Why Beauty Matters 美，為什麽？- Roger Scruton - BBC documentary (2009

From BBC2:

"Philosopher Roger Scruton presents a provocative essay on the importance of beauty in the arts and in our lives.

In the 20th century, Scruton argues, art, architecture and music turned their backs on beauty, making a cult of ugliness and leading us into a spiritual desert.

Using the thoughts of philosophers from Plato to Kant, and by talking to artists Michael Craig-Martin and Alexander Stoddart, Scruton analyses where art went wrong and presents his own impassioned case for restoring beauty to its traditional position at the centre of our civilisation."

Here is the soundtrack listing, for the curious:

INTRO
Organ from performance kelvingrove
Pergolesi stabat mater -- Salve Regina in C minor -- Cologne chamber orchestra

POST TITLE INTRO
Giovani Sollima, Track 1 -- Terra Aria, album -- Works

ARTISTS OF PAST
Max Richter, Track 4 -- The Twins Prague, album -- memory house

MODERN ART
Collean, track 2 -- Ritournelle, album -- everyone alive wants answers

JOKEY MUSIC OVER HOW CAN AN IDEA BE ART
Danielle Pemberton, track 2 -- light fingers, album -- a curious case of drama

DUCHAMP INTERVIEW ARCHIVE
Colleen, track -- The Heart Harmonicon, album -- the golden morning breaks

ART TODAY AFTER MCM INT
Battles, track 11 -- race out, album -- mirrored

KID ART
Back Cello suit #1 In G, artists Steven Isserlis

DAVID GARDEN STATUES
Animal Collective, track 2 -- my girls, album -- merriweather post pavilion

ROGER IN CAFE
Johann Johansson, track 2 -- Melodia, album -- fordlandia

TRAIN STN
John Adams, track 2 -- china gates, album -- Gloria cheng-cochran, piano music of john adams and terry reiley.

ADVERTISING
john cage, track 48 , disk 2 -- factory preset (09) album -- a chance operation, the john cage tribute. artists -- Robert ashley
groove armada, I see you baby

ARCHITECTURE
Rachmaninoff, The Isle of the Dead -- symphonic dances London philaharmonic orchestra, Vladimir jurowski.

artist -- bang on a can. album -- Industry 08, track -- industry.

composer -- Shostakovich, album -- Shostakovich String Quartets 7,8 & 9, performer -- Brodsky Quartet, track -- String Quartet No.7 11. Lento

AFTER 60'S BUILDING EXPLODE
artist -- Kraftwork, album -- computer world, track 3 -- numbers

REDING FORGE
album -- Teaism Music Inspired By the Art and Culture of Tea, track 10 -- teapot waltz, performer -- Lord Jim, written and produced by Curtis Leaver

PARK
artisits -- Jonsi & Alex, album -- Riceboy Sleeps, track 5 -- boy 1904
EMI Records

PLATO
album -- Goldberg variations 1981 recording, performer -- Glen Gould, track 10 Variation 9 A 1 Clavier Canone Alla Terza

MEN WITH BINOCULARS
Danielle Pemberton, track 2 -- light fingers, album -- a curious case of drama

LIFE DRAWING CLASS
composer -- Montiverdi, performers -- Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi viii,
disk 2 track 1 -- sinfonia non avea Febo ancora, a tre voci (doi tenori e basso)

ROGER WITH POETRY BOOKS
track 47 -- Evening Soiree, CHAP 311
Danielle Pemberton, album -- a curious case of drama

BIRTH OF VENUS
composer -- Vivaldi, album -- Nisi Dominus, Salve Regina. Concerto In C for strings. track 2 -- adagio

CHURCH
album -- Teaism Music Inspired By the Art and Culture of Tea, track 10 -- teapot waltz, performer -- Lord Jim, written and produced by Curtis Leaver

SHAFTESBURY
composer -- Vivaldi, album -- Vivaldi Concerti Alla Rustica
track 17 -- Concerto In G for 2 Mandolins
performers -- James Tyler, Robin Jeffrey, Trevor Pinnock.

DANDELIONS
Max Richter, track 6 -- Vladimir Blues, album -- Blue note book

FLOWERS OPEN
Colleen, track -- The Heart Harmonicon, album -- the golden morning breaks

KANT & BABY
artisits -- Jonsi & Alex, album -- Riceboy Sleeps, track 5 -- boy 1904
EMI Records

ROGER SAT ON STEPS, ARCHIVE B&W DOORS OPEN -- INTO RECAP
Max Richter, track 6 -- Vladimir Blues, album -- Blue note book

BIT BEFORE DEATH & FUNERAL
artist -- Colleen, album -- Les Ondes Silencieuses, track 1 -- This place in Time

KISSY KISSY
composer -- Offenbah, album -- Richard Bornynge L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande, Les Contes d'Hoffman, track -- barcarolle

ROGER ON STEPS SETS UP SEX AND DEATH DESECRATION
composer -- Shostakovich, album -- Shostakovich String Quartets 7,8 & 9, performer -- Brodsky Quartet, track -- String Quartet No.7 11. Lento

PERGOLESI
composer -- Pergolesi, album -- Stabat Mater Salve Regina
track 12 -- Quado Corpus Mortiet. NAXOS

MANTEGNA
Max Richter, Track 4 -- The Twins Prague, album -- memory house

DELACROIX
Giovanni Sollima, track 3 -- LBFiles: Concerto,

EMIN BED
Collean, track 2 -- Ritournelle, album -- everyone alive wants answers

Colleen, track -- The Heart Harmonicon, album -- the golden morning breaks

POUNDBURY
Savalas music, track 3 -- Annotations, composer -- Colin Broom

SOHO SQ
Giovani Sollima, Track 1 -- Terra Aria, album -- Works

PERGOLESI
performance






[隨想]

美是可見的，可觸摸的； 也是看不見的，摸不著的
美是形狀，規則的，不規則的
美是理性的，但更多是非理性的
美是語言，也是非語言
....
當我越想越想不清美到底是什麽的時候，隻有往天上看

美是Divine，聖靈的在人間大地的散現和存在形式
美伴人生
美，是造物者給與我們的benediction 祝福， peace平和， harmony和諧


我不知道為什麽我喜歡音樂，喜歡往畫廊跑，可能是美那巨大神秘的巨大的磁場吸引著我，好像我聽到一小聲音在什麽地方在召喚：《草草，常來聽我們看我們啊》；《好啊，沒問題》。

從來也沒想過我的生命中會有這些名字出現，他們是幾百年前Boheme藝術家，大多數很落魄， 他們不認識我，我卻在畫廊中找尋他們：Da Vinci，Michaelangelo，Raphaelo， Geovani Bellini,
Caravaggio， Titian， Veronese， Tintoretto， Gainsborough， Turner， Constable， FransHals，Rambrant，  Ucello， Vuillard， Vigee Le brun， Murillo,  Ruben,  Ingres,  Monet,  Pissaro，Manet,  Degas... 這些天才，這些美的傳播者,美的聖徒，一年多前我都不知道他們是誰，除了幾個經常被媒體說的名字， 在畫廊聽他們敘述的故事是那麽讓人入迷。

出了畫廊，音樂廳，自己會失落， 看到商店裏銷售的美是那麽平淡甚至乏味， 自己變得有些不食人間煙火，挺好，可以少花錢， 好在以前已經猛食過人間煙火， 知道人間煙火是什麽味道,  人間煙火是暖胃的暖身的實用的， 現實社會的價值是以實用為基礎的， 而美不能說不實用，也不能說是實用，真正的美是超越我們的理性的，美是神聖的，療傷的養神的暖心的

行走奔跑在自然中， 自然的一切的造型，顏色， 形狀， 傳出的神韻都是那麽無可挑剔，有時看到一棵大樹，形狀是那麽美，那麽高的樹，肯定沒人修剪，園丁隻有一個，是風雨，上帝的使者

人間的真，善，美也深深地撞擊著我的心靈，感動著，

是，人來到這個世界會有痛苦， 甚至會有難以忍受的折磨， 而上帝也給我們送來醫治痛苦的良藥：美

每日，美從各種渠道滲入我的視覺聽覺觸覺味覺心覺神覺（看，讀，聽，聞，觸摸，對話，心靈感受）打動我，讓我感知美的存在，美的伴行， 上帝的神奇。

曾與教堂的樂迷說，為什麽現代音樂就沒那麽好聽，那位老者說：是因為沒有帶著榮耀上蒼的心情，當人謙卑，感激的時候，微不足道的東西都是那麽美，

昨天我那《野蠻的》法國女友跟我說，她有時會盯著路上的小石子看半天，然後會流淚，然後她覺得她的生命被改變, 刷新, 再寫，行，還有比我更dreamy的人， 俺自己感到對自己放心也點了

見過美，聽過美，讀過美，嚐過美，創造過美（生過孩子啊）， 培育過美（種花種菜培育孩子）， 傳遞過美...應該是沒有白活過吧， 美，也是我們存在的理由, 是生活的意義所在。

我們都在尋找美，美也在尋找我們....因為上帝一直在blessing我們，召喚我們。

感恩自己找到了美，並被美包圍著...La Vie est Belle ......