Aesthetic Theory Research Articles

Modern Chinese Scholars' Perspectives on Zhuangzi's Aesthetics

Modern Chinese scholars of Zhuangzi's aesthetics can be illustrated by the words of Liu Shaojin in Zhuangzi and Chinese Aesthetics. The aesthetic significance of the book Zhuangzi is not a theoretical summary of beauty and art as objects, but rather, when it comes to its 'Dao', it's understanding of The aesthetic significance of Zhuangzi's book is not a theoretical summary of beauty and art, but a coincidence between its experience and realm of 'Tao' and the aesthetic experience and realm of art. Because of this coincidence, later generations naturally transposed these philosophical questions with aesthetic overtones to the understanding of the aesthetic characteristics of art, thus giving new meaning to Zhuangzi's philosophical propositions. In this sense, people believe that the literary and artistic thoughts and aesthetic theories contained in Zhuangzi are not distinguished by the correctness of their conclusions, but by the illuminating, suggestive, and profound way in which they touch upon the issues in the course of their exposition. This suggests that Chinese scholars have a dialectical approach to Zhuangzi's philosophical aesthetics, and that needs a careful look at examples like Zhili Shu with a critical eye in modern times.

Critique of Wang Guoweis Gu Ya Theory and the Establishment of Veneration of Antiquity

Wang Guoweis Gu Ya theory is considered one of the most influential aesthetic theories in modern China but has not been taken seriously in western scholarship. In this theory, Wang Guowei tries to oppose Kant's theory of genius by claiming that everyone should be able to create beauty. Wang Guowei focuses heavily on the Chinese literati instead of the whole population to which Kant refers. I found the Gu Ya theory implausible for either the Chinese literati or the peasants because the two points that Wang Guowei provides, the first form and the markedness, would be considered inadequate to prove his arguments. Besides that, one reason the Gu Ya theory fails to achieve its goal is the ignorance of the veneration of antiquity, which is significant in Chinese aesthetic appreciation. We must find solutions to either solve or refine the Gu Ya theory in order to accelerate the development of Chinese aesthetics. I firstly criticized and corrected the ambiguity of Wang Guoweis the first form and the misunderstanding of the concepts of marked and unmarked in Chinese literature. Then, I established the veneration of antiquity as my aesthetic theory that fits the Chinese literati. In the end, I posted a thought about Wang Guoweis idea of wu ren in his Gu Ya theory because he does not clarify and fails to build a connection with Kants theory.

Examining Utagawa Kuniyoshis Yose-e: The Playfulness and the Grotesque in the Floating World

Utagawa Kuniyoshi is a highly regarded Japanese woodblock print-making master; most of his works are welcomed by the mass, for they address most aspects of civilians' everyday life in Late Edo Japan. However, some of his works seem set on uncommon themes with distorted expressions that make them less pleasing than simple popular art. This work aims at deciphering Kuniyoshis unconventional yose-e woodblock printings by contextualizing his works under the tradition of creating playful and grotesque ukiyo-e during the late Tokugawa period. By using theories of Edo aesthetics in these unattractive, sometimes disturbing images, this essay attempts to locate the cultural position of this relatively obscure branch of Late Edo ukiyo-e designing.

Interpreting Life in the Aesthetic Perspective of Reception

Life is one of the most renowned works of Lu Yao, and it is a landmark novel in his creative history. The novel revolves around the tragedy of Gao Jialins personal struggle, whose growth trajectory and struggle are different from those of his contemporaries in other novels, and which can lead to different reading experiences when readers read this work. This paper aims to analyze the implied reader and summoning structure set up in Life from the reader's perspective, based on the theory of reception aesthetics, as well as the satisfaction and renewal of the reader's "vision of expectation" by this setting.

Diversity thematic of the structure for the visual formation in satellite channels

The artistic work in the works of satellite stations, Arab or international, depends on the generating of meanings in the television performance visually through semantic and expressive representations based on the elements of visual formation, This is done through the thematic vision on which the structural fabric and architecture of the text depends, within symbols, icons, and expressive semantics based on a set of theorizing references. It is mainly formed according to the aesthetic representation and intellectual construction depending on the language of the mediator through the thematic employment in the use of the elements of the pictorial language based on the inclusion of narrative structures and their engagements in the visual production and their inclusion of generative meanings that impose requirements for the production of meanings in satellite channels, As there is a label and affiliation in drawing imagination and creativity with what the spectator watches, and the researcher has formulated the title of her research according to the following: Diversity Thematic of the structure for the visual formation in satellite channels.

Banaspati Raja in Contemporary Painting Creation

Banaspati Raja is a mythical creature in the teachings of Balinese Hinduism as a guardian to protect the forest. The figure of Banaspati Raja represented in the form of sacred barong ket is believed to be able to protect the public from danger. The values of the Banaspati Raja seemed to not be fully understood. This phenomenon can be seen from the deterioration of Bali`s natural condition from year to year. The phenomenon arousing a sense of creator to create contemporary painting to aware the mindset or behavior of the people who mistakenly. The main purpose of creation is to create painting of new visually as well as have high aesthetic value. The painting is created is expected to be useful as a means of education, information and documentation for the development of the visual art of Bali. The creation of artwork is based on Sartre`s aesthetic theory with regrard to imagination as the basis for creating beautiful painting. Combined with the creation visual art structures includes elements of visual art by considering its principles. The process of creating painting through three stages, namely: exploration, visual experiments and visualization. The process of creating artworks eventually produced contemporary painting with the title Banaspati Raja. The painting is imagine the myth and the philosophy of banaspati raja through the image or symbol of the barong ket, the trees, water and mountain. Contemporary values are reflected through various technical mixes including brush strokes, pallete knive, splashes, collage, sigar warna, cawi-an and aburan. The artworks created also combines two different media, namely cnvas with recycled paper. The use of recycled paper in addition to producing variations texture, at least able to tackle the paper waste in Bali.

Performing facekuerade to navigate internally displaced persons desolation in the performance of Eliagwu Ameh’s Displaced

This paper adopts Sunnie Ododo’s ‘Facekurade Theatre’ as a framework for interrogating the stage performance of Eliagu Ameh’s Displaced as directed by Olagoke Ifatimehin. The paper highlights issues of corruption, oppression, sex slavery, deceit, destitution and suicide as dehumanizing experiences which permeates the lives of people living in internally displaced persons’ camps. Drawing from the theoretical exigencies of Sunny Ododo’s facekuerade theatre aesthetics, the paper explores the semiotic use of mask (both the presence and absence of it) as a technique which aids the conveyance of double intentionality and the artistic transformation of performers/actors into multiple roles. This paper further contends ideologically that the corruption associated with the provision of aid to internally displaced persons in their camps is orchestrated by inhumane and faceless individuals who profit at the expense of those in desolation and such practices should be curtailed. Women and children suffer most from displacement as they become victims of sexual predators and several oppressive conditions. This paper reveals that the deliberate aesthetic use of mask in the performance especially by the antagonist aided in enhancing and consolidating the meanings intended in the performance text. It concludes that the use of performance aesthetics such as facekuerade theatre in framing the portrayal of social issues in theatre offer audiences the opportunity reflects on their prevailing realities.

An Aesthetic Portrayal of Republican-era Shanghai

This article examines the aesthetic representation of Republican-era Shanghai in Zhang Ruogu’s 張若谷 Duhui jiaoxiangqu 都會交響曲 (‘Urban Symphony’). Guiding the construction of the city are Zhang’s aesthetic principles of cijimei and podiaomei, two concepts taken from Japanese modernism, which convey a unique vision of Shanghai modernity. On the one hand, cijimei refers to a kind of ‘exciting beauty’, which, according to Zhang Ruogu, is the apex of modern aesthetics. Zhang Ruogu locates cijimei within modern Shanghai in places such as the city’s cafés, dance halls, and cinemas. On the other hand, podiaomei can be translated as ‘discordant beauty’. This kind of beauty differs from the traditional concept of harmonic beauty, as it originates in more modern surroundings that emphasise simplicity and excitement. Zhang Ruogu characterises podiaomei as ‘simplification’ and ‘excitement’. When reading Zhang Ruogu’s works, it is possible to identify these aesthetic elements in relation to his depiction of Shanghai. Thus, these concepts enhance our understanding of Zhang Ruogu’s representation of urban culture in Republican-era Shanghai.

Can Aesthetics Be Global?

AbstractPhilosophical aesthetics is to some extent beholden to what I will call personal aesthetics. By personal aesthetics, I mean the phenomena of individual aesthetic sensitivity: how each of us discerns and responds to elements of experience. I take that sensitivity to be finely woven into feeling to some degree at home in the world. There is something extremely local, and in a certain sense unreflective, about personal aesthetics – it is hard to notice one's own, historically specific aesthetic formation. Philosophical aesthetics, meanwhile, aspires to understand aesthetic life in a more reflective and general way. Aesthetic theories in the Western tradition, like most philosophical theories, try to articulate universally relevant and illuminating theoretical concepts and values. But can a theory of this kind acknowledge what is important at the level of personal aesthetics? Can aesthetic theories find fruitful application while also respecting the locality and variability of aesthetic sensitivity? What kinds of theoretical ambition and humility are called for in philosophical aesthetics?

Kul'turnaya adaptaciya pri hudozhestvennom perevode (na primere russkoyazychnogo perevoda romana Cyan' Chzhunshu «Osazhdennaya krepost'»)

Culture plays an important role in the goal that literary translation pursues, namely, aesthetic representation. This article uses the concept of cultural adaptation in the theory of translation adaptation, defines cultural adaptation as a transformation or rewriting at the cultural level of the source text in translation in order to fit the linguistic and cultural situation in the target language, and uses the example of the Russian translation of the novel “Fortress Besieged” by famous Chinese writer Qian Zhongshu to analyze various operations of cultural adaptation in the work in terms of both transformation and rewriting in translation.

The Edges of Fiction: Dostoevsky, Merezhkovsky, and the Birth of Novel Theory

Abstract This article argues that the early twentieth-century Dostoevsky criticism of Russian Symbolist thinkers, roughly contemporaneous with Henry James's New York Edition prefaces, laid the foundation for an alternative line of novel theory, engaged not with the novel's claim to the status of high art but with the possibility of an unmediated exchange between literature and life. Interpreting Dostoevsky as a precursor to their own ideal of “life-creation,” Symbolist writers like Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Viacheslav Ivanov formulated the influential cultural construct called here the liminal Dostoevsky: Dostoevsky as a novelist who not only represents characters at the extremes of human being but also transgresses the conventional boundaries of literary texts. The liminal Dostoevsky became vital to two foundational works of novel theory, Georg Lukács's The Theory of the Novel (1916) and Mikhail Bakhtin's Problems of Dostoevsky's Creative Art (1929). While Lukács's later conversion to Marxism led him away from the ideal of erasing the boundary between art and life, Bakhtin pursued it throughout his writings, smuggling the logic of Symbolist life-creation into the language of modern literary theory. Now is an apt moment to revisit this genealogy. As writers and theorists of autofiction and the contemporary novel renew the dream of transcending aesthetic representation, it is crucial to historicize and interrogate our tendency to privilege the novel's capacity for dialogue with the reader over its capacity to weave immersive fictional illusions. Dostoevsky's example suggests, instead, that these two sides of novelistic creation exist in productive and perpetual tension.

KOMPARASI ESTETIK SENI GRAFFITI KARYA ALIASTIGA

This study aims to analyze aesthetic comparisons of graffiti art by Aliastiga from 2006-2022 in Makassar City. The analytical method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive analysis method, supported by the theory of Form Aesthetics from Dr. A.A.M Djelantik and the theory of Functional Aesthetics from Edmund Burke Feldman as a reference for analysis. The results of this study show that the graffiti artwork created by Aliastiga initially originated from an interest in art in the form of a character and writing. The work produced by Aliastiga from early 2006 has shown that artists are very talented and have good skills. Although in reviewing the weight of his work, Aliastiga does not have ideas and messages in his work, Aliastiga emphasizes artistic visuals in his work. Aliastiga graffiti art is not just a hobby, but in it becomes an artistic movement that tends to fight acts of vandalism.

Peliatan Style in Legong Keraton Lasem Performance

The Legong Keraton Lasem dance is one of the classical Balinese dances featuring Panji's story about the love story of King Lasem and Diah Rangke Sari. This classical dance first appeared and developed in the palace environment of Bali. There have been many research results on the Legong Keraton Dance. However, there has not been any research that reveals the Legong Keraton Lasem and Peliatan Style. The problems are: 1) How did the Peliatan Style in Legong Lasem Performance Originate?; 2) What is the form of the Peliatan Style in Legong Keraton Lasem dance?. The purpose of this research was to reveal the existence of the Peliatan Style in Legong Keraton Lasem Performance, which has catapulted Bali's name into the eyes of the world. This research was conducted using qualitative methods. The source of the data for this study was the Legong performance, the dancers, musicians, artists, cultural observers, and related communities who were selected based on purposive sampling and snowball techniques. All data that has been collected through observation, interviews, and literature studies will be analysed using aesthetic theory, hierarchical theory, and practical theory. The results showed that the Peliatan Style in Legong Keraton has a distinctive characteristic in the volume of dance movements performed, which tends to be large with the maximum tilt of the dancer's body. It is different from how to dance the Legong Keraton in general. The Legong Keraton Lasem with Peliatan Style emerged due to two factors, namely internal and external factors. Internal factors include the talent possessed by the Legong dancers themselves. They dance with the aim of satisfying their material and spiritual needs. Meanwhile, encouragement from outside came from the environment of Peliatan Village, which is indeed famous for its artistic activities; its people are very passionate about art every day.

Kale Ritual Processing in the Kalimusada as a New Balaganjur

Kalimasada is an experimental Balaganjur work from a new perspective. Experimental Balaganjur with a new perspective was created due to the reality that most of Balaganjur's creations are still guided by traditional principles. Therefore, the purpose of creating Balaganjur's work is to create experimental Balaganjur according to the creator's ideas by developing instrumentation, sound exploration, playing techniques, and searching for new timbres and appearances. The problem: what are the characteristics of kale composition as music?. Sources of data in this creation are carried out through interviews, video or audio documentation, and appreciating the Balaganjur performance directly. The process is qualitavelly analysed using the theory of the creation of works of art based on local wisdom, the theory of Hindu aesthetics, and the theory of creativity. The Results: The creation of Balaganjur's experimental work "Kalimasada" produces an experimental work by Balaganjur from a new perspective of creation in the process of its creation, focusing on exploring the exploration of timbre, rhythm, thematic, and fabric as creativity in the work. Through this process, the experimental Balaganjur "Kalimasada" is realised in a freer form, changes, and shows the creator's creative attitude. Balaganjur's experimental work "Kalimasada" has aesthetic value, creativity value, honesty value, and creator identity value as a new offer in the creation of Balaganjur's work.

Balinese Hindu Philosophy in Mandala Painting

The combination of art, religion, and spirituality in Bali is closely related and inseparable from each other and is reflected in mandala paintings. Painting is one of the dynamically developing branches of fine arts in Bali, ranging from classical to postmodern or contemporary. One of the unique paintings with an individual style in the middle of a collective culture is the mandala-themed painting by I Dewa Nyoman Batuan. Hinduism and the community environment inspire him to express his contemplation in the form of paintings. This research focuses on three problem formulations, namely the form of mandala paintings, the factors that encourage their creation, and the meaning of mandalas. This research was conducted using a qualitative method. Data related to the above problems were collected using interviews, observation, literature study, and documentation techniques. Data analysis was sharpened with aesthetic theory, theory of structure and change, and semiotics. These four theories are used to analyze each problem formulation. The results show that the form of mandala paintings by I Dewa Nyoman Batuan is purely an expression of ideas, notions, and personal experiences created freely by combining traditional and modern styles. The combination of the two styles creates new creations that are very distinctive with an abstract-symbolic style. The form of mandala painting includes a combination of line, shape, space, color, and texture. The structure of the painting consists of composition, proportion, unity, balance, rhythm, focal point, and contrast based on the mandala perspective.

Kontribusi Ornamen Pura Dalem Segara Madhu Terhadap Mata Kuliah Estetika Hindu Pada Prodi Filsafat Hindu STAHN Mpu Kuturan Singaraja

Hindu philosophy is one of the study programs of STAH Negeri Mpu Kuturan Singaraja which contributes to studying various philosophical thoughts both in general and about Hindu philosophy, as well as studying various religious phenomena. This is important to do so that people, especially Hindus, understand the philosophical or tattva values ​​of all religious activities carried out. To examine these matters, especially for students, of course, learning media are needed that can make it easier for students to understand certain concepts, especially those that are abstract. One of the courses that require concrete learning media is the Hindu Aesthetics subject. The choice of learning media that can be used in this course is the ornamens found in Dalem Segara Madhu Temple, Jagaraga Village, Sawan District, Buleleng Regency. This is due to the uniqueness of the carvings found on the paduraksa in this temple. By using a qualitative descriptive method, this paper examines the contribution of the ornamens in Dalem Segara Madhu Temple to the Hindu aesthetics subject at the Hindu Philosophy study program. The results of the study are that the ornamens found in Dalem Segara Madhu Temple can be included in learning about the concept of creating art in society. Thus, students can understand the theory of Hindu aesthetics and explain the relationship between aesthetic values ​​and philosophical values ​​contained in these ornamens.

A Comparative Study on Two English Translations of Song of A Pipa Player from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics

Poetry translation is a formidable task for the difficulty of achieving unity of form and content. This thesis analyzes two English versions of Bai Juyi’s Song of a Pipa Player from the perspective of translation aesthetics of Liu Miqing, one is Xu Yuanchong’s and the other is Witter Bynner’s. It is found that translation aesthetics theory is a thread running through two translations, and reasons of different translation choices can be explained from translators’ translation idea, thinking pattern and sensitivity of expressed emotion of the ST, which can be a guidance for poetry translation.

“Negative Capability”: Imagination in Ode to a Nightingale

Keats was one of the most famous English Romantic poets of the 19th century. Although he had a difficult life and died young, Keats still produced many unsurpassed works in his short life, and even today, his achievements shine like a star in the world of poetry. In addition to his poetic achievements, Keats also put forward many aesthetic ideas, and this essay will focus on the concept of “Negative Capability”, which requires that the poet should extinguish his inherent consciousness and empty himself, and be comfortable in difficult situations and negative emotions and not be anxious to find answers and reasons, which is the best way to release his imagination. The “Negative Capacity” is one of Keats’s most widely known aesthetic theories, which fully reflects his profound thoughts on truth and beauty and his pursuit of the capacity to be a poet. In order to analyze and deconstruct this concept more specifically, this paper will take Ode to a Nightingale as an example and explore the deeper meaning and application of “Negative Capability” while analyzing the poem. This paper concludes that Keats’s pursuit of “Negative Capability” is perfectly reflected in Ode to a Nightingale - he lets his imagination go free by emptying himself and uses a lot of rhetorical techniques to show his lament for the fickleness of life and his pursuit of eternal joy. The ode to the nightingale is a perfect embodiment of this.

Universalism and the Problem of Aesthetic Diversity

AbstractThis essay examines a recent line of thought in aesthetics that challenges realist-leaning aesthetic theories. According to this line of thought, aesthetic diversity and disagreement are good, and our aesthetic judgments, responses, and attachments are deeply personal and even identity-constituting. These facts are further used to support anti-realist theories of aesthetic normativity. I aim to achieve two goals: (1) to disentangle arguments concerning diversity, disagreement, and personality; and (2) to offer realist-friendly replies to all three.

On the “Imagination Consumption” of Film in the Internet Age

Abstract The discussion regarding artistic imagination, and the artist’s subjective imagination, has long been an important issue for Chinese and foreign art theories. In the Internet Age, film imagination and “imagination consumption” show new features such as the fantasy of surreality, virtual reality, simulacra, and the aesthetics of “post-conditional theatre”. Films in the Internet age enrich the theory of film industrial aesthetics with fruitful practices. The article concludes with four types of film styles relevant to the “imagination consumption”: first, films which include modes of surreality, the aesthetic of conditional theatre and allegory; second, films from the mysterious fantasy and magic genres; third, films from the science fiction genre; and fourth, films from the film-game convergence genre. This article further notes the connection between such films, the dependence upon simulacra by today’s youth audience, and their demand for “imagination consumption”, suggesting the approach of the age of “imagination consumption”.