Imaginative extension of the self into cultural othersa conceptual model for building cross-cultural understanding in Europe via transcultural aesthetics

Abstract

The central contribution of this study is to propose a conceptual model on transcultural aesthetics, which articulates how creative use of artistic media could enhance cross-cultural understanding in Europe and the emergence of a shared European social imaginary. This research reconceptualises transcultural aesthetics as an ongoing praxis of cultural and creative trans-coding characterized by four complementary modalities: representation of transcultural identities as a discursive strategy for the negotiation of cultural differences; sampling of cultural repertoires in intertextual, intermedial and cross-cultural order as an expression of symbolic resistance and generation of a third space between cultures; encoding-decoding-encoding cycle of critical media participation – a re-thought version of Stuart Hall’s communication model of encoding/decoding (1973/1980), defined by the generation of new meanings at the receiving end; and embodied cross-cultural affiliation, as a transculturalizing strategy at a non-verbal, sensorial and affective level. The proposed model is applied to the analysis of three selected case studies: the travelling exhibition United States of Europe (2011 – 2013) that reflects on European identity and the state of being European, the participatory initiative Re-mapping Europe – Remix Project (2013), which contests dominant media representations of migration in European societies by re-mixing media and film archives, and the interactive installation The Machine to Be Another (2014) that explores the connection between identity and empathy via embodiment. Overall, the dissertation involves 45 cinematic and media arts examples (film, video, interactive installation art), which are symptomatic of European socio-cultural dynamics and signify the emergence of a shared European imaginary.