intelligence study. Studies in qualitative reasoning investigate the non-quantitative processes involved in what is sometimes called common-sense reasoning about complex systems, as is prevalent in everyday thought about physical systems. (4) In this way artificial intelligence research is working toward modeling that characteristic of human intelligence that allows the kind of decision-making on the basis of limited information which C.S. Peirce, with considerable wit, adds to the list of “deduction” and “induction” as “abduction.” (5)

Although artists are rarely accused of an excess of common-sense, artists’ process takes the form of self-reflective and iterative low-detail overview of a problem described by Dr. Ecker: “Artists at their work think in terms of relations of qualities, think with qualities; their thought, in a word, is qualitative.” (1)

Conversely, it is not unknown for artists to employ quantitative means to achieve their qualitative purposes, from the computational automata of the ancient Greek theater to 3D modeling, animation, and manipulation of computational rules. (6)

Science and Art

If the problems to be resolved are either quantitative or qualitative, and their solution processes are also either quantitative or qualitative, then an emphasis on qualitative problems resolved with qualitative strategies may be said to characterize artistic process, and an emphasis on quantitative problems resolved with quantitative strategies may be said to characterize scientific process.

The purpose of any form of problem solving is to better understand the world by whatever means are appropriate.

One would have probably been ill-advised to seek out Salvador Dali for psychiatric counseling, but his remarks on the unconscious are iconic. Braque and Picasso did not pretend to be mathematical physicists, but their strategies for simultaneity access quantum concepts. Conversely, some scientists cite imaginative literary speculations as exciting their interest in science to begin with, and as provoking lines of inquiry pursued professionally. John W. Campbell, author and editor of Astounding from 1937, insisted that Science Fiction writing be grounded in science, whether it was extrapolation of the implications of existing science, or speculation about scientific directions. That certainly defines a first step in scientific inquiry itself.

Cognitive Style

It is an unusually rarefied problem-solving atmosphere in which only one kind of thinking prevails, but it explains why dissertations in mathematics can be very few pages of symbols, while M.F.A. exhibitions and performances can be large participatory events.

The quantitative/qualitative distinction implies preferential ways of reasoning conforming to the literature of cognitive styles. The cognitive style concept moves from Bertalanffy, (7) through Werner, (8) to Witkin, (9-10). Among the problems of cognitive style research are thinking in terms of paired opposites, and defining one characteristic as the failure to perform successfully on a test of the other. It is a common error to suppose that poor performance on quantitative tasks implies a qualitative cognitive style, explaining the instances when a child failing out of math gets a double dose of art. If one accepts this form of diadic reasoning for the sake of argument, it would be more productive to observe lability between cognitive styles, the ability to move between assumedly polarized cognitive styles as tasks demand as a form of mental efficiency.

The Arts

The universe of qualitative problems addressed qualitatively (art) can be examined by many different means, resulting in many different arts. Modality is most common, resulting in visual art, auditory music, literary writing, kinesic performance, sub-categories and combinations thereof. The overriding concept makes no distinction between these modalities of sense and any others, such as olfactory, taste, balance, thermal, orgasm (just to be slightly contentious, but is there another sensation like it?).

Modality need not even enter into that universe at all. If a qualitative problem is addressed conceptually, as a thought-experiment, there is no need for a medium with which to express it.

The universe of qualitative problems is immense, and it is multiplied by whether the problem precedes or follows the modalities. Again, the overriding concept makes no distinction between problems, leaving problem statements and arguments as a later concern.

Aesthetics as Art Criticism

If there can be good and bad questions, adequate and inadequate solutions, just as there is success and failure when attempting to solve any other problem there can be success and failure when attempting to solve qualitative problems. The more difficult the problem the more prone to failure is any particular solution. “If it was easy, everybody would do it.” The idea that art is somehow above evaluation disappears as a consequence of the definition of artistic process as qualitative problem solving.

Having gone to the trouble to set this scene, we are provided with a set of tools of evaluation appropriate to the task in the developing branch of philosophy called aesthetics, and some strategies for qualitative evaluation. (11-12) That is a larger topic than can be fairly discussed here.

Usefulness of the Concept

Operational definitions are advantageous in that they don’t claim to be true or false, but useful. This operational definition of artistic process as qualitative problem solving has demonstrated its usefulness in a sizable body of research and practice, of which some elements are in the process of being collected online. (13) For example, a recent publication planned by the Academic Press of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" will chronicle one twenty-five year exploration of the implications of this concept. (14)

Those who are uncomfortable with a definition that does not imply a hierarchy of arts or some structural taxonomy will be obliged to formulate a different operational definition on different terms than that of artistic process as qualitative problem solving, or justify such a system at a lower level of definition.

Notes

(1) Ecker, David W., “The Artistic Process as Qualitative Problem solving,” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 21, No.3 (Fall 1963), pp. 283-290.

(3) Ecker, D.W. & Kaelin, E.F .. "Levels of Aesthetic Discourse," chapter in Aesthetics and Arts Education, edited by Ralph A. Smith and Alan Simpson, (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991), pp. 301-306.

(4) Kuipers , Benjamin, Qualitative Reasoning: Modeling and Simulation with Incomplete Knowledge, The MIT Press, 1994.

(5) Sebeok, Thomas A., “One, Two, Three Spells UBERTY,” in: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce: The Sign of Three, Umberto Eco and Thomas A. Sebeok, Indiana University Press, 1983, pp. 1-10.

(6) A handy interactive example being: Wolfram, Stephen, A New Kind of Science, Wolfram Media, Inc., 2002; Explorer.

(7) Bertalanffy, Ludwig Von, General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, George Braziller, NY, 1968.

(9) Witkin, Herman A. and Donald R. Goodenough, Cognitive Styles: Essence and Origins, International Universities Pres, NY, 1981.

(11) Ecker, D.W. & Kaelin, E.F .. "Levels of Aesthetic Discourse," chapter in Aesthetics and Arts Education, edited by Ralph A. Smith and Alan Simpson, (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991), pp. 301-306.

(12) Ecker, DW .. Editor, Oualitative Evaluation in the Arts. (New York: New York University, Division of Arts and Arts Education, 1981),208 pages.

(13) ISALTA (International Society for the Advancement of Living Traditions in Art) website: http://ww.isalta.com

(14) Dernini, Sandro, Plexus Black Box: A Multicultural Aesthetic Inquiry into an International Community Based Art Project, Academic Press of the University of Rome "La Sapienza," (in progress, 2007).