On Beauty, Art snd Aesthetics:
As the world shifts away from the hegemony of western norms, we must liberate our aesthetic senses as well because aesthetics has a role to play in liberating our intellect and our senses from indoctrination.
Beauty is a cultural concept. It varies with time as beliefs change. Today we admire slim women. In ancient times, well endowed females are preferred for their child bearing capability.
Beauty is also a political concept. The media is almost always totally dominated by beautiful western images.
Art used to be a representation of things, animals and powerful people. Today art is provocation, to make a point, to intrigue and to mystify. This is an aspect of creative western dissolution.
All forms of art consist of a blend of three things, ideology, culture and the primary senses. Our beliefs ie our implicit or even explicit ideological preferences, our cultural biases and our basic sense of order are totally intertwined. To get a grip on art beauty and aesthetics we must deconstruct this.
An example of ideology is say modernism. Tall, glass towers are preferred because it represents “progress” even if it traps heat in our tropical climate. The western look is also cultural in a world dominated by the West. There is a sense of western superiority. The western look is deemed a sign of progress.
When I was on the planning committee of the Esplanade, I objected to the project’s draft specification that specified that an “Eminent foreign architect” must be appointed! This is how deep post-colonial ideology and culture are built in the habits of mind. This must change!
We can only free ourselves once we become aware of this post-colonial mentality. Only then can we be truly ourselves. That is the beginning now that we are rich.
To return to the true self requires courage to deliberately gain access to our primal senses in creative ways. What are these primal senses? How do we get access?
It is through educating our primal senses. This process has to be as detached as possible from existing norms and pedagogies. This is where abstract exercises in awareness of colour, shape, texture, contrast, affinity, characteristics of line, curvature, termination, rhythm, spacing are made fully aware. This is liberating from existing norms and expectations.
Once primary sense intelligence is attained, true creative discovery of place and purpose begins. Once aesthetics is thus understood as intelligent energy, art beauty and aesthetics become an energising force in building the People, their Power, Politics and their Nation’s Purpose.
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