Catharsis and mimesis are two terms used by Aristotle and Plato, respectively, to describe art.

More specifically, these two notions are used in aesthetic judgment. Catharsis can roughly be translated
as a relief from overwhelming emotions. And mimesis is very connected to the world of forms,
specifically, identifying much of the physical realm objects that we have as “imitations” of the world of
forms. In terms of aesthetic judgment, however, catharsis and mimesis have two different aesthetic
meaning. Often, mimesis is used as a description the artist’s tendency to copy or create an imitation of
someone else’s art. But a more forgiving idea is that mimesis captures a representation of nature. Art is
recapturing nature; imitating nature. Catharsis, in art, though, is understood as the idea that the artist
exalts their full emotion in their art. They release and relieve themselves of pent up emotions and
translate the emotions they feel into the art that they make.

Edvard Munch, the Scream

https://www.edvardmunch.org/images/paintings/the-scream.jpg

Apparently, Edvard Munch thought of the Scream when he was walking at sunset, and he felt
the screams of nature. The display that the Scream has is an outset and display of human anxiety that
peers through the representation of a scream. Munch grew up experiencing an unfortunate time in
childhood, and he was indulged in the nihilism that begged the desire to display one’s emotions and
feeling through art. He was influenced by Hans Jaeger to paint Munch’s own emotional state, and a new
artistic style emerged from Munch’s fame and figure in the art world. From that description alone, the
art already expresses the meaning of catharsis. Catharsis encourages artists to expose their emotions in
their art as a form of therapeutic relief, instead of clumping unreleased emotion that would be
ultimately released either way. At least in the cathartic visual art, it allows for more interpretation and
generally a sense of fulfillment in being able to interpret one’s own emotion. Edvard Munch was able to
capture his emotion, and more specifically his psychological condition in his art. He has other works like
Anxiety, Vampire, Puberty, Jealousy, and more that also express different emotional states that Munch
has been, and would imagine people to feel as well.

Vincent Van Gogh, the Starry Night

https://www.vangoghgallery.com/img/starry_night_full.jpg

Van Gogh had mental illness. He admitted himself to an asylum so that he would not be able to
harm himself, at the same time, have the tiniest hope of being cured for his illness. He drew the Starry
Night in day time, however, it depicts how the view from his asylum room would look like at night. In
the most basic sense, this is mimesis. Mimesis is the interpretation of nature in the sense that it
becomes an imitation. Plato’s World of Forms already say that whatever is in this physical realm is an
imitation of the World of Forms. For every chair that we see, there is a perfect form of chair that
corresponds it in the realm of ideas. Van Gogh interprets the landscape view from his room and imitates
this in the form of visual art. He drew the Starry Night, which is a very famous artwork in which one look
at it, you would arguably know what it is, and who painted it. Van Gogh has many mimesis style of
artwork such as a painting of a field, painting of flowers, and his room as he remembers it. There are
many art works circulating online as well that depict mimesis in its most basic form.
 Hobo Johnson, Peach Scone
https://youtu.be/5MIVvnQHxeM

This is Peach Scone, it’s a song by Hobo Johnson that’s in poetic style and it talks about love. It’s
about a guy who has unrequited love for a girl, and that girl already has someone. Often, the guy
questions what their relationship is like, if it’s legit, or if it’s simply fleeting. The guy is happy for the girl,
but he has this desire that he should be the one with the girl instead. In this song, the guy expresses his
feelings and his admiration for the girl, and even goes through the most vulnerable parts of his soul to
express to the girl: I love the thought of being with you. Or maybe it’s the thought of not being so alone!
Majority of this song piece is based off the life of Hobo Johnson, and this girl was apparently a girl that
he had met before. She made him feel loved even though it was just in the most basic sense of “caring”.
It is a hard path to follow: falling in love with a person who already has someone in their life. But
sometimes, people can’t let go of their feeling of love for people that they hurt themselves in the
process by not acknowledging when they need to stop.
 Eminem, Stan
https://youtu.be/gOMhN-hfMtY

Everyone knows about Eminem, and I think many people know about his song “Stan” as well.
The song itself tells a story. This song has mimesis art style in it because it reinterprets similar cases of
“Stanning” into something more overwhelming and exhaustive. Stan is a slang that describes someone
who is obsessed with a famous figure. In the song, Stan seems like he’s in love with Eminem to the point
that he’s wasting his life away just to be noticed by Eminem. Stan hurts people because he feels like
they’re separating the chance that he and Eminem would become friends. This song tells a story of how
many fans are too overly attached to their favorite artists, where they think that they’re friends with the
artist. It’s a very parasocial relationship that Eminem tells a story about. There are many people that
Stan symbolizes and this song tells a story on why one should not put their whole life just to be noticed
by their favorite artist because they have to know that the moment they become too addicted, they
become destructive of anything in their path. So the lesson for this is to know your limits. Know who
your friends are, and know who are artists that you admire.

Soseki Natsume, I Am a Cat

https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364139690l/62772.jpg

I am a Cat is Soseki Natsume’s most famous book, arguably. This is a story about a literal cat
who observes the people around them. They are literally just an observer in the middle of conversations
by people. People in this story are very interesting because they talk about all specifics in life. Anything
under the sun. The setting takes place in the Meiji period around 1860s to the 1910s in Japan. The cat
describes the life of the people in conversation; and as a cat is, they think they are more superior to
people. The mimetic art style of I am a Cat is about how the Cat retells the story of the middle-class
people in the story, and does so in a very interesting way. Much philosophical understanding can be
taken from this book to an extent, and a lot of comic hilariousness as well. I really suggest reading this
book. Be ready though, you’ll learn what it’s like to be cat if you read this book, and you’ll never see
your cat in the same way ever again, unless of course you already see your cat as an overlord.

Any poetic book, I guess?

https://www.rd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/poetry-books.jpg

This one is the entry for a narrative form of cathartic art. If you would consider poetic
compilation of books as literature, this is the answer. Even though I don’t like most poem books (or
rather a book of compilation of poems), I have to admit that authors of such books are very cathartic.
They release their emotion; be it for romance, fear, melancholy, or the like, in the form of poems that
tell a short-piece narration. There are some poetic books that tell a story in the length of the book,
connecting each poetic substance into one whole story. So one could say that books like those are
cathartic at the same time mimetic. Books of Lang Leav and Michael Faudet, or even Rupi Kaur represent
emotions through poetic substances. I have great prejudice against poems because most people offer
poems that have little artistic substance. But then again, who am I to judge if that’s how they release
their emotions? Despite my dislike towards poems, I don’t fail to understand and notice the aesthetic
quality that they have under the scope of catharsis. After all, poems are often seen as rhythmic narrative
representations of one’s life that’s not in the form of melodic songs.