aesthetic

Aesthetic Theory (Theory & History of Literature)
$27.50
"The darkening of the world makes rational the irrational in art: it's an irrationality radically obscured". "The art doesn't imitate neither the nature nor to a concrete natural beauty, but the natural beauty by itself." "The efforts of the art by saving, in the remaining, all the transient, flowing and temporal, defending it from the stuffing though art is familiarized with it, bear a tension between the objectifying technique and the mimetic essence of the works."

"Aesthetical theory" is a huge compendium of smart ideas, a whole corpus of clever and revealing concepts about the role of the art. His architectural intelligence and supreme erudition literally is an engaging tour de force, an impressive gallery of sharp reflections that will motivate you, dear reader.

Since I acquired it, this book has become one of my cult texts, whose relevant importance remains beyond any other superlative you want to label it.

Aesthetics and Politics (Radical Thinkers)
$12.95
This is a well arranged volume of the essays essential to Marxist criticism from the 1930's to the 1950's. The essayists are all critical contributions are summed-up, and their current relevance traced, in a brilliant conclusion by Frederic Jameson, perhaps the most important Marxist critic writing today. I like this volume because the choice of essays is great and the selections are placed in a chronological, point-counterpoint format so that the 'conversation' is easy to follow. The essays are mainly concerned with the realism/modernism dialectic. Lukacs lauds the realism of Balzac and Mann as the exemplary approach to historicism in the novel. Adorno posits that high modernism, though it seems apolitical, provides the most ominous image of capitalism, and that it is thus the more viable revolutionary aesthetic. The other essayists chart the space between these (seemingly) polarized perspectives and provide important insights into the more mystical (Benjamin) and pragmatic (Brecht) applications of Marxist theory. Adorno takes Benjamin to task for not thinking dialectically. And, between Brecht and Adorno, Lukacs takes a beating for his reactionary attachment to the bourgeois realist novel. But Benjamin and Lukacs are both vindicated in Jameson's balanced conclusion. This is a short but invaluable volume for anyone interested in Marxist aesthetic theory.

Aesthetics: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art (Oxford Paperbacks)
$49.99
I read "Aesthetics" when it was assigned for a graduate level course on 'Aesthetics and Critical Judgment'. I was able to read the entire book within a week since Sheppard takes care to lay out her points simply and relate them to common experience.

The first half of the book contains visual art examples with black & white plates to refer to, while the second half focuses on literary and some film examples. She attempts to summarize Plato, Tolstoy, Kant, E. D. Hirsch and others' theories regarding aesthetics and judgment, so her book serves as a good overview or introduction to the philosophy of art like the subtitle suggests.

Overall, I didn't find the book as interesting as reading other secondary sources on philosophy or even the primary sources. I'm glad I purchased the book Used, because neither it, nor many other 154-page paperbacks are worth the $40+ new price.

Aesthetic
$14.49
This EP is to this day, the best music from FFTL, in my opinion. I heard this first, about a year ago, and got hooked. I was disappointed by Heroine, but Dear Diary was almost as good as this EP. I suggest you listen to this, because it is really great.