Interpretation, Sincerity & "Theory",
2010
University of Louisville
Interpretation, Sincerity & "Theory", John Gibson
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
No abstract provided.
Interpretations: Deep, Reasonable, And Free,
2010
University of Pennsylvania
Interpretations: Deep, Reasonable, And Free, Paul Guyer
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
No abstract provided.
Response To Critics,
2010
Rutgers University
Response To Critics, Laurent Stern
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
No abstract provided.
Allowing The Accidental; The Interplay Between Intentionality And Realism In Photographic Art,
2010
Bath Spa University
Allowing The Accidental; The Interplay Between Intentionality And Realism In Photographic Art, Katrina Mitcheson
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
We experience photographs both as intentional and as prone to the accidental. The photograph is both capable of being an artwork with its own, constructed world and of drawing our attention to the reality of the objects used in creating it. In this article I employ the insights contained in the concepts of Barthes’ studium and punctum in order to explore how the artist’s intentions and the realism of photography interact aesthetically. I advance the idea that a unique aesthetics of photography can be rooted in the tension between the intentional, culturally coded message of a photograph and the emanation …
Home Life: Cultivating A Domestic Aesthetic,
2010
Rhode Island School of Design
Home Life: Cultivating A Domestic Aesthetic, Jessica J. Lee
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
Home Life is an exploration of environmental aesthetics as it applies to the domestic realm. I consider Kevin Melchionne’s argument that through notions of taste, grace, and performance, everyday domestic chores can become heightened artistic practices. I argue that this does not go far enough in overcoming the traditional view of art as aesthetically superior to popular or everyday artefacts and practices; rather, it encourages the limitations of traditional aesthetics values within the domestic setting. Through examples, including Pauliina Rautio’s study on laundry, I consider the possibility that domestic practices are made up of actions that are not performed with …
The Curatorial Muse,
2010
Rhode Island School of Design
The Curatorial Muse, Michael J. Kowalski
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
An appreciation of the tension between the predicate, "to curate," and the subject, "the curator," is essential to understanding the convergence of creation, criticism, and administration in the graphic arts of our time. Curators were ideally positioned to step to the fore when the idea-versus-object dichotomy began to collapse in the work of Duchamp. The roots of activist curating can be found in Western Classical culture. The prevalence of conceptual art at the end of the twentieth century, combined with the explicit denigration of physical craft by artists, created a void into which activist curators moved. The curator's role as …
Musical Presence: Towards A New Philosophy Of Music,
2010
University of London
Musical Presence: Towards A New Philosophy Of Music, Charles Ford
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
Most recent writings about the philosophy of music have taken an analytic or linguistic approach, focusing on terms such as meaning, metaphor, emotions and expression, invariably from the perspective of the individual listener or composer. This essay seeks to develop an alternative, phenomenological framework for thinking about music by avoiding these terms, and by extrapolating from the writings of Hegel, Husserl, and Heidegger. On the basis of discussions of musical time, its multiple levels of matter, and its internal dialectics, the essay presents a particular understanding of “style” as the primary basis for mediation between production and reception. It concludes …
A Functional Model Of The Aesthetic Response,
2010
Rhode Island School of Design
A Functional Model Of The Aesthetic Response, Daniel Conrad
Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)
In a process of somatic evolution, the brain semi-randomly generates initially-unstable neural circuits that are selectively stabilized if they succeed in making sense out of raw sensory input. The human aesthetic response serves the function of stabilizing the circuits that successfully mediate perception and interpretation, making those faculties more agile, conferring selective advantage. It is triggered by structures in art and nature that provoke the making of sense. Art is deliberate human action aimed at triggering the aesthetic response in others; thus, if successful, it serves the same function of making perception and interpretation more agile. These few principles initiate …
