Philosophy /4. Philosophy of culture

 

Ph.D. Klimova Galina, Ph.D. Klimov Victor

Ural State Academy of ARTS ( Russia)

 

Inversions of Taste

 

   The meaning of the phrase "inversions of taste" is associated with the generally accepted view of the covert nature of the phenomenon, because of its historical mobility, as well as many meaningful articulations in theoretical versions of taste. Here its differences always due to the conceptual increments and angles consideration from the standpoint of a scientific paradigm - philosophical (logic, ethics and aesthetics), cultural, sociological, art criticism.

    In addition, the well-known maxims like "to his own taste ..." and "tastes are differ," despite of their non-strict scientific status had not become an axiom and argues in many theoretical research, as both are the statement of self-sufficiency and personal incomparability taste.  Exactly "the illusion of presence" raises doubt. Both of them may become the starting point in discussions about the illusory persuasion in the sufficiency of the subject of their own aesthetic preferences, the possible existence of objective criteria for taste aesthetic education of the means and ways of forming the artistic tastes in the differentiation of tastes for personal, social or ethnic and cultural levels. The present differentiation of tastes, in its turn, makes address to the reasons for these differences to the terms and phases formation of taste and therefore to pay attention to the detection of its proper nature [1].

    In the traditions of classical aesthetics the common provisions are:

Taste is an integrative psycho-physiological, biological, and social phenomenon in principles of man. Taste is regarded in the structure of aesthetic consciousness: the ability - the sense - the taste - the estimation - the judgment - the ideal. The main vectors in scheme of the evolution in aesthetic feeling that affect the taste are feeling and ideal. The feeling is based on the psycho-physiological level, the ideal (rational), through the educational system and the social values ​​of education, translates particular stage of the culture. Categories of feelings lie in the field of psycho-physiological, semiotic knowledge and the ideal is in the social sciences. Experiencing the effects of these two poles taste is based in the middle area of aesthetic feeling. Because of this, it has various subject characteristics (emotional- rational, experience-judgment, inherent-acquired, natural-social, intuitive-logical). In addition, the present structure reflects the particular stages of socialization. Human is born with different degree of sensory talent.  On the starting stage of development defined by "abilities", "propensities", "needs", "predisposition" the future taste is formed by environmental specific socio-cultural realities of each one. To that we just should add that the natural and social beginnings are not equal terms of persons taste and the degree of their proportion is the reason for distinguishing individual tastes in the end [2].

   One would think that the found factors for influence in the nature of taste have to explain it; nevertheless it remains a mystery (intuitive, innate, sacral, immanent) phenomenon. The thesis about illusory nature is even proved by the existence of a perfect taste which belongs to the area of its imagination, memory, possible synonymous inversions - a vision of the sublime, the myth and archetype, the phenomenon of subjective dignity, something imaginary, covert, hidden, as well.      Concluding the discussion of interpretations of aesthetic taste, we should note their lower importance in culture to compare with the historical philosophic researches of the past. We can say that in the theory of taste there is "The empty throne" in front of us.                  If the first definition belonged to the problems of aesthetic taste in the classical paradigm were interpreted by taste is an illusion as Pushkin said «I will cry away over the fiction» and “I am glad to delude myself”, so the expression an appetite for illusion touches existing of the phenomenon in the other - non-classical culture (postmodern) and post-non-classical case of global informatization and virtualization. Let us call the most obvious phenomena of the modern existence taste [3].

The confidence of the "consumer society" to advertising, commercial product design is reinforced by the mass media technologies and manipulators opportunities of the social network. A result is a terrible loyalty and homogeneity of tastes. "Dream factory" design has created a very effective new environment formation of artificial needs and taste preferences. Now the necessary of illusions design, prestige, and success is carried out through more symbolic than functional meaning things, the environment, image, lifestyles and systems of social communications. There are illusions of social customer's own choice which is implementing their own taste preferences within the proposed (artificial) circumstances - services, situations, and products. Imitation of a choice leads to the taste autodidactic   and "narcissism” mania. Thus remains the unclear nature and quality of taste to the "demiurge", whether it is an instinctive delusion and professional incompetence or principles position and parade ambitious [4].

Virtual reality in art is created by computer means and artificial environment in which you can enter by the changing it from the inside, watching the transformation and experiencing the real sense of being. Having got in this new type of perfecting audiovisual reality, you can already get in contact not only with others but also with artificial characters. The concept of "virtual world" embodies a double meaning like the hollowness, the possibility and validity.

   The specificity of modern virtuality consists in interactivity, which allows replacing a mental interpretation to the true impact by transforming the material object of art. Transformation of spectator and reader from an observer into the co-creator who influenced to the formation of the work and the experienced a feedback effect, creates a new type of aesthetic feeling. Modification of aesthetic contemplation, emotions, feelings, perceptions is associated with the shock of the permeability of the aesthetic object that has lost the border, the integrity, stability, and opened open to many inter-artists-amateurs.

New aesthetic picture of virtual world differs apparent lack of chaos and lined up perfectly ordered, which replaced the chaos of post-modern game. Pseudo-authenticity of the virtual artifacts is the basis of diverse aesthetic experiments in cyberspace. Digital display, electronic effects changed the traditional aesthetics in many ways. Given by the author virtual hypertext can be read only by a computer, through the interactivity of the reader, choosing the way of plot development, which "admits" in it new episodes and characters, etc. In the field of  mass culture and  applied area has arisen interactive industry entertainment and next-generation services on the basis of the virtual culture, which plays on the principle of feedback and presence like multiple video games, promotional videos, , fairs, interactive educational programs, electronic simulators, virtual meeting rooms, case rooms, etc.. Mass Postproduction (toys, gadgets, reproducing of the popular film and characters etc.) has provoked a kind of role-metamorphosis by turning art into a kind of virtual advertising of such products. Analysis of the virtual specific in different forms and genres of art leads to the conclusion that associated with substantial transformation of aesthetic perception the perception, rather than an artifact process, is not the result of co-creation, lay in the center of theoretical interest [5].

 In our mind the process of formation and concretization of taste orientations is productive through the image of memory layers that are composed from cumulative subjective and social experience. In their turn, they resemble the «layers» and including figurative composite basis, that are significant for rational development, as filling the emotional-intellectual «cells» of the unconscious.              And one more time, inevitably arises a problem of memory - déjà vu - a psychological condition in which a person feels that he has already been in same situation, however, this feeling is not associated with a specific moment in the past, and refers to the «past at all». The condition of déjà vu in taste like re-reading the long already read book or watching a movie you used to see, but already forgot what they were about. You can't tell what will happen the next moment, but you can understand that you have already seen it for a few minutes, as a reaction on several consecutive events. All the power of the experience of déjà vu is the feeling, as if there were hundreds of versions how could you pass this moment, but it seems that you preferred to this entire situation and this place. And it makes you evaluate and judge about everything have done.

The impression of déjà vu can be so strong so that you will think about it for years. But, as a rule, a person cannot recall any details about events he remembered, when he experienced déjà vu. This condition is accompanied by depersonalization, so that reality becomes unclear. At the present time it can be considered as a reasonable assumption and the effect of déjà vu can be called, for example, like you have dreamed it. In this case, when a person meets the real situation, that he has already seen in a dream and already successfully simulated in brain which is quite close to the actual event, is called déjà vu. Creative interpretation of this phenomenon is most clearly shown in the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, in particular, in his film «Mirror». Autobiographical memories merge not only with memoirs of parents, but fateful images of the Motherland and the world. Look at some models of the postmodernism culture and contemporary situation of tastes. The problem chaos of information in the computer world is also solved virtually. In fact, this information network is perceived as pseudo-ordered and acting according to the clear rules with an expected effect. In the domestic media space there are simultaneously different in scale - traditional and innovative images, forming some migrating spiritual culture, taste and aftertaste, as a conscious choice (good taste) and intuitive subconscious «it».

Conclusion (Main Tips)

1. It was needed so much creative activity from the audience, which must reproduce the primary operation now, the artist with all his intellectual baggage which is, produced a new fetish, but he has never received so much in return.

2. In our opinion, the main problem of aesthetic unreliability brings us back to the basics of aesthetics and raises questions about the credibility of the assessment. Aesthetic unreliability supports the point of view that our internal aesthetic life is anarchic and unpredictable. Objectivity of taste judgment is controversial. Aesthetic insecurity is a new problem for aesthetics, which requires revision of the cognitive and affective bases of taste. Today we understand that the taste is much more anarchic, ambivalent and confusing.

3. Work for aesthetics in determining what is considered well formed taste in connection with a more complex description of aesthetic experience. How can we distinguish between authenticity and in authenticity of aesthetic judgments? Can my taste be formed when it is inconsistent with my experience? What is the taste itself? What is the aesthetic life really?

4. There are simultaneous existences of many models of tastes in poli-paradigmatic cultural situation, for example, individual, mental, homogeneous, virtual and other. Also there are several environments of its formation: subject-matter, space-environmental, informational and communicative, artistic.

5. Are there any meetings of simultaneously existing models of taste: the elite, mass and traditional, that are found in opposition to each other? Today these unresolved questions in aesthetics are valuable as ever for the various worlds of culture. «The empty throne» is waiting for its Genius.

Notes:

1.Bourdieu P. Distinction. - Routlege, 1994. http://sociologist.nm.ru/articles/burdieau_01.htm

2. Dolgin Z., Podoroga V. To be raised today is to be not fashionable //« Critical weight » 2003, ¹3. http://magazines.russ.ru/km/2003/3/fil.html

3. Klimova G., Klimov V. Aesthetic taste as design culture and creativity of the person. Ekaterinburg, 2009. pp. 20, 61-62.

4. Lexicon of non-classics. Art - aesthetic culture of XX century / V.V. Bychkov, M., 2003. http://yanko.lib.ru/books/aesthetica/buchkov-estetika-lexicon.htm

5. Melchionne K. A New Problem for Aesthetics// Contemporary Aesthetics (CA), Volume 9 (2011). http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=621

6. Sontag S. Notes on Camp. N.Y., 1964. http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/sontag-notesoncamp-1964.html