Table A1. Additional quotations Diary... | Emerald Publishing

Table A1.

Additional quotations

Diary narrative extract	Brief analysis
Theme 4.1 Escaping immersion: disconnecting from the experience and connecting to the self
“I consider myself as a novice art consumer. That means that I prefer to visit exhibitions that are of interest to me which in turn makes me feel less unsure during my time in exhibitions. This latter point is also the case for the Biennale; the political and humanistic content of the artworks made this exhibition a great place for exploring new realities, some of them more optimistic and some of them more threatening and even powerless. For instance, the exhibited collage newspaper showing alternative, and at some points scary ways of communicating news awaken an activist perspective of myself, which inspired me in terms of what we/I can do to make this world a better place. Some other artworks also shared such a vibe, namely I felt the choice of some artists to express their political ideas through the viewpoint of the defeated and weak. This made me recognize the resistance and the (re)action that these exhibits hold, yet I wasn’t convinced. Perhaps this has to do with my athletic lifestyle, meaning that I prefer to live an experience that could raise my adrenaline. . . (George)”	This visitor experiences a multitude of emotional states (e.g. interested, optimistic, inspired, disappointed), which were shaped and shaped through this visitor’s encounters with artworks. There is a temporal immersion into the Biennale experience through the activist identity position of this visitor’s self that invokes specific cognitive and emotional states (e.g. inspiration, understanding the viewpoint of the defeated and weak). Yet, this visitor escapes this immersive experience by entering different emotional states arising from other than the activist identity, i.e. his athletic identity position (for this latter point, please see also Figure 2, returning to consumer identity).
“My visit to Damien Hirst’s exhibition confirmed that this artist is completely different from the mainstream. Although I like irony when is used in art pieces, hirst’s approach seems leaning towards cynicism. You feel that in the images showing bleeding bodies and the pills as the new religion of the world, images which make you feel bitter and sad. Similarly, the “Wounds of Christ” made me feel pessimistic about life and about new beliefs that have been adopted all around the world. As the exhibition showed, and it is true, the world finds ways to escape through pills- also religion in its classical meaning starts to fade away, and the modern world is interested more in personal comfort rather than in spiritual needs. . . Continuing my tour and taking the stairs, the “skull beneath the skin” and then the “last supper” artworks, were dark, challenging yet interesting projects. I can say that this artist dares to deal with and raise questions about topics such as religion in relation to death and science. Nevertheless, my way of thinking is incompatible with this kind of art…I prefer a different type of art, an art that uplifts you and makes you see life from the bright side. (Vasiliki)”	This visitor experiences emotional states in her Damien Hirst experience, such as bitterness and sadness. This visitor immerses herself in the experience through a pessimistic position that is evoked by the primary emotional states that this visitor experiences. This immersive experience is disrupted by emotional states arising from an identity position in which she fluctuates and with which she can identify with and reaffirms her identity (i.e. the I as optimistic; for this latter point, please see also Figure 2, reaffirming consumer identity).
Theme 4.2 Dialogical transformation: Connecting with the experience and transforming the self
“From the beginning of my tour I felt puzzled. I encountered artworks with political content, which is not my cup of tea and at the same time I am an individual who does not visit this kind of museums very often. Most of the time I was confused about the meaning of this Biennale exhibition. Even though I couldn’t understand the meanings of the artworks I kept going and by keep going I was excited to see that I was able to recognize a part of myself in some of the exhibits. For instance, in the second floor of the exhibition while I was seeing the artwork consisting of a series of photographs, I not only asked “what do you see here?” or “why is this series of photographs an artwork?” but also I recognised an aspect of myself, namely me as an individual who forgets. It was so cool to find out that some human characteristics can become art. This made me feel more optimistic, you know that I could finally find a common aspect with some exhibits and at the same time by saying to myself “you see it is not that bad to be a beginner?” I still remember that feeling of browsing again the whole exhibition and giving myself the space of being a beginner, a place from where my art growth can begin. As the title of my diary is, to new beginnings . . . (Zoe)”	The arising emotional state of feeling puzzled makes this visitor to navigate herself into the exhibition and triggers an enactment of a specific identity position, i.e. I as a novice visitor. This process of identifying with primary emotional states surfaces a secondary emotional state, namely, feeling excited by being able to identify a part of herself in some of the exhibited artworks. These (conflicting) emotional states trigger a dialogical process (“I not only asked what do you see here…”) through which the visitor experiences these emotional states (i.e. puzzled and excitement). Such a process is manifested in a dialogue developed between the artworks and this visitor’s identity positions triggered by the primary and secondary emotional states. Such a dialogue puts this visitor in a closer contact with herself and the experience, and by so doing leads to an identity transformation opportunity (e.g. realises the beginner position of herself, which can lead to new beginnings – for this latter point, please see also Figure 2, realising consumer identity).
“I was expecting something more from this exhibition: more works, more colours…the atmosphere was very cold (not the temperature) and fearful while the extended use of the white colour made me feel like being in a hospital. I also had this same feeling when I was seeing the crucifix artwork. By currently working as a private teacher who is in a museum, I thought that this can teach me things, so I kept strolling around the exhibition trying to feel the artworks at a deeper level. The Fate of Man artwork, or in other words the skull, represents the awfulness of death and that things can suddenly stop before are even really started. The darkness and combinations that hirst uses in his work are remarkable, but for me this is not great, beautiful art. Maybe my archeological background makes me seek for beautiful aspects and feeling doubt for this kind of art. Maybe the skull reminded me the excavation process through which we find significant and beautiful objects from vanished civilisations. . . At some point while I was looking at the artwork with pills, I “caught” myself smiling and speaking to the artist “Damien you are really close to me. Do you know that I also agree with you that people can have fake beliefs? Do you know that indeed realism and authenticity, uncertainty and contradiction are also part of what archeologists do?” this made me realize how interesting and introspective this journey into hirst’s world was for me! I always wanted to find my unique voice in terms of my archeological professional background, and this visit was inspiring. (Iliana)”	The arising emotional state of fear invites this visitor to move beyond it and engage herself in the exhibition. This also reveals an identity position, namely the I as private teacher position, as well as an emotional state and a corresponding identity position through which the visitor responds to this primary emotional state experienced (i.e. I as archaeologist feeling doubt). The opposing emotional states, i.e. feelings of engagement and feelings of doubt, and the enacted identity positions, are managed through a dialogical encounter with an artwork (‘…this made me realise’ - for this point please see also Figure 2 realising consumer identity), which also teases out the transformative potential of this visitor’s identity.

Diary narrative extract	Brief analysis
Theme 4.1 Escaping immersion: disconnecting from the experience and connecting to the self
“I consider myself as a novice art consumer. That means that I prefer to visit exhibitions that are of interest to me which in turn makes me feel less unsure during my time in exhibitions. This latter point is also the case for the Biennale; the political and humanistic content of the artworks made this exhibition a great place for exploring new realities, some of them more optimistic and some of them more threatening and even powerless. For instance, the exhibited collage newspaper showing alternative, and at some points scary ways of communicating news awaken an activist perspective of myself, which inspired me in terms of what we/I can do to make this world a better place. Some other artworks also shared such a vibe, namely I felt the choice of some artists to express their political ideas through the viewpoint of the defeated and weak. This made me recognize the resistance and the (re)action that these exhibits hold, yet I wasn’t convinced. Perhaps this has to do with my athletic lifestyle, meaning that I prefer to live an experience that could raise my adrenaline. . . (George)”	This visitor experiences a multitude of emotional states (e.g. interested, optimistic, inspired, disappointed), which were shaped and shaped through this visitor’s encounters with artworks. There is a temporal immersion into the Biennale experience through the activist identity position of this visitor’s self that invokes specific cognitive and emotional states (e.g. inspiration, understanding the viewpoint of the defeated and weak). Yet, this visitor escapes this immersive experience by entering different emotional states arising from other than the activist identity, i.e. his athletic identity position (for this latter point, please see also Figure 2, returning to consumer identity).
“My visit to Damien Hirst’s exhibition confirmed that this artist is completely different from the mainstream. Although I like irony when is used in art pieces, hirst’s approach seems leaning towards cynicism. You feel that in the images showing bleeding bodies and the pills as the new religion of the world, images which make you feel bitter and sad. Similarly, the “Wounds of Christ” made me feel pessimistic about life and about new beliefs that have been adopted all around the world. As the exhibition showed, and it is true, the world finds ways to escape through pills- also religion in its classical meaning starts to fade away, and the modern world is interested more in personal comfort rather than in spiritual needs. . . Continuing my tour and taking the stairs, the “skull beneath the skin” and then the “last supper” artworks, were dark, challenging yet interesting projects. I can say that this artist dares to deal with and raise questions about topics such as religion in relation to death and science. Nevertheless, my way of thinking is incompatible with this kind of art…I prefer a different type of art, an art that uplifts you and makes you see life from the bright side. (Vasiliki)”	This visitor experiences emotional states in her Damien Hirst experience, such as bitterness and sadness. This visitor immerses herself in the experience through a pessimistic position that is evoked by the primary emotional states that this visitor experiences. This immersive experience is disrupted by emotional states arising from an identity position in which she fluctuates and with which she can identify with and reaffirms her identity (i.e. the I as optimistic; for this latter point, please see also Figure 2, reaffirming consumer identity).
Theme 4.2 Dialogical transformation: Connecting with the experience and transforming the self
“From the beginning of my tour I felt puzzled. I encountered artworks with political content, which is not my cup of tea and at the same time I am an individual who does not visit this kind of museums very often. Most of the time I was confused about the meaning of this Biennale exhibition. Even though I couldn’t understand the meanings of the artworks I kept going and by keep going I was excited to see that I was able to recognize a part of myself in some of the exhibits. For instance, in the second floor of the exhibition while I was seeing the artwork consisting of a series of photographs, I not only asked “what do you see here?” or “why is this series of photographs an artwork?” but also I recognised an aspect of myself, namely me as an individual who forgets. It was so cool to find out that some human characteristics can become art. This made me feel more optimistic, you know that I could finally find a common aspect with some exhibits and at the same time by saying to myself “you see it is not that bad to be a beginner?” I still remember that feeling of browsing again the whole exhibition and giving myself the space of being a beginner, a place from where my art growth can begin. As the title of my diary is, to new beginnings . . . (Zoe)”	The arising emotional state of feeling puzzled makes this visitor to navigate herself into the exhibition and triggers an enactment of a specific identity position, i.e. I as a novice visitor. This process of identifying with primary emotional states surfaces a secondary emotional state, namely, feeling excited by being able to identify a part of herself in some of the exhibited artworks. These (conflicting) emotional states trigger a dialogical process (“I not only asked what do you see here…”) through which the visitor experiences these emotional states (i.e. puzzled and excitement). Such a process is manifested in a dialogue developed between the artworks and this visitor’s identity positions triggered by the primary and secondary emotional states. Such a dialogue puts this visitor in a closer contact with herself and the experience, and by so doing leads to an identity transformation opportunity (e.g. realises the beginner position of herself, which can lead to new beginnings – for this latter point, please see also Figure 2, realising consumer identity).
“I was expecting something more from this exhibition: more works, more colours…the atmosphere was very cold (not the temperature) and fearful while the extended use of the white colour made me feel like being in a hospital. I also had this same feeling when I was seeing the crucifix artwork. By currently working as a private teacher who is in a museum, I thought that this can teach me things, so I kept strolling around the exhibition trying to feel the artworks at a deeper level. The Fate of Man artwork, or in other words the skull, represents the awfulness of death and that things can suddenly stop before are even really started. The darkness and combinations that hirst uses in his work are remarkable, but for me this is not great, beautiful art. Maybe my archeological background makes me seek for beautiful aspects and feeling doubt for this kind of art. Maybe the skull reminded me the excavation process through which we find significant and beautiful objects from vanished civilisations. . . At some point while I was looking at the artwork with pills, I “caught” myself smiling and speaking to the artist “Damien you are really close to me. Do you know that I also agree with you that people can have fake beliefs? Do you know that indeed realism and authenticity, uncertainty and contradiction are also part of what archeologists do?” this made me realize how interesting and introspective this journey into hirst’s world was for me! I always wanted to find my unique voice in terms of my archeological professional background, and this visit was inspiring. (Iliana)”	The arising emotional state of fear invites this visitor to move beyond it and engage herself in the exhibition. This also reveals an identity position, namely the I as private teacher position, as well as an emotional state and a corresponding identity position through which the visitor responds to this primary emotional state experienced (i.e. I as archaeologist feeling doubt). The opposing emotional states, i.e. feelings of engagement and feelings of doubt, and the enacted identity positions, are managed through a dialogical encounter with an artwork (‘…this made me realise’ - for this point please see also Figure 2 realising consumer identity), which also teases out the transformative potential of this visitor’s identity.

Source(s): Authors’ own work