The Origin of The Work of Art - Influence and Criticism

Influence and Criticism

A main influence on Heidegger's conception of art was Friedrich Nietzsche. In Nietzsche's The Will to Power, Heidegger struggled with his notions about the dynamic of truth and art. Nietzsche contends that art is superior to truth, something Heidegger eventually disagrees with not because of the ordered relationship Nietzsche puts forth but because of the philosopher's definition of truth itself, one he claims is overly traditional. Heidegger, instead, questioned traditional artistic methods. His criticism of museums, for instance, has been widely noted. Critics of Heidegger claim that he employs circuitous arguments and often avoids logical reasoning under the ploy that this is better for finding truth. (In fact, Heidegger is employing a revised version of the phenomenological method; see the hermeneutic circle). Meyer Schapiro argued that the Van Gogh boots discussed are not really peasant boots but those of Van Gogh himself, a detail that would undermine Heidegger's reading. During the 1930's mentions of soil carried connotations which are lost for later readers. Problems with both Heidegger and Schapiro's texts are further discussed in Jacques Derrida's Restitutions - On Truth to Size and in the writing of Babette Babich. A recent refutation of Schapiro's critique has been given by Iain Thomson (2011). Yet, Heidegger's notions about art have made a relevant contribution to discussions on artistic truth. For example, Gadamer uses a lot of Heidegger's work in his book Truth and Method.