ABSTRACT
This chapter’s analysis of art and literature builds on the identity of language discussed in Chapter 2. In art, there is a mirroring of one’s linguisticality: a representation of the world is presented, and in this presentation, we are reminded of the (possible) representation(s) of the world. With each artwork, then, representation is the main topic and theme. As we make and engage with artworks, we are confronted with how we perceive and understand: artworks only mean anything because they belong to our experience of the world. Art and literature prove especially useful, then, because they provide a means of self-confrontation and self-clarification. Art and literature demand participation, and this participation correlates to one’s participation in the world. A sense for the potential accomplishments of art and literature becomes useful if one hopes to move beyond static representations of world, self, and reality: art is one of the primary means by which one can grasp the movement inherent in all identity and all attempts to understand.
