Topic: AESTHETIC aka how I made my brain hurt

[Francois]

I don't know if any of you are into philosophy, but if you are check these out...
And yes, it did make my brain hurt a bit but it was nonetheless an interesting view on what makes something a piece of art and what are aesthetics...

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[jharr]

At 8:48 he (video 1 guy) distinguishes 'aesthetic' being in "people" from "people in time in cultures". That seems meaningless since people *only* exist in time and in cultures. Also, it seems that he is defining aesthetic as some sort of quantifiable thing separate from human experience while artistic value is what we perceive internally as an image or sound rattles around our personal context. So to put a comment of "aesthetic" on something is just saying "I appreciate this in a personal way, but I think (for some unknown reason) it has transcendent value and everyone else should appreciate it too. It is a very conceited thought, though I don't think the twitterites probably see it that way. All of this hair-splitting does get a little tedious, but it can be fun and possibly clarify the reasons why we do photography as opposed to mime or Ren-faire jousting as our chosen art form.

[Flippy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9_QiLBiiIc

I think they're overthinking it. "Aesthetic" is simply appreciating the visual appeal of something without getting pulled into or weighed down by its "baggage". 

Just like all those "artists" who don't know why they like what they make, they "just do" because it "just looks good".

[Late Developer]

Interesting but I'm not sure if I was in the right frame of mind to watch last night.  Mind you, I don't know if I'd make any sort of philosophy student as I struggle to achieve an objective view on most subjective topics.  I think I'm with Flippy on this one; I think most of us take photographs, paint, do macrame or whatever because we like doing it and/or we like the end result.  I suspect that whether there's some underlying truth or reason isn't something most would analyse.

[charles binns]

It sounds like the sort of arty bollox that is best avoided at all costs.  I prefer films about old gits photographing stones and stuff.

Like Leon and Dave's film.

[soeren]

It sounds like the sort of arty bollox that is best avoided at all costs.  I prefer films about old gits photographing stones and stuff.

Like Leon and Dave's film.

Hear Hear, especially the last part 


"At least that was what he said he was doing" 

[Francois]

It's a bit funny in a sense because for me the most important part is the picture taking process itself. I find that my final images are usually a bit bland (or maybe I'm being too harsh on myself?).

As for understanding the philosophical part, I should mention that we are forced to go through four philisophy classes in the province in order to get our college diploma... these were a few of the classes that I aced. Maybe that has something to do with me finding it interesting.

What fascinates me is how artwork and design is received depending on culture and time. I usually find that the more bland the work, the more it gets a universal appeal. And yet, things that are universally appealing at one time can become quite tacky at a different period.

I'm currently reading the Encyclopedia of bad taste and I find that it illustrates this quite elegantly (well... just in the way it does so and not the content it shows).

And then, there's the fads which can apply to anything under the sun.