I am currently giving a lot of thought to aesthetics and it’s appeal, and i would appreciate some input from others for more knowledge on the subject.
I have some theories of my own about aesthetics, but i suspect that there are some pretty elaborate philosophies has developed these ideas further than i have managed. So, instead of inventing the wheel all over, i would like some tips about philosophers and their thoughts. It would also be cool if i could have some response to my own thoughts as well, so i will try to sum it up for you.
I have always been a huge music lover, and as of late i am beginning to discover similar impressions of beauty in other art forms as well. These things has occasionally given me intense sublime experiences that i guess can be compared to religious epiphanies or similar. I consider myself an agnostic, but can easily recognize myself in certain descriptions of religious experiences.
On a more psychological level i believe that art speaks to me on a sub- and/or unconscious level. Basically what i mean by this is that the appeal lies within the possibility to learn from something about myself. For instance, i met a really cool artist a while back, and even though i immediately didn’t realize the appeal in her work and person, i was driven by an urge to find out, and it eventually got to me after hanging out with her. She taught me a great deal about myself with her art.
So, in conclusion i think that good art differs from bad art in the sense that the former speaks to you, and has the ability to reach insight and knowledge in our life. Bad art on the other hand leaves you indifferent, but is none the less important since these things are subjective, and the lesson to be learned is really a matter of predispositions. I am really reluctant to the idea that good art is a matter of scholarship or realizing and acknowledging a certain set of rules and/or standards.
Further, i have always been told that artists influence you in a way that will color your own expression, but with the above ideas in mind i am beginning to think it’s the other way around. Influence is not about reproducing other peoples ideas in varying degrees, it’s about others showing yourself who you really are. There has to be a reason why certain things has a certain appeal to you from the very beginning, and isn’t it possible that these things where inside you in a kind of socratic way?
Finally, another appeal i can see in these things is the strive for knowledge. There has been situations where my initial reactions to somethings has been confusion and eventually fascination for whatever is possibly going on inside a certain artists mind. Sometimes there has just been these incredible experiences of sheer beauty, and in either case i have found myself struggling through some really intense and sometimes even unpleasant experiences which has the primary appeal in the fact that it’s the product of some really complex set of ideas that i simply have to decode to understand. (I’m not into hallucinogenics or any other form of psychedelics, in case you’re wondering…)
These are some of my thoughts, for what they’re worth. I like input.
