Open AccessThe Art Way of Seeing and the Pride We Are Looking For: The Life and Work of Edward Weston
Author(s) -
Len Bernstein
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
ikoni
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2713-3095
pISSN - 2658-4824
DOI - 10.33779/2658-4824.2019.4.034-044
Subject(s) - pride , beauty , aesthetics , humility , humanity , realism , dignity , meaning (existential) , sociology , art , epistemology , philosophy , law , political science , theology
In this article I discuss the life and work of the American photographer, Edward Weston, as well as my own life, to show what the philosophy Aesthetic Realism explains: the way of seeing that makes for art, and the pride we are looking for, comes from the desire to be fair to reality itself, and this desire is the same as true humility. The grand and the ordinary, the proud and the humble, are opposites that mingle in the content, form, and technique of Weston’s work, and this has meaning for our lives. “All beauty is a making one of opposites,” Eli Siegel, founder of Aesthetic Realism stated, “and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.” In showing that the purpose of life and art are the same, this principle brings new understanding and dignity to humanity, and possibilities of pride that are endless.