Category Archives: Aesthetics

Conference Presentation: Art Speaks the Unspeakable: Suffering of the World in Aesthetic Expression or L’art dit l’indicible: souffrance du monde dans l’expression esthétique

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I presented at the International Network of Philosophy of Religion conference which took place in Perugia, Italy on June 11, 2024. It was a wonderful conference connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. The location was beautiful overlooking several small cities including Assisi (where St. Francis was from).

Here is a picture from the back of the hotel.

The conference is both in French and English so I wrote my abstract in both. And like last time, I read my paper in English but read the longer quotations in the original French.

Title: Art Speaks the Unspeakable: Suffering of the World in Aesthetic Expression

Abstract. Responding to the discussion on solitude and tragedy (the “extra-phenomenal”), at our last conference, and reflecting on the crisis of our created world, for this conference, this paper looks to the power of art to speak into the silent spaces of deep suffering. Because there are events where no human language — not even the language of phenomenology — can offer us a satisfying response, art has an ethical obligation to speak to us in the midst of personal and global suffering. Drawing on Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s idea that art emerges out of silence, I will first offer further proof for why it is that art must speak of suffering. Next, I will describe how art fulfills this obligation due to its facility with the vocabulary surrounding suffering, for example, death and brokenness, as seen in illustrations from the art of the French existentialists, Simone de Beauvoir, Gabriel Marcel, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Lastly, I will present what art says to us in suffering to demonstrate its indispensability; for the uncompromising message of aesthetic expression reveals to us the fullness of reality, the hard and the good, unlike anything else.

L’art dit l’indicible: souffrance du monde dans l’expression esthétique

Le résumé. Répondant à l’échange sur la solitude et la tragédie (le “Hors-phénomène”), lors de notre dernière conférence, et réfléchissant sur la crise de notre monde créé, pour cette conférence, cet article se penche sur le pouvoir de l’art de parler dans les espaces silencieux de la souffrance profonde. Parce qu’il y a des événements où le langage humaine — même le langage de la phénoménologie — ne peut pas nous offrir une réponse satisfaisante, l’art a une obligation éthique de nous dire quelque chose au milieu de la souffrance personnelle et globale. Faisant appel à l’idée de Maurice Merleau-Ponty selon laquelle l’art émerge du silence, j’offrirai tout d’abord une preuve en plus du fait que l’art doit parler de la souffrance. Ensuite, je décrirai comment l’art remplit cette obligation par sa richesse de vocabulaire du domaine de souffrance, par exemple, la mort et le monde cassé, comme le montrent les illustrations des arts des existentialistes français, Simone de Beauvoir, Gabriel Marcel, Jean-Paul Sartre et Albert Camus. Et enfin, je présenterai ce que l’art nous dit dans la souffrance pour démonter sa nécessité ; car le message intransigeant de l’expression esthétique nous révèle la plénitude de la réalité, du dur et du bien, contrairement à toute autre chose.

Article Published: Miracle in Myth: Nietzsche on Wunder

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I am happy to announce that my article on Nietzsche and miracle has been published! It was published in the journal Religions and is part of a special issue on “The Intersection of Phenomenology and Religion.” You can see it online here and download a pdf.

I am also putting a pdf of it here.

Miracle in Myth: Nietzsche on Wunder by Hannah Lyn VenableDownload

Here is the abstract:

This paper considers the experience of miracle through the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. Although he is often considered an anti-religious thinker, I argue that Nietzsche actually puts forth a positive conception of miracle because of its indispensable role in the creation of myth. I walk through Nietzsche’s texts to describe his account of miracle (Wunder) and to demonstrate how it reveals a phenomenological perspective on miracle by placing it and rooting it in human life. Despite his rejection of traditional religion, Nietzsche reminds us that miracles are not an anomaly to human experience, but rather they are the way in which humans are able to embrace and affirm life through participation in myth.

Conference Presentation: Sketching a New Approach to Art and Ordinary Flourishing

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I had the opportunity to return to the Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture after not attending for several years to present a joint paper on art with my friend and colleague, Mark Allen. Our presentation was on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. We worked really hard on our abstract and paper as we hope that it will form the foundation for a future book to write together.

Here is our abstract:

The divide between traditional and modern conceptions of art has created a rift between the artworld and the general public. The artworld wonders if the public cares about art because so few seem interested in expanding their tastes beyond traditional modes, but the public sees little coming out of the modern artworld that resonates with common aesthetic sensibilities. This project takes the position that great works of art and deep experiences of art are not out of reach for the ordinary person and that both the artworld and the public can be brought into fruitful dialogue with each other.

Early in the twentieth century, the artworld began shifting its focus toward qualities like meaning, progress, and originality. Ultimately, this led to radical forms of conceptualism that minimized values like craftsmanship and beauty, diminishing the connection between art and everyday living. And so, whether actively disregarded or passively overlooked, ordinary people tend to dismiss modern art as an abstract, high-brow enterprise, deflating the motivation to participate in art in general. What’s the point in trying to engage works that are culturally, conceptually, and aesthetically inaccessible? Maybe seeking understanding in art is a waste of time?

Of course, good art can be and often is difficult—to make and to make sense of—but far too often work that is promoted as “complex” is merely opaque—front-loaded with philosophical assumptions and foreign grammar administered by artworld elites.

The authors of this project, however, believe that everyone is adequately qualified to freely engage works of art simply by virtue of being human. In fact, it is in our ordinary humanity that we find the purest, most primordial experience one can have with a work of art. To be clear, we are not calling for a renaissance of art that is easy or crude, but for a reawakening of common sensibilities from common folk who are empowered in their ordinariness to both create and engage works of art. Drawing on philosophers like Sartre and Danto, and artists like Cézanne and Duchamp, we establish a clearer picture of what art is so that we can establish why art is so important for human flourishing.

First, we argue that a philosophy of art centered around the qualities of meaning, craftsmanship, and beauty aids a proper understanding of art through a flexible but discerning “two-out-of-three” conditional. If works characterized mostly by meaning can be reclassified as a new form of philosophy, while works characterized by beauty, craftsmanship, and meaning remain under the conventional category of art, then we can more fully appreciate both traditional and modern works, making sense of them on their own terms.

Second, we insist that works of art must spill out of the frame, the museum, and the music hall, in ways that are lived-out in human flourishing. Through creation or participation, art has the unique ability to expose human suffering and cultivate freedom. More than this, we shape our lives as works of art through self-creation and, in this way, are drawn beyond the material world toward transcendence.

In summary, this project attempts to bridge the divide between the artworld and ordinary people by narrowing the definition of art on the one hand, but expanding it on the other. This approach is informed by the diverse backgrounds of the authors, both of whom have doctorates in philosophy, but one is a professional artist who teaches advertising and design while the other is a trained musician who teaches philosophy and aesthetics.

Conference Presentation: Virtual Symphony and Virtual Church: Considering the Importance of Bodily Presence

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I had the opportunity to present a presentation titled, “Virtual Symphony and Virtual Church: Considering the Importance of Bodily Presence” at the virtual 2021 Psychology and the Other Conference on September 19, 2021.

Here is my short summary and longer abstract:

Short Summary

This paper weighs in on the question of virtual church, particularly on whether or not liturgy can be done virtually. We will approach our subject from an unusual perspective by looking first to aesthetic experiences, such as watching a virtual symphony, and then relate them to liturgical experiences, such as attending virtual church. Art and liturgy are linked in that they both have the unique ability to facilitate presence, to make something known to us in a new way so that we walk away changed. I argue that what art teaches us about the importance of the body applies to the practice of liturgy and that, while unexpected benefits will surface in virtual settings, nothing replaces the powerful experiences that arise when the body is physically present.

Longer Abstract

No one will deny that there is a substantial difference between meeting in person and meeting virtually. Now, more than ever due to the covid crisis, we have experienced virtual gatherings in almost every sphere of our lives. For religious gatherings, these types of discussions have been of critical importance, sometimes causing great tension and conflict between members of the same communities. This paper weighs in on the question of virtual church, particularly on whether or not liturgy can be done virtually. We will approach our subject from a somewhat unusual perspective by looking first to aesthetic experiences, such as watching a virtual symphony, and then relate them to liturgical experiences, such as attending virtual church. Art and liturgy are linked in that they both have the unique ability to facilitate presence, to make something known to us in a new way so that we walk away changed. I argue that what art teaches us about the significance of the physical closeness of the human applies to the practice of liturgy and that, while unexpected benefits will surface in virtual settings, nothing replaces the powerful experiences that arise when the body is physically present.

Beginning with art, we consider aesthetic experiences such as viewing a photo of a painting or listening to a music recording or attending a virtual symphony. Drawing on Mikel Dufrenne, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Gabriel Marcel, we explore how art has a way of pulling us beyond the constraints of space and time in order to experience presence. And yet, the most powerful moments of presence are when the body is at the same place and in the same time as the work of art, such as discovering the original painting at a museum or attending an in person symphony. 

Next, I consider the weight of the body in experiences of presence in liturgical practices, both in person and virtual, guided again by Gabriel Marcel as well as Bruce Ellis Benson, Emmanuel Falque, Christina Gschwandtner and Éric Palazzo. Considering liturgy as both what happens in worship gatherings and in daily life, we will discuss three aspects of liturgy to understand the role of presence in its practices: liturgy as art, liturgy as bodily, and liturgy as communal. We find that liturgy as art draws us into worshipping and into shaping our souls, liturgy engages all five senses of the body and liturgy lives only in communal settings. I will relate this three-part understanding of liturgy to virtual and non-virtual experiences and argue that a full experience of liturgy must include the bodily presence of the self and others.

Applying the insights from aesthetic experiences to liturgical experiences, we discover the importance of bodily presence in all areas of life. This discovery, ultimately, provides further validation to treating humans as undivided wholes, with full integration of mental and physical capacities, and awakens us to the deep experiences of presence that we have available when we are fully engaged.

Powerpoint SlidesDownload

Abstract for “Virtual Church and Virtual Symphony: Considering the Importance of Bodily Presence”

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I have been accepted to present the paper, “Virtual Church and Virtual Symphony: Considering the Importance of Bodily Presence,” at the Psychology and the Other 2021 Conference. It will be virtual this year, but I am still looking forward to it. If you would like the longer version or a copy of the paper, please contact me. I will be covering similar material to be my published article on liturgy, “The Weight of Bodily Presence in Art and Liturgy” (see the post here and download the pdf here).

Here is the short abstract:

This paper weighs in on the question of virtual church, particularly on whether or not liturgy can be done virtually. We will approach our subject from an unusual perspective by looking first to aesthetic experiences, such as watching a virtual symphony, and then relate them to liturgical experiences, such as attending virtual church. Art and liturgy are linked in that they both have the unique ability to facilitate presence, to make something known to us in a new way so that we walk away changed. I argue that what art teaches us about the importance of the body applies to the practice of liturgy and that, while unexpected benefits will surface in virtual settings, nothing replaces the powerful experiences that arise when the body is physically present.