Paradigms and Purposes

Freeland's section on Versailles and other gardens was particularly interesting to me because it is a very good example of how humans try to control nature. While some find beauty in the randomness with which nature organizes itself, others use nature as a material for constructing a different kind of art. The neat and orderly way that plants, water, and statues are organized and maintained described in the chapter displays the beauty of nature, while hinting at the thought that humans are superior and are able to control it. This is a sharp contrast with other types of gardens which are meant to show nature as it normally occurs, or at least not set in neat rows and columns. From what I gathered, Louis XIV had the garden designed and constructed to show his authority in this manner, and though I have never seen it I would imagine it is pretty effective at doing this.

Kant described the garden as inspiring free play of imagination, yet he said that the less-orderly English gardens allowed the imagination to roam to far in a way that was "grotesque". I wouldn't go so far as to call English gardens grotesque, but I do recognize how humans see nature in Kant's words. People tend to paint landscapes in an orderly fashion, with a background in the distance and plants that exhibit some sort of organization, whether they are separated by a path or some water or grouped together in patches or rows. I think this speaks to the desire of humans to understand the way nature works, and randomness is not usually accepted by most people. However, I believe that the imagination is more stimulated by natural beauty, while organization tends to make us try to understand the intentions of the artist.

By the way, did anyone else notice that Freeland spelled parsifal wrong twice?

Erik


Have you ever read a book that changed your life? ...Neither have I.
~ Jim Gaffigan