One question regarding the pure functionality of objects versus them being ornamental: If form follows function slavishly, is there room for aesthetics? For beauty?
Xárene replies:
Nature's beauty is in the form the function takes and in the function which gives form. Both are efficient and I find it rather exciting that we happen to find the form aesthetically pleasing.
I have been watching a lot of nature documentaries (the BBC "Planet Earth" series) and am always slightly distressed when I see the spectacular shots of water falls with grand music, or antelope hopping about in slow-motion. I'm torn between the feeling of awe, inspiration and beauty I feel and the sneaking realization that the only reason I find these things beautiful is because I don't see them everyday. I think our romanticizing of nature rose proportionatly with our departure from it. Basically, my point being, I'm leaning towards lateral's implication that I would miss beauty in a world without ornament.
However, I can't really argue with Xárene when she says:
We must shift our perception of what we need to create for survival to what is already there for us to survive on. Learning to live with our natural environment—as opposed to live off of it—is where our focus should be.
I just wonder if ornament is another way of saying art, in which case I'm all for it. It's art (whether an artful human mind, or an artistic human creation) that tells us nature is beautiful (e.g. the Planet Earth link above) and has made us want to preserve it.
Lateral asks:
Xárene replies:
I have been watching a lot of nature documentaries (the BBC "Planet Earth" series) and am always slightly distressed when I see the spectacular shots of water falls with grand music, or antelope hopping about in slow-motion. I'm torn between the feeling of awe, inspiration and beauty I feel and the sneaking realization that the only reason I find these things beautiful is because I don't see them everyday. I think our romanticizing of nature rose proportionatly with our departure from it. Basically, my point being, I'm leaning towards lateral's implication that I would miss beauty in a world without ornament.
However, I can't really argue with Xárene when she says:
I just wonder if ornament is another way of saying art, in which case I'm all for it. It's art (whether an artful human mind, or an artistic human creation) that tells us nature is beautiful (e.g. the Planet Earth link above) and has made us want to preserve it.