Ellen Miller's article, Aesthetics Introduction, at the very least gave me a basic understanding and look into the origins of Aesthetics, as defined by the study and philosophy concerned with the nature and appreciation of art and beauty, and the aesthetic experience, which looks at how exactly one is to approach the experience of encountering aesthetic beauty, in art, but also all around one's self.
I've often thought about the Aesthetic nature found in art. As an artist, I find myself constantly looking for the "beauty" in this world. Design, creation... In last week's class we talked about other words that might sum up what Aesthetics could be, and a few of the terms especially resonated with me. Visual Harmony, Sensitivity, Awareness, Instinct, Reaction, Enlightenment, Emotion, Interpretation, Realization... We talked about how the aesthetic experience must be one that is embodied, and felt down to the very core of the soul. For an artist, the task at hand is to find some physical way to show what otherwise cannot be seen - to reach out and touch the viewer with something profound; at least, that is the task I give myself as an artist, and one that I pursue vigorously.
In a large part, I feel that Aesthetics has to do a good deal with perception, another topic we covered in last week's class. How to take your insight and intuition, your senses, and mentally grasp and become aware of the underlying absolutes of beauty abundant in this world. I actually got into a very interesting conversation yesterday with a friend of mine, on just that. Absolute theory vs. the theory of relativity. At first I explained that I felt that, in regards to aesthetics and the topic of beauty, that I leaned more towards the the side of relativity. I suppose I've always looked at and understood that everyone in this world has a completely different point of view, a different mind set, a different set of beliefs... and so on. When I couple this basic understanding of people with how people view art, and beauty, and what they perceive art and beauty to be, I think that at some point, it is all really relative.
However, what my friend talked about, and helped me to realize in the broader sense, is that there must be central and fundamental absolutes that guide this world; whether talking about beauty or good vs. evil, and likewise and so on. As always, I find myself seeing and understanding both sides of the coin. If there are absolutes that define what true beauty is (symmetry? design? color? nature?), then in a sense, as imperfect beings in the search for true beauty, we must consider wrapping our relative minds around such concepts, and merely hope that our interpretation and insight into the aesthetic experience can bring us closer to that true and absolute beauty.
In the article, two quotes that particularly called out to me, especially when all of this other stuff was on my mind was that "Art is not hard to understand - it just requires that we adopt the aesthetic point of view", and therefore, "Everyone can appreciate art just by adopting [said] aesthetic point of view."
