73447 - Aesthetics T

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will have enhanced their cultural equipment for a critical analysis of philosophical reflection on things and objects, starting from the basic elements of contemporary aesthetic and from its historical background, with attention being given to some of the thematic areas to which it applies (design, cinema, communication, fashion, urban culture, and so on).

Course contents

The course examines the principal aesthetic theories in relation to design, analysing the transformations of sensory experience and design practices in contemporary culture. Particular attention will be devoted to the role of machines and to the relationship between technologies and the production, mediation, and perception of products. By the end of the course, students will acquire theoretical and critical tools for interpreting the relationships between aesthetics, technology, and material culture, developing independent analytical skills concerning the processes and practices of contemporary design.

Readings/Bibliography

Introduction: the philosophical problem of the hand

Aristotele, Le parti degli animali, Libro IV, 687a-687b, in Id., La vita, a cura di Diego Lanza e Mario Vegetti, Bompiani, Milano 2018, pp. 1294-1299; Friedrich Engels, Parte avuta dal lavoro nel processo di umanizzazione della scimmia, in Id., Dialettica della natura, a cura di Lucio Lombardo Radice, Editori Riuniti, Roma 1978, pp. 183-196; Henri Focillon, Elogio della mano, in Id., Vita delle forme seguito da Elogio della mano, trad. di Elena De Angeli, Einaudi, Torino 2002, pp. 105-130; Vilém Flusser, Filosofia del design, trad. di Silvia Artoni, Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2033, pp. 33-50 e 99-104; Alfred Sohn-Rethel, La filosofia del rotto. Della tecnica napoletana, in Id., Napoli: la filosofia del rotto, a cura di Silvano Custoza, Alessandra Cròla Editrice, Napoli-Milano 1991, pp. 39-44.



The hand and the machine (function and ornament)

Gottfried Semper, Architettura, arte e scienza, a cura di Benedetto Gravagnuolo, CLEAN, Napoli 2017, pp. 109-114 e 121-123; John Ruskin, La natura del gotico, trad. di C. Mattioli, Jaca Book, Milano 2016, pp. 55-85 e 113-115; Henry Van de Velde, Per il nuovo stile, a cura di Hans Curjel, il Saggiatore, Milano 1966, pp. 73-81, 91-98, 171-180, 204-219; Adolf Loos, Ornamento e delitto, in Id., Parole nel vuoto, trad. di Sonia Gessner, Adelphi, Milano 1992, pp. 217-228; Ernst Bloch, Iconoclastia e ornamenti, in Id., Ornamenti. Arte, filosofia e letteratura, a cura di Micaela Latini, Armando, Roma 2012, pp. 71-99; Tomás Maldonado, È attuale il Bauhaus?/2, in Id., Bauhaus, a cura di Raimonda Riccini, Feltrinelli, Milano 2019; Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Formazioni, deformazioni. La stilistica ornamentale nella scultura romanica, trad. di Marco Infurna, Adelphi, Milano 2005



The machine and the work of art

Nikolaj Tarabukin, L’ultimo quadro. Dal cavalletto alla macchina, trad. di Anna Tellini, Castelvecchi, Roma 2015; Walter Benjamin, L'opera d'arte nell'epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, a cura di Fabrizio Desideri, Milano, Donzelli 2012; Sergej M. Eizenštejn, L’atteggiamento materialistico verso la forma, in Teoria del cinema rivoluzionario, a cura di Paolo Bertetto, Feltrinelli, Milano 1975, pp. 101-116; Viktor Šklovskij, Che cosa voleva vedere Ejzenštejn?, in Id., Il leone di Riga, a cura di Liborio Termine, Torino 1998, pp. 105-112.; Dziga Vertov, L’occhio della rivoluzione, a cura di Pietro Montani, Mimesis, Milano 2011 (Introduzione, pp. 9-23; Kinoglaz a proposito di Sciopero, pp. 86-87; Kinoglaz, pp. 98-103; L’uomo con la macchina da presa, pp. 229-233); Viktor Šklovskij, L’arte come procedimento, in I formalisti russi, a cura di Tzvetan Todorov, Einaudi, Torino 1968, pp. 73-94.

Teaching methods

The course includes 60 hours of lessons (first and second part: 30 hours each).

Assessment methods

The integrated course History and Aesthetics of the industrial product (12 CFU, 120 hours) is composed of the course History of industrial design TI - formed by two modules (the characterizing module 1, 3 CFU, 30 hours, and the module 2, 3 CFU, 30 hours) - and from the course of Aesthetic T - formed by two modules (the characterizing module 1, 4 CFU, 40 hours, and the module 2, 2 CFU, 20 hours).

The examination of the integrated course History and aesthetics of the industrial product includes the verification of the learning of the contents of all teachings and modules that make up the integrated course and takes place in a single exam.

Oral examination. Short texts written or discussed by students are welcome.

The single exam is split in two parts: Aesthetics for Design and History of Design. There will be only one mark as the two courses are integrated in the course named History and Aesthetics of the industrial product.

Teaching tools

The bibliographies specific to the different parts of the course will be analyzed and acquired during the various lessons, starting with the tools available in the texts indicated in the program. The teaching material presented during the lessons is made available to the student in paper or electronic format via the internet, also following the access restrictions, according to the modalities that will be indicated at the beginning of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Pierpaolo Ascari