Psychology of art in a transitive world: the aesthetics of change

Abstract

Background. The modern changeable and uncertain situation actualizes the problem of art, which is able to reflect the emotional experiences of people, harmonize their ideas about themselves and the world, and also play the role of a certain coping strategy that helps to overcome uncertainty and variability. Objective. The study aims to work out the theoretical and methodological analysis of trends that have existed in the art of the XX–XXI centuries. Methods. Comparative analysis of the concepts of the psychology of art in the XX–XXI centuries and the new aesthetic concepts of the last decades of the XXI century is carried out. Results. The results obtained showed that contemporary art combines the aesthetics of everyday life and the “torn” aesthetics of abrupt changes. Crystallization of artists and viewers’ experiences connects them with a commonality of emotions and attitudes to the situation. The mechanism of both creativity and catharsis is the mutual “spots of time”, leading from disharmony to harmony between the human and the world. Conclusion. The changed situation throughout the world leads to change in the “language” of art, which obtains new mechanisms of emotional impact. Aesthetics of transitivity connects aesthetic transformations with everyday life, making new images familiar. This leads to the fact that these images become a new type of aesthetics and help to get used to the transformations.