AESTHETICS BLOG #1
IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY
.. that mediocrity can pay to greatness.
The Platonic notion of art dwells on the concept of "mimesis," a Greek word that translates to 'imitation' in English. This notion gives way to an understanding of art as having an imitative character or a mimetic feature. In Plato's aesthetics, we see that his idea of mimesis is closely related to his metaphysical Theory of Forms, where reality is divided into the World of Forms and the World of Senses, the former being the most perfect reality. At the same time, the latter is the imperfect one. The sensible objects in the World of Senses are just copies of the Forms which reside in the World of Forms. Being a copy of a copy of the perfect, art is held by Plato in very low esteem.
The discussion on mimesis reminds me of the poet Oscar Wilde who said,
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."
Flattery is defined in the dictionary as insincere or excessive praise. Uttering flattering words to praise someone does not necessarily insult/ridicule them; they just hear words that do not carry any importance or receive an excess of complements that lose their meaning and value in every utterance. In applying this to art, the imitation of a work of art would convey a message that the original work is praiseworthy, and any attempt of commending it with words seem futile. (But, this is not an excuse for copyright issues!) To better understand this, I would like to cite the film Avengers: Endgame as an example. The film has inspired a lot of appropriation and a lot of parodies. All these signify the tremendous cultural impact of the movie, and these do not decrease the original film's value, nor do they make a perversion out of it. Imitation recognizes the infinite beauty of the masterpiece; it is an attempt to compliment at the most genuine possibility, recognizing one's own mediocrity in the face of greatness. Reflecting on this, I saw a similarity with what I have been talking about here to man's relationship with God.
It is a human reality that we are finite beings too far from the Infinite, the Absolute, the Divine (or in Neoplatonic lexicon, the One). But, as a Catholic, I believe that the Divine has revealed Himself to us despite our finitude, using the means accessible to our limitedness. This Divine Revelation unveiled some aspects/dimensions of God, one of which we interpret as beauty. God's beauty is reflected in His creation, which He pronounced as 'good,' and we humans derive our work from this order or beauty. Our creative work is an imitation of God's creative work: the beautiful paintings we see in museums, the magnificent cathedrals and churches, and the harmonious hymns and music - all these reflect the glory and beauty of the Divine Artist where all beauty and order reside. Remembering Wilde's words, I am brought to a realization that human [art]works are our attempt to pay homage to God, who has all the greatness since in our finitude lies our mediocrity before the Great One.
On a separate note, I see that there is also another implication in this theistic view of imitation. Referring again to Wilde's quote, I would say that we flatter God through our prayers every day, and we even overuse words such as adore, glory, and honor. All these just become insincere and ingenuine to God when we fail to 'be like Him.' Here, the words of Christ from the Gospel (cf. Matthew ch. 5) resounds to us, as he said that,
"Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect."
Our praise and worship of the Divine are just useless when we do not imitate God's perfection - His ideal image of us, which we can meet when we keep our hearts clean and keep doing good to others. In this sense, again, we are paying homage to Him genuinely and justly, not only by uttering words but by putting words into action.
Art indeed has an imitative character, and it imitates from what is in reality. Plato may have held art in low esteem, but I see it as man's attempt at glorifying God by imitating the beauty of His creation. As limited beings bound by our mediocrity, it is our way of giving due praise to the One where all beauty and greatness reside.