Lectures and Speaking Events
‘Beauty is in the Mind of the Beholder’
Is Beauty merely in the eye of the beholder or can we judge the aesthetic quality of a photograph beyond a mere expression of individual preference or taste? Is there any evidence to support the ‘rules’ of composition that we all are encouraged to follow by the experts? Can we identify elements in our compositions that make a proven, universal appeal to beauty?
With an academic background in philosophy and an ongoing interest in the theory of aesthetics, Ed's talk questions whether our art is purely subjective and asks if we can move our photographs towards an objective definition of beauty. Drawing on fascinating developments in philosophy, psychology and neuroscience and using photographs from his portfolios of landscape and architectural images, Ed's intellectually and visually stimulating talk addresses fundamental questions in aesthetics in an approachable and fun manner, and offers practical suggestions that we can all incorporate into our own photography.
“We are constantly told to ‘shoot for ourselves’, that the only opinion that matters is our own, that artistic judgement is all subjective. I don’t buy it. These tropes are lazy and harm our ability to learn, develop and communicate as photographers. The proof? …. well, we are all here together!”
“I’d like to show you how to tilt the odds in favour of making more successful images. You’re probably doing some of it already without necessarily realising. But, we can now look inside your brain and see some universal subconscious responses to beauty that we all share because we are all human beings who share the same evolutionary DNA.”
William Hogarth, 1697-1754
“…the waving line, which is a line more productive of beauty than any [other]… for which reason we shall call it the line of beauty.”
The Analysis of Beauty, 1753
Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804
“It is an empirical judgement that I perceive and judge an object with pleasure. But it is an a priori judgement that I find it beautiful…”
Critique of Judgement, 1790
"Capability" Brown, 1716-1783
“With Nature tamed, wildness itself could at last become aesthetically prized”.
R. Porter, Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World, (London, 2000), 312.
Windsor Photographic Society
“Many thanks for a fantastic talk last night! It was a great way for us to open the season and I have already received lot’s of positive feedback. I think it challenged a lot of members in a good way.”
Royal Photographic Society
“I’ve had some great feedback from our members all of them saying it’s one of our best yet… On a personal note I found your talk most inspiring, your thoughts mirroring my approach to photography but elucidating it in a more approachable way.”
