Abstract
Art and design are increasingly emphasizing the role of user participation and social inclusion. Some authors claim for example, that art processes should employ creative ideas, abilities and skills of diverse stakeholders. The idea of art as a social sculpture (Beuys) is not new. Art has played an important role for participation of different social groups in common cultural activities for many decades. The role of art, experience and participation in this sense connects Heidegger’s interpretation of the artwork, expressed for example, through the significant cultural role of the temple, with modern participatory art and design concepts. The following chapter discusses aesthetic participation as element of an established cultural practice and the role the artwork plays in this practice. Established means here: intrinsic with dynamic potential deliberately changing parts of the practice towards social inclusion. Following the introduction, the second section briefly introduces some current trends on aesthetic participation and continues with an appraisal of Heidegger’s ontological aesthetics. Employing insights from section two, the fourth section analyses aesthetic experience and participation within a case study done by the authors: The Akash Bhairab Temple at Indrachowk, Kathmandu Nepal. The fifth section summarizes possibilities and limitations of present concepts and discusses how ontological aesthetics can supplement these. Section six conclusively considers aesthetic participation as contribution to cultural sustainability. The insights of this study might be valuable for artists and educators as well as for stakeholders, who use aesthetic participation as an entry point for social decision-making and inclusion.
Highlights
Aesthetic participation is a valuable approach for understanding, initiating and motivating individual and social development
The main advantages of current concepts comprise communicative and dynamic aspects of aesthetic exchange e.g. that the professional understands that he/she participates in a social setting which carries its own structure, values and rules and that this participation is time-bound
The various concepts focusing on the current views on aesthetic participation explores the aesthetic experience and participation, starting with a brief discussion on current ideas especially following up Heidegger’s ontological aesthetics
Summary
Aesthetic participation is a valuable approach for understanding, initiating and motivating individual and social development. Before discussing values and trends that promote aesthetic participation, core terms such as aesthetic experience and aesthetic participation will be clarified and their connection discussed. The sensual experience concentrates on a single object (natural or human-made, temples, landscapes, paintings etc.) which can be experienced only by aisthesis. Attention towards an object is in the core of aesthetic experiences, accompanied by positive or negative feelings and (sometimes) thoughts. The intensity of these feelings influences the attitude towards the object-to avoid it or to approach it. For Aristotle the process of aesthetic attention is quite physical, the object activates various senses. One experiences enthusiasm or rejection when experiencing aesthetic objects
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