The play as a paradigm of aesthetic experience in the philosophy of Walter Benjamin and its developments in Modern and Contemporary art

• Grant number: 16/15354-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: November 01, 2016 - October 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Taisa Helena Pascale Palhares
• Grantee: Taisa Helena Pascale Palhares
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The object of the project is to investigate the notion of play as paradigm of artistic production and their relevance to understanding of a concept of aesthetic experience in contrast to the traditional notion of contemplation. The investigation will from the distinction held by Walter Benjamin between appearance (Schein) and play (Spiel) as the two key elements of mimesis. Firstly, the aim is to understand the relevance of this notion in the Benjamin's philosophy, its relationship with the play of children, with the experimental practices of the artistic avant-gardes and tactile and distracted reception of mechanically reproducible arts such as cinema. These activities have in common the playful as a given of its concept of mimesis. In a second moment, we intend to investigate the dialogue that Benjamin establishes with the German aesthetic tradition, mainly Kant, Schiller and Hegel and authors of different theoretical fields such as Johan Huizinga, Roger Caillois, Siegfried Kracauer and Alois Riegl. Finally, it is envisaged to verify, from a critical perspective, the validity and importance that the notion of play and ludicrous experience can be for understanding of the Visual Arts in the present day. (AU)