Examining art in the everyday: Project introduces a novel concept into the field of aesthetics
The research project “Aesthetic Practices in the Transformation of Self and World” aims to introduce a new concept to the field of aesthetics. It focuses on researching leisure time activities and hobbies and how they become part of people’s lives and identity.
The project’s approach deviates from the traditional way to research art. Usually, art is seen as objects – works of art – and aesthetic experience is studied as an individual event.
Pauline von Bonsdorff started as a professor of art education at the Ģֱ in 2002. Her background is in aesthetics, where she completed her doctorate at the University of Helsinki.
“When I thought of what art education as a field of teaching and research is, I realized that its main focus is on activities with art and making art,” says Bonsdorff, explaining the background of her thinking. She is interested in the significance of art and related phenomena for people as individuals and communities.
“Another key idea is that the boundary between art and many daily activities is open and permeable. We study practices that are not art but are closely related to it. They are characterised by continuous dialogue between self and world, that is, alterations of creativity and receptiveness.
“You cannot set exact limits on what art is,” Bonsdorff says.
Bonsdorff’s thinking has also drawn upon analyses of children´s agency. The concept aesthetic agency has been formed by examining their creative and transformative activities. Play starts immediately after birth with gestures and meanings that are repeated and transformed in interactions, for the mutual joy of infant and caregiver.
The activity is more important than the end result
As a concept, aesthetic practice is novel, and the project aim is to establish it within the field of art research and aesthetics.
“Pastimes that provide aesthetic pleasure gain significance over time, never mind if it is about pimping your car, cooking or drawing,” Bonsdorff says.
“We suggest the key to intrinsic value is in the activity, which is also what Aristotle DZDz.”
The pleasure from the activity is the reason to continue. Instrumental values are an extra bonus.
Aesthetic practices have significant impact on people’s identity and lifeworld, and they shape self and world both intentionally and unintentionally. There are probably aesthetic practices in everyone’s life and paying attention to them can become a way to develop oneself.
“The research group, funded by the Kone Foundation, started to form when I realized that we had three post docs in art education whose interests in digital gaming, everyday aesthetics and drawing could be combined in a project. At first, we got a start-up grant from the faculty and then applied for project funding from elsewhere. The second application round was successful.”
As the focus is on doing, the final product is not very important. Kaisa Mäki-Petäjä, who studies drawing in the project, has highlighted that people in online drawing communities encourage each other in the process of drawing rather than evaluate the drawings.
The research highlights the significance of seemingly commonplace activities for people. Both aesthetic phenomena and art are cultural and contextual.
Finnish migrants continue practices of their home country
As part of the project, Anu Besson studies aesthetic practices of ex-pat Finns using survey and interview data. Daily chores may become more central and take on a new meaning in a new cultural context.
For example, annual celebrations or traditional food may become important for maintaining cultural identity and communicating it to others. However, this can be challenging when the right ingredients are not available, or Christmas takes place during the hottest season. On the other hand, this spurs creativity.
The research project combines philosophical analysis with qualitative data. Data and theory feed each other, which gives rise to new perspectives and concepts.
Aesthetic practices of work
Aesthetic practices may be seemingly trivial. For example, cleaning can be an aesthetic practice if it is voluntary and allows creativity and improvisation, such as the possibility to organise things in a new way. However, cleaning does not easily become an aesthetic practice for professional cleaners who perform their work under pressure.
“On the other hand, practicality and aesthetics are not opposites, even though this is the traditional view,” Bonsdorff says. “The rhythm of work can give rise to aesthetic pleasure if the worker has ownership and can perform it in their own style. This is analogous to the rhythms and styles of gaming studied by Johan Kalmanlehto in our project.”
In contrast, drawing in an art class in school is not likely to become an aesthetic practice if it is experienced as something one has to do.
Bonsdorff has noted that the aesthetics of care has recently entered academic discourse. It requires skill from the carer to meet and acknowledge the patient as an individual, use experience and imagination in the situation, and be able to improvise in interaction.
“Highlighting the aesthetics of care could be a way to increase the appreciation of nurses and acknowledge the considerable skills they use in their work,” Bonsdorff says.
Conference in October
The research project organises the conference Exploring Aesthetic Practices on 23–25 October 2024 at the Ģֱ. The call for papers for the event is already open.
Bonsdorff expects to receive interesting papers.
“I am curious to see what comes up,” she says.
