Article/Publication Details

CALL FOR PAPERS
HORIZON. STUDIES IN PHENOMENOLOGY
Special Issue (Vol. 13, No. 2, 2024)
“Phenomenology & Aesthetics”

Abstract

The upcoming issue is dedicated to the relationship between phenomenology and aesthetics. The problematic field of phenomenology and aesthetics can be viewed in two ways: on the one hand, it refers to the questions that phenomenology raises within its own discourse, on the other hand, this is a theory of art that chooses phenomenology as its primary method. The goal of the release is to demonstrate the ability not only to build a dialogue within one's own phenomenological tradition, but also to find points of intersection with a broader area of art theory.

Phenomenology, despite its initial interest in the theory of knowledge, reveals a close connection with aesthetics. In Husserl’s work “Aesthetics of Consciousness”, presumably written in 1912, phenomenology is presented as a philosophical direction that most closely and consistently explores the problems of aesthetics. Such connection is not accidental. Both Kant’s aesthetics and phenomenological reduction radically transform the natural attitude interested in the existence of real things and direct our attention to ways of their manifestation. Following Husserl, authors such as M. Heidegger, M. Merleau-Ponty, M. Dufrenne, R. Ingarden turn to problems in aesthetics. So, M. Merleau-Ponty develops the phenomenology of the body, the intertwining of the experience of the world and the experience of the body, which can be seen through painting. M. Heidegger offers the most radical formulation of the question of the being of the work of art, expanding the boundaries of phenomenology to the realm of inaccessible, elusive, and phenomena hidden from our contemplation. M. Dufrenne reinterprets the meaning of aesthetic experience, the essence of intentionality, and the possibility of the subject's openness to things through a poetic vision of the world. In the aesthetics of R. Ingarden and N. Hartmann, a multi-layered structure of an aesthetic object is presented, in which the reality of the material layer is distinguished from the particularity of the layer of the imaginary.

Further development of the relationship between phenomenology and aesthetics can be traced in the works of J.-L. Marion, M. Henry, O. Becker, and M. Richir and in the works of experts in the field of aesthetics such as W. Welsch, R. Shusterman, G. Böhme, L. Wiesing, and A. Berleant. The authors mentioned share not only an interest in art, aesthetic consciousness, and aesthetic experience, but also a particular emphasis on transitional, flickering, elusive, unstable, and fragile phenomena perceived by the subject.

This interest is driven primarily by the need to rethink the already established tradition of phenomenology, to discover new perspectives in the study of Edmund Husserl's legacy, to revise classical concepts of intentionality and phenomenological reduction. Thus, reflecting on unstable and transitional phenomena requires different ways of describing the consciousness of the subject. All of these aspects are possible thanks to a deeper analysis of aesthetic categories and works of art. The work of art can be considered as a phenomenon with dynamic structure capable of setting in motion and depriving the perceiver of solid foundations. For instance, M. Richir emphasizes the relevance of the concept of imagination in E. Husserl's work, thus offering an alternative to the opposition between real/imaginary or the contrast between figurative/non- figurative art. He discovers its intermediate space, which is neither reducible to the real nor to the imaginary. The ability to perceive such an intermediate and dynamic creation raises the question of the contradiction of the concept of intentionality of the subject captured by the dynamic nature of the artistic phenomenon.

The rethinking of the aesthetic experience takes on particular significance in the philosophy of A. Maldiney. Maldiney goes beyond the limits of the concept of experience and attempts to describe a radical experience of an event that transforms and changes the subject when encountering the dimension of the impossible. J.-L. Marion examines the space of the icon, the phenomenon of the idol, flesh, events, and introduces the concept of "saturated phenomenon" which allows us to reconsider the relationship between contemplation and intentionality, including in the space of painting. Alongside the established tradition of phenomenological aesthetics, the theory of art in the form of literary theory, architecture, cinema, and other arts consider phenomenology as a method for conducting their own research. For instance, phenomenology is one of the most important directions in contemporary architectural theory. Architectural theory based on the studies of M. Merleau-Ponty and M. Heidegger turns to describing the experience of perceiving architectural space, reveals the existential significance of place in human existence, reflects on the bodily rootedness of humans in the world. The context of architectural theory is particularly important for the critics of the role of vision in the subject's experience. Shifting the emphasis to the bodily connection of a human with the surrounding environment allows us to speak about human not only as a detached observer, but also as a subject who inhabits and actively participates in the fullness of the world. At the same time, attention to place implies a description of its eventful and ritual structure, which lacks completeness and is permeated with elusive, disappearing, invisible dimensions, bringing architectural theory closer to the problems of phenomenological aesthetics. This statement becomes resonant with authors and aestheticians who draw from phenomenology. It is close to Shusterman’s corporeal aesthetics, the ideas of phenomenological aesthetics of the environment, and the aesthetics of involvement of Berleant. Also, this topic is significant for the aesthetics of visual arts. Thanks to recent developments in installation, video, and computer art, aesthetics is gradually moving away from the categories of detached contemplation and critical interpretation, bringing to the forefront the bodily and emotional involvement of the viewer. In this context, aesthetics questions the model of visual distance for more traditional forms of art as well. For example, R. van de Vall proposes a tactile and affective concept of image in his book “At the Edges of Vision.” Drawing on the philosophy of M. Merleau-Ponty, E. Levinas, J.-F. Lyotard, and G. Deleuze, on the one hand, and on the theory of new media, on the other, van de Vall develops a performative phenomenology of aesthetic reflection, visuality, and the visual arts. The film theory (by L. Marks, V. Sobchak, J. Barker) refers to phenomenology to understand the perception of the viewer, its aesthetic experience, and the genesis of aesthetic experience, it raises a question about the reality of the image, about the cinema's ability to create a unique bodily experience that is transmitted to the viewer. The theory of modern dance (M. Sheets- Johnstone, S. Kozel, E. Brannigan) and performance (E. Fischer-Lichte, B. Massumi, R. Schechner) continues the trajectories of thought of the phenomenology of the body by Merleau-Ponty.

The problematic fields and intersections of aesthetics, phenomenology, and art theory reflect a common tendency towards bringing together phenomenological aesthetics with practical and everyday aspects of life, with corporeality and embodiment, and with the characteristics of the experience of the contemporary subject.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• The relationship between phenomenology and classical aesthetics
• Phenomenology and art
• Aesthetic consciousness in the phenomenology of E. Husserl
• Phenomenology of painting, phenomenology of poetry, phenomenology of music, phenomenology of architecture, literature, cinema, etc.
• Aesthetic experience in phenomenology
• Problems in the history of the development of phenomenological aesthetics
• The place of aesthetics in (post)phenomenology
• Phenomenology of urban environment
• Kantian aesthetics in the context of phenomenology (on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Kant’s birth)

Deadline for submissions: May 1, 2024

Deadline for decision: June 15, 2024

Deadline for publication: December 30, 2024

The articles can be written in Russian, English and German — all three languages are acceptable (acceptable volume of an article should have 30.000-50.000 characters including spaces, footnotes, references, abstracts and key words).

Please send your formatted submissions to:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Svetlana Nikonova)

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Liubov Iakovleva)