a specific art

Dance is indeed, as Wass holds, a specific art, but not because of some single element unique to it; rather, it is specific in its functional ensemble, an ensemble that is, inevitably, organized around movement and the application of movement.

the original text:

Painting is indeed, as Greenberg held, a specific art, but not because of some single element unique to it; rather, it is specific in its functional ensemble, an ensemble that is, inevitably, organized around paint and the application of paint.

–  Henry Staten, Techne Theory: A New Language for Art

An Unfair Exchange

“I would suggest that this generates an unfair exchange in that scholars seem to think they can dip into the arts, but are very nervous when artists move into scholarship.”

– Shannon Rose Riley, page 121 in Practice as Research in the Arts by Nelson

The Practice of Discipline

“This new provision meant a lot to endangered arts departments, departing from the usually held opinion that they did not belong in the academy because they were applied disciplines…” Nelson, p. 119

 

Could the argument be made that the hard sciences are applied disciplines? And if so, why are they in the academy?