Art as Part of Everyday Life: Understanding Applied Theatre Practices through the Aesthetics of John Dewey and Hans Georg Gadamer

Abstract

In the period between 2000 and 2004, the Norwegian Research Council funded a research project on ‘cultural-aesthetic practice and welfare’. This project includes two independent studies about theatre and young people. In her dissertation Rikke Gürgens investigates the theatre experience of exceptional and extraordinary people who produce their own theatre. Bjørn Rasmussen conducted an action research project, which established a ‘reflection room’ for teenagers at risk in high schools by means of drama and theatre practice. In both studies, the notion of art as an important part of everyday life became important. The theatre experience had strong implications both socially and aesthetically. In this article we discuss the link and the difference between the aesthetic and the social dimension from the perspectives of John Dewey and Hans-Georg Gadamer. In different ways we believe these philosophers provide a bridge between an autonomous view of art and a present cultural aesthetic that emphasizes the social perspective to a greater degree.

The Efficacy of Drama in Field Experience: A Qualitatıve Study Using Maxqda

“…In the literature review, certain studies discussed similar results (Bayrakçı, 2007;Bergen, 2002;Gillen, 2000;Nichols & Stitch, 2000;O'Neill, 2008;Pass, 2007;Rasmussen & Gürgens, 2006;Staples, 2007;Şimşek, 2013;Yamamoto, 2015). When Gardner (1985) described the unique social qualities of drama, he mentioned that "interacting with others gives a very special flavor to the drama" (p. 309).…”

The art of living in prison: A pragmatist aesthetic approach to participatory drama with women prisoners

“…The notion of dynamic form can equally be seen reflected in Johnston's (1998) 'six polarities' of community drama practice, which indicate a constantly shifting dynamic between binaries such as 'surface and depth', 'centre and edge' and 'the simple and the complex'. Describing a community-based applied theatre project, Rasmussen and Gürgens (2006) offer useful distinction between the 'art work' (process) and the 'artwork' (product), emphasizing the aesthetic that exists in both. White (2015: 46) similarly suggests an 'aesthetics of process' in which the practices and experiences of participation should be valued as art works.…”

Recalling Memories Through Reminiscence Theatre

“…Hermeneutically, this can be analysed as a back and forth movement between the actors and the storyteller via the play (Gadamer, 1986). The play almost plays the players in and out of the original story, seen through Gadamer's terminology (Rasmussen & Gürgens, 2006).…”