Saturday, May 4, 2013

On drawing, and doing

From Alain de Botton
"Through drawing, we may find explanations for our tastes and begin to develop an 'aesthetic', or a capacity to assert judgements about beauty and ugliness.  We may determine with greater precision what is missing from a building we don't like and what contributes to the beauty of one we do.  We may be able more quickly to analyse a scene that impresses us and to pin down whence its power arises.  We may move from a numb 'I like this' to a more exacting 'I like this because...', and then in turns towards a generalisation about the likeable.  Even if they are held only in exploratory, tentative ways, laws of beauty come to mind: it is better for light to strike objects from the side than from overhead; grey goes well with green; in order for a street to convey a sense of space, the buildings must be no taller than the street is wide..."  
I daresay this is likely true for cooking, soccer and everything else in life as well.  To put it into a simple maxim: "In order to appreciate, you must do."  

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