Aesthetics of Self-Becoming

<p>This book shows that art involves an aesthetics of self-becoming wherein we do not simply consume artistic meaning but become empowered—by adapting ourselves to what creation in the different art forms makes possible. Paul Crowther argues that the great political task in aesthetics is no longer the creation of political art as such but rather the winning back of art and aesthetics as central societal concerns. This involves the overcoming of neo-liberal treatments of art as mere commodity and misguided attitudes that dismiss it as the product of dead white European males. The book begins with a theory of self-consciousness which reveals the necessary role played by the aesthetic in personal identity. It then emphasises how art forms empower through processes of making and aesthetic effects that are unique to them individually. To show this he considers the ontology of pictorial art sculpture installation and assemblage works architecture literature cinema and music. His arguments concerning these are supported throughout by in-depth discussions of specific artworks. The book’s effect overall is to reorientate aesthetics by showing how art empowers through its revelation of new possibilities of experience.</p><p>The Aesthetics of Self-Becoming will appeal to philosophers of art and aesthetics as well as scholars in art history literary studies film studies and music theory who are interested in the book’s central concerns. </p>