Fiedler's Judgement

I was struck by Fiedler's attitude towards people that "lack the organs by which they can grasp the qualities of things." He clearly states the artist is a rare individual that possesses mental faculties that most people lack.
He also takes on science during a time when science "penetrates all educated circles", and says that science can never have all the answers. We seem to still be living in such a time.
When looking at objects we tend to be neglectful of their individual peculiarities and instead base our thoughts on generalizations of the object. He says we only have to remove an object from its familiar surroundings to prove that our visual knowledge of it was lacking. I think the most clear example of this is Duchamp's "Fountain."

The artist does not merely try to make his vision concrete, but is "forced" by his nature to make art. But art making is not a process of imitation according to Fiedler, it's not mere copying of outward appearances. Rather it's an attempt to make visible the artist unique understanding of the world. I have heard many artists say that the reason they created something was simply because they wanted to see it for themselves.
Artists minds are not always in possession of clear understanding but rather it comes in flashes of consciousness, or a moment of inspiration that the artist then struggles to make visible. Fiedler states that a work of art is not the total creative activity of an artist but a "fragmentary expression of something that cannot be totally expressed." As an artist, I think he's on target with this idea.