From: Jonathan Bailey (quryhous@midcoast.com)
Date: 02/15/01-05:03:16 PM Z
Lukas-
You wrote:
> 2) The term picturesque: I am heading at employing a general theory of
> aesthetics, very basic of course, but still well worth to be explored for
> some fields in photography. "Aesthetics" seems to me the more useful
> expression, because it potentially handles the whole set of parameters of
> what people find worthwhile to perceive and to reproduce, and it
> places the "picture" in a wider context.
A thought or two regarding "aesthetics" (the first being that it's almost
always a troublesome thing to discuss).
"Aesthetics" as the photographer Frederick Sommer pointed out in a talk he
gave at The Chicago Art Institute back in the late 70's, is Greek for "sense
perception."
To quote from a talk I gave in 1995:
"It is a word which is used quite alot today, and seems to have become sort
of the "Chardonnay" of the art world. Aesthetics, as Frederick Sommer
pointed out, is Greek for "sense perception." But I have come to a more
complete sense of what this word is about through the writings of James
Hillman: "Aesthetics is not some John Locke empiricist sort of sensation....
The...Greek sense perception cannot be understood without taking into
account the Greek goddess of the senses or the organ of Greek sensation,
(which is) the heart - and (also) the root in the word: that sniffing,
gasping and breathing in of the world..."
Since we always invoke the history and root meanings of a word whenever we
utter it, I thought you might be interested in knowing a little more about
its derivation....
Interesting bathroom reading, if nothing else....
Best - Jon
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