Neglect of Everyday Aesthetics
Neglect of Everyday Aesthetics
This chapter argues for the need for everyday aesthetics for filling the lacunae created by prevailing Western aesthetic theories that are primarily concerned with paradigmatic Western art and memorable aesthetic experiences. Even with an expanded scope of art to include more recent art — such as environmental art and art of the everyday, and non-Western art like the Japanese tea ceremony — everyday objects, environments, and phenomena often do not share art-making characteristics, making them seem either second-rate ‘wannabe’ art or not worthy of investigation. However, confining the aesthetic to art-making features or standout experiences is misleading and deprives us of an opportunity to explore a rich array of aesthetically relevant and significant issues. The twofold mission of everyday aesthetics is to highlight the extraordinary aesthetic potential of the most ordinary everyday experience and, at the same time, to analyze our ordinary aesthetic reaction in its everyday mode.
Keywords: Western aesthetics, aesthetic experience, environmental art, tea ceremony, the extraordinary, ordinary experience, paradigmatic art, wannabe art
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