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THE PROBLEMATIC NATURE OF MEANING OF ART: JAN PATOCKA ON THE MEANING OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
Abstract
The following essay deals with the relation between Jan Patočka's approach to the meaning of life and things and his thoughts on art. First, we point to Patočka's concept of the †shakiness' of accepted or putatively secure meaning. This shakiness, which ensues from an explicit relation to being, enables new perspective to one to conceive true meaning not as obvious or definitive and secured, but as meaning that consists in the †seeking of being', which both enables every conceivable meaning and then shakes it up. Further, we discuss Patočka's reflections on the difference between meaning in traditional art and meaning in modern art. Whereas traditional art †narrates' objective, binding, and general meaning, modern art expresses subjective, individual meaning. Plurality of meanings expressed by modern artworks reflects the fact that these artworks are the result of the †outpouring of being'. In this context, we also emphasize Patočka's idea that the irreducible plurality of meanings of modern art corresponds to the fact that there exists no †one and only central moment of meaning' further. We show that such an irreducible plurality refers to the meaning, which is absolute, because it presents a †journey' of the seeking of being. Lastly, we consider Patočka's opinions on the character and potential of contemporary art. We emphasize that, in contrast to modern art, which always expresses a personal view of meaning, contemporary art †encircles' and †realizes' the dramatic character of the only unshakable meaning, which results from an explicit relation to being.
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