Defining Art: The Case for an Institutional Definition

Abstract

Since its initial proposal, the Institutional Definition of art has remained highly controversial within contemporary searches for a definition of art. This thesis defends the Institutional Definition from the dilemma posed against it by Richard Wollheim (1980). It argues that the Institutional Definition not only avoids both horns of Wollheim’s dilemma on both conceptual and pragmatic grounds, but further, that the definition accounts for crucial features and characteristics of art objects in both the historic and contemporary landscape.