Rich Living via Aesthetic Experience
February 22nd, 2006 by Peter SchmelzerFortunate indeed are those people of acute sensitivity who are able to find continuous aesthetic satisfaction in the everyday experiences of life.
Harold H. Titus
One of the books I am reading these days is called “Living Issues in Philosophy”, written by Harold Titus. He wrote the phrase above in the chapter on Art and Aesthetics, followed by this quote from Hunter Mead:
It is through daily, even hourly use of this perceptual awareness and aesthetic sensitivity that life is genuinely and permanently enriched. And since for most of us, frequent contact with great painting, good music, and beautiful scenery is impossible, the solution clearly lies in securing as much aesthetic experience as possible from ordinary daily living. Admittedly, these everyday experiences will seldom have the breath-catching intensity or thrilling scope of great art and magnificent scenery, but since the press of practical affairs does not often spare us the time for sustained enjoyment of powerful aesthetic emotions, the minor character of these incidental perceptual experiences has its advantages. Their frequency and ubiquitous accessibility will compensate for what they may lack in scope and intensity, and many persons of acute sensitivity find the larger part of their abundant aesthetic satisfaction in the common pattern of everyday living.
We strive to help make everyday life more beautiful through architecture. As this quote suggests, it is not primarily through the greatest or magnificent works of art, but through those we encounter each day that we enrichen our lives.