Area of knowledge - The arts

Area of knowledge - The arts

“The arts” is used in TOK to include a diverse range of disciplines such as visual arts, theatre, dance, music, film and literature. The forms and methods of these disciplines are often dissimilar, so the diversity within this single area of knowledge can itself be an excellent stimulus for TOK discussions.

The arts provide rich material for discussions of concepts such as interpretation. For example, students could consider how we ascribe meaning to works of art, or whether the intention of the artist is what determines meaning.

During these discussions, students could be encouraged to draw on their experiences from their DP studies in language and literature classes, where they are required to understand and interpret a range of texts.

Students could also consider the role of the audience in the arts. This could include, for example, whether art requires a response from, or an emotional interaction with, an audience. It could also include the role of critics and experts, and whether everyone is an equally competent judge in the arts.

Another interesting focus for discussions could be the social character and function of the arts. This could include the way that the arts are often seen as helping to shed light on fundamental questions about the human condition, or how the arts are often regarded as having an important function as a medium for social criticism and a vehicle for social change.

Discussions of the arts could also focus on exploring whether there are, or should be, limits to what is acceptable in art.

Students could consider examples of controversial works of art, such as Marco Evaristti’s Helena or Sruli Recht’s Forget Me Knot, considering whether there should be ethical constraints on the pursuit of knowledge in the arts, or whether artists or audiences have any particular ethical responsibilities.

Another focus for discussions could be the relationship between arts and culture. Students could explore art forms and art works that are strongly rooted in a particular culture or tradition, as well as reflecting on the diversity of the arts across time, cultures and contexts.

Students could also explore examples of “outsider art” as a way to stimulate conversations about the potential for art to challenge established values.

Examples of knowledge questions arising from this area of knowledge are suggested below.

Examples of knowledge questions

Scope

• Do the disciplines in the arts diverge from one another more fundamentally than disciplines within other areas of knowledge?

• Does new knowledge in the arts always build on what is already known?

• How have new technologies changed the nature and scope of the arts as an area of knowledge?

• Are the arts best seen as a system of knowledge, a type of knowledge or a means of expressing knowledge?

• Is artistic knowledge something that cannot be expressed in any other way?

• Is the relationship between “knowing how” and “knowing that” different in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge? Does art enlarge what it is possible for us to think and know?

Perspectives

• Is there such a thing as “obsolete” knowledge in the arts?

• Can a work of art have meaning of which the artist themselves is unaware?

• How does knowing more about the social, cultural or historical context of a work of art have an impact on our knowledge of the work itself?

• Can art change the way we interpret the world?

• What are the justifications for, and implications of, claiming that there are absolute standards for “good art”?

• Who determines what art is valued, and on what criteria?

• Should your judgments about art be given the same weight as those of an expert?

• What role does the history of an artform play in evaluating present work?

Methods and tools

• Does convention play a different role in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?

• Does sense perception perform a radically different role in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?

• If the language of an art form is non-verbal, does this free it from being limited to propositional knowledge?

• Can some knowledge in the arts only be gained through experience? How does the medium used change the way that knowledge is produced, shared or understood?

• To what extent are the methods of justification different in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?

Ethics

• In what ways are moral judgments similar to, or different from, aesthetic judgments?

• Do the arts play a role in the development of our personal value systems?

• How important is the study of literature in our individual ethical development?

• Is the production and enjoyment of art subject to ethical constraints?

• On what criteria could it be decided if the state has the right to censor art that is deemed immoral or blasphemous?

• Do the arts have the power to challenge established moral values?

• Are moral and aesthetic judgments more a matter of taste than a matter of truth?

• Can we separate the moral character of the artist from the value of the artwork?

Making connections to the core theme

• Does art provide knowledge of the artist or of ourselves? (scope)

• How is art used in advertising to affect the beliefs of individuals and groups? (perspectives)

• Does artistic creation rely more heavily on imagination than on other cognitive tools? (methods and tools)

• What moral responsibilities do we have regarding art that has been created or published by other people? (ethics)