And then there is Lyotard:

So, today is one of those classes that I love. Lots of great input from the students, good questions, observations and connections. I had the same reaction the last time I taught the class. I hesitate to add the Lyotard to the readings since it is not a simple read. But for the handful of students who read it they always find fantastic points to make. This helps generate a really rich conversation around the idea of aesthetics and rules and taste. Grounding the conversation this time in the notion of liminality seemed to help. So, in looking at Malevich, Duchamp, and Cage the question is what happens when you probe for the end of the discipline? What happens next. Some great comments from the students about conservatory training as not offering rules of artmaking, but rules of commercial artmaking. This fit nicely with comments about what each of the disciples focuses on and where those boundaries are located. The real question is if you are coming after the modernists that pushed on all the rules and all the boundaries what can happen next. This sets them up well to discuss  architecture, performance, music, and theatre can take place in the wake of this disruption. So, yes, once again, despite its difficulty, I’m glad I had students read the Lyotard essay. I’m also glad that it was moved to right after fall break. A nice idea driven way to get back into the class and set the tone for the second half.

The one thing I still need to work on here is a good opening exercise. We listed three traditional elements of composition, then they had to create something to watch, see, or listen to breaking all three rules. The results, as I recall from last time, have a level of interest, but don’t really get at the rule breaking. Much of the work seems sort of everyday – which may be the point. But I suspect that there is a better set of instructions here. Maybe it is about disrupting a traditional work and taking something that follows the rules and then reconfigure it to break them. Hmmm – this requires more thought.