Koss and Dewitt Cheng..

Limits of Empathy, Limits of Empathy Theory

The other night in our Comparative Art Critique seminar, we had a guest speaker, Dewitt Cheng. Dewitt is an art critic, a writer, and covers the East Bay. Interestingly, he calls himself an art promoter. Now, some might think that an art promoter has a different connotation completely, and some might even surmise that an art promoter is too subjective to properly critique art. And that is exactly what made his presence so intriguing to me. Dewitt is an art FANATIC; he loves art, and he is worried about the future of art. He explained that the art world is even its own worst enemy at times, creating a world that is inaccessible to most. Dewitt described a scenario where the art world is dominated by critics and collectors and they communicate in their own language. And he gave us advice to become fanatics about art for ourselves and not be afraid to like or dislike any art based on the insecurities of those that “rule” the art world...I like Dewitt; he is totally and disarmingly refreshing. 

But Dewitt is not alone. In our readings, the article  “Limits of Empathy” by Koss, also takes to task the long and illustrious lineage of Aesthetic theorists. Koss Quotes Lipps at one point, “Aesthetics is either psychological aesthetics or a collection of declarations of some individuals who possess a sufficiently loud voice to proclaim his private predilections or his dependence on fashion.” Koss goes on to say the Lipps reference “may easily have been referring to “Schmarsow, Vischer, Wolfflin, or Heldebrand”. She alludes to the method of using a pseudo-scientific method to describe their own association with art and to apply that to the world. Later, science does indeed disprove much of the Empathy Theory.

What interests me is that Empathy Theory continues even today, even if it takes the form of a reaction to that theory. In other words, it is still exerting an influence on the art world, even if it is serving as the springboard to a reactionary movement. 

Dewitt’s wisdom that he shared with us is sound in a world where art has so many varied forms. Accepting art and learning to feel it is an individual experience and the critic should be as free to experience the art as the artist is free to create it. So if we are to promote art and even to protect it, lets have an honest dialogue, respecting the artists' creation and communicating honestly how the work talks to ourself. Just an idea...