cover image ART MATTERS

ART MATTERS

Peter de Bolla, . . Harvard Univ., $35 (190pp) ISBN 978-0-674-00649-2

In four short chapters and an introduction, Cambridge University Fellow de Bolla (The Discourse of the Sublime) mulls over his reactions to art, especially what he calls "mutism: being struck dumb" by a work. Among the cases he examines in detail are a painting by American modernist Barnett Newman ("Vir Heroicus Sublimus"), Canadian pianist Glenn Gould's second recording of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" and a poem by Wordsworth, "We Are Seven." Although most of the text is in dense philosophical-speak, rife with references to Kant and other names familiar to readers who have taken a course or two in philosophy, a wry pragmatism peeps through, such as when de Bolla states that some students "refuse to talk about" their aesthetic responses, either out of "fear of losing something valuable to them" or else because of the "mundane mechanics" of the Cambridge University grading system. Elsewhere, de Bolla cannily refuses to consider Newman's abstract canvas separately from its context and location, New York's Museum of Modern Art. On Glenn Gould, de Bolla mixes references to jazz and classical performance, which are intrinsically different art forms, with some biographical errors, such as the false notion that Gould lived "in almost complete physical seclusion." On Wordsworth the author is more secure, making folksy observations such as, "Reading is a far more risky business than is often assumed, or than we care to admit, but it is said that there is often scant reward where there is no risk." There are plenty of both here. 10 color illustrations not seen by PW. (Nov.)

Forecast:Despite the challenging writing style, there is enough donnish Brit charm here to appeal to readers with a cursory acquaintance with philosophy and the arts. Good for larger collections on the arts, although the desultory chapter on Gould can be safely skipped by music fans. Readers looking for unsentimental paths to art-based solace might be pointed here.