Aesthetics for Birds
@aestheticsforbirds.bsky.social
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Aesthetics and philosophy of art website. Academic insights in a public forum.
Aesthetics for Birds editor Alex King defends inclusive views of art in a new book, edited by Clifford Sosis of
@whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
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"Hereâs an improbable claim that turns out to be true: there is plenty of boring art that is also good art, and, in more than a few fascinating instances, this art is good in part because it is boring." - philosophers John Gibson and Andreas Elpidorou
aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/09/16/i...
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In Praise of Boring Art - Aesthetics for Birds
We miss out on something important about life and art if we want things to be constantly stimulating, interesting, and engaging.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/09/16/in-praise-of-boring-art/
about 2 months ago
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First the Palme d'Or, now a pile of Oscars - including Best Picture! Wondering why there's all that buzz about Anora? A philosopher does a deep dive in this essay.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/02/27/o...
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Oscar-Nominated Film Anora on the Life-Giving Power of Love and Sex - Aesthetics for Birds
Sean Bakerâs film Anora tells a story about sex that stays sex-positive while also challenging our current, libertine sexual climate.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/02/27/oscar-nominated-film-anora-on-the-life-giving-power-of-love-and-sex/
9 months ago
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For everyone bingeing the Oscar best movie noms: "We inhabit a cultural moment where sexual libertinism is fast becoming the norm...Anora tells a story about sex that challenges the character of our current sexual climate."
aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/02/27/o...
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Oscar-Nominated Film Anora on the Life-Giving Power of Love and Sex - Aesthetics for Birds
Sean Bakerâs film Anora tells a story about sex that stays sex-positive while also challenging our current, libertine sexual climate.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/02/27/oscar-nominated-film-anora-on-the-life-giving-power-of-love-and-sex/
9 months ago
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One popular feminist approach to inclusive media is simple. Add more female characters. But there's an overlooked genre that capitalizes on an unintuitive route: creative works made primarily for women and primarily by women, but with no women in them.
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Why Women Should Rethink Their Love of Gay Male Manga - Aesthetics for Birds
Unraveling the mystery of yaoi manga, a genre designed for women and by women, but with no women in them.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2025/02/20/rethinking-yaoi-manga/
9 months ago
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Spotify and its bizarre, hyper-specific genres are rewriting how we understand music. Why? And should we bother fighting back?
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How Spotify and its Genres Define Who We Are - Aesthetics for Birds
Spotify and its bizarre, hyper-specific genres are rewriting how we understand music. Why? And should we bother fighting back?
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/12/10/how-spotify-changed-genres-forever/
11 months ago
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Haus der Kunst ("House of Art") was erected by Hitler under Nazi Germany. Post-war, it was turned into a venue for modern and contemporary art, including figures like Ai Weiwei and Louise Bourgeois. Philosopher Gwen Bradford reflects.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/11/07/g...
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Gwen Bradford on Haus der Kunst - Aesthetics for Birds
University of Toronto philosopher Gwen Bradford discusses Haus der Kunst, a Nazi era building commission-turned-modern art museum.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/11/07/gwen-bradford-on-haus-der-kunst/
about 1 year ago
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In an extensive and wide-ranging interview, the renowned philosopher portraitist Steve Pyke shares never-seen portraits, reminisces about his philosophers, and teases a third series!
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/09/24/s...
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What the Photographer Who's Taken Hundreds of Philosopher Portraits Really Thinks of Philosophers - Aesthetics for Birds
The renowned portrait photographer reflects on his work, his relationship to philosophers, and the nature of portraiture.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/09/24/steve-pyke-interview-with-philosopher-portraits/
about 1 year ago
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"The ballet Concerto Barocco, set to Johann Sebastian Bach's Double Violin Concerto, illustrates Balanchineâs comment that 'dancing is music made visible'." Univ of Notre Dame philosopher Barbara Montero talks about ballet
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/09/12/b...
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Barbara Montero on Balanchine Ballets - Aesthetics for Birds
Philosopher Barbara Montero, who has written widely on the body, talks about George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/09/12/barbara-montero-balanchine-concerto-barocco/
about 1 year ago
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A different take on Season 3 of The Bear: It's continuous with the rest of the show's examination of craftsmanship and hospitality. Review and discussion by philosopher Errol Lord (UPenn)
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/07/26/t...
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What FX's The Bear Says About the Art of Hospitality - Aesthetics for Birds
Dedication to craft purifies living. But how pure is the kitchen of The Bear? Continue reading â
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/07/26/the-bear-and-ars-hospitalis/
over 1 year ago
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Media scholar James MacDowell (a YouTuber himself!) argues that the literary category of autofiction is important for understanding personal narrative stories on YouTube - including the very influential videos by
@contrapoints.bsky.social
.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/30/y...
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How Autofiction, the Buzzy Literary Category, Helps Us Make Sense of YouTube - Aesthetics for Birds
A media scholar explains autofiction and looks at how it is exemplified in Natalie Wynn's ContraPoints videos.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/30/youtube-as-autofiction/
over 1 year ago
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In a never-before-seen handwritten letter, Quine explains what philosophy means to him. Plus, some cool outtakes from his portrait session with Steve Pyke.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/27/q...
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Quine on What Philosophy Means to Him - Aesthetics for Birds
Taking a look at a never-before-seen letter from renowned philosopher and logician WVO Quine, plus outtakes from his portrait session with Steve Pyke
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/27/quine-letter-to-steve-pyke/
over 1 year ago
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Tiki bar thoughts: "Yum!" "So fun!" "Um, how is this still a thing?"
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/17/t...
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How to Enjoy a Tiki Bar Without Guilt - Aesthetics for Birds
Tiki culture rests on a history of exploitation and appropriation. What does that mean for us today?
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/17/tiki-escapism-without-appropriation/
over 1 year ago
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"As much as I like Adult Swimâs original programming, a nice chunk of it is... kinda bad." Film scholar Gianni Barchiesi looks at the chaotic pointlessness of the show "Frisky Dingo" and explains how it changes our understanding of the nature of storytelling.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/09/e...
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Embracing the Chaos of Adult Swim and Frisky Dingo - Aesthetics for Birds
Adult Swim's style was messy, chaotic, and pointless. That's what makes it bad, but also what makes it great.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/09/embracing-the-chaos-of-adult-swim-and-frisky-dingo/
over 1 year ago
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Artistic images pose a special problem for alt text*: How can you describe a visual artwork in 150 characters?? This raises interesting philosophical & artistic questions. Plus we offer some practical tips. *the textual description of online images, used by blind and visually impaired readers
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Alt Text for Artwork, Alt Text as Artwork - Aesthetics for Birds
What's the best way to write alt text for artworks? Read our best practices guide, including four practical tips.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/05/02/how-to-write-alt-text/
over 1 year ago
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reposted by
Aesthetics for Birds
emmie malone đłď¸ââ§ď¸
over 1 year ago
This was such a good roundtable. Thanks
@aestheticsforbirds.bsky.social
!
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We asked five scholars to reflect on, analyze, and think through "Cowboy Carter". Here's what they said.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/04/18/f...
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Five Scholars Discuss BeyoncĂŠ's "Cowboy Carter" - Aesthetics for Birds
Five academics review "Cowboy Carter" from different angles: genre, place and community, politics and the market, and the boldness of BeyoncĂŠ herself. Continue reading â
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/04/18/five-scholars-discuss-beyonces-cowboy-carter/
over 1 year ago
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Scientific discoveries, instruments, and performances of experiments can "evoke unrivaled aesthetic responses in us." - Milena Ivanova (Cambridge), on the beauty of science
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/04/11/w...
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What Is the Aesthetic Value of Science? - Aesthetics for Birds
How scientific experiments and instruments, and the scientific method itself, can be a source of aesthetic appreciation.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/04/11/what-is-the-aesthetic-value-of-science/
over 1 year ago
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"Countless lives inhabit us. I donât know, when I think or feel, Who it is that thinks and feels. I am merely the place Where things are thought and felt."
aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/03/14/j...
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Jonardon Ganeri on the Poetry of Fernando Pessoa - Aesthetics for Birds
Pessoa writes that "Countless lives inhabit us." But what does that mean? Philosopher Jonardon Ganeri discusses.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/03/14/jonardon-ganeri-on-the-poetry-of-fernando-pessoa/
over 1 year ago
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reposted by
Aesthetics for Birds
Brandon Polite
over 1 year ago
Two of my students contributed to this terrific roundtable. Check it out!!!!
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Aesthetics for Birds
emmie malone đłď¸ââ§ď¸
over 1 year ago
I was lucky enough to get think deeply about internet âaestheticsâ & subcultures for this new roundtable, and it is now out! Definitely interesting to read all the responses, and Iâm really glad there were some students on the panel! I wish I could written many more hundreds of words about this!
add a skeleton here at some point
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A recent
@nytimes.com
mag piece came for Gen Z's TikToks and internet aesthetics. Kids these days, they said. No subcultures, they said. No good can come of this, they said. We asked our Gen Z students and some young cusp-y faculty, and - shocker - the doom and gloom might be premature.
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Are the Kids Alright? On Cottagecore, Quiet Luxury, Clean Girl and Other Internet Aesthetics - Aesthetics for Birds
Seven Gen Z and cusp-Millennials working in philosophy give their perspective on internet and TikTok-viral aesthetics. Continue reading â
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/03/07/are-the-kids-alright-on-cottagecore-quiet-luxury-clean-girl-and-other-internet-aesthetics/
over 1 year ago
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reposted by
Aesthetics for Birds
Mary Beth Willard
over 1 year ago
I agree with every bit of this, especially re: petit fours
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Philosopher and baking enthusiast Christopher Bartel talks about his love-hate relationship with the Great British Bake-Off (er, the Great British Baking Show?).
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The Hidden Privilege of "The Great British Bake Off" - Aesthetics for Birds
A show about home baking should actually be about home baking. This one isn't.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/02/29/the-hidden-privilege-of-the-great-british-bake-off/
over 1 year ago
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In the mood for vintage comics? Check out philosopher Nic Bommarito discussing George Herriman's early 20th century Krazy Kat.
#philsky
(<- are people still doing that?)
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Nic Bommarito on Krazy Kat - Aesthetics for Birds
This is entry #91 in our ongoing 100 Philosophers, 100 Artworks, 100 Words series. Philosopher: Nic Bommarito (Simon Fraser University) Artwork: Krazy Kat, George Herriman, 1913 until 1944 Words: Geor...
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2024/02/20/nic-bommarito-on-krazy-kat/
over 1 year ago
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âTis the season for year-end recommendations! So some of our staff are bringing you one thing that we experienced this year thatâs worth telling others about. *Although not necessarily from this year!
aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/12/30/a...
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Aesthetics for Birds Staff Give One Rec from 2023 - Aesthetics for Birds
From the 1990s silver screen to the depths of the internet, here are our staff picks of 2023.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/12/30/aesthetics-for-birds-staff-give-one-rec-from-2023/
almost 2 years ago
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If art history exhibits biases, then so will art generators trained on it. That's what we should be wringing our hands about. So philosopher Milena Ivanova argues in our latest piece.
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The Real Problem with AI Art - Aesthetics for Birds
The artworld is not a place of equality. But if we input bias, we can only get biased outputs.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/11/17/the-real-problem-with-ai-art/
almost 2 years ago
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reposted by
Aesthetics for Birds
Zsuzsanna Chappell
about 2 years ago
@aestheticsforbirds.bsky.social
The lovely philosophy blog, Aesthetics for birds is now on Bluesky.
aestheticsforbirds.com
Philsky
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Aesthetics for Birds
An aesthetics and philosophy of art blog for a general audience: theories, terms, art and cultural criticism, interviews, roundtables, news. Run by philosophers, with pieces by academics, artists, and...
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/
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Is AI art actually even art? If it is, could it ever be good art? AI questions our existing concepts of artistry, creativity, and the fundamental purpose of art. Perhaps it spells the end of art practices as we know them... or the beginning of new ones.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/11/02/e...
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Eight Scholars on Art and Artificial Intelligence - Aesthetics for Birds
When we ask questions about AI art, we are really asking why we care about art at all.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/11/02/eight-scholars-on-art-and-artificial-intelligence/
about 2 years ago
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Oh, us? Just entering our 1989 (Taylor's Version) era~~ đť
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How Swiftomania Turns Fans Into Professors - Aesthetics for Birds
How Taylor Swift became this generation's Franz Liszt and James Joyce wrapped in one
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/10/26/taylor-swift-easter-eggs/
about 2 years ago
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You check a band's setlist before going to their show. Cool-you can leave early and beat the traffic because you don't care about the encore. Or grab merch during the boring new stuff... What's wrong with this picture?
@jeremydavis.bsky.social
discusses.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/10/19/w...
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What's Wrong with Setlist.fm? - Aesthetics for Birds
Tons of people check a band's concert setlist beforehand. They don't realize that they're spoiling their own experience.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/10/19/whats-wrong-with-setlist-fm/
about 2 years ago
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Philosopher Ray Briggs (Stanford) discusses Aaron Feltman's introspective and allusive painting, "Self-Love and Sin, Gabrielle and Her Twin"
aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/10/13/r...
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Ray Briggs on Self-Love and Sin - Aesthetics for Birds
Philosopher Ray Briggs discusses Aaron Feltman's introspective painting "Self-Love and Sin, Gabrielle and Her Twin"
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/10/13/ray-briggs-on-self-love-and-sin/
about 2 years ago
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Today on Aesthetics for Birds: Philosophy professor Antony Aumann reminisces about his childhood dream of becoming a superstar basketball player. And asks if that was a ridiculous thing to ever dream of in the first place.
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On Being Inspired by Movies: The Wonderful Silliness of My Childhood Hoop Dreams - Aesthetics for Bi...
Most of us will never be superstars, but movies inspire us to pursue stardom. Is there anything wrong with that?
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/10/05/on-being-inspired-by-movies/
about 2 years ago
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"He told him everything. At least, he said he did â you know your father." --Philosopher Sean T Murphy discusses JD Salinger's quietly gut-wrenching short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"
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Sean T. Murphy on JD Salinger - Aesthetics for Birds
A philosopher tackles difficult themes in the JD Salinger short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish"
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/09/22/sean-t-murphy-on-jd-salinger/
about 2 years ago
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From Ancient Greek mosaics to contemporary artists like Mel Bochner, how we illustrate philosophical ideas and theories.
aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/09/07/h...
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How To Illustrate Philosophy - Aesthetics for Birds
If it seems impossible to turn abstract philosophical concepts and ideas into concrete images, think again.
https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2023/09/07/how-to-illustrate-philosophy/
about 2 years ago
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I guess we're going to be part of the great experiment? Here goes nothin
about 2 years ago
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