What drives current aesthetics of art and arts participation?
What cultural institutions and structures are involved? What social forces/issues?
In what ways do practices, ideas, narratives, or ideologies associated with this aesthetic depend on transmediations?
Aesthetics. This is such a loaded term. We have read and talked about aesthetics every week. It seems to me that all conversations end up at this similar and controversial place. The basic explanation of aesthetics goes back to the Becker article in week one. The people who define art and aesthetics are being exclusive rather than inclusive. They define what is and what is not art. Currently we are still operation of this system of listening to people who are respected, not because they are correct in their definitions of art and taste, but because the majority of people or the “important people” of the art worlds agree with them. But, things are changing. More people are able to express their opinions and have them validated (or argued with) by others. The internet has vastly opened up the world of art and aesthetics. Still, the mainstream aesthetics versus the individual aesthetics of younger generations is a battle that the old system is winning. Aesthetics can be very restrictive.
Aesthetics are created by individuals, whether they are part of the sophisticated high art world, or one of the millions online expressing their own opinions. The institutions involved in the creation of aesthetics include art museums, history museums, galleries, and really any place that exhibits art (both current and historical). Those included in the “high art” sector are usually old institutions that can be somewhat intimidating to “outsiders” and younger audiences. So, because of that they stay quite fixed in their ways, defining art and aesthetics in a more traditional and exclusive way. New forces however are becoming stronger in the world of art. Some places that display new art and choosing for themselves what aesthetics are. They are defining art in a new way, choosing to show what some of the more fixed and unchanging old guard would see as non-art. The internet is also changing aesthetics in this regard. More people can see these new forms of art on a daily basis. One does not have to go to a museum and pay to see art any more, you can google it.
Transmedia changes aesthetic, in that it creates more access. With more people being to access more ideas and more art every day, ideologies are changing. Multitudes of people can express their opinions and personal aesthetics and have them broadcasted just as much as the traditional ideas of aesthetics. All forms of media (the internet, posters, art, tv, radio, etc) allow for the sharing of unique and new ideas.