Approaches to Aesthetics in Art Education: A Critical Theory Perspective

Abstract

The ambiguity surrounding what it means to undertake aesthetic study can be profitably used to gain a perspective on art that is lacking in most art education programs. In this paper a brief background on current developments in aesthetics and on how aesthetics consists of contested concepts is followed by a discussion of three approaches to aesthetics: (1) historical, philosophical aesthetics, (2) aesthetic perception and experience, and (3) aesthetic inquiry. A fourth approach consisting of an emphasis on the contested nature of art will be proposed from the perspective of critical theory. This fourth approach entails an examination of assumptions, of taken-for-granted attitudes, and of the social origins and implications of aesthetic theories, values, and designations.