Vardagsestetik, sinneserfarenhet och den kulturella kroppen

Abstract

Today the human body is exposed, exhibited and explored in many different ways. We are, it seems, obsessed by the ways our culture challenges the boundaries for bodily capacity and beauty. In this article though, another perspective is taken. The purpose here is conversely to discuss how the body perceives and interacts with the surrounding world in a completely interconnected sense. The significance of language is obvious, which means that different kinds of narrative art are important to consider. Our conceptions, attitudes and expectations, are all foundational for what we see and apprehend. This means that art, TV and other cultural objects will have some kind of impact on our bodily perception and understanding. Traditional aesthetics usually limit this discussion to the intellectual and "high" senses, that is, sight and hearing. When considering everyday aesthetic experiences though, it is necessary also to include touch, smell and taste.