Imagination and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature - Essay Example

Lili Zhu Angela Frattarola International Writing Workshop Nov.5 Writing Exercise 5 Art if a reflection of the world in which we live. It might be a masterpiece hanging in a museum, a piece of beautifully written music, or simply something striking in nature. The beauty of art is all around us. It is simply up to us to take a moment, pause, and reflect on what we are seeing or hearing. Aesthetic beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. While we all see things through a slightly different lens, we can all, if we strive to, appreciate the beauty that is art. Throughout the years, various writers have labored this point and attempted to explain how we view the artistic world. What follows is a brief synopsis of these opinions, some supported by this author, while others are not. John Berger’s ‘Steps toward a Small Theory of the Visible’ analyzes the way every individual perceives things in the real world. In his essay, Berger identifies a consequential displacement in today’s society, especially the artistic world, between the existence and the manner in which they appear. Currently, the world is going through a period of rapid technological advancement, and Berger has made use of these innovations as a determining factor in separating the way in which particular things appear and exist in the modern world. In addition, this same technology has transformed the modes of communication that we have come to rely upon. According to Berger, the cultural aspect that is based on this idea has changed the rate by which we receive and perceive images. He states, “this produces in the spectator, not, as claimed, a sense of freedom but a profound isolation” (107). Consequently, he postulates that there is a high degradation of products due to an increasing demand for visual representations. Where we used to see a masterpiece a century ago, today we only see a mere painting. Throughout his writing, Berger expresses a fear of human ignorance that he believes dominates society today. Berger states that, despite the willingness and need to look at things, few people show enough interest and concern as to what is really happening in the world. It is for this reason that Berger asserts that the system has been used expansively to give an appearance of instability. In his view, it is possible to have an image independently manufactured when such a product is in direct contact with the original source. I appreciate how Berger presents his ideas about appearance. Although I do not agree with him on some points, I believe that his work produces a certain anxiety concerning the duty that representation plays in aiding the understanding of the likeness of an object. This is to the extent that the viewer of the object fails to get the truth since they do not keenly understand what they are looking at. In a personal opinion regarding Berger’s representation, viewers seem to have “masks” of life to a point that they do not seem to know what possesses much of their life. Thus, these same “masks” of life prevent them from understanding what is happening within what they see. This makes communication very complex. In the essay “The Bird of Paradise: The Hunter and the Poet”, Wilson E.O. introduces an idea in contradiction to Berger. He calls himself both a hunter and a poet, linking art and science by narrating his experience of coming into contact with nature while conducting a research project in the Huon Peninsula of New Guinea. He explores the mechanism of living organisms in the entire biosphere, defining the similarities, differences, and cooperation between analytic and synthetic perspectives. According to him, the mechanism of natural selection can be viewed through both analytical and synthetic perspectives. Contrary to Berger’s idea, the biological world, and I believe also the artistic world, is based on the combination of a subjective theory, or the “model”, and the personal interpretation towards art, or the “imagination”. In her essay, “Imagination and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature” Emily Brady maintains that the individual subject is vital to the appreciation of all forms of art. This thought seems to indicate that every individual can appreciate art in his or her own way through the visualization of any image. This is in contrast to Berger’s essay in which he maintains that visualizations, without the deep understanding of an image, are not possible. Emily insists that the aesthetic responses to art are guided by the art itself and an individual’s preference. Therefore, some people may not appreciate the work of an artist, not because they have not looked at it from within, but because of their own personal preference. With imagination and personal interpretation added, the skeletal objects can be viewed way beyond the form itself and elevated into the intellectual level with flesh and spirit. By slowing down and viewing nature from our own unique lens and perspective, both Wilson and Brady point to an individuals innate ability to appreciate nature and to view art with a perspective of seeing all that is beautiful in the world. It is amazing to ponder nature in this manner and it is invigorating to consider the various interpretations that others have of any given piece of art or work of music. In my daily life, this theory is best understood as I play the piano. A year ago, I fell in love with Chopin’s music and started to practice it. During the first few days of practicing, I focused mainly on the basic skills and closely followed the music paper, the accuracy of the notes, strength of the staccato, and the coordination of the two hands. However, while I paid attention to every flat and sharp marks, the slurs and the tuplets, the fortes and pianos, there was just something “je ne sais quoi” missing. I turned on the radio and listened to this masterpiece again and again with my eyes closed. All of the sudden, in the blink of an eye, I finally understood the sorrow in Chopin’s heart. Sitting in front of a wooden grand piano, I quietly and addictively daunted the vintage keys. In my imagination, it was a cloudy, gloomy autumn Sunday afternoon and everything looked so depressed. I could see Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin sitting in front of his desk, the brownish, kraurotic leaves falling down on the ground; sparrows mournful crying for the passing summer; ragged tramps leaning against a gray wall, looking for cigarette thrown by passengers. He sometimes frowns, sometimes closes his eyes, and sometimes smiles, and his mind becomes filled with chords and scales. In his hands, the pencil is softly dancing on the paper along with the music in his head, and its footprints form the most gorgeous melody. I could hear my deceased grandfather telling me my favorite story. I could see my grandmother waving her hand at my old house with her gracious smell. I could see… all the images just rushed in my mind and brought me into the melody. In that moment, I finally perceived the essence of piano, music, or any kind of art: To bring your imagination and personal interpretation of art into the object, combine the solid, scientific, and touchable model, or melody, with the imaginative, perceptual, and creative thought. All of those aspects come down to the level of collaboration between science and art. They are both analytic and synthetic aspects of acknowledgment. The performance is never simply a symbolic thought of progression to many people, but a mere way of entertainment. Playing the piano should serve as an inspirational idea to the minds of the targeted audience. In fact, as an art, piano should serve as an adequate presentation of ideas and, to some extent, allow conversation between the composer, player and the audience. Resultantly, the conversation eventually leads to an appreciated communication and understanding that cuts beyond the simple music played by artists. The reason why one may sometimes take much of their time playing piano with no positive progress is due to the lack of clear understanding of the nature of the art that is constantly evolving. These thoughts I have shared reflect what I have learned as I read the works by Emily and Wilson. I am grateful for this exercise and even more grateful for my ability to better interpret and appreciate art. Works Cited Berger, John. “Steps Toward a Small Theory of the Visible.” Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Ed. Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II. Boston: Thomson, 2008. 106-10. Print. Emily , Brady. ": Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The American Society for Aesthetics." : Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The American Society for Aesthetics. n. page. Wilson, E. O. “The Bird of Paradise: The Hunter and the Poet” OCCASIONS FOR WRITING. Evidence, Idea, Essay. Ed. DiYanni, Robert and Pat, Hoy. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2008. 459-461. Print. Read More