LL-L "Art" 2009.01.11 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 11 January 2009 - Volume 03
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From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language programming"

Beste Heather,



You wrote:



*So you think humans can perceive abstract things in principle independently
of language, and language is dragged behind? So there is more reality in
things than in language? -- And a metaphor is just a projection of strange
(not necessarily abstract) things into the known world of objects, hm?*
*Isn't this precisely why we have poets?*



Of course. Actors, dancers, musicians, painters, designers...all play a very
important role in society. "Suggestion" is their hallmark.



I think it could be interesting to study and compare how art has been viewed
among laymen in the Lowlands during the last couple of centuries, because it
seems like we have no native word in Brabantish that describes the general
activity of being an artist. All I can think of is the old word "conste" (~
kunst (D)), which is sometimes used when talking about a person who is an
acrobat: "Daa kan nogal koejnsten doen zö". By the way, the Dutch word
"wiskunde" (for math) is related to "conste", as it was originally
"wisconst". Flemish mathematician Simon Stevin coined the word in the 17th
century. Traditionally, handicraft is seen as the produce of an artisan, a
professional, not of an artist.



Earlier on, most scientists were more of a "homo universalis" as they are
nowadays. They were polymaths, and excelled in all the major disciplines,
ranging from engineering to economics, arts, philosophy, sociology, you name
it. Both mentally and physically they were trying to become more skilled.



More recently the word "artist" became widespread, denoting somebody who is
able to do something that most people can't/won't (maybe coinciding with the
decline of Renaissance Man?). Religious people are generally not counted as
"artists" however.



Mmm...what about religious art...stained glass windows...icons...caricature?



Kind greetings,



Luc Hellinckx
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