Kate assumes that most people experience sunsets the same way. I disagree because we don't know, can't know, what knowledge, memories, allusions, metaphors come to mind in each person seeing the sunset -- even if most would shrug it off. A word like pretty is a complicated one as it implies some sort of sentimentality and that is a Pandora's Box.
Works of art are pretended, proposed sites-conditions-objects we are predisposed to regard aesthetically -- even in ignorance of what we mean by the term whereas with everyday sites-conditions-objects we are predisposed to not regard them as aesthetic, notwithstanding the propositions of everydayness as art. Our predispositions are simply our unexamined acceptance of cultural norms or myths. .That leads me to say that if we do examine sites-conditions-objects, that is, we we disregard our predispositions then anything at all --even a thought -- can be regarded aesthetically. In this way works of art are no different from everyday objects. I just can't understand why some of us keep insisting on a balance of thought and feeling. The distinction is over, gone, eliminated by recent neurological research and controlled lab testing. WC Sunsets don't result in a great deal of thought(cerebrality) unless you understand a lot about them or have burdened yourself with a lot of cultural references. Kate Sullivan
