Contemporary Art and the Problem of Indiscernibles. An Adverbialist Approach

0570623 - FLÚ 2024 RIV FI eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Koblížek, Tomáš
Contemporary Art and the Problem of Indiscernibles. An Adverbialist Approach.
Estetika: The European journal of aesthetics. Roč. 60, č. 1 (2023), s. 19-35. E-ISSN 2571-0915
Institucionální podpora: RVO:67985955
Klíčová slova: contemporary art * nonperceptual aesthetic experience * metacognitive feelings * adverbialism * Jérôme Dokic * James Shelley * Arthur Danto
Obor OECD: Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology
Impakt faktor: 0.3, rok: 2022
Způsob publikování: Open access
https://doi.org/10.33134/eeja.283

This paper addresses Arthur Danto’s claim that contemporary artworks, such as Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box, do not differ perceptually from ordinary objects, and that in order to see contemporary artworks as art the viewer has to move from mere experience to a meaning expressed by the work. I propose to supplement Danto’s thesis. I argue that, while some contemporary artworks may indeed be perceptually indistinguishable from ordinary objects, these works are distinguishable not only by means of meaning but also by means of a non-perceptual aesthetic experience. I then discuss two theories that might provide a model of such an aesthetic experience. First, I focus on James Shelley’s theory of non-perceptual aesthetic experience conceived as a representation of non-perceptual aesthetic properties. Second, I discuss Jérôme Dokic’s adverbialist theory, which sees aesthetic experience as a combination of non-aesthetic attitudes. I argue that the adverbialist model is the most promising candidate for solving our problem. The model must be extended, however, if it is to account for pragmatic attitudes in response to artworks.
Trvalý link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0341951