This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the University of KwaZulu-Natal via http://joe.ukzn.ac.za/download/joe59.aspxThis paper begins by identifying two fundamental problems in contemporary British and
American secondary art curriculum: epistemological confusion and the absence of any
aesthetic component. This paper proposes a reformulation of art as an aesthetic cultural accomplishment drawing on Kant’s theory of the aesthetic and symbolic representation as discussed by Cassirer and Langer. This is followed by a comparative epistemological analysis of art with Social Realist models of scientific knowledge. A case is made for art as a unique form of knowledge, possessing both a subjective aesthetic basis and an objective basis in its expressive form. The final section of this paper discusses the implications of the proposed conceptualisation of art for the art curriculum, and proposes a model for art education in schools that has the potential to solve the problems identified at the beginning
