Tolstoy In Michael Heizer's 'Levitated Mass'

According to Tolstoy view on art, he believes it is a shared experience between the viewer and the artist. If an artist’s wants to deliver a message, the ability to trigger empathy plays a vital role. When a person is not able to emphasize with an artist’s work, then it is not art. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s emotions. With empathy, the viewer is able experience the artists emotions such as fear, happiness, love, and etc. A validation of art is something that is able to affect more than one person. If it affects more individuals, the more likely it is perceived as a high quality art. True art is something that brings individuality and sincerity. Leo Tolstoy view is that art should convey emotions that the viewer should instantly relate too. …show more content…
Heizer’s levitated mass displays a massive boulder positioned onto a pathway. The pathway is walk accessible. The massive boulder is levitated so that it provides a walkthrough underneath it. When a viewer walks underneath the bolder. The audience feels a sense of fear and amazement. The overwhelming mass makes the viewer feel small and simply astounded. The viewer realizes how easily they can be squashed. There is no competition when it comes to a human and a massive boulder. The viewer is left imagining how effortlessly they can be killed by the bolder. However, the viewer knows the bolder is safely secured. Michael Heizer’s levitated mass provides a feeling of how powerful nature can be. He wanted the audience to feel that there is no limit to what nature creates. The rock, an extension of nature, makes the viewers feel simultaneously fearful and