Arthur Danto's Woodblock Prints Exhibition Explores Philosopher's Artistic Practice
From August 24 to October 1, 2010, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale hosted an exhibition called 'Arthur C. Danto's Woodblock Prints: Capturing Art and Philosophy.' This piece is based on a lecture that explores how Danto moved from printmaking to philosophy. Born on January 1, 1924, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he was influenced by the Detroit Institute of Arts and notable artists like Pollock and de Kooning. Danto, known for his black-and-white drawings, made a name for himself in New York's printmaking scene during the 1950s. By around 1960, he redirected his passion towards philosophy, producing critiques of figures like Nietzsche and Sartre, as well as the notable print 'Two Saints and a Sinner.'
Key facts
- Arthur Danto was born on January 1, 1924 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Exhibition 'Arthur C. Danto's Woodblock Prints: Capturing Art and Philosophy' ran from August 24 to October 1, 2010 at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
- Danto stopped making art around 1960 to focus on philosophy
- Danto's artistic influences included 19th-century Japanese printmakers and Abstract Expressionists Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline
- Danto described himself as a printer who worked exclusively in black and white, not a colorist or painter
- William Valentiner was director of the Detroit Institute of Arts from 1924 to 1945, building its German Expressionist collection
- Danto's essay on Munakata appears in his 1999 book 'Philosophizing Art: Selected Essays'
- Danto's print 'Two Saints and a Sinner' was given to the essay's author
Entities
Artists
- Arthur Danto
- Kant
- Hegel
- Schopenhauer
- Nietzsche
- Wittgenstein
- John Ruskin
- Roger Fry
- Meyer Schapiro
- Clement Greenberg
- Leo Steinberg
- Jackson Pollock
- Willem de Kooning
- Mark Rothko
- Barnett Newman
- Franz Kline
- Munakata
- Sartre
- Barbara Westman
- Schubert
- Liz Carrier
Institutions
- Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- Bloomsbury
Locations
- Ann Arbor
- Michigan
- Detroit
- United States
- Vienna
- Austria
- New York
- Carbondale