[I]t was [Barnett] Newman who made the famously wry remark, “Aesthetics is for the artist as ornithology is for the birds,

Ross Wetzsteon
About This Quote

The great Barnett Newman once said, “Aesthetics is for the artist as ornithology is for the birds.” He was talking about how an artist’s art can be described in terms of something that we might find beautiful even if we don’t fully understand all the intricacies and complexities of how it was made. The lesson here is that we can appreciate and enjoy what we don’t fully understand.

Source: Republic Of Dreams: Greenwich Village: The American Bohemia 19101960

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