Beauty and the Beholder

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. - Scott Adams

Gentle Readers and Loved Ones,

My goal as I write in this blog is to find things that tickle my fancy and to share them with you. Those of you who know me, know that I am not an artsy kind of guy. Yes, I enjoy good art, but I would be hard put to describe to you what I think constitutes good art. Were you to force me to describe good art, I would choke out words like 'beauty' and 'higher truth' and 'transcendental' and such in the hopes that you would go away and leave me alone.

Often I am presented with 'objets' that someone obviously considers to be art - and that may in fact be art - but they just beat heck out of me.

The Incheon International Airport is a case in point. If you click that link and look at the pictures you will see what I mean. The airport structure is very flowing and aerodynamic. I don't find it particularly aesthetic, but your mileage may vary.

Being a freight dog, we don't get to go through the main entrance that the passengers use. We go around to the east side of the airport to the teeming and busy cargo ramp. For those who do enter the airport normally, there is a large sculpture that greets them at the entrance. As us freight dogs taxi out to take off this work is very easy to see out on the horizon. At night, bright lights illuminate it - you can't miss it. It has elicited more than a few comments over the years in what is supposed to be a 'sterile cockpit environment.' I give you this picture:

As I have said before, good art encourages the observer to impose interpretations upon it. I suppose one could say that the sculpture engenders the soaring promise of aviation to the hopeful souls on the globe below.

You are looking at the front side of the sculpture as the artist intended you to first see it. Us freight dogs usually see this thing from the backside and trust me, it looks different from that side.

Personally, I think the artist is having a giggle at our expense. I offer this blog as evidence supporting my viewpoint. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section.

As always, I remain,

Dad / Geoff