Second time I link to this video this month, but Sir Roger Scruton has a truly impactful message on this subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHw4MMEnmpc
Can't find one without Portuguese subtitles, so hope that's OK
Can't find one without Portuguese subtitles, so hope that's OK
Prof. Roger Scruton presents a provocative essay on the importance of beauty in the arts and in our lives.
In the 20th century, Scruton argues, art, architecture and music turned their backs on beauty, making a cult of ugliness and leading us into a spiritual desert.
Using the thoughts of philosophers from Plato to Kant, and by talking to artists Michael Craig-Martin and Alexander Stoddart, Scruton analyses where art went wrong and presents his own impassioned case for restoring beauty to its traditional position at the center of our civilization.
Except there’s not. Where is the Notre Dame of our time? The Mozart (who was well recognized in his time)? Who can be compared in our time to the sheer talent of Michelangelo? Who still produces ballets like Swan Lake?
Yes, we have beautiful art in our time, but you have to be blind to not see the difference in the sheer majesty and scale of pre modern Western art. It’s exponentially better.
Are The Beatles not as significant as Mozart?
While there may be differences in skill of the composers and musicians, that is largely irrelevant. Art only is if it is appreciated. Complexity and skill without any appreciable quality is busywork. However, appreciation of the masses comes with hitting the average taste.
Video games come to mind. There are some indie games that are, quite frankly, beautiful works of art. Outer Wilds comes to mind, as does Celeste.
Any of the top 100 movies on imdb can stand its own as far as capturing the imagination and delivering enjoyment as any of the great symphonies of old.
Modern art is different, but it is not inferior. I would argue today’s art vastly exceeds any period in history in scale and imagination. And beauty, well, that’s a personal matter.
Would you argue traditional japanese sword forging produced superior weapons to today’s because nobody makes swords that way anymore?
Seriously? Or are you being deliberately provocative? As I understand it the Burj is considered pretty vulgar.
You mention Mozart but neglect J.S. Bach, who was all but forgotten before being later revived; much of his catalog was lost. Michelangelo produced validating propaganda for the upstart and brutal Medici family. Much classical art (painting, sculpture, music) was similarly created for religious or state sponsors.
Ballet and opera were the most complex performative works of their time. You'd probably want to look to musicals for modern equivalents, combining drama, music, singing, and dance.
Signature buildings are harder to name, but then, they also often take centuries to earn their reputations, and are often dismissed or unappreciated for long periods. The Notre Dame cathedral only started becoming a classic in the 19th century, nearly 800 years after it was begun.
Among contenders I'd offer: Sagadra Familia in Barcelona, Spain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Família), National Cathedral in Washington, DC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_National_Cathedral), the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, IL)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baháʼí_House_of_Worship_(Wilme...), and Sydney Opera House (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House), and the Empire State Building in New York (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_State_Building), would be five suggestions.
In most cases, it's familiarity and time which cement reputations and acceptence. There's a timelessness IMO in stone, brick, and wood which concrete, steel, and glass match with difficulty, making other possible contenders -- most skyscrapers, bridges, and dams, say, less qualified, despite numerous contenders (e.g., Brooklyn & Golden Gate bridges, Hoover Dam, Burj Khalifa, Guggenheim Museum).
There is also a line of criticism that the institutions of fine art (education, galleries, museums, grants, etc) have, in the last few decades, distorted their previous value system of beauty (complex as it is) to focus on more conceptual and academic issues. If you’re interested in hearing this analysis in detail, check out The Invisible Dragon by Rich Hickey.