Rhythm and Balance in Sculpture and Poetry

Rhythm might stand for the contrast between balance and movement, rest andconflict, in a piece of art. In this paper, we show that rhythm works as an organizingpower as well as a producer of meaning. Both characteristics relate to the fact thatrhythms activate internalized bodily experiences. Lena Hopsch has the perspective ofproducing art, and Eva Lilja forwards the perspective of academic reception analysis.The concept of rhythm is basic in all forms of art. It is common in descriptionsof music, poetry, sculpture and painting. Sometimes rhythm seems to be too broad aconcept to really tell anything important about a piece of art. Certainly there is needfor a definition. Here, we explore aesthetic rhythm as a tool for a better understandingof two art forms: sculpture and poetry. We consider rhythm as a form of perceptionthat governs both the experience and the production of artifacts. Our tool is cognitive theory, especially the field of embodiment research