Gortais, Bernard. "Abstration and Art."Philosophical Transactions: Biological Science 358.1435 (29 Jul. 2003): "The Abstraction Paths: From Experience to Concept" 1241-49. Royal Society. JSTOR. Van Pelt Library Philadelphia, PA. 2 Dec 2008..

Gortais begins by defining a work of art. He explains that representation in art means making something present that was not present before. A work of art is thus the representation of something real in terms of a subjective relationship to the world by means of expression that are perceptible to the senses. He adds that representation through imitations is doomed for failure because imitation only produces a worse version of the original piece. The goal of a work of art is to make the artist’s relationship to the world perceptible through symbolic signs that objectify it. The perceptions of the artist and those of the public are never the same. The major function of the artist is to act as a mediator between a representation and a public. He puts his definition in the context of visual art and examines Kandinsky’s theory on the science of art. Gortais comes to the conclusion that visual art is fundamentally abstract and based on form, color, structure, rhythm, etc. This creates a language through which we can understand all art forms. However, the form of art must take into account its context because the practicalities of its primitive composition may change, though not changing their aim.

“Fantasia” does not fall into Gortais’ definition of a work of art. The film does not act as a mediator between the public and the subjectivity of a form. In fact, it does the exact opposite by depicting images and stories that represent the subjective versions of abstraction. Gortais’ definition further rejects “Fantasia” as art because it is a kind of imitation of music. Disney altered the works to fit the rhythm of animation and thus adds its signature to the music. “Fantasia” is thus a failed attempt at symbolizing the meaning of the music’s objectivity. Following Gortais’ explanation, “Fantasia” does not qualify as art, and furthermore, does not qualify as an appropriate educator of art.