"What is Art?" by Leo Tolstoy
"Every work of art causes the receiver to enter into a certain kind of relationship both with him who produced, or is producing, the art, and with all those who, simultaneously, previously, or subsequently, receive the same artistic impression...
The activity of art is based on the fact that a man, receiving through his sense of hearing or sight another man’s expression of feeling, is capable of experiencing the emotion which moved the man who expressed it. To take the simplest example; one man laughs, and another who hears becomes merry; or a man weeps, and another who hears feels sorrow. A man is excited or irritated, and another man seeing him comes to a similar state of mind. By his movements or by the sounds of his voice, a man expresses courage and determination or sadness and calmness, and this state of mind passes on to others. A man suffers, expressing his sufferings by groans and spasms, and this suffering transmits itself to other people; a man expresses his feeling of admiration, devotion, fear, respect, or love to certain objects, persons, or phenomena, and others are infected by the same feelings of admiration, devotion, fear, respect, or love to the same objects, persons, and phenomena.
And it is upon this capacity of man to receive another man’s expression of feeling and experience those feelings himself, that the activity of art is based."
Tolstoy argues that art must create an emotional link between the artist and the audience. Hence, sincerity and clarity are vitally important in the creation of good art. Do you agree? Furthermore, according to his rationale, the success of the artwork necessitates an audience. Can art exist without an audience?
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Leo Tolstoy - Russian writer known for novels "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace"
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