Aesthetics and Ideology

When we talk about aesthetics we would normally think of it as something that is very flexible, malleable and that no two persons would have the same aesthetic preferences. However, from the study of the aesthetics I had to redefine my meaning of aesthetics. Aesthetics, in many ways, is very subjective but it if something that is constructed.

Aesthetics by dictionary meaning is a' set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place'.

The use of the words 'principles' and 'governing' implies a sense of control, meaning that the idea of aesthetics is forced or developed with certain boundaries or is unconsciously restricted. And the specification of 'time' and 'place' means that particular variables are involved in one's decision of what's beautiful and what's not, and is somewhat very political.

In the past, aesthetics might be generated in coercion but in the present days we live in hegemony, we are free of choice and are open to give ideas. But to say that it is completely personal isn't true. Humans are a race that lives in a pack, if you're the odd one out then you risk being kicked out. This causes the emergence of trends, generated by major group of people with similar aesthetic perceptions. This creates a standardized set of perceptions on beauty or ideology. The minor group then has follow that trend, because people are manipulated to think that the ideal is the better.

Designers also use this to an advantage and design according to trends. According to the Kritik of Judgement (1790), designs are preconditioned by what's going to sell (the ideal). This means there are only a number of types of products manufactured, restricting visions of aesthetic qualities and decreasing diversity in perceptions. A lot of trend setters are people who are commonly known. This also pertains to architectural influences, like Mies van der Rohe and his modern aesthetics that is also known as The International Style, suggesting it is a style that is accepted internationally. At the time, it was 'the' style and many modern buildings rose, overshadowing Frank Lloyd Wright, a genius we respect today, but was the black sheep of that era.