Dostoevsky: Art theory and art appreciation theory

Abstract

The article discusses the author problem in art and focuses on one particular aspect of Dostoevsky’s theory of creative process, namely, his view of reader/audience response, of the author’s high responsibility and their reciprocation necessary for an adequate communication. In his intricately humorous Winter Notes on Summer Impressions [Zimnie zametki o letnikh vpechatleniyakh], Dostoevsky uses comical situations of his own non-encounters with architecture, artefacts and personalities of a very closely related, ‘second home’ culture, which nevertheless remained altogether different to that of Russia, in order to describe the core principles of interaction which drive the understanding and correct appreciation of art. These principles not only stipulate the possibility of artist-recipient interactions within an act of artistic creation and its appreciation, but also enable communication between two dissimilar cultures that is based on productive cooperation rather than antagonism. Dostoevsky stresses the responsibility of both the artist and the recipient of art for accurately transmitting and perceiving meanings, and argues the importance of a sincere effort on behalf of the two in order to ensure adequate communication