Towards an Aesthetics of Care(2015) James Thompson
This paper is a blend of personal history and academic research. Inspired by the five months that the author and his family spent caring for a seriously injured colleague, he begins by arguing that ‘care is enmeshed in questions of ethics’ (2015, 431) but can also demand ‘to be appreciated using a language that is more usually associated with artistry’ (2015, 432. My italics). The ethical side of care is accounted for with a summary of the Ethics of Care (EoC) school of thought that acknowledges its feminist-inspired critique and reconsideration of ‘conceptions of ethics based on justice and rights’ (2015, 433); it likewise highlights its refusal of a ‘sharp boundary between private realm and public’ and its emphasis on ‘interdependence and reciprocal needs’ (2015, 433-34). The aesthetic side of care is then introduced by making a connection between the concern with ‘social relations’ that is typical of EoC (2015, 434) and an idea of art as ‘a series of relational acts’. Notions usually associated with aesthetics – such as ‘attention’, ‘beauty’ or the ‘sensory’ – are mobilised next for proposing an Aesthetics of Care (AoC) that is conceived of as a ‘sensory ethical practice’ (2015, 438) within the art realm and, more specifically, in the performing arts (the author specializes in drama research and education). This practice is discussed with reference to specific phenomena, e.g. the need to pay attention to the ‘different concerns and desires’ brought by different members of the audience to particular spectacles or events. It is also described elsewhere (2015, 439) in quasi- utopian terms:
An AoC can be demonstrated in the astonishing sense of connection between different people involved in making art together – whether as audiences of pre-rehearsed shows or collaborators in participatory community projects. … An AoC, whether in the event, the preparation or execution of a project, models and exhibits the fairer and more mutually sympathetic world that is sought
Antonio Fornet Vivancos
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
Thompson, James. “Towards an Aesthetics of Care.” Research in Drama Education. The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 20 (2015): 430–41