On 7 November, the academic workshop “The Boundaries of Art: The Past and Present of the Laocoön Problem” was held at the New Qiao Hotel in Hangzhou. Organised by Zhejiang University's Centre for Digital Communication Studies, Institute of Aesthetics and Critical Theory, and Centre for Art Aesthetics Research, the workshop was co-hosted by the Youth Aesthetics Committee of the Chinese Society of Aesthetics, Zhejiang University's Institute for International Culture and Social Thought, and the Zhejiang Provincial Society of Aesthetics. Over thirty faculty members and students from institutions including Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University, Zhejiang University, and Wenzhou University participated in the discussions.
The workshop centred on the ‘Laocoon Problem’ derived from German thinker Lessing's seminal work Laocoon: On the Limits of Poetry and Painting. It aimed to revisit this nearly 260-year-old classic to re-examine the historical context and intellectual lineage underlying the problem, thereby offering insights for contemporary social and cultural reflection.
At the outset of the event, Professor Fan Yun of Zhejiang University, convener of the workshop, delivered an introductory address. Drawing upon American scholar Irving Babbitt's commentary on the ‘Laocoon problem,’ he noted that exploring boundaries between different art forms concerns not only one's literary stance but also one's corresponding attitude towards life. Thus, we may employ a ‘making mountains out of molehills’ approach to pursue relentless questioning—from the ‘boundaries of art’ to the ‘boundaries of life.’
The first half of the workshop was chaired by Luo Ting, a researcher under Zhejiang University's ‘Hundred Talents Programme’, featuring five scholars delivering thematic presentations. Associate Professor Wang Fanke from East China Normal University presented ‘Returning to the Laocoön from “Graphic Novels”: Revisiting the Boundaries of the Sayable, the Visible, and Form.’ His paper first outlined the ‘Laocoön dilemma’ in contemporary graphic novel studies, then attempted to reconstruct Lessing's thesis within the historical context of German classicism and literary thought—particularly as an art form ‘more concerned with action.’ Employing the dual core categories of ‘time/space’ and ‘action/suggestion,’ the presentation examined both the foundational structure of the poetic-pictorial divide in the Laocoön and its dialogue with contemporary graphic novels. It further explored how art dialectically strives for full freedom within its defined boundaries to achieve the highest efficacy within its respective medium. These insights offer theoretical illumination for present-day graphic novels and cross-media narratives alike.
Fan Yun's Address
Wang Fanke's Address
Professor Zhang Yuan of Beijing Normal University delivered a presentation entitled “Neo-Humanism and the Boundaries of Genre: The Laocoon Problem in the Third Wave of Secularisation”. She examined the “Laocoon Problem” within the broader framework of secularisation, aiming to elucidate the intrinsic motivations behind Lessing and Whitehead's preoccupation with questions of genre. She noted that while Lessing's work is often regarded as emblematic of Enlightenment thought, its core ideology aligns more closely with Renaissance aspirations, emphasising standards of taste and form. Whitehead, inheriting Lessing's ideas, further critiqued the ‘modern maladies’ engendered by Romanticism. Thus, through their discussions on genre boundaries, Lessing and Whitehead essentially responded to the intellectual transformations of their respective eras, attempting to redefine norms for rational transgressions within the secularisation process.
Professor Zhang Ying of Tsinghua University presented ‘Discussions on Poetry and Painting in France Prior to Lessing,’ tracing the historical trajectory of the poetry-painting boundary debate. She traced its origins to Father Dubois in France, whose ideas were developed by Diderot and Lessing into a coherent theoretical framework. In his work Critical Reflections on Poetry and Painting, Du Bos drew upon empiricist thought to re-examine the prevailing doctrine of the unity of poetry and painting. His inquiry extended to questions of the functionalist theory of art, the theory of media, the theory of subject matter, and the cross-media potential of art, thereby opening new pathways for post-Renaissance art theory.
Zhang Yuan's
Speech
Zhang Ying's Speech
Fan Yun's paper, “The Laocoön Problem in Eighteenth-Century British Thought”, centres on two aesthetic texts by Edmund Burke and Adam Smith. For Burke, the poetry-painting dilemma is intrinsically linked to the “sublime of language”: poetry, as a medium of words, plays a pivotal role in evoking the sublime, with the power of language grounded in custom and tradition. Consequently, the poetry-painting question also connects to Burke's conservative ideology. Smith's analysis of the ‘Laocoon problem’ is grounded in his theory of imitation. He explores how aesthetic pleasure manifests in art's imitation through the overcoming of difference, and how different artistic genres express this in varying ways. This inquiry also implicitly reflects Smith's concern with emotional and cultural issues within eighteenth-century commercial society .
Professor Zhang Xiaojian of Wenzhou University, in his presentation “How Art Explores Boundaries: From the Medium Debate between Steinberg and Greenberg”, directed attention towards the twentieth-century manifestations of the “Laocoon problem”. Greenberg proposed that modern art should seek its raison d'être by returning to the specificity of its medium, but this formalist critique drew opposition from Steinberg, who advocated iconological methods to provide ‘alternative criteria’ for defining modern art. Subsequently, art theorists such as Michael Fred and Rosalind Krauss continued the discourse on medium specificity. The report ultimately concludes that the theory of medium specificity is intrinsically linked to modernist discourse, having served as a guiding principle during a specific historical period and profoundly influencing artistic practice.
Fan Yun's Address
Zhang Xiaojian's Speech
The second half of the session featured an open discussion chaired by Xiao Jian, a researcher under Zhejiang University's Hundred Talents Programme. Faculty and students engaged in lively exchanges on topics including: ‘How to interpret the political ideals articulated by Greenberg and others through their theory of artistic media’; ‘Defining the scope of “cross-media” art research’; and ‘Understanding the connotations and extensions of the term “genre”’.
Concluding the event, Fan Yun delivered a concise summary and extended heartfelt gratitude to the participating scholars for their insightful presentations and to the audience for their enthusiastic engagement. He observed that the proceedings had not only thoroughly examined the theoretical lineage and historical context of the ‘Laocoon problem’ but also yielded fresh perspectives for understanding contemporary genre convergence and media transcendence. Furthermore, the discussions represented a valuable attempt to explore an academic pathway bridging intellectual inquiry and lived experience.
