Omschrijving |
The grotesque is the dominant format in visual culture today, as Carroll argued recently. Therefore, it is time to study it theoretically. Earlier, Jauss analysed the grotesque in terms of a clash between two representational traditions: the (‘elevated’) classical tradition; and the Judeo-Christian tradition. The last is more colloquial, rather comic, rarely grave, and extremely important for the representation of the ordinary, the ‘not yet representable’, the 'ugly'. The aesthetic category of the Grotesque (different from the Beautiful and the Sublime) typically mixes the ontological and biological categories. What role do (media) technologies play in this and how do they affect their users? Leading studies by Kayser, Bakhtin, Connelly, Harpham, and Russo will inform analyses of (film) art and media samples from Sherman, Höch, Lynch, Kubrick, Cronenberg, the Coens, Lanthimos, Sorrentino and others. Experiments and visits to museums will be part of this course. |