The Journal of Kitsch, Camp and Mas Culture The Journal of Kitsch, Camp and Mass Culture Volume 2 / 2018 GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: ATMOSHERES, DEATH, AND AESTHETICS OF GOTH Ashley Watkins University of St Andrews,
[email protected] Gone but not Forgotten: Atmospheres, Death, and the Aesthetics of Goth GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: ATMOSHERES, DEATH, AND AESTHETICS OF GOTH Ashley Watkins 1. Introduction1 Recently made available in English, Gernot Böhme’s work on atmospheres provides a strong foundation upon which to reframe classic questions in aesthetics and gain insight into the aes- thetics of the everyday that is fighting its way to the forefront of aesthetic research. By recon- ceptualizing familiar ideas and rendering explicit what previously existed in the background of aesthetic thought, Böhme’s work puts aside the art/non-art distinction in favour of a unify- ing picture of aesthetic production and reception in all areas of life, revealing the vast extent and importance of aesthetic work and aesthetic consumption. The concept of atmosphere in aesthetics lends itself to wide and varied application, and its success in providing insight into such fields as architecture, scenography, advertising, and product design serves as much as a test of its merits as does more traditional philosophical analysis. With that in mind I would like to offer here not a traditional defence of the view or a response to its critics, but rather an exploration of an area ripe for illumination via atmospheres: the Goth subculture. Gernot Böhme’s concept of atmospheres in aesthetics sheds considerable light on the subculture and its emergence in late 1970s England.