It would
seem that the best designed boats sail the fastest and look the
sleekest. And as with anything that does a useful job well, there is
a degree of simplicity and a certain aestheticism of lines. Things
that look clunky and awkward, with apparently too many parts,
usually don't work very well.
Our traditional idea of beauty or aestheticism, I believe, has to do
with our more serious side. In engineering, this is only as it
should be. An engineer friend of mine tells why he wears an
engineer's ring, to be reminded that a mistake can cost lives.
Similarly in the America's cup, winning is very important.
But our more lyrical, fanciful, and comical sides love things that
may look goofy, awkward, and unusual; attributes that may not fit
the standard notions of beauty or the aesthetic.
Aestheticism is not a necessary component of good art... but does
not disqualify it either. In the communication of ideas, the form
may be by necessity, different than the form required by our
practical everyday objects.
The old adage, 'form follows function' holds true. If the function
of a painting is to allow us to survive emotionally, what form will
it have?
