Ambiguous Pleasure
Ambiguous Pleasure
This section examines the ambiguity essential to pleasure in art. Plato has associated pleasure with the suspension of pain as well as the increase of enjoyment. Aristotle argues that the pleasure of recognition goes hand in hand with protective distance in relation to the hideous object, while Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant both see the sublime sentiment as a combination of pleasure and displeasure, as well as a contagion of form by the formless. Two conditions are considered: satisfaction is not mere relaxation, and displeasure is not mere pain. It also discusses pain and suffering and their relationship to sorrow. Also included in this section is a “Sketchbook” of quotations on art from August Macke, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Jean-Christophe Bailly, and Leonardo da Vinci.
Keywords: ambiguity, pleasure, art, Plato, pain, Aristotle, displeasure, satisfaction, suffering, sorrow
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