Breaking Aesthetic Boundaries: Arthur Danto, Yuriko Saito, and the Challenge to Western Aesthetic Thought

This article examines how Arthur C. Danto and Yuriko Saito sought to expand the boundaries of aesthetics and art, challenging the inherited concepts of Western modernity. While Danto redefines art as an intellectual rather than a purely visual phenomenon, ultimately declaring the end of art to justify a pluralistic and self-reflective artistic landscape, Saito reclaims everyday life as a legitimate subject of aesthetic inquiry. Her approach challenges the separation between aesthetics and practice,demonstrating that aesthetic choices shape our surroundings, social relationships, and ethical commitments. By comparing these two perspectives, this article highlights the limitations of modern aesthetic paradigms, including Danto’s. Furthermore, by examining the reductions imposed by modern aesthetic history, it argues that Saito’s Everyday Aesthetics offers an alternative, transformative, and generative aesthetic framework—one capable of dismantling previous aesthetic barriers and opening new, underexplored paths for the discipline. More importantly, her approach possesses a profound transformative power, allowing individuals to engage with aesthetics in ways that shape both their perception of the world and their everyday lives.