The Sublime in Relational Art: Meaning-Making Processes on the Move

Abstract

Cultural Psychology has been progressively viewed as a multidisciplinary field on the borders of psychology, semiotics, and cultural studies focusing on how individuals make their experiences meaningful (Cabell & Valsiner, The catalyzing mind: beyond models of causality, Springer Science, New York, 2014). With that in mind, the purpose of this chapter is to use theoretical approaches in aesthetics to discuss meaning-making processes in human trajectories; in other words, to link Aesthetics to a developmental approach in Cultural Psychology. From the assumption brought by Valsiner (Cultural Psychology as basic Science: Dialogues with Jaan Valsiner, SpringerBriefs, 2018, target paper 2) that the sublime is the affective border of the mundane and the aesthetic, this chapter explores a theoretical perspective in aesthetics – Nicolas Bourriaud´s Relational Aesthetics, which takes into account people´s – artists and audience – personal, affective relation to works of art. In particular, we look into contemporary Brazilian artist Wagner Schwartz (1972-) and one particular piece, “La Bete”, to claim that genuine participation during an artistic work constitutes the main condition of transit. Participation, then, is the locus of the sublime.