Att känna konsten : Att tänka genom kroppen

Sammanfattning: This study examines whether and how art, through its capacity for transformation, can promote empathy, provide insight into built-in prejudices and open up for new perspectives. The thesis analyzes three works of art: the film Love is the Message, the Message is Death, by Arthur Jafa, Go Gone, a textile sculpture group by Moa Israelsson and Modern sovande, a painting by Åke Göransson. In order to broaden the research material, in addition to the artworks, three projects at three different art institutions are examined, all of which treat empathy and art in different ways. These are: Center for Empathy and Visual Art (CEVA) at the Minneapolis Art Institute, Civic Wellness program, Art Institute of Chicago and In the mirror of the wonder of Luca Giordano, Art Perception, Florence. The study's theoretical framework is based on affect theory and empathy theory in aesthetics. The thesis applies an affect-based model as a method for the analysis of the works of art; the examination of the projects takes place through a description of each project's structure, implementation and outcome. This is presented through a schedule for each project. Main questions are: Can art of various kinds, by virtue of its own being, open up new perspectives, make prejudice visible and lead to the promotion of empathy? Can artists, curators and institutions such as museums, create a method to channel the ability of art? Can the thoughts a work of art includes and which take shape and permanence in the public space, lead to action? The study is based on, among other things, Gilles Deleuze’s thoughts about art's ability to release forces that are not themselves visible, as well as in Gustav Jørgen Pedersen's ideas about pictorial thinking – the paradox of wanting to paint what cannot be seen. Jill Bennett's ideas about exhibitions that function as affectively charged spaces, that is, the affective intensities released in the work of art are social and not something intrinsic and private, are also relevant to the study's reasoning. The study shows how the artist's ability to bring out a bodily dimension, a sense of presence – the ability to paint what cannot be seen– is crucial to what the work of art itself can do. The study also shows that it is fruitful to try to create environments through exhibitions, affective charged spaces, where the intention is to try to lead the visitors' attention towards a targeted goal.