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标题：The Tension Structures of Consciousness as the Subject of Art — An Interpretation of the Central Thesis of Susanne Langer’s Aesthetic Theory
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作者：Ling Zhu
期刊名称：Proceedings of the European Society for Aesthetics
电子版ISSN：1664-5278
出版年度：2013
卷号：5
页码：288-301
出版社：European Society for Aesthetics
摘要："Art is the creation of forms symbolic of human feeling" (1953, 44) – this is the central thesis of the American philosopher Susanne Langer’s aesthetic theory. The aim of this paper is to explain this unpretentious thesis and to show its contributions particularly towards the understanding of paintings. First, Langer’s concept of feeling will be interpreted as "the tension structure of human consciousness." Second, it will be shown that works of painting are equally composed of elements of tension, which display a kinship with the tensions of consciousness. This makes them a suitable medium of expression for the complex dynamics of mind, which will be illustrated by the detailed analysis of two paintings at the end of this paper. The empirical studies of Daniel Stern, Rudolf Arnheim and Michael Leyton will be drawn on to expound Langer’s thesis.