The 'World' in Arthur Danto's Artworld

Dr Aaron Wendland (University of Tartu)

Abstract: According to Arthur Danto, it was only with the invention of pop art, and specifically with the exhibition of Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box at the Stable Gallery in 1964, that it became historically possible to offer an inclusive theory of art. This is because the perceptual identity between a piece of pop art, Warhol’s Brillo Box, and its commercial counterpart, the supermarket Brillo box, suggested that anything, be it a sculpture, an abstract painting, or a household item, can be a work of art. And once it is clear that anything can be a work of art, then Danto thought the question ‘What makes a particular thing a work of art?’ can be asked in earnest for the first time.

Danto’s initial answer to this question was innovative, but inchoate. ‘To see something as art,’ he wrote, ‘requires something the eye cannot descry – an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld.’ Danto subsequently elucidated his position through a series of thought experiments and a theory of interpretation in the arts, but he never worked out a systematic or detailed account of the artworld or its role in defining a work of art.

With that said, and after offering a brief outline of Danto’s position, I examine George Dickie’s attempt to offer a systemic and detailed account of the artworld through his influential but controversial institutional theory of art. I then consider several standard objections to Dickie’s theory, and ultimately reject it as an adequate account of the artworld. Finally, I attempt to develop my own account of the ‘world’ in Arthur Danto’s artworld by drawing on some key themes in Kantian and Post-Kantian philosophy.

Aaron James Wendland recently complete his PhD in Philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford, and he is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Tartu. Aaron is the co-editor of 'Wittgenstein and Heidegger' (Routledge, 2013) and 'Heidegger on Technology' (Routledge, forthcoming). He is also the author of 'Hegel's Critique of Kant' (South African Journal of Philosophy) and 'Language, Truth, and Logic' (Other Logics). Finally, Aaron has published some popular philosophy in Public Seminar and The New York Times.