A1 Journal article (refereed)
How Museums Make Us Feel : Affective Niche Construction and the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (2021)
Saarinen, J. A. (2021). How Museums Make Us Feel : Affective Niche Construction and the Museum of Non-Objective Painting. British Journal of Aesthetics, 61(4), 543-558. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesthj/ayab011
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Saarinen, Jussi A.
Journal or series: British Journal of Aesthetics
ISSN: 0007-0904
eISSN: 1468-2842
Publication year: 2021
Volume: 61
Issue number: 4
Pages range: 543-558
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aesthj/ayab011
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/78755
Abstract
The argument will proceed as follows: In Part 1, I introduce the basics of niche construction theory and specify the sense in which I apply it to museums and aesthetic affective experiencing. In Part 2, I outline the origins and ethos of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, after which I pin down the type of affective experience it fostered by drawing from visitors’ self-reported reactions to the artworks on display. Then, in Part 3, I use niche construction theory to explain how the Museum consciously fashioned itself, by means of various mutually supportive resources and technologies, into a fertile setting for the specified feelings. Finally, in Part 4, I extend beyond the discussed case to assess the implications of niche construction theory for a broader understanding of how art museums make us feel. In other words, by tracing the early steps of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting towards the present-day Guggenheim, I call attention to the general variation in affective niches as regards their structure, technologies, and affective aims. Overall, the article elucidates the functioning of art museums as affective niches and furthers the conceptual development of niche construction theory in aesthetics.
Keywords: art museums; art; works of art; experiences (knowledge); emotions; reactions; experience (enjoyment); experientiality; affectivity; aesthetics
Contributing organizations
Related projects
- Interaction and experiential demarcation between self and others
- Taipale, Joona
- Kone Foundation
Ministry reporting: Yes
Reporting Year: 2021
JUFO rating: 3