Life and achievements
Early life
Arthur Coleman Danto was born on January 1, 1924, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but grew up in Detroit. He was raised in a Reform Jewish household and had early exposure to art, particularly painting and printmaking. Danto began his education at Wayne State University in 1947 and had initially planned to be an artist. However, he changed his focus to philosophy to influence the rest of his academic life. He was especially interested in the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre, who would become essential to his further philosophical investigation of art and culture.
After finishing his undergraduate studies, Danto graduated with a degree in philosophy from Columbia University. His education was cut short by a Fulbright Scholarship, which enabled him to live in Paris. There, he was exposed to the intellectual and artistic life after the Second World War. This exposure to European philosophy, especially existentialism and phenomenology, influenced him a lot. After returning to the United States, Danto finished his Ph.D. at Columbia and joined the faculty in 1951.
Danto’s early philosophical work was on the philosophy of history and action theory, that is, how actions are portrayed within the context of history. However, his encounter with Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes in 1964 led him to the philosophy of art, and he became interested in the question of what makes something a piece of art. This was a significant event in his career and paved the way for formulating his most famous theories.
Legacy
The philosophical work of Arthur Danto revolves around the philosophy of art and his theory of the “end of art.” This theory revolutionized the notion of art in the contemporary world by positing that art does not progress historically and that any object can be considered art if it carries meaning. Danto’s works opposed the conventional concepts of aesthetics; he moved the discussion from beauty and appearance to context and understanding. His work focused on the theoretical approach to the definition of art, which is still relevant in both academic discourse and popular perception of contemporary art.
Danto is a philosopher and an art critic, and his ideas can be seen in the art world. He served as the art critic for The Nation for over a quarter of a century and contributed much to the debate on contemporary art. His critiques were always very profound and gave a lot of philosophical analysis of the works of artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Danto’s work was unique in that he could integrate philosophy into art criticism, and thus, his writings could be easily understood by anyone interested in art.
Danto’s concept of the “end of art” and his account of the function of the art world have shaped the way we think about contemporary art production, presentation, and reception. His concept of pluralism in the post-historical period of art allows for a broader definition of what art is and can be. This has created new avenues of art, and thus, Danto’s work is as significant today as it was during his lifetime.
Milestone moments
Nov 29, 1964
I met Warhol’s Brillo Boxes
It was in 1964 when Danto faced Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes at the Stable Gallery; this experience changed his philosophical approach to art.
This idea of Warhol’s art being indiscernible from other objects.
This encounter led Danto to write what is arguably his most well-known paper, The Artworld, in which he argued that art cannot be defined by its physical properties but by.
The Brillo Boxes moment transformed Danto’s career and work from the philosophy of history and action to aesthetics and the philosophy of art, culminating in the “end of art” theory.
Oct 12, 1974
Publication of Analytical Philosophy of Action
The early part of Danto’s philosophical career was devoted to action theory, and his effort in this area was encapsulated in Analytical Philosophy of Action, published in 1974.
This book was also concerned with the nature of action and its ties to history, a subject that would be taken up again in his later work on art.
May 29, 1981
The Transfiguration of the Commonplace
In 1981, Danto published The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, a book on the philosophy of art that developed the ideas in The Artworld. For Danto, art is best characterized by the ability to mean something, and this regardless of the work’s appearance.
The book was revolutionary in its proposition that the mundane items of the world could be turned into art by the simple act of interpretation, something that would become a mainstay of Danto’s philosophy of art.
The Transfiguration of the Commonplace made Danto one of the most influential thinkers in contemporary aesthetics and provided a new perspective for artists and academics.
Mar 29, 1984
Appointed as an Art Critic for The Nation
Danto started writing for The Nation as an art critic in 1984 and continued for more than 25 years. His insightful and philosophical critiques of contemporary art provided readers with a new way of looking at the art world that combined critical thinking with theory.
Danto was one of the most influential art critics of his time. His writings influenced the public’s understanding of art, often explaining concepts difficult for the general public to grasp.
Danto’s time at The Nation enabled him to encounter contemporary art on a daily basis and thus develop his ideas concerning the function of the art world in determining what is art.