We often come across the word aesthetic, mostly in the context of Instagram Art Accounts and photography pages, however, I’d like to propose a closer look at what aesthetics are and how they govern a lot of our lives.
The word aesthetic originally meant,“relating to the perception of the senses”. By that account, every person and every way of life has a unique aesthetic as they are exposed to varied senses, based on the surroundings and the household and class they grow up in. That would imply that all forms of perception of senses are equally valid and unique and that there is no person who has a “bad” aesthetic or “bad” taste. However, speaking from a social viewpoint, we often don’t hesitate to differ between good taste and bad taste. The distinction happens almost instantaneously. Why does that seem to be the case?
Society as it stands today, is an accumulation of multiple classes, with the economically advantaged at the top and the disadvantaged at the bottom. When we take a closer look at the aesthetics of wealth and opulence, it is often fair to say that those who are well off, use their wealth to symbolize their success. The Aesthetic of Opulence which is inbred into society implies that a person with wealth is inherently “successful” and one without wealth is not. Be it Donald Trump flaunting his golden bathrooms or King Louis XVI building a palatial mansion made to his taste with the imagery mimicking that of the biblical heaven-at first glance, they seem like very successful men regardless of how they earned the wealth. The Aesthetics of opulence and wealth are constantly at play whether we realize it or not. Anyone who has watched hip-hop and rap music videos by artists such as Cardi B( who famously stated, “I like diamonds, I like dollars”) , Drake , Beyonce, Jay Z and many others are well aware of the generous amounts of wealth flaunted during these videos. In fact, a large portion of rap music does focus on the aesthetic of wealth, be it the causal name throwing of luxury brands or the usage of dollar signs, money, and gold chains throughout the videos. Most of the successful rap artists represent a journey from rags to riches-the quintessential American dream. Their songs tell tales of a people who were held back by an oppressive system and despite all that, they succeeded. As Drake puts it, “Started from the bottom and now the whole team’s here”. The usage of wealth in the videos and the songs simply serves as a testament to their success. The Aesthetic of opulence becomes a way of showing the world, that they “made” it.
I’d like to propose that the Aesthetic of Opulence is an aesthetic heavily dominated and dictated by the class at the top. For the rich, Opulence is a way of displaying their success for all to see. However, for the impoverished and those further below on the class ladder, the aesthetic of opulence becomes an attempt at imitation of the wealth they have been denied in their lifetimes. Simply put, if society doesn’t allow you to be a billionaire, you can simply choose to look like one instead. As absurd as it sounds, the concept of imitating the aesthetic of the rich is an all-pervading one. When someone wears a knockoff Luxury purse or a way cheaper knock-off version of a luxury garment, this is exactly what they attempt to do. If you cant be the rich, surely passing off as the rich must be enough? To further examine the concept, we could look at the culture of the most marginalized communities and observe the relevance of wealth and imitated versions of it.
Pose, a show on FX, delves deep into the ballroom culture and way of life and offers valuable insight on the issue. Ballrooms essentially were meant to safe havens for the marginalized black and queer(LGBT+) folk in the late 1900s to gather and celebrate their uniqueness. As ballroom participants, the people walked categories such as “realness” to show off how close they were to be seen as the actual elite. These people, who due to their colour, their sexuality who were denied the “equal opportunities” capitalism promises, took relief in imitating the rich and doing it in ways only they could. They knew they would never be able to reach the same heights as the elite, because of the systems put in place by the elite to limit membership to their club. After all, if everyone becomes rich and achieves the same status, won’t being rich lose its importance and along with it, the rich themselves would lose their relevance? Hence, they designed for themselves a space to live their lives as the rich, without actually being rich, simply to feel the aesthetic pleasure and freedom and sense of egalitarianism it brought, however brief. For them, the display of pomp and glamour becomes a way to prove to themselves that they could master the aesthetic of opulence and be part of the elite, despite what society told them.
The trope of a dominant class of people imposing tastes and aesthetics is not simply a modern one. The idea that historically speaking, classical European art marks the peak of aesthetic beauty was propagated for a long period of time. That which is displayed so prominently in nearly every major museum becomes the standard of beauty and aesthetical pleasure itself. However, this means that they who decide what goes in the museum have the ability to dictate taste. The whitewashing and Eurocentrism of this art is often overlooked. The most stark example is the classic White Marble statues from Greco-Roman Civilizations which in fact, were never white at all. Despite the presence of paint on these statues, scholars refused to acknowledge the original colourful nature of these statues. Some have attributed this to the aesthetic understanding of the Europeans which saw white as pure and cultured and any form of colour as gaudy, alien, and garish. The manipulating of tastes hence occurs subtly but steadily.
The same applies to things as basic as dietary practices as well. When it is an undeniable fact of nature that people will make use of resources available to satisfy their tastes, a dominant class of people (Mostly Upper caste, rich, urban individuals)have managed to convince so many that the dietary practices of tribals are something to be frowned upon. Many times, the aesthetics we are used to clash with those belonging to classes other than ours and we either look up to them (if they’re a richer aesthetic) or shame them (if they’re the aesthetic of a community less privileged than ours). Many times, we shame or degrade social practices not simply because they are unethical, but because of the people carrying out the activity. For example, The consumption of insects as food by tribals has been looked down upon despite it not having any detrimental effect on society by people who consider vegetarianism a symbol of purity. A number of these stereotypes affected by the aesthetic of the dominant classes end up ensuring that the practices of the impoverished aren’t normalized and accepted.
It is hard to discuss the impact of aesthetics without considering the impact it has on the way we perceive gender. Once again, a dominant class of gender-conforming individuals impose an aesthetic which is pleasant and shame the ones which don’t conform to those standards as unpleasant. When we discuss aesthetics in relation to gender, it is necessary to note that the gender “performed” by an individual need not be the gender they identify with. That is to say, a person identifying as a male can appear feminine. However, the inbred aesthetical sensibility prompts us to believe what we see rather than believe in truth and reason. It takes copious amounts of understanding and unlearning to realize the difference between what something looks like and what it really is. It is also necessary to note, the pressure these aesthetics impose on trans men and women who are forced to abide by them and “pass” as “real” men or women, to fit into society and be accepted to prove their gender to people who shouldn’t even be bothered.
To conclude, I’d like to state that aesthetic isn’t just art, it is a perception of senses to one’s surroundings and that all tastes are valid, no matter how abnormal they seem to us. These Aesthetics impart in us, an implicit bias, that is we hold different people to different standards. When we speak of something as basic as consumption of marijuana, it is noteworthy that, in the USA, despite the fact that caucasian and people of color use it at around the same rate, POCs are arrested at a rate 4 times that of Caucasians owing to these very implicit biases in the police system. The Biases we hold, formed as a result of being spoonfed aesthetics which we are forced to abide by, must be acknowledged and we need to actively work on destigmatizing and normalizing aesthetics other than our own.
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