Logical form
Langer looks at logical form as the obscurity of two or more things, majorly a work of art to the object it symbolizes. The logical form would be the extent of resemblance or similarity of the artistic aspect to the object.
Langer supported the thought that music should be expressed as “a formulation and representation of mental tensions, emotions, moods and resolutions.” Where to her, form meant permanent, as would a “permanent building or vase or picture or transient.” She looks at logical form as the exemplification of similar relational structure. This is can exhibited when two things are put in the same way.
It is the similarity in logical form that enables us to relate a symbol to the actual object symbolized. Through this we get the meaning of the symbol in relation to the object. This can be exemplified by the relation between music as a tonal analogue of emotive life.
Dynamic form
To her, dynamic form is like a “melody or a dance or even a form given to imagination.” It is the changing aspect of art. It transcends all types of art and is mutative in nature. Langer looks at the mutative form to be representation of the changing ideas or moods or feelings of human beings.
That change is permanent is the concept in this ideology.
Permanent dynamic form
This is the enduring bit of the dynamic form. In her unpublished lecture literatures, she puts details to this type of dynamic form as change to be the only permanent thing. Our ideas and feelings change in correspondence to different types of stimulus, and therefore change is to be viewed as a permanent ideology.
Discursive dynamic form
Discursive dynamic forms are symbols that may not be able to reflect directly the subjective aspect of the experience. It is therefore perceived over a period of time as opposed to the non-discursive which can be perceived over a short period of time. One cannot perceive the whole of discursive form at once and thus we perceive them bit by bit through the short term memory. Discursive symbolism is said to belong to the realm of language.
Relationship with abstraction art
Abstract art uses the visual language which exists may be with an extent of variation from other aspects of visual references in the world. The various forms relate to this type of art uniquely:
I. Logical form
Relates the visual aspect of the abstract art to the symbol it is to represent. Since logical form looks at the relationship of an object to the symbolizing bit, while abstract art represents the visual bit, the two relate as logical form will to a large extent rely on abstract art to pin meanings to symbols.
II. Dynamic form and permanent dynamic form
Here we look at the changing aspect of art and how it is represented using the abstraction art. Change in times and moods could be captured using the abstract depending on the interpretation of the audience or the view of the artist or even the environment of both.
Permanent dynamic form is however represented due to the static nature of some of this type of art e.g. a picture.
III. Discursive form
The two here relate in such a manner as to reflect a continuous experience/part of the object.
Art as a symptom and art as symbol
Langer defines art as “the creation of forms symbolic to human feeling.”
Susanne views art as hundred percent symbolic since it expresses the ideas in feelings and not the actual feelings. It does so through the words expressed in the music as well as through the sound, the gestures and all the other aspects of music. The meanings expressed by art can majorly be derived through the relation of the artistic aspect to the object it is so related.
Art as a symptom is when art is viewed as being a sign of an object, idea or feeling. This is witnessed when views a piece of art from the environmental aspect, environmental aspect here is used to mean the surrounding.
The difference between the two is clear, as art as a symptom is a sign of an idea…while art as a symbol is an expression of an idea.
Significant form
Significant form can be described as the relationship of perception to abstract art. The lines, the colors and even the shapes: the ability of these and other visual aspects of a piece(s) of art to evoke aesthetic emotion in human beings, indicate that they have a significant form.
Significance of the title
Expressiveness is used to exude the ability of art to manifest itself not only in human kind brains but as an indispensable part of the human community. Art communicates (expresses) itself to us through its various aspects. The title captures the content of the paper.
Art as measure and imitation
To Aristotle, art is a measure of human lives as well as its imitation. He argues that life and art go hand in hand as they are identical. Art reflects on what happens in real life thus in a way measures and imitates it.
To Plato, the ideal bed is that by the original creator, the one in our imagination, not the real one. The implication of this to art and the artist is that the ideal interpretation can only be arrived at if we look at a piece of art as was looked at by the artist or by putting ourselves in the shoes of the artist.
References
K, Susanne. Philosophy In A New Key. New York: .n., 1952.
