Oh Susan...

This reading, Against Interpretation By: Susan Sontag, was very complex but at the same time very intriguing. First, I have a question; what is the Mimetic Theory???

        In my previous posts, I have discussed the definition of art. On the first page, Sontag directly says, "As it's usually put today, that a work of art by definition says something." (We see later that she highly disapproves of this statement.) This is in discussion of an artwork's content. In part 1, I gathered that we often try to determine what art is saying rather than purely appreciating its form. In the second part, Sontag says, "From now to the end of consciousness, we are struck with the task of defending art." I found this statement interesting. In this part, the author's views clearly show through. She must feel that interpreting art is wrong and pointless (hence the title: Against Interpretation). She says that the idea of content is a hindrance, and the overemphasis on content leads people to try to interpret artwork. In part 3, Sontag clarifies that she means interpretations as a conscious act of the mind that illustrates a certain code. When applied to art, she feels that interpretation is "plucking a set of elements from the whole work.” She claims that an interpreter will inevitably alter whatever he or she is interpreting. Parts 4 through 6 further Sontag's argument that we should not focus on interpreting art. My favorite quote from this piece is at the end of part 6. Sontag says, "Interpretation, based on the highly dubious theory that a work of art is composed of items of content, violates art. It makes art into an article for use, for arrangement into a mental scheme of categories." In part 7, Sontag explains that interpretation does not always prevail; some things do prove to be uninterpretable. Part 8 opens with asking the question, "What kind of criticism, of commentary on the arts, is desirable today?" I agree with Sontag that we need to spend more time focusing on the form of artwork instead of content. In part 9, she says, "Transparence is the highest, most liberating value in art - and in criticism - today...experiencing the luminousness of the thing itself, of things being what they are." This stuck with me because "interpretation takes the sensory experience of the work of art for granted".  I agree with Sontag when she concludes that "our task is to cut back content so we can see the thing (piece of art) at all. The aim of all commentary on art now should be to make works of art...more, rather than less, real to us."