Creative Project - Photography

All Images Copyright 2013 - Mike Busby

A Study of Creativity - Vik Muniz - Sugar Children - Abraham Maslow

The Study of Creativity

Examining creativity and personal growth are difficult subjects of study.  They are elusive, subjective and easily misinterpreted.   Theories on creativity range from divine revelation to conscious deliberation.  When dealing with creative theory, it can be helpful to isolate a work of art and evaluate it against a reputable theory.  Vik Muniz’s Sugar Children is a respected collection of photographs reflective of the human condition.  The artist’s life and narrative are essential aspects for understanding the work’s depth and Muniz’s creativity.  Abraham Maslow’s theory of creativity, from “Creativity in Self-Actualizing People,” is primarily based on the artist’s personality and secondarily on their achievements.  Maslow’s theory is well suited to isolate the creative aspects of Muniz’s Sugar Children.  More specifically, Maslow’s theory, as applied to Muniz’s Sugar Children, will reveal that Muniz crosses the threshold of self-actualizing integrated creativity, and the theory will illustrate how integrated creativity promotes personal growth.

The analysis will address key aspects of Maslow’s theory, a review of Muniz’s Sugar Children, and a comparative analysis between Muniz’s work and Maslow’s theory.  The analysis will illustrate Muniz’s use of primary, secondary, and integrated creativity in the formation of Muniz’s Sugar Children.   

 Maslow’s theory suggests creativity manifests in people who are self-actualizing, and it stresses people’s personalities rather than their achievements (144).  In other words, personality traits become causal factors encouraging creativity, and they serve as the genesis for creative acts.  Maslow theorized that the normal adjustments for average people create a split within them (141).  More specifically, “It means that the person turns his back on much in himself because it [raw human nature] is dangerous” (141).  Through this process, people tend to suppress play, enthusiasm, humor, and imagination that are essential elements relative to creativity (141).   People who are self-actualizing embrace the positive traits and as a result, their creative acts heal the inner split and the person moves towards wholeness (141).  Maslow’s ideas are holistic in their approach and suggest self-actualizing creativity is a state of being that promotes healing and   conducive to personal growth.

Muniz’s Sugar Children is an impressive work of art that reveals the personality and state of being for Muniz.  On its own, the work reveals intimate portraits of children drawn in sugar.  The power of the work and creativity is revealed through Muniz’s narrative.  In 1995, Muniz vacationed at the island of St. Kitts, and over time, befriended several children (Muniz Reflex 59).  Muniz writes, “I knew each of their names and a few things about their personalities” (59).  He was invited to meet their parents and immediately saw a strong contrast.  He notes the children exhibited a “sweet demeanor” and the parents were “weary and bitter” (59).  The parent’s demeanor was the result of “long, backbreaking hours of labor at the sugar-cane plantation for meager, survival based-salary” (59).   Muniz had photographed the children, and upon returning to New York, purchased black paper and sugar to be used as mediums for the creation of the portraits.  When he was done with a portrait, he would photograph it, move the sugar into a jar and then label the jar with an image of the child.

Muniz pondered the future lives of the children when he returned to New York.  In addition, he had read a poem that spoke to the origins of sugar and sugar plantations.  Muniz writes, “The radiant childhood of those youngsters would almost certainly be transformed by sugar; those children would become merely the residue of the sugar we consume” (Muniz Reflex 60).    He also notes, “I knew that some mysterious, poisonous potion would transform those bright eyed island children and give them their parents’ aspect of hopelessness” (60).   It is reasonable to state that using sugar, the commodity having a profound impact on the lives of the children, was a highly inspiring and creative act. 

Muniz’s experience is reflective of Maslow’s first level of creativity, that is, primary creativity.  Maslow suggests that creative people in this phase are spontaneous and open to new experiences, exercise sophisticated minds and possess an “easy kind of freedom” with their expression (136-137).  He writes, “ … this is precisely what the great artist does.  He is able to bring together clashing colors, forms that fight each other, dissonances, of all kinds, into a unity” (139).  The sugar images pair universal themes.  It represents the sweetness of the children against the bitterness of the parents.  It shows the hardships of a people against the luxury and indifference of the final consumer.  Most importantly, as described by Vanessa Silberman, “Muniz’s use of sugar, a perishable substance, to represent the children accentuates their precarious future, leaving the impression that they are destined to be consumed, disposed of, and ultimately forgotten” (170).  Muniz refers to the final jars, with the children’s portraits, as urns (Muniz Reflex 60).   The exploitation of a people, for a commodity, is a universal theme.  It can be applied to the diamond mines in Africa, gold mines in Brazil, or migrant workers in America.  The power of Muniz’s Sugar Children is the direct projection of hardship on the innocence of childhood.  Maslow’s notion that primary creativity is predominantly based on the artist’s personality is reflected by Muniz’s own words: “The artist simply has to portray the world as he sees it” (Silberman 170).  Muniz’s creative inspiration came from new experiences, the formation of personal relationships, his outlook on the world and his ability to reflect on the humanity of others.  Muniz’s traits illustrate the application of Maslow’s theory of primary creativity.

The next phase of Maslow’s theory is secondary creativity.  Maslow identifies this stage as the hard work and it is reflective of craft and production (142).  The artist needs to apply his learned skills to compose, produce and present his work, in a manner that communicates the artist’s message.  As Maslow writes, “A peak-experience happens to a person, but the person makes the product great” (143).  A subjective viewing of the work reveals striking black and white portraits displaying life-like images indicative of artistic knowledge and craft.  An objective view reveals that Muniz’s Sugar Children received favorable reviews, and it has had numerous showings at prestigious museums throughout the world (Muniz Reflex).  In short, Muniz’s Sugar Children is recognized internationally as a respected artistic collection, and it establishes that Muniz’s craft meets the expectations of secondary creativity.

The final element to Maslow’s theory is integrated creativity.  Primary creativity can be applied to anyone that demonstrates insights, inspiration and creativity.  It can be associated with a child like creativity that has no fear of expression (Maslow 142).  Secondary creativity speaks to succeeding on the initial inspiration, and it is associated with production, construction and scientific experimentation (142).  Integrated creativity is, “That creativity which uses both types of process easily and well, in good fusion or in good succession” (142).   Muniz is consistent in his account of Sugar Children through his books, lectures and interviews.  The creative act is revealed as an experience, a genuine exploration of people, the strike of inspiration and the physical work that goes into the making of a great piece of art (Muniz Reflex 59-63).  Muniz implies a linear and natural ease with the creation of the project. Understanding the meaning of the work, in conjunction with his artistic craft, demonstrates the seamless fusion of Maslow’s primary and secondary creativity into integrated creativity.  Muniz’s Sugar Children clearly illustrates Maslow’s theory of creativity in self-actualizing people.

The larger theme of Maslow’s theory of creativity speaks to personal growth and wholeness of an individual (145).   The elements of Muniz’s Sugar Children, identified by Maslow’s theory, can be applied to later works of Muniz that speak to the human condition.  Muniz writes, “ … for the first time ever I felt they were something to be really proud of” (Muniz Reflex 60).  He also writes that this work started “ … [a] series of collaborations with children that have increasingly nurtured my work” (60).  He would travel to São Paulo to photograph homeless children.  However, he first had to build trust with the children, and then he showed them iconic portraits because the children had never posed for a photograph (64).   The pairings were the forgotten against the famous, poverty against wealth, and “the still-living child inside those weary little grown-ups” (64).  The theme of expressing pairings, through unique mediums, continued with his work on Wasteland (Muniz) and Pictures of Diamonds (Muniz).  In addition, working with sugar and constantly licking his fingers, would inspire future works with chocolate, peanut butter and spaghetti as artistic mediums.  Muniz possesses a natural process of experience, human connections and unique mediums to articulate his portrayal of the world.  He wrote that Sugar Children (Muniz Sugar) was the start of something that nurtured his work.  It is reasonable to infer the experience with the children of St. Kitts generated a process allowing Muniz greater personal insights and the ability to more fully explore the human condition.  These are elements directly associated with Maslow’s greater theme of wholeness and personal growth.

Exploring the nature of creativity is subjective and elusive.  Numerous competing opinions and theories exacerbate an already nebulous field of study.  However, there are theories and artists that stand apart.  They reflect the realization of creativity and provide a substantive approach to its study.  Vik Muniz’s Sugar Children is the realization of an expression speaking to the heart of humanity.  Abraham Maslow’s theory on creativity provides tools to explore the successful elements of a creative artist through their work.  Together, Muniz and Maslow provide insights to the nature of creativity and how creativity can lead to deep personal growth.

Works Cited

Maslow, Abraham. “Creativity in Self-Actualizing People.” Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1968. 135-145. Print.

Muniz, Vik. Pictures of Diamond. 2004. Private Collection. Reflex A Vik Muniz Primer. New York: Aperture Foundation. 2005. 97-99. Print.

---. Reflex A Vik Muniz Primer. New York: Aperture Foundation. 2005. Print.

---. Sugar Children. 1995. Private Collection. Reflex A Vik Muniz Primer. New York: Aperture Foundation. 2005. 60-63. Print.

---. “Vik Muniz: Art with Wire, Sugar, Chocolate and String.” TED. The Sapling Foundation. April 2007. Web. June 5, 2013.

---. Wasteland. Dir. Lucy Walker. Perf. Vik Muniz. Arthouse Films. 2010. Film

Silberman, Vanessa. “Vik Muniz’s Ten Ten’s Weed Necklace.” Gastronomica 7.3. (2007) 170-173. Web. 12 June 2013.

Mike's Theory of Creativity

A Theory of Creativity

            Developing a theory of creativity may seem like a daunting task, but in reality, it is not so difficult.   People tend to contextualize creativity with great discoveries, artistic works and powerful forms of self-expression.  However, this is not entirely accurate.  Creativity is a system of thought reflective of our inner nature.  Creativity is the force that forms meaning and relationships, it embraces the vast resources of the human mind, it is infused by imagination, and most importantly, it is fully authentic.

            Creativity forms meaning through the processes of recognition and interpretation.  R.W. Gerard would use the terms gestalts and closure (240-243).  People tend to view the world with incomplete information.  There is what we can perceive, the known, and that which is hidden, or the unknown.  There is usually enough information that one can fill in the blanks with assumptions based on past experiences and memories.  This is called closure and the process forms gestalts, or completed ideas of things (Gerard 241).  Rollo May supports this notion, “Incomplete gestalts form whenever we encounter something we do not understand” (131).  A foundational base for a theory suggests creative acts occur during the formation of meaning, as well as the expression of ideas.  I theorize that highly creative people tend to slow down the processes of closure and infuse their imagination during the formation of meaning and expression.  I surmise that many of their memories are infused with creative metaphors that tend to fuel future creative expressions. 

The creative mind can draw from the vast resources of the human mind.  May writes that the forming and reforming of our world uses the totality of our person (133).  If the totality of the individual can be used, then one can identify reason, emotion, dream, myth, intuition and faith as cognitive tools of creation.  In addition, Einstein wrote that he thought in symbols and images (32).  This speaks to sensory memories as systems of thought rather than language.  I believe that thinking, through the use of sensory memory, is part of our everyday experience, but it is over shadowed by language and conscious thought.  This might explain why people have to be distracted, or achieve subdued states of mind, in order to receive communication from their deeper selves. I also theorize that communicating to this level could describe the notions of the collective unconscious.  It is not so much we are sharing residual memories, but we are sharing and accessing more primal modes of communication.  I add to my theory that highly creative people have more access to forms of communication that include sensory memory and more interpretative tools outside the realms of reason and conscious thought. 

 The forces of imagination and choice seem to determine creative ability and expression.  May wrote, “Imagination is the key function that participates in the formation of reality” (133).   Gerard summarizes that the imagination is the premise, or the question, and reason forms the conclusion, or the answer (238).   The idea is that how far one is willing to stretch the imagination, during closure, determines the level of creative interpretation and expression.  Highly creative people are freer and more willing to stretch their imagination in their efforts to interpret and describe their world.  

            The use of the term choice requires some context.  Choice is the central theme of The Courage to Create (May).  May argues that one should choose to act on life, rather than passively accept one’s circumstances (11).  It is reasonable to infer that our attitudes toward encounters impact the storage of our memories.  Again, we find notions speaking to creativity during observation and interpretation.  May writes to the creative encounter as the start of the creative process (41).  Gerard speaks to observation as being the tool to reveal understanding (236).  Paul Valery writes that questions spark the creative mind (105).   May, Gerard, and Valery speak to an inquisitive mind seeking the unknown.  They speak to a mind that uses discovery as a way to generate deeper questions of exploration.  In this context, choice becomes reflective of attitude and outlook towards one’s world.  The more one openly and honestly engages with their world seems to influence their level of creative potential.

            Perhaps the most powerful aspect of any creative theory is the notion of authenticity.  Conviction and validation are companions of deep insight.  The subconscious realm is not inhabited by shades of doubt or abstract negatives.  When the unconscious speaks, it speaks to what it believes to be true.  It speaks to its experiences and its inner nature.  Unconscious expression by its nature is reflective only of itself, and therefore it is completely authentic.  Maya Angelou once said, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”  Maslow enhances this poetic insight by writing to the inner nature.  He notes that everyone has an intrinsic nature that seems to be unchanging (3).  He writes, “It is weak and delicate and subtle and easily overcome by habit, cultural pressure, and wrong attitudes toward it” (4).  Unfortunately, cultural pressures and wrong attitudes towards the individual accurately and uncomfortably describe our consumer culture.  However, everyone wants to be heard, to be valued and to have a sense of contribution to something larger.  Creativity is more than the flash of revelation; it is our intrinsic curiosity that relishes in discovery and thrives in the unknown.  Creative expression is our unique story, and it is our song that wants to be sung.

            The best way to describe my creative theory is to apply it to my process.  Most of my better photographs tend to be from found scenes, rather than constructed images.   I tend to search for encounters and I rely heavily on visual stimulus, faith and intuition.  Upon finding a scene, I explore it, and it usually takes a while for a scene to reveal itself.  When I am in the creative mode, the initial scene becomes an incomplete gestalt.  The experience of the encounter is felt through sensory memory as language dissipates through observation.  The process of closure is slowed through questions.  This is the opportunity to stretch the imagination around the ideas of new perspectives and alternate points of view.  Metaphors, myth and cultural ideas are explored during the encounter.  Sometimes deeper meaning is captured, and sometimes it is not.

            The difficult part of creativity is conveying what was experienced into something the viewer can share.   My creative toolbox uses the conscious and the unconscious.  It uses the culmination of my experience inline with dream, myth, reason and faith.  It has technical knowledge and craft along with poetic expression to will visions into existence.  All of these tools work together in the attempt to create an image capable of speaking to the sensory memories and emotive feelings in others.  I have maintained that I attempt to include mystery and secrets within my imagery.  This allows a connection in which the viewer can interpret works through the infusion of their own experiences and imaginations.  Mystery speaks to things unknown, and secrets are things revealed, but not shared.   The unknown fuels creativity, and my nature speaks to creating images through curiosity and exploration.  When successful, my imagery sparks the creative drive in others.   

            Creativity is not an isolated function of the psyche solely possessed by artists.  Creativity is the forge of human understanding and expression.  It is the system of thought reflective of our inner nature, and it is limited only by how far one is willing to learn and express their authentic selves.  Angelou was right that everyone has a song to sing, and creativity is the flicker of life that composes our uniqueness and lets our songs be sung.

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya.  Maya Angelou Quotes. N.d. Web. 5 Aug 2013. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/737-a-bird-doesn-t-sing-because-it-has-an-answer-it

Einstein, Albert. “Letter to Jacques Hadamard.” The Creative Process: A Symposium. Ed. Brewster Ghislen. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1985. 32-33. Print.

Gerard, R.W. “The Biological Basis of Imagination.” The Creative Process: A Symposium. Ed. Brewster Ghislen. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1985. 236-259. Print.

Maslow, Abraham.  Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. 1968. Print.

May, Rollo. The Courage to Create. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1975. 11-54. Print.

Spender, Stephen. “The Making of a Poem.” The Creative Process: A Symposium. Ed. Brewster Ghislen.  Berkeley: University of California Press. 1985. 113-126. Print.
Valery, Paul. “The Course in Poetics: First Lesson.” The Creative Process: A Symposium. Ed. Brewster Ghislen. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1985. 92-105. Print.

Mike's Theory of Art

A Theory of Art

Developing a practical theory of art is quite the challenge.  People have their own opinions, and they are quick to dismiss alternate points of view.  Even among the great minds questions abound as to the nature of art.   Is great art truth?  Is it beauty?  Should art reflect a great idea, or should it merely make one happy?  It is easier to approach the nature of art by observing what it is rather than what it serves.  Art is fundamentally a communication.  It is form given to an idea and then shared with an audience.   This essay will explore the nature of art; where it comes from and how relationships form between artists, their craft and the viewers.  Along the way, we will explore the ideas of beauty and truth as they apply to art.  And finally, we will visit the possibilities of art and establish the characteristics and guidelines that reveal its full potential.

John Dewey’s insights to the origins of art are practical and thoughtful.  He suggests that art manifests from the “everyday processes of life.”  People do not live within themselves.  Our bodies and senses are designed to interact and adapt to the external environment.  Exchanges with the environment become the forge of human experiences, and it is our nature to resolve life’s disruptions with creative resolutions (Dewey).  It is through the “rhythmic crises that punctuate the stream of living” (Dewey) and honest reflection of our actions that generate creative acts.  I begin my theory that art is form given to ideas that manifest from experiences, responses and reflections of everyday life.

There is a tendency to objectify art, rather than experience it.  We frequently read about the monetary value collected from auctions.  It is also our tendency to evaluate works based on our likes or dislikes.  As noted by Immanuel Kant, people tend to talk about beauty as a “quality of the object” rather than their thoughts or feelings inspired by the object.  Friedrich Schiller, G.W.F. Hegel and Martin Heidegger share the idea that art is not in the art-object.    

So, from where does the art come?  Heidegger suggested that art does not come from the objects within a work, but from their relationships with the human experience.  R. G. Collingwood supports this notion as he viewed objects as conduits of understanding to the artist’s experiences and insights.  Finally, from the ancient Greeks, we hear Plotinus’s eloquent view that the beauty in things reveal aspects of the human soul.  All of these philosophers suggest that art does not reside in the physical, but in the abstract reflections of human relationships and experiences.   I add to my theory that the real craft of art, the real finesse, lies in the artist’s ability to generate abstract ideas from the physical objects that reside in their works.

The artist acts as a translator when forming works.  However, their craft must manifest in ways to establish relationships with the viewers.  The viewer needs to exercise the same tools to interpret works as the artist used to create them.  Several Philosophers provide insight to the workings of interpretation.  Hegel noted that meaning is formed through the representations and relationships of the objects.  Beauty and meaning are formed by engaging the senses, feeling, intuition and the imagination.  Schiller referred to the interpretative process as the aesthetic mode, and it uses semblance and the imagination to translate the reality of objects into abstractions.  And Kant used the idea of free play to let the viewer form “explanations of an objects possibility” without the use of cognitive intent.  In other words, art speaks to the viewer’s senses and free roaming associations by ignoring conscious awareness and reason.  The viewer produces meaning relative to how the object connects with man, or with greater works, how the objects reproduce meaning as experienced by the artist.

The use of free play and the aesthetic mode are intrinsic to man.  Aristotle wrote that we learn by imitations and that they “tickle the mind.”  Plotinus noted that the soul becomes “delighted and thrilled” when it “remembers itself” through interpretations and associations.  Hegel described the effect as being struck by a “sensuous reality” that generates deeper meaning and brings people closer to nature.  One can also draw from their own experiences from their feelings of awe and conviction when struck by inspiration and personal insights.  Art is in the craft and the ideas.  However, the craft needs to engage and encourage the viewer to form meaning through semblance and imagination.

Truth is perhaps the most misconstrued word in the art world, and its language inhibits the full realization of art’s possibilities.  One reason is the inundation of relentless rhetoric that claims to be the truth, but is nothing more than thinly veiled forms of persuasion.  Also, social convention recognizes and prizes the superficial over honest reflection. Truth, in art, means an honest experience, encounter or insight.  This may occur as a flash of inspiration by the artist, or it might be a realization experienced by the viewer.  Hegel noted that fine art occurs when the work honestly reflects the human condition or deeper levels of understanding.  Schiller was open in his view that people using honest semblance, the very essence of the aesthetic mode, tend to see past the superficial and search for deeper and more satisfying elements of life.  He also viewed public opinion, the reliance on the material, or reliance on the purely conceptual as threats and inhibitors to honest reflections.  Truth, for my theory of art, means an honest experience, revelation or insight.

Beauty, like truth, is also misconstrued.  Its confusion lies with its history, and it lies with personal interpretations of what beauty is.  The ancient Greeks formed direct associations of beauty to mean virtue, or higher truths.  Plotinus reflects the ideas of the time; that beauty reflected things that were good, and things that were good were closer to virtue and to god.  Today, people view beauty as those characteristics that are desirable to us.   Clive Bell affirms this notion in that conventional beauty is attributed to desire and to objects.  Dewey noted that people tended to objectify art and reduce works to objects of beauty and desire.  As discussed earlier, art is a communication, and the work is merely a medium to express an experience.  As such, beauty is not the art as it emphasizes the object, rather than the abstraction.  However, beauty is a powerful tool that can engage viewers and helps them realize the significance of a work of art.  Kant described charms as color, contrast, tones and other elements that make the work easier to see, and they excite and maintain the viewer’s gaze.  Though a touch out of context, I further my theory and adopt Kant’s notions of charms and use them in place of beauty.  It is a reminder that beauty serves art rather than defining it.

 We now have a functioning theory art.  It is form given to an experience, and it is inspired by everyday living, encounters and reflections.  Free play is a mode of interpretation where the viewer forms meaning through sensation and imagination, rather than conscious reasoning.  Truth in art refers to an honest insight or experience from the artist, or a revelation by the viewer.   Beauty is the charms used to draw attention to the artwork and help reveal the experiences of the artist.  What is still needed is an understanding of what exactly is good art.

The term good art is used with some specificity.   Dewey wrote that art could contribute directly to the enrichment of life.  Aristotle advised art could invoke recognitions that change ignorance to knowledge, and most importantly, Hegel suggested that art stimulates the creative imagination to move people beyond themselves.  People do not live independent of their environment; they live in relation to it.  Things that affirm one’s identity, beliefs or makes them happy does not move them forward.  Human enrichment comes from those moments where people can see beyond themselves and make new connections with others and their environment.   Human enrichment is growth through new experiences and understanding.  If art is a communication, then the best art serves to communicate honest experiences and insights in a way that encourages the viewer to reflect and grow.  Heidegger got it right when he wrote that art creates worlds for people to explore the essence of things, and their relationships to the environment and the human condition.  

Returning to beauty and truth, beauty tends to isolate its subjects, and it speaks to the individual because it is based in personal preferences.  Honest truth tends to reflect significant experiences that reveal relationships and deeper connections.  It allows people to look beyond their self, and see how they relate to the rest of the world.  Working together, beauty has the capacity to draw attention to the work, and allow the honest truth to shine.  The full power of great art allows us to interpret the world from another perspective that is fully authentic, and in doing so, we gain deeper insights into ourselves, other cultures, and the world.   By the very nature of humanity, we all share in the same struggles of life; the source of the creative experience and the raw materials of artistic ideas.    

Art serves many purposes.  It can be appreciated for just its beauty, or to affirm a belief or consumed as enjoyment.  It can be a great work, or it can be a child with a box of crayons. However, the full potential of art is realized through its ability to project experiences and give us insights to other views.  Art is a communication.  It is form given to an idea.  It uses honest experiences and beauty to share meaning and enjoyment.  Most importantly, art unites us, as it is through the struggles of life that art becomes universal; where notions of personal preferences and want are replaced with shared experiences of human exploration and discovery.

  

Works Cited

Aristotle. Poetics. Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Sept 1, 2013

Bell, Clive. “The Aesthetic Hypothesis.” Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Oct 28, 2013.

Collingwood, R.G. The Principles of Art.   Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Nov 13, 2013

Dewey, John. Art as Experience. Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Nov 6, 2013

Hegel, G.W.F. Introduction to Aesthetics. Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Sept 1, 2013

Heidegger, Martin. “The Origin of the Work of Art.”  Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Nov 13, 2013

Kant, Immanuel. “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment.” Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Sept 8, 2013

Plotinus. Enneads. Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Sept 1, 2013

Schiller, Friedrich. “On the Aesthetic Education of Man.” Art 623, Aesthetics. Tiffin University. N.d. Web.  Sept 15, 2013