Aesthetics

              Art is very vague itself. It can be interpreted differently depending on how it looks or the meaning behind the art, therefore because of all the various ways to look at art or perceive it, people have come up with two categories. Romanticism says, that a major part of arts purpose is to express non-rational emotions and to connect with its audience in a deeper thought. Formalism is the view that the purpose of art is to present formal beauty in a figurative or abstract manner and guide our behavior through forms.

            Romanticism in my opinion is a more reasonable choice because it appreciates art more, it looks at art and values it based on how it was made and it develops some sort of understanding unlike Formalism, which values an art piece according to the pleasure it has to our senses.

            Explanatory Breadth: Romanticism has more explanatory breadth because it explains art in a deeper form than formalism does, when we look at art we see the emotion and it makes us feel a certain type of way. It can also be used to explain different forms of art that aren’t purely visual.

            Explanatory Depth: Romanticism has various ways, they look at for the thought that the piece inspires not only for its beauty alone like formalists.

            Simplicity- Formalism is simpler than because it only looks at art for its looks and does not go into deep meaning like Romanticism does.

            Conservatism- I think Formalism would be the popular choice in today’s world, because nowadays people don’t just play a sport because it has a ball but for the passion they feel when they play the, or when we listen to music, it’s not only for the beat but for the lyrics and what they mean.

1. Formalism and Romanticism are the most plausible explanations for the purpose of art.

2. Romanticism has much more explanatory breadth, explanatory depth and conservatism. Formalism has more simplicity.

3. Therefore, Romanticism is the best explanation of art.