### Aesthetics

**Aesthetics:** the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc., as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to establishing the meaning and validity of critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles underlying or justifying such judgments.

**Dennis Dutton and the 7 signatures of aesthetics.**  
1. **Expertise or virtuosity:** Technical artistic skills are cultivated, recognized, and admired.  
2. **Non-utilitarian pleasure:** People enjoy art for art's sake, and don't demand that it keep them warm or put food on the table.  
3. **Style:** Artistic objects and performances satisfy rules of composition that place them in a recognizable style.  
4. **Criticism:** People make a point of judging, appreciating, and interpreting work of art.  
5. **Imitation:** With a few important exceptions like music and abstract painting, works of art simulate experiences of the world.  
6. **Special focus:** Art is set aside from ordinary life and made a dramatic focus of experience.  
7. **Imagination:** Artists and their audiences entertain hypothetical worlds in the theater of the imagination.  

**Survey:** Look at the following Picasso paintings and answer the following questions the best you can.

* Which principle of Aesthetic do you think is represented best and why?  
* Do you know who Picasso is?  
* Do you like the paintings displayed? Why or why not?  
* What is he trying to say with this style?  

**Listen to the following Stravinsky work and answer the following question the best you can.**

* Which principle of Aesthetic do you think is represented best and why?  
* Do you know who Stravinsky is?  
* Do you like the music played? Why or why not?  
* What is he trying to say with this style?