Replacing Metaphor with the Literal: A Case Study on Metaphysical Harm in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts
Naar, Indigo R.
2021
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In this capstone
thesis paper for Visual and Material Studies, I argue that the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA)
in Boston causes metaphysical harm to art via implicit and explicit forms of
interpretation. I provide an understanding of the MFA’s history and practices,
which I claim have led to several practices interpretation via text and display. I
explore this claim through a case study of the ... read moreexhibition “Women Take the
Floor” (9/13/2019–11/28/2021), in which I examine the show as a whole, as
well as the metaphysical affect the show has upon the objects in the exhibition.To
account for the metaphysical harm done to art, I draw upon a recently developed
philosophical school of thought: Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO). A central figure in the
movement, Graham Harman, defines art as a compound object, one that cannot exist outside
the aesthetic experience. Art is composed of an object and a beholder who is engaged
with the object through an aesthetic experience, which is founded in a metaphoric
relationship rather than a literal one. Drawing upon Harman’s considerations of
aesthetics and objects, I argue that metaphysical harm is done to art when the metaphor
supporting the aesthetic experience is replaced by a literal interpretation of the art.
My definition of interpretation is drawn from selected writings of philosopher Susan
Sontag, which argue that interpretation operates as a translation of art, which
ultimately sublimates the true aesthetic nature of the art. I claim that interpretation
as described by Sontag causes metaphysical harm to the art itself through the framework
I adapt from Harman, and can occur through explicit and implicit means within the
context of a museum, such as Boston's Museum of Fine
Arts.
Submitted to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Advisor: Silvia Bottinelli.read less - ID:
- wm118342w
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