Breaking paradigms: abrams’ paradigm and contemporary art anomalies. proposals for a new approach

Abstract

Meyer Howard Abrams described a paradigm which implicitly underlies most of the Anglo-Saxon philosophy of art; the artwork is the core of the scheme: an artwork-centered structure, in which any other element (artist, audience, universe) is analysed as an exclusive connection to it. This way, the paradigm can undergo modification without defacing the structure. The ‘60s were the stage of a gentle revolution in art-practice and Mandelbaum’s, Danto’s and Dickie’s suggestions add a further tag in the scheme: the context. This paradigm works accordingly within a compartmentalisation that does not take into account the evolution of contemporary art. Working from a bottom-up perspective, some anomalies are highlighted, requiring a new lens (or paradigm) to develop proper theoretical tools in philosophy of art.