Aesthetic Erosion (Rock Records)

 

 

I've been watching some of the documentaries by geologist Myron Cook. People generally have found geology to be a boring subject, but I've always liked it for its useful metaphors.

In this episode, he was talking about erosion taking place over millions of years in which unconformities of erosion occur. This relates to my aesthetic erosion idea as a metaphor to describe the erosive forces of postmodernism on the arts--where it starts to erode your sense of aesthetics: what you thought was beautiful before no longer matters to you because you forgot how to appreciate beauty or appreciate something interesting to you before, but no longer does because it has eroded. But I like the idea of unconformity as a metaphor, in which rock layers over hundreds of thousands of years have their own erosion sequences. So it's okay if things erode and are buried; it's just the natural evolution of aesthetics in the rock record. In culture, there are similar forces that reshape the experience of art and making art. In music, I've gone back to a more modernistic approach. But pop music has always been postmodernist, even going back to the 50s (rock records literally), so there's no escaping postmodernism there, but in visual art, you can mix up your metaphors. However, you still have to choose them wisely: If it's the type of erosion that compromises your artistic integrity, then perhaps it's not a good one. I see postmodernism as an erosive force that undermines sincerity. Like Villem Flusser's "we work for the camera" assertion, "we work for postmodernism", or "we work for social media", not doing things of our own volition. 

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8/2024: Apparently, the double arch at Glen Canyon collapsed. This is where every photo taken of it now becomes a documentary photo. The arch itself was caused by water erosion, but human-induced erosion obviously has a different effect. It's "aesthetic erosion" in the sense that we had a hand in it.  

9/2024:

From the excellent book by Marcia Bjornerud, Reading The Rocks, and the use of musical metaphors. 

"The Earth orchestra might obligingly increase the tempo of the dance in response to our activities, but since there is no conductor, communicating this to all players and sections could take many human lifetimes. The Earth might also take the opportunity, as it has in the past, to experiment unpredictably with other cadences for a few millennia before settling into a new riff, which we may or may not find to our taste (if we are still around to try it). The uncertainties are immense, but if we wish to preserve our social, political, and economic structures, which don't weather surprises well, we need to understand the range of possible outcomes. Fortunately, Earth has kept a good record of what has happened in the past when biogeochemical upheavals have occurred. To read it, we need to speak the language of rocks."

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1/2025:

AI-generated insights from original video transcript:

- The idea of aesthetic erosion parallels geological erosion, suggesting that cultural shifts can diminish appreciation for previously valued art and beauty.  
- Modernity can lead to a loss of connection with traditional aesthetics, altering personal and collective perceptions of beauty.  
- Just as geological layers erode and change, so too can cultural aesthetics evolve, reflecting the dynamic nature of societal influences.

**Cultural Forces and Aesthetic Evolution**  

- Cultural forces exert significant influence on how art and beauty are perceived, leading to shifts in aesthetic values.  
- Artists and audiences are shaped by the constraints and opportunities presented by their cultural environment, impacting their experiences with art.  
- The evolution of aesthetics is a natural process, akin to geological changes, where beauty ebbs and flows according to societal trends and forces.

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1/24/2025:

For the “pre” people who grew up pre-PCs, pre-internet and pre-social media it’s easier to construct bulwarks, but now more difficult because of algorithmic control or the paralysis of choice. If you forgot what you used to like in the 80s and 90s you’ll be in the same place as other people who have no memory of what it was like. The analogy would be the village that falls into the sea: the place is gone. Right before the internet ~1992 an evening would be watching movies on VHS or a broadcast of some kind. There would have been no other technological distractions, or mental distractions for that matter. That place is also gone. (“I went back to Ohio but my city was gone. There was no train station. There was no downtown”.)

From the article, GOOD TASTE, BAD TASTE, NO TASTE, WHY TASTE?:

"Once a new paradigm takes over, the aims of the old one, along with aesthetic experiences that it made possible, do disappear. "