Personally, I think this is the best explanation that any philosopher has given thus far in our reading. Maybe, this is THE definition of art. Look to any piece of art work (or what is considered art work) and when asking the artist what it is, they'll always have some explanation along the lines of either 1.it's a reflection/comment on society, 2.it's a look inward, or 3. it just is--the artist had no specific intentions but created whatever came to them. Focusing on this explanation of art, all works "reveal to us ourselves," whether consciously or subconsciously, they reveal some inner part of us (whether it be knowledge, feelings, etc.) to a wider audience, or even simply to ourselves. It is oftentimes the case that people embark on creating a work in order to just get out that emotion/thought or to delve deeper into it in order to figure out exactly what it means--and typically, the work that results reveals some sort of answer.
Hamlet's reflection and Danto's quote bring to mind an image of a journey--the idea that it is the journey not the destination that holds the significance. While creating art, one travels down a path of figuring out a self revelation, some thought or emotion which, without this mirror of art, they wouldn't know how to articulate. Art provides creators with a voice to "show us what we could not otherwise perceive."
Do you agree? Is art about the journey more than the final destination?
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