Art before the Law: Aesthetics and Ethics

199 Pages·2014·1.25 MB·English

by  Ruth Ronen

ART BEFORE THE LAW
This page intentionally left blank
Art before the Law
RUTH RONEN
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2014
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
Printed in Canada
ISBN 978-1-4426-4788-6
Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled
paper with vegetable-based inks
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Ronen, Ruth, 1958–, author
Art before the law / Ruth Ronen.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4426-4788-6 (bound)
1. Art and morals. I. Title.
N72.E8R65 2014 701 C2014-900129-0
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and
the Ontario Arts Council.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its
publishing activities.
This project on art and ethics was supported by ISF – Israel Science Fund.
Contents
List of Figures and Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: By Way of the Law 3
1 By Way of Negation 19
2 By Way of Beauty 39
3 By Way of Truth 67
4 By Way of Deception 93
(written with efrat biberman)
5 By Way of Prohibition 123
Conclusion 159
Notes 161
Bibliography 179
Index 185
This page intentionally left blank
Figures and Illustrations
Figures
1.1 Ergo as intersecting set 32
1.2 Ergo as disjunctive set 33
5.1 The structure of the law 136
5.2 The structure of the aesthetic law 137
Illustrations
1 Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506), the oculus with cherubs and girls,
detail from the vault, 1465–74 40
2 Samuel van Hoogstraten, A Trompe l’Oeil of Objects Attached to a Letter
Rack, 1664 99
3 John F. Peto, Office Board, 1885 100
4 Thomas Demand, Fenster/Window, 1998 101
5 Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Empty Room, 1995–6 107
6 Michelangelo’s fresco of The Creation of Adam 141
7 Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da) (1573–1610), The Sacrifice of
Isaac, ca. 1603–4 155
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments
The research, writing, and publication of this book were supported by
the ISF (Israel Science Foundation).