Aesthetic Distance: the Veil of Weird Grotesqueness

Encyclopædia Britannica defines "aesthetic distance" as the following: “the frame of reference that an artist creates by the use of technical devices in and around the work of art to differentiate it psychologically from reality.” It is said more clearly on the Tri-County Community College Major English Writer’s page. A handout on aesthetic distance defines the term as, “the psychological and emotional distance between the text and the reader.”

Edward Bullough is the man who coined the term and in his “'Psychical Distance' as a Factor in Art and an Aesthetic Principle”, he states that this principle makes it possible for dangerous situations to be appreciated aesthetically. For example, an audience can enjoy a play based on Dante’s “Inferno” even though in reality, hell is a place of torture, a place where no one would send even their worst enemies. The audience can view the play objectively, appreciating the beauty of the play while staying a comfortable distance away from the real and proverbial flames.

Bullough uses a fog at sea as his example. Of course a fog at sea is a very disconcerting thing for sailors. Its presence leaves ships’ crews feel vulnerable to unseen elements such as icebergs and the chill it brings is most unpleasant. Yet, a fog at sea, depicted in the art form of the second dimension, gives a comfortable distance to the 3D reality from which it is viewed. Thus, a piece of art, even one which depicts a scene, which in real life, would bring out unwanted emotions, may be viewed as quite beautiful.

Aesthetic distance, says Bullough, is “the veil [which] surround[s] you with an opaqueness as of transparent milk, blurring the outline of things and distorting their shapes into weird grotesqueness.” What a great line! Anyway, another example he gave in his essay was that of one climbing a mountain for enjoyment. It fatigue’s the climber, but he doesn’t think of the pain, only the enjoyment of the climb.

It reminds me of Orwell’s 1984 “doublethink” concept, which Orwell describes as the "power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them." It allows a person to disregard thoughts which bring, if dwelled upon, confusion and discomfort, even though they are very real and true. So, people are trained from birth to brainwash themselves into believing what they are told, no matter how unrealistic it is. Bullough calls this concept “hypocritically denying” [the truth]. This denial of uncomfortable parts of reality naturally lends to deception, the essence of good fiction in my opinion.