Aesthetics

Aesthetics (also esthetics) is the philosophy of beauty and art.

Aesthetics in specific arts

Visual arts

Within the visual arts aesthetic considerations are usually associated with the visual sense, however in both painting and sculpture the presence of the object is also perceived spatially and to some extent by the senses of smell, sound and texture as well as through recognised associations and context. The form of the work can be subject to an aesthetic as much as the content.

Related Topics:
Form - Content

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With painting the aesthetic convention that we see a three dimensional representation rather than a two dimensional plane is so well understood that most people do not realise that they are making an aesthetic interpretation. This was the basis of abstract impressionism

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Although any individual's aesthetic response to a work of visual art will be unique to that individual, many aesthetic principles can be identified and used by the creator of the work to achieve specific aesthetic effects. These include, tonal variation, juxtaposition, repetition, field effects, symmetry/asymmetry, perceived mass, subliminal structure, linear dynamics, tension and repose, pattern, contrast, perspective, 3 dimensionality, movement, rhythm, unity/Gestalt, matrixiality and proportion.

Related Topics:
Symmetry - Asymmetry - Pattern - Perspective - 3 dimensionality - Rhythm - Gestalt - Matrixiality - Proportion

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Music

:Main article: Aesthetics of music.

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Music can affect our emotions, intellect, and our psychology; lyrics can assuage our loneliness or incite our passions. As such, music is a powerful art form whose aesthetic appeal is highly dependent upon the culture in which it is practiced.

Related Topics:
Music - Emotions - Intellect - Psychology - Lyric

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Some of the aesthetic elements expressed in music include lyricism, harmony, hypnotism, emotiveness, temporal dynamics, resonance, playfulness, and colour (see Musical development).

Related Topics:
Lyricism - Harmony - Hypnotism - Emotiveness - Resonance - Musical development

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Architecture

Applying aesthetic considerations to buildings and related architectural structures is complex, as factors extrinsic to spatial design (such as structural integrity, cost, the nature of building materials, and the functional utility of the building) contribute heavily to the design process.

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Notwithstanding, architects can still apply the aesthetic principles of ornamentation, edge deliniation, texture, flow, solemnity, symmetry, color, granularity, the interaction of sunlight and shadows, transcendence, and harmony.

Related Topics:
Ornamentation - Transcendence

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Performing Arts

Performing artists appeals to our aesthetics of storytelling, grace, balance, class, timing, strength, shock, humor, costume, irony, beauty, and sensuality.

Related Topics:
Performing artists - Storytelling - Grace - Humor - Costume - Beauty - Sensuality

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Literature

Encompassing poetry, short stories, novels and non-fiction, authors use a variety of techniques to appeal to our aesthetic values. Depending on the type of writing an author may employ rhythm, illustrations, structure, time shifting, juxtaposition, dualism, imagery, fantasy, suspense, analysis, humor/cynicism, and thinking aloud.

Related Topics:
Poetry - Short stories - Novel - Non-fiction - Dualism - Imagery - Fantasy - Suspense - Humor

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In literary aesthetics, the study of affect creates an awareness of the deep structures of reading and receiving literary works. Affect refers to the emotional sense created in the reader or receiver of a literary work. These affects may be broadly grouped by their mode of writing, and relationship the reader assumes with time. Catharsis is the affect of dramatic completition of action in time. Kairosis is the affect of novels whose characters become integrated in time. Kenosis is the affect of lyric poetry which creates a sense of emptiness and timelessness.

Related Topics:
Literary - Affect - Catharsis - Drama - Kairosis - Character - Kenosis - Lyric

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Landscape Design

Landscape designers employ design elements such as axis, line, landform, horizontal and vertical planes, texture, and scale to create aesthetic variation within the landscape. They may additionally utilize pools or fountains of water, plants, seasonal variance, stonework, fragrance, exterior lighting, statues, and lawns as aesthetic elements.

Related Topics:
Landscape designers - Fountain - Plants - Stonework - Fragrance - Lighting - Statue - Lawn

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Gastronomy

Although food is a basic and frequently experienced commodity, careful attention to the aesthetic possibilities of foodstuffs can turn eating into gastronomy. Chefs inspire our aesthetic enjoyment through the visual sense using colour and arrangement, as well as our senses of taste and smell using spices, diversity/contrast, anticipation, seduction, and decoration/garnishes.

Related Topics:
Food - Spices - Garnish

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Information Technology

The push to make all aspects of information technology as user-friendly as possible has led to a number of advances during the study of human-computer interaction. The design of the graphical user interface has been shown to have a great effect on productivity and the design of the computer hardware has seen unappealing boxes develop into common devices that no longer seem out of place in a living room. Software itself has aesthetic dimensions ("software aesthetics"), as do information-technology-mediated processes and experiences such as computer and video games.

Related Topics:
Information technology - User-friendly - Human-computer interaction - Graphical user interface - Computer hardware - Software - Computer and video games

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Mathematics

:Main article: Mathematical Beauty.

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Most mathematicians derive aesthetic pleasure from their work, and from mathematics in general. They express this pleasure by describing mathematics (or, at least, some aspect of mathematics) as elegant. Sometimes mathematicians describe the creative activity of mathematics as an art form. Comparisons are often made with music and poetry. Hungarian mathematician Paul Erd?s expressed his views on the ineffability of mathematics when he said "Why are numbers beautiful? It's like asking why is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony beautiful. If you don't see why, someone can't tell you. I know numbers are beautiful. If they aren't beautiful, nothing is."

Related Topics:
Mathematician - Mathematics - Art - Music - Poetry - Hungarian - Paul Erd?s - Ineffability

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Neuroesthetics

Cognitive science has also considered aesthetics, with the advent of neuroesthetics, pioneered by Semir Zeki, which seeks to explain the greatness of great art as an embodiment of biological principles of the brain, namely that great works of art capture the essence of things just as vision and the brain capture the essentials of the world from the ever-changing stream of sensory input.

Related Topics:
Cognitive science - Neuroesthetics - Semir Zeki - Brain

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