Student Profile

Giuseppe Ionno
Dover, Ohio
Major: Philosophy & Studio Art
Class: 2004

I.S. Title: Talking About Art

Art, particularly of the abstract or contemporary variety, is a wholly subjective matter. Two people looking at one work of art will have two completely separate emotional responses. “The problem,” says Giuseppe Ionno Á04, senior Studio Art and Philosophy double major, “is that art does not function wholly or significantly on an intellectual level.”

Therefore, Ionno has attempted to construct a means of interpreting art on a philosophical level in his Independent Study entitled “Talking About Art”.

Philosophers have puzzled over how to logically interpret the aesthetic. There are concrete certainties (the medium, style, color, etc.) that are objective. Upon looking at a painting, one can determine which color dominates the piece, how large the scale, etc., but to explain the emotions it evokes is much more difficult. Because there is no universal emotion, philosophers prior to the twentieth century had often entirely avoided the issue.

Giuseppe has taken on a dual project — he is creating art that adheres to and is inspired by his philosophical findings over the last year. Heidegger, Gadamer, Wittgenstein and other Deconstructionist thinkers have especially influenced Ionno's two pronged project

He describes his project as, “a logical positivist reading of early Tractarian Wittgenstein and Deconstructionist theory that will set up a field of limits to which philosophers can talk about art.”

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicos is the title of Wittgenstein's first book. “Tractatus lays out a philosophy that deals with facts and the world,” say Ionno, “These facts we can verify at any time. We can say factual things about art, but that's not what we're interested in.”

By drawing from several different philosophers, Ionno has come up with a theory of his own in which 'art talk' is still meaningful- not empty as in Deconstruction.

Along with written thesis necessary to satisfy his philosophy requirement, Giuseppe is working on several different paintings to be displayed in early April. Because of the nature of his dual major, he is working on two separate theses that are “loosely related”.

His Studio Art I.S. consists of five separate paintings of an impressive scale. He creates texture and color through the inclusion of a variety of objects such as salt, oil, dirt, resins and other found objects.

While emphasis is placed on texture and color, he is also impressing meaning through the inclusion of loaded objects and the use of text. One such painting involves the use of a woman's dress. “I am thinking about subjectivities. The dress stands for the feminine way of life- a mode of life very different from mine.”

The paintings have been generated from his experiences over the last six months. “I am forced to consider the themes I've been reading. It's been a sort of catalogue of this period of life.”

Ionno is a finalist for the Davies-Jackson scholarship, an award for philosophy that will allow him to study at Cambridge. Guiseppe's I.S. opens April 4 and will be running through the 9.