Danto, Arthur

Bio Sketch

Arthur C. Danto (1924–2013) was an American philosopher of art and art critic (Columbia University), best known for his "artworld" theory and the "end of art" thesis, and for analyzing how artworks come to be distinguished from ordinary things. His work subtends the aesthetics of the ready-made and the everyday object.

Key Works

• "The Artworld" (1964) — the theory/artworld as what makes objects art.
• "The Transfiguration of the Commonplace" (1974) and The Transfiguration of the Commonplace (1981) — aboutness, indelibility, and disindistinguishable real objects.
• After the End of Art (1997).

Key Concepts

Concepts associated with this author that have pages in this wiki:

• Everyday Life
• Consumerism

Relevance to Geoffrey's Research

Danto matters to Geoffrey's semiotics & representation and everyday areas: his account of how the ordinary object is "transfigured" into art by the artworld/theory — and (with the ready-made) how the everyday object enters the sphere of art — parallels questions about the "transfiguration" of ordinary buildings into iconic objects and about the institutional determination of value.

Source Support

Source notes in this wiki drawn from this author's work:

• The Transfiguration of the Commonplace