Art

I love art; to be specific a couple of forms of art ( I better say that, I am married to an artist.. anything less will result in pain all over) but no in all seriousness art is an window to the sound a society. Art in this definition doesn’t mean only paintings it covers a more broad perspective- it covers a judgement of taste. In other words it covers a branch of philosophical thought that deals with aesthetics. What do I mean by that? Let me break it down in a different manner. 

All art is an expression of the artist - I guess we could all agree. Art is an expression of what the artist feels. His \ Her emotional state expressed in the form of a canvas , a poem, a story, a recipe etc. That creative end result is normally called a work of art. Any work of art generated would by definition fulfill an aesthetic function. Aesthetics is derived from the Greek aisthetikos, meaning "aesthetic, sensitive, sentient, pertaining to sense perception.” Essentially we view the expression of the artist from our point of view. Kant was very eloquent in his “critique of judgement “ when he says that enjoyment is the pleasure derived from sensation. Sensation has to result in pleasure by engaging contemplation. Judgments of beauty are sensory, emotional and intellectual all at once.  We judge and it is our judgement that decides the aesthetic value that we perceive. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. 

Back to what I like. I love reading poetry- not the depressing kind, but the type that lifts one up. My number one is “Invictus” by Henley. I love reading - have preference to two authors - Rand and Bach. Love paintings - prefer the impressionists movement of the 19th century (Manet, Monet, Morisot, Degas) there is something about a pallet that consists of just 3 or 4 colours ; and the ability to use that limited pallet to paint shadows and bring a story to life that I find fascinating. ( I won’t be able to distinguish between the different painters but will for sure be able to figure out what era it belongs to - I wish I could at some point own one of these classics). Here in is the rub - art is subjective. Something may or may not move you. The works of art represent a view point to the artists live in a particular era. We get a chance to experience that point of view; for that we should be grateful. 

C