Cluster account for the art: pro et contra

Abstract

This article examines one of the main approaches to art in contemporary art theory — a cluster account for the art. It describes the historical and theoretical contexts that shaped the emergence of the account and identifies its key points. The author refers to some lines in aesthetics (Kant and Hegel’s) and the lines marks the diversity of approaches to art in the XIX–XX centuries. Apart from that, it brings attention to the three traditions of art perception or perspectives in the theory of art — academic, philosophical and curatorial. The separation into these three traditions influenced the edifice of cluster account of art. The author suggests taking into consideration the general and the particular cluster account for art, explaining in what sense we can speak of art as a cluster concept. A special attention is paid to arguments for and against the account. The author comes to the conclusion that the account has its own area of application in the modern art scene, emphasizing the importance of this account to support the idea of multiplicity in contemporary art practices.

Keywords:

cluster, art, theory of art, aesthetics, B. Gaut