The Body: Aesthetic Experiences Beyond the Fully Functioning Senses

April 30, 2022

In this lecture, Leafyeh Chia-Jung, Director of the Fengjia Arts Museum, shares insights drawn from years of exhibitions at Fengjia Arts Museum and curatorial projects in inclusive arts both locally and internationally. The discussion centres on how individuals with physical or psychological impairments engage in aesthetic experiences and how such encounters inspire contemporary art, design, and creative practices. The talk illustrates how aesthetic practices can serve as a means to explore and expand the boundaries of human thought.

The creation of art often assumes an audience of able-bodied adults. However, if sensory needs were more meticulously categorised, art could become a medium through which creators and audiences reflect on and become aware of sensory differences and similarities. The 7th Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition, “ANIMA” (2020), hosted by Fengjia Arts Museum, explored the formation of visual perception and viewing experiences through the concept of mental imagery. Visually impaired artist Hsu Chia-Feng was invited to design a pathway that allowed both sighted and visually impaired audiences to engage with video art through all sensory experiences, fostering a dialogue centred on the body as a boundary.

Hsing Huai-An observes: “Artistic creation or an audience’s aesthetic engagement is a process of witnessing and being witnessed. Opposition arises from a lack of understanding of the other side, forming a unidirectional, binary structure. Discussions of art and aesthetics involving impairment, deficiency, abnormality, or dysfunction reflect humanity’s desire to compensate for what is lacking. Artistic practice, in essence, is a mechanism for reconciliation, transforming the act of witnessing into a process of resolving opposition. When we see and feel, the possibilities inherent in diversity can unfold. Only by dismantling opposition can the resulting culture progress towards a richer state.”

Planned and co-organized by tuanco.︎︎︎.
Published: April 30, 2022. Last Updated: December 27,2024.