Readings

"Can Anything be an Aesthetic Object"
by Robert L. Zimmerman

I find most discussions of aesthetics an exercise in mental masturbation. This article did not dissuade me from the notion. Thought the author had many good points he lacked in many. I did not like the fact that he spent most of the article disproving other peoples points rather that proving his own. One is hard spent defining the term Digital Art it is going to be harder to define an aesthetic object. It did state that aesthetics is an amalgam of experience and traits of an object. This I believe but when one starts to define something and is personal and different to everyone one quickly should notice that it is undefinable. The author also concentrated too much on Western traditional fine arts.

"Everyday Aesthetics"
by Yuriko Saito

I liked this article better than the first. Though not as well written I think it spoke more true. It discussed Japanese and Western aesthetics and the differences between them. It also discussed how we miss aesthetic objects through habituation. I found it interesting that rather than defining aesthetics the author discussed how something can be aesthetic. It is an important factor to remember in designing that other cultures will view things very differently than you intend them to.