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2002-06-14 - 9:41 a.m.
I wrote this in response to Justin's latest entry on beauty and decided to avoid cluttering his guestbook with it.
i have been reading a lot lately on the cause/drive that humans have to create and understand beauty. it seems that beauty, in any organic form, organic meaning the "source" of beauty, not necessarily nature, is constantly subject to replication, be it through visual, auditory or tactile representations. there is an endless effort made to re-create an instance, a moment, of beauty. each individual process of replication in effect both represents the original beauty as well as the replicator's interpretation of that beauty. if you consider the beauty of, say, a tree, versus the beauty of viewing a painting of that same tree...the signifier of the beauty is the same but the ending sign, or communication, contains an extra element of perspective. it's like viewing the tree through a series of lenses, through the varying thoughts of the interpreters. this means, however, that the "original" beauty is somewhat altered through the process of replication. initially, this disturbs me. i am concerned that endless replications will only take us further from what we are interested in preserving. however, it also occurs to me that repeated attempts to re-create beauty can also serve to further the process, the continuity and spirit, of changing beauty. i think this change is essential because it requires our notions of beauty to evolve and forces us to continue to find new ways to communicate and interpret the beauty we experience on a daily basis. it is, indeed, a powerful cause. thanks for your entry.