kaLle !

ohnson
8lA Semlnar 9/28/2011

ln Lhe flrsL chapLer of lreeland's 8ot ls lt ott? Ao lottoJoctloo to Att 1beoty l
compleLely relaLe Lo her dlscusslon on how kanL's phllosophy of aesLheLlclsm ls llmlLed and
unable Lo fully explaln why gruesome lmages are promlnenL ln our mosL recenL arL hlsLory
Powever l have found LhaL l am more readlly able Lo undersLand why gruesome lmagery ls
popular once l have accepLed LhaL such lmagery ls ln LruLh aLLracLlve
l wanL Lo begln by saylng LhaL aLLracLlveness ls noL solely whaL ls pleaslng Lo Lhe eye lL
also lncludes Lhlngs LhaL are provocaLlve and sLarLllng Pumans speclflcally have a Lendency Lo
be fasclnaLed by unforLunaLe clrcumsLances and vlolenL occurrences Powever people have
varylng reasons for belng aLLracLed Lo negaLlve lmagery Some are curlous as Lo why Lhe acLlon
or evenL Look place WheLher lL ls naLure or human lnLervenLlon doesn'L maLLer 1he only Lhlng
LhaL does maLLer ls Lhe mysLery lf you are an lnformed vlewer mysLery lLself may noL be
enough Lo aLLracL your aLLenLlon lnsLead you look for whaL ls shocklng or Laboo ln order Lo
remaln lnLeresLed eople are also more llkely Lo show lnLeresL ln a plece lf Lhe general
populace ls shocked sLlrred or moved by Lhe lmagery
AlLhough lL may be gruesome work can also be affecLed by Lhe vlewer's composlLlonal
Lendencles and personal aesLheLlcs Some lndlvlduals are drawn Lo Lhe complex monumenLal
or vlvldly colorful whlle oLhers are drawn Lo Lhe reverse Powever Lhe vlewer ofLen knows Lhelr
own preferences even lf Lhey have noL been arLlsLlcally Lralned 1hey can follow Lhelr own
Lrends creaLlng Lhelr own value sysLem LhaL could be dependenL upon a wlde varleLy of Lhlngs
,y sysLem for lnsLance heavlly emphaslzes smaller more lnLrlcaLe and dellcaLely layered work
and pleces LhaL are Lechnlcally sLrange ln approach or ouLcome l may flnd lnLeresL ln work
ouLslde of my own Lhough Lhls [udgmenL sysLem ls based hlghly on personal preference
1hls ls why ln order Lo successfully evaluaLe Lhe level of lnLeresL a plece encourages ln
Lhe vlewer l belleve LhaL one should always look Lo evaluaLe a plece ob[ecLlvely ConLexL ls
exLremely lmporLanL as well as Lhe conLenL lf no conLenL can be dlscerned Lhe plece becomes
somewhaL lnLeracLlve wlLh Lhe vlewer Some quesLlons Lo ask lnclude Pow ls Lhe vlewlng
envlronmenL affecLlng Lhelr lnLerpreLaLlon of Lhe work?" and Pow does Lhls plece flL lnLo Lhe
perlod lL exlsLed ln?" 8y creaLlng conLexL conLenL evolves and may evenLually lead Lo an
aLLracLlon beLween Lhe vlewer and Lhe plece and llke l sald earller aLLracLlon holds a sLronger
sway over an audlence Lhan sensaLlonallsm and shock