A Hunger for Aesthetics

Abstract

This book examines the motivations for the critiques that have been applied to the idea of aesthetics and argues that theorists and artists now hunger for a new kind of aesthetics, one better calibrated to contemporary art and its moral and political demands. The book shows how, for decades, aesthetic critiques have often concerned art's treatment of beauty or the autonomy of art. Collectively, these critiques have generated an anti-aesthetic stance that is now prevalent in the contemporary art world. The book considers the aesthetics of Susan Sontag in greater detail. It details how in On Photography (1977), Sontag argues that a photograph of a person who is suffering only aestheticizes the suffering for the viewer's pleasure. It also highlights how Sontag insists in Regarding the Pain of Others (2003) that such a photograph can have a sustainable moral-political effect precisely because of its aesthetics. The book considers this dramatic change to be symptomatic of a cultural shift in our understanding of aesthetics, ethics, and politics. It discusses these issues in connection with Gerhard Richter's and Doris Salcedo's art, which is chosen because it is often identified with the anti-aesthetic, even though it is clearly aesthetic. The book reveals the place of critique in contemporary art and confirms that it is integral to art. Finally, it advocates a critical aesthetics that confirms the limitless power of art.