Tolstoy uses the test of infectiousness, not only as a descriptive measure for what should count as art, but also as a standard for good art (#28-32). What does he mean by this standard? How does he suggest we apply this test to evaluate art? Is this a useful proposal for evaluating the quality of art? If you disagree with this proposal, how would you challenge it?
I agree with the idea that good art should make you feel something. Now, that being said, I am the least creative person I know and it takes a lot for a piece of art to make me feel an emotion other than confusion. So basing this argument off of Tolstoys idea that infectiousness is a measure of quality, I would say that yeah, good art should make you feel something, but more over it should push you to think about what someone is trying to convey. I think Tolstoy’s argument is especially accurate when it comes to other forms of art, such as music or film. Music and movies are two things that are designed to provoke emotion. However, the standard of “good” can vary from person to person. Certain genres make people feel different ways. I don’t really ever feel anything when I listen to pop music, but as soon as someone plays Eric Church, I start crying.
Back to Tolstoy, I think that using emotion as standard for evaluating art is useful. Generally, I believe that art can be an outlet for artists to convey their own emotions. So why shouldn’t we evaluate art based on how strongly it makes us feel? Of course everyone will have differing feelings provoked by a piece of art but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is still evoking an emotion in someone. It makes you question what the artist was intending to convey within that piece, which can be tricky.
The idea that art should infect us with emotion is kind of a scary thought. I do not necessarily like the word “infect”. Personally, I think “provoke” would be a better term to use. The artists piece should make the viewer feel what the artist was feeling when the created that art. Nonetheless, the standards that Tolstoy holds for art rely on individuality, clearness and sincerity. The individuality of a piece of art should reflect personality and originality. It should have aspects of it that are specific to the artist only, as that is what distinguishes style amongst artists. As for clearness, Tolstoy believes that artists should be able to put a name to a feeling. The viewer should be able to identify how the artwork makes them feel or what emotion it evokes within them. Tolstoy does point out that this is a challenging skill to learn and takes experience and talent to master. Lastly, the most important feature of a piece of art, sincerity. It is incredibly important that the emotion being conveyed is genuine and not a product of what an artist might think people want to see. The most powerful art always comes from a place of genuine feeling. No one wants to connect with something that was made in-genuinely.
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