You may not think [Victorian design] is beautiful, but I don’t think it was supposed to be beautiful. It was just supposed to be pretty. At least interesting. At least not boring. And that in itself says an awful lot … We have become a society of convenience above all else … We no longer believe in the idea of ordinary beauty, or in the idea of a public that deserves ordinary beauty.
This is from a new video presented by Sheenan Quirke. He talks about a city I know well, but that’s just for illustrative purposes. The message is universal, and it’s one I’ve been thinking about too.
Was it a mistake that we, as a society, have moved past Oscar Wilde’s insight that the artist is the creator of beautiful things? It’s a Victorian attitude, but was it wrong? Is this why our cities are so bland or even ugly?
Nehaveigur 