In the past, what did we mean by beautiful?
- Looked attractive
- From wealth, riches
Define Beautiful
ˈbjuːtɪfʊl,ˈbjuːtɪf(ə)l/
adjective
pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.
"beautiful poetry"
synonyms: attractive, pretty, handsome, good-looking, nice-looking, pleasing, alluring, prepossessing, as pretty as a picture; More
of a very high standard; excellent.
"she spoke in beautiful English"
What do we mean by the word Sublime?
- Out of this world
- A new experience, fantastic
- Best that anything can be
- Exaggeration of something that is beautiful
- Sensation rather than a physical attribute
Define Sublime
səˈblʌɪm/
adjective
1.
of very great excellence or beauty.
"Mozart's sublime piano concertos"
synonyms:exalted, elevated, noble, lofty, awe-inspiring, awesome, majestic, magnificent, imposing, glorious, supreme; More
2.
(of a person's attitude or behaviour) extreme or unparalleled.
"he had the sublime confidence of youth"
synonyms:supreme, total, complete, utter, consummate, extreme;
arrogant
"the sublime confidence of youth"
Burke
Ansel Adams
The Tetons and the Snake River (1942)
Romantic Period
The realisation that man is not the centre of the universe.
He is very small compared to nature, and in this period where religion is still very relevant - small compared to God.
Man cannot control his environment entirely.
Immanual Kant (1724 - 1804)
Kant explored Burke's ideas further and divided the Sublime into two parts:
1. The Mathematical Sublime - where we are unable to take in what we experience as a whole. The concept is so great you just go wow.
2. The Dynamically Sublime, is so immeasurably more powerful than you that you can actually feel fear and anxiety at its size, power, etc.
Bringing it into the 20th century, and beyond
Nuremberg rally.
Jean-Francois Lyotard
In his work on the Postmodern Condition, Lyotard concludes that life and its experiences cannot be generalised into large scale theories and philosophies or 'meta-narrative' such as everything can be explained through science, or that freedom is absolute. In fact the Postmodern experience is made up of lots of 'micro-narratives'.
Modern Beauty
Our current concept of beauty is learned concept that is taught by society. Immediately you think of the 'male gaze' and how that influence how both genders see beauty within themselves and others.
Relevant People to look up:
- Aristotle
- Earl of Shaftesbury
- Edmund Burke
- David Hume
- Jean-Francois Lyotard
- Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe