The Aesthetic Stance – On the Conditions and Consequences of Becoming a Beholder

Abstract

What does it mean to be an aesthetic beholder? Is it different than simply being a perceiver? Most theories of aesthetic perception focus on 1) features of the perceived object and its presentation or 2) on psychological evaluative or emotional responses and intentions of perceiver and artist. In this chapter I propose that we need to look at the process of engaged perception itself, and further that this temporal process of becoming a beholder must be understood in its embodied, contextual and dynamic speci- ficity. Through both phenomenological and neuroscientific explorations I analyze whatis characteristic about a more "aesthetic stance" and argue that there is a certain asymmetry between beholder and beheld, which has to do with a disengagement of goaldirected action, and which allows for other kinds of perceptual involvement than in a more "practical stance". It is a multi-disciplinary project integrating a sensorimotor notion of aesthetic affordances, 18th century philosophy, and large-scale brain network findings. What ensues is a new dynamic framework for future empirical and theoretical research on aesthetic perception.

Atonal Music as a Model for Investigating Exploratory Behavior

“…Dissonant intervals lead to beating and roughness ( Helmholtz, 1954 ) and are often experienced as sensorily unpleasant ( Brattico, 2015 ). It is important to note that dissonance is a central component in perhaps all styles of music and in the context of tonal music, is an important means to generate moments of tension and release ( Juslin, 2013 ; Brincker, 2015 ; Lehne and Koelsch, 2015 ; Brattico, 2021 ), both of which are experienced as pleasurable by many listeners. However, works of atonal music often are predominantly dissonant, which may be why listeners might find this music less appealing.…”

Neuroplasticity beyond Sounds: Neural Adaptations Following Long-Term Musical Aesthetic Experiences

“…Recently, Brattico et al [ 9 ] envisioned the musical experience as an instance of an aesthetic process, to be studied in relation to other art forms, rather than as a cognitive domain. Hence, the importance of considering the aesthetic attitude or “stance” [ 10 ], namely the intentional contemplative approach to an object, which is perceived, conceptualized and evaluated as detached from its utilitarian functions [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. In their article, they review the available neurophysiological and neuroimaging evidence to delineate the main brain structures and mechanisms involved in the distinct stages of an aesthetic musical experience.…”

“…Hence, “music agent” is seen here as a broad category, somewhat analogous to the concept of “music user” that was proposed by Laske [ 28 ] to encompass all subjects that experience music in some way. The environmental context and its related dynamics become central, therefore, when considering an aesthetic experience , not only because they allow (or not) a dedicated voluntary attention state for contemplation of a piece of art, but also since they impact on putative motor actions, described as “aesthetic affordances” or “structural action invitations” [ 10 ], such as walking around an installation, approaching a sculpture or closing the eyes to focus on the music.…”

“…By adopting the above delineated concepts and frameworks, we programmatically review the literature on neuroplasticity in prolonged musical engagements, by including all of the different subprocesses constituting a musical experience under an “aesthetic stance” (as conceived of by Brincker [ 10 ]). Only some of these subprocesses have been studied from the perspective of long-term neuroplastic changes, and no attempt has been made to illustrate the putative changes in the chronometric succession of aesthetic subprocesses.…”

Crash, boom, bang

“…Glaveanu's cultural-psychological account of the role of affordances in facilitating creativity finds support in a number of aesthetic studies that explore the creative opportunities that specific materials, objects or environments afford to an artist or musician (Hogg & Östersjö, 2015;Maier & Schulze, 2017;Samson & Soon, 2015;Strachan, 2013). At the same time, other studies have explored the affordances of the artworks, developing the idea of art as a quality, or an affordance, of art objects that allows aesthetic engagement with them (Brincker, 2015;Leduc, 2013). This line of thinking parallels Dewey's approach to art as "a quality of doing and of what is done" rather than some class of objects (Dewey, 1934(Dewey, /1980.…”