In search of a new aesthetic

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Date
1995-07-28
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Publisher
Virginia Tech
Abstract

The study of ecology is having profound effects on society. It has begun to cause a shift in western culture. People are becoming aware of their impacts on the environment, and are changing their behavior. This shift is now affecting aesthetics in landscape architecture. The validity of the dominant landscape aesthetic in the profession of landscape architecture is being questioned on the grounds of its ecologic impacts. As a result, a new landscape aesthetic is being called for. Five articles published in Landscape Journal between 1986 and 1990 outline the argument for a new aesthetic. These articles provide a theoretical framework that is then applied to a body of artwork. The artwork is the result of a 1992 art exhibit that gathered together many "ecological artists". Just as the study of ecology is affecting change in landscape architecture, it is also affecting change in art. The theories from landscape architecture are applied to the physical forms in art to see if connections can be made between the idea and its implementation. "Art and landscape architecture are related so that they allow for this type of comparison. The results can be used to inform landscape architecture in its search for a new aesthetic.

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Keywords
ecology, art, landscape architecture, aesthetics
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