I decided to call my solo exhibition at the Campbell House Galleries "Passing Strange and Wonderful" after a book of the same title by Yi-Fu Tuan that I read in college nearly 10 years ago. The book discusses the relationship between aesthetics, nature, and culture.
Tuan explains the aesthetic to be the “senses come to life”. It can be a mood, a feeling, or an emotion. Aesthetic competence is acquired over time with practice. He believes that one must psychologically distance themselves from the object or situation at hand to experience it aesthetically. Without this necessary distancing, it becomes difficult to examine, compare, or analyze it with an exploratory frame of mind. Tuan views the aesthetic as an experience of understanding. It’s not the same as an ordinary experience because certain qualities come to the front. Qualities such as a feeling of safety or security, or even a sense of realization generally accompany an aesthetic experience. Aesthetic experiences are conscious experiences because it takes the ability to relatively objectify or focus on what’s taking place. If one pays attention, they can pick up on the differences, or ranges, of aesthetics and then begin to evaluate it more clearly.
Aesthetics is an enhanced perception of the physical environment. “Yet the pervasive role of the aesthetic is suggested by its root meaning of “feeling”--not just any kind of feeling, but “shaped ”feeling and sensitive perception. And it is suggested even more by its opposite, anesthetic, “lack of feeling--the condition of living death. The more attuned we are to the beauties of the world, the more we come to life and take joy in it”. In a sense, we make our own world by either choosing to appreciate or take for granted the beauty of our experiences. Tuan sees beauty as being at the opposite end of confusion. As being form, balance, and organization. As if imposing order on chaos.
Just as much aesthetic is in nature as it is culture. Culture is a product of human act. It’s whatever we contribute to the world or the world of relationships. When we become more aware and familiar with our senses, our world changes. Each person has built a world of their own experiences using the senses within the boundaries of consciousness, and their mind, as a set of filters. Appreciation of the sensory dimension can’t be fully appreciated without having intellectual filtering applied to it.
Tuan writes, “The level of consciousness, then, is an indication of that which distinguishes not only between nature and culture but also between culture and the aesthetic”. Any cultural activity can be aesthetic activity. Whether the experience be good or bad. As long as pauses for appraisal and appreciation occur, it becomes aesthetic. Again, distancing is the key. “Culture is a physical process that changes nature”. Culture is perception, speech, and culture is performance. We all, in a sense, put on a show for society.
Tuan explains that whenever the distinction between nature and culture is recognized, “the biological, the raw, and the instinctive, the unconscious and the primordial are attributed to nature; and form and order, consciousness and deliberation the developed and achieved ideal are attributed to culture”. Our culture teaches us to do things in a certain manor, and culture trains us to appreciate what is considered to be beauty.
We have the capacity to enrich our experiences through resonance; associating the experiences with other things, memories and values. We can see objects, persons, and events as having a meaning that goes beyond the obvious. Our capacity for metaphorical perception and thought can deepen the meaning of an experience that might otherwise be shallow and transient.
Whenever I smell smoke from a wood stove or see the fire’s light flickering on a wall across the room, my thoughts go back to the times when I woke up at my grandma’s house. Every morning before sunrise, my grandma loaded up the stove with wood. The only light was the orange glow of the fire’s reflection dancing on the bedroom wall. The crackling of the wood chips, the squeak of the stove door, the thud that the log made as it hit the back of the stove wall, the smell of smoke, the feel of the crisp air on my cheeks and nose were all sensations that made me aware of my surroundings. I distinctly remember a warm coziness coming from underneath quilts that smelled like my grandma--not dryer sheets or fabric softeners, but my grandma. It was her own sweet familiar scent. Mornings like these were typical. I woke up for school everyday like that. I experienced it with all of my senses, yet I failed to really appreciate it until now because at that age, it was the only thing that I knew. At that time, my whole “culture” was the country life,slow and easy. It never occurred to me that those sights, sounds, and smells could have had aesthetic qualities. People go through life day-by-day becoming more aware of their sensory modalities. We go through life and our days are filled with rich aesthetic experiences, yet we usually fail to savor them because we fall into a ritualistic routine that, in a way, numbs our senses. Everyone must learn to be keener, more responsive and respective of their experiences. Once this happens, life becomes truly enjoyable.
0 comments:
Post a Comment