Music, the Realist Conception of Art and the Materialist Conception of History

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-50
Author(s):  
STEPHAN HAMMEL
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Mental Representation ◽  
Real World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Sharp Distinction ◽  
Artistic Representation ◽  
The World ◽  
Marxist Approach ◽  
Realist Conception

AbstractOur fraught political moment is a propitious one for renewing the Marxist approach to music. Because that approach has consistently been folded into a more general Marxist discourse on art and aesthetics, any attempt must begin by revisiting what is essential to that discourse. I take its keystone to be the realist conception of art. This conception holds that artworks are a means by which at least some of their appreciators come to know truths about the world outside consciousness. Insofar as they are representational, painting, fiction, music, and drama potentially constitute vehicles for coming to understand the real world. Artistic representation on this view is understood to be analogous to mental representation.Previous studies of Marxist aesthetics have followed Maurice Merleau-Ponty in making a sharp distinction between ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ branches of the tradition. The Eastern, beleaguered by the exigencies of Communist Party rule is often presented as the corrupt twin of the Western. The latter, developed in relative freedom and informed by a Hegelian legacy suppressed by Stalinism, alone commands theoretical, rather than merely historical, interest. This article departs from this Cold War framework in arguing that the Hegelian strand in Marxist aesthetics grows out of its Bolshevik predecessor and, crucially, shares with it a realist conception of art. After reconstructing the emergence and development of this conception (paying special attention to how music is directly addressed in the literature), I evaluate the compatibility of the realist conception of art with the materialist conception of history as it is found in Marx and Engels. I ultimately argue that moving past the realist conception of art is key to renewing the Marxist approach to music for our time.

scholarly journals The Shanghai News (1950–1952): New Democracy and External Propaganda in Early 1950s Shanghai

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Jonathan J. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Real World ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
English Language ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
The Real ◽  
National Reconstruction ◽  
New Democracy

Abstract The Shanghai News was the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) first English-language newspaper. The News played an important, but forgotten, role in the development of the PRC's “external propaganda” apparatus, used to fight the ideological Cold War. The News was unusual in that it adopted a commercial business model and juxtaposed vehement anti-imperialist propaganda with advertising for multinational companies from “imperialist-capitalist countries.” This article argues that the News was a product of “New Democracy,” the central political paradigm of the PRC between 1949 and 1953. New Democracy, a policy of cross-class cooperation in the name of national reconstruction, is often dismissed as cynical tactic deployed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to diminish resistance during the takeover of China. The author argues for taking the real world impacts of New Democracy on life and work in early 1950s Shanghai seriously and cautions against teleological narratives.

Multiple original spellings, living authors and the Code: The case of Malachius raniansis Mawlood, Hammamurad & Abdulla, 2017 (Coleoptera: Melyridae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4927 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-300
Author(s):  
ISIDOR S. PLONSKI
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Zoological Nomenclature ◽  
International Code ◽  
Present Communication ◽  
The Real ◽  
The World

The present communication is primarily nomenclaturial–classical taxonomy is only touched in a side note on a diagnosis. It uses technical terminology coined by Alain Dubois, who is interested in the study of the concepts and theory of biological nomenclature (i.e. the “objective connection between the real world of populations of organisms and the world of language” (Dubois & Ohler 1997)), and who discusses the current ‘International Code for Zoological Nomenclature’ [hereafter just called ‘the Code’] in great detail. The terms are explained where necessary–but see also the glossaries in Dubois et al. (2019) and the works by A. Dubois cited below. 

scholarly journals Fantasy in Literature: A Symbiotic Relation to the Real

Pravaha ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-123
Author(s):  
Lekha Nath Dhakal
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Real World ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
External Reality ◽  
The Real ◽  
Fantasy Fiction ◽  
Fantastic Fiction ◽  
Artistic Representation ◽  
Symbiotic Relation

This article attempts to explore the use of fantasy in literature and how it has attained the position of a literary category in the twentieth century. This work also concerns how as the form literature, it functions between wonderful and imitative to combine the elements of both. The article reveals that wonderful represents supernatural atmospheres and events. The story-telling is unrealistic which represents impossibility as it creates a wonderland. In the imitative or the realistic mode, the narrative imitates external reality. In it, the characters and situations are ordinary and real. Fantasy in literature does not escape the reality. It occurs in an interdependent relation to the real. In other words, the fantastic cannot exist independently of the real world that limits it. The use of fantastic mode in literature interrupts the conventional artistic representation and reproduction of perceivable reality. It embodies the reality and transgresses the standards of literary forming. It normally includes a variety of fictional works which use the supernatural and actually natural as well. The developers of fantasy fiction are fairy tales, science fiction about future wars and future world. A major instinct of fantastic fiction is the violence threatened by capitalist violation of personality that is spreading universally.

scholarly journals Neither a New Cold War nor a New Peloponnesian War: The Emerging Cyber-narrative Competition at the Heart of Sino-American Relations

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-264
Author(s):  
Nicholas Ross Smith ◽  
Ruairidh J. Brown
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Real World ◽  
The United States ◽  
Peloponnesian War ◽  
The Real ◽  
Current State ◽  
Thucydides Trap ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Industrial Revolutions

There is much pessimism as to the current state of Sino-American relations, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. Such pessimism has led to some scholars and commentators asserting that the Sino-American relationship is on the cusp of either a new Cold War or, even more alarmingly, something akin to the Peloponnesian War (via a Thucydides Trap) whereby the United States might take pre-emptive measures against China. This article rejects such analogizing and argues that, due to important technological advancements found at the intersection of the digital and fourth industrial revolutions, most of the real competition in the relationship is now occurring in cyberspace, especially with regards to the aim of asserting narratives of truth. Two key narrative battlegrounds that have raged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are examined: where was the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic? and who has had the most successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic?. This article shows that Sino-American competition in cyberspace over asserting their narratives of truth (related to the COVID-19 pandemic) is fierce and unhinged. Part of what is driving this competition is the challenging domestic settings politicians and officials find themselves in both China and the United States, thus, the competing narratives being asserted by both sides are predominately for domestic audiences. However, given that cyberspace connects states with foreign publics more intimately, the international aspect of this competition is also important and could result in further damage to the already fragile Sino-American relationship. Yet, whether this competition will bleed into the real world is far from certain and, because of this, doomsaying via historical analogies should be avoided.

scholarly journals Biblical Inspirations in Nikifor’s Paintings

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Wałczyk
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
The Self ◽  
Creative Activity ◽  
The Real ◽  
Ideal World ◽  
The World ◽  
Biblical Anthropology ◽  
Divine Order ◽  
The Ideal

Nikifor Krynicki (Epifaniusz Drowniak, 1895-1968) was one of the most popular non-academic Polish painters worldwide. To show the biblical inspiration in his creative output I chose two categories from various thematic aspects: self-portraits and landscapes with a church. There are plenty of Nikifor’s paintings showing him as a teacher, as a celebrating priest, as a bishop, or even as Christ. A pop­ular way to explain this idea of self-portraits is a psychological one: as a form of auto-therapy. This analysis is aims to show a deeper expla­nation for the biblical anthropology. Nikifor’s self-portraits as a priest celebrating the liturgy are a symbol of creative activity understood as a divine re-creation of the world. Such activity needs divine inspira­tion. Here are two paintings to recall: Potrójny autoportret (The triple self-portrait) and Autoportret w trzech postaciach (Self-portrait in three persons). The proper way to understand the self-identification with Christ needs a reference to biblical anthropology. To achieve our re­al-self we need to identify with Christ, whose death and resurrection bring about our whole humanity. The key impression we may have by showing Nikifor’s landscapes with a church is harmony. The painter used plenty of warm colors. Many of the critics are of the opinion that Nikifor created an imaginary, ideal world in his landscapes, the world he wanted to be there and not the real world. The thesis of this article is that Nikifor created not only the ideal world, but he also showed the source of the harmony – the divine order.

Playing With Time: An Analysis of Time and Space in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Lawrie
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
The Real ◽  
Opening Scene ◽  
The World

In this paper I will examine the multiple layers of time within Tom Stoppard’s play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Typically, a script plays with two definitions of the term: stage time being that of the audience and the “real world,” and dramatic time, the passing of time within the world of the play and the characters’ lives. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is unique in its multitude of times, each occupying its own space within the story. Hamlet resides in a time that extends beyond that of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, while presenting the same story through different characters. When are these stories presented harmoniously, and when can gaps be found between the two plays in terms of time? In contrast, the play‐within‐a‐play presented in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, titled “The Murder of Gonzago,” represents the story even prior to the opening scene of Hamlet and has an omniscient quality, presenting elements of both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Though this play‐within‐a‐play represents the longest view of the overlapping stories, it is presented in the shortest amount of time. “The Murder of Gonzago” plays with the limitations of time and space and the acknowledgment of their presentation in theatrical terms. Throughout the paper I will determine the overlapping nature of times within the plays, how they are structured around one another, and what this symbolises for both the spaces of each play and the characters within.  

Augmented Reality and Experiences

2019 ◽  
pp. 66-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabha Selvaraj ◽  
Sumathi Doraikannan ◽  
Anantha Raman Rathinam ◽  
Balachandrudu K. E.
Keyword(s):  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Real World ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Handheld Devices ◽  
The Real ◽  
The World ◽  
Extensive Range ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Medicine Education

Today technology evolves in two different directions. The first one is to create a new technology for our requirement and solve the problem, and the second one is to do it with the existing technology. This chapter will discuss in detail augmented reality and its use in the real world and also its application domains like medicine, education, health, gaming, tourism, film and entertainment, architecture, and development. Many think that AR is only for smartphones, but there are different ways to enhance the insight of the world. Augmented realities can be presented on an extensive range of displays, monitors, screens, handheld devices, or glasses. This chapter will provide the information about the key components of AR devices. This chapter gives a view on different types of AR and also projects how the technology can be adapted for multiple purposes based on the required type of view.

Inception and the Arts

Inception ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 95-98
Author(s):  
David Carter
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Visual Simulation ◽  
Francis Bacon ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
Indirect Reference

This chapter looks at the specific artistic references in Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010). One artist is referred to by indirect reference and visual simulation of some of his works, and another is paid homage to by the inclusion of one of his works in a scene. The artists in question are M.C. Escher and Francis Bacon. The Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, famous for his works featuring constructions which would be impossible in the real world, is not directly named in the film, but he is referred to indirectly by the mention of a phenomenon which he utilised in his work: the so-called 'Penrose Steps'. Meanwhile, in a sequence in which Cobb is talking to Mal, there is a painting visible on the wall of the room, Bacon's Study for a head of George Dyer, 1967. Nolan clearly shares some perspectives on the world with Bacon: a fascination with distorted reality, a sense of horror as in a nightmare, and, in some cases, the real world being actually torn apart.

The Road Map

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-65
Author(s):  
Emma Gee
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Real Space ◽  
Imaginary World ◽  
Spatial Expression ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Map ◽  
The World

This chapter studies the underworld journey of Virgil, Aeneid 6. It examines a series of possible models for afterlife space in Aen. 6. In particular it looks at the underworld journey of Aen. 6 in the light of ancient geographical traditions. We learn that a point-by-point idiom of representing space was much more widespread than you might imagine in antiquity. It’s found across many different genres, involving real and imagined space: geography, poetry, and art. The author argues that idioms of spatial expression are constant across representations of imagined and real space and across image and text. It is possible for Virgil to use the components of a “real” geography to construct his imaginary world. The afterlife is modeled on our concept of the “real” world, but in turn the “reality” we model it on is in large part a construct of the human artistic imagination, of our propenstiy for simplification and schematization. Like a map, the afterlife landscape allows us to simplify and schematize our environment, because it imposes no limits: it is imaginary. The afterlife landscape, in Virgil and elsewhere, acts as a fulcrum between real and imaginary space. There is no strict dichotomy between real and imagined space; instead there is a continuity between the “imagined” space of Virgil’s underworld, and the space of geographical accounts; between the world of the soul and the “real” world.

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