Module 4 Reading Discussion Questions

is an aesthetic notion distinct from Beauty (from which the Picturesque aesthetic flows) in that Beauty generally evokes positive feelings in the viewer; the Sublime, on the other hand, has the ability to instill awe, wonder, and even horror (46).

1.) According to Lao-tzu, what must the ruler provide the people with if they are to be happy?

In a world that has become immune to accepting all types of art, Marya Mannes believes we have lost our standards and ability to identify something as “good” or “bad”. In her essay, “How Do You Know It’s Good”, she discusses society’s tendency to accept everything out of fear of wrongly labelling something as being good or bad. She touches on various criteria to judge art, such as the artist’s purpose, skill and craftsmanship, originality, timelessness, as well as unity within a piece rather than chaos. She says that an individual must decide if something is good “on the basis of instinct, experience, and association” (Mannes). I believe that by using standards and the process of association, we will be able to judge what makes an art piece good in comparison to others. However, Mannes forces me to consider the difference between what may be appealing versus what is actually good, and when deciding which art we should accept, which is truly more important. I believe that “good” and “bad” are two ends of a large, subjective spectrum of grey area. It is possible for a piece of art to be good in some areas and bad in others, and if something does not live up to all of our standards, it does not necessarily mean it should be dismissed. Thus, I believe my personal standards for judging art are based on which my standards are largely based on the personal reaction evoked from a piece of art. Though I agree with Mannes’ standards to an extent, I believe that certain standards, such as evoking a personal response, can be more telling of if a piece of art is good as opposed to its timelessness, or the level of experience of an artist in his/her craft.

What do you think would be the most interesting aspect of working with firearm evidence? What do you think would be the most challenging part?

I was fortuned to have had parents who had a respect for all kinds of art and approached life with an open mind. Thus being furthered blessed to grow up near a metropolis which possesses a major art museum and galleries showcasing new talent, filling young eyes with wonderment. An art appreciation study early own in life would have been beneficial but alas, I burn with shame as one who falls in the class of “I know what I like” when asked about art. I am all agog for semester’s end to be better equipped to articulate on why I am moved by a particular piece. After listening to the first week lecture and reading the first two chapters of the course text, it was difficult to narrow the subject of my essay to one subject. But, Chapter Ones quotes

4. Clarisse causes Montag to recall a childhood memory in which a wish was embedded. What is the

Since the beginning of time, artists have labored extensively to find innovative ways to convey sentiment, passion, and feeling. Telling stories and trying to unlock the minds of people through different avenues of artistic labors. Art touches and affects people in unique ways; it can have special or unusual meaning on the person depending on how one views it. Artists’ rendering of their art is interpreted in numerous ways by others who view it unless it is explained by the artist on its meaning giving a clear example of what they are portraying. Two people looking at the same painting, sculpture, portrait, or photo may come to different views on the arts meaning even though they are looking

For centuries, people’s aesthetic value has been influenced by Rome's perfectionism, so do I. I used to think that artworks that make people feel appreciated are just equivalent to visual appreciation and satisfaction. However, after observing the painting and researching sources of this pieces of art I realized that an excellent artwork needs to cover all aspect requirements. For instance, an excellent artwork needs to contain a high operation of art skills as well as art knowledge in order to persuade audience. In addition, to qualify as a great artwork it has to create a substantial amount of activity in the audience’s mind or heart. When I look at an artwork I always try to figure out what is the artwork's message or what the artist is trying to communicate, to convey. Overall, I think a good artwork needs include some of the elements and principles of the language of art as well as the structure they give to be able to successfully communicate an idea.

“It is obvious that a man cannot just be; he can only be what he is by doing what he does; his moral qualities are ascribed to him because of his actions, which are said to manifest those qualities. But the point is that an ethic of Being must include this obvious fact, that Being involves Doing, whereas an ethics of Doing, such as I have been examining may easily overlook it. “The heroes and saints did not merely give us principle to live by……: they gave us an examples to follow.’’ ( Mayo, 314)

1.The Fire scenes are different than the regular crime scenes because the evidence from fire scene was probably destroyed or burned to ashes, and the individual who did the crime is not normally present a crime scene, which made it difficult to piece together the suspect , and convict someone of their crimes.

Just as other works that reflect art, pieces in the category of fine arts serve the important message of passing certain messages or portraying a special feeling towards a particular person, function or activity. At times due to the nature of a particular work, it can become so valuable that its viewers cannot place a price on it. It is not the nature or texture of an art that qualifies it, but the appreciation by those who look at it (Lewis & Lewis, 2008).

The most important trait in defining art is its beauty. As complex as the term “art” can be, the term “beauty” is nearly just as complicated. In order to understand art more clearly it is important to understand beauty. “We label an object beautiful because it promotes an internal harmony or ‘free play’ of our mental faculties; we call something ‘beautiful’ when it elicits this pleasure.” (Freeland 8). As defined above, beauty is not a direct message. It is something that subconsciously allows man to feel good and pleasurable. There is “an internal harmony” when we observe something beautiful that allows us to take away a deeper understanding of a work of art regardless of it being “nice looking” or “ugly”.

Until this year, I feel that I used the word beautiful and aesthetic too lightly. This reflection came after I learned about couple of philosophers and their theories. I felt as if I was using the word without truly understanding what these words embody. One of the reasons I felt this way about my past judgement is because I have always tried to identify why I like this work, what works compositionally, and whether it follows the standard of aesthetics we learn in principles of design or such. I always looked for the golden rule, colour harmony, and how elements and principles of design worked together. I learned about Hume and I did not agree with his idea that there are higher people who can make aesthetic judgements and that we must follow their guidelines and rules; I did not agree with this but I was following it. I felt the need to re-establish whether all the things I’ve called beautiful were actually beautiful after I studied other philosophers and their philosophy. I made trips to the ROM Chihuly Exhibit and AGO Mystical Landscape Exhibit, trying to experience something we call an aesthetic experience, trying to experience beauty and sublime and hopefully make an aesthetic judgement. Upon this trip I realized that I find beauty in light, reflection, and human attempt at natural things. When I went back to my notes couple days later I realized that a lot of my thoughts can be explained and be related mostly by philosophies of Sir Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant and

A work of art can capture a moment in a person’s life. When observing art it’s almost like a snapshot of a brief point in time. The artist tries to create this specific point, and within this creates a story or meaning. The art has something to say and the artist wants you to react or take something away from this experience. The reaction is the function of the specific work of art. Whether it’s a favorable or awful reaction, the viewer still walks away changed.

Life consists of constant cycles of spontaneous outbursts of joy and unexpected disappointments; there is an upside to this repetitive tug of war. On this rock we call home, we are surrounded by the most gorgeous creations, structures, and landscapes that add a touch of serenity to our miserable existences called aesthetics. Aesthetics as an adjective is defined as concern with beauty of the appreciation of beauty. As a noun it means a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement. The surrounding beauty that we take for continuous granted is significant towards our existence. In everyday interaction, we straddle the line between aesthetic judgement, where we appreciate any object, instead