Aesthetics is a systematic investigation into the nature, essence and purpose of art. It examines the assumption, principles and basic concept of art. Aesthetics or esthetics is a sub branch of axiology and axiology is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the study of values.
Therefore, aesthetics is concerned with the study of art or the essence of beauty and ugliness. It includes what art consist of, as well as the purpose behind it. Aesthetics ask questions such as, what is beauty.
Does art consist of music, literature, and painting? Or does it include a good engineering solution, or a beautiful sunset? These are some of the questions that aesthetics attempt to answer.
Aesthetics also studies methods of evaluating art and allows judgment of the art. Is art in the eye of the beholder? Does anything that appeals to you fit under the umbrella of art? Or does it have a specific nature? Does it accomplish a goal?
Aesthetics does not only study arts but it also entails the appreciation of arts and the beautiful.
The importance of aesthetics
Art has existed through all of recorded human history. It is unique to humans because of our unique form of thinking. Its importance is based on this nature, specifically, man’s ability to abstract. Art is understood as a tool of man to bring meaning to abstract concept.
Aesthetic is important because it delves into the reason why art has always existed, the burning need of mankind through the ages to see the world in different and clear way.
It further evaluate art by the standard of human life and whether it accomplishes the job of satisfying man’s intellectual needs, or whether it tends to hurt or make worse those needs.
Art therefore is the means whereby feelings are communicated from one person or one min to another. The ultimate worth of art is its infectiousness- that’s, the ability to produce in the minds of its audience the feelings which the artist originally had.
Elements of Aesthetics
Art is a selective recreation of reality. Its purpose is to concretize an abstraction to bring an idea or emotion within the grasp of the observer. It is a selective recreation, with the selection process depending on the value judgement of the creator. These value judgments of the creator can be observed and evaluated via the field of ethics.
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