Art comes from ability

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Detail from Herder's Kalligone
Fulda's poem in the magazine for literature

Art comes from skill is an aphorism , actually a winged word that is often used in the art debate, often as a conservative-skeptical commentary on newer art movements, artists and works. In a widespread ironic extension it says: Art comes from ability, if it came from willingness, it would be called bead [or desire ].

origin

The origin of the word art (9th century) from can is etymologically correct. The underlying kunnan also means “to know, to know” . Originally denoting “craftsmanship, ability, skill”, the meanings “artistic activity” and contrast to nature , which are more widespread today, were added in the 18th century .

The conscious phrase “art comes from ability” is first documented in Herders Kalligone from 1800. In the first chapter of the second part, "Nature and Art", it says:

Art comes from being able or knowing ( nosse aut posse ), perhaps from both, at least it has to combine the two to an appropriate degree. Anyone who knows without being able to is a theorist is hardly trusted in matters of ability; who can without knowing is a mere practitioner or craftsman; the real artist combines both.

The sentence "Art comes from being able to, knowing" is contained in Johann Leonhard Frisch's Teutsch-Latin dictionary of words from 1741. Frisch often ended his entries with a statement on the etymology that stereotypically contained the phrase "comes from". The dictionary was in Herder's possession. He used it a lot; it is mentioned twice in the metacritic of 1799, of which Kalligone was planned to be part . Herder also adopted terms from Frisch. In the metacritic , the unusual verb "worten" should come from the dictionary.

Extensions

An ironic addition goes back to the then very well-known, now largely forgotten playwright Ludwig Fulda . In issue 15 of the magazine for literature from April 14, 1894, he writes under the heading "poems of meaning":

Don't know what real artists should be
With your theoretical swell;
Art comes from being able, not willing:
Otherwise it was called "bead."

The poem was then published at least twice more. In: The essence of art. In the Spiegel deutscher Kunstanschauung , Karlsruhe 1901, and in: Theo Schäfer (ed.): Frankfurter Dichterbuch , Frankfurt am Main 1905.

The composer Arnold Schönberg reinterpreted the sentence . In his essay, Problems of Art Education , written in autumn 1910, he writes about the inner necessity that an artist feels:

I believe: art does not come from being able to, but from having to.

Attributions

Over time, the ironic addition became independent and the original authors and contexts were forgotten. As a result, it was ascribed to numerous very different people who, however, can be excluded as authors because they were too young or not yet born in 1894 or the ascription was made afterwards from hearsay. Examples are Hans Thoma , Friedrich Nietzsche , Max Liebermann , Ludwig Thoma , Karl Kraus , Friedrich Gundolf , Siegfried Jacobsohn , Hermann Groeber , Julius Schniewind , Karl Valentin and Joseph Goebbels .

Under National Socialism , the phrase was used to defame “ degenerate art ”. The Berliner Morgenpost wrote on February 25, 1938 at the opening of the exhibition of the same name:

“Art comes from ability; if it came from Wollen, it would have to be called Wunst. ”The first pictures with which the exhibition“ Degenerate Art ”at Königsplatz 5 is now presented to visitors in Berlin seem like an illustration of this pun. It is really a miracle what is bulging towards us here. And as senseless as this word sounds, just as senselessly stare at us the smudges that only have something to do with painting in terms of material. They are structures made of canvas and paint, shapeless and screaming; often the frame is the only thing that is shaped about them. One thinks with shame that these creations of primitiveness and lack of understanding were once “ornaments” of state museums. [...] And the dismay of the visitor becomes even greater when he discovers that the names of these bunglers still live in his memories. How hard they must have been hammered into us by their worshipers once if we still know today who Otto Dix and Paul Klee , Kokoschka and Nolde were. [...] The formlessness - it is also the politically striven for chaos, the senselessness of the motifs - it embodies the stupefaction of the people supported by artistic means, the disharmony of colors - what is the purpose of it other than killing the innate sense of beauty of German people?

variants

Derived from Herder's or Fulda aphorism, variants were coined, sometimes ironically, sometimes accentuating the concept of art differently. Johann Nestroy is attributed “Art comes from being able, and if you can, it's not art” or “Art is, if you can't, because if you can, it's not art.” In 1980 Otto Matthäus Zykan composed the opera Art Comes of treats .

The phrase "Art comes from Künden" refers to the common root word of art, can, know and announce and thus expresses the primacy of the message over the skill. It is first documented in the textbook (without year) of the graphic artist and teacher at the Hildesheim School of Applied Arts, Fritz Röhrs (* Hildesheim 1896; † February 14, 1959 ibid):

“Art comes from customers, giving customers, proclaiming something, explaining something, making it clear. H. interpret [...] The gift of proclaiming and also craftsmanship make up the artist. "

“Art comes from Künden” is also attributed to Georg Meistermann and Joseph Beuys , both students of Ewald Mataré . The artist Otmar Alt has made “Art comes from customers” his motto, in another formulation “Art means: setting an example” .

literature

Single receipts

  1. ^ Etymological dictionary of the German language / Kluge . 24th edition, De Gruyter, Berlin, New York 2002
  2. ^ Johann Leonhard Frisch: German-Latin dictionary. Volume 1, Berlin 1741, p. 558 sv Kunst-Wort, online
  3. Bibliotheca Herderiana. Weimar 1804, p. 242, no. 5036, abbreviated to "BH 5036" in research literature
  4. Bernhard Suphan: Introduction. In: Johann Gottfried von Herder: Complete works. Volume 21, Berlin 1882, p. V
  5. ^ Johann Gottfried von Herder: Works in ten volumes. Volume 8, Frankfurt am Main 1998, pp. 414, 502
  6. ^ Johann Gottfried von Herder: Works in ten volumes. Volume 8, Frankfurt am Main 1998, p. 1157, as well as Johann Gottfried von Herder: Complete works. Volume 21, Berlin 1882, p. 341
  7. Musikalisches Taschenbuch vol. 2 (1911) [= Illustrated Calendar for Music Students and Friends of Tonkunst] pp. 22–27 - ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked . Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / marjanzahedkindersley.tumblr.com
  8. Karl-Valentin.de
  9. Rhetorik-Netz.de
  10. Uwe Fleckner: Attack on the Avant-garde: Art and Art Policy in National Socialism , page 104. Akademie Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-05-004062-2 .
  11. The lesson book . Typescript, Hildesheim without year. Quoted from: Deutsche Kunst 1933–1945 in Braunschweig. Art under National Socialism (exhibition catalog). Georg Olms Verlag, 2000. ISBN 978-3-487-10914-5 .
  12. Exhibition opening Kubus 66, 2004 (PDF; 42 kB)
  13. Otmar Alt's website ( Memento of February 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive )