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Title: The Romantic Manifesto
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Manufacturer: Signet
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| The Romantic Manifesto by Signet Brilliant, but Flawed Work | I found the book a brilliantly conceived, but ultimately flawed exploration of a philosophy of art. While I enjoyed the book, I suspect Ms. Rand was too overclouded by her own philosophical predispositions to realize the limitations of her assertions - and they are assertions, quite bald in their judgments, as many here have said.
A couple will serve:
Given her problem with art that is "foggy" in its conclusions or metaphysical genesis she is wrongfully led, I believe, to conclude that music, for one, cannot convey anything "concrete" from its experience, only an emotional response "by whom in the name of what, it is for each individual listener to supply." This is false. By way of personal example - bear with me - a journal entry from years ago: On first hearing Beethoven's Ninth, I was moved to write a paean to universal humanity - and in that piece, I talked of "starred canopies, such a profusion of white stars piercing the black canvas of impenetrable night...to belong to that canvas, those heavens..." I only later, much later, came to read the text of Schiller's Ode to Joy. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps Beethoven's genius in eliciting the concrete, the metaphorical rush of images and scenes, which accompanies all great music.
More, music isn't alone here. If music requires an auditor "by whom in the name of what, it is for each individual listener to supply," then so does all else, with the possible exception of the visual, figurative arts. Art is an engagement, not a drug; a line in a book: "...the black paint, dripping down the sodden planks" is an invite, not a prescription. It requires the individual mind reading to create the concrete form of the scene. As such, it is relational, alive. As with music.
Ms. Rand appears to give no credence to experiments in technique that are very much born out of modern life; she either dismisses them as sheer frippery or woeful ineptitude at best, or some "immoral" metaphysic at worst, even if ably applied. For example, she describes the advent of the "narrator" in the stage play as a "breach of dramatic principle...an encroachment by incompetence," and not an innovation worthy of the form. I cannot agree. The advent of meta-technique, such as the Narrator, skillfully employed, can make artifice more real than reality; impulse, inner life, phenomena more keenly observed. And by her own stand, this is the essence of art - to concretize the abstract in order to provide a realized, personal meaning.
Just a couple, and there are many others.
Still, the above said, I think it's an important book, with tremendous value. For anyone who would make art, or enjoy it; or who would gain by one thinker's look at the relation of art to a guiding moral philosophy, this is a worthy work. I'd also recommend, with others, Jacques Barzun's Classic, Romantic and Modern, as well as John Gardner's controversial On Moral Fiction.
| | The Romantic Manifesto by Signet More words to live by...thank you, Ayn Rand... | | The Romantic Manifesto is a collection of essays connecting Ayn Rand's objectivist philosophy to the aesthetic concepts of "romanticism" in visual art, literature, music, etc. For those like me who live by the philosophy presented in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and just can't get enough of Ayn Rand's emphatically reasonable point of view, this book is another shady spot of respite, though not for the idealogically-challeneged. Her non-fiction plays out mostly as pure philosophical reading in a much more wordy, less tangible sphere, and readers may find themselves hunting around the text for key points and word definitions, and re-reading paragraphs over and over again in order to stay on track. While Rand does briefly step back from the "higher-level" discourse, I found myself craving more frequent concrete examples and more frank discussion of the real-life implications of her ideas (although the few demonstrations in the book from her own novels are perfectly presented). However, the message underlying all the metaphysics and psycho-epistemology (my new favorite, and in this book, possibly even Rand's favorite, word), beneath the musings about Pollock as a quack and the inherent doom of popular music, is a truly inspiring look at the reasons why man is uniquely master of his domain, why man's existence is of utmost importance, and why the future of humanity depends on understanding the indisputable difference between right and wrong. As things in the world continue to spin out of control, in this book lives one of Rand's most determined and motivating statements of purpose: "Anyone who fights for the future, lives in it today." (Ayn Rand, The Romantic Manifesto) | | The Romantic Manifesto by Signet Invaluable and irreplaceable | When discussing the theory of art in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide, I cited only Ayn Rand's esthetics. An early reader suggested I "balance" the presentation by mentioning other writers on esthetics.
But here's the problem: no one surpasses or even equals Ayn Rand in the field of esthetics. Rand treats art with the same rigor she applies to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics. She begins her discussion by stating what art is and what purpose it serves for human beings. Her definition, "a selective re-creation of reality based on an artist's metaphysical value-judgments," indicates that an artist chooses his subject and style based on what he considers important, and creates something recognizable so that others will see it and grasp his message: "THIS matters - pay attention to THIS."
Rand lays out the fundamentals of the field of esthetics. Using her definition of art plus her theory of knowledge (see Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology: Expanded Second Edition), one can determine what is and is not art: driftwood, paint splattered on a canvas, the Parthenon frieze? One can determine the esthetic requirements for good art: Is a portrait by Rembrandt better than one by Picasso in his Cubist phase? One can even explain why people often react so violently to works of art: "It repulses me but I can't turn away!"
I have read hundreds of books by art critics and historians, many of whom have an encyclopedic grasp of their subject and descriptive abilities that make me wildly jealous. Not one of them offers a proper definition of art. The fifth edition of Janson's widely used Janson's History of Art: Western Tradition (7th Edition), for example, says a work of art is "an esthetic object" and that "esthetic" means "that which concerns the beautiful." The term is, he promptly admits, unsatisfactory, but "will have to do for lack of a better one."
When I'm visiting a gallery or reading a novel, I can and do revel in art without first subjecting it to rigorous esthetic analysis. I've found, though, that I can extend my enjoyment if I THINK about a particular work as well. For purposes of thinking about art and conveying my ideas to others, a proper definition is indispensable. In that respect, I have found Ayn Rand's essays on esthetics in Romantic Manifesto, The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers, The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers, and Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of Her Q & A(the esthetics section) invaluable and irreplaceable.
| | The Romantic Manifesto by Signet An analysis of art as a value | I found this work of Ayn Rand's intriguing, not only in terms of literary criticism but with respect to her whole approach to art as a value in human life. In fact, it's the latter which makes the book unique. Her approach is an education in itself as the thinking reader at the end of it is left to ponder just why their favourite works of art are what they are. Further, her value-oriented approach leads to a new classificational concept, of 'romantic realist' art. Whether a person likes 'romatic realist' art or not, I believe it is a very useful concept to have in your analysis kit because it enables categorisation of art work in a more precise way.
For Ayn Rand fans, the RM has an additional worth. You can discover what sort of works she loved and did not love as she analyses each work. If you follow the reasoning that art can reveal your deeply- and even deepest-held values, then her selections reveal a tremendous amount about her. And in reading RM, I found the revelations extremely interesting.
| | The Romantic Manifesto by Signet The Revolutionary Esthetics | The Romantic Manifesto is the revolutionary esthetics of novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand. Never has any individual---philosopher, esthetician or otherwise---offered a comprehensive, intelligible and objective explanation of what art is, why man needs it, and how to evaluate it.
Not only does Miss Rand define art--- no one ever had, which in itself is revolutionary---but she also provides a philosophical and psychological explanation of the importance of art in man's individual life, its broad fundamental foundations, and its relationship to man's means of cognition.
For those interested in the position of esthetics in Miss Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, I also highly recommend Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.
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