Schelling and Aitken

Robert I. Aitken
A Creature of God

What struck me about Aitken's work was his ability to convey the effect of transformation through his sculpture. The pieces he creates literally look like the subjects are emergine out from the rock. They take this form and thus show themselves less as a construct of humans but something that was there the entirety of the rock's existence. This idea assumes, thus, that art is in fact something which is not necessarily created by the artist and generation which it evolves in, but instead unearthed or rediscoverd by that artist.

Aitken's work has led me bak to the association of art and philosophy. I have previously discussed parallels with famed philosopher Immanuel Kant, and now I must make the connection with one of kAnt's descendant, german idealist Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. Schelling was a lover of Art, claiming that the creation of art is one of, if not the highest goal of humanity. Of course, many famed scholars and philosophers praised art, but where Schelling connects to Aitken is not only that they were both active around the same time period, but more precisely in why Schelling attributes so much significance to art. 

It was Schelling's belief that in the creation of art, the creator acts as a connection to the divine in his execution of his work. In the act of creating art, he experiences a disconnect from the material world and as a result what he creates is not only through him, but a message in some ways from a greater power. 

The ways in which Aitken's sculptures appear as if they are just being uncovered by the artist and not necessarily "created" goes along well with Schelling's theories on the creation of art. When looking at Aitken's work, it is easy to imagine this process as a transcendent one.

Further, in the creation of art, we must ask based off of Schelling's assertions, is creating art really a choice, and are we as humans entitled to even say what is art, or must it be experienced with some divine context in order to be quantified as "art"? Perhaps in the new visual building, it will create an environment which these questions can be asked.