Abstract: Art theory is both a contested concept and vaguely defined field of knowledge. The paper discusses three issues in art theory, trying to interpret art theory and its production of knowledge from different perspectives. First, the paper claims that art theory intermediates between aesthetics and subject theories of arts, and that, through self-criticism, the negative understanding of this intermediacy may be turned into positive construction to promote the development of art theory. Secondly, the paper examines from the perspective of field theory the origin, the institution and the symbolic capital of knowledge producer, and then it investigates the significance of debates of art theory and the prospect of the compromised consensus. Finally, the paper observes that, due to the consistent theoretical attention, the poetry-painting relation, or rather the literature-arts relation, becomes an important fundamental resources for the knowledge production of art theory. Poetry and painting, unlike other art forms that require more professional and technical knowledge, are more apt for interpretation under the general issues and principles, and therefore they become two utmost important fields for studying art theories.

Key words: knowledge production, art theory, intermediacy, field, painting and poetry