I've no idea what it means. People writing about art often end up producing a load of meaningless waffle like this. I suggest you find yourself something more worthwhile to read.

Probably never heard this phrase before. Might be meaning that it is more in certain aspects and less in some.

The context: "Much like a work of science, a work of art represents both more and less than a simulacrum of pleasure – it is foregrounded by the values relative to the value-maker, attests to multiple layers of possible meaning, is inevitable only in that it privileges the mores of a particular culture at a particular time in history and, within its shifting temporary context, it is ripe for continual reinterpretation and validation."

Can you give an example of this in a sentence? I've never heard this phrase being used in English. It doesn't make sense.