Aesthetics Of Nature

Carlino Altoviti scopre il mare. Una nota sulla spontaneità intenzionale e la letteratura

by Giulio Savelli

Relazione tenuta al XIV Congresso AIPI, "...e c'è di mezzo il mare" Lingua, letteratura e civiltà marina, Spalato, 23-27 agosto, ora in E c'è di mezzo il mare. Lingua, letteratura e civiltà marina. Atti del 14° Convegno AIPI, Firenze, Cesati, 2002, a c. di B. Van den Bossche, C. Salvadori Lonergan, M. Bastiaensen, vol. I, pp. 389-96.

La mediazione simbolica fra uomo e natura, fra individuo e cosmo, ha trovato nella letteratura, dopo il mito e prima... more La mediazione simbolica fra uomo e natura, fra individuo e cosmo, ha trovato nella letteratura, dopo il mito e prima dell’attuale egemonia della tecnica, uno degli spazi di elaborazione privilegiati. Un’altra funzione ‘antropologica’ che la letteratura svolge - funzione forse più recente, o solo più evidente negli ultimi secoli - è quella di riparare simbolicamente alla disarmonia dell’esperienza. La letteratura affiora dalle ferite, crepe e lacerazioni dell’esperienza a rimarginare e cicatrizzare. A partire dal XVIII secolo la perdita di rapporto diretto fra l’individuo e il cosmo, di un rapporto empatico con la natura, si manifesta nella ricostruzione deliberata di tale relazione (basti pensare al nuovo stile dei giardini o all’alpinismo); e trova nella letteratura, oltre che nella filosofia, un idoneo luogo di elaborazione.
La scoperta del mare che Carlino Altoviti fa nel IV capitolo delle Confessioni di un Italiano di Ippolito Nievo è un esempio di ricostruzione letteraria di tale perduto rapporto fra individuo e cosmo. Vedere il mare è parte di quell’esperienza dell’orizzonte – dell’illimitato e della limitatezza dello sguardo umano, della perdita di un orientamento consueto e della partecipazione al sublime della natura attraverso tale perdita – che tanta parte ha nella costruzione del soggetto che si potrebbe convenzionalmente indicare come ‘romantico’. Il significato dell’esperienza di Carlino è sviluppato secondo un modello che ha origini settecentesche (si cita Voltaire, ma la traccia ideologica è Rousseau, precisamente la Professione di fede del vicario savoiardo, nel IV libro dell’Émile); rispetto al modello si ha tuttavia una novità, che si manifesta non sul piano intellettuale ma su quello strettamente letterario. Il testo non solo provvede infatti a descrivere una esperienza intorno a cui costruire un mondo di valori, ma si configura come descrizione dell’esperienza di tale esperienza. La spia stilistica più appariscente è nella parola “mare”, che non compare mai nel testo: sta al lettore comprendere che Carlino ha visto il mare. La sua esperienza è cioè trattata con la tecnica dello straniamento. La situazione del lettore di Nievo, alla metà dell’Ottocento, è più compromessa, per così dire, di quella di un lettore settecentesco, e non si tratta più di educare la sensibilità del lettore al sublime della natura e a far discendere da tale percezione un intero universo morale, ma anzitutto di far sentire come originaria, vergine, una esperienza consueta e logorata. Tutto il passo è retoricamente volto a proteggere dal disincanto ciò che un secolo prima era stato eletto a incantato, sublime, fondativo di un nuovo Io.

Elämyskauppa, luonto ja sivistys

by Kari Väyrynen

In: Tökkäri, Virpi (toim.): Valta, luonto ja ihminen. Lapin yliopisto, menetelmätieteiden laitos. Rovaniemi 2009. S. 75-90.

Natural Architecture and constructed forms: structure and surfaces from idea to drawing

by michela rossi

published in "Nexus Network Journal" vol. 8, n°1/06, Birkhauser, Basel, 2006

This work cames from didactic experience in architecture classes in both university of Florence and Parma. Geometric... more This work cames from didactic experience in architecture classes in both university of Florence and Parma. Geometric scheme comprehension, in natural regular object, was the basis of drawing and scientific rapresentation lerning, such as architectural formal synthesis. This exercise may offer also a valid starting point to approach students to mathematics, and help them imaging and planing about always more complexe surfaces of late contemporary architecture.
Architecture origin is abscribed to Natur imitation, offering in its objects living models for structural, formal and aesthetic problems. Relationship between natural and artificial architectures trought geometry controlled parts composition and/or forms growth, underlines the concreteness of this classical myth.
Indeed observations of Natur’s patterns and formal phenomenous –on which classic thought and western science are based – offers solution to several project requirements, such as the serch of albertian concinnitas, finding satisfation in the composition armony components, specificable by forms and numbers (geometry and aritmetic).
Imitating organic forms and structures, architecture explains its strong relationship with primary geometry elements: numeric sequences, contolled by neat laws, characterise either building of creation or design.
Formal architectural archetypes, in static structures such as in surfaces patterns, are based on simple geometric scheme, easily connected with naturals models:
- modular aggregation (grid patterns)
- unity division (circle and polygons)
- continuous growth (spirals).
So geometry referenses are the first project means to concretise Idea to Design. They are able to fulfil several architecture requirement, such as Vitruvio’s concept of firmitas, utilitas, venustas.
Comparing wonderful variety of Nature’s objects with their built imitation, we find confirmation and new project stimulus.



References

1 Villard de Honnercourt, Disegni, Jaka Book, Milano, 1988.
 4 Ian Stewart, What shape is a snowflake?, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2001.
 5 Luca Pacioli, De divina proportione, Venezia 1494.
 6 Gottfried Semper, Der Stil, München, 1860-63.
 7 Ernst Gömbrich, The sense of order,1979.
 8 Paolo Portoghesi, Natura e Architettura, Fabbri Editori, Milano, 1993.
 9 D’Arcy W. Thomson, On Growth and Form, Abridged Edition, Cambridge, 1961.
 10 Mario Livio, The golden ratio, Broadway, 2002.
 11 pictures 9-10-11 cames from his work..
 12 M.C. Escher, His life and concrete graphic work, Abradale, New York, 1982.

Kritik der Leidenschaft. Adalbert Stifters asthetische Theorie und seine Poetik

by Itsuo Nakano

pubished in BIGAKU (Aesthetics) by the Japanese Society for Aesthetics, May 2011

Die Ästhetik und die Poetik Adalbert Stifters (1805-1868) stellen sich als Fortführung der deutschen Philosophie und... more Die Ästhetik und die Poetik Adalbert Stifters (1805-1868) stellen sich als Fortführung der deutschen Philosophie und Literaturtheorie, nämlich des deutschen Idealismus und der deutschen Klassik, dar. Folgende Arbeit bezweckt die sachliche Herausarbeitung der theoretischen Konstellationen in Stifters Ästhetik und Poetik. Als Bezugsschrift wird Stifters Beilage zu einem Gesuch um Bewilligung öffentlicher Vorträge über Ästhetik (1847) benannt.
Diese Schrift, die als seine eigene theoretische Arbeit über die Ästhetik bestimmt wird, obwohl sie bisher von einigen Forschern zitiert und erwähnt wurde, fordert doch noch weitere Erklärung und Erläuterung, damit man Stifters begriffliche Auffassung des Schönen und seine Poetik erkennen kann. Dabei ist kaum zu übersehen, dass seine Aussage immer wieder zur Sicherung des sittlichen Fundamentes des Menschen zurückkehrt, und die Schrift macht deutlich, dass diese Sicherung des Fundamentes durch die Kontrolle von Leidenschaft erzielt werden muss. Der entscheidende Punkt dieses Essays liegt darin, durch die Untersuchung der Grenze und Möglichkeit seines ästhetischen Gedankens, der beispielsweise im Nachsommer eine gewiße Ausprägung zu finden scheint, Stifters Mimesisprogramm (seine Poetik) im Rahmen seiner engen Verbindung von seiner ästhetischen Theorie und seiner Strategie der Affektkontrolle zu überprüfen.

Schlüsselwörter: Stifter, Ästhetik, Poetik, Idealismus, Schöne

Japanese abstract:
論文の要旨:

本論文は、『水晶』、『晩夏』などの作品が近年、日本でも刊行されている19世紀オーストリアの文学者アーダルベルト・シュティフター (Adalbert Stifter 1805-1868)の創作論を明らかとするものである。そのための方法として、シュティフターが計画し、実現することがなかった、ウィーン大学での美学講義のプランに注目し、哲学系の学問である美学に、作家であるシュティフターが注目した意義とは何かを問うた。言葉を換えれば、シュティフターが自分の創作方法を考える際に当時のドイツ語系美学思想をどのように受け入れているかという視点からシュティフターの創作論（詩学）の構造を明らかとした。美学の専門研究から見た本論文の意義は、講義が計画された三月革命前年、1847年において、カントの影響下にある19世紀ドイツ語系美学の受容例を明確に呈示している点にある。さらに個別の作家における思想史と文学史の横断的な交流関係を再現する本論の研究手法は美の思想の表現をめぐる文化史研究の新たなアプローチとして、人文科学における分野横断型研究の一つの具体例を提示するものである。

特記事項:


① 本論文は、文学作品研究が可能とする美学と文学の綜合という分野横断型の研究を通して、関心を共有する国際学会において自身の研究成果を世界へと発信するものである。
② 本論文の掲載媒体である欧文学会誌”Aesthetics”は国内美学研究の主要組織「美学会」が刊行する査読つきの欧文学会誌であり、大阪大学における執筆者の研究成果を広く対外的にアピールするものである。
③ 本論文のテーマを要約し提出した発表要旨が、平成23年5月26日から開催されるロンドン大学のインゲボルグ・バッハマン・オーストリア文学研究所の第8回オーストリア文学国際学会において採択され、現地での研究発表の正式な招待を受けた。本論文の研究対象である19世紀ドイツ語文学を代表する作家アーダルベルト・シュティフターに関しては、ドイツ語圏・英語圏を中心に国際的な研究サークルが存在しており、今回のロンドンへの招待は個別の作家における思想史と文学史の交流から当時の文化状況を再現する本論文の手法が国内のみならず、国外からの評価を受けるようになった証左と言える。

Science, Nature and Moore's Syncretic Aesthetic

by Glenn Parsons

In his book "Natural Beauty", Ronald Moore presents a novel account of our aesthetic encounters with the... more In his book "Natural Beauty", Ronald Moore presents a novel account of our aesthetic encounters with the natural world. In this essay, I consider the relation between Moore’s ‘syncretic aesthetic’ and rival views of the aesthetics of nature, particularly the view sometimes called ‘scientific cognitivism’. After discussing Moore’s characterization of rival views in general, and scientific cognitivism in particular, I rehearse his reasons for rejecting the latter view. I critique these arguments, but also suggest that scientific cognitivism and the syncretic aesthetic need not, after all, be viewed as incompatible notions.

The Aesthetics of Nature

by Glenn Parsons

The aesthetics of nature is a growing sub-field of contemporary aesthetics. In this article, I outline the view called... more The aesthetics of nature is a growing sub-field of contemporary aesthetics. In this article, I outline the view called ‘Scientific cognitivism’, which has been central in recent discussions of nature aesthetics. In assessing two important arguments for this
view, I outline some recent thinking about key issues for the aesthetics of nature, including the relationship between nature and art and the relevance of ethical considerations to the aesthetic appreciation of nature.

Freedom and objectivity in the aesthetic appreciation of nature

by Glenn Parsons

Natural beauty has often been viewed as a somewhat vague and subjective matter. Even theorists who view disputes... more Natural beauty has often been viewed as a somewhat vague and subjective matter. Even theorists who view disputes concerning the aesthetic value of artworks as involving correct and incorrect judgements have argued that, in many disputes concerning natural beauty, there are no correct or incorrect views. In this essay, I consider recent attempts to develop a more objectivist view of nature appreciation based on the role of scientific knowledge in such appreciation. In response to recent criticisms of this approach, I argue that, when developed, it does provide a viable conception of objectivity for nature aesthetics.

Natural functions and the aesthetic appreciation of inorganic nature

by Glenn Parsons

The distinction between organic and inorganic nature receives little attention in contemporary nature aesthetics.... more The distinction between organic and inorganic nature receives little attention in contemporary nature aesthetics. Traditionally, however, this distinction was considered to have important aesthetic ramifications. Nick Zangwill has recently suggested that aesthetic differences between organic and inorganic nature arise because natural functions are present only in organic nature (for example, in the parts of organisms). I argue for a different explanation: though inorganic nature too has natural functions, these are metaphysically distinct from those characteristic of organic nature. I defend the claim that this difference in functions is aesthetically significant, and use it to justify a common intuition about the thesis of positive aesthetics for nature.

Nature appreciation, science, and positive aesthetics

by Glenn Parsons

Scientific cognitivism is the idea that nature must be aesthetically appreciated in light of scientific information... more Scientific cognitivism is the idea that nature must be aesthetically appreciated in light of scientific information about it. I defend Carlson’s traditional formulation of scientific
cognitivism from some recent criticisms. However, I also argue that if we employ this formulation it is difficult to uphold two claims that Carlson makes about scientific cognitivism: (1) it is the correct analysis of the notion of appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature and (2) it justifies the idea that nature, seen aright, is always beautiful (i.e., positive aesthetics about nature). I attempt to find a revised formulation of scientific cognitivism that can support both of these claims. I argue that to do this we must rethink the notion of positive aesthetics and its place in our theorizing about the appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature. Specifically, I propose that positive aesthetics be made ‘internal’ to the theory of appropriate aesthetic appreciation, in the sense that this theory determine the correct scientific categories for appreciating a natural object, in part, in virtue of a ‘beauty-making’ criterion. I argue that this sort of formulation of scientific cognitivism can support both of Carlson’s claims and does not compromise the objectivist scruples that motivate the view.

Technonatures Introduction White Wilbert

by Damian White

An attempt to survey and think through the political implications of hybridity discourses such as Latour and Haraway for environmental politics. This is the introductory chapter from D.White and C.Wilbert (Eds) Technonatures: Environments, Technologies, Spaces, and Places in the Twenty-first CenturyISBN13: 978-1-55458-150-4, 2009.

Lots of other really interesting cuts in the book from Erik Swyngedouw, Sarah Whatmore, Mike Michael, Steve Hinchliffe and others ...check it out at Available from http://www.wlu.ca/press/Catalog/white-wilbert.shtml

“The idea of Nature in Chinese art. From landscape painting to gardens architecture”. IN: Art and Nature colloquium. Lisbon: Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, 2009, pp. 248 - 267

by Rui Oliveira Lopes

Art, Place and the Meaning of Home

by Beth Carruthers

A commissioned essay for The Stanley Park Environmental Art Project at Vancouver, Canada

1. Introduction: On William Blake, Nature, and Mortality

by Catherine Rowett

Available in Oxford Scholarship Online (requires subscription)

This introductory chapter presents a discussion of Blake's ‘Auguries of Innocence’ and ‘The Fly’, and of an extract... more This introductory chapter presents a discussion of Blake's ‘Auguries of Innocence’ and ‘The Fly’, and of an extract from Shakespeare's Henry IV Part One. It illustrates the claim that not all philosophical persuasion takes the form of academic argument; that literature can be more effective in this role; that moral understanding involves having one's sensibilities aligned with genuine value, so as to be able to see it right; and that science cannot tell us what to value, or how to construct a moral taxonomy. The chapter compares the appreciation of value in nature with the appreciation of value in art, and questions the idea that human life is of supreme value, just in virtue of being human.

Reseña de Marc Jimenez: La querella del arte contemporáneo

by Ruben López-Cano

ETNO Revista de música y cultura 3, pp. 36-38.

"The Senses of the Sublime: Possibilities for a Non-Ocular Sublime in Kant's Critique of Judgment"

by C. E. Emmer

published in Kant und die Berliner Aufklärung: Akten des IX. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses [Kant and the Berlin Enlightenment: Proceedings of the 9th International Kant Congress] 5 vols., ed. Volker Gerhardt, Rolf Horstmann, and Ralph Schumacher (Berlin / New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2001), Vol. 3, pp. 512-519

It might at first seem that the senses (the five traditionally recognized conduits of outer sense) would have very... more It might at first seem that the senses (the five traditionally recognized conduits of outer sense) would have very little to contribute to an investigation of Kant's aesthetics. Is not Kant's aesthetic theory based on a relation of the higher cognitive faculties? Much however can be revealed by asking to what degree sight is essential to aesthetic judgment (of beauty and the sublime) as Kant describes it in the 'Critique of Judgment.' Here the sublime receives particular attention.

The place of nature in Godard's late films

by Daniel Morgan

Critical Quarterly 51.3 (2009)

Breves incursiones mitológicas en torno a la fotografía de Javier Silva

by Jose Garcia Contto

AdVersuS
Año V - Nº 12-13, agosto-diciembre 2008
ISSN: 1669-7588

Resumen

Este artículo se aproxima al trabajo fotográfico de Javier Silva (artista peruano contemporáneo),... more Resumen

Este artículo se aproxima al trabajo fotográfico de Javier Silva (artista peruano contemporáneo), quien trabaja habitualmente sobre representaciones visuales de indígenas peruanos (de diferentes regiones del Perú), y conecta temas cotidianos y eventualmente temas mitológicos. Se operan, básicamente, dos líneas de reflexión: la mitología, y la semiótica (de inspiración Greimasiana). Sobre estas aristas de aproximación, se encuentra en el trabajo de Silva varios referentes visuales mitológicos occidentales, y en estos mitos se puede reconocer elementos similares, más aún, utilizando la herramienta del cuadrado semiótico se determina en cada mito un modo de la relación Hombre-Naturaleza. El trabajo de Javier Silva y sus referentes visuales indígenas y mitológicos, proporcionan una línea de reflexión sobre mitologías clásicas y la constante interacción entre Hombre y Naturaleza

Abstract:

This article aproaches the photographic work of Javier Silva (Peruvian contemporary artist), who usually makes visual representations of Peruvian indigenous peoples (from different parts of Peru), and connects everyday subjects and eventually mythological topics. On the article, there are basically two lines of analysis; mythology and semiotics (of Greimasian inspiration). Following these lines, it is found in Silva’s work several occidental mythic visual referents, and in those myths it is possible to recognize common elements, and through the semiotic square in each myth there is a different mode in the Man-Nature relationship. Javier Silva’s work and its indigenous and mythic referents set a line of reflection on classical mythology and the constant interaction between Man and Nature.

Nature as a Mirror of Psyche: On the Theme of Eternal Return (Observations from a Nature Journal)

by Ronald L. Boyer

This paper is a phenomenological study based on field notes recorded in a nature journal and poems inspired by nature... more This paper is a phenomenological study based on field notes recorded in a nature journal and poems inspired by nature observation.  The assignment was conducted for a graduate course in “Cross-Cultural Mythology and Symbolism,”  and consisted mainly of locating and regularly visiting a “secret spot” in nature during the period from February 15 to April 2, 2011.  The practice included techniques for nature observation described in Starhawk’s The Earth Path: Grounding Your Spirit in the Rhythms of Nature (2004)  and was augmented by readings from Meredith Sabini’s book, The Earth Has a Soul: C. G. Jung on Nature, Technology, & Modern Life (2002)  and other readings. The assignment also included sketches of the natural surroundings and an imaginative dialogue with the natural environment, culminating in a paper on the central theme of the journal notes.  This theme is the idea of objective nature as a mirror for inner nature, i.e., the psyche or “soul,” specifically the cycles of nature as a metaphor for “seasons of the soul.”  The substance of the paper is a presentation of my initial field notes, accompanied by psychological and mythological commentary. 

Sculpting Sustainability: Art's Interaction with Ecology

by Jade Wildy

Accepted for The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability

Since the industrial revolution, the earth’s environmental health has steadily grown worse, arguably approaching a... more Since the industrial revolution, the earth’s environmental health has steadily grown worse, arguably approaching a critical state. While science and technology offer innovations to help move towards a sustainable planet, another less obvious field is also working towards a more positive environmental future.

Environmental art is defined as an artistic process in which an artist engages with the natural environment. An artistic movement that began in the 1960s, environmental art has gradually evolved into a form that encompasses a large number of ecologically driven works, which allow artists to improve environmental conditions through a more proactive, yet aesthetic role.

Environmental art draws on a wide variety of approaches, including ecological feminist principles (Ecofeminism); large, remedial landscape architecture; biosculpture, that incorporates a living components, like water purifying moss; as well as social sculpture that aims to combine environmental conscience with social reform. These works introduce an aesthetic dimension to environmental remediation, incorporating sculptural and design elements. While forming a core element of environmental art since its inception, ecological aestheticism is slowly becoming a more wide spread art form.

Presenting various different interactions between artist and environment, this paper will begin with a brief overview of the early environmental art movement that establishes the history of environmental art and contextualises more recent environmentally remedial artworks. It will also discuss some of the different forms of environmental art, to finally focus on the forms that are ecological in focus that repair damaged ecosystems, offer environmental solutions and generally serve a remedial function in a positive environmental future.

Keywords: Environment, Environmental Art, Sustainability in Art, Landscape Architecture, Biosculpture, Social Sculpture, Ecovention, Ecological Art, Eco Art, Ecofeminism

Ecological Aestheticism: The Role of Art in a Positive Environmental Future

by Jade Wildy

Submitted Article Under Consideration

Since the industrial revolution, the earth’s environmental heath has steadily grown worse, arguably approaching a... more Since the industrial revolution, the earth’s environmental heath has steadily grown worse, arguably approaching a critical state. With the convenience of technology came pollution, environmental degradation and human apathy towards the planet. Thus, in looking towards a more healthy environmental future, substantial changes need to occur. In this future, art can have a highly proactive role to play. This paper seeks to present many of the artworks that have contributed to a more positive environmental future since the beginning of the environmental art movement in the 1960s.

The description ‘environmental art’ is used as an umbrella term to describe works in which artists actively engage with the environment. While not all environmental artworks are ecological in nature, many function to substantially alter and contribute to the natural environmental to undo damage caused by humanity. These works introduce an aesthetic dimension to environmental degradation incorporating sculptural and design elements, as well as landscape architecture.

Presenting various different interactions between artist and environment, this paper comments on the positive role art can play in building a better environmental future, combining aesthetics with ecology. It includes works that contribute to the environment through actively purifying water, works that address loss of habitat, large-scale works that draw attention to deforestation and works that aim to incorporate environmental conscience with social reform.