Abstract

The possibility of aesthetic objectivity is a standard topic within philosophical aesthetics and raises questions that have always been heavily disputed. ‘Endlos umstritten, ewig schön’ will readdress these issues through the most prominent concept within the philosophy of art, namely the concept of beauty, and ask the question: Can artworks be beautiful in themselves or is beauty a subjective reaction of the viewer? For artists since the beginning of the 20th century, the notion of beauty has been associated with frivolity, consumerism and pure pleasure and as a result, challenged and rejected. Thus the term has been replaced in recent aesthetic debates by discourses such as relational aesthetics, art as social space, art as service and poetic knowledge. The exhibition, which will represent current artistic positions from the UK and Germany that challenge both classical and more contemporary conceptions of beauty, will provide the context for an interdisciplinary symposium. Art theorists and philosophers from varying aesthetic traditions have been invited to take part and to discuss the possible relevance beauty could have for the production and reception of contemporary art. In bringing dynamic artists, philosophers and theorists together, we hope to examine this old debate from new and invigorating perspectives.