Karel Stibral
Masaryk University
Aesthetics of disaster - to the aestheticisation of the rough aspects of the water element
This paper will explore the phenomenon of the terrifying, threatening aspects of the water element in European culture. Floods, sea storms, and rainstorms became the subject of art long before they were – at least some of them – aesthetically appreciated in reality. Some of the water phenomena that we would like to see (such as waterfalls, rapids, storms on the water) then became new objects of tourist interest, often in connection with the concept of the sublime. At the same time, others, especially floods and their aftermath, became objects of dark tourism much later.