Wonder by Design in Medieval Architecture, CAA 2021

Wonder by Design in Medieval Architecture  

Santhi Kavuri-Bauer, San Francisco State University
Email Address(s): santhi@sfsu.edu
 
In the global history of medieval architecture, few aesthetic experiences can claim to be as omnipresent as that of wonder. Philosophers like Aristotle and Confucius appreciated the aesthetic effect of wonder for its potential to stimulate creative thinking, ethical behavior, and formal innovation. This potential to support intellectual growth through curiosity, to inspire us to move beyond the possible, has led cultures in the medieval world to design, celebrate, and preserve architectural wonders as a means to track intellectual prowess, induce spiritual enchantment, and signify power. While wonder is a recognized architectural value and principle of aesthetic appreciation in medieval literature, many questions still remain to be answered about the fundamental value of wonder in medieval architecture, such as: What are the psychological and philosophical effects at work in medieval architectural wonders? How are wonders transformative and transformational, guiding medieval societies in their interactions with the material and spiritual worlds? How does the feeling of wonderment counteract and contradict the discipline and taxonomies of humanist architectural history? This session invites scholars who study the aesthetic of “wonder” in European, Asian, and Middle Eastern medieval architecture and monuments to contribute to a cross-cultural and cross-geographical discourse on the subject.