The Work of art (n.) is a thing in the world, not just a text or commentary on the world. It is not only about something... it is something.
The Work of art (n.) is a vibrant, magical, and exemplary object which returns us to the world in some way more open an denriched.
The Work of art (n.) has the capacity to make us nervous... a capacity tamed by interpretation in that it makes art manageable, conformable.
The Work of art (n.) , before theory, knew no need to justify itself. One did not ask of a work of art what it said because one knew what it did. From now to the end of consciousness, we are stuck with the task of defending art.
The Work of art's (n.) most potent element is often the silences.
The Work of art (n.) , when great, contains at its center contemplation, a dynamic contemplation.
The Work of art (n.) is, when great, not obligated to be continually interesting.
The Work of art (n.) is not primarily its content, but the habit of approaching art in order to interpret it sustains the fancy that there really is such a thing as the content of a work of art.
A Work of art (n.) should not have to justify itself. It should not have to ask what it says because one knows what it does.