Aesthetics

Art of perception and perception of art

The subject of Aesthetics should give students the opportunity to link their practical training with the discussion of the main art theories of the past and the present. Educational events such as “Art of Perception and Perception of Art” are indications of the double meaning of the term “Aesthetics” that can be observed in the tradition of this subject – as the study of sensual experience, on the one hand, and as a philosophical theory of art, on the other. Against this background, aesthetics must first be freed from the current everyday (mis)understanding or from an overly narrow understanding of the subject, which is much too quick to associate “aesthetic” with beauty and harmony. However, aesthetics should also develop and communicate scepticism with regard to the current trend towards total aestheticisation of our living environments and the corresponding universal claim for validity of aesthetic thought. In the medium of aesthetic reflection, the sense (of the work of art) and the senses (of the art-producer and the art-recipient) are addressed equally and rationality and emotionality are both activated. Among the issues dealt with are: the functionalisation and autonomisation of art, production and reception aesthetics, the social role of the artist or designer in (today’s) society, opportunities and risks for art and design in the age of new media. Issues of cultural sociology and art sociology are also to be included here, such as those associated with the names of Simmel and Adorno. The aim here is the further development of general critical ability with respect to all cultural phenomena and the sharpening of the powers of aesthetic judgement.

Prof. Dr. Dieter Knoell