ART3110 – Decolonizing Aesthetics

I never thought about aesthetics in a way of feeling, but always considered it to be visual. Since the time I started buying my own clothing, I have worn what I felt was catchy to my own eyes, not the message it may be sending. An example, for instance, is a shirt that I occasionally wear that says Duck Off. To me, it was something that I read and it made me laugh as it has a picture of a duck with its tongue out following the text (I just realized that I was feeling mirth). Thinking about this more deeply as I write, I have definitely felt the aesthetics of plays like Phantom of the Opera. Even without hearing him speak, I could feel his pain and anger just by how the character looks and represents himself. Other plays use involvement to display aesthetics. Some plays may ask for volunteers (of course they are usually actors in the crowd, but that’s besides the point) while others, like the Mary Poppins play that I saw in New York, actually got people involved (this was done by encouraging dancing, and Mary Poppins would occasionally grab people out of their seat to dance with her). Reflecting on this, aesthetics are everywhere, but I think one thing to keep in mind is that the way an individual interprets aesthetics is entirely up to them. What one may consider trash, another may consider treasure.