NONFICTION - Feb. 27, 1994

THE AUTHOR, ART, AND THE MARKET: Rereading the History of Aesthetics by Martha Woodmansee (University of Columbia Press: $29.50; 200 pp.). “Freely have I received, freely given, and I want nothing in return”--so wrote Martin Luther, explaining why he required no compensation for his translation of the Bible. Today, few people would be so generous with their creative work, for capitalism has taken hold in the intervening centuries, turning the individual’s work and time into bought-and-sold commodities. And that brings up the question lying at the heart of this volume: Where do the so-called fine arts, on which it is inherently difficult to place a value, fit into the capitalist scheme? Martha Woodmansee, a professor of English at Case Western Reserve, argues in part in “The Author, Art, and the Market” that the idea of “fine” arts, and the discipline of aesthetics, were born in reaction to the commercialization of art--that when market forces proved better at spreading simpler, more accessible art than difficult art, creators of the latter turned rejection into virtue by regarding market failure as a sign of esthetic superiority. That seems to be Woodmansee’s view, at least, but it’s hard to say with certainty, for although generally intelligible, “The Author, Art, and the Marketplace” is full of lit-crit jargon that sharpens points for a handful of readers and obscures it for hundreds more. And that’s too bad, because Woodmansee underlines some interesting ideas, most prominently that creative people must actively create the taste for their work.”