Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2012, 60(8), 127-132 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201260080127
Landscape as an expression of cultural identity and its interpretation as an art form
- Ústav zahradní a krajinářské architektury, Mendelova univerzita v Brně, Valtická 337, 691 44 Lednice, Czech Republic
The essay elaborates the thesis that reality, in its universality, cannot be captured by descriptive scientific methods. Whatever we see as reality is conditioned by human intention and subject to historical and temporal circumstances. The text suggests the possibility that our landscape awareness could be extended to include the artistic reflection, focusing on objects whose structure is seemingly less clear and graspable, and preferring thinking more abstract than contextual. Despite the progress in, and the extent of, scientific knowledge - or because of it - we realize that such knowledge has its limits, presupposed and insurmountable. One of the meanings of a valuable work of art - a result of the cognitive process of its own kind - is that it gives us an information more or less accurate on something that is beyond our practical and theoretical experience, something elusive and yet existing. A possibility is also suggested that through artistic exploration and understanding of the landscape, a nation's cultural identity can manifest itself.
Keywords: identity, landscape, perception, descriptive method, artistic interpretation of the art form, poetry, painting
Grants and funding:
The article was based on the support of the project No DF11P01OVV019 - Landscape Architecture's Methods and Tools for Spatial Development that meets the thematic priority TP 1.4. of the Program of Applied Research and Development of the National and Cultural Identity (in short, "NAKI"). Funded by the Ministry of the Culture of the Czech Republic.
Received: October 9, 2012; Prepublished online: March 29, 2013; Published: March 30, 2013 Show citation
References
- Obeznámeni s nocí, 1967: (an anthology of modern American poetry), Československý spisovatel, Prague, 264, p. 78, ISSN 602/22/855.
- Pád do výšky, 1967: (an anthology of Czech poetry), Blok, Brno, 60, p. 12.
- RYNEK, B., 2011: Arbor Vitae, Řevnice, 399, p. 39, ISBN 978-80-87164-84-6.
- MERLEAU-PONTY, M., 1971: Eye and spirit, Obelisk, Prague, 156, p. 12-13, ISSN 34/003/71.
- HLUŠIČKA, J., 1993: Michael Ranný, Odeon, Prague, 221, p. 23, ISBN 80-207-0487-0.
- MARITAIN, J., 2011: Odpovědnost umělce, Triáda, Praha, 112, p. 68, ISBN 978-80-87256-46-6.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY NC ND 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.