aesthetic, aesthetics (Vocabulary: Art Terms)

AESTHETIC, AESTHETICS (Vocabulary: Art Terms)

Two closely-related words:

• Aesthetics (sometimes esthetics) is a branch of philosophy concerned with beauty and related concepts in the fine arts. It asks how we can judge what is beautiful in the visual arts, literature, the performing arts and music, and even nature.
• Aesthetic (sometimes esthetic) is, first, simply the adjective form of aesthetics. We can talk about the aesthetic quality of something (is it beautiful or not), or we can say something is aesthetically (adverb) pleasing. Also, however, aesthetic can be a noun: "The house's design reflected a modern aesthetic," or "She brought a refined aesthetic to her fashions."

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Whistler's Mother

Whistler's Mother: a famous painting by 19th-century American artist James Whistler of his seated mother.

Whistler was a leading proponent of "art for art's sake," and thus called the painting Arrangement in Grey and Black--an arrangement, not a portrait.

Count Dracula

Count Dracula: the first great vampire of fiction and movies, from an 1897 book by Irish author Bram Stoker.

The novel is epistolary--that is, it is told in the form of letters (and other "documents" like newspaper articles). The overall effect is gripping.

Johann Strauss II

Johann Strauss II (called "the Younger"): 19th-century composer from Vienna.

Called the "Waltz King," he wrote over 500 dance numbers, including "The Blue Danube," arguably the most famous of danceable waltzes.

He also wrote several operettas (including Die Fledermaus) and a ballet.

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong: (1901-1971) Popular 20th-century black American jazz singer and trumpet player. Affectionately known as "Pops," "Satchmo," or just "Satch." He's in both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A US postage stamp was issued in his honor in 1995.

The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus: a painting from the 1480s by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli of the goddess Venus being born from the sea as a grown woman, with other gods surrounding her. She was born of sea-foam when one of her father's body parts was cut off and fell into the sea.

Choreography

choreography: the design or arrangement of dance movements, and the movements themselves.

One who practices this is a "choreographer"; the adjective is "choreographic," the adverb "choreographically." Chore- is the Greek root for "dance."

Example: "I enjoyed the ballet's graceful choreography."

"Oh My Darling, Clementine"

"Oh My Darling, Clementine": Written by Percy Montross, but most think it's an American folksong. Its slightly silly lyrics tell of the singer's "darling" who drowned because the singer couldn't swim. In one version he's okay now because he "kissed her little sister."

Architecture

architecture: the design and creation of buildings. 

It is both an art and a science. The person who practices this is called an "architect"; the adjective is "architectural”; the adverb, “architecturally.” Buildings themselves are also called "architecture":

Example: "The school's architecture was beautiful."