beauty changes everything
Natural selection is the process organisms adapt to their environment to give them a better chance at survival. Though he proposed and defended this theory, Charles Darwin did not believe it could explain everything. That's why he also proposed sexual selection, by which he meant that females choose the most appealing males and males evolve … Continue reading Extravagant Evolution
The Urbano Project in Jamaica Plain (Boston) has a wonderful show by artist Constanza Aguirre, on view from November 9, 2018 through January 11, 2019. Her art explores the relationship that people have with work. What happens when displaced people are thereby prevented from working? Do they become less human? In my art review (see … Continue reading Review of Wandering in the Land of Oblivion
Here is my review of Temple of Mnemon, a sculpture by Anne Lilly that was installed on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston from the summer to October of 2018. This review was published in Big Red & Shiny, Boston's contemporary art journal online. The opening paragraph of the review: Part of what makes us … Continue reading Review of Temple of Mnemon
Robert Wellington has written a brief defense of the value of beauty in art. He explains: "Let me be clear. I am not saying that works of art ought to be beautiful. What I want to defend is our felt experience of beauty as way of knowing and navigating the world around us." He takes us … Continue reading Beauty and Art
When gas prices rise, people become less inclined to simply go for a drive that doesn't have a specific purpose other than its own delight. But one kind of drive that doesn't serve any practical purposes that people regularly take (each fall) is a trip to see autumn foliage. People from suburbs and cities alike … Continue reading Leaf-Peeping: The Search for the Aesthetic
Beauty is not as different among cultures as it often appears. Proportion (or harmony), for example, has been an important characteristic of beauty since ancient Greece, despite all the changes and iterations it has undergone. As one culture is influenced by another culture’s view of beauty, they don’t have to abandon their original view. They … Continue reading Elegance in Japanese Art: Reflections on Cultural Changes
On August 16, 2017, I led a workshop called Philosophy of Design: Aesthetics to the Graphic Design Studio at Artist for Humanity. First of all, if you don't know about them, you will be inspired to learn more. They employ about 150 teenagers to learn and make art. They all begin in the painting studio … Continue reading Aesthetics for Teens!
SKORIN-KAPOV, Jadranka. The Intertwining of Aesthetics and Ethics: Exceeding of expectations, Ecstasy, Sublimity. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2016. 236 pp. Cloth, $85.00—Rather than simply showing that aesthetics and ethics have some overlap or similarities, Jadranka Skorin-Kapov makes the stronger claim that both branches have a common experiential ground. Through an extensive survey (with dense exposition) … Continue reading Jadranka Skorin-Kapov. The Intertwining of Aesthetics and Ethics
An encyclopedia entry by Michael Spicher: Aesthetic Taste. This article explores some early foundations for later theories of taste in the ancient and medieval worlds. The largest section of this essay emphasizes what has been called the century of taste, the 18th century. Many of these philosophers are lesser known. Then, it delves into the … Continue reading Aesthetic Taste
Michael Bond has written a piece for the BBC discussing the hidden ways that architecture can affect our well-being. Drawing from current studies from neuroscience and psychology, Bond examines how small details on buildings can have a big affect on people. One notable study, conducted by Colin Ellard, showed that people are negatively affected by … Continue reading Details that Matter