Aesthetic – image 7 from the series Pictures of 1000 Words: Abstractions of Ancient Wisdom
Aesthetic, along with the other 6 images in the series, has been installed into its official location for ArtPrize 2014 at the First United Methodist Church, at 227 East Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI. This photo of it was taken right after it was framed, while it was still in the shop. Thank you, Mr. Lane Elmer 🙂
Aesthetic is the seventh and final image in the series entitled “Pictures of 1000 Words: Abstractions of Ancient Wisdom”. It was created using the text from Proverbs 31:8 – Proverbs 31:31.
The subject matter of each image in this series is inspired by some aspect relating to design.
The theme of this seventh image, entitled Aesthetic, is the appreciation of design. This flower is presented as a representation of the myriad examples of beauty and symmetry that surround us each day in our everyday lives. A closer look at the designs we take for granted might foster an awareness of the need for a Master Designer.
The process of observation is not guaranteed to result in a realization or understanding of the significance of a design. Conversely, a product of design is not dependent on being perceived and appreciated for its existence. In other words, you may not always understand what you see, and what you see does not depend upon your understanding to exist. That said, your appreciation of any given thing does depend upon your perception of it. Perception leads to realization – the beginning of awareness. Appreciation can only comes as awareness sinks in.
Your ability to appreciate what you are seeing, then, is directly linked to your ability to perceive and realize the significance of what you are seeing. With this final image, entitled Aesthetic, I leave you with this challenge: Take another look at the “natural” world. Forget what you’ve taken for granted. Look with new eyes at the order and symmetry surrounding you and notice the integration of functionality with aesthetics. Achieve a deeper level of awareness as you reconsider the unseen complexity required for the “simple” components of nature that surround us to exist. Begin to appreciate the design behind the living programs encoded into DNA and RNA that enables life to laugh in the face of entropy, doggedly continuing to wrest order from the chaotic masses of matter by using raw materials to construct biological machines that demonstrate purpose and function with style. At some point (if you haven’t already) you should start to feel the beginnings of appreciation for what you are seeing as the full magnitude of the scale of Intelligence implicated by such an extravagance of design hits you…
This entire series of images has been designed to replicate that point where perception transitions to realization and finally to appreciation. This process is meant to demonstrate the period of disconnection between the observation of the designs that surround us in nature and the realization of and appreciation for their Designer. My hope is that this series will inspire a greater awareness of the significance behind the “natural” wonders that surround us all!