On Aug 31, 2009, at 8:14 AM, [email protected] wrote:
I do think that the ability to describe clearly and accurately the feelings or sensations of seeing a painting are an integral part of determining an aesthetic position or experience.
Nah. The experience precedes the description, and thus is already determined by the time you get around to describing it. "That's terrible" or "That's great" occur almost immediately upon seeing the work.
The description is post-hoc and entirely linear in time, whereas the experience of a painting is simultaneous and instantly polyvalent. The difficulty--and thus the potential achievement--of describing the experience is in retaining those "poly" parts of the experience as you march the words one by one through your head and onto the paper or screen. That, btw, is something I admire in a writer's talent: holding on to the fleeting feeling as he or she slowly unreels the words. It's like keeping a volatile liqueur in your mouth to savor the aroma as long as possible.
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