Restabilizing attachment to cultural objects. Aesthetics, emotions and biography

Area of Science:

• Sociology of culture
• Aesthetics and materiality studies
• Cultural object transformation

Background:

• Objects shape identity, social action, and subjectivity, acting as 'equipment for living'.
• Aesthetic attachments to objects result from complex interactions between mediators, bodies, situations, and techniques.
• Existing scholarship extensively covers the formation and maintenance of object attachments but less so their transformations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate what cultural objects become when their aesthetic elements transform.
• To understand the factors influencing the transition or persistence of cultural objects.
• To examine the fate of key aesthetic qualities and emotional attachments during object transformation.

Main Methods:

• Comparative case study analysis of cultural objects undergoing transformation.
• Examination of two distinct exemplars: the transcendence of opera and the authenticity of a soccer jersey.
• Analysis of the processes of change in aesthetic elements and their impact on object-centered attachments.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct pathways for the transformation of cultural objects based on their inherent features.
• Demonstrated how the perceived transcendence of opera and authenticity of a soccer jersey influence their evolution.
• Highlighted the dynamic interplay between material qualities, aesthetic elements, and emotional resonance in object metamorphosis.

Conclusions:

• Cultural objects are not static but undergo dynamic transformations, altering their aesthetic and social significance.
• The study provides a framework for understanding the conditions under which cultural objects transition or remain stable.
• Emotional attachments to objects are reconfigured as their aesthetic qualities evolve, necessitating further research into these evolving relationships.