On his blog, Griffin asked: "Suppose that at some point we invent a device that allows us to peer into anothers mind and see in our own head what they are thinking. Now, suppose we use that device on a painter who has an amazing idea for a masterpiece. Would that mental image of the masterpiece be considered art even though it is not brought into sensory form yet?"
Not according to Dewey. Dewey argued for art as experience. He believed that the act of creating the art was as integral to the art as the piece itself. An idea is a wonderful thing, but it has no experience behind, no fulfillment. As the piece has not yet been created, has anything been invested in it yet? Dewey say no.
Still, I'm not sure Dewey's right. An idea in itself can be a creation. After all, the patent office will issue patents for ideas, even if no prototype has, or even can be made. Most ideas represent time spent in thought, developing the idea. Thinking can be an experience as well.
If ideas can be art, then can descriptions of ideas, such as a prose paragraph describing a painting, real or imagined, be art?
Yes. It would be expository literature or poetry.
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