Aesthetics and its discontents
-Aesthetics and politics
The introduction of the term aesthetics:
-what do we want to do with that word?
What do we want from aesthetic theory?
-responding to the visual
The aesthetic says something abot the particular qualities of the thing seen.
Andreas Gupcksy: 99 cent
The aesthetic is suspect
Making art without talking about aesthetics.
Conceptualism vs formalism
Conceptualism:
-philosophical inquiry
-interrogation
-a return o language to deflate the necessity of the visual
Kant:
-Aesthetics:
A set of rules one has in order to judge
-taste?
How much does our art theory come from the 19th century.
"We want to maintain some sense that we have control to respond to something"
What is significant about Aesthetic theory?
Kant wants experience
-He gagues the experience by the quality of the experience
--art
--natural beauty
--sublime
--reception theory
Aesthetics have something to do with pleasure, and, by extension, affirmation
We can have an aesthetic response to ugliness.
Pleasure of the senses
-entertainment
Aesthetic pleasure:
-experimental
Disinterested liking
-not involved with gratifying the senses
-The pleasure of the senses is investing in the object's existence. Aesthetic pleasure is devoid of this interest.
Aesthetic experience is the quickening of the cognitive power.
characteristics:
-unanticipated
-spontaneous
Kant's critical system:
Critique:
-pure reason
--knowledge to nature
-pracgtical reason
--morality to freedom
-Judgement
--taste to unity
Aesthetic experience:
-quality
--disinterested liking
-quantity
--universality without concept
-relation
--purpose wihtout purpose
-modality
--subjective necessity.
Where does nature factor into order, reason and understanding.
How do we have a feeling that is beyond our personal understanding.
Shared feeling that is common to all.
cognition of the experience:
step 1: intuition
step 2: imagination and judgement
step 3: universal concepts of the understanding cause and effect
Ranciere:
Taste has a hierarchical value
politics is the distribution of exclusion:
-aesthetics: those who are excluded claim themselves included
distribution of the sensible.
