Shock and the materialist conception of art: Considerations for a politicised cultural psychology
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Authors
Malherbe, Nick
Malherbe, Nick
Issue Date
2024
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
Brecht , Benjamin , shock , cultural psychology
Alternative Title
Abstract
The materialist conception of art understands art in relation to the material conditions
within and by which art is produced and consumed. For cultural psychology,
the materialist conception of art has been useful for developing insights into how
individual perceptions are shaped, and are shaped by, culture as a collectively produced
and historically embedded site of meaning-making. However, in much of
cultural psychology, the relationship between progressive politics and the materialist
conception of art remains under-appreciated. In this article, I consider how cultural
psychologists might strengthen this relation through artistic shock, that is, a subjective,
perceptual, and/or historiographical rupture brought about through the
experience of art. In particular, I outline how Bertolt Brecht and Walter Benjamin
theorised and practiced artistic shock, and examine what the work of these thinkers
could mean for cultural psychologists working with political collectives to grapple
with psychopolitical questions related to subjectivity, contradiction, and memory. I
conclude by reflecting on how future work that seeks to politicise cultural psychology
might engage with the materialist conception of art
Description
Citation
Malherbe, N. (2023). Shock and the materialist conception of art: Considerations for a politicised cultural psychology. Culture & Psychology, 1354067X231153999.
Publisher
Sage