Hegel’s philosophy of aesthetics portrayed art as having one particular purpose: to allow us to contemplate and enjoy images of our own spiritual freedom—which images are beautiful precisely
because they give expression to our freedom. In other words, art’s purpose is to enable us to bring to mind the truth about ourselves, to enable us to become aware of who we truly are as free human beings. Art is there not just for art's sake, but for beauty's sake, that is, for the sake of a distinctively sensuous form of free human self-expression and self-understanding. Furthermore, art is not only just a matter of form, but of content. Art must contain within itself the freedom and richness of spirit embodied and living in the world.
So what does this mean for the BYU Humanities site? Well, it presents a surprisingly optimistic viewpoint. Due to the theme of progression through the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, the only way it could be considered “bad” is if it fails to be inspired and to, in turn, inspire. Keep in mind that this isn’t an explicit goal, but rather, a by-product of a marriage of form and content into beauty. That beauty will, in turn, inspire each viewer to privately ponder their own freedom and their place in the divine.
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