ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of the artist’s material in the process of improvisation, as detailed in the aesthetic theory of Luigi Pareyson. Scientific inquiry, philosophy, moral action, and art are all bearers of a truth that, distinct from merely subjective or ego-centered theories, arises through the formative process. Most recent work on improvisation has, in various ways, favored the inclusion of improvisation within broadly construed definitions of composition and the work of art. The work of art, as a pure form, reveals truth only when it does more than merely express the artist’s personal style and, likewise, does more than merely represent the physical or cultural material taken up by the artist. The time of improvisation in which the artist brings shape and form to the work often eludes clear explanation, as it is frequently understood to be spontaneous and intuitive, and is often defined by what it is not rather than what it is.
