Aesthetics For Life W1: What is Aesthetics? The unexamined life is not worth living. - Attributed to Socrates Ratto di Prosperina -Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Outline 1 What is Aesthetics? 1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions 1 1 What is Aesthetics? 1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: A branch of PHILOSOPHY Aesthetics is a subfield of philosophy The term aesthetics was first introduced into philosphical literature by Alexander Baumgarten, in 1750
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: What is Philosophy? Philosophy, broadly speaking, involves the careful and reasoned EXAMINATION of, or thought about phenomena and concepts in the world around us The unexamined life is not worth living. - Attributed to Socrates
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophy and VALUE One major area of philosophical examination is the study of how we assign VALUE Plato distinguished three major kinds of value (Phaedrus, 246 EC) 1 Goodness 2 Truth 3 Beauty [Tatarkiewicz & Kasparek(1981)]
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophy and VALUE One major area of philosophical examination is the study of how we assign VALUE Plato distinguished three major kinds of value (Phaedrus, 246 EC) 1 Goodness 2 Truth 3 Beauty [Tatarkiewicz & Kasparek(1981)]
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophy and VALUE These correlate to how 19th-century philosophers divided up philosophy into three branches 1 Ethics. How do you assess whether something is good, or better? 2 Logic. How do you assess whether something is true, or valid? 3 Aesthetics. How do you assess whether something is beautiful?
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Aesthetics and VALUE Aesthetics The careful and reasoned examination of beauty as a value-judgement Baumgarten in the 18th Century:. The study of Art, Beauty and Human Sensibility. (Where sensibility good taste )
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Aesthetics and VALUE Aesthetics The careful and reasoned examination of beauty as a value-judgement Baumgarten in the 18th Century:. The study of Art, Beauty and Human Sensibility. (Where sensibility good taste )
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophical Questions of Interest Q1: How do we know that something is beautiful? Q1: Is beauty/aesthetic appeal and functionality related?. If so, how? Q1: Is aesthetic appeal/beauty subjective or objective? Can an aesthetic response be predicted with rules? Q1: What IS the aesthetic response?. Pleasure? Awe? Intense Curiosity?...
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophical Questions of Interest Q1: How do we know that something is beautiful? Q1: Is beauty/aesthetic appeal and functionality related?. If so, how? Q1: Is aesthetic appeal/beauty subjective or objective? Can an aesthetic response be predicted with rules? Q1: What IS the aesthetic response?. Pleasure? Awe? Intense Curiosity?...
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophical Questions of Interest Q1: How do we know that something is beautiful? Q1: Is beauty/aesthetic appeal and functionality related?. If so, how? Q1: Is aesthetic appeal/beauty subjective or objective? Can an aesthetic response be predicted with rules? Q1: What IS the aesthetic response?. Pleasure? Awe? Intense Curiosity?...
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Philosophical Questions of Interest Q1: How do we know that something is beautiful? Q1: Is beauty/aesthetic appeal and functionality related?. If so, how? Q1: Is aesthetic appeal/beauty subjective or objective? Can an aesthetic response be predicted with rules? Q1: What IS the aesthetic response?. Pleasure? Awe? Intense Curiosity?...
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions Immanuel Kant s Theory of Aesthetics The aesthetic judgement 1 is subjective (a felt judgement, not an intellectual calculation) 2 is universal (...not in the eye of the beholder) 3 is disinterested (value independent of usefulness/benefit to perceiver) 4 and engages imagination and intellect (in addition to the senses)
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions Immanuel Kant s Theory of Aesthetics The aesthetic judgement 1 is subjective (a felt judgement, not an intellectual calculation) 2 is universal (...not in the eye of the beholder) 3 is disinterested (value independent of usefulness/benefit to perceiver) 4 and engages imagination and intellect (in addition to the senses)
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions Immanuel Kant s Theory of Aesthetics The aesthetic judgement 1 is subjective (a felt judgement, not an intellectual calculation) 2 is universal (...not in the eye of the beholder) 3 is disinterested (value independent of usefulness/benefit to perceiver) 4 and engages imagination and intellect (in addition to the senses)
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions Immanuel Kant s Theory of Aesthetics The aesthetic judgement 1 is subjective (a felt judgement, not an intellectual calculation) 2 is universal (...not in the eye of the beholder) 3 is disinterested (value independent of usefulness/benefit to perceiver) 4 and engages imagination and intellect (in addition to the senses)
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Aesthetic Response and Appeal Aesthetic Response? Aesthetic Appeal? What are these?
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Aesthetic Response and Appeal Aesthetic Response? Aesthetic Appeal? What are these?
1.1 Aesthetics and Philosophy 1.2 Aesthetics and Beauty as Value 1.3 Aesthetic Questions What is Aesthetics?: Aesthetic Response and Appeal Aesthetic Response? Aesthetic Appeal? What are these?
Outline 1 What is Aesthetics? 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art 2 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art
The Aesthetic Response and Art 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Observation: People have responses to sensory stimuli from the world These responses are the kind of phenomena that aesthetics is interested in
The Aesthetic Response and Art 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Traditionally, an aesthetic response is a. positive response... but aesthetics and art are. unextricably intertwined What counts as art and hence beautiful changes over time
The Aesthetic Response and Art 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Traditionally, an aesthetic response is a. positive response... but aesthetics and art are. unextricably intertwined What counts as art and hence beautiful changes over time
The Aesthetic Response and Art 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Traditionally, an aesthetic response is a. positive response... but aesthetics and art are. unextricably intertwined What counts as art and hence beautiful changes over time
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither Pine Forest National Park by Photokanok from freedigitalphotos.net
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Art! B: Not Art! Pine Forest National Park by Photokanok from freedigitalphotos.net
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art! Waterfall In Forest by Porbital from freedigitalphotos.net
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art! Daffodils by James Barker from freedigitalphotos.net
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art! View of Toledo by El Greco, c. 1596 1600, oil on canvas, 47.75 42.75 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art! The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio, c. 1599 1600, oil on canvas,340 322 cm, Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Roma, Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art! Ratto di Prosperina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1621-22, Sculpture in Marble, 225 cm, Galleria Borghese, Rome
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Indifference A: Art! B: Not Art! Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier) by Picasso, oil on canvas, 100.3 x 73.6 cm, Museum of Modern Art New York Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
1 What is Aesthetics? 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 What is the Aesthetic Response? Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? Art Theory The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art!
1 What is Aesthetics? 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 What is the Aesthetic Response? Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? Art Theory The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art!
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art The Aesthetic Response: Class Exercise A: Beautiful! B: Ugly! C: Neither A: Art! B: Not Art! Fountain by Marcel Duchamp,, Urinal readymade signed with joke name; early example of Dada art. A paradigmatic example of found-art. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz. Captions read: Fountain by R. Mutt, Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz, THE EXHIBIT REFUSED BY THE INDEPENDENTS, Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Q: What makes you judge these as beautiful or not? Question: What makes you judge these as beautiful, aesthetically appealing, visually-arresting, or not?. Are there formal properties that cause beauty? Possible Factors: Complexity, simplicity, regularity, symmetry (or asymmetry), proportion, harmony, contrast...
Art Theory 1 What is Aesthetics? 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Q: How can we describe what makes something beautiful? We ll discuss how to describe formal characteristics of art: Form and composition Colour (hue, value, chroma, local vs perceived) Light (types of light sources, types of shadows)
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Art Theory: Beauty as Mathematically Calculable Ratios Fibonacci s Golden Mean and Archimedes s Spiral Fibonacci s Sequence:. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233,... Fibonacci s Golden Mean: 1: 1+ 5 2 ( 1:1.618.
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Art Theory: Beauty as Mathematically Calculable Ratios Fibonacci s Golden Mean and Archimedes s Spiral This 1+ 5 2 mathematical ratio is found in nature : Pictures accessed from http://io9.com/5985588/15-uncanny-examples-of-the-golden-ratio-in-nature
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Art Theory: Beauty as Mathematically Calculable Ratios Fibonacci s Golden Mean and Archimedes s Spiral Classical and High Renaissance art/architecture often used this ratio as a compositional principle: Accessed from http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm Accessed from http://seispontozero.blogspot.com.br/
Are Art and Beauty the same thing? 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Question: Did you always have the same response to the question Is this beautiful? and Is this Art?
2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Q: What makes you judge things as art or not? Questions: What made you judge those pictures as art or not-art? Are there formal properties that determine whether something is art? What other sorts of properties factor into whether something is art?
The Philosophy of Art 2.1 What is the Aesthetic Response? 2.2 Class Exercise: Is this beautiful? Is this Art? 2.3 Art Theory 2.4 The Philosophy of Art Q: How can we decide what makes something art? We ll also discuss theories that aim at answering this question Representational/Mimetic Function of Art The Expressive Nature of Art The Value of Art as Aesthetic Contextualist Constructivist
Outline 1 What is Aesthetics? 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram 3 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram
3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram SWU 252: Course Syllabus - Content Overview 1 Theory I: Aesthetic Concepts and Theories Subjective VS Objective Functionality VS Disinterest Intellect/Imagination/Curiosity 2 Theory II: The Language of Visual Art and Aesthetics Form, Composition, Colour Theory Representation VS Expressiveness Western Art Movements (Brief on Art History) 3 Application of Theory: For life! Selfies! Foodstagramming! App design! Television! Manga/Anime/Video-Games! etc. Assignments, Resumés, advertisements, etc.,
3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram SWU 252: Course Syllabus - Content Overview 1 Theory I: Aesthetic Concepts and Theories Subjective VS Objective Functionality VS Disinterest Intellect/Imagination/Curiosity 2 Theory II: The Language of Visual Art and Aesthetics Form, Composition, Colour Theory Representation VS Expressiveness Western Art Movements (Brief on Art History) 3 Application of Theory: For life! Selfies! Foodstagramming! App design! Television! Manga/Anime/Video-Games! etc. Assignments, Resumés, advertisements, etc.,
3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram SWU 252: Course Syllabus - Content Overview 1 Theory I: Aesthetic Concepts and Theories Subjective VS Objective Functionality VS Disinterest Intellect/Imagination/Curiosity 2 Theory II: The Language of Visual Art and Aesthetics Form, Composition, Colour Theory Representation VS Expressiveness Western Art Movements (Brief on Art History) 3 Application of Theory: For life! Selfies! Foodstagramming! App design! Television! Manga/Anime/Video-Games! etc. Assignments, Resumés, advertisements, etc.,
3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram SWU 252: Course Syllabus - Format Overview 1 In-Class Expectations: Lecture and Class Discussion Student Debates Midterm, Final 2 Outside Class Expectations: Class Instagram: Weekly Instagram Assignments Course Video Project: Aesthetic Analysis of... (i) Project Proposal (Research Question, Hypothesis) - Week 3 (ii) Project Progress Report (Methodology, Data Analysis) - Week 6 (iii) Project Storyboard/Script - Week 11 (iv) Final Project - Week 15
3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram SWU 252: Course Syllabus - Format Overview 1 In-Class Expectations: Lecture and Class Discussion Student Debates Midterm, Final 2 Outside Class Expectations: Class Instagram: Weekly Instagram Assignments Course Video Project: Aesthetic Analysis of... (i) Project Proposal (Research Question, Hypothesis) - Week 3 (ii) Project Progress Report (Methodology, Data Analysis) - Week 6 (iii) Project Storyboard/Script - Week 11 (iv) Final Project - Week 15
SWU 252: Final Project 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Course Project (Group or Individual) Q: What are the aesthetics of... foodstagramming? video games (RPG vs FPS vs etc.) kinds of music, poetry, literature, web-design,......etc (whatever interests you!)
SWU 252: Final Project 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Course Project (Group or Individual) - Example Project Research Question: Does the angle of the horizon line in foodstagrams affect the number of likes that a picture will get?
SWU 252: Final Project 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Course Project (Group or Individual) - Example Project Hypothesis: Pictures where the horizon line is diagonal, as opposed to horizontal, feel less planned and more authentic to life. This will induce more of an emotional aesthetic response in viewers and receive more likes.
SWU 252: Final Project 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Course Project (Group or Individual) - Example Project Methodology: 1 We will create an Instagram account and post a foodstagram pic twice a week, always at the same time, with the same hashtags. 2 Half of these will have diagonal horizons, half will have horizontal horizons. 3 We will tally up the number of likes and for each type, to determine if the hypothesis was supported by the data, or not.
1 What is Aesthetics? 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Course Course Course Course Syllabus Project Website Instagram SWU 252: Final Project Course Project (Group or Individual) - Example Project Results Diagonal horizon photos on average were liked twice as much as horizontal horizon line pictures. We also observed that pictures with contre-jour lighting were liked three times more often than pictures with three-quarter or frontal lighting.
1 What is Aesthetics? 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Course Course Course Course Syllabus Project Website Instagram SWU 252: Final Project Course Project (Group or Individual) - Example Project Theoretical Discussion We hypothesize that contre-jour lighting triggers the viewer s imagination regarding the setting of the photo (eg., in a cafe by a bright window) more than planned studio-style 3/4 and frontal lighting. The results can be analyzed in terms of Kant s approach to aesthetics. Kant argued that the engagement of the intellect or imagination is a crucial factor toward inducing an aesthetic judgement...
SWU 252: Course Website 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Course Website: https://mlouieling.wordpress.com/swu-afl Class Syllabus Class Requirements (eg., assignment information) Class Notes/PPTs Link to Class Instagram...
SWU 252: Class Instagram 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Weekly Instagram Assignments (1) Find something that fulfills the assignment s goal. - capture it on Instagram and post as. @SWU LC AFL (Password: swulicafl) (2) Explain how it fulfill the assignment s goal in the caption (3) Make a (course-content relevant) comment on someone else s post Week 1: Instagram Assignment Goal. Option 1: Find/create something aesthetically pleasing to you.. - explain what you like about it in the caption. Option 2: Find something that illustrates Fibonacci s Ratio.. - annotate, or discuss the composition in the caption
SWU 252: Class Instagram 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Weekly Instagram Assignment Examples Option 2: Find something that illustrates Fibonacci s Ratio - annotate, or discuss the composition in the caption - sign with your personal student code
SWU 252: Class Instagram 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Weekly Instagram Assignment Examples 1: Find/create something aesthetically pleasing to you, or illustrating Fibonacci s Ratio 2: Find/create something that fits into the aesthetics of one of the historical art movements, eg., high renaissance, mannerism, baroque, impressionism,... 3: Find/create something that illustrates a concept from colour theory, eg., hue vs value vs saturation/chroma
References I 1 What is Aesthetics? 3.1 Course Syllabus 3.2 Course Project 3.3 Course Website 3.4 Course Instagram Stecker, Robert. 2010. Aesthetics and the philosophy of art: An introduction. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Tatarkiewicz, Wladyslaw & Christopher Kasparek. 1981. A history of six ideas: An essay in aesthetics.