Diotima: The Marist Undergraduate Philosophy Journal
The Transmission Theory discredits a virtually impenetrable volume of artwork by claiming it requires intention and an audience. Art is a mode of creativity that encompasses the unique perceptions and imaginations of its maker. While art deserves an audience, it should not require one to validate its status as such. Despite the annulling conditions of this theory, the works of Kafka and Dickinson are still widely admired by the public. Therefore, the first two conditions of the Transmission Theory are an illegitimate assessment of art's status. III. Condition 6: Mutually Experienced Emotion The sixth condition requires the artwork to transmit the same emotion to its audience that the artist originally attributed. Without ascribing the respective emotion, the expressive quality of the artwork diminishes and, therefore, does its validity. In his theory, Tolstoy assumed that the artist's emotion automatically equates to the emotion executed in the artwork; this is simply not an accurate depiction of what art is 7 . Art handles such diverse purposes beyond the scope of expression and emotion. Due to the criteria of the Transmission Theory, the performing arts are naturally subject to strict scrutiny. The sixth condition requires a level of authenticity from the artist, but when it comes to actors and cinema, the condition takes on quite the ambiguity. An actor's job is to embody their character; regardless of their own emotional state, they must deliver the portrayal of emotions as directed for their role. The actors as performing artists lack this authenticity that the theory demands. The actor is not expressing but merely performing. With this, the question is drawn of whether the actor's performance should be considered performative art. Award ceremonies like the Oscars and the Emmys commend performance and visual artists for their awe-inspiring talent and grit. While the actor must put on a face for the camera, there is no actual telling of how internalized that portrayal is. Many actors in the industry represent this theme of
7 Carroll, “Art and Expression,” 64.
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