Garrett Almeida

Elisha Emerson

10 April 2018

ENG 110

Beholder’s Eyes

 

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” Is a common expression about the way in which beauty can be subjective to different people.  Most  people have witnessed beauty before, and yet there is no agreed upon way to define beauty. What is beauty? 18th Century dramatist and poet Friedrich Schiller tried to answer this difficult question. Schiller’s theory states that beauty tends to be derived from two facets of humanity; the drive of desire for instant, physical enjoyment, and the drive of desire for order and coherence over time. Schiller’s Ideas help to point out useful information for understanding human nature and the heart of beauty as a concept. The two aforementioned drives (sense and form, respectively) truly do have everything to do with beauty and what each of us perceives it to be. These two drives will allow us to investigate the question “what is beauty?” and see for ourselves that beauty stems from the need or desire for one or both of the drives, no matter who the behold

The subjectivity of beauty is no secret. One person may find a lake or stream to be pristine and beautiful, where another may simply see a body of dirty water. People can find a multitude of possible things beautiful, such as other people, art, nature, architecture, etc… but not everyone will find everything beautiful. In his essay, Let’s Talk About Art, Anthony Mueller describes his love of gothic cathedrals. He then showed images of gothic cathedrals that he particularly enjoyed to his brother and conducted an interview.

 

“ I interviewed my brother, Mike. Mike is a high school Junior who isn’t a huge fan of most art, but does greatly appreciate music. His first impression sums his overall view on the Gothic cathedral, “I don’t really see the big deal”. I asked him what the building made him feel, it must not have been significant because he looked slightly confused on how to answer. I went on to explain how I believe architecture is a form of art. “Makes sense”, he replied. I went further to briefly explain how the structure made me feel and then asked if he now had any feelings from the cathedral. His overall view seemed unchanged, “I understand where you’re coming from, and I can kind of see it. But I just don’t feel the same way”. I was baffled. I understand that art is a flexible term, but I found it weird that my own brother didn’t have remotely similar beliefs; that something which held so much meaning to me, struck nothing in him.”

 

This sums up the nature of subjectivity in beauty very well. We can determine many things about beauty from this interview, starting with the fact that Mike doesn’t appreciate most art very much, but does enjoy music. Additionally, we can understand that Anthony finds great beauty in the cathedrals, yet his own brother doesn’t see it there . In order to understand how the sense and form drives work, we first must understand how everyone sees beauty differently, and  how everybody has a unique set of needs, desires, and preferences.

Every person is different, however, most people use two main ways of approaching life in tandem. The first outlook and way of thinking is the intuitive, emotional side. Often referred to as “right-brained”, this mode of thinking is defined by a person’s desires for instant gratification, expression of feelings, creativity, and it links directly to Schiller’s sense drive. The second mode of thought is the analytical, order-based side of human nature. Usually called “left-brained”, it is associated with rationality, justice, order, critical thinking, and is linked to the idea of the form drive. The vast majority of people use some combination of both, with very few being purely logical or purely emotional, but every person has a different combination of the two. Some people will desire instant gratification and pleasure more, while others may desire and need structure, order, and long-term payoff more than immediate options.  Because some people have a higher need for pleasure and gratification, or perhaps a greater need for justice and order, what is beautiful to each person will change depending on which drive they need more. Most people fall somewhere in the middle, and thus find beauty when the two drives meet somewhere in between .

To bring up Anthony Mueller’s  project again, the Gothic Cathedral is an excellent example of the two drives coming together. Mueller states that “[the cathedral] invoked powerful emotions of strength and intimidation”. This quote emphasizes how it appeals to his sense drive, evoking emotions in him based on its aesthetic. Viewing an image of the cathedral will also reveal the order and structure that went into the architecture. The Cologne Cathedral is absolutely full of straight edges, supports, and geometric structures. There is great symmetry in the entrances and spires that adorn the cathedral. Many patterns can be observed. All of these things appeal to the form drive, being primarily driven by the desire for order. This makes the Cologne Cathedral an excellent example of how beauty is derived from the form and sense  drives overlapping.