Bruce’s response to Kit Gentry’s concerns about Joseph Campbell’s aesthetic theory in Kit’s art

Kit, just a quickie. I haven’t read your whole post yet, but. . .

The problem isn’t representation per se. It’s whether the work of art holds up on its own. That’s all. A person with a sentimental attachment to a place or a person might buy a work for that reason. But it’s only art if, divorced from a sentimental attachment, the work holds up, and aesthetic arrest occurs. The dimension of sheer wonder, sheer joy of the piece itself must be present.

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