A Study Of Aesthetic Depth In The Perspective Of Phenomenological Aesthetics

The concept of aesthetic depth can be traced back to the end of the 19 th century,which was put forward by Theodore Lipps,and then really developed in the perspective of phenomenological aesthetics.This paper will trace the research on Aesthetic Depth by Lipps,Moritz Geiger,Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Mikel Dufrenne to show the different connotations they gave the concept,and finally analyze and summarize the Aesthetic Depth in The crisis and reason encountered in contemporary aesthetic theory and aesthetic experience and explain the concept of aesthetic depth to The significance of the event.Influenced by the theory of empathy,Lipps' s concept of aesthetic depth has been colored with psychology and subjectivism.Geiger used the phenomenological research method to start from the subject's aesthetic attitude and the two effects of art,and analyzed the depth of the subject and object in the aesthetic experience.He believed that the depth of the aesthetic object comes from its essence and the depth of the aesthetic subject comes from the existence.Geiger avoided the limitations of psychological aesthetics and metaphysical aesthetics,and explained the aesthetic depth from the perspective of the interaction between subject and object,spiritual and perceptual,so that its content was enriched to a certain extent.Merleau Ponty took the concept of "body" as the core,criticized the concept of abstract space represented by Descartes to eliminate depth from the perspective of visual depth in space,and then transited to the field of painting.he analyzed the change from the visual depth displayed by traditional perspective to the depth of existing expression in painting.Taking Cezanne's paintings as an example,he summarized the characteristics of color replacing lines and outline giving way to depth,showing the fusion of rich feelings and profound spirit,and thought that aesthetic depth was the source of the relationship between the subject and the world's original existence.Dufrenne explained the aesthetic depth from three aspects:aesthetic subject,object and affective a priori.He thought that the mutual fusion of perceptionand imagination,body and spirit,feeling and thinking in presentation,representation and expression of aesthetic subject shows the opacity of subject,that is,the depth.The depth of the aesthetic object lies in its "quasi-subjectivity",which has the ability to express a world,and at the same time has the character of "freedom",internal unity and the inseparability of appearance and meaning.The aesthetic depth can only be produced in the communication between subject and object,which is rooted in the affective a priori,it is the possible foundation of aesthetics as an emotional activity and also the deepest part of the subject and object.Aesthetic depth theory has encountered a huge impact in the wave of deconstructionism and aesthetic consumerization.Derrida emphasized the openness of text and the uncertainty of meaning,so that the depth is dispelled in the unlimited extension.Roland Barthes attached great importance to the body of the text and regards reading as the satisfaction of the perceptual desire.The cooperation between commerce and art led to the unlimited generalization of aesthetics,which became a game of pursuing novelty and pleasure while neglecting the spiritual dimension.In the sensory numbness and spiritual emptiness,the significance of aesthetic depth was revealed.The aesthetic depth of phenomenological aesthetics comes from the equal communication between the aesthetic subject and the object,which integrates many factors,such as sensibility and spirituality,and pays attention to generative and interactive nature.It embodies the original intimacy between the human and the object,and makes the aesthetic subject realize the existence of the object,self and others again.