WHAT IS AESTHETICS (BY: DABO ICEKING EUCLID)

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic. The root of the word aesthetic is the Greek word ‘aisthetikos’, which means perception through the senses.

Art has existed through all of recorded human history. It is unique to humans because of our unique form of thinking. Its importance is based on this nature, specifically, man's ability to abstract. Art is a little understood tool of man to bring meaning to abstract concept.

Aesthetics is important because it delves into the reason why art has always existed, the burning need of mankind through the ages to see the world in a different, clear way. It further evaluates art by the standard of human life, and whether it accomplishes the job of satisfying man's intellectual needs, or whether it tends to hurt or make worse those needs.

Aesthetics in Education is a way of regaining touch with the process of learning something new, of being introduced to a medium never known in a particular way before. It is the incorporation of the arts across the curriculum in a way that fosters a heightened awareness of and appreciation for all that touches our lives.

Since aesthetic quality is an aspect of all activity, perception, and intelligent thought, aesthetics in education helps students discover new ways of looking at, listening to, moving in and speaking of their everyday experiences. And since aesthetic quality is concentrated in the arts, the study of music, dance, drama and the visual arts most directly develops aesthetic awareness.

Aesthetics is important because it elevates your mind. To be able to think in terms of aesthetics enables you to think on many other subjects as well. To really appreciate beauty enables you to judge right from wrong, good from bad, happy from sad. To surround yourself with beauty is a way to love yourself with the gift of an enlightened mind. To eat good food, to dress well, listen to beautiful music, and practice self-restraint is how to reflect that you are a cultured, therefore educated person. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” It allows one to be unique in their surroundings and to develop a personal space that expresses inner qualities. Art, nature and the five senses are all nourished by aesthetics.

Aesthetics is important as an apparent answer or communication of order. Aesthetics is a reassurance of logic and sound design by method of a set of visual ques that display forethought, order, comfort, familiarity, simplicity, inviting ergonomics, functionality to please the viewer or end user of a product. Aesthetics is art in it’s essential state. A design of perfection decorated to enhance its visual appeal as well as a compliment to a setting or motif.

Aesthetics makes a statement, an added layer of love given to an object as an expression of pride or creativity that’s over and above the basic needs provided by the object; Like icing on a cake or the chrome bumper of a car. A non-essential refinement of any object or appliance only to please the eye and induce trust.

In the pursuit of happiness, aesthetics is inherently, almost by definition, pleasurable. People inherently seek out pleasure. It's part of what makes life worth living.

Any form of art is mainly composed of two parts – the creative or the innovative part, and skill or craft. Even these two aspects of art aren’t independent – they are often dependent on one another. For example, we might consider a painter who has a lot of skill but there is a lack of creativity. The painter might initially start painting after taking inspiration from other paintings or even nature but gradually as he will gather more experience, he will not only improve his skill but also have more ideas for new paintings, hence, his creativity will improve significantly too.

Aesthetics is a part of philosophy which tries to decipher the nature of art; in layman terms, it is a set of rules which helps us in judging a piece of art. The fact that art stems from philosophy makes sense because our perception of art is mainly dependent upon the human nature, hence, it is natural that aesthetics is philosophical.

Aesthetics is important because it helps us understand and judge the various qualities one will find in art. Aesthetics helps painters judge their paintings by themselves. Without it, they would have to rely on others to judge the quality of their work. But aesthetics helps them realise their current skill level, so that they don’t have to depend on others and can improve on their own.

Aesthetics can be considered as a school of thoughts to review art. This can be of immense help when you are describing your painting to your colleagues or even critics. Suppose, you receive different opinions from them. Now, without aesthetics, you will have to consider each of them, but aesthetics provides you the power to validate them, so you can realise which criticisms are actually correct. It helps you to better understand your interests with respect to art. You will find that art aesthetics help you become more creative and will also assist in coming up with better ideas for art in the future. It gives you a better idea of the art of the past. Many people, especially modern artists, consider that old painting techniques are now obsolete but you can always learn a great deal from those ancient techniques and even modify them according to your needs. Art isn’t restricted to just paintings. There is art in every aspect of life; even how you handle your daily tasks can be considered a form of art. For example, there is an art to performing at your work place optimally, or managing a business in the proper manner. And if you want to improve your skills in these jobs, or even improve your daily lifestyle, you need to consider aesthetics while reviewing, and this is what makes it an integral part of art.