Thomas L. Fort, Jr.
ART-615 Aesthetics II
Kaiser
February 16th, 2015
The Sublime
The idea of the sublime struck me as the most interesting aesthetic theory that was introduced during the fall semester. Reading through the ideas of different philosophers made me feel as though I should be in a padded room, however short breaks remedied that. The piece I have created for this assignment is one that I believe attempts to capture the main ideas of the sublime. On a two inch by two inch square brass plate I engraved four scrolls outlined by framework (Golden Rectangles) seen when presented with an example of the Golden Ratio (1.61803398875... to 1). Before engraving the plate, I used a torch to heat treat the surface to add patina and enhance the ease of engraving (slightly hardening brass makes it less difficult to engrave as it becomes less “gummy” when cutting). The scrolls are arranged in such a way as to occupy only a portion of the space upon the plate and, contrary to my usual engraving practices, are completely devoid of embellishments such as leaves, tendrils, or shading. The scrolls are simply the backbones, skeletons if you will, of my usual work. After engraving the plate, I then used ink to fill in the cuts. The sublime has come to represent a quality of inherent greatness that exists in a metaphysical aesthetic sense. This greatness is beyond the possibility of measurement or absolute imitation. Edmund Burke theorized that the sublime and beauty were mutually exclusive and that intense light or darkness could push something from the realm of beauty into a sublime state. In adding extreme light or dark, one would obliterate the object from sight, creating a void. In this void, the mind is in awe trying to imagine what exists within. In darkness or even light, there is an uncertainty, a confusion that stems from the terror from not being able to see. However, this terror leads to a pleasurable state due to the viewer knowing there is no real danger. Thus enters the duality of fear and attraction: delight, accordingto Burke, is the removal of pain caused from confrontation with the sublime. This does not mean that the experience was enjoyable, but instead that the removal of pain caused a sense of relief, much the same as the viewer realizing that in the sublime horror exists no real threat. To Burke, this “negative pain” was more intense than any “positive pleasure.”Immanuel Kant again separates the idea of beauty and the idea of the sublime. Beauty is connected with the physical form of an object, whereas the sublime is found in a formless object. The sublime has no boundaries and cannot be measured. This is where I decided to use the Golden Ratio superimposed into Golden Rectangles. The Ratio itself is not the sublime, it is itself a number, an equation. Because of this, it has a form as an equation and also when drawn outright. The idea that the Golden Ratio represents is what is sublime. It is a formless idea that expands in both directions ad infinitum. It is a perfect mathematical equation that is without boundary. This also goes along with Georg Hegel's idea that the sublime is an epic of nature (the Golden Ratio is measurable in various plants and animals). The connections of the ratio with natural elements draws from the sublime. The moment that I finished engraving the plate, I had taken something sublime and demoted it to “beauty” (if that, even). I bound a representation of something formless that is outside of one's perceivable dimensions into a physical existence on a flat surface. In addition to his ideas of beauty and the sublime, Kant also put forth that there are two distinct variations of the sublime: Mathematical and dynamical. Mathematical sublime is an aesthetic comprehension that exists outside of the consciousness of a unit, but instead an absolute greatness not inhibited with ideas of possible limitations. In essence, it is a failure of the imagination to visualize natural things that appear boundless and formless. With this, the imaginative failure is overcome with the enjoyment taken from the reasonable assertion of the concept of the infinite. What is represented through the Golden Ratio is an idea of the infinitesimal. One can try to imagine it, but one would fail totruly comprehend that as the spiral representing the idea twirls in on itself, it continues forever. The part spiraling outward continues forever as well while the viewer is simply stuck somewhere in between, outside the realm of measurement.Kant's idea of the dynamical sublime continues with the idea that a sublime object can create fearfulness without one actually having reason to be afraid. The dynamical sublime comes with a sense of a takeover by the imagination of the normal, sensible self as one tries to comprehend the vastness of something sublime. To judge that something is sublime is to admit that the object gives one an inherent fear that is beyond the limits of comprehension. Personally, for this piece I related that I once was terribly afraid of lighting a gas torch for no reason at all. I had never been burned by one nor been around any mishaps, but the thought of that flame scared me. Now that I have been using torches for a number of years, my old fear seems silly, but I can recognize the sublime that used to exist within. From this comes my choice to use the torch to add patina to the plate, referencing my former fear. The flame also left soot on the plate which I chose to leave to allude to darkness. Kant uses the sublime and beauty to hint that there is a noumenal (inherently known without the use of the senses; nous) order thatexists as well as an inherent free will. This is possibly the most terrifying idea; the premise that one hascomplete control over his or her actions without any outside influence. Of course, within the dynamical, the sublime is nothing that can be controlled. Again, though, because I am attempting to control and alter the sublime, I am instead removing the sublime.