| Abstract |
"Aesthetic forms are all around us. The vast majority of objects and events we encounter on a daily basis have distinctive aesthetic characters that motivate us to seek them out, acquire them, and make them part of our lives. Where and in what we choose to live, what cars we drive, how we attire ourselves, what we consume, and what we use to prepare ourselves to face a day clean and fragrant - all of these have pronounced aesthetic characters that strongly stand out, in many cases as their most central feature. While many of the aesthetic forms with which we choose to surround ourselves and imbue our lives are created by us, just as many come directly from nature. Throughout history and across cultures we have memorialized the aesthetic forms of plants, making them the subject of countless works of art and the default choice for adornment, from the Acanth leaves at the tops of Corinthian columns to the botanical flourishes that create the border of an Ottoman rug. Think of the place in our lives of cut flowers, one of the most prevalent of aesthetic forms. These days we have dozens of options of cut flowers from which to choose, with a range of shapes, colors, and scents. We may choose some to say "congratulations," others to say "condolences," but their ultimate purpose is the same: to beautify our living spaces for a week or two. The profitability of the cut flower industry speaks to our affinity toward the most anthropocentrically "useless" and ephemeral part of the plant, which neither feeds nor clothes nor shelters us"-- Provided by publisher. |
