Chapter 11

There were a handful of ideas that I found interesting in this chapter. One of which was the assertion that "artist are attuned to resonances that chime in with their own." I know the author may not have meant for this comment to apply exclusively to aesthetics, but it is there that I found the most interesting implications. For example I have always felt drawn to artistic works that deal with non-representational or non-narrative themes, such as the paintings of Kandinsky or the short stories of Robbe-Grillet. This comment made me think that perhaps there is something within me that drives me to favor these types of work as opposed to some quality of style within the work that I was drawn to. As I contemplated this I began to look back on the chapter and found that most of the passages I had initially highlighted were related to that same aesthetic value that I was drawn to; namely the work of art as "a reference to something else, inspiring emotion for that thing, but as a thing in itself."