Beauty is not in the beholder nor the beholden. It is in the subject-object complex, where the two reciprocal rejoind each other in their expressivity and receptivity.
It is the same for art. A work of art is not art. Only when a work of art enters humanity (with humans recognizing the mystery and meaningfulness of art, as in the meaningfulness of the cadence of a dead language), with us trying to understand the work of art by matching our lived experience onto the work whilst allowing the work of art to understand us, does Art, as the immanent transcendence of the world, happen.
We have to therefore be capable of Art not only because the understanding, grappling, and enjoyment of art is one of the greatest joys of life, but because without our aesthetic capacity, the world will be devoid of art, wonder, and beauty—a barren place indeed. And this is why we should be cultured. Why we should seek to live.
Warren's Brain Dumps 