FEATURES OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE, AESTHETICS OF PHENOMENAL PRESENCE, AND THE PHENOMENON OF PERFORMANCE

Abstract

One of the most relevant aspects of the study of aesthetic experience is the phenomenon of presence, which, as the basis of aesthetic perception, is gaining new significance today in connection with the growing interest in performance. Today, performance encompasses various spheres of human life and activity, permeates all levels and layers of culture, and, as a result, influences (directly or indirectly) the formation of the contemporary sociocultural landscape. A comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of performance is therefore an important task today. At the same time, it is crucial to examine the aesthetic dimension of performance, as it is through the prism of aesthetic experience that the whole nature of this phenomenon, connected at the existential-ontological level with the aesthetics of phenomenal presence, can be revealed. After all, regardless of the type of performance (political, academic, philosophical, artistic, religious, etc.), there is always a presentation – as the main moment of performance embodiment, the sensory reaction of the recipient (active participant or passive observer), and the realization of value – as a semantic superstructure that gives meaning to the action itself. That is why the aesthetics of phenomenal presence allows for a better understanding of the essence of the phenomenon of performance. 
In order to understand the phenomenon of performance and identify the peculiarities of its aesthetic perception, it is important to pay attention to the analysis of the specifics and criteria for the realization of aesthetic experience as such. Research by such well-known theorists as I. Kant, D. Hume, G. W. F. Hegel, M. Heidegger, R. Ingarden, T. W. Adorno, D. Vattimo, J. McKenzie, and others will help to clarify these and other aspects of aesthetic experience. An analysis of these thinkers’ concepts of aesthetic cognition will contribute to a comprehensive study of the aesthetic nature of performance. The research conducted by the article’s author will help to understand the role of contemporary artistic performances in shaping the current philosophical, aesthetic, and sociocultural discourse.