Street dance의 신체미학적 가치 연구 -Shusterman, R.의 미학을 중심으로-

Abstract

This study aims to research the aesthetic value of street dance in the somaesthetics by Richard Shusterman. The somaesthetics by Richard Shusterman criticizes the dichotomous world view that has been the basis of modern aesthetics, and pursues the identity theory which is the unity of ‘consciousness’ and ‘body’. He also argues that the aesthetic experience in daily life is not completed by study and theories, but socially, politically, and culturally acquired based on individuals’ active practices like physical movement and immersion, and these activities should be viewed as a category of aesthetics. Moreover he also considered that the characteristics and values of rap, graffiti, and dance would be the somaesthetic approach great enough to emphasize the aesthetic area of popular culture. As a front-runner of popular culture, the street dance could be a style of general arts containing life and culture of black people as the embodied consciousness, and pursues the convergence and complexness without hesitation, based on the regionality, culturality, and historicality. Especially, the pure ‘pleasure’ generated by street dance stimulates the humans’ instinct and also implies the perceptual, sensuous, and conscious properties. For this reason, it was regarded as an element that should be removed in the modern aesthetics. As the somaesthetics by Shusterman viewed the pursuit of ‘pleasure’ through humans’ natural instinct would be extremely natural, however, the pursuit and practice of ‘pleasure’ and aesthetic experience through ‘body’ are all the theoretical basis that expands the area of aesthetics to the area of life. Thus, it aims to realize the ‘aesthetics’ as the existential subject by feeling the aesthetic experience through the voluntary and direct attitude, and also recovering the connectivity between daily life and aesthetics. In addition, street dance that has become a subject of acts through the formation of its own stylization, composes the healthy community through this changed body. This community of street dance soon cognizes, views, and heals each other for the recovery of life under the acknowledgement, respect, and consideration of others. In other words, street dance and life are not the concepts far away from each other. All the happenings in daily life could be the motif of movement and the material of dance, and in this process, the new movement, creative discovery, and the arts as a life could be performed. The characteristics of street dance fully contain the creative/existential/healing values as the somaesthetics for the aesthetic life, and as the aesthetics of practical life, argued by Richard Shusterman. As street dance could have the aesthetic approach/analysis on ‘body’ as a form of arts, it would be possible to have more systematic approaches as the somaesthetic establishment and grounds of street dance in the future.