> Flowers aren't beautiful. We experience flowers as triggering a subjective sensation we label beauty. Which is not the same thing.
By that logic, isn't everything subjective? I mean, everything we experience triggers a subjective sensation on which we put labels.
The notion of beauty can be rationalized to some degree: that's the goal of composition. Let me give you one notable example: unity in diversity.
Clouds, flowers, trees (vegetation really), mountains, all follow this rule, and are generally subjects considered pleasant. The principle can be used to give a strong identity to an artwork, while keeping it interesting.
I let you ponder about how this principle manifests itself in music.
That's to say, I don't think it's under-researched. Instead, I think that the "everything goes" mentality we've had for a while now, especially in visual arts, has concealed the idea of the existence of such principles from everyday people. But they're still well-known, at least as soon as we demand strong technical skills from artists.
By that logic, isn't everything subjective? I mean, everything we experience triggers a subjective sensation on which we put labels.
The notion of beauty can be rationalized to some degree: that's the goal of composition. Let me give you one notable example: unity in diversity.
Clouds, flowers, trees (vegetation really), mountains, all follow this rule, and are generally subjects considered pleasant. The principle can be used to give a strong identity to an artwork, while keeping it interesting.
I let you ponder about how this principle manifests itself in music.
That's to say, I don't think it's under-researched. Instead, I think that the "everything goes" mentality we've had for a while now, especially in visual arts, has concealed the idea of the existence of such principles from everyday people. But they're still well-known, at least as soon as we demand strong technical skills from artists.