This is really interesting and I hadn't thought about it before - except probably in the context of 'Stately Homes.' I think I distinguish between an aesthetic response - which is just about beauty, form, colour visual impression and I suppose an 'artistic response' which includes an appreciation of intent and context. My response to landscape tends to lie only in the former - unless it is an explicitly designed landscape like Versailles or soemthing; I am not an expert on human geography so mostly I don't know anything about intent or historical context. In architecture I veer towards a more artistic response except that ignorance often restricts me so that I am only able to give an aesthetic response. Of course it is more complicated than that but that is more or less how it works for me. I think it is OK to separate out the impact of the thing itself, the context of its creation and the intent of the creator and to have different responses to each: I think a sword can be beautiful, a stealth bomber, a King's throne etc
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Re: whoops!
Date: 2009-07-13 09:08 pm (UTC)I think I distinguish between an aesthetic response - which is just about beauty, form, colour visual impression and I suppose an 'artistic response' which includes an appreciation of intent and context.
My response to landscape tends to lie only in the former - unless it is an explicitly designed landscape like Versailles or soemthing; I am not an expert on human geography so mostly I don't know anything about intent or historical context. In architecture I veer towards a more artistic response except that ignorance often restricts me so that I am only able to give an aesthetic response. Of course it is more complicated than that but that is more or less how it works for me. I think it is OK to separate out the impact of the thing itself, the context of its creation and the intent of the creator and to have different responses to each: I think a sword can be beautiful, a stealth bomber, a King's throne etc