Using the same shipwreck painting as an example, one could wonder, "Are they going to survive?"" This in turn induces more questions and scenarios such as if there are any other ships around that can save the shipwrecked people, where they are and are they close enough to land to have some hope of survival, etc. Those questions would be literal ones. Another might see the ship as a metaphor for the struggles of life ending in the inevitable decline of the vessel we steer on the sea of our lives, the human body. The nature of the aesthetic experience is that, for some period of time, the viewer's attention is absorbed by the piece, and they are transported beyond the mere act of observation. .
Edward Bullough says that psychical distance is created when art causes us to disengage from our ordinary emotions towards a thing or event and when it proceeds to remove the ordinary sense or uses of an object and an aesthetic is created. This psychical distance and disinterest brings about an appreciation for the object as it is rather than for its usefulness. Bullough uses Othello as one example for the idea that it's possible for an audience member to be under-distanced. For example, a jealous spouse may find their own feelings of jealousy inflamed when watching a play such as Othello. Consequently they are pushed back into their ordinary emotions, losing the psychical distance and disinterest and thereby losing the possibility of an aesthetic experience. Conversely, a viewer could be over-distanced and disengaged from the power of an object's aesthetic effect by focusing on technical aspects or production values of the artwork. While I agree that the viewer can be over-distanced and observe more than what should be observed for the proper aesthetic experience, I would also argue that the artist could also be at fault for making the viewer feel that way. Unfortunately, some artists seem preoccupied with production value and technical qualities over actual creativity.
