Comments on Aesthetically Satisfying Order in the Arts

On the Meaning of Order (II) 233 considerable uniformity of sentiment among men, we may thence derive an idea of the perfect and universal beauty.. .it must be allowed that there are certain qualities in objects which are fitted by nature to produce those particular feelings’ [141 (italics mine). In terms of my discussion above, the origin of a sense of beauty provided by the Golden Section for some humans lies not in the recognition of its occurrence in snail shells, in the ‘magic’ of mathematics or in the physiology of the human eye [IS], but rather it evolved from prehistoric triggering signals, provided for example by a mother’s face that gave pleasure because they increase the chances of survival. As Plato said: ‘There is a propensity for immortality which can lead to beauty and to love’ [16]. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. J. Hambridge,DynamicSymmetry(NewHaven:Yale Univ. Press, 1920). 16. T. Cook, Curves of Life (London: Constable,1914); (New York: Dover. 1979). REFERENCES E. N . Lockwood,A Book of Curves (Cambridge,England: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1963). M.Robertson,The Golden Sectionor GoldenCut,RIBAJ. 3, 55 (1948). P. H. Schofield, The Theory of Proportion in Architecture (Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ. Press)Ch. 4. R. Wittkower, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism (London: Tiranti, 1952). J. T. Bonner,ed., D’Arcy Thompson:On Growth and Form (Cambridge,England: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1966). . I . Z. Young, Ideas of the Cosmos (Lectureto the SOC. of Exp. Biology, Leeds, England, 1974). J. Monod, Chanceand Necessity (NewYork: Knopf, 1971). R. G. Coss,The EthologicalCommandin Art,Leonardo 1, 273 (1968). R. Dawkins,TheSelfish Gene(0xford:Oxford Univ.Press, 1978). D. Hume, Four Dissertations on the Standard of Taste (London 1757) Dissertation IV. M.Borissavliovitch,The Golden Number and the Scientific Aesthetics of Architecture (London:Tiranti, 1950). Plato, Symposium. P. B. Shelley, trans. (Toronto: John Dent, 1920). R. Fischler,O n the’Application of the Golden Ratio in the Visual Arts, Leonardo 14, 31 (1981). N. E. Huntlev. The Divine Prooortion (New York: Dover. (Received 4 Dec. 1980) David S . Fensom Biology Dept.. FlemingtonBldg. Mount Allison Universitv ., 1970). COMMENTS 1. Sackville, New Brunswick EOA 3C0, Canada ON AESTHETICALLY SATISFYING ORDER IN THE ARTS It has long been known that there are relationships between spatial and temporal order in the arts and in mathematics. Kinds of such order, as for example the classical ones of symmetry, regularity, proportion, rhythm and harmony, are said to categorize artworks possessing beauty, and they can be analyzed logically and mathematically. Somethinkers consider this an argument for regarding order in nature and aesthetic order as congruent. I believe this is true because, for humans to survive,their perception had to be adapted in a successful way to the kinds of order occurring in nature. Today theoreticians of art seem generally to agree that beauty or artisticvalue cannotbe based solely on classical criteria of order. One reason is that some artworks considered of high artistic value are based not on order but on some types of disorder, asfor examplesomeverbal artworks. This view was first introduced into the analysis of art by the Russian formalists [V. Erlich, Russischer Formalismus (Munich: Carl Hauser, 1966)], who regarded originality and innovation, that isdeviations from known kinds of order, as decisive criteria for evaluating artistic value. The apparent conflictbetween basing criteria of artistic value either on classical kinds of order or on an artist’s originality stemming from alienation and deviation can, I believe, be resolved by cybernetic aesthetics based on the modalities of perception. The criteria of the Russian formalists can be treated mathematically in terms of cybernetics and information theory. For an artwork to give satisfaction, it is necessary to find in it not only order but also a new or innovative element of order. The amount of innovation can be measured with the help of the concept of statistical information [C. E. Shannon and W. Weaver, The Mathematical Theory of Communication (Urbana, IL: Univ. Illinois Press, 1949)]. New kinds of order havebeen determined in computer art in terms of random number generators. 2. Evidently,order of any kind in avisual artwork must be discernible through visual perception...