Fossils And The Trend

This article will take the view "imitation" and "mirror" as the key to the study. We analysis the theory of art from different understandings on the same problem of art. In the history of the improvement of art spirit, early stage artists emphasize the objective world than the inherent soul of themselves because of the limit of their own living conditions, and they tried to express the nature precisely and objectively, stressed the building of the objective's own. So the artists ignored and underrated the spirit and emotion of themselves. However, since modern times, the situation became the opposite, artists devoted themselves to not the nature but the spirit and emotions. The different standpoint is closed to the epoch characteristic of art spirit, which was reflected by the theory of art. So, the theory has obvious epoch characteristic. Then the problem is how to see the art theory of early phase.Through analysising the understanding on the relationship of human being, art and nature from artists of different times, we found their differences, common ground and the reason as well. One reason of art spirit's transform is that the times is being changing, and another the idea is broken, while the latter is from the former, which is caused by the change of the society conditions, such as product, living, literature and religions etc. The "fossil" and "tide" are to describe "the theory of art in past tense" and "the one in present continuous", which are so timely. But, "fossil" was ever "tide" and "tide" is to be "fossil" in the future as the time changes. There is no absolute demarcation line between the two concepts "material" and "idea" about art, which just were not treated equally in different phase. The raise of the two double concepts is to help us to catch sight of "epoch characteristic" of art theory, which is very important in the research of art theory. So, as the theory researcher, we must act according to the key criterion of reference: epoch characteristic.