Diotima: The Marist Undergraduate Philosophy Journal
Theory 1 holds questionable reliability when considering virtually all forms of art ever produced. The theory states: X is a work of art if and only if X is (1) an intended (2) transmission to an audience (3) of the self-same (type-identical (4) individualized (5) feeling state (emotion) (6) that the artist experiences themself (7) and clarified (8) by means of lines, shapes, sounds, etc. 2 The most remarkably contentious parts of the theory and most worthy of investigation were conditions 1, 2, 6, and 7. Conditions 1 and 2 state that the work must be created to express an emotion, and this expression must be for an external audience 3 . Condition 6 requires the work to transmit the artist's emotion to the audience. Condition 7 requires the artist to state what emotion they intend to convey through their work. Without these requirements fulfilled, the work cannot be acknowledged as a genuine work of art. This particular theory exceptionally fails to account for a significant amount of works in the art world. While many of the most famously known pieces among the public fail to satisfy the conditions listed, they are still recognized and even honored as the world's most revered works of art. I will investigate and ultimately refute the individual conditions of the Transmission Theory that are most polarizing through the lens of dead artists and the everchanging progression of art's diverse mediums. II. Conditions 1 and 2: Status of Intention and Audience The first two conditions outlined in the Transmission Theory state that the artist must intend to imbue some emotion onto their work to be perceived by an audience. Meeting these criteria marks progress toward being validated as a work of art. However, several flaws and contradictions are revealed in the theory when confronted with some of the world's most revered art, which was not created with
1 Noel Carroll, “Art and Expression,” In Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction, (Taylor and Francis, 1999), 61.
2 Carroll, “Art and Expression,” 65. 3 Carroll, “Art and Expression,” 63.
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