Aesthetic Appreciatation, Perception, Limits, and Creativity

Limits come in many forms. Our bodies themselves supply the limits of our perception. We can only hear within a certain range and see within a certain range. Each individual also comes with his specific limitations whether based on environment, genetics, or as I have previously suggested one’s past experience and interpretations.

In an article and interview originally posted in The Edge and then reposted in Future Positive , author and MIT research psychologist, Steven Pinker talks about this from a different perspective, "Many artists and scholars have pointed out that ultimately art depends on human nature. The aesthetic and emotional reactions that we have to works of art depend on how our brain is put together. Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the mind."

My propostion is not just that the appeal of art is dependent upon such limits, but also the creation of art. In obvious ways, gravity provides limits for a sculptor, and time and technical skills can provide additional limits. But limitations are a welcome thing - a less than full palette of color can be quite useful in creating something pleasing. Using the pentatonic scale, such as the black keys on the piano, can provide limits and safety from dissonance.

Though I don’t suggest always going so far as to be safe, I do suggest relishing the limits you personally have as being a tool for providing a space to play within and one which can be uniquely your own.

See Also

• Original Interview with Steven Pinker
  Perception and physiological limits