I remember seeing a news story about an artist taping a banana to a wall in a very expensive art gallery. The banana taped to the wall was then sold for some insane sum of money. And as if they story wasn’t already hilarious enough, someone took a bite out of the now sold banana art. I found the story ridiculous. How far has art come that a banana taped to a wall can be considered art? I was baffled, but then I remembered that art, is in fact subjective. And if this was a news story, it certainly wasn’t just me that wondered how this could be considered art. However, my bafflement is certainly supported by Tolstoy’s measure for good art, but also not, because the viewer who spent this much on art may have felt this infection of emotion that Tolstoy outlines while looking at that banana.

The standard of infectiousness is essentially the degree to which the viewer of the art is affected or taken by the art they see. It is a communal feeling that everyone who views the piece of art receives, and the stronger this feeling is, the better the art is. He outlines three standards:

1. On the greater or lesser individuality of the feeling transmitted;
2. on the greater or lesser clearness with which the feeling is transmitted;
3. on the sincerity of the artist, i.e., on the greater or lesser force with which the artist himself feels the emotion he transmits.

This feeling of unity is certainly something I can see in art. Art can convey emotion and feeling, a sense of empathy for the human condition, that certain other things cannot. I find his last condition, #32, to be quite interesting. He states that “he receiver, who mingles in consciousness with the author, is the better satisfied the more clearly the feeling is transmitted, which, as it seems to him, he has long known and felt, and for which he has only now found expression.” I feel that is almost mistaking a feeling for something deeper than it is, but it is certainly a feeling we have all felt– the feeling of familiarity, of understanding, even though we may not relate directly to the art piece or the story that the author is trying to convey. It is a feeling we cannot put into words, but a feeling we know nonetheless, and the art we see perfectly encapsulates this feeling. That just seems quite incredible to me. How can we never feel a feeling, and then feel it so strongly is captured by this art piece by someone we have never met before? It seems baffling, but also it seems to hold true. It seems to relate to the base human capacity for empathy, a capacity that is often beyond understanding.

I believe this is a useful proposal for evaluating art. Art is certainly subjective, but this does make it a bit more objective. It aligns pretty well with what Aristotle believes as well– art must provide some kind of emotional reaction in the viewer to be “good art”. I believe that the emotion can also just be sheer admiration as well, of the artist’s talent, rather than being plunged into a deep emotional vat of reawakening long lost feelings we never knew. I think the extent of the emotion doesn’t necessarily matter, because obviously some people think some art provides them a deep emotional reaction while others look at the same piece and wonder how anyone could consider that art. Therefore, it is difficult to have one rule by which to judge what “good art” is. However, I believe this speaks more to humans themselves, and how differently we think and experience things, rather than the quality of the art itself.

Revision: Upon further thought and discussion, Tolstoy’s standard of infectiousness and what he considers good art does not align with Aristotle’s view of art. Tolstoy focuses on the artist, while Aristotle focuses on the viewer. The artist does not need to feel catharsis but the viewer must, according to Aristotle. There doesn’t need to be an overall sense of unity like Tolstoy outlines. Tolstoy has standards for the artist, while Aristotle has standards for what the art must invoke in the viewer.

Banana wall story: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/performance-artist-eats-120-000-banana-duct-taped-wall-calls-n1097696

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