The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Evaluating the Works of Art and Aesthetics
Aesthetics is defined as a philosophy dealing with the nature of attractiveness, art and taste. Aesthetics focuses on beauty with great concern in its formation and appreciation. Scientists define aesthetics as the study of emotional values guarding opinion and taste. Aesthetics is not confined to the art museums and galleries alone, but it is brought out by the relationships we develop with the environment through the daily activities.
Gender and ethnicity play an adverse role in aesthetics. Gender influences the formation of ideas about arts, artists, and aesthetic values. There are also different perspectives that familiarize with the cultural influences that exert pressure over arts in the way it reflects the social formation of gender sexuality and identity. The challenge with aesthetics is posing a neutral ground in claims of philosophy by exposing universal masculinity and exploring ways in which gender identity influences aesthetic frameworks, terms and definitions. It should be able to evaluate artworks while seeking a better understanding in the interaction of gender identity and the aesthetic judgements in both the present and future.
According to Korsmeyer in aesthetics in feminist perspective, Carolyn looks at various tastes and argues that neglect to senses in a traditional scenario links one to masculinity assumptions (Korsmeyer, 1998). Feminist scholars disagree on issues concerning how to gauge values associated with genius and artistic success. They term the idea advocated by genius as dissatisfying due to differences in education of the people. Other feminists who disagree with the idea opt to work in a female-based environment. Their argument bases on the fact that one can discern traditions of female genius and work in an art body comprising women (Battersby, 1989).
Christine Battersby elaborates the complicated history of the concept of genius, which date back to the ancient times (Battersby, 1989). By the time, it reaches a romantic form; it is exemptionary composed of female artists. Genius rises to fame for bringing out sensitive and creative mindset on the equally supposed female attributes. Rousseau, Kant, and Schopenhauer all proclaimed that females have characters and mentalities too weak to create genius. This judgement is similar to the theory that attributes men as the strongest and having the most important qualities in mind in relation to their female counterparts. According to genius, male artists are intellectually brilliant, sensitive and fine-tuned. This is to say they possess both the female and male characters.
Female artists cannot be left out. In my opinion, genius is gender biased. Both males and females have an ability to produce superb work. The difference lies in an individual's creativity and the way of expressing personal emotions in an artwork. Female aesthetics in an academic field sort to find out gender identity and its association with aesthetic concepts and judgement. They discovered that most concepts of aesthetic are not followed today.
Further to contributing to aesthetics, gender and ethnicity also contribute tour understanding of works of art. Works of art were produced for their aesthetic value. To come up with this, an artist ought to have a deeper understanding of what he/she would like to bring out. An understanding of the concept will enable the artist bring out traditional values, and incorporate them into the artwork effectively.
According to genius, this is a masculine idea and not appropriate for females. To him, women should not seek to go beyond domestic life or feature in fine arts. Females should produce applied arts and craft works. This is not correct in relation to the present times. Females now can feature in any kinds of art works as long as they are able to produce eloquent works in the tasks they perform. Many believe that men do have a greater mental capacity than women that enable them to appreciate more profound and difficult art. Women have a taste for what is pretty and charming.
The root of everything lies in the artwork. How to evaluate art depends on what art is. Once we establish the functions of art, we can evaluate individual artwork in relation to personal abilities. If the function desired is to produce an artwork that provides aesthetic pleasure, then the artwork should contain a high degree of aesthetic pleasure. Aesthetic contains a cognitive function that contributes to the understanding of different individuals and their relation to others and their environment.
Judgement of aesthetic value depends on the human ability to discriminate at a sensory level. Aesthetic scrutinizes human response to various phenomenons. In analysing aesthetics, the considerations we make are not only on taste but also on sensitivity to pain and pleasure. Sensation gives rise to pleasure. Aesthetic gives value to beauty. Beauty is objective and universal. These gives reason for the need for art. Art helps the society's economic aspects. Investment in art business is a good source of revenue as exposure in arts benefits members of the community. Art enhances the work environment and in turn affects business of those around it.
Art impresses people as it embraces culture and ethnicity. A viewer is able to feel the warm and admirable atmosphere it creates while glancing at it. Art provides an atmosphere conducive for working. In an environment lacking artwork, the room is stiff and boring. This often affects the performance of the workers.
In conclusion, we can state that art provides a way of life. The role played by art is immense and cannot compare to its impacts to the prevailing environment. Gender and ethnicity are the key contributors to effective works of art. Different philosophers have come up with different issues concerning gender relations to aesthetics. Despite the theories (according to Genius and Korsmeyer, 1998), both males and females contribute equally to works of art.
Evaluation of art brings out the core importance of arts. Art provides a way to experience oneself in relation to the world. Through appreciating individual capabilities, art provides a means to express the imaginations in non-grammatic ways. Art has no language this means that it can be expressed in whichever way as long as the beauty of the work is felt. Art also allows individuals to bring out their feelings. Art is respected within the culture and society. Art is used in performing rituals, and in dances as decorative, and in some case, it is a symbol of the prevailing occasion. This makes art have a different meaning from one culture to another. This meaning is not limited to a particular individual but serves as a tool of change to many generations to come. It also promotes the relationship between the members of the society.
In art, artist lay out an open forum to receive comments and opinions from other people. During this procedure, people respond to these expressions in different ways. It can be a positive response or negative response. This response serves as a motivation to the artist as it triggers further innovations. Viewer interpretations of beauty bring out the value of aesthetics and taste. Human tastes come about as a result of education and awareness of traditional values. This means that not all the works will be appreciated by everyone. There can be contemporary views based on individual interpretations.