Art Objects Transmit Meaning

Some features of a civilization no longer exist. Ancient civilizations exist today in the art and architecture that they left behind, people and their learning died but the objects they crafted remained. These items transmit meaning to the next generations.

Dewey said that social customs and objects were “saturated with story” and that they “transmitted meaning.”

Pic - Decoration on Greek pottery showing long distance runners.

Art Makes Civilization

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“Esthetic experience is a manifestation, a record and celebration of the life of a civilization, a means of promoting its development, and is also the ultimate judgement upon the quality of a civilization.” - John Dewey

The Philosopher’s Handbook, Ed. Stanley Rosen, Random House Reference, 1^st Ed, 2003, ISBN 0-375-72011-1

Bronze sculpture, thought to be either Poseidon or Zeus, National Archaeological Museum of Athens