Mimesis, interpretation, and the human condition

Abstract

One of the most fundamental questions in the discourse on artistic creativity and interpretation is that of mimemis or representation; the relation and the 'tension' between experiential reality on one hand and an artistic construct on the other hand. In the present study, mimesis and the discussion about the connection between the experiential and the imaginary are understood as major characteristics by which man and the human condition are defined. From the context of the visual arts, the study proceeds to literature and, specifically, to an analysis of the novel The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (1941) by Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977). The main aim of the study is to show the questions of representation and interpretation as part of the universal inquiry about humanity and the human condition.