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beauty

Started by billy rubin, January 10, 2022, 03:19:46 PM

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billy rubin

okay

this is another one of those i-dont-understand threads, brought to you by hermes who doesnt know it yet

what is "beauty?"

what makes something beautiful? bright colors? acvurate representation of reality? weird ability to inspire emotion? symmetry? smell? taste?

beauty seems mostly visual and auditory. is there such a thing as a beautiful smell? im will ing to guess a super taster pro chef will describe a beautiful taste, but i cant.

these are all beautiful to somebody.














why ?



^^^ this is a US$9500 bottle of wine. i dont know what makes lafitte rothschild 1900 so ecpensive, but beauty better be a part of it


set the function, not the mechanism.

hermes2015

Thanks for dropping me in it, Billy! I just posted the first of my brutalist concrete paintings in the Art thread, so I thought this was your reaction to a painting that was intentionally designed to be unappealing to the rest of the world, but not to me. The weird thing is that I have had a huge response from people who like it.

I suspect there are evolutionary and psychological reasons for our beauty responses, but I don't know what they are. I just know that in my case, I have a visceral reaction to objects, some of which give me intense pleasure, while others make want to throw up. I suppose sexual preference is a similar type of response. I hope we will get some more informed responses than mine from other HAFers.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

billy rubin

i dunno. look at edward weston. the bastard messed up aesthetic logic for everybody since.



and yes it was your post that got me wondeting


set the function, not the mechanism.

hermes2015

I've never seen that photo by Weston. I, and many photographers, would find it interesting and perhaps beautiful, for Weston's technical skill in capturing a challenging subject. It is impressive, because the highlights are not blown out, yet there is no loss of detail in the correctly exposed shadow area on the right. That exposure is a very difficult thing to pull off and must have required a lot of fancy footwork in the darkroom, with much dodging and burning.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

No one

I reached out to the beholder, I'll let you know what they say.

hermes2015

Quote from: No one on January 10, 2022, 04:36:15 PM
I reached out to the beholder, I'll let you know what they say.

Probably complaints about eye irritation.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

billy rubin

Quote from: hermes2015 on January 10, 2022, 04:16:41 PM
I've never seen that photo by Weston. I, and many photographers, would find it interesting and perhaps beautiful, for Weston's technical skill in capturing a challenging subject. It is impressive, because the highlights are not blown out, yet there is no loss of detail in the correctly exposed shadow area on the right. That exposure is a very difficult thing to pull off and must have required a lot of fancy footwork in the darkroom, with much dodging and burning.

weston was a master. my black and white darkroom work is rudimentary but i know how hard it is to get a full range from black to white in an exposure/ print.

commercial black and white developing is trash these days. just gray and grayer. you have to do it yourself


set the function, not the mechanism.

billy rubin



set the function, not the mechanism.

No one

this guy:
I reached out to the beholder, I'll let you know what they say.

Hermes:
Probably complaints about eye irritation.

Not to make a spectacle of that, but an optometry professor and their pupils should take a look at that.

hermes2015

Quote from: No one on January 10, 2022, 04:51:09 PM
this guy:
I reached out to the beholder, I'll let you know what they say.

Hermes:
Probably complaints about eye irritation.

Not to make a spectacle of that, but an optometry professor and their pupils should take a look at that.

:lol:
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

hermes2015

I have a big problem in that I like so many different styles and periods of art and music that I cannot say who my favourite artist or composer is. There are a few I hate, although I do acknowledge their importance.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

billy rubin

do you have to like something for it to be beautiful?

the reductionist in me is strong today


set the function, not the mechanism.

hermes2015

Quote from: billy rubin on January 10, 2022, 05:35:38 PM
do you have to like something for it to be beautiful?

the reductionist in me is strong today

No, perhaps I am not normal, but I can see that something is beautiful, without liking it. An example would be most of Tchaikovsky's music. But then again, I think most people are different.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

billy rubin

you dont lime the 1812?

i heard it done with bagpipes once


set the function, not the mechanism.

hermes2015

Quote from: billy rubin on January 10, 2022, 06:34:22 PM
you dont lime the 1812?

i heard it done with bagpipes once

No, not really. I admit that it is exhilarating, but hearing it once a decade is enough for me. There is so much other music I truly love, and life is short, so I would rather listen to a Beethoven string quartet or one of the Bach solo cello suites.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames