No. 7 What Makes “Spine-Tingling” Art?
On this incredibly frigid cold Thursday morning I was listening to The Art Angle Podcast (a major favorite of mine and I highly recommend to anyone) and the hosts, Ben Davis and Kate Brown, were talking about the phenomena of “Aesthetic Chills” - the strong emotional reactions to music, dramatic moments in fiction, or to works of visual art. Ben Davis wrote a two part essay about his experiences of Aesthetic Chill when experiencing different works of art and also the lack thereof. The first part was his findings and experiences and the second was readers responding with their own examples of artwork that had an effect on them. I find this phenomena to be incredibly valuable for a few reasons.
The new feeling when experiencing art
Coming from an “unconventional art” background I felt timid about voicing what I felt when looking at art. I felt I had no authority to express any feeling because I wasn’t "apart of the arts”. What could I say that would matter or add to the conversation? The thing is I had so much to say. Going to shows and museums I walked in feeling a sense of newness and excitement about observing new and existing art of an industry I admired so. When I left I was filled to the brim with questions and comments about what I say and how it made me feel but couldn’t find the “correct jargon” to voice these thoughts.
Trying to explain the feeling for someone who isn’t “in the arts”
The jargon of the art industry is in itself an equation. An example would look something like this:
Aegis of Humanity, Sculpture, Chainmail, 3d Printed Heart
You walk into a gallery and see the work pictured above. You notice the main elements because they are physically in front of you, in this piece there is chain of chainmail, an a 3d printed heart, a metal circle where the aforementioned elements are attached and it is suspend in the air.
A few questions that might pop up for you could be, why would the artist use chainmail like this? Why isn’t it in the traditional format of what the material is used for? Armor, or protection typically. Why is there a sickly looking heart hanging in the air inside this very easily penetrable “cage”? To which all these questions are valid. But here is what the translation to the “arts” would say instead: (the black text representing the “translation”)
Why would the artist use chainmail like this? - What is the historical context of chainmail and what does it mean in the larger meaning of the work?
Why isn’t it in the traditional format of what the material is used for? - Is the way the artist manipulated the conventional way of understanding the use of chainmail successful or a point of contention for the work?
Why is there a sickly looking heart hanging in the air inside this very easily penetrable “cage”? - Is the use of heart an accurate representation the humanity as it is stated to be in the label? or Is this is a cage? If so what does the cage mean for the other elements of the work?
Why feeling uncomfortable is just as important of feeling joy when experiencing art
Something that is gravely mistaken about the arts is that all art has to be “happy” or incite “a warm positive feeling”. This is aligned with the misunderstanding of why are the arts are important. This isn’t to say “happy” or positive art doesn’t have its place, because I think I would choose a different path of life if I didn’t have visits of the warm or happy feeling art can have. But what I think is even more important is the art that forces the viewer to reevaluate their life and how they perceive the world. Art that makes you uncomfortable. Take for example the work by SUN Tuan and PENG Yu “I Can’t Help Myself”, a macchine is forced to clean a blood like lquid that is coming from itself. The task is eternal and what should be an emotianlaless peice of machinaery demonstrsted saddness and depression. The labor is never ending and it is causing the “mess”. It’s deeply evocative and pulls emotions from anyone who has experienced depression. Feeling un comfortable, sad, angry, or anything other than happy is so important because of the conversations it sparks and the learning that takes place.