Paper Ideas and Ponderings on Home: Search for Beauty Journal by Blake Bauserman

8/28/2019 Plato’s Symposium

This was the first proper piece of philosophical literature I have read. Normally, I am opposed to the ideas of grades of reality. However, the discussion in class really sold me on the idea. Especially with Dr. Redick using his old cat Puff as an example. A shadow and physical body are part of a being for sure, but they are not really the complete being. There needs to be more than a form blocked out by light or a physical vessel. Without life, a body is only an object. An empty mound of bone, flesh, and muscle. There are more abstract things that make an object ultimately more real and true to its nature. I must say, I personally enjoy Plato’s Simile of the Line, but I still do not understand the exact differences between the Forms and the Concepts.

8/29/2019 Initial Thoughts on PHIL 306

I will admit over the summer I was skeptical of this course, I still am now. Even though the professor has provided us a brief outline of the semester I am not sure what I think of this course and what it has to offer me. The idea of a search for beauty and not trying to define it at this point in time seems kind of weird. Wouldn’t exploring different definitions help in our search? I’ll give this class a fair chance, but I still am not fully sure about it.

9/18/17 Van der Leeuw and Dance

At first, I did not really buy into van der Leeuw’s idea of the entire world being rhythm and motion. That was until I had an experience the other day. It was late at night and I had walked to get myself a cup of water from Einstien’s and was on my way to rejoin a friend at their usual study spot. Suddenly, I became aware of the movement of my own body and how it fluctuated. When I sat down I looked at the other students moving throughout the library. Though I did not pay attention to smaller movements such as the bobbing of their heads as they walked, I do remember pace. Everyone was constant in their movement and deliberate. It also begs the question of what exactly constitutes dance. Can everyday movements such as walking be a dance? Or does it need intention like in ritual or performance? That might be something to try and explore in the future. Does an object/presentation need intentionality to become art?

9/24/2019 Hula and the Heartbeat of Hawaii

For my paper, I went ahead and explored the intersection between ritual and performance and joined them together with dance. A certain film stuck out to me in my research, Hula Is More Than a Dance—It's the 'Heartbeat' of the Hawaiian People. Before this film, I did not see dance as more than performance. It was something done to put on a show for an audience. Though van der Leeuw did mention the world as motion, and I started to question it after the aforementioned experience in Einstein’s this made it click. I saw the emotional and spiritual union the dance offered the Hawaiian people and how it connected ancestors and descendants across a vast expanse of time. Here I came to understand dance as ritual and the true power of ritual. It arises out of a deep desire to connect with something beyond one’s self. That is the reason to perform and participate in a ritual, to call out to the great beyond and hope to be heard.

10/5/2019 The Interconnectedness of Classes

PHIL 306 is the only philosophy class I am taking this semester. It surprised me to see just how connected an Aesthetics survey is with my RSTD classes: Christian Prayer & Spirituality and New Testament. I missed a class of the former and came back on a Thursday to the usual review questions. What was odd was that I was able to answer all the review questions from the previous class. The questions were not about simple biblical trivia but covered a philosophical group, the Neo-Platonists. After covering platonism and Plato’s Simile of the Line earlier in the semester I was already able to cover the questions Dr. Gardner had prepared to keep the previous class’s material fresh in the mind of students. I do find it amazing when classes connect like this and look forward to more of it in the future.

11/11/2019 van der Leeuw and Image

My first reading of van der Leeuw’s section on image came with the preparation of my presentation where I was examining a photo set of the Shenandoah Valley. There are two things I clearly remember from the reading: 1) Visual art and sculpture are frozen motion, just as all art involves motion to van der Leeuw 2) His idea of visual art as a separate reality placed before and beside the first. The second one was what stuck out to me the most as I was able to use it to intersect with Schopenhauer and create a cohesive reading, beyond the immediate use to me, it was a thought I had never considered. 

After spending some time on it I began to realize van der Leeuw was right. Image is its own separate reality that does not need to bend to the rules of the image’s creator. Art is about the representation of the world, not reproduction. That gives so much freedom to the artist and at the end of the day makes visual works no matter how far removed from the artist’s physical existence valid.

11/13/2019 Schopenhauer

Similar to van der Leeuw’s image I first encountered Schopenhauer through the presentation assignments as I was looking for a theory to help prove the objectivity of art. Upon reading his work at first, it was dense and hard to understand so I turned to a paper by Bart Vandenabeele to help decode the work for me. This made the work much easier for me to understand and assisted me greatly in the writing of my paper. In class though is when I think everything properly clicked. You can know a system and try to apply it, but to truly understand it is something else. While my understanding is nowhere near that of many scholars hearing the description of “will” again as a mindless will-less non-rational urge really helped settle it for me. There is one criticism I do have against Schopenhauer personally.

I do agree that music without lyrics is a way to rise above yourself into a purely contemplative state, but seeing that art form as the only means of arriving in such a state I believe is wrong. Paintings, though visual and tied to the primary human sense have an innate power. I have lost myself in many paintings and novels where I find myself thinking, but lose all sense of reality around me and see the work set apart from its physical context. I agree that a contemplative state like this is perhaps the only means to objectively perceive the world. However lyricless or orchestral music is not the only means of reaching it.

11/17/2019 Two Songs with a Seemingly Similar Message

A decent number of my posts so far have been related to ideas I have had for a paper. Here is yet another one. Lately, I have gotten back into listening to a musician I discovered in fall 2018, Rusty Cage. I have started listening to a song entitled This Place with some frequency. The song speaks of two people and the town they live in deep in the wilderness. Though there is little for them in these towns, the two do not want to leave because it is where they were born and raised. It became apparent to me this song had a message that was the opposite of another of mine, To the Wild by the Steel Wheels. Though as I began to look into it more, the content of the songs appeared to align on some level. They speak of small places away from the reaches of civilization where the artist’s or character’s heart draws them out to. The major difference is that the first song speaks of a small town and the other of being drawn out into the wilderness. They are visually similar environments, but I feel there is something more for me to examine the relationship between these two songs. That can be saved for another day, but at least for now I have the idea down on paper.

11/18/2019 Basquiat

We viewed this film on the same day I had just got back into the practice of my own art form, poetry. It was a nice reminder once again of the art life can breathe into people, but also the raw power it has. As a creator myself I understand some of the frustrations, especially from the scene where the buyers were coming in to look at the painting and the woman said I believe that she did not like a certain shade of green. Basquiat did not create art with a buyer in mind. Neither do I create poetry with a reader in mind, but myself. Art, at least in my own view and experience is a reflection of the artist to the artist.

His style also brings in the question of what is art? Basquiat’s style was abstract and personally unreachable to me. But I think that is what made the film powerful to me. As a creator, I was able to sympathize with him and respect his creation even if I did not understand it. At the same time, I think my views on “modern art” changed in that respect too. Even if I do not understand the work, it is a creative expression and the effort put into the work makes it valuable.

11/20/2019 The Robin’s Nest Anthology

Earlier this week I found out the thesis proposal and the presentation were supposed to be the same project after talking to my professor about how I kind of wish I could do an examination of my own poetry instead of the photoset I did last month. I have a book entitled The Robin’s Nest Anthology that contains nearly all the poetry I have written over the last five years. When I was flipping through it, I realized the person I am now is far enough removed from the circumstances of the original poems that I could examine them properly and begin to question the author’s thoughts and intents. While the author is myself, I am likely not able to remember all that went into crafting certain poems. Others stick out in my memory of course like Sunday liturgy or somebody’s favorite Office quote. Maybe this is something I can do in the future for fun or for a serious academic paper. Who knows?

11/22/2019 Philosophy of Music and Popular Music

A few days ago I received an email about a call for papers from the Department of Philosophy and Religion. When I saw the email I knew I wanted to submit a paper, something new that I had not covered yet. I briefly explored the idea of covering poetry. Then I wanted to examine the music of a band I enjoy, the Steel Wheels. So I started to read some background on the philosophy of music and came across something. When looking at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, I learned in the discipline that there was a hierarchy of music. Lyricless music was deemed superior for philosophical examination and popular music (not pop music, but music that is played and enjoyed by the general populace) was put down as an object now worth any reasonable philosopher’s time. This did not sit well with me so I set out to research.

Quickly I came to realize I did not have the time to write the paper, but I still wanted to explore the topic a bit more. Then I came across Top 40 Philosophy, a podcast that examines the philosophical claims in Top 40s music across various genres. Music such as, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. Here then I came to an idea after reading an article about it. If a song can become central to someone’s way of life, or a cultural icon, there must be something about it worth examining. While I would like to expand upon this idea in the future to create a defense of popular music, I simply do not have the time at the moment. Maybe my senior seminar will offer the proper chance for this.

11/23/2019 Cave of Forgotten Dreams

I need to say most of the major themes of this film were lost on me. What I got out of it above all though was the cave paintings almost being an act of communion across time. Take for example the palm prints that dotted the wall. Though we do not know the age, ethnicity, or name of the individual who made them, there is a single marking we can use to identify him, the crooked finger. His prints on the wall are a call across time saying “I am here.” We do not know who this “I” is exactly, but we can stand on the receiving end of his call. The same goes for the paintings of the animals as well. Though this act of communication is perhaps only one way and less intentional.

I remember there was a lot of focus on how the animals appeared to be in motion. These paintings showcase the animals as the artists saw them, living and breathing. Deer fought over mates and horses ran together. The paintings provide an insight into the living world of the artists. As viewers, we can almost imagine we are in the scenes with the artist standing beside them. The paintings act as portals across a length of time we can put a number to, but will never truly be able to understand. The connection between the two worlds is overpowering when truly realized how far apart we art from the artists. When looking at the cave paintings with this in mind, it is almost impossible to not freeze, at least for a moment, in awe.

11/24/2019 An Unreal View

Last night in order to put off a paper for RSTD 362 I drove across Virginia and arrived home at 2:30 AM. When I woke up in the morning I had an odd experience. It was about midday when I awoke, and my grandparents were gone at work. I went out to my car to grab the backpack I had left in the car having only brought in my laptop the previous night. When I looked off at the horizon to a view I had seen probably 200 times, I realized the view I saw did not seem real. It certainly looked like the same old mountains and trees, but it almost felt fake. The feeling stayed with me the rest of the day about almost not being back home. Everything felt less real, not only that view. It may have had something to do with the journey back being taken at a time I could not properly observe the fact that I was moving. Whatever the cause, it did get me thinking about the idea of there being grades of reality and back to the example of Puff the cat.

12/4/2019 Aesthetic Tourism

As I mention often in these journals, I am from the Shenandoah Valley. A place the Appalachian Trail crosses through. While my home is not situated nearby, I am very familiar with the surrounding area. Coming to Christopher Newport, I have encountered many students from NOVA who often tell me of how beautiful my hometown is. Over the summer I asked for suggestions for a weekend trip from a group of friends and many mentioned I should visit the valley. I did not tell them I lived there. This brings a question to mind. Is it possible to be a pilgrim in my own homeland? Or even experience aesthetic tourism or sojourning?

This land while I recognize it as beautiful, I do not experience the same awe that most visitors to the area do when visiting a famous landmark, The Woodstock Fire Tower. I covered this briefly in my presentation and paper. But I made sure not to talk about my own experiences. Now I believe is the time for that.

Over Thanksgiving break, I went up to the tower with my sister and a cousin visiting from out of state. We had gone to the landmark several times in the past. When we arrived at the top, we did not talk of the majesty of the valley below. Instead, we tried to point out landmarks. My sister’s home and friend’s home first came to mind. Looking back I find this funny. I say the two things I miss are the mountains and the food. But when on the mountains and seeing the valley below. I do not experience the wonder that others do. But I look over the land I know. Part of me believes living in a place almost makes you take it for granted. I hated the valley for 19 years, probably just up until fall break this year. This trip where I looked out at my hometown did not give me any religious epiphany. I saw man’s work and not God. Home causes a place to lose its value. The value of experience. Home is instead a non-stimulating environment. The power of aesthetic and religious experience is lost. Perhaps I may regain it with time. But as of now, that hike even with the intent to enjoy the sights did not instill any emotion within me. Perhaps it is impossible to enjoy home the same way a tourist or pilgrim would because the sights around you become mundane and no longer beautiful.

12/6/2019 The Value of Aesthetics

At the beginning of this semester, I was honestly skeptical about this class and the value it would have. Looking back, I must admit I was wrong to doubt the value of a class like this. If I have taken three things away from this class it would be the following: 1) A return to my roots as a poet and overall a creative individual 2) The beauty of my homeland and its value to me 3) A theory that provides a framework for justifying objective reality. The 1st two are the most important to me, the 3rd while enjoyable for justifying my own beliefs is inconsequential next to the other two.

I realized that a part of me was missing without poetry. After I wrote my first proper poem in well over two years I had a conversation with a friend. I realized why I needed to abandon poetry for a time was that I had made the practice of writing it more than it was to me: 1) a tool of expression and 2) a simple enjoyment. Since following that film and the movie, I have learned to take simple enjoyment of art, which I believe is the most important part of interacting with anything “beautiful.” Before the object can be thought of it needs to be simply enjoyed. 

As for the second point, up until recently, I have felt that I have been in a feud with the very land I used to live on. I acknowledged its beauty, but never truly appreciated it. Now that all the old wounds have started to heal, I can be at peace will my time in the Shenandoah Valley. When I look upon the land I need to think of nothing more of it than simply being pleasing to the eyes.