Note. When the text of Aesthetics of built form was submitted as part of a PhD thesis in 1996, the Notes were greatly extended. As the reader may prefer to ignore them, they have been collected into separate web pages of which this is one. They are a mixture of: simple page references; additional examples or quotations to justify generalisations; and some afterthoughts.
[2.1] "A continuing intellectual disaster." Scruton, 1979, pp. 292 and 234.
[2.2] Distinction between "architectural philosophy" and "theory of architecture": based on Scruton (1979), pp. 4 and 5 and Horden (1983), p.40.
[2.3] Comments on Japanese architecture: Based on Bognar (1985), Chang (1984-5), and Suzuki, Banham, and Kobayashi (1985).
[2.4] "It is impossible to commence a discussion of aesthetics with a clear description of what it is …" Charlton (1970), p.9.
[2.5] Attribution to Dickie. "The term 'aesthetics' may be correctly used to cover all philosophical discussion of 'beauty' in its widest sense …" This is a paraphrase of the point Dickie is making in his pp.1-3, not a quotation.
[2.6] "Renewed effort in the twentieth century has led to a 'philosophy of criticism' …" Dickie (1971), pp.43-4.
[2.7] Based on de Zurko (1957), pp.40-1. De Zurko cites Callahan, A. A theory of aesthetic according to the principles of St. Thomas Aquinas. Catholic Univ. of America, Washington, DC, 1927.
[2.8] The split between the artistic tradition and the functionalist traditions in architectural design has been traced to Perrault's treatise, first published in 1683. (Perrault,C. A treatise of the five orders of columns in architecture, trans. John James. London, 1708.) This idea is credited in my notes (as published) to Baird, but in 1995 I could not trace the exact reference. See also Jencks and Baird (1969), pp.93-5 and de Zurko (1957), pp.69-72.
[2.9] Beauty in utility and familiarity. Based on de Zurko (1957, pp.90-1) who states that according to Hogarth, fitness (for purpose) is of the greatest consequence in the production of beauty. "This is so evident, that even the sense of seeing, the great inlet of beauty, is itself so strongly biased by it, that if the mind, on account of this kind of value of form, esteem it beautiful, though on all other considerations it be not so, the eye grows insensible of its want of beauty, and even begins to be pleased, especially after it has been a considerable time acquainted with it."
[2.10] Comments re Fergusson (1849) were based on de Zurko (1957), pp.144-9. Scott distinguishes between "direct" and "indirect" experience of beauty (Scott, 1924, p.59).
For the "many such lists … provided by de Zurko" see particularly his Chapter 5, British moralism, rationalism, and naturalism, especially pages 90-124.
[2.11] "Statements about moral value might include …" Beardsley (1958), p.456.
[2.12] The following passage was omitted from the published version of AOBF for reasons of space:
There are distinct disadvantages in the aesthete's approach, apart from that of making life difficult for engineers who wish to establish their calling as a valid art-form. First, the attempt may be futile. The need to eliminate what is considered unrefined - to strive towards purity, peace and contentment - may simply succeed in suppressing (in the psycho-analytical sense) emotions which continue to affect us, even though we deny their existence. Secondly, the arbitrary separation of what are described as the 'Apollonian' qualities of calmness and order, on the one hand, from the 'Dionysian' qualities of vigour, intensity and elation on the other (Dickie, 1971, p.40) may lead to what many commentators see as a disabling split in the make-up of the designer. A third and stronger objection is that the restriction of the concept of the aesthetic has left many powerful but potentially positive emotions without the generally accepted labels necessary for overt recognition. This problem was recognised in the eighteenth century, leading to the definition of other categories within the 'appreciation' of the universe such as 'the Sublime' and 'the Picturesque' (and others which are of little concern here such as the Ironic and the Tragic). However, these terms have since also been corrupted, or have fallen out of general use. The aesthete's approach was condemned in the eighteenth century by Madame de Staël (1766-1817) who referred to "this neglect of the necessary and this affectation of inutility" (de Zurko, 1957, p.164) and later by Nietzsche who rejected the aesthete's approach as one of passivity and receptiveness, and demanded that greater attention be paid to the practitioner (Dickie, 1971, p.39).
[2.13] Titanic reference: Account by a survivor, heard on a BBC radio program concerning the sinking. The title of the program, names of participants, and date of transmission were not recorded.
[2.14] Arnheim - "it would be foolish …" (1977) p.170.
[2.15] Addison reference and quotation: Collins (1965), p.44-5. Collins provides further discussion of Ugliness in his pp. 244-6.
[2.16] Collins on "interest in the experience offered by ugliness": (1965), p.244.
[2.17] Saint Augustine on "agreement between the object …" and "to love with a love that conforms to order is good". Cited in De Zurko (1957), p.33.
[2.18] Ficino on contemplation of aesthetic objects. Cited in Charlton (1970), p.9.
[2.19] Schopenhauer (1819). The version consulted was a reprint of the 2nd edition with supplement (1844) and the quotation appears on p.216. Schopenhauer discusses architecture as a fine art from p.214 to 218. Much of this sounds rationalist or even functionalist. He is concerned with truth in structure and sets ornament aside as basically unnecessary.
[2.20] Beardsley's list of characteristics attributed to the aesthetic experience. (1958), p.527.
[2.21] Beardsley says the experience relieves tensions. (1958), p.574.
[2.22] Others quoted by Beardsley speak of intense stimulation combined with repose, a reconciliation of opposing tendencies and a balance of forces [Ethel D. Puffer], purposiveness without purpose [Kant], a loss of sense of self [Schopenhauer], a state of psychological distance from the object [Edward Bullough], an inhibition of tendency to movement [Puffer], and an absence of desire to "use" the object [Charles Mauron]. Beardsley (1958), pp.552-4.
[2.23] Geoffrey Scott on metal props in sculpture and ties in Gothic vaults. (1924), p.29.
[2.24] Contrast of beautiful race horse with beautiful draught horse and beauty of a statue of Mercury with one of Hercules. De Zurko (1957), p.92.
[2.25] Scruton (1979), pp.104-105 and p.217. On his p.9, however, he implicitly recognises the existence of species of beauty in commenting that it is ridiculous to try to assess the beauty of an object before one knows "what it is". Dickie also points out that "what it makes sense to appreciate and criticise in the case of a given work of art cannot be known antecedent to a rich experience of and full understanding of works of art of the type in question." (Dickie 1971, p.67.)
[2.26] Charlton's reference to theory of "family resemblances": (1970), p.12.
[2.27] Aristotle on humblest creature: cited De Zurko (1957), p.23.
[2.28] Saint Augustine on worm or cock-fight: cited De Zurko (1957), p.34.
[2.29] This statement was based on photographs of industrial structures and landscapes in: Lowe (1987); de Maré (1961, 1973); Plowden (1985); Cox and Moore (1988); Hurley (1980); and Becher and Becher (1970, 1985, 1988). The work of the following photographers is commended by Plowden: Margaret Bourke-White, Andreas Feininger, Walker Evans, and Berenice Abbott. For drawing and painting see Stoltenberg (1980).
Note added for thesis: To these may be added Becher and Becher (1990, 1993); Feininger (1981); and Godden (1978).
[2.30] Dickie places theories under three headings: (1971), pp.48-60.
[2.31] Mead "most persons achieve an aesthetic mood very infrequently": (1952), p.15.
[2.32] Scott's complaint against the Romantic movement and modernism. (1924), p.136.
'The classical orders': systems of proportioning and detailing in Greek and Roman architecture. TAISD Fig. 10.1 provides a glimpse.
[2.33] Scruton is less direct than Scott. My statement was based on the distaste for modern architecture evident throughout his book The aesthetics of architecture, and his general insistence that architecture in the classical tradition appeals to higher and educated taste. In his first chapter (1979, p.13) he seems to find it distasteful that the architect is obliged to interact with uneducated portions of the community. He notes that, because architecture is a public art, on view to everyone, "… there is no real sense in which an architect creates his public; the case is wholly unlike those of music, literature and painting. Poetry and music, for example, have become self-consciously "modern" precisely because they have been able to create for themselves audiences attuned to novelty and active in the pursuit of it. Clearly, the architect may change public taste, but he can do so only by addressing himself to the whole public and not merely to some educated or half-educated part of it. "Modernism" in architecture therefore raises a special problem which is not raised by modernism in the other forms of art."
[2.34] Plato's division of beauty into "absolute" and "relative". Cited in de Zurko, p.17.
[2.35] In the Oxford English Dictionary, the first meaning attributed to 'art' is "skill, acquired as the result of knowledge and practice". In French, an ouvrage d'art is not a 'work of art', but an "engineering work, outwork, bridge, tunnel, etc" (Oxford French Dictionary). Billington, in his many publications, has advanced the view that there is an "Art of structural engineering" and most engineers would agree with this, taking the term in its more general sense. The separation of 'beauty' from utility has been reinforced in the division of 'the arts' into separate categories such as the 'useful arts', the 'decorative arts', and the 'fine arts'. Nowadays there is little mention of any but the last of these which include painting and sculpture and, perhaps, music, drama, and dance. There is dispute as to whether architecture may be classed as a fine art.
[2.36] "The arts must be justified by the way they make men feel". Scott (1924), pp.133-4.
[2.37] The Walter H. Pater quotation was cited by Stanley Abercrombie (1984, p.9) and comes from Pater (1873) - page number not cited.
[2.38] Beardsley reference to cracked pavement: (1958), p.501.
[2.39] Pevsner's distinction between "architecture" and mere "building": (1974), p.15.
[2.40] "Most buildings have no intention …" and "architecture is building raised to the level of art". Abercrombie (1984), p.9.
[2.41] Schopenhauer on "the demands of necessity and utility": (1819), p.217.
[2.42] Geoffrey Scott on "unfortunate concessions" (1924), pp. (240-1).
[2.43] Horden on "the demands of utility": (1983), p.39.
[2.44] Beardsley sees 'aestheticism' as protecting art from censorship. (1958), p.561.
[2.45] Scott (1924) expresses the aesthete's position poignantly: (1924) pp.237-8.
In the following passages Scott explains that nature cannot be included in his scheme of appreciation because it lacks order, forethought, and style. For him the beauty of classical architecture is superior to that of nature. "Nature, it is true, is for science an intelligible system. But the groups which the eye, at any one glance, discovers in Nature are not intelligible. They are understandable only by successive acts of attention and elimination; and, even then we have to supplement what our vision gives us by the memory or imagination of things not actually seen. Thus Order in Nature bears no relation to our act of vision … In architecture this Order is obvious to Scott: vision and understanding are simultaneous … The eye and the mind must travel together: thought and vision move at one pace and in step. Any breach in continuity, whether of mood or scale, breaks in upon this easy unison and throws us back from the humanised world to the chaotic."
[2.46] Tredgold on "the art of directing the great sources of powers in Nature .." See e.g. Watson (1988), p.19.
[2.47] This was based on Escher, M.C. (1971). The graphic work of M.C. Escher. Ballantine, New York, or Escher, M.C. (c.1971). The world of M.C. Escher (edited by J.L. Locher) Abrams, New York.
[2.48] Based on personal experience of geological sections as a student and confirmed in Abercrombie (1960), pp.25-7 and 101-9.
[2.49] Scruton on alternative perceptions of a classical facade. Scruton (1979), p.92-3, discussing the Theatre of Marcellus.
[2.50] The psychologist William James used the phrase "blooming, buzzing confusion" in 1890 to describe what he thought a new-born baby must see. See his Principles of psychology republished in 3 volumes with commentaries by Harvard University Press in 1981, p.462, volume 1. This expression was cited by Charlton (1970, p.21) who in turn cited Langer (1948), Chapter 4.
[2.51] Jencks & Baird (1969), p.11. Jencks also quotes the painter Braque: "Reality only reveals itself when illuminated by a ray of poetry. All around us is asleep … human kind cannot bear very much reality". (The exact reference is not noted by Jencks.)
[2.52] See Jung and et al. (1964), and relevant points summarised in Jencks, C. A. 'History as Myth' in Jencks and Baird (1969) p.248.
I have been unable to locate the reference to aesthetic value "coming at least half-way to meet us" in Jung. Jencks makes reference to "eyes which do not see" (Jencks and Baird, p.248) and this is based on Le Corbusier's comments on the Parthenon (Le Corbusier 1923, p.9). A note on this may have become jumbled with a reference to Jung et al. (1964) as an authority on perception. However in retrospect, Jencks's comments (p.245) about Pevsner's failure to see the reality of the Leicester Engineering Faculty Building seem more relevant and the reference to Jung seems unnecessary.
[2.53] See especially pp.24-5 of Ligo (1984). Bonta's discussion of reinterpretations of the Carson Pirie Scott store is to be found on pp. 96, 102, 103, 107-9 of Bonta (1979).
[2.54] Boyd on perceptions of modern-movement enthusiasts: (1965), p.29.
[2.55] Taste as a sort of aesthetic attitude of which the author approves … An example is to be found in Scruton (1979), 227-9.
[2.56] Collins (1965) pursues the analogy between the appreciation of architecture and gastronomy in his Chapter 16, p. 167. Michel Herbert has described the Bauhaus style as a "fast-food" of the aesthetic which inevitably provoked a revolt of the "bons gouteurs" and a desire for more succulent forms (Construction Moderne No. 41, March 1985, p.27).
In a chapter devoted to the relationship between gastronomy and the appreciation of architecture, an analogy frequently drawn by classicists, Collins states that "The standards of gastronomy have been unchanged for two centuries and are uncontested … The standards of architecture might also be uncontested if romantic influences had not, for two centuries, vitiated its theoretical basis, and spread the germs of its debilitating criteria like phylloxera throughout the Western world. It is no co-incidence that Anglo-Saxon cooking is proverbially bad, for bad food and bad architecture both derive from the same philosophical disease. This disease is, quite simply, Romanticism, or the refusal to accept the fact that, in the highest art, sensation must be subordinate to reason." Presumably, the last phrase does not mean that Collins would like to see engineering logic applied to the design of built form! Collins (1965), pp.169-70.
[2.57] Scott quotations: "seeking no logic, consistency, or justification …" (1924) p.192.
"impatience of the intellect …" (1924) p.33-4.
[2.58] In the original text I put "knows how to live" in quotation marks; but now think this was my own attempt to summarise Scruton's attitude (exemplified in 1979, Chapter 9, especially pp.227-9) rather than a direct quotation.
[2.59] Collins on style: (1965), p.62-5, also 180-1.
[2.60] Scruton (1979), p.226 et seq. He does however, make the important point that "Style is not the accumulation of detail, but its fitting deployment" (p.226).
[2.61] Scott warns against identifying [style] with "superficial" aspects. (1924) p.55.
[2.62] Scott sees detail as giving effect to mass, space, line, and coherence. (1924) p.56.
[2.63] Scott quotation "Every art, every architecture …" (1924) p.192-3.
[2.64] Greek and Gothic architecture "on the whole observed the logic" respectively of the lintel and the vault. Scott (1924), p.193.
[2.65] Scott quotations: "felt for the first time the embarrassment of liberty" … architects were "led to create a new authority in design itself".
Scott (1924), p.193. The reference to "resistance in the clay" which appears between these quotations is not Scott's. It is a common expression used by sculptors and potters to describe the discipline imposed on them by the intrinsic properties of the material with which they are working.
[2.66] Scruton on style.
The term 'read' is one commonly used by architects and its inverted commas are mine. The most succinct representative extract from Scruton is: "A style is not the invention of one man only, and has value only when it is recognisably 'right' to others besides oneself. Only then does a style fulfil its role of giving order to otherwise nebulous choices, of situating primitive preferences in a framework of enduring possibilities. Style ennobles choices, giving them a significance that otherwise they lack. Only in exceptional circumstances can an artist entirely create his own style, and even then he ignores established practice at his peril: where there is a 'free' choice of styles there is no longer any style, and therefore no true freedom." (Scruton 1979, p.201).
[2.67] Reference to Powell: (1987), pp.187-206.
[2.68] Scott sees the spirit of fashion as a seizing on detail. (1924), p.200.
[2.69] Peter Smith on our rapid habituation rate etc. (1979), pp.178-9.
[2.70] Johansen reference: interview 1984. Happold similarly saw style-change as an expression of the need for each generation of architects to reject the efforts of the previous one and establish its own identity. (Reply to a questioner at the Conference on Lightweight Structures in Architecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 1986.)
[2.71] Jencks on product differentiation: (1981), pp.78-9.
[2.72] The symbols have then completely lost their power. After Culler (1976), p.4.
[2.73] This quotation appears in Pevsner, N. Christopher Wren, Universe Books, New York, 1960. The essay from which it comes may be found in Life and works of Sir Christopher Wren from the Parentalia or Memoirs of his Son Christopher published as a limited edition by Edward Arnold, London in 1903. Cited in Bonta (1979), p.31.
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