Aesthetics as an adjective relates to the philosophy of aesthetics, concerned with notions such as the beautiful and the ugly.
Not sure which tradition you come from dear colleague, but I am very much inspired by Heidegger's Origin of a work of art. in this essay, you can find his criticism of aesthetics, as he associates art with truth, and provides also the example of a piece of architecture to show the truth of a work of art. You might have a look at this material if you want to further reflect on your question. hope this helps
Humberto Costa, Thanks! I was thinking of aesthetics through philosophy and psychology, but you are rightly told it would also depend on the culture.
Aesthetics express the ideologies of each culture, how a particular group sees the world, how they envisage the world and their interaction with it. Gothic architecture, while a means of building high, expressed the world of the god within numerous narratives expressed by every part of the building. They expressed awe and provided a gateway to the religious organisation the building represented. The many recesses express its mysteries. Many would not admire the construction of such buildings not not always the aesthetics.
Pierre Bourdieu may be the best one to go to on aesthetics-beauty is power, power beauty.
Aesthetics would vary depending on the culture and history. While there may be some commonalities like the use of geometric principles (refer to the Greek Corinthian style buildings with the magic ratio) aesthetics in general is unique to each culture.
While aesthetics in architecture is universal, even the weaver bird knows it, the aesthetics involved is not uniform. The temple architecture of each religion, whose spiritual core we all assume to be the same, is proof of this diversity. But the box-like structure of modern architecture may appear to be downright ugly today implying that one man's idea of aesthetics may be far different from another's. As to the question why we strive to be aesthetically pleasing in our architecture is because of its high degree of visibility. Taj Mahal, for instance, may not only be a fine piece of Mohul architecture but may partake something of its religion, culture and philosophy.
Universal among humans on the large findings because of common brain structure and common gross experience(and not universal on the smaller findings which will vary per brain structure). Not universal in the sense of cosmic/Universe/freestanding.
There is something that might be called a "minimal abstract aesthetic" for architecture that we all share as individuals, namely endeavoring to construct shelters that are acceptable in the sense of being at least the least that we're willing to settle for. This will vary according to circumstance and culture. The acceptable vs. unacceptable in architecture need not coincide with the beautiful vs.ugly. Acceptability may be heavily influenced by minimal standards of functionality. My roof better not leak too much and the smoke from my indoor cooking better have some way out.
There are two main approaches to the essence of aesthetics. The first one (let’s call it empirical or subjective) indicates sensuous aspects of the beauty and the importance of the аesthetic enjoyment of art. From this point of view aesthetics a priori cannot be used as an approach to the universal values, because beauty’s perception depends on the variety of empirical experience. In this case cultural peculiarities and national tastes determine the diversity of aesthetic forms. On the opposite, the second point of view (let’s call it transcendental or objective) states that Beauty is not only the matter of sensory perception, but it is viewed as, first of all, a path to the Truth and Good. In the Heidegger’s Origin of a Work of Art (already mentioned by Mr. Vincent Block) a piece of art (Van Gogh’s Shoes or ancient temple) is viewed as a place where a truth is being created. It means that art units, making Truth appear. The forms of art may vary from culture to culture, from one historical period to another, from one art style to another, but that does not alter the unified essence of beauty and art: making Truth appear. As Russian painter Kandinsky mentioned, the content is primary, and the form is of a secondary importance. In other words, the form is determined by the content. Thus, from mentioned point of view, architecture aesthetics is universal, particularly, it pursues the universal goals of Art and Beauty, creating Meaning of human existence. As for cultural differences that obviously are present in art (and in architecture itself) they can be regarded as accidental and secondary.
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