The Common Lanuage of Beauty
Perhaps at the core of why we dispute “what is art” is that we dispute what is beautiful. The classic cliché is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some want to restrict it slightly more and say it is in the cultural conditioned eye of the beholder. Some argue still that it is a term similar to excellent or love that is simply overused and therefore undervalued. That being said I believe the beauty is something done well. This is a definition that is very broad allowing for a lot to be considered beautiful. A thrilling catch in a baseball game, a flawless rendition of Ave Maria, Di Vinci’s Mona Lisa, or a breathtaking water fall are all beautiful and should be described as such. While it is important to not over use the word, under use can be just as damaging. Having a word that can encapsulate so much feeling, evaluation and emotion that is applicable to more than one area is a good thing. It will help build cultural understanding; a common language. So the baseball fan can understand the emotion felt by the opera fan after a “beautiful” performance of Phantom of the Opera. While the baseball fan himself may not be able to view the performance as beautiful they can understand do to the ability and difficulty it is considered “beautiful”. This world needs beauty let’s not attempt to restrict and over define the word.
Perhaps at the core of why we dispute “what is art” is that we dispute what is beautiful. The classic cliché is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some want to restrict it slightly more and say it is in the cultural conditioned eye of the beholder. Some argue still that it is a term similar to excellent or love that is simply overused and therefore undervalued. That being said I believe the beauty is something done well. This is a definition that is very broad allowing for a lot to be considered beautiful. A thrilling catch in a baseball game, a flawless rendition of Ave Maria, Di Vinci’s Mona Lisa, or a breathtaking water fall are all beautiful and should be described as such. While it is important to not over use the word, under use can be just as damaging. Having a word that can encapsulate so much feeling, evaluation and emotion that is applicable to more than one area is a good thing. It will help build cultural understanding; a common language. So the baseball fan can understand the emotion felt by the opera fan after a “beautiful” performance of Phantom of the Opera. While the baseball fan himself may not be able to view the performance as beautiful they can understand do to the ability and difficulty it is considered “beautiful”. This world needs beauty let’s not attempt to restrict and over define the word.
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