Aesthetics of the familiar : everyday life and world-making

259 Pages·2017·9.63 MB·English

by  Yuriko Saito

Aesthetics of the Familiar

Aesthetics of the
Familiar
Everyday Life and World-Making
Yuriko Saito
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP,
UnitedKingdom
OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship,
andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof
OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries
©inthisvolumeYurikoSaito2017
Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted
FirstEditionpublishedin2017
Impression:1
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin
aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe
priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted
bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics
rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe
aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe
addressabove
Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform
andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Dataavailable
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017932559
ISBN 978–0–19–967210–3
Printedandboundby
CPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY
LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand
forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials
containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
ListofFigures xi
Introduction 1
Part I. Concepts: Everyday Aesthetics as an Essentially
Contested Field
1. TheAestheticsoftheOrdinaryandFamiliar 9
1.1 ‘Everyday’asanEssentiallyContestedConcept 9
1.2 EverydayAestheticsasDefamiliarizationoftheFamiliar 11
1.3 LimitationsofEverydayAestheticsasDefamiliarization 20
1.4 AestheticsoftheFamiliarasFamiliar 23
2. ChallengesandResponsestoEverydayAesthetics 37
2.1 Objectivity-SeekingandJudgment-OrientedAestheticsDiscourse 37
2.2 SpectatorAestheticsvsActivistAesthetics 51
Part II. Cases: From Sky to Earth
3. TheAestheticsofEmptiness:SkyArt 69
3.1 SkyandEmptiness 70
3.2 EmptinessofRealityExemplifiedbySkyArt 72
3.3 EmptyingOneselfinExperiencingSkyArt 81
4. TheAestheticsofWindFarms 93
4.1 TheCapeWindProject 93
4.2 StrategiestoTransformtheAestheticsofWindFarms 95
4.3 LifeValue-BasedAestheticsofWindFarms 102
5. TheAestheticsofLaundry 115
5.1 ExclusionofLaundryfromtheAestheticArena 115
5.2 AestheticsSpecifictoLaundry 119
5.3 AestheticsofDoingLaundry 121
5.4 JudgmentsofaPerson’sAppearance 124
5.5 EnvironmentalImpactofLaundryAesthetics 126
vi CONTENTS
Part III. Consequences: Everyday Aesthetics
and World-Making
6. ConsequencesofEverydayAesthetics 141
6.1 Environmental,Political,andSocialConsequences 141
6.2 MoralConsequences 149
7. ThePowerofEverydayAestheticsinWorld-Making 196
7.1 WhattoDowiththePoweroftheAesthetic 196
7.2 ObjectionstoEverydayAestheticsasaNormativeDiscourse 199
7.3 PracticingBodyAesthetics 209
7.4 InstrumentalValueofEverydayAesthetics 213
Conclusion 225
Bibliography 227
Index 243
Acknowledgments
My first book, Everyday Aesthetics (Oxford University Press, 2007), was pub-
lishedalmosttenyearsago.Itsaimwastobeginadiscussionaboutopeningthe
scope of aesthetics to include those aspects of our lives previously neglected in
the aesthetics discourse. I have been gratified by the increasingly lively debate
over everyday aesthetics in recent years. In this regard, I feel that it’s “mission
accomplished.” At the same time, I am motivated more than ever to continue
exploring this area of our aesthetic lives, not only to contribute to the ongoing
conversationamongaestheticiansbutalso,perhapsmoreimportantly,topursue
whatItaketobethesocialresponsibilityofaesthetics.
TeachingR(hode)I(sland)S(chool)ofD(esign)studentscontinuestoprovide
a constant intellectual nourishment for me. Their work, whether comments in
class, papers, presentations, or studio projects, has been a perpetual source
of inspiration, stimulation, and challenges to my own thinking. My RISD
colleagues, too numerous to name, have also been my cheerleaders with their
steadyencouragement,support,andfoodforthought.Inparticular,theyhelped
me widen my horizons and open my eyes through their different disciplinary
approaches, global perspectives, and, most importantly, their commitment to
teachingandpracticingsociallyandethicallyresponsiblework.
Whileattimesmissinghavingaphilosophydepartmentandstudentsmajoringin
philosophy,Ihavecometotrulyappreciateandcherishtheprivilegeandadvantage
of teaching at an art and design school. Being at RISD forces me to think about
aestheticsasapractice,notonlyasascholarlyendeavor,andtowriteinawaythatis
accessibleandrelevanttoreadersacrossdisciplinaryandculturalboundaries.
ThefeedbackIhavereceivedonmyfirstbookhasbeenextremelyrewarding,
particularly because it came from readers from diverse disciplines and different
corners of the world. They included professional artists and other practitioners
such as architects, designers, writers, stage set designers, and medical profes-
sionals,aswellasacademiciansinfieldsrangingfromsociology,education,film
criticism,art,andarchitectureto,ofcourse,philosophy.AlthoughIcannotlistall
ofthembyname,Ithankthemforreachingouttomeandinformingmehowmy
writingwasusefulintheirownwork.
Over the years, my professional colleagues and friends have helped me
develop and test my ideas. I want to give special thanks to Yrjö Sepänmaa, Ossi
Naukkarinen, Pauline von Bonsdorff, and Arto Haapala, who together provided
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
many opportunities to present my ideas in what I now call my third home (after
JapanandUS),Finland.
Iammostindebtedtothetworeviewersofthefirstdraftofthisbook,Arnold
Berleant and Tom Leddy: a dream team! Their suggestions, comments, and
challenges were invaluable and I hope I did justice to the care they took in
reading the manuscript. As it should become clear throughout the book, my
ownthinkingoneverydayaesthetics,oraestheticsingeneral,owesmuchtotheir
works.Tomhasbeenasupporterofeverydayaestheticsnotonlybyencouraging
mywork butalsoby hisown workthat culminated in TheExtraordinary in the
Ordinary:TheAestheticsofEverydayLife(BroadviewPress,2012).Theprocessof
reinforcing each other’s work and building the field of everyday aesthetics
togetherhasbeenexcitingandrewarding.
In addition to his numerous comments and suggestions on the first draft of
thisbook,IspecificallyoweArnoldthethree-partorganizationofthisbookwith
respective titles: Concepts, Cases, and Consequences. His suggested framework
helped create an improved sequence, as well as a balance between and among
eachpart.MyindebtednesstoArnoldgoesmuchdeeperthanhishelpwiththis
book, however. Arnold was pioneering everyday aesthetics without using that
particular term many years before I started formulating my own thoughts.
Without his trailblazing work, I would not have had any guidance or direction.
TheimpactofArnold’sworkonmythinkinginaestheticsisbothprofoundand
pervasive. The overall influence and inspiration I gained from his extensive
oeuvre is beyond measure and cannot be adequately reflected in my occasional
specificreferencestohiswork.
MythinkingonaestheticshasalsobenefittedfromcollaboratingwithArnold
onContemporaryAesthetics,afreeaccess,online,andpeer-reviewedjournalthat
he started as its Editor in 2003. This journal (from which I have cited many
articlesinthisbook)hasencouragedandprovidedhomeforgoodandinnovative
works in aesthetics that helped enlarge this discipline’s domain, approach, and
cultural boundary. It has been a labor of love for Arnold, and I, working as
Associate Editor, have been the beneficiary of sharing in this exciting and
rewardingjourney.
Finally,IwanttothankmyeditoratOxfordUniversityPress,PeterMomtchiloff,
for his support and patience throughout the process of preparing the manuscript.
As with my first book, I am grateful to the freedom he gave me regarding the
contentofthisbookandanever-extendingdeadline!
AswasthecasewhenIwaswritingthefirstbook,myfamily,Gerry,Sarah,and
Adam,providedmuchsupportinmanyways,supportthatIparticularlyneeded
duringthelaststageofcompletingthismanuscript.Forthelastseveralmonthsof
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
writing, my father was suffering from terminal illness, and most of the revision
workwiththereviewers’feedbackwasdoneinJapanwhilecaringforhim.Iam
notsureatthistimeofwritingwhetherhewillbeabletoseethepublication.Iam
dedicatingthisbooktohimwhotaughtmeaworkethic,professionalism,social
grace,and,aboveall,howtoliveanddie.
April,2016
Sapporo,Japan