The Aesthetic Imperative

In her article, The Aesthetic Imperative, Virginia Postrel writes that we, citizens of the 20th century's future, still value function in our everyday "things" (be it computers, stores, or kinds of dress) but are increasingly attracted to the aesthetically pleasing. She argues that what was once seen as an "unnecessary luxury" or "special indulgence" is now seen as a necessary form of expression. Not only do our iPods house our own personal tastes in music, but they do it in a variety of colors - white, light grey, dark grey, purple, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, pink, and black. But why? Why devote so much energy into making our "stuff" so visually and audibly pleasing?

Postrel believes that function no longer stands alone because our sensory side is "as valid a part of our nature as the capacity to speak or reason." She points in the direction of biology as a reason for acting this way - for needing to interact with the sensory experience. In her argument, Postrel looks to psychologists in order to support her argument; we perceive changes, they say, through sensory outputs. But even everyday shoppers feel this way. A Utah grocery store customer finds her shopping experience much more appealing after the store received a facelift, regardless of the fact that the items did not change. In saying "the environment offers something special" Postrel claims that aestheticism is an increasingly important value within our society. By enlisting professionals and everyday consumers, Postrel attempts to get to the center of this curious transformation.

While we layer our sensory perceptions and their emotional appeals onto ordinary functions, Postrel argues that we must not confuse our increasing interest in aesthetic pleasure with other values or the "narrative" of the story. I am in agreement with this point out of the fear that what is aesthetic is not always sound. We must use reason to navigate life or end up by way of the dodo. Will a basic mp3 player outlive a multi-colored iPod? Sometimes these dilemas are much more consequential. For example, a car may have the sleakest design but is it the safest? Are we willing to give up safety features for aesthetic pleasure? In beauty pagents, where the best aesthetics are literally the reigning queens, we are pleased with what we visually see but what about beyond that? The women in Miss Universe have increasingly begun to look like one another...except that they're from different countries! I argue that, like Postrel, that choosing aethetic pleasures over true value could lead to dire consequences and a devaluing of even our own society and culuture.