What makes something beautiful to look at?This may be an unanswerable question; after all, beauty is said to be "in the eye of the beholder". And a casual leafing through one of the current crop of home decor or fashion magazines will serve as illustration; better still, leaf through a 1970s edition. How many of those prize-winning designs would you give house room to? Somebody did, and pronounced it "fabulous!"
And I share with a few (too few, alas!) an appreciation for the creepy-crawlies that share my life. Dust mites and spiders, slime molds and fruit flies; that sort of thing. I think many of them are breathtaking, but most of the people in my life say things like "Ewwww! Ugh! Get that away from me!"
But in spite of that, we do share quite a few criteria for defining beauty. Yesterday's (and any Saturday's) "Good Planets" are joint efforts, and we all agree that these photos are beautiful.And this critter (above)? He's a Cuban Solenodon, and I ran into him on Endangered Ugly Things. A helpful little guy, an insect-eater about 18 inches long. Not beautiful. We agree on that, don't we?
So, what do we mean when we say "beautiful"? What makes a kitten cuter than a solenodon? How do we determine the difference?
Maybe simpler to answer; what feelings are aroused in us by the sight or sound of beauty? What causes them?
At one time, I looked to our past for an explanation. And came up with this: greenery suggests good food sources, good cover, a favourable climate. Water is essential to life. And real estate agents say that a home with a view of water -- any water -- outsells a similar one without. So we have learned to see scenery that would enhance our lifestyles as beautiful.
I was wrong. I saw that fairly soon. Because the sight of enormous bare rocks peeking through high mountain icecaps gives me the absolute shivers, they are so overwhelmingly beautiful. As does the curve of a sand-dune, the jagged, tumbled mass of lichen-covered scree, the dry, dry, dry, scratchy, bare hills of the Chilcotin. Or think of the images from Hubble. Not hospitable havens for humankind, by any stretch of even a sci-fi writer's imagination.
So what is it? I have no answers. Do you?
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Photos from Wikipedia and Mushroom Expert.com
Of course, whole college courses are taught to answer the questions you pose.
ReplyDeleteIn part, the human response to beauty is determined by proportionality. When something is asymmetrical or disproportionate, we are far likelier to think it NOT beautiful than when it is symmetrical or proportionate.
Whew--very heady for Monday morning.
I think most critters have their cuteness, even this little solendon. I may not want to see one crawling in my cupboards, but still, not scary ugly at all.
ReplyDeleteBeauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I think that that will always be true.
I think our definition of beauty is arrived at when we are very young. I tried not to teach my children that certain things were gross or ugly, but wanted them to explore and not be overly influenced by my aversions and phobias. I think KGMom is right, even babies respond positively to symmetry and proportion.
ReplyDeleteSo in essense it is perception. Our perception. I have an incredible picture of moldy cheese that I posted on my blog quite a while back. I had everyone guessing what it was. Many guessed a fancy throw pillow or a painting. Once the fungi was out of the bag though I got a few yucks.
ReplyDeleteruth and kgmom; symmetry may account for some of it, especially when it comes to faces. But try to imagine a symmetrical cloud formation or flower garden. Some of their charm comes from the "natural", asymmetrical look.
ReplyDeleteThere must be more to it.
Maggie; that is an incredible "Dali"! :)
(Here)
I just found this interesting place from kgmom. I like it. I posted pictures of dead salmon because I thought they were beautiful and their story touched me. Often what is beautiful to me is perceived as not beautiful in this commercial world.I don't care. I still photo it.Cheers - nice to find a fellow BC blogger.I am a newbie and loving blogging.
ReplyDeleteOcean & Forest;
ReplyDeleteGlad you found the blog. I visited yours, and blogrolled it immediately.
Great photos, especially of the birds. I loved those coots on ice. They bring back memories of watching ducks land on ice near a bridge where I was tossing out cracker crumbs; how they slid around and belly-flopped! We still laugh, remembering.
Oh, and I hope you're considering sending a photo or two for the next"Good Planets" edition.
I wouldn't say he's beautiful, but he's cute in an offbeat way.
ReplyDeletePS Love your blog, which I found linked from Burning Silos. I've just restarted my own blog, at www.wrenaissance.com/blog - stop by and say hello.