Faculty of Humanities
School of Arts
Department of Visual Arts
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
The main aim of this research project is to explore the ways in which the discourse of the sublime, as modern aesthetic category, has mutated and morphed into the post-modern contemporary visual culture of extremes for example extreme sports, extreme adventures, and extreme entertainment. An ongoing aim of the research is to establish the characteristics of a uniquely South African interpretation of the sublime and the extreme. It is argued that the culture of extremes spectacularly manifests in the contemporary obsession with immediacy and immersion, the ecstasy of speed, as well as in the shrinking ‘natural’ landscape into techno-culture. The research followed along the lines of a phenomenological and hermeneutical investigation, enquiring into the ontological status of the contemporary sublime of extremes. As such it critically and pervasively engaged with visual, literary and theoretical texts dealing with the contemporary sublime. The research explored popular visual culture and specifically magazines, advertisements, billboards, television and film. Through the careful selection of visual examples the phenomenon of the contemporary sublime of extremes could be examined and contextualized within the broader hermeneutical framework of the visual depiction of the sublime. It was established that the drive towards the contemporary sublime of extremes manifests uniquely in the following popular cultural phenomena:
Immediacy and immersion: The healthy distance - between the ominous object and petrified subject - called for in the modern sublime, now implodes in the extreme experience. Proximity to the sublime now entails full-bodied immersion. As part of the experience culture, the closer the subject moves to the sublime the more it is deemed as an authentic extreme experience. An example of this phenomenon can be found in the uniquely South African extreme activity of ‘kloofing’, akin to canoyneering, which requires the subject to plunge into the danger; forcing self and object of terror to momentarily become one. The Afrikaans term kloofing refers to a hiking trip that follows along a river gorge and involves jumping from cliffs (klowe) and waterfalls as high as 23 meters for example the Suicide Gorge in South Africa. The threat and harm posed, however, need to be real or truthful in effect, thus the term extreme sports or adventures and hence, extreme reality television. In fact, extreme sports are defined by the fact that there is a real chance of injury or even death. Therefore, the element of danger is absolutely definitive of extreme sports.
The ecstasy of speed: As part of the accelerated pace extreme events are collected and accumulated to be experienced at an accelerated pace so as not to stand the risk of reducing their impact. In the experience economy consumption is accelerated. In the context of the adventure tourist it is no longer important that s/he jumps from a crane in San Francisco or a bridge in Africa, it is only the accelerated pace at which these extreme events occur that matters.Without the looming element of real danger, the activity cannot be advertised or promoted as being extreme at all. Accordingly, newer and more risky activities need to be invented constantly to keep the adrenalin flowing. Bungee jumping is an excellent example of an extreme sport dating from the 1970s that is now considered ‘older’ and less dangerous, especially when compared to the once banned and more challenging activity of BASE jumping, which is considered to be the most dangerous extreme sport and it is estimated that at least one person per year dies while partaking in it. According to Michael Dean, author of Extreme Sports (2001) ‘BASE is an acronym for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth. These describe the fixed objects that one can parachute from. When it comes to buildings, unfinished high-rise buildings are popular as are famous buildings, like the Empire State Building in New York City. Antennas are a favourite because they are easy to get to. Span includes bridges like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Earth has some pretty high mountains, such as El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, where the sport started in 1978’. Originally, the extreme activity of Le Parkour or obstacle-coursing, described by David Belle founder of Le Parkour as finding new and often dangerous ways through the city landscape - scaling walls, roof-running and leaping from building to building, is identified as an interesting prospect for further research. Le Parkour fits perfectly with the hypothesis already put forward by this research, namely that the sublime as discourse figures as leitmotiv in the representation and mediation of these extreme events.
Contact person: Dr AA du Preez.
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