LibGuides: Philosophy of the Arts (Course Guide): Bonus: Self-Study Resources

Credo Reference - Library Database

Credo Reference - Aesthetics

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Aesthetics

OER - Open Educational Resources

OER Online Textbooks

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Aesthetics (Overview)
Aesthetics is an area of value theory that examines how people evaluate works of art and other aesthetic experiences in nature and their everyday lives. | Ch. 8.5 Aesthetics | Introduction to Philosophy (OpenStax)
Introduction to Philosophy: Aesthetic Theory and Practice
Aesthetic Theory and Practice offers fresh perspectives on both historical and emerging topics in aesthetics, and also brings attention to a number of culturally sensitive topics that are customarily silenced in introductions to philosophical aesthetics.

Smarthistory Website

Smarthistory

Smarthistory is the center for public art history with thousands of free videos and essays written by experts who want to share their knowledge with learners around the world. Smarthistory was founded in 2005 by two art historians, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker.

Andres Serrano
Serrano has consistently denied any intention to offend anyone. Instead, he has argued that discomfort or insult caused by the image should motivate one to ponder the violence and ugliness of the actual Crucifixion.
Contemporary Art, An Introduction
It’s ironic that many people say they don’t “get” contemporary art because, unlike Egyptian tomb painting or Greek sculpture, art made since 1960 reflects our own recent past. It speaks to the dramatic social, political, and technological changes of the last 50 years, and it questions many of society’s values and assumptions—a tendency of postmodernism, a concept sometimes used to describe contemporary art. What makes today’s art especially challenging is that, like the world around us, it has become more diverse and cannot be easily defined through a list of visual characteristics, artistic themes, or cultural concerns.
Must Art Be Beautiful?
Often we make the assumption that art is beautiful, but is that required? Must art be beautiful? We also think, “Well, this is ugly, so this can’t be art.” There are many different ideas of beauty — every culture has its ideas, and over time ideas of beauty change. That does suggest that there is not a fixed notion of what is beautiful.
Pop-Art
At first glance, Pop Art might seem to glorify popular culture by elevating soup cans, comic strips and hamburgers to the status of fine art on the walls of museums. But, then again, a second look may suggest a critique of the mass marketing practices and consumer culture that emerged in the United States after World War II.

Philosophy of the Arts (Course Guide)

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Credo Reference - Library Database

Credo Reference - Aesthetics

OER - Open Educational Resources

OER Online Textbooks

Smarthistory Website

Smarthistory

Videos

What does it mean to think about art using the tools of Philosophy?

Crash Course Philosophy: Aesthetics