Join us Thursday, October 6th at 6pm for a lecture with Concord Art’s President of the Board of Directors, Jeff Wieand, who will discuss The Artist as Prophet: Emerson’s Thoughts on Art. Masks required.
This lecture reclaims ‘Thoughts on Art’ as Emerson’s principal statement about art as part of a general theory of action and creation. It argues that Emerson viewed art as a question of degree, something more or less present in individual artworks. It explores the tension between Emerson’s idea that art is created by Spirit and the fact that it is created by artists, and defends Emerson against the charge that, on his view, the artist deserves no credit for his work. Artistic talent and genius overcome obstacles posed by nature and further the artist’s pursuit of self-knowledge.
From Jeff Wieand’s article published in Philosophy and Literature, John Hopkins University Press, 2018