Aesthetics of Atmospheres

Gernot Böhme's philosophy of atmospheres has been influential in aesthetics, revealing the theatrical and manipulative character of politics, commerce, and the event-society. It offers new perspectives on architecture, design, and art, making the spatial and experience of space and places a central subject and fostering the ongoing democratization of culture.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 218 pages
\n Publication date: 25 July 2018
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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For more than three decades, there has been a growing fascination with sensory atmospheres and architectural and urban ambiances. Gernot Böhme, a renowned German philosopher, is a pivotal figure in this field, whose influential conception of atmospheres and their functioning has largely remained accessible to the English-speaking public. This translation of key essays, accompanied by an original introduction, charts the development of Böhme's philosophy of atmospheres and explores its applications in diverse contexts, including scenography, commodity aesthetics, advertising, architecture, design, and art.

The phenomenological analysis of atmospheres has yielded significant insights, and its most successful application has been within aesthetics. This success can be attributed to the pervasive aestheticization of our everyday lifeworld, or, alternatively, to the staging of everything, every event, and performance. The theory of atmospheres evolving into an aesthetic theory thus exposes the theatrical nature of politics, commerce, and the event-society. However, when viewed as a positive theory of certain phenomena, it offers fresh perspectives on architecture, design, and art. It has brought the spatial and the experience of space and places to the forefront, thereby revitalizing the ephemeral in artistic endeavors. By considering its wide-ranging impacts across various fields, it has initiated a new humanism, valuing individuals as living persons and their perspectives. This fosters the ongoing democratization of culture, particularly enabling everyone to engage with art and its creations.

\n Weight: 334g\n
Dimension: 155 x 232 x 20 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781138324558\n \n