Observing Van Gogh's Starry Night, waking up to see a sunrise, delighting in Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being or closing your eyes to listen to Debussy's Moonlight are inexplicable experiences that awaken a hurricane of emotions. The beauty that art and some phenomena of our day to day give off is so immense that it is impossible not to surrender to it at some point.
This feeling, this deep experience that takes hold of us when we observe a work of art, a landscape or an attractive face, is responsible for the emotions. In fact, if we think about it, one of the most important goals of art is to arouse emotions, communicate them, share them or awaken them in the observer. Hence, such a deep connection. Now, they are not just any emotions, we are talking about aesthetic emotions.
"Artistic beauty does not consist in representing a beautiful thing, but in the beautiful representation of a thing."
-Immanuel Kant-
aesthetic emotions
Aesthetic emotions are the emotional response to beauty, to any kind of beauty, according to Rafael Bisquerra, professor at the University of Barcelona. In this context, beauty can be understood as a work of art, a landscape or a certain person. Anything goes if it's capable of making an emotional impact.
"Beauty perishes in life, but is immortal in art."
-Leonardo da Vinci-
Despite the fact that these types of emotions occur when we react to certain artistic manifestations, they are a phenomenon that transcends works of art, that is, they go beyond. It is the emotional experience of beauty, that which is born from sensitivity, the result of the connection with what is being observed or, in some cases, felt, and which produces a very pleasant sensation, almost indescribable.
However, aesthetic emotions do not only cover the aspect of pleasure, the pleasant and the positive; unpleasant and negative sensations also make them up. For example, when observing Goya's painting of The Executions of May 3, we can feel rage, anger or anxiety, depending on the meaning we give it and our personal history. Just as observing the sculpture El amor de Psique by Antonio Canova can awaken nostalgia, love and tenderness. It all depends on our gaze.
What is important is the magic that results from the connection with beauty, the personal experience of the emotional impact. Hence, the concept of aesthetic emotions is so ambiguous, since each of us experiences them from different stimuli. In addition, they are a practically unknown phenomenon, which has both its defenders and detractors. Some of the authors who have referred to them are Dickie (1974), Lazarus (1991), Hjort and Laver (1997) and Levinson (1997).
The mystery of aesthetic emotions, and at the same time the difficulty, lies in understanding how and under what conditions they can originate through artistic, sports, scientific manifestations, etc. Hence, the educational field is considered one of the best contexts to initiate contact with them.
"Beauty does not look, it's just look".
-Albert Einstein-
Aesthetic emotions in education
According to Rafael Bisquerra, one goal of education should be to savor aesthetic emotions. Introduce students to these types of emotions not only at a theoretical level, but also practically through the introduction of situations that favor emotional experiences of an aesthetic nature. That is, learn to get excited and enjoy it, as Bisquerra points out.
"It is difficult to judge beauty: beauty is an enigma."
-Fyodor Dostoevsky-
This methodology not only facilitates contact with the emotional world for students, but also somehow influences aspects such as emotional awareness and regulation. Contemplating a work of art can awaken different feelings and emotions, depending on the context and the personal history of the student, who must learn to manage.
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