Abstract
My study looks at the notion of the ‘Form of Image’ as conceptualised in my recent monograph ‘The Aesthetics of Image and Cultural Forms’ (Routledge, 2024). I define ‘Image’ as the modes and styles of visual material presentations. The sensuous materiality of Image is at the core of thinking about the forms of Images. My discussion explores theories of affective aesthetics (e.g ‘Obtuse Image’, ‘Tactile Image’) from which point a formalist lens is proposed in the in the exploration of visual material culture. In terms of bridging the singular Image with cultural processes, I argue that the idea of ‘cultural aesthetics’ is crucial for addressing a continuum of aesthetic experiences. Inspired by Jacques Ranciere’s work on the ‘politics of aesthetics’, my discussion focuses on the registers and perspectives that aid the foregrounding of cultural aesthetics. This is followed by explicating the democratic ethos in exploring ‘cultural aesthetics’. I intend to animate the discussion of ‘Image’ and ‘cultural aesthetics’ by looking at a series of Images produced in the early 1960s in London. These Images cohere around formalist experimentations that tune into the aesthetic forms of experience at the time. The works in focus include the abstract formal paintings of Richard Smith and exhibition Living City organised by the avant-garde architect group Archigram.
Presenters
Yi ChenSenior Lecture in Contextual and Theoretical Studies, Design School, University of the Arts London, London, City of, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Form of Image, Cultural Aesthetics, Democratic Aesthetics, Cultural Form
