LINHARES on thu 27 jun 96
Helloooo Clayart,
Sometimes discussions of aesthetic theory are exercises in futility. While
they are entertaining and informative to most artists, they seem to serve the
purpose of making the arts so complicated and confusing that someone will need
an art expert to tell them how and why to enjoy a particular object. (like the
law and lawyers) Discussions on the nature of art are exclusive attempting to
divide objects into boxes of art, fine art, craft, fine craft, applied art, and
so on in an effort to show one as being higher or somehow better than another.
(not much fun) Discussions on the nature of beauty on the other hand are
inclusive because all people, artists and non-artists, know it when they see it.
The other day I sat down to make some mugs. There were about thirty of
them and I was thinking some of them had ³it and some of them didnĦt have ³it .
I stopped myself and thought, ³ WhatĦs this ³it that some of them have and
others donĦt? Well sitting there the answer was obvious, ³it was that breath
of fresh air feeling that kind of awe and wonderment in a quiet way of
everything being placed just so, you know. I started thinking about the other
things that have that same feeling; a painting I saw in St. Louis, a perfect
autumn day sitting on the bluffs, that look in my wife's eye, Michael Jordan
making an impossible shot. Then it dawned on me that ³it was beauty. Beauty
was a feeling? I thought beauty was a thing that an object possessed and here
it was a thing that I possessed and imposed on many things. Now the question
was, why do I impose it on those things? What do they have in common? I
guessed that maybe they were glimpses of the creative force of the universe or
the roots of all things. All of the sudden I had arrived at my theory of beauty
and I thought I might write it down and throw it into cyberspace for dissection.
Beauty is an emotion brought on by a glimpse at the roots of the universe.
At least its inclusive. Anyone can have it about anything at anytime. It
doesnĦt seem to matter if it happens because of perfect function or application,
but you know it when you see it even if your a plumber. (no offense)
>From Paul in Ohio where itĦs going to be a beautiful day!
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