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Re:Is It a ‘5’ or a ‘6’? The Answer Could Make an Art Fortune by goto11 on Wednesday November 27, 2019 @01:32PM (#21650550)
I guess the value of everything is purely subjective. But if you suggest the only legitimate value of art is the immediate aesthetic impression, then I disagree. The historical context is definitely part of what makes art interesting.
Re:Is It a ‘5’ or a ‘6’? The Answer Could Make an Art Fortune by lisper on Wednesday November 27, 2019 @02:06PM (#21650906)
> I guess the value of everything is purely subjective.

No, that's not true. The value of scientific knowledge, for example, is in its power to allow us to make reliable predictions about our environment and the consequences of our actions. That's not subjective.

> The historical context is definitely part of what makes art interesting.

Sure, but the historical interest in a work of art should follow as a consequence of the (subjective) quality of the art, not the other way around. If I were to make a painting, no one would (or should) care, but not because my painting would not have an interesting historical context. It's because I have no artistic talent and any painting I would make would be a bad painting. And 500 years from now it would still be a bad painting.

To use a more realistic example: Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill were both painters, but no one remembers them for their art because it wasn't very good despite having an interesting historical context. Quality art creates an interesting historical context, no the other way around. Or at least that's how it ought to work IMHO.

Re:Is It a ‘5’ or a ‘6’? The Answer Could Make an Art Fortune by hshsshhshs on Wednesday November 27, 2019 @05:47PM (#21652938)
"Us" and "our" are tokens of subjectivity. If "value" can be used meaningfully only if it refers to some subject, if things are only ever valuable "to me" or "to us", then value is a subjective determination. And to whomever says it is not worth to him, it is not worth to him.
Re:Is It a ‘5’ or a ‘6’? The Answer Could Make an Art Fortune by lisper on Wednesday November 27, 2019 @06:01PM (#21653034)
Yes, all that is true, but think this through: because value is only relative to "us" then then a pre-requisite for value to exist is for "us" to exist. Being able to make reliable predictions about our environment helps us exist, i.e. helps us survive and reproduce, so that has value independent of anyone's opinion about anything.
Re:Is It a ‘5’ or a ‘6’? The Answer Could Make an Art Fortune by rileymat2 on Thursday November 28, 2019 @02:03AM (#21655199)
I am not sure this is a great example, looking around online, it looks like Hitler’s paintings can sell for quite a bit.

Churchill’s also sell for quite a bit.

Re:Is It a ‘5’ or a ‘6’? The Answer Could Make an Art Fortune by lisper on Thursday November 28, 2019 @02:09AM (#21655222)
Sure, but it's not because anyone thinks they are great art.