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Over the past few decades, the philosophy of art has enjoyed a remarkable revival. More and more studies are being devoted to the philosophical or theoretical probing into questions about the meaning of art. This gradual but steady expansion in the field also suggests a broadening group of potential readers. Indeed, the present situation may perhaps be characterized as not simply a revival but as an unprecedented breakthrough. There are three major developments that help explain this. Firstly, today's increased importance of philosophy of art is due to modern art itself. Revolutionary avant-garde movements, attempting to transcend existing norms in art as early as around 1910, unleashed a process that has challenged any supposedly self-evident notions of art ever since. This process still continues today. Modern art is constantly pushing the boundaries of the "artistic", seeking and providing new answers to the question of what art really is. Not surprisingly, every new movement is accompanied by a theoretical discourse to justify its premises. In the art world, the permanent drive for renewal has urged more and more artists to turn to philosophy to support their concepts of art. Artists have sometimes taken this approach to such extremes as to identify thinking about art with art itself, as has happened in conceptual art. In any case, this explains the growing significance of art philosophy to the development of art.

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-5638-3_1

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