Good Classroom Quote

Of all lies, art is the least untrue.Gustave Flaubert(1821-1880) One element I really enjoy bringing into my class room teaching is the philosophical debate in the arts. Take this quote for example. What does it mean? It is implicating art as something that is not entirely true, though its wording doesn't seem to call it a lie outright. How does this affect our perception of art? Do we believe what he is saying or disagree with him? Why? (This makes me wish I could find my PHIL 214 book. I let someone borrow it and I'm pretty sure I never got it back. Lame.) I love art. I love the questions it makes us ask ourselves. Is art a lie? Maybe. Does art bring us closer to truth? I think so. Perhaps not every type of art, but the ones that resonate with us are generally so because of something they stir up within us.