The Substance Of Aesthetics

The above image is a cropped section of my original artwork Aestheticism 1.0: a shameless exercise in unadulterated aesthetics.

For the sake of additional shamelessness in the form of self-promotion, the full-size printable version of Aestheticism 1.0 and its companion piece Aestheticism 1.1 are each is available for purchase from me directly for $10 USD or cryptocurrency.

I could try like hell to put this adventure in aesthetics into words, and therein lies the catch-22 of artistic expression. Should I be able to easily verbalize this visual creation, there would have never been any reason for me to create it in the first place. Concurrently, it is equally difficult to verbalize the full impact that my favorite works of art have upon me.

The cultural value of visual art across all mediums is contained entirely within the fact that it is aesthetically pleasing to some who view it. As such, the artist achieves creative and financial success by appealing to human biology, which is the unmovable critic of art, beauty, and taste. The basest of conventional standards of sensori-emotional values are not constructed socially; rather, they are ingrained within us at the chromosomal level. This is why, try as they may, the Tess Hollidays of the world will never come anywhere close to “changing the beauty standards” of the female form. Thank God for that.

Exhibit A: Donald Judd

I know what I like, and I’ve always liked the art of Donald Judd. His use of minimalism (despite the fact that he disavowed being a member of that movement) via a meticulous balance of materials, design, and space instantly caught my undivided attention on initial notice. The phrase “greater than the sum of its parts” is tailor-coined for Judd’s pieces. Simple, yet complex. Concrete, yet abstract. What I like best about Donald Judd is that his art just looks so cool.

If you find the above thesis statement to be philistine, you should know that the artist himself was in agreement with it:

”A work needs only to be interesting. Most works finally have one quality. In earlier art the complexity was displayed and built the quality. In recent painting the complexity was in the format and the few main shapes, which had been made according to various interests and problems. A painting by Newman is finally no simpler than one by Cezanne. In the three-dimensional work the whole thing is made according to complex purposes, and these are not scattered but asserted by one form. It isn’t necessary for a work to have a lot of things to look at, to compare, to analyze one by one, to contemplate. The thing as a whole, its quality as a whole, is what is interesting. The main things are alone and are more intense, clear and powerful.”

For me to describe his art as being “cool” is a wholly subjective notion; yet, the same can be said of a decidedly more highbrow proclamation of his work. Nevertheless, I present the following succinct analysis of its superficial aspects:

Donald Judd was a smooth operator when it came to texture. Regardless of the materials (e.g. metal, acrylic, wood, et al…) utilized in any given piece, smoothness was a prerequisite. It lends a sense of cleanliness and efficiency, and plays perfectly with the angular goodness of his works. Additionally, he was a natural at recognizing the emotional impact of different colors, and he brilliantly exploited them to evoke any mood as wished. His common juxtaposition of one bold color and one metal (such as aluminum or brass) generates a striking contrast that electrifies any room. Finally, the intellectual and emotional impact of his work is ultimately dependent on its installation; specifically, his work demands a lot of spatial real estate in order to evoke (and provoke). This is by no means representative of any flaw in the man’s approach. Rather, it teaches us a valuable, feng shui-esque lesson in the importance of clearing our lives of clutter and various obstacles in order to allow our imaginations to truly run wild. Overall, Judd’s work is a lesson in Aesthetics 101.

Critics of Judd’s work – and there is no shortage – are generally of the “I could do that myself if I wanted to” variety. Of course they could do it themselves, but the crucial difference is that Judd did it first. One could argue that Judd was nothing more than an over-glorified architect or interior designer (fields he actually pursued later in life), but so what? Why must the realm of fine art be limited to expressionist paintings and bronzed statues? I can easily side with the argument that Yoko Ono is not an artist, as her work is unequivocally shit (or Piero Manzoni, whose work is literally shit). Conversely, however, I will argue that Donald Judd’s work does not exist without either talent or vision. Any one of his works would look totally cool in a nice, clean home. Can the same honestly be said of Ono, Manzoni, or metal crotch guy? I know, I know… Art is in the eye of the beholder, et al. Let’s be fucking real here. No aesthetics? No dice.

Aesthetics! Thank You!

That heading may be the most esoteric play on a Saturday Night Live sketch the world has ever seen.

As an artist, I strive to be a provocative aesthetician by creating pieces that are visually appealing to certain people and required no further explanation. Not only does this apply to my still images comprised of photography and digital graphics to varying degrees, but it’s the approach I apply to to every medium of creative expression I explore. When writing songs, I strive to utilize both music and lyrics to create a mental picture that cannot be expressed otherwise. This approach even forms the basis of my writing pieces including – wait for it – this one you’re reading right now. As I write this, I’m constantly previewing each draft to ensure that its overall structure is aesthetically pleasing. You can thank me later.

It seems to me that people make way too much out of certain things and fail to enjoy them simply for making the world a slightly nicer place. In the case of aesthetics: It looks good, so what more do you need? If you can’t take your eyes off it, that’s all the substance you need.

Purchase the the full-size image (4016 x 6016 pixels at 300 ppi) of Aestheticism 1.0 or Aestheticism 1.1 from me directly for $10 USD or cryptocurrency.