Aesthetics and Application

Lyra A. Utami Ph.D

The melody that reaches the gates of Heaven - Author (Green School - 2016)
Between western and eastern aesthetics
Influenced by the Greco-Roman philosophers, the strength of Western (also classical) Aesthetics emphasises on
human-nature dualism, relies on mechanistic view and analytical thinking, good at separating objects, events and
facts from one another, especially concerning the Arts. Most works of art are produced for the reason, i.e. to
satisfy our senses through minute attention to technical quality. The concept of Aesthetics has since been applied
to any aspect of the experiences of art, such as aesthetic judgment, aesthetic attitude, aesthetic understanding,
aesthetic emotion, aesthetic value.

La Primavera - Sandro Botticelli (1482)

 Contoh kokoro-dzukai
The strength of most Eastern Aesthetics emphasises on the holistic awareness that stems from emotive perception
produced within the core of all living beings; Heart (Qalb/Kokoro/Nurani) towards Life, the Source of Life and the
inter-connectedness of all things. Human is just a part of the Whole. There is a network of relationships behind
every element and being (unity), and the appearance is nothing but an image, a manifestation of this network of
relationships.The Arts, hence, becomes the very tool to project and symbolise the experience of such profound
emotion, unity with the whole (i.e. cosmos) and its essence/flavours (rasa).

Mevlevi dervishes whirling in Pera - Jean-Baptiste van Mour (1720~1737)

 “satyam, shivam, sundaram”
The true, the good, and the
beautiful..

Nritya Samarchita [Vazhuvoor style of Bharatanatyam] - Lavanya Anath (Woman’s Club of Minneapolis Theater, 2011)
 Japanese Aesthetics stems from….

The Five stances of the

Kokoro (heart) that
心 people adore;
1. The obedient Kokoro,

遣 2. The introspective
Kokoro,
3. The humble Kokoro,
い 4. The reliable Kokoro and
kokoro-dzukai: 5. The grateful Kokoro
The act of
distributing/using Kokoro

What makes Japaneseness - Author (Yoro Keikoku - 2013)

詫び寂び wabi sabi

When Fall is upon us - Author (Mishima - 2018)

 the aesthetic of things imperfect,
impermanent, incomplete

Early 20th century Fisherman’s sashiko coat (shibui.com)

 Estetika di nusantara

Estetika Nusantara tercermin pada bentuk ucapan rasa syukur dari Nurani
dalam perpaduan budaya sandang, pangan, papan dan adat-istiadat

Sandang - Wastra Gringsing on Tenganan Pagringsingan Girl (5th Month Ritual “the Swinging of Renewal”), Pangan-Tumpeng dan Lauk Pauk , Papan - Rumah Gadang (Istano Baso Pagaruyung), Adat - Tarian
Caci Manggarai Raya ketika musim panen tiba
traditional textiles are aesthetic because apart from being used as clothes, they served as tools for communicating
communal identity, life values, belief system, social positions, recording events and capturing elements of an
environment in stylised shapes and forms associated with occasion and usage.
 Towards the sensorium (sensorium yang mencerap dan mengolah RASA)

*the relationship of Mind

and Heart produces the
sense of appreciation

Sensitivity and sensibility [dalam rasa dan penghayatan] to aesthetic qualities can be groomed by training
your sensorium!
Sources: Baumgarten, Le Breton, Damasio, Kant, Ki no Tsurayuki, Kukai, Imam Al-Ghazali
the scope of Aesthetic Experience (ruang lingkup pengalaman estetis)..

• gives the visual is the most obvious source of aesthetic experience.

• interpersonal interactions and subjective perception often influenced by visual
appearance.
• gives auditory aesthetic experience on the environment or a production that in turns
affects the mood.
• The sensation will also affects one’s bodily movement (kinaesthetic perception)

• gives tactile aesthetic experience.

• the sensations resulted from sensory receptors create pleasurable feelings

• gives gustatory aesthetic experience.

• The sensations resulted from having pleasant-tasted food enhances aesthetic
appreciation to the culinary
• gives olfactory aesthetic experience.
• Pleasant smells, mood-evoking odour impacts his/her aesthetic experience and may
stimulate a person to desire things related to it.
 Colour Loudness Texture Texture Strength
Shape Pitch Shape flavour Sweetness
Pattern Beat Weight Sweetness Pleasantness
Line Repetition Comfort Sourness
Texture Melody Temperature Savouriness
Visual weight Pattern Vibration
Balance Noise Sharpness
Scale Ease of use
Movement

together with these elements in a composition, associations to phenomena and environment also
contribute to one’s overall emotive perception of an object/product, and to one’s opinion as to
whether it is aesthetically pleasing or not.
 Aesthetics is not only
what you know.
When it is what you are,
it influences how you
make things and what
your artworks present…

Kain Tenun Songket Minangkabau - Studio Songket Palantaloom - ©Bernhard Bart & Erika Dubler
 It’s all between the look and the feel…
when and where…

- Alamy (via The Times - Craft lost, plant extinct but finest muslin is reborn’
how every elemental piece unites to create attractiveness..

On making comfort - Author (Green Village - 2016)

 …accommodates one to feel the strong attraction…

Treat your five senses! - Author (Kanazawa - 2018)

 Contrasting elements are in place…

Craftsmen’s wisdom - Author (Kanazawa - 2018)

 Yet harmony is achieved with the surroundings…

The Elvendom - Author (Green Village - 2016)

…and the subtle element that holds everything in a composition.
May thee well - Author (Hida Takayama - 2018)
In all, aesthetic product concerns the relation built by the activity the place, the
presentation, the culture and the people..

Nasi Liwet © Dinar Nurnaningsih

 BONUM
(good/baik)
relates to moral, ethics

crafted artwork/
product
VERUM PULCHRUM
(true/benar) (beautiful/indah)
relates to rationale, logic relates to satifaction, aesthetics
 Thank you for your attention.

The Oculus of a local genius - Author (Four Elements - 2016)