Question on the Apollonian principles of Contrast, pattern, and variation....what of Pollan's flowers going through hybridizing? On pages 80 and 81 ,Pollan says that every seven years tthe tulip seed flowers can show new color...and cult admirers can take the tulip long distances from it's form in the wild...This mutation process is un-natural to me, therefore, is the tulip still, in mutation, a "moral" flower? Everything Apollonian about it seems to not be there for me. Pollan says that the tulip's genetic variability gives us a "great deal to play with". The Turks even took over the insects job in the 1600's of pollinating these flowers. On page 81, even Darwin called deliberate crosses "artificial processes". And so is Human desire in charge of saying that even these mutations are Beautiful?
It brings to mind our class discussion on Thursday about "Pretty vs. Beautiful". Seems to me that sometimes we, as human beings ,try to fix things that just aren't broke to suit our own perceptions of "Beauty".
Paula
It brings to mind our class discussion on Thursday about "Pretty vs. Beautiful". Seems to me that sometimes we, as human beings ,try to fix things that just aren't broke to suit our own perceptions of "Beauty".
Paula
I agree with what you are saying about our own creation of beauty. Beauty is a universal theme but, that is as far as the universality can go. The adage "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," I think allows us to understand the very basis of tulipmania. Everyone was looking for a break or something that was most appealing to them but, as soon as they found out that disease(which no one thinks is beautiful) was creating their ideal images of beauty they cast it aside killing all the reminders of their affair with something so destructive.
ReplyDeleteNow going back to the birthplace of tulipmania we now see the presents of pot growers that now find these tall green bushes things of great beauty, even though they are lacking the obvious flower attraction. Maybe the whole scope of beauty for those in tulipmaina and now pot growing is the plain gardeners pride that they actually grow this amazing plant from a seed. So in general as we can see through the years past our objects of beauty are thing of passing fads whenever they deal with nature because we think that we completely understand nature but, beauty like what we see in people doesn't pass because people are very dynamic in comparison to flowers or other aspects of nature.
Exactly! As far as the word "seed", you hit the nail on the head w/ me. When, now, we, as dominant species (so we think) can control the seed. That's what I meant by Mutation not being REAL authentic beauty...It contradicts Apollonian philosophy. If we want better pot...make a "better" pot plant, right? I guess the Dutch and the Turks weren't really honest about their intentions when it came to the tulip. They were thinking more along the lines of profit than Beauty. It's all about money???
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