73447 - Aesthetics T

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will have enhanced their cultural equipment for a critical analysis of philosophical reflection on things and objects, starting from the basic elements of contemporary aesthetic and from its historical background, with attention being given to some of the thematic areas to which it applies (design, cinema, communication, fashion, urban culture, and so on).

Course contents

The course Aesthetics for design: things and industrial objects, art and technology covers two aspects:

- A general approach to the philosophy of things, discussing subjects such as the distinction between thing and object, the construction of a language of things, the relationship between art and technique, an exploration of literary and anthropological studies on emotional, symbolic and cognitive ties with things, key-concepts for the study of objects such as fetish, artefact, relic, simulacrum, collection, performative object, etc..

- A more specific exploration of the aesthetics related to the design, with a survey of debates central to the field, like those about the ornament, the relationship between form and function, the aestheticization of everyday life, the industrial arts, etc.

The course is divided into 12 modules of 5 hours, listed below with the literature.

Each module is organized as follows: 2-3 hours of lectures; 3-2 hours of required exercises (analysis of visual material; workshops with guests; questionnaires on the program of the course etc.).

At the beginning of the course, the methods of implementation of the joint work on the part of Aesthetics and on the part of History will be illustrated in detail. An object, a creative project for the final exercise, accompanied by a conceptual scheme that uses the keys gradually offered by the course, and a notebook will be chosen and used for both disciplines.

The final evaluation will be obtained through the presentation at the final seminar and the oral exam in both disciplines of the course.

 

Readings/Bibliography

1. Things and Objects: Remo Bodei, La vita delle cose, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2009.

2. Collection: Walter Benjamin, Tolgo la mia biblioteca dalle casse (1931), in Id., Opere complete, vol. 4, Scritti 1930-1931, Torino, Einaudi, 2002, p. 456-463 (and Id., § 4, Luigi Filippo o l'«intérieur», di Parigi, la capitale del XIX secolo (1935), in Id., I «passages» di Parigi, Torino, Einaudi, 2002, vol. 1, p. 11-13).

3. Fetish: William Pietz, Fetish, in R. S. Nelson and R. Shiff, eds., Critical Terms for Art History, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago-London, 1996, p. 197-207.

4. Consumption and Myth: Georges Perec, Le cose. Una storia degli anni sessanta (1965), Milano, Rizzoli, 1986 (anche: Torino, Einaudi, 2011), Roland Barthes, Miti d'oggi (1957), with a text by Umberto Eco, Torino, Einaudi, 2008 (ed. 1974, p. 51-56, 63-79, 102-104, 118-121, 125-126, 143-149, 163-165, 169-171, 175-177).

5. Uncanny: Sigmund Freud, Il perturbante (1919), in Id., Opere, Roma, L'espresso, 2006, vol. II, p. 759-801.

6. Some categories of taste (wabi sabi, kitsch, camp, prestige, glamour): Andrea Mecacci, Il camp, in Id., Il kitsch, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014, p. 135-138; Giangiorgio Pasqualotto, Il vuoto nel chanoyu [cerimonia del tè], in Id., Estetica del vuoto. Arte e meditazione nelle culture d'Oriente, Padova, Marsilio, 2012 (8), p. 77-89; Barbara Carnevali, Social Design, in Ead., Le apparenze sociali. Una filosofia del prestigio, Bologna, il Mulino, 2012, p. 161-169.

7. Obsolescence and Frugality: Serge Latouche, Origine e funzionamento dell’obsolescenza programmata, in Id., Usa e getta, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2015 (2), p. 64-99 and Id., Verso una società di abbondanza frugale, in Id., Per un’abbondanza frugale. Malintesi e controversie sulla decrescita, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2012, p. 13-24. A dialogue with S. Latouche, Ethics and Aesthetics of Frugality (3 November, 5.30 p.m. Palazzo D’Accursio, Piazza Maggiore 6).

8. Workshop Things-Representation in common with History of the Industrial Product 1. How to make a short video about an object (a specific bibliography will be announced during the course).

9.  Function and Adornement: Georg Simmel, L'ansa del vaso, in Georg Simmel, Ernst Bloch, Martin Heidegger, Theodor W. Adorno, La questione della brocca, ed. by Andrea Pinotti, Milano, Mimesis, 2007, p. 11-17 (and A. Pinotti, Il vaso di Simmel, p.19-30).

10. Industrial arts and making: Maurizio Vitta, La nascita delle arti industriali, in Id., Il rifiuto degli dèi. Teoria delle belle arti industriali, Torino, Einaudi, 2012, p. 3-37, e Tim Ingold, Bodies on the run, in Id., Making, London-New York, Routledge, 2013, p. 91-108.

11. Workshop Things-Representation in common with History of the Industrial Product 2. Some cases of aesthetic analysis of design objects (a specific bibliography will be announced during the course).

12. Final workshop: Andrea Mecacci, Estetica e design, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012 (especially part two, L'estetica dell'arte applicata), e Maurizio Vitta, Il rifiuto degli dèi. Teoria delle belle arti industriali, Torino, Einaudi, 2012 (especially chapter three, Arti industriali e tecnologia).

Teaching methods

The course comprises 60 hours of lessons.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. Short texts written or discussed by students are welcome.

Links to further information

http://www.unibo.it/docenti/andrea.borsari

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Borsari