Arthur Danto's "The Abuse of Beauty": Art and Aesthetics

Introduction: Two Central Trajectories

The central intention of The Abuse of Beauty by Arthur Danto is an investigation of art theory and aesthetics that can be unpacked in terms of two central and related trajectories. Danto first explores the assumption that beauty is a measure of what art is or should be. In exploring this assumption, he explains how the ideal of beauty has been relativized, derided, and opposed in modern art theory. Related to this is the second trajectory: an analysis of the changes in the definition and meaning of art.

The fact that art is in a state of crisis and flux — in terms of its meaning, definition, and status — is clear from the analysis of modern theoretical concerns and contemporary aesthetics that Danto provides in this work. He uses the central subject of beauty not only to elucidate this state of crisis but also to advocate a more open-ended and inclusive understanding of art, one that is not solely circumscribed and determined by the concept and ideal of beauty. While clearly showing in his analysis why beauty cannot be the determining factor in art, he also argues for the inclusion of beauty as one aspect of the definition and understanding of art — but only one aspect, not the sole determining factor.

Throughout this work, Danto is clear in his view that the development of movements, innovations, and understanding in art is closely aligned with theory and philosophical discourse. On the other hand, he acknowledges — drawing on the views of Moore and others — that the relationship between philosophy and art is a complex one with its own unique structure and attributes. In this regard, he explores various theoretical assumptions about art. It is worth noting that Danto states in his article "The Artworld" (1964) that "to see something as art requires something the eye cannot descry — an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld." This view carries over to a certain extent into the work under discussion. As one commentator notes, "What this thesis implies is that the visual properties of the object alone cannot constitute an object as a work of art; a certain kind of art historical context is necessary."

Beauty as a Historical Criterion of Art

What Danto emphasizes in The Abuse of Beauty is that it is a "misperception" to see beauty as the central focus of art, and that not all art is concerned with an appreciation of beauty. In his analysis, Danto explores the underlying views and perceptions that led — until approximately the middle of the twentieth century — to the assumption of the dominance of beauty in art. He unpacks Victorian and late Edwardian views about art, as well as the views of Moore, Hegel, and other philosophers and theoreticians.

Furthermore, what Danto seeks to achieve in this analysis is, in the first instance, to show that the idea of beauty as the main defining criterion of art is bound by historical and other contexts of the understanding of art's meaning. He advocates a greater openness and acceptance of other determinations and views about art. For example, the way the art of "disgust" and harsh realism have entered the mainstream of art should be seen in the context of this reappraisal and reassessment of beauty.

Modern and Avant-Garde Rejections of Beauty

Danto's analysis of Victorian and Edwardian assumptions leads in turn to an assessment of modernist and later pop and conceptualist views, which rejected beauty as having little, if anything, to do with the true understanding of art. These movements collectively challenged the inherited equation between artistic merit and aesthetic beauty, redirecting attention toward concept, form, and social meaning.

In one sense, Danto is discussing the relativity of art's meaning and its appreciation. On the other hand, he stresses the need to accept new meanings and views in art theory. Importantly, Danto states: "Beauty's place is not in the definition or — to use the somewhat discredited idiom — the essence of art, from which the avant-garde has rightly removed it. That removal, however, was not merely the result of a conceptual but, as I shall argue, a political determination." This again underscores the link between art and theoretical and philosophical discourse. The avant-garde thus functions in Danto's account not merely as an aesthetic movement but as a politically inflected rupture in the history of art theory.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, what Danto asserts is that beauty does have a place in art and in the assessment of artistic worth — but that place is neither dominant nor dismissible. His analysis traces a path from the historical centrality of beauty, through its forceful rejection by the avant-garde and conceptual movements, to a more nuanced pluralist framework in which beauty is one legitimate value among many. The Abuse of Beauty ultimately advocates for an understanding of art that is historically informed, theoretically sophisticated, and open to the full range of what contemporary artistic practice can and does produce.