11/29/2010

Nature and Aesthetics

18th Century aesthetics was in some ways more concerned with natural beauty than artistic beauty. To philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, nature provided a rare picture of beauty that transcends narrow human interests. As such, appreciation of nature was the purest form of aesthetic experience

Nature was often divided into the beautiful (pleasant, serene), the picturesque and the sublime.

The Picturesque
Picturesque:
Picture-like. Picturesque landscapes are full of variety, curious details and interesting textures and therefore suitable subjects for landscape painting. The concept was popular in the 18th century and seen as an important category between the serene (beautiful) and the sublime (awe-inspiring). (Oxford Dictionary of Art & Artistis)

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The Sublime
Sublime: aspect of nature which provoke feelings of awe and vastness. Nature can be dark and frightening, but through distanced contemplation humans overcome their dread and are filled with awe. The sublime in nature was thought to stimulate the imagination far more than the beautiful or picturesque.

Aesthetic Appreciation of Artworks

Aesthetic appreciation requires us to analyze which features of a work are aesthetically relevant in the light of
A disinterested perspective (Kant, Dewey) art historical/cultural context; background theory (Danto, Dickey)

And evaluating the work according to its

Formal properties (Bell) Representational content Expressive qualities (Expressivism) Cognitive qualities (Cognitivism)

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With art our knowledge of what and how to appreciate is grounded in the fact that works of art are our creations. In making an object we know what we make and thus its parts, its purposes and what to do with it Allen Carlson

What is aesthetic in nature?

But natural objects are different
Not artifacts Not literally expressive Not literally representative

How then do we determine

Which aspects of nature are aesthetically relevant? Which criteria should we use in evaluating nature aesthetically?

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The natural landscape is an indeterminate object; it almost always contains enough diversity to allow great liberty in selecting, emphasizing and grouping its elements and is furthermore rich in suggestion and in vague emotional stimulus. A landscape to be seen has to be composedthen we feel that the landscape is beautiful. The promiscuous natural landscape cannot be enjoyed in any other way. - George Santayana The Sense of Beauty

Viewing nature as if it is art

Philosophers such as George Santayana suggest that in order to make nature accessible to aesthetic awareness we must compose the environment, or isolate some features of it for inspection. Most early attempts at environmental aesthetics followed this patterntranslating nature into a form more amenable to Art criticism.

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Object of Art Model (OAM)

According to OAM, appreciating a natural object (like a stone or a piece of driftwood) need not be significantly different from appreciating an artifact
1. Imaginatively remove the object from its surroundings 2. Contemplate its formal properties and expressive qualities in the way you would a painting or sculpture

Object of Art Model (OAM)

According to OAM this stone should be appreciated for its
Bold colors Graceful curves Interesting patterns Expressiveness of solidity

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Critiques of OAM
OAM treats natural objects like artistic readymades or found art. This approach is better suited to art objects that are self-contained aesthetic units such that neither their environment of creation nor their environment of display is aesthetically relevant (Allen Carlson) As such OAM unfairly limits the set of aesthetic qualities worth of our consideration

Landscape Scenery Model (LSM)

According to LSM nature is always seen from a specific standpoint and distance. Natural beauty should be appreciated as if it were a landscape painting by 1. Dividing the world into scenes by selecting appropriate subject matter and vantage point. 2. Evaluating the scene in terms of formal qualities such as line, color and design

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The Claude Glass

The Claude Glass was a small tinted mirror, with a slightly convex surface used for reflecting landscapes in miniature so as to show their broad tonal values, without distracting detail or color. (Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists)

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Critiques of LSM
LSM values the artists sensibilities not nature
does not appreciate nature on its own terms. It appreciates the way a painter or photographer looks at nature.

LSM encourages misperception of nature

By translating natural elements into a picture-like subject appropriate for art criticism it distorts the true nature of the enviorment.

Critiques of LSM
[LSM] construes the environment as if it were a static, essentially two dimensional representation. But the natural environment is not a scene, not a representation, not static and not two dimensional. In short, the model requires appreciation of the environment not as what it is and with the qualities it has, but as something it is not and with qualities it does not have. Allen Carlson

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Is nature an appropriate subject for aesthetic contemplation?

Some philosophers (ex. environmentalist Robert Elliot) think we should not treat our appreciation of the environment as a form of aesthetic contemplation. The term aesthetic is so strongly associated with art that it encourages human chauvinism toward nature [the picturesque] simply confirmed our anthropocentrism by suggesting that nature exists to please as well as to serve us. Our ethics have lagged behind our aesthetics. It is an unfortunate lapse which allows us to abuse our local environments and venerate the Alps and the Rockies - R. Rees (geographer)

Aesthetics of Engagement (AOE)

Philosopher Arnold Berleant believes OAM and LSM introduce a false dichotomy between subject (humans) and object (nature)
Dichotomy: splitting a whole into two nonoverlapping (contradictory) groups (ex. even & odd numbers, figure & ground) False Dichotomy Fallacy: 1. creating a dichotomy where both parts overlap. 2. a forced choice between two options when other options might be available (ex. youre either a conservative or a liberal. Youre either with us or with the terrorists)

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Aesthetics of Engagement (AOE)

Human beings should not attempt to isolate, distance and objectify nature (i.e. analyzing it according to aesthetic concepts) because humans are a part of nature, not a separate subject. True aesthetic appreciation is achieved through total sensory immersion in the natural environment (visual, auditory & tactile) until any the subject/object distinction vanishes.

Critique of AOE
AOE seems to suggest that our engagement with the natural environment cannot (or should not) rise above the level of mere sensuous experiencebut this trivializes natures importance Some environmentalists believe that aesthetic philosophy is crucial in motivating people to care for the environment. Mere sensory experience is too flimsily a basis for any real environmental ethic.

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Critique of AOE
The subject/object distinction is valid and necessary.
The individual is not separate from nature (not a strict dichotomy) but the individual is not identical to nature either. Without some subject/object distinction the very notion of the aesthetic becomes meaningless AOE reduces philosophy to mysticism

We cannot appreciate everything; there must be limits and emphases in appreciation of nature as there are in appreciation of art. Without such limits and emphases our experience of the natural environment would be only a meld of physical sensations without any significancea blooming buzzing confusion. - Allen Carlson

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Right back where we started!

What then are these limits and emphases? On what would we base our model of aesthetic appreciation if we are to avoid treating nature as art?

Aesthetic Appreciation of Artworks

Aesthetic appreciation requires us to analyze which features of a work are aesthetically relevant in the light of
A disinterested perspective (Kant, Dewey) art historical/cultural context; background theory (Danto, Dickey)

And evaluating the work according to its

Formal properties (Bell) Representational content Expressive qualities (Expressivism) Cognitive qualities (Cognitivism)

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Carlsons Natural Environmental Model (NEM) Allen Carlson claims that his Natural Environmental Model
1. Uses the general structure of aesthetic appreciation of art as a model for appreciation of the natural world 2. But does not assimilate natural objects to art objects or natural environments to scenery

Natural Environmental Model (NEM)

In art knowledge of the artists intention, art history, materials and methods form the background for aesthetic appreciation. But nature has no intention. In NEM
Scientific knowledge (especially ecology) and common sense form the background for what is relevant to aesthetic appreciation

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Natural Environmental Model (NEM)

We evaluate art according to formal properties, representational content, expressive content etc. But nature is different and we shouldn't impose such values on nature (as with OAM, LSM)

In NEM
Knowledge of ecological interconnectedness and natural harmony form the basis for evaluation and appreciation of nature.

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Cognitivism in NEM
In NEM knowledge is essential to aesthetic awareness of our environment. But this is different from cognitivism in art where art itself is a source of knowledge, not a prerequisite for aesthetic appreciation.

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Critique of NEM
Does NEM reduce aesthetics to biology and ecology? If so, what is left in NEM which we can rightly call aesthetic? Or does aesthetic experience of nature offer a distinctive type of understanding which goes beyond propositional knowledge?

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