Table Of ContentEveryday Aesthetics
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Everyday Aesthetics
Yuriko Saito
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Acknowledgments
This book represents a culmination of both my teaching at the Rhode
Island School of Design (RISD) and my own research, thinking, and
writing for more than two decades. The numerous students I had the
privilege of teaching helped me shape my thinking on everyday aesthetics.
Not only their contributions in class through comments, examples, or
sometimescriticisms, butalsotheir studio worksthat many ofthem shared
with me provided a constant food for thought. I made acknowledgements
throughout this book for the specific comments and examples I gained
from some of them, but I am indebted to so many more students for their
more general contribution.
I am grateful to RISD for its support of this project by granting me
a release time through the school-wide Professional Development Grant
and Liberal Arts Division’s Humanities Fund. Thanks to these two sources
of funding, I was able to devote one whole semester to writing. Over
the years I have also been blessed with friends and colleagues here at
RISD who helped nurture my work and lend both professional and
moral support throughout the process in so many different ways. Simply
mentioning them will not do justice to the many intangible gifts they
have given me. I will be thanking them individually, but I also want to
givepublicacknowledgementhere.ScottCook,LindsayFrench,Elizabeth
Grossman,thelate KenHunnibell, GerryImmonen,DonKeefer, Marilyn
Rueschemeyer,andDavidWarnerhaveallbeengreatcheerleaders,giving
me unfailing support all these years. Many of them also provided me with
invaluable references and articles for which I am grateful.
Iamalsogreatlyindebtedtomyprofessional colleagues,manyofwhom
are true mentors, who have guided my professional work with their
knowledge, wisdom, and experience, not to mention generosity. I thank
Don Crawford, who patiently guided me through the trial and trepidation
vi acknowledgments
of my doctoral dissertation on the aesthetic appreciation of nature in the
B(efore) C(omputer) era. Arnold Berleant’s interest and support for my
work has been immeasurable. Not only studying his own works but also
working with him closely on Contemporary Aesthetics have provided me
with such enlightening and rewarding experiences, and they all had an
impact on my own thinking. I am also grateful for the many years of
supportgivenbyAllenCarlsonwho,withhiswritingsonnatureaesthetics
and environmental aesthetics, set a high standard for these fields, to which
I always tried to aspire. Working with Steve Rabson for many years
on a number of Japan-related publications, both his and mine, has been
extremely beneficial and productive. Over the years Barbara Sandrisser
raisedmyawarenessofJapaneseaestheticsevenmorewithherworkonthis
subjectandnumerousnewspaperarticlesthatshesentmeformyreference.
Although I was raised in Japan, I credit Barbara for helping me become
more sensitive and appreciative of my cultural heritage. David Hanson
has also been a source of inspiration, with his unfailing commitment to
addressingenvironmentalissuesthroughhisphotographicworks.IfBarbara,
along with my RISD colleague Gerry Immonen, has been my personal
librarianforJapanesematerials,Davidhasbeenthesameforenvironmental
issues.
My greatest academic appreciation goes to the two reviewers who read
and commented on the earlier draft of this book: Carolyn Korsmeyer
and Larry Shiner. They went far beyond what is expected of manuscript
reviewersbynotonlyprovidingmewithnumeroushelpfulcommentsand
examplesbutalsocorrectingmywritingwhichisstillreflectiveofmistakes
typical of a non-native writer. Their suggestions were invaluable and I
thank them for making the revising process an educationally beneficial
experience. I tried to respond to and incorporate their comments and
suggestions in this final version. I only hope I did justice and honor to
their reviews.
Peter Momtchiloff, the Philosophy Editor of Oxford University Press,
has been most patient and supportive throughout the writing process. I
thankhimforinitiatingandfacilitatingthisproject.IalsothankJackSinden
for his meticulous and timely copy-editing.
Last but not least, my greatest appreciation goes to my family: Gerry,
Sarah, and Adam. For the past few years I have been preoccupied with
this writing project, at times neglecting what needs to be taken care of
acknowledgments vii
on the home front. I thank them for their patience and good cheer. My
husband,Gerry,constantlyremindedmeoftheimportanceofsaying‘‘no’’
to various requests and invitations until the manuscript was completed.
Part of the motivation for writing this book with a heavy emphasis on
Japanese aesthetics is to put in writing the cultural heritage that I tried to
impart to my children, Sarah and Adam. It is my hope that, with the help
of what I put down here, all those years of ‘‘lecturing’’ to them about
moralvaluesandmanysummersspentinJapanwiththeirgrandparentswill
leave a lasting mark on them as life values. The more I delve into Japanese
aesthetics and cultural values, the more I realize how much my parents
taught me through their everyday acts (including how to stuff a garbage
bag that I refer to in Chapter V). If I succeeded in shedding some light on
themoraldimensionofJapaneseaestheticsensibility,thatisatributetothe
treasures that they have handed down to me.
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Contents—Summary
Introduction 1
I Neglect of Everyday Aesthetics 9
II Significance of Everyday Aesthetics 54
III Aesthetics of Distinctive Characteristics and Ambience 104
IV Everyday Aesthetic Qualities and Transience 149
V Moral-Aesthetic Judgments of Artifacts 205
Conclusion 243
Bibliography 253
Index 269
Description:Everyday aesthetic experiences and concerns occupy a large part of our aesthetic life. However, because of their prevalence and mundane nature, we tend not to pay much attention to them, let alone examine their significance. Western aesthetic theories of the past few centuries also neglect everyday
