first impressions
How do we as people judge what is beautiful? There are no set rules or standards as to what can be called beautiful, so who determines this? Are things just meant to be left in the eye of the beholder? If this is so, and someone else sees this same object as unappealing, then which opinion is to be concluded? In the book Puzzles About Art: An Aesthetics Casebook, there is a case that exemplifies these queries. The case, called The Remains of the Incan Palace on page 30, tells the story of 4 friends hiking through the remote mountainous regions of Peru. The 4 hikers come across an ancient Incan palace, lavishly decorated with gold and jade ornaments and intricate carvings. The 4 hikers then express their opinions, each one different from the others:The first observer merely states, "Beautiful, simply beautiful!" The second observer acknowledges it as a wonderful discovery, but states, "It's one of those ancient extravagances that were designed simply to be stared at; it lacks the warmth and functional humanity that makes things beautiful." The third observer states that since he only cares about bars and restaurants, the discovery does nothing for him. The fourth observer says that it is wonderful, grand, and mag
Instead what the author is trying to convey is that the man feels like an abandoned child after his wife died. Now suppose that this art work is viewed by a children's welfare agent. At first you almost see an angelic female figure, yet you can feel that she is just out of grasp. In the background you can barely see a man in a similar state as the child sitting on a bench. I feel that this is the most important statement that can be made about any finding or piece of artwork. If the emperor would have built the whole palace himself, and did everything exactly the same as the slaves did, would that have physically changed the appearance of the palace itself? Would it have made the palace more aesthetically pleasing? No, it would have been an interesting side note to the history of the palace and maybe even something that the museum or curator of the palace could boast about to draw in funds for restoration or for tourism, but the actual fact that the palace was built by the emperor instead of slaves of the emperor should not change the aesthetic value of the palace. The fact that slaves built the Incan palace instead of the emperor himself is just a side note to the object itself. For instance, take the fourth observers opinion: because the palace was built with the sweat and broken lives of the slaves for the enjoyment of only a few ruling elite, all of the beauty has been removed from the work. The painting shows a small child weeping looking very neglected: dirty, clothed in a poor state, and looking quite malnourished. I feel this is an incorrect way to judge the aesthetic value of something because the means by which something is made should not affect the aesthetic value that the observer feels. There is a sort of clearing off to the side where light rays stream through the canopy and brings an almost hopeful feeling to the painting. Another example from this concept is an art work based around one of these socially immoral or political issues. But because of this observer's personal view, he or she makes a snap judgment, and an unfair one at that. Thus, their final conclusion on the art work is often misconstrued by ideas and biased opinions formulated by outside forces long before encountering the original artwork.
Common topics in this essay:
Incan Palace,
,
Aesthetics Casebook,
aesthetic value,
incan palace,
lives slaves,
broken lives slaves,
affect aesthetic value,
ideas biased opinions,
ideas biased,
eye beholder,
broken lives,
4 hikers,
palace built,
biased opinions,
affect aesthetic,
|
Acceptance Essays
