Every year, thousands of people flock to the first public beach in America, Revere Beach (est. 1896) for the International Sand-Sculpting Festival. These are wonderfully complicated works that sculptors create in a short time, and they don’t last very long. Shortly after the festival is over, the sand sculptures disappear. Another sculptor, Herb Parker, makes … More Fleeting Beauty
Beauty is the eye of the beholder. Regardless of what truth is contained in that statement, it is far too simple. The most common argument (not necessarily the best) is the a version of the following: people disagree about which objects are beautiful; therefore, beauty must be wholly subjective. And one’s taste is subjective by … More Taste: Universal and Cultural
When we first see the elephant man without his burlap mask in David Lynch’s 1980 film, our first impression is that he is ugly. We then come to understand throughout the movie that he is a beautiful person. This extreme example represents the confusion in which we often find ourselves between morality and beauty. People … More Beauty and Morality
Aesthetic experiences are powerful. They can help us remember particular moments by creating a sensual account in our memory. But they can also help us when we are describing an amazing experience, situation, or object to someone else. Basically, the aesthetic aspects we encounter enhance whatever else we may be experiencing. Sometimes it is the … More Negative Aesthetic Concepts
I remember hearing that Dostoevsky, in his book The Idiot, has a character utter the expression, “Beauty will save the world.” I immediately liked this expression, if for no other reason than hoping it might be true. Years later, I finally got around to read The Idiot. I kept waiting with anticipation for the famous line … More Can Beauty Save the World?
I have long-believed that aesthetics should be part of our everyday lives, and then philosophers started publishing books and articles about this idea I took for granted. However, I see that the literature in aesthetics did not always warrant such a conclusion, especially with an overwhelming focus on the arts. The “Everyday Aesthetics” movement in … More Quotidian Aesthetics: The Design Paradigm
The animal only fashions things according to the standards and needs of the species it belongs to, whereas man knows how to produce according to the measure of every species and knows everywhere how to apply its inherent standard to the object: thus man also fashions things according to the laws of beauty. Karl Marx … More Agriculture and Aesthetics
Because you celebrate Black culture does not mean that you don’t like white culture; or that you putting it down.It’s just taking pride – Solange Knowles, “Interlude: Tina Taught Me” What does it mean to be inclusive and diverse? We have committees, departments, policies, and other implementations to help us fine-tune our understanding and practice. … More Collective Individuals: A Review of Sand
Pedro Canhenha wrote a short article called “Aesthetic, Visual Design & Usability” for UX Planet (CLICK HERE), in which he provides an overview of the relationship between aesthetics and design. Functional contexts, such as design and architecture, have a job to do. If they fail to work properly and efficiently, then they are not made … More Aesthetics and Usability
THE EXPERIENCE OF BEAUTY IN THE MIDDLE AGES. By Mary Carruthers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xii+233. Hard Cover $150.00, ISBN: 9780199590322. Most ideas from the Middle Ages are entangled in their views of theology and morality, at least that is how we often perceive it. We approach medieval ideas with the belief … More Review of The Experience of Beauty in the Middle Ages
