Module #2

#1. Key Concepts

a.)    Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts

Over time theories about aesthetics has differed between each philosopher. Dating back to fifth century Athens, Plato believed “There is a beauty by which all things are beautiful.” He could tell the difference between reality and illusion and between what is fake and real. The first modern theory of aesthetics came in 18^th century England and the idea was that the sense of beauty is innate and spontaneous. This is the complete opposite of Plato who believed in reason. Other theories like Dewey, Kant, and Danto show that aesthetics is always evolving to appeal to the time period, artists, artwork, and audience. We all have a different view points on what makes something beautiful but in some way they are all intertwined.

b.)    CARTA

Ramachandran and Changeux explain the psychological aspect of art and how it evolves from the brain. When we look at artwork we are using the conscious and unconscious parts of the brain. This then effects our emotions and how we perceive the art. This relates to chapter 1 that talks about the brain in relation to people who are considered creative.

c.)     CNN Article

Our brains can easily see lines, colors, and patterns and make sense of them because they are familiar to us. Artists create illusions such as depth and brightness that are actually there but make the art more realistic. The brain responds well to familiarity and nature. Lines, emotions, color, and symmetry all affect our senses and our brains use these elements to make sense of the art and make it appealing.

#2. In 1936 German philosopher, Walter Benjamin’s concept that art has been radically altered by technological advances that allows for unlimited reproduction of works of art was most important to me.  Movies, artwork, and television shows can easily be repeated and shown to everyone simultaneously. This makes them no longer unique and aesthetics now need to change and adapt to these advances. Aesthetics now involves to observer in the creation of the art being produced. With new technology comes a demand from the observer to want to watch what they believe is aesthetically pleasing and the artist has less control over their own craft and work.

#3. Ramachandran and Changeux’s scientific view of aesthetics and art explained the scientific aspect of aesthetics very well but as someone who doesn’t know much about art and science I felt it was very hard to understand. I think art is not solely derived from science but more from the cognitive aspects. Changeux had pictures of the brain when it is experiencing different emotions and feelings such as the feeling of surprised with I thought was cool to see how the brain changes during these times. Ramachandran had a great theory on natural selection by using the birds as an example. The female birds go for the aesthetically pleasing or attractive male birds which is also so true about humans. We want the handsome, strong male to mate with like the birds.

 

#4. The articles and the videos relate to the topics of aesthetics, how the brain interprets art, how we perceive elements of design like line and color, and cultural differences through art.

#5. I thought the aesthetics video was easy to understand and allowed me to understand the evolution of aesthetics through many viewpoints. Such as philosophy, science, reason, and emotion. The other Carta video was hard to follow, quite boring and I didn’t take much away from it as I did from the first video. The article I felt was very interesting and should how the brain works towards multiple elements of design and had information that I could actually relate to. For example using symbols on a keyboard to make faces or emotions through texting, like a smiley face. It may not look like a smiley face to some but our brains associate those symbols put together as a simple for happy.