ASEBL Journal – Volume 11 Issue 2, Spring 2015
“Making special” has indeed been called by some a vague (or fuzzy) notion. By specifying how specialness is achieved (the five aesthetic devices just mentioned), it is no
longer vague or fuzzy. For more than a decade, I have replaced “making special” with
the term “artification,” which implies use of these five aesthetic devices. Artification
can be thought of as a “performance,” perhaps, although in many instances of visual
art (say, paintings), the performance is usually over and the artwork is the residue of
that performance.
My artification hypothesis (with its emphasis on aesthetic devices) is not intended to
contribute to the evaluation of art works. After all, if three-year-olds use the devices
when spontaneously vocalizing during play, it is clear that much complex cultural
elaboration has taken place in the many worldwide art traditions in which these fundamental devices are still discernible.
I do not disagree that people often feel a strong interpersonal connection with certain
art works and even with their creators. This is especially s