Classic

The “Classic” aesthetic experience is a “non-emotional” response to the form of an art work.  You might look at a painting and think “hmmm…..cool.”  You might also go into someone’s living room during an open house and think “oh, the colour of that wall is all wrong”.  It is typically your response to the design of the clothes that you choose to buy and wear (…well, there may be other types of response to that as well, like how much it costs or how many complements you got from people that are important to you).

It is, in a way, one of the more prevalent types of experience as it describes our response to the design of almost everything we see and hear in our everyday world.  It is also the type of experience that is most often referred to as “Aesthetic” (even though I argue there are many more).  This is because the “highbrow” world of museum art and “Classical” music rely on this type to analyse the art forms.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this.  It is a type of experience that lends itself to analysis and explanation and is a very important type of response.

The Classic response is based on a Formalist theory of aesthetics.

The term “Classic” comes from the Classic style period and reflects Kant’s notion of a “disinterested response” as the aesthetic experience.

It is an “intellectual” response to the elements of art and the principles of design