Art

4/1/2025

All art is communication. The way it communicates can be descriptive, prescriptive, or decorative. 

Descriptive art is what Plato calls a "shadow" of Reality, but I would say "reflection," because as long as we do not actively distort descriptive art, it can communicate the same Truths that experiencing reality does. Descriptive art communicates reality, which is Truth. The issue is the distortion of reality as descriptive art only has value in its fidelity to reality. This would be nonfiction literature, landscape portraits, photographs, etc.

Prescriptive art, in contrast, does not simply show Truth but asserts it. It encodes a specific idea into an artistic medium, requiring the audience to decode that idea correctly. Its value comes from the truth of the idea it is trying to communicate and its ability to communicate that idea effectively. If interpreters cannot come to an objectively correct interpretation, then no idea is being communicated. Prescriptive art would be propaganda, religious art, symbolism, lyrics, etc. 

If it fails the criteria of descriptive and prescriptive art, it can only be mere decoration. Decoration can have value in communication of order, which is a sort of objective art. If it does not even have that, it is entirely worthless. Decorative art would be melodies, architecture, stained glass, etc. Modern art often fails at even being decorative and is therefore worthless as art.

Descriptive art must be faithful to reality, prescriptive art must communicate truth effectively, and decorative art must maintain order. Art that fails in all three respects is not merely bad - it ceases to be art.