Rhythm and Intensity The Art of Punctuation and the Aesthetics of the Everyday

Abstract

The aesthetics of the everyday is often conceived of as a sub-discipline of the aesthetics of art. This is a consequence of using art, and most specifically representative visual art, as a point of reference. However, here we discuss the idea that it may be more fruitful to employ models based on rhythm and intensity, such as ornament, poetry or music. Such a move would open up the possibility of a rethink of certain types of common experience whose qualitative identity could then be found in a more subtle but not insignificant dimension of our lives. To make things more concrete we will deliberately limit our discussion to some well-known examples from Japan where the initial idea for this paper was born. In conclusion  we will argue that an ethos without object turns out to be the way in which to qualify the experience of everyday beauty