Thursday, October 3, 2013
Beauty as Perfection
One concept Coomaraswamy argues for the more ancient or medieval view of art is that beauty is judged by how perfect an object it is. Another way to think about this is how close does the art get to the artists intent. Coomaraswamy uses the illustration of a barn compared to a church. A barn that is perfectly constructed is objectively no less beautiful than a perfect cathedral. The subjective view of beauty is rooted in the individual and that is where differences in opinions on beauty originates. Looking at the two examples below it's hard to disagree with Coomaraswamy's understanding
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I think the meaning we put behind an object also influences our idea about how beautiful it is. Barns are viewed as less beautiful than cathedrals because they are used for manual labor, and livestock, while churches can be viewed as a way for us to be closer to a divine being. Thoughts?
ReplyDelete"Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." -- Mark 10:24-10:25, KJV
ReplyDelete"Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house." -- Proverbs 24:27, KJV
Isn't it unsurprising that the Cathedral or Megachurch would find it necessary to expend so much time and money towards that Divine end that the humble farmer's barn achieves naturally and effortlessly? Of course I generalize, but the telegraphed intentions of the Cathedral is in part to compensate for the relentlessly, pervasively, inescapably carnal shape of the lives of its parishioners. A friend of mine, who is not Catholic, has often told me that he can only attend Mass on Sundays because he needs the ritual and grandeur to feel like he's closer to God. Personally, I've only ever felt anything akin to the transcendent while engaged in honest labor. Both cases illustrate the same point.
All ends aren't worthy, but worthy ends glimpse the Divine as an byproduct of their perfection.