Introduction to Aesthetics

I'd like to preface this by saying that I am by no means a deconstructionist. However, as an etymology nerd, we are starting with the word itself and a series of philosophical extrapolations.

Aisthētikos, *of Greek origin, means to perceive. Germans later adopted the additional meaning of being concerned with beauty.

Aesthetics, according to Britannica, is the philosophical study of beauty and taste. The study of aesthetics relates to the nature of art and its cerebral interpretation of what makes it beautiful.

So here we have our specimen: AESTHETICS.

From my perspective, I can remember when I first became conscious of aesthetics. At the time, I was completely unaware of the word; however, I knew that there were different looks to things, and these looks made me feel vastly different things. It was the early 90s, and I must've been 8-9 years old. Living in Los Angeles all my life, the most poignant aesthetic that comes to mind is graffiti. My mom would take the 405 North to Santa Monica every day for work and drop me off in Culver City at my grandma's house off Washington Blvd. On the 405 just past La Cienega Blvd., there used to be this huge mural of a bunch of multi-ethnic people. I think they were runners or something. These runners were barely visible due to the vast array of different tags. Different short punchy names that conveyed a sense of personality, edge, civil disobedience....identity. They were fascinating to me. They imprinted their personas deep into my psyche. My worldview was being molded strictly by schools at this time; however, the artistry and masterful craftsmanship of some of these tags captivated my mind. I could tell the people who wrote these definitely did not hone their skills behind a desk or in a classroom.

To the layman, plain Jane, John Doe, looky-loo, graffiti is a crass violation of public space. And to be fair, most toy shit is. If your shit is toy, then it deserves to be wacked out, in my opinion. However, when a piece has been well thought out, strategically placed, and executed to the best of the artist's ability, it's like a symphony. As an adult reflecting on it, I can only imagine. The adrenaline flowing through the artist as they inhale caustic fumes. The pain and fear associated with accessing a precarious location. The past trauma of situations that may have transpired that made them want to quit only to be denied by their soul. This was real art. This was aesthetically pleasing to me.

Now, don't get me wrong—later as an adult, my horizon for art expanded to all known corners of Earth's geography, as I have a voracious hunger for new art. I am simply reflecting on the genesis to my consciousness of aesthetics or a particular aesthetic.

In summation, aesthetics are a full human sensory experience in every dimension of perception. Far beyond a vibe. I take issue with the vapid, vibeless branding I find in the modern marketplace promulgated by the homogenization of true ART. True art is illegal, dangerous, offensive to an extent, scandalous; it illustrates the dichotomous nature of reality. It's a foreign intelligence operative in a dark room wearing a tailored tux with a Beretta tucked tightly in his cummerbund, regaled by a woman in a red dress with a vial of poison secured in the top portion of her stilettos. True aesthetics has teeth. True aesthetic is all bite, no bark.

So if you're a business owner or an independent creative looking to collaborate on aesthetic curation, please feel free to reach out to me, and I would love to help you create a full sensory human experience that tantalizes the senses in every way imaginable and uniquely makes the statement your business or brand wants to make.