ABSTRACT
ART HAS THE CAPACITY to be both a record of its time and an expression ofuniversal human values. These values can be related to many sources: individual and group identities; ethical, religious, and political systems; and the experiences of sexuality and gender in addition to aesthetic values. An orientation toward art as a record of its time means taking a cultural approach to art. But we can also respond to art as expressive of universal human values not tied to any particular place. This contrast between the particular and the universal may be felt as a tension, perhaps even as a conflict. Does the local, cultural importance of art cancel out the universality of aesthetic expression and judgment? Conversely, when we respond in a general, intuitive way to the art of distant periods and cultures, do we downplay the importance of specific cultural contexts? An alternative to thinking of these views as conflicting is to view them as complementary. Perhaps art has the unique capacity to express the universal through the particular. Why is this the case? How are general aesthetic values revealed through specific cultural expressions? We need to explore this relationship between art and culture before considering how art can have an intercultural function. Establishing connections between culture and art is a necessary first step in a discussion of intercultural issues in art.
