Open AccessAesthetic experience of popular music and its role in Shusterman’s defense of popular art
Author(s) -
Dušan Milenković
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
theoria
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-081X
pISSN - 0351-2274
DOI - 10.2298/theo1902083m
Subject(s) - aesthetics , popular music , aesthetic experience , interpretation (philosophy) , beauty , art , sociology , philosophy , literature , linguistics
In his book Pragmatist Aesthetics: Living Beauty, Rethinking Art, American aesthetician Richard Shusterman examines numerous objections to various forms of popular art. The paper deals with the extent to which Shusterman?s defense of popular art is concerned with whether the work of this kind can be experienced aesthetically. Since the aesthetic experience of popular art is not the main theoretical motive underlying the objections analyzed by Shusterman in this book, the paper presents the reasons why such an interpretation of his aesthetics of popular art would contribute to the understanding of his defense of this kind of art. After considering various objections to popular art, to which Shusterman responds by analyzing the production and reception of popular music, the paper concludes that most of Shusterman?s defense of popular art is directly or indirectly based on the view that popular music can be experienced aesthetically, since popular music compositions fulfill all the conditions required for the experience of this kind.