Cultura.

International Journal of Philosophy of Culture and Axiology, 8/2007

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Carmen COZMA*

Mapping the Offer of the Phenomenology in Arts

Abstract. Among other modalities of arts approach, phenomenological apparatus offers us a fruitful one in the endeavour to disclose part of the rich and in-depth meanings that art in general unfolds through its products. Here, we are especially interested in phenomenology as a style of philosophizing and as a method of analysis, able to open new dimensions to the process of interpretation and comprehension the peculiar living of man in relation with arts. There are some paradigms that have been acknowledged by phenomenologists within the topics of dwelling upon the fullness of artistic logos in its potential of life experiencing, finally. In this essay we try to point out part of phenomenologys opportunities to scrutinize, in an appropriate way, art as a significant creative phenomenon; and thus to reveal much more about an ideal essence communicating a fundamental order of beingness to which man has access. Keywords: phenomenological method; artistic experience; meaning(fulness); interpretation and comprehension; creative perception.

Focusing on the knowledge through experience, on the reflection upon essence, phenomenology demonstrates important virtualities of catching and understanding life in its meaningfulness. A peculiar area that can be much better approached and enlightened by phenomenological instrumentality is that of arts; as regards the individuals engaged in the artistical process from elaboration, to reception on the one hand, and the work of art itself bearing a message of humanness on the other hand. Phenomenology is a useful way in theoretizying and revealing, in a holistical and dynamical perspective, the plenitude of significances activated by arts manifesting the royal creative human condition and essentially leading us to the logos of life in its manifold manifestations speaking in terms of Phenomenology of Life.

* Faculty of Philosophy, University Al.I.Cuza Iassy, B-dul Carol I, 11 Iassy, 700506 Romania. E-mail address: carmen.cozma@uaic.ro

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The offer of phenomenology in arts in general can be articulated even from its potential in questioning the art work within an eidetical experience-aesthetical living, by exploring the opportunities of phenomenology; since Edmund Husserl has tried to impose it as a new dimension for philosophy and a radical new method1 until the present context when phenomenology became the inspirational force of our times, marking almost the entire knowledge and understanding of life2. Actually, phenomenology accomplishes the aim that Husserl has conceived, making itself a universal reflexion on the whole lifes world, which appears like a values world and a practical one too3, running to the essence that situation of hiding-that-persists in terms of Martin Heidegger, and deepening in understanding and interpretation. In this essay, we tackle phenomenology like the method of eidetic description applied to arts, giving off a kind of essence, respectively that in-itself from art living, in the plurality of relations that human being establishes with artistical products. As artist-author, as performer of art works, or as consumer of art, man finds something about the human creativity: as proper creator or as co-creator in art, by activating and contemplating it. Thus he is a veritable participant to the achievement of the art works meaning. The subject is a cogito anchored in a sensitive experience one of cognition, thinking, feeling, aspiring, remembering, valuation etc. of the cogitatum (the existence of that is perceived). According to Edmund Husserl, The theme of phenomenology refers to any possible subjectivity in general, in which conscious life, experiences and constitutive cognitions, a possible objective world becomes aware of itself4.

Cf. Edmund Husserl, Die Idee der Phnomenologie. Fnf Vorlesungen. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Introduction: Phenomenology as the Inspirational Force of Our Times in Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka (ed.), Phenomenology World-Wide. Foundations Expanding Dynamics Life-Engagements. Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordrecht/Boston/London, 2002, pp. 1-8. 3 Edmund Husserl, Phenomenology in Encyclopaedia Britannica. A New Survey of Universal Knowledge. vol. XVII, 1927. 4 Ibidem.
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From a methodological point of view, we manage to do a disclosure and elucidation of the meaning which is aimed and mediated by artistical works. This meaning is highlighted, according to Maurice Merleau-Ponty, at the crossing of our own experiences and at the crossing of them with the others experiences 5. That happens through the intentional sensation, aiming a beyond of it, going to coexistence or communion. Thus the subject recognizes itself as self-experience, but no less as intersubjective experience. Overall, we assess that phenomenological attempt face to art works realization facilitates a sort of catch-understanding in integrality of the relation between spirit and life. A peculiar comprehension is at stake, being at the same time revelation and perception of life in its totality and meaningfulness. There is the grasp of life in its vastness and strength, in its lasting significance, thanks to the living made by artistic objectivations. Eventually, this is the unity of living, to which Hans-Georg Gadamer refers, considering the fact that art work wrests the living subject from lifes concatenation, but concomitantly it re-connects to its totality of existence6. Especially, for the subject-receptor of art, living means springing out from itself, transcending the immediate reality; it is a whole unique experience of life. The person who is able to enjoy art lives the particular mood of attending that is analyzed by Gadamer with respect to topics of theora of Greek metaphysics. That supposes enthusiasm, self-denial, full inclination upon the contemplated object. Attendness means participation. It is a subjective performance of human behaviour, one of living through art, one of spectators placing in the absolute moment self-denial and self-mediation, alike. It is placing in the realm of meanings continuity ... which gathers art work and existence world, seeing that That wrests it from everything restores its whole beingness, too7. Phenomenology expands the perspective of investigation and valuation art works speaking about human condition, about life essence, as modalities of appearance for the subject able to contemplate them. Artistic phenomenon is bearer of living universe that can find its fulfillment-recognition through forms like perception of art work as
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phnomnologie de la perception. Gallimard, Paris, 1945. Hans-Georg Gadamer, Adevr i metod. Editura Teora, Bucureti, 2001, p. 63. 7 Idem, pp. 103-110.
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unity of meaningfulness, intuitive filling of significance and completion and achievement of art work 8. There are some paradigms that have been acknowledged by phenomenological thinking and that can be successfully applied in the framework of art theoretical approaches. They contribute in appropriating, decoding and unveiling much more adequately the artistic universe in its complexity and profoundness of meaning modulations through which, as a specific phainomenon, it does appear-itself and appear-in-itself alike9. Thus we distinguish: the description in Husserlian paradigm: experience-thinking-understanding-self-understanding/self-intelligibility accompanied by explanation and elucidation of the meaning given to the world that comes out through our experience. Using phenomenological method as the only one able to make possible ontology, by questioning even the meaning of Being, Martin Heidegger proposes the dyad understanding and explanation with fruitful implications in arts. In his turn, Paul Ricoeur utters a dialectics of comprehension and explanation in the level of meaning, within an extended vision about the mutual allegiance of phenomenology and hermeneutics10. Relevancy presents also the binomial understanding and interpretation in hermeneutical dialogue of the circle of interprets participation to the accomplishment of art work meaning, that is asserted by HansGeorg Gadamer. In his conception, Understanding is always interpretation, and interpretation is, consequently, the explicit mode of understanding11. Closed to such visions is philosophy of Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka. She thematizes self-interpretation in existence, related to selfindividualizing in life process, which culminates by creativity the Archimedean point of Human Condition manifestation with the deconstruction-reconstruction polarity12. The author of PhenoCf. Hans-Georg Gadamer, Das Erbe Europas. Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp, 1989. Martin Heidegger, Fiin i Timp. Editura Jurnalul Literar, 1994, p. 46. 10 Cf. Paul Ricoeur, Du texte laction. Essais dhermneutique II. Editions du Seuil, 1986. 11 Hans-Georg Gadamer, Warheit und Methode. op.cit., p. 244. 12 See Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Logos and Life. Book 1: Creative Experience and the Critique of Reason. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1988.
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menology of Life unfolds an original vision introducing a sequential tryad to be explored in arts. As she states, in the analysis of artistic phenomenon, we can resort to the following intentional acts-moments: 1. wonder that is the essential stance of humankind facing the marvels of existence. This is a form of enchantment, the launching point of human spirit in its turn toward philosophical speculation; 2. fabulation opening in the level of two species: fabulae of philosophy and of literature. First type engages the intent to discover the positive truth about life, human existence and destiny and the universe. Second species of fabulae refers to prototypical of human character, conduct, societal organization, visions of humanity able by literary interpretation - to serve as models of cultural styles; and 3. idealization that implies the moral ideals production, so needed in configuring novel ethical situations in existence. Here comes the value of authenticity in assuming a responsible creative destiny by human being13. We distinguish some models in the territory of phenomenological hermeneutics by which artistical exegesis enriches, through a defining potentialization of explanatory-interpretative-comprehensible act in receiving the content suggestions of the art work. For example, we mention Roman Ingardens theory about concretization/interpretation process a phenomenological analysis for disclosing meaning units of the work of art14. Also, a worth contribution is due to Nicolai Hartmanns thesis about the stratified structure: reality and appearance, and about a mode of beingness somehow in suspension for the artistic beauty: it does exist, but it does not exist alike. Its being is in balance. According to Nicolai Hartmann, to catch the meaning of artistic work supposes intuition, pleasure and aesthetic valuation, that have to be activated in the appearance rapport with its two plans: first/front plan (Vordergrund), that of sensitive creations, and second/behind plan (Hintergrund), that of idea, of spiritual content, that is evoked in the receptive consciousness15.

13 Cf. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Logos and Life. Book 3: The Passions of the Soul and the Elements in the Ontopoiesis of Culture. The Life Significance of Literature. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1990, pp. 18-137. 14 Cf. Roman Ingarden, O poznawania dziela literackiego (1937). English translation: The Cognition of the Literary Work of Art, Northwestern University Press, Evanston IL, 1973. 15 See Nicolai Hartmann, Estetica. Editura Univers, Bucureti, 1974.

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In any sort of thematizations like the previous mentioned ones perception has a very important role. This supposes experience, living, a pathway towards truth. Through perception as the ground on which all acts individualize themselves and, no less, they require it the essence and existence knoting becomes possible16. Undoubtedly, we are interested in artistical perception through which we can discern art objects as being in the world and at the same time as bearing their own worlds. This is the creative perception in aesthetic receptivity, focusing on the spiritual beingness of art work speaking in terms of Nicolai Hartmann17. No less, this is even the aesthetic perception of art work, as the moment of its plenty beingness attainment, seeing that it implies a trial of feeling, as Mikel Dufrenne argues. In his opinion, subject recognizes himself in its emotional structure, and thus in its peculiar mode of understanding the expressed world18. At stake there is the staunch perception explained by Roman Ingarden as adequate understanding of artworks, within the aesthetic receptive experience, of aesthetic living a phase of active life, that is an emotional-reflexive, cognitive, attitudinal, and creative one, aiming self-understanding and self-transformation19. Concentrating on the importance of aesthetic feeling harmonization of imagination and understandings faculties the Polish philosopher delineates the aesthetic experience encountering with a work of art (investigated in its multilayered structure and multi-staged structure, in the interstratal relations of its elements) through some key moments: the separation of the real object from the aesthetic experience itself; the various and active encounters of the subject with the object in question; the apparition of an original aesthetic emotion; the preliminary formation of an aesthetic object founded on aesthetic qualities in the work; the resulting aesthetic harmony; the contemplation of that harmony; and

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, op.cit., pp. 16, 9, 187. Nicolai Hartmann, op.cit., pp. 72-75. 18 Cf. Mikel Dufrenne, Phnomnologie de lexprience esthtique. Presses Universitaires de France, 1953. 19 Roman Ingarden, Studii de estetic. Editura Univers, Bucureti, 1978, pp. 287-292.
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the non-essential existential acknowledgement of the represented objects if and when they occur20. The valences of phenomenological apparatus in arts approach and interpretation are fully relevant in case of musical perception, for example, which is the most complex aesthetic-creative perception by the multitude of its essential moments: hearing, feeling, understanding, receiving (in the deepest levels of the intimate being), identifying and confering of meaning, elevated living). Respectively, as regards the particularities from emotion-reflection-imagination-comprehension to assessmentcreation-transcending in a supreme order and the stages of musical perception going from vital to the spiritual making the subjectiveobjective relationship21. Here we reiterate the dimension of dialogue, the relation with the other, in the scheme of being-with and being-for; namely, the authentic human relation, that of solidarity, of communication, actually. Cross the historical temporality over the world, does not persist a unanimous accord seeing the fact that music is the universal language? Art of harmonious sounds proves itself to be the most convincing framework in construction the common field of understanding. In phenomenological-hermeneutical language, that represents exactly the affirmation of what Hans-Georg Gadamer names dignity of the very own being and of self-understanding of man22. Eventually, this is the affirmation of a life which is really lived in humanness, with the transcendence of in-itself, in a beyond-of-itself-for-another one, as Emmanuel Levinas has stated in his phenomenology of sociality23. We conclude by underlining the efficacity of phenomenologys parameters in the endeavour of approaching and appropriating the meaningfulness of art work a real-ideal beingness, a sensitive datum that is caught by receptive consciousness and that is completed by creative imagination and continuously re-significated through philosophical meditation and interpretation. On the route of vivid intuition, of direct
See Roman Ingarden, O poznawania dziela literackiego, op.cit. Cf. Ion Gagim, Dimensiunea psihologic a muzicii. Editura Timpul, Iai, 2003, pp.162-176. 22 Hans-Georg Gadamer, op.cit., p. 593. 23 See Emmanuel Levinas, Entre nous. Essais sur le penser--lautre. Editions Grasset & Fasquelle, 1991.
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knowledge, through the realization of artistic phenomenon immediately using senses and intellect, the phenomenological method facilitates lifes discovering (as a phenomenal whole). Finally, it makes the living that becomes a determinative in funding the point of view of art according to Hans-Georg Gadamer. A serious assertion of the eminent German philosopher is much more eloquently as finish of our essay: let us understand art work as perfection of symbolic representation of life, toward which any living aims. This is the reason for that it is emphasized like the object of aesthetic living act. The consequence, for aesthetics, is that the so-called Erlebniskunst (art of living ) appears to be properly the art24.

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Hans-Georg Gadamer, op.cit., p. 63.