obyvatel
The Living Force
Sounds good.Khalsa said:Ok, so apparently this is more of a mirroring opportunity than I thought. Naturally (for me, at least), now I feel rather embarrassed about posting this in the first place. But I'm going to try and move past that and explore the issue that presents itself here.
[quote author=Khalsa]
Since it seems that my opinion is not that of the majority in this case, it seems like there is a flaw in my own reasoning here. It seems worthwhile that I should at least attempt to explain my reasoning behind my conclusions, however faulty they may be.
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As far as I can see, the difference between the opinion of the responders here with your opinion is not due to reasoning or thinking. I had a visceral reaction looking at the images - one of repulsion and disgust. This was instinctive and immediate. Then when I try to process, understand and then explain "why", I can use reason and thinking. However, more appropriate in this context would be using the rational "feeling" function ( link ) which evaluates the content of what was perceived along with thinking.
[quote author=Khalsa]
What first attracted me to the idea presented in these articles was a theory I'd been kicking around in my head. Architecture and construction (as it exists today), are, generally speaking, rather inefficient and disruptive to the environment. In some science-fiction, I've come across descriptions of societies that had reached such an advanced state that they were able to "grow" their own structures and dwellings, allowing them greater resource management and ecological balance. The idea intrigued me, so I began to wonder how it might be feasible. I do have some thoughts on the matter, but I think to go into detail with them here would only serve as a distraction from the matter at hand.
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So you are, perhaps justifiably, dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs in architecture. You are looking for new and better ideas in this area.
[quote author=Khalsa]
Regarding personal aesthetic choice, I admit that some images were far too organic looking, as the predominance of flesh colors made it resemble something like a great beast. In my "personal version", I Imagined something more like a glass, semi-subterranean nautilus shell. My curiosity was more towards the overall idea of organic construction, and how people would feel about living in a "grown" dwelling.
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Here it seems that you did not take into account how the design under discussion, the concrete reality here and now, looked and felt but got lost in your own imagination, your own version of how it "could be". This would be part of the difference you are trying to understand.
[quote author=Khalsa]
It should be pointed out that I have read a lot of horror fiction, which has shaped my artistic opinions to a certain extent; my general enthusiasm was more me "geeking out" than anything else (osit).
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On a more personal note, I'll be the first to admit I am a flawed individual, sometimes I fear deeply so. So perhaps there is a more significant meaning to my initial attraction to a darker style than what most people would prefer. I've read a lot of H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King growing up, so certain concepts don't disturb me as much as they used to, as long as they are in a fictional or theoretical context. . Real life horror and grotesqueness are another matter entirely.
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I do not think instinctive human reactions to horror and grotesqueness in art/fiction or reality are neatly separated. What we do about these first reactions are of course very different and depends on context. If we internalize images of a repulsive and disgusting nature without realizing at the time that they are so, these images which form a component of our memory exist in our unconscious without the proper evaluative feeling tone associated with them. We can read or learn from others' reactions to such material and intellectually understand they are repellent later, but until they hit us at the level of the body, we will be vulnerable towards moralizing interpretations and intellectual justifications through unconscious selection and substitution.
I felt a difference in your interpretation of the architecture between your first and later post. When your attention was drawn to the fact that people here found the construction repulsive, you perhaps looked a little more closely at how you felt - or thought about how you should have felt about it. Either way, it can be a positive step IMO. Please keep in mind that impressions (what you read, see, hear in the form of books, pictures, music, games, social interactions) are food. We have all been brought up with bad food in this sense, so we are all more or less "flawed". We can however change things by knowledge input and paying attention to reality.
In this context, maybe you could look at the images of the construction again and write down in a private journal the words that come up for you ? Do this by yourself without judging what comes up as right or wrong but reflect on what you come up with after you finish the exercise.
Fwiw

