Asking what beauty is is like asking what is art? At first glance it seems to be the most subjective of questions. But are there truths behind it? Is there “true” beauty? I ask the question because I’ve been thinking and writing about it for years. Always inconclusively I guess. But there does seem to be one truth I’ve uncovered. Beauty lies in the moment.
By moment I don’t necessarily mean a moment of time. Moment to me is defined by a curve, a fleeting aroma, a caress. Moment is what we find when we observe carefully and up close.
In the orchid garden and among orchid growers beauty is mostly represented by flowers. Often the larger and more colorful the better. Vandas for example. They are beautiful in a sense. Their color and strength, the boldness of their presence. But. Might these characteristics be interpreted as slightly vulgar? Before you hate me for this let me say I’m just playing devils advocate here. However to be honest there’s more to like in a stunning cascade of Vanda roots than in the flowers themselves.
So much of my time in the orchid garden I’ve spent looking at roots. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen many of my plants flower yet. But even with those that have flowered, I’ve gone back over and over to observe the form of their leaves, the curve and thrust of their roots. So what is beauty?
If we go back to the concept of moment I think we can conjecture that “beauty” is the captured activity of some form or shape, some molecules, or some, or some action. Beauty lies in the small.
And it remains there. The collection of moments may make something less beautiful if it becomes a monument. A monument to beauty? Meant to be torn down and replaced. A moment of beauty? A sylph on a butterfly’s wing or a drip of water on an exposed root tip. Meant perhaps to be temporary. Or with no meaning at all. Intention may have no place in beauty.
So. Something to explore further. To break down and analyze if I can. Something small, smaller than microscopic. Something temporary and therefore something eternal and always around us in the orchid garden.
By moment I don’t necessarily mean a moment of time. Moment to me is defined by a curve, a fleeting aroma, a caress. Moment is what we find when we observe carefully and up close.
In the orchid garden and among orchid growers beauty is mostly represented by flowers. Often the larger and more colorful the better. Vandas for example. They are beautiful in a sense. Their color and strength, the boldness of their presence. But. Might these characteristics be interpreted as slightly vulgar? Before you hate me for this let me say I’m just playing devils advocate here. However to be honest there’s more to like in a stunning cascade of Vanda roots than in the flowers themselves.
So much of my time in the orchid garden I’ve spent looking at roots. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen many of my plants flower yet. But even with those that have flowered, I’ve gone back over and over to observe the form of their leaves, the curve and thrust of their roots. So what is beauty?
If we go back to the concept of moment I think we can conjecture that “beauty” is the captured activity of some form or shape, some molecules, or some, or some action. Beauty lies in the small.
And it remains there. The collection of moments may make something less beautiful if it becomes a monument. A monument to beauty? Meant to be torn down and replaced. A moment of beauty? A sylph on a butterfly’s wing or a drip of water on an exposed root tip. Meant perhaps to be temporary. Or with no meaning at all. Intention may have no place in beauty.
So. Something to explore further. To break down and analyze if I can. Something small, smaller than microscopic. Something temporary and therefore something eternal and always around us in the orchid garden.
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