We had a boisterous discussion of ontology and art on Thursday, September 19. Matt Rabon’s (3rd year philosophy major) account of ontology was provocative and got a lot of us talking and jumping in. Professor Hettinger’s “Hat-rack David” example was particularly fruitful (Michelangelo’s David used as a hat-rack–for very large-headed people, pointed out Prof Nadelhoffer–instead of a work of art). Discussion touched on Michelangelo, Beethoven, Cage’s 4’33”, Jeff Mangum, and the different versions of Nirvana’s In Utero. A pen was (temporarily) transfigured into a work of art (documentation by Prof Koerner can be seen on AWG’s Facebook page), though authorship was contested as was the possibility of the temporariness of the transformation.
Rabon Presentation on Social Ontology and Art
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