ABSTRACT
Aesthetics, from the Greek aesthesis (perception, sensation, experience), is a concept of great significance for the arts. Ever since the beginnings of Western philosophy the arts have been an important object of investigation. ‘What is art?’ and ‘What is the purpose of art?’ are recurrent questions which have been answered in various ways. One answer to the first is that ‘art is a vehicle for the expression or communication of feeling’ (Hanfling 1995: viii). The second question, ‘What are the arts for?’, is extremely complex as people’s experiences of art may vary considerably. In classical aesthetics experiences such as ‘pleasure’ and ‘delight’ are often highlighted, and the ideal of ‘disinterested contemplation’ promoted. When examined with perspectives from Critical Race and Whiteness Studies this attitude becomes problematic as the normative role of whiteness is being ignored. The circumstance that the implied producers and recipients of works of art are privileged whites is a fact never acknowledged.
