The Classification of Visual Art: A Philosophical Myth and its History

This book is an important contribution to the philosophy of art that bridges the disciplines of philosophy and art. It engages with a long-standing debate about what it is that bestows the designation ‘art’ on an artwork. Tiffany Sutton shows how the history of art should influence the classification of visual art. She considers the various theories that have been put forward to define the nature of the artwork and then offers her own set of classificatory norms. Amongst the critical questions that are addressed in the process are: how important is patronage in the contemporary visual arts, and what lends conceptual art its specific aura?

• Bridges disciplines of philosophy and art • An important attempt to answer long-standing questions about the classification of the visual arts • Raises significant questions about patronage in the contemporary visual arts

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. The Historical Basis of the Myth: 1. Juxtapositionality in art history; Part II. The Framing Myth: 2. The Framing Process; 3. Framing in art-historical perspective; Part III. The Myth Framed: 4. Theoretic refinements; Illustrations; Notes; Selected bibliography; Index.