The formula for art

Dewey describes an experience, such as art, as having as its source an "impulsion," a deep craving. That these impulsions, nature, and our past experiences come together to shape fresh experiences which may be manifested as art. But, he cautions that just raw emotion isn't enough. That what is deemed "self-expression" is closer to "self-exposure," serving no real purpose that others can connect with. To Dewey's thinking, for the art experience to be valid, one must manage the "materials" of the experience for it to truly become art.

According to Dewey, something that starts out as natural is transformed into art only when it is willfully manipulated. That only then can what was originally spontaneous acts enrich life and the community. Like a winepress, the pressure applied by natural impulses and experiences produces a work of art. Emotion can not stand alone but must concern some fact or idea. To his thinking, there are no real emotions, such as fear, hate, or love. They exist solely in relation to another thing. Without this harnessed emotion, an object may exhibit craftsmanship, but it is not art.

If emotions are too intense, a person is overwhelmed and lacks the ability to express it. On the other

Edvard Munch The Scream, 1893

National Gallery, Oslo
Munch was well acquainted with heartbreak,
 his mother, older sister and father all died while he was young.

hand, too little emotion results in a cold end product that does not communicate. Dewey does hold in high esteem the artist who is so absorbed in their subject that they lose themselves in it as long as they have emersed themselves in objective experiences of similar situations. He quotes Van Gogh saying "emotions are sometimes so strong that one works without knowing that one works, and the strokes come with a sequence and coherence like that of words in a speech or letter."

Dewey describes how, when an artist imagines where or places paint on a canvas, they are caught up in this act of ordering emotions and experiences. He maintains that what separates artists from most people is this ability to distill feelings and ideas rather than the mere technical skills of drawing, painting, or sculpting.

Dewey maintains that a culture in which art serves merely as some sort of escape from reality or decoration for everyday living is imperfect.  To him, in an ideal society, art is an integral part of day-to-day life.