The Aesthetics of Joy Blog

I read a blog called the Aesthetics of Joy, by Ingrid Fetell. Great stuff. Here is a video she talks about in one of her recent blog posts. It will eventually be a book, which I hope to buy, but for now I enjoy reading her ongoing revelations. She's kind of brainy, and uses BIG WORDS, in an art historian kind of way, and she is delightful.

Do you ever see something that just makes your heart sing? She is studying the common, quirky, unexpected things that for whatever rhyme or reason make us smile (or gasp, or blink, or gape in a good way). Think dancing, wildflowers, toys, bright pink dyed hair...

She also looks at the large sweeping artistic monuments and gestures which transport us, as the artist or architect (or God) intends them to. Think cathedrals, the Grand Canyon...

Fetell asks tough questions, too. I remember one blog post (featuring a picture of Charles Manson) pondering if evil-doers feel joy when they commit their atrocities, and if that could rightly be called "joy?" Ick.

I like to read about art, but sometimes art history seems a little pedantic. That's why I like this take on design and "joy." The subject matter itself is light-hearted, but down-to-earth, even while the discussion of it is at times challenging. Anyway, Aesthetics of Joy is worth checking out.

By the way, I like Sr. Wendy, too, but I've never read any discussions about street art from her...only classical art. Contrasting Ingrid Fetell to Sr. Wendy automatically comes to mind because while Sr. Wendy exudes her appreciation and love of the art she describes, the joy Ms. Fetell writes about seems to be somehow missing from her poin of view. An academic approach to what makes humans feel joyful is a very interesting topic indeed when written in an objective and discerning voice, which is how Aesthetics reads. She is certainly passionate about her subject, though; that comes through. When you think about it, it's a tough subject.

Most of the other art/design blogs I read are all breathless with love, love, love for their artistic discoveries; a whole lotta sugar, which I don't seem to naturally possess. That is why I read them, probably. I am a voyeur of "pretty" things, but the stuff that really brings me joy are tinged with something a bit wry at the end of the day. I laugh at the wrong places in movies, too, a personal characteristic which is only now at this late age beginning to embarrass me.

Historians and students who love art, design, or craft -- and can write well about it -- are precious.