Tom writes;
<complimentary comments snipped for modesty's sake>
> Oh sure, we can talk about poorly done
or disproportional, or clashing color, but it really is a matter of taste.
Very true, but only up to a point. There are certain guidelines that include (and go beyond) proportion and clashing colors... some are rules, some are merely conventions or cultural taboos, some are fads that change over time. Some are broad design rules, some are very specific to the medium or genre. Awareness of these "hard" rules and "soft" rules goes a long way towards making one a better designer or critic, as well as enabling the artist to know when and how to break those rules effectively and creatively when the occasion arises... since most new aesthetics arise from breaking rules.
Personally, I hate to see the "No Sloping Top Tubes" rule broken, but it looks like I'm gonna have to get over it.
>I go at it this way. Seldom will anyone be hurt when you proclaim something
beautiful. Not so with ugly. Basically I try not to say too much if I
don't have something nice to say.
Yeah, it's always nice to keep the peace. On the other hand, there are times you gotta take a stand to stamp out ugly... if you don't it'll multiply like a couple of drunken cockroaches. Positive reinforcement is all well and good but the years I spent teaching art in college would have been a waste for both me and my students if I had not developed several dozen diplomatic and constructive ways to say "That sucks."
But in defense of those who profess an opinion on ugly in spite of any lack of training, I gotta say that the often-maligned "Untrained Eye" is often pretty darned good at discerning ugly. Which is why I like to listen to everyone's opinion, regardless of how little formal knowledge of art and design they may have. Problem is, folks don't excercise this intuitive sense nearly enough... they fall back on "I know what I like," when with just a few minutes of extra effort they could narrow down a few of the specific reasons behind their reactions for or against something and maybe learn a little in the process. Very often they discover that it is just the newness... the second or third look sometimes makes them realize that maybe there's something good there after all.
I've spoken with three folks off-list (and I must include myself in their number as well) who thought C-Record was the ugliest crap they ever saw when it first came out... now it is their favorite, in appearance at least. Just took a little time for it to sink in, is all. Of course with other folks, C-Record is still sinking...
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA