Pressure on the Poetic: the politics of the next reverie in the studio

Aspects of the poetic are discussed in relation to defining knowledge. Like humour—which cannot easily be explained and defies the organizational rigour of research—the poetic is a paradox in research. It is central to most art practice but inaccessible to systematic analysis. But also like humour, it can be highly contested. Esteem for the poetic can be frowned upon. Recognizing it or apologizing for it was often a stigma in art history. Since the 1970s there has been a certain aesthetic shyness, the terms of which are debated in this paper. Elements of the poetic are outlined on a psychological plane, in its metaphoric agency and through imagination. Definitions are attempted in the cross-discursive, relating to medium-consciousness and congruence of form and content.Aspects of the poetic are discussed in relation to defining knowledge. Like humour—which cannot easily be explained and defies the organizational rigour of research—the poetic is a paradox in research. It is central to most art practice but inaccessible to systematic analysis. But also like humour, it can be highly contested. Esteem for the poetic can be frowned upon. Recognizing it or apologizing for it was often a stigma in art history. Since the 1970s there has been a certain aesthetic shyness, the terms of which are debated in this paper. Elements of the poetic are outlined on a psychological plane, in its metaphoric agency and through imagination. Definitions are attempted in the cross-discursive, relating to medium-consciousness and congruence of form and content.