Aesthetics

In the video,  Aesthetics: Philosophy of Arts, it discussed about different philosophers in history such as Plato, Francis Hutcheson, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich von Schiller and others. Each of these philosophers had their own perception of the beauty in art. They all addressed their own ideas in the shaping and understanding of aesthetics. For example, I learned that Plato believes that art is copying reality and poets are just inspirational because they speak of things that they do not know. While Kant believes that the genius artist is unique and superior, which becomes important to aesthetics.

In the video, CARTA: Neurobiology Neurology and Art and Aesthetics, Jean-Pieme Changeux discussed about the evolutionary origins of art and aesthetic. He also explained the rules and constraints of artistic creation. I learned about the discovery of symmetry, discovery of symbolism and the process of visual images. The second speaker, Vilayanur S. Ramachandran explained his “Eight Laws of Art/Aesthetics.” He states how that these laws make art universal. He also speaks about how art is not to be used to create realistic objects or images, the purpose of artists are to distort and exaggerate an artwork.

From the video, I believe that Frances Hutcheson’s theory in the 18 century was the most significant. His theory states, “The ideas brought about in our soul by beauty and harmony delight us necessarily and immediately, just like the other sensible ideas.” I believed this is important because Hutcheson believed that our moral knowledge is gained through our moral sense. The five senses give the ability to obtain those ideas which either satisfies or worry us. I believed this concept is important because individuals are all different, and we all go through different experiences that influences the way we respond to the world. Hutcheson’s concept explains why people may not have the same likes.

Changeux scientific view of aesthetics and art was interesting. His view was based on the evolution of humans and the evolution of art. His lecture was interesting because I usually don’t think about how I am able to depict an artwork. From his lecture, I was able to learn that the perception of movement, recognition of objects and faces, and the processing of retinal images through the visual pathways and limbic system are all stages that help us identify an artwork.

Ramachandran view was based on the “Eight laws of Art.” He constantly states how one should not say “visual art,” instead we should call it “visual aesthetics.”  Ramachandran made it easier for me to understand his view on Aesthetics.  He talks about the brain's reaction to real life events and compares them to our brain's response while looking at art. For example, he uses Tim Bergen theory with the Seagull and its beak to prove to us how our brain reacts to art.

The videos and article relates to the readings in the text in different ways. The first video mainly talked about the theories of each philosopher. While the article and second video talked about the processing of visualizing an artwork. However, each historian and philosopher had its own interpretation and theories on art and aesthetics, which the text as well implied.

Both films and article was knowledgeable. It taught me about the different philosophers and their viewpoints on aesthetics and how art affects the brain. The most interesting thing that I learned from these sources is that even though some philosopher were influenced from one another, each of them still had their own viewpoint on aesthetics. This only proves that they are many opinions within art. These add depth to understanding the topics in my reading. As well, it made understand why it is significant to learn about art history, because you learn about different culture, people and the nature world we live in!