This chapter explains the hierarchy, structure and manifestation of artistic beauty. In this chapter, the author points out that the beauty of art lies in the conceptual integration, harmony, and unity of rationality and natural beauty. It is the reflection of the hierarchical beauty of emergence in people's consciousness. It studies various types of arts, including plastic arts (paintings, sculptures, and architectures), audio arts, linguistic arts (words and literature and poetry), and performing arts (drama, dance, and movie). The chapter also concludes that the beauty and ugliness of art are relative. They are both conditional and have their own self-organization evolution process. From beautiful and comparatively beautiful to more beautiful and most beautiful, from ugly and comparatively ugly to uglier and most ugly, beauty and ugliness both go through a process of emergence, evolution, and development. They are both formed in a linear structure.
TopThe Advent Of Artistic Beauty
The beauty of art is the unrestrained creativity derived from the artists’ “ideas”, “inspiration” and “passion”. It is, however, very important to know that these “ideas”, “inspiration” and “passion” are all consistent with the laws of art and the sentiment of artists.
These “ideas” are spontaneous, as they only occur under certain conditions on a random basis. Such ideas, inspiration and passion cannot be found from all people, in all places, and at all times.
For example, in 1897, French impressionist painter Paul Gauguin felt the pinch as his uni-color, segmented, abstract and super-naturalist Cloisonnism style was denied by people at the time, which, worsened by the psychological suffering caused by his loss of daughter and poor health, led to a failed suicide attempt. Not long after he recovered from the suicide attempt, he finished the 4-meter-long masterpiece Where Do We Come From? Where Are We? Where are we going? in only one month.
This painting, as a strong emotional shocker, is a vivid reflection of the painter’s confusion about life, about his poverty, suffering and suicidal thoughts, and about the mystery of death. The French painter later said, he had put all his effort in this work that he had been immersing himself in an unspeakable emotional state day in and day out for the duration of the whole month. You can imagine how hard it was for him to go through all those hardships all over again and to refine them into something surreal that brought people into a half-real and half-illusory time and space.
This masterpiece, like a fire of inspiration and passion, has left later generations far-reaching impact along with boundless imagination and tremendous charisma. Its inspiration has also brought infinite joy to generations to come the same way a goldmine can bring fortune to its exploiter.
TopThe Hierarchy Of Artistic Beauty
The beauty of art has arguably infinite scales or levels with a lot more to emerge.