There are many philosophical concepts
in the book Matthew’s Dream. Some of the more
prominent ones are art and aesthetics, inspiration, and judgment.
These
are
topics for which
there are many different views, so they encourage fruitful discussion.
One of the philosophical issues the book brings up
is the concept of beauty in reference to the art work in the story.
How do we come
to possess the insights required to decide what is and is not aesthetically
beautiful? Because art is so elusive and difficult to define, people
have very different concepts of it. Therefore, many of the questions
are designed more to get children to explore the idea of what
constitutes
art.
Many believe that art is an expression of an artist,
but others emphasis the viewer’s appreciation of it. Is
the artist or the viewer more central to the work? This is an issue
that philosophers
continue to discuss. In addition, many philosophers
have argued that works of art have to be beautiful. Can something that
is not aesthetically pleasing still be considered
art?
The concept of inspiration comes up after Matthew visits
the museum. This set of questions is designed to get children thinking
about what
inspires someone. Will the same things inspire everyone
and if not, why not? Sometimes a particular experience will suddenly
enable us to see things differently as it did with Matthew and his
corner in the attic. How can something that he saw as junk the day
before, suddenly be viewed so differently when it is the exact same
stuff? Does this fit the old saying “beauty is in the eye of
the beholder”?
Another important issue to discuss is the nature of
artistic interpretation. Appreciation is often influenced by knowledge.
Can we appreciate something if we do not understand it? Can we drop
all of our preconceptions
and just experience the work itself?
Discussing and the various aspects of what constitutes
art allows children to better understand that there is not necessarily
a right and wrong with dealing with art. A discussion of these questions
allows children to approach and view artistic works in a different
way. A trip to a local museum would be a great follow up to this discussion.
Continue
to question set for this story
