Aesthetics
Read this short definition of aesthetics and how it relates to works of art. Think about how it is different from a merely personal sense of taste and preferences.
Aesthetics is the philosophical argument about the nature of beauty. It is an idea central to any exploration of art. Aesthetics deals with notions of taste and cultural conventions – ideas of art being "good" and "bad" based on specific cultural information and beliefs and the judgments we make based on our perceptions. As deep as visual art is embedded in the fabric of our lives, it still is a source of controversy and irony. It thrives on common experience yet contradicts ideas of ourselves. Art is part of the culture it is created in, but it can reflect many cultures at once. From where you and I stand today, art has probably become more complex than ever in its use of imagery, mediums, and meanings. We need a way to access the visual information of our society, of past cultures and cultures not known to us, to have a way to understand what we are looking at.
Saylor Academy Knowledge Check
Source: Christopher Gildow, http://opencourselibrary.org/art-100-art-appreciation/
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