Reflect on your own personal aesthetics. What are the sources or influences on your own aesthetic thought? What are the cognitive and affective strategies that you personally use to understand a work of music, art, or performance of the deepest possible level? How do you make meaning by aesthetically engaging a work of art, music, or performance? Cite specific examples that provide clear evidence for your statements.
As with the first reflection question, I believe aesthetics are related to our environment. Nature has a part in interpreting an aesthetic and so it is with mine. Beauty is essential to understanding the influences of my aesthetic thought. I am on the hunt for new ways to imitate the beauty of nature in novel fascinating ways. The curve of a shell, the rhythm of waves, and the wondering line that a tree branch takes are influences upon my artistic contemplation. When I view a work of art my reaction to it, my emotional affection is at work. As with most people, I need to have an attraction to it. If the artwork isn’t appealing it just doesn’t work for me. A certain kind of rock or classical, jazz or country works for me, yet for another it might be stomach churning. The cerebral aspect employed to understand an artwork converge upon two lines of thought. The first, what is the artist’s intention or message? Perhaps there isn’t an obvious message. The second, what interpretation do I bring to the work? And that interpretation may change over time. I also bring my own personal values to a work of art; I see and understand it through my personal world view. I may disregard it or cherish it depending upon the harmonization with those views. Or, I may throw caution to the stars and just enjoy it for what it is. The new Star Trek science fiction fantasy flick can be enjoyed even though I know Vulcan was never destroyed in the original series. Totally off the reality radar this new flick flew. Nowhere has this tragic event been recorded, yet there it is on the big screen. It’s hard to comprehend, this twisted new reality. Yet, I can enjoy it even though I grapple with understanding the new plot and the ramifications that follow. Live long and prosper.
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