Exoticism

Exoticism (from 'exotic') is a trend in art and design, influenced by some ethnic groups or civilizations since the late 19th-century. In music, exoticism is a genre in which the rhythms, melodies, or instrumentation are designed to evoke the atmosphere of far-off lands or ancient times (e.g. Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé and Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra, Debussy's Syrinx for Flute Solo or Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnol). Like orientalist subjects in 19th century painting, exoticism in the decorative arts and interior decoration was associated with fantasies of opulence.

Exoticism, by definition, is "the charm of the unfamiliar." Scholar Alden Jones defines exoticism in art and literature as the representation of one culture for consumption by another. An archetypical exoticist is the artist and writer Paul Gauguin, whose visual representations of Tahitian people and landscapes were targeted at a French audience. While exoticism is closely linked to Orientalism, it is not a movement necessarily associated with a particular time period or culture. Exoticism may take the form of primitivism, ethnocentrism, or humanism.

See also

• Chinoiserie
• Orientalism
• Other

References

• George Rousseau and Roy Porter (1990). Exoticism in the Enlightenment (Manchester: Manchester University Press). ISBN 0-567-09330-1
• The Smart Set: Alden Jones on Teaching Exoticism on Semester at Sea
• Segalen, Victor. Essay on Exoticism: An Aesthetics of Diversity. Trans. Yaël Rachel Schlick. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002.

External links

• Exoticism in Decorative Arts
• Exoticism in Tang
• Exoticism in the Literature of 1930s