Wonder, the Rainbow, and the Aesthetics of Rare Experiences

by Philip Fisher

Book Overview

Why pause and study this particular painting among so many others ranged on a gallery wall? Wonder, which Descartes called the first of the passions, is at play; it couples surprise with a wish to know more, the pleasurable promise that what is novel or rare may become familiar. This is a book about the aesthetics of wonder, about wonder as it figures in our relation to the visual world and to rare or new experiences.

In three instructive...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674955625
• ISBN13: 9780674955622
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 9.8"