Diderot, Reid e l’esperienza percettiva. Compensazioni sinestetiche, linguistiche ed estetiche

Sensible qualities, not presumed abstract or pure aesthetic properties, are the main source for the Diderot’s and Reid’s aesthetic theories. Both authors work on the perceptual activity in normal situations and in blind people’s cognitive experience.This essay is aimed at emphasizing both the connections between perceptual activity and aesthetic experience and the role of aesthetic devices in the cognitive life. In Diderot sensible qualities are connected to emotions; in Reid they are the natural signs of emotions and mental properties. This kind of relationship is the key to interpreting how cognitive activity is configured as an aesthetic experience because of the sensible qualities’ role.

Spatial Unfurling

This chapter examines the perceptual and aesthetic properties of “spatial unfurling,” an effect achieved by moving the camera across space rather than into it, such as in lateral tracking shots. By emphasizing the flatness of the screen and the boundaries of the frame, spatial unfurling lacks the feeling of kinesthesia characteristic of forward camera movement. As a result, spatial unfurling illustrates the limitations of the long-held truism in film theory that camera movement produces an illusion of our own embodied movement through space. By critiquing the logic of this truism as it appears in phenomenological film theory, and by examining the perceptual effects of spatial unfurling in narrative and experimental films such as Mauvais Sang (Carax, 1986), La région centrale (Snow, 1971), and Georgetown Loop (Jacobs, 1996), this chapter argues for a phenomenological account of camera movement that forgoes analogies with bodily movement and instead emphasizes one’s perceptual encounter with the screen.

Bleeding Pixels

This chapter examines the aesthetic properties and phenomenological effects of compression glitches—blocky image distortions that momentarily deform digitally compressed video. As visible expressions of the invisible processes of digital video compression, compression glitches offer unprecedented encounters with the technological production of cinematic motion. Two distinct consequences of these encounters are explored in this chapter. First, because compression glitches are more likely to occur when the compression algorithm is overworked by large volumes of onscreen movement, the ubiquity of compression glitches has yielded a spectatorial sensitivity to the magnitude of movement on screen. Second, because compression glitches extract movement itself (i.e., algorithmic motion instructions) from its original visual context, the visual qualities of such glitches heighten our attention to the formal qualities of movement as distinct from the actions and events that such movements comprise. Taken together, these two spectatorial effects of the compression glitch illuminate new orientations toward cinematic motion in the digital era. Describing these orientations, the chapter argues, can model a form of inquiry that bridges the gap between technologically oriented and phenomenologically oriented accounts of “digital cinema.”

Trajective Locomotion

This chapter examines the perceptual and aesthetic properties of the “follow shot,” a tracking shot that follows a human subject on foot from behind. Analyzing two films that conspicuously explore the follow shot as their core stylistic principle, Alan Clarke’s Elephant (1989) and Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003), this chapter shows how the formal properties of the follow shot—the camera’s forward movement, its denial of the subject’s face, and its sense of being tethered to its subject—are crucial to each film’s meditation on violence and human agency. By visually emphasizing the forward movement of its subjects while denying access to their interiorities (via the face), the follow shot attunes its viewers to its subject’s agency as a sense of pure “towardness” devoid of psychological insight, an effect the chapter calls “trajectivity.” Such a mode of representing subjectivity, the chapter argues, opposes cinematic traditions that rely on a seamless relation between psychological motivation, human expression, and human action. In doing so, the chapter offers a revised film theoretical account of the relation between camera movement, expression, and ethics.

Literatursoziologie als Kunstsoziologie und die Rolle des Ästhetischen. Beobachtungen zur Disziplinentektonik im ersten Drittel des 20. Jahrhunderts, am Beispiel Heinz Sauermanns und René Königs

This paper explores the sociology of art as a subfield of disciplines other than sociology in the first few decades of the 20th century. Special attention is paid to the so-called “allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft” as a conceptional framework for the sociology of art, as described by Heinz Sauermann and René König. It is argued that notions of the artwork’s aesthetic properties, traditionally subject to philosophical aesthetics, co-determine the scope and range of sociological approaches to art. This is also the case with the sociology of literature.

Dynamic Decals

Pervasive interfaces can present relevant information anywhere in our environment, and they are thus challenged by the non rectilinearity of the display surface (e.g. circular table) and by the presence of objects that can partially occlude the interface (e.g. a book or cup on the table). To tackle this problem, we propose a novel solution based on two core contributions: the decomposition of the interface into deformable graphical units, called Dynamic Decals, and the control of their position and behaviour by a constraint-based approach. Our approach dynamically deforms the interface when needed while minimizing the impact on its visibility and layout properties. To do so, we extend previous work on implicit deformations to propose and experimentally validate functions defining different decal shapes and new deformers modeling decal deformations when they collide. Then, we interactively optimize the decal placements according to the interface geometry and their interrelations. Relations are modeled as constraints and the interface evolution results from an easy and efficient to solve minimization problem. Our approach is validated by a user study showing that, compared to two baselines, Dynamic decals is an aesthetically pleasant interface that preserves visibility, layout and aesthetic properties.

Anti-inflammatory Potential of Edible Ornamental Flowers Grown in Containers Due to High Anthocyanin Content

Flowers have always accompanied people thanks to their manifold aesthetic properties. Some species have also become a component of human diet. Recent years have seen an increased interest in edible flowers and, consequently, research has been undertaken to determine their chemical composition. Dyes abundantly contained in flowers, whose role is to attract pollinating animals, are recognized substances with health promoting properties. Anthocyanins are a group of dyes that is very common in petals and other parts of flowers. Studies carried out in the twentieth and twenty-first century have found very strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of anthocyanins. Therefore, flowers used by humans for centuries to decorate their surroundings may become an easily available source of nutrients and health-promoting substances. This paper discusses the health-promoting properties of anthocyanins and collects literature on anthocyanin content in edible flowers commonly grown on balconies, terraces and roofs.

Influence of blenching agents on the mechanical properties and colour of dental restorative nanocomposite

Purpose: Bleaching agents are commonly used to make the natural dentition look more attractive. Currently, in addition to products from reputable manufacturers, products of not fully known origin are available for purchase. The aim of the study was to investigate whether products of this type have a destructive influence on the mechanical and aesthetic properties of the dental restorative nanocomposite. Design/methodology/approach: Four bleaching agents were used, two recognized brands, and two products were purchased from Chinese websites (their manufacturer is unknown). Two gels and two types of whitening strips were used. One composite nanomaterial was used. Microhardness, diametral tensile strength,, compressive strength and colour measurements were tested. Findings: For some bleaching agents, studies have shown a relatively small effect on mechanical properties and an acceptable effect on colour changes. Regardless of the observed changes, the use of bleaching agents qualified for the experiment should be considered safe for composites. Research limitations/implications: The number of blenching agents used as well as dental composites in this study was limited. In future studies, increasing the number of cycles in the bleaching process should be considered. Practical implications: A popular method of improving the aesthetic properties of teeth is the use of a wide range of blenching agents. Most patients who use teeth whitening procedures are also users of composite fillings. The use of bleaching agents may have a different effect on the mechanical and aesthetic restorative composites. For economic reasons, many people decide to import cheap bleaching agents of unknown or dubious origin via Internet services to perform the bleaching process on their own. In this study, it was investigated whether products of this type have an influence on the mechanical and aesthetic properties of the dental restorative nanocomposite. Originality/value: Until now, no comparison of the safety of the use of bleaching agents of recognized manufacturers and of unknown origin in terms of the effect on composite materials has been presented, despite their high social importance.

СТАН ПРЕДСТАВНИКІВ РОДУ POPULUS L. У ПАРКУ «САКСАГАНСЬКИЙ» МІСТА КРИВИЙ РІГ (ДНІПРОПЕТРОВСЬКА ОБЛАСТЬ)

We studied the state of poplars in the park Saksaganskyi in Kryvyi Rih, their share being 14.6 % of the total number of trees and 21 % of the total number of taxa. The vast majority of specimens are aged 40; such trees in the conditions of Kryvyi Rih need constant care. The general condition of poplars can be considered weakened, it may be due to the lack of proper care. Plantations of Populus simonii are of the best state, while those of P. berolinensis are of the worst state. Preliminary expert assessment of the peculiarities of poplar operation, in particular the determination of the optimal pruning type and age limits for complete removal of plants, is appropriate to determine maintenance works. It is recommended to enrich the park plantings with new plantings of P. bolleana, which have high aesthetic properties, as well as to introduce species of this genus, in particular P. suaveolens Fisch. ex Loudon, P. balsamifera L. et al.