Social Research Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Home
Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2012-24, Social Research Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/
This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for additions or amendments.
|
|
_________________________________________________________________
Aestheticism
Aestheticism is the view that art is autonomous, should serve no other purpose and should not be judged by non-aesthetic standards.
In short, it is a view summed up by the phrase ‘art for art’s sake’. It represents and extreme form of romanticism.
Exponents of this view in one form or another include Kant, Goethe, Coleridge, Carlyle, Emerson, Poe, Gautier and Wilde.
The position has been attacked by Baudelaire as utopian; by Ruskin, Morris and the arts and crafts movement as out of touch with common life and as amoral and elitist by Tolstoy.
Aestheticism in its extreme form fell out of favour in the 20th century (except in some versions of formalism), rather it has tended to be diluted to a view that suggests that aesthetic standards are autonomous and that the creation and appreciation of art products is its own reward.
Aestheticism penetrated all areas of life—from music and literature to interior design and fashion. At its heart was the desire to create "art for art's sake" and to exalt taste, the pursuit of beauty, and self-expression over moral expectations and restrictive conformity. The freedom of creative expression and sensuality that Aestheticism promoted exhilarated its adherents, but it also made them the object of ridicule among conservative Victorians.
Not to be confused with 'asceticism' which is the belief that hard work and a no-nonsense puritan ethic are signs of one's goodness and even salvation.
See also
Top