WISH-IMAGES AGAINST THE NON-PROMISSORY EMOTIONAL STYLE: THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF BLOCH’S UTOPIAN-REALIST CRITIQUE OF PAINTING VAATSİZ DUYGUSAL TARZA KARŞI ARZU İMGELERİ: BLOCH’UN ÜTOPYACI-GERÇEKÇİ RESİM ELEŞTİRİSİNİN GÜNCELLİĞİ

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Esgün T. G.

Moment Dergi, cilt.13, sa.1, ss.174-198, 2026 (Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 13 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.17572/mj2026.1.174-198
  • Dergi Adı: Moment Dergi
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.174-198
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: emotional style, Ernst Bloch, painting criticism, promise of happiness, wish-images
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Ernst Bloch, whose reflections on utopia and hope have been rediscovered in our era (known as post-utopian), preferred a fragmented style of writing; consequently, in contemporary interpretations, his reflections on aesthetics and the visual arts are rarely considered separately from the broader framework of his philosophy. However, Bloch’s conception of “wish-images,” which encompasses reflections on various art forms, especially painting, offers perspectives that can address contemporary crises concerning the relationships between art, visual culture, emotions, and social relations. Based on Bloch’s specific commentaries on the art of painting, this study proposes a systematic method of painting criticism by interrelating concepts such as “wish-images,” “wish-landscapes,” “pre-appearance,” and “utopian surplus.” It will be discussed how this method, termed “utopian-realist painting criticism,” can be utilized to critique the emotional commodities of today’s “happiness industry,” such as anxiety, hope, and happiness. Consequently, the study will demonstrate how this new way of seeing—inspired by the thinker, established through wish-images, and integrating emotion and thought through non-synchronicity—offers a significant contribution to the critique of today’s non-promissory emotional style and the current state of art.