6/2/2016 0 Comments The Philosophy of BeautyA research essay discussing 'beauty' with regards to philosophical theory, art movements and modern media in relation to my own artistic practice..I. ‘American Beauty’ 1999 film Disinterested beauty On discovering that Angela Hayes is a virgin, Lester Burnham illustrates a transition from the effect of Eros to a platonic love displaying disinterested satisfaction as theorised by philosopher Kant. Realising that Angela is pure and recognising her innocence, Lester reacts to the beauty of truth as discussed by the theories of Plato, relying on moral judgement to find ‘good’ the highest reality rather than the aesthetic judgement that had previously led to his lust. This is shown by him no longer wanting to have sex with Angela; still finding her beautiful but finding contentment without the need to use her for physical pleasure. Aesthetic Enjoyment Kant believed beauty to be reliant on feeling and imagination more than the geometric or scientific qualities sought during the Renaissance. Lester Burnham’s first sight of Angela Hayes during her cheerleading routine is a clear example of this theory. Without knowing her morally or understanding any scientific conclusion of beauty, Lester experiences a sudden emotion of ecstasy due to his aesthetic judgement of her. This leads him to imagine her in a sexual situation that shows his lust for physical pleasure from beauty. Extra Observation: Rick Grimes’ Beauty Rick Grimes follows an evident disinterested satisfaction for the beauty in life. He films moments with no intention of adapting or using the footage. However, his aesthetic judgement whilst also fulfilling ‘purposiveness without purpose (for example, finding beauty in a useless plastic bag) seems void of common sense as described by Kant. His ideals of beauty remain unaffected by the opinions of others despite often being harshly evident. Neither does he need or expect them to understand or agree with his interpretation of beauty.
These reasons make my idea of beauty relatable to others through both geometric theories and classical philosophies of beauty. However, whilst these are theoretically relatable, I believe our judgement of beauty is a friction between the inbuilt aesthetic ‘common sense’ that Kant believed to be universal and the nurture debate. For example, when comparing this tropical beach to the tree-lined road I would describe both as beautiful but my preference lies with the chosen image because it is relatable to landscapes I have witnessed. This leads me to trust the image, removing any sense of uncanny as I know the beauty is realistic from personal experience. A further example would be my reaction to this image of a new design for a BMW motorbike. Having owned my own motorbike and having friends in automotive design I have a learned appreciation for motorbikes and their aesthetics. Upon finding this model on the internet I gained pleasure simply from viewing it. To many others this would simply be a motorbike and lead to no emotional reaction as the interest relies on a specific interest. This supports the theory of Kant and David Hume that whilst there are inherent standards, ones subjective view of beauty is a trainable quality through experience. .III. Uncanny vs. Sublime ‘Sublime’ is used to describe an extreme and unparalleled excellence or beauty. This makes it a positive descriptor whereas ‘uncanny’ emphasises its extraordinary and inexplicable qualities. This can be positive or negative, sometimes leading to mysterious or unsettling emotive consequences. In relation to my practice: My current work uses hand-drawn lettering which reflects the visual text used in every-day advertisement, signs and branding. For this reason I feel the method does not immediately appear out of the ordinary and therefore cannot be described as sublime or uncanny. However, the theme of these texts is the wonders of the world which are certainly sublime and could be described as uncanny for some when discussing philosophical terms such as happiness or love or the romantic and powerful qualities of a natural phenomenon for example. .IV. ‘Beauty and Sublime through the Ages of the History of Art’, art text The 3 Traditions of Beauty and their Features as considered by Hans den Hartog Jager 1) The Tradition of Classical Beauty - Visually pleasing, lacking flaws or disharmony. -Made by a skilful hand. 2) The Romantic Tradition - Breaches the borders of ‘high art’. - Work does not intend to elevate the spectator to a higher ideal but instead celebrates the beauty of banality. 3) The Tradition of the Taste of Indifference - Beautiful in the form of popularity. - Ugly in the form of kitsch. In relation to my practice: My work can be related to all three traditions in different ways. The text is drawn by hand for which I am studying to gain the skill which would be appreciated in the tradition of classical beauty. The design layouts also often rely on geometric qualities such as symmetry to create pleasing visuals. However, contrary to the idea of classical beauty my work will always have flaws that prove to the spectator its hand-drawn quality. This to me is important as rather than aiming to visualise the sublime through perfection I aim to create work that is approachable and emphatic with the general public. This links to indifference as my ‘approachable’ art can be compared to the popular and kitsch lettered quotes and signs that are sold as crafts or household decoration. In being both popular and kitsch their beauty and ugliness neutralise to indifference. However, I do not use the cliché images, unnatural colours or mass-production of commercialised quotes. This leads me to believe the work resembles kitsch without fully supporting it and therefore this balance may not be attained as in the tradition. Finally, as in the Romantic tradition, I push the boundaries of ‘high art’ in this instance by using simple everyday materials (pen, paper and recycled bottles) and by focussing on text above image. The contradiction here lies in the theme of my quotes. Instead of ignoring higher ideals I lead the viewer to think about and therefore appreciate them. Relying on the world of ideas to bring sublime to the imagination of my spectators. Conclusion I believe the way forward is to combine qualities from the traditions in order to find a freedom that is approachable to general humanity rather than only educated or ‘high art’ individuals. Whilst Hans den Hartog Jager concludes that the romantic tradition is the way forward he also expresses the importance of visual aesthetics in way of classical beauty to make conceptual art appreciated by all. Therefore, I believe our opinions to be similar: We both believe in aesthetic work that attracts a varied audience whilst leading them to question or consider a given concept. In my opinion, moral, political and social standing is an attribute to an artist as to any person and for Hans den Hartog Jager to describe this as coming from artistic rather than noble instigation I believe to be unfair. However, I agree that straight statements of importance are so common in today’s media-filled world that spectators avoid, or worse, become immune to such discussions. In consequence an instigating thought beneath an attractive exterior can often be more inviting and therefore more successful than an argumentative or deludingly conceptual piece of work.
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