Aesthetics
Today, I spent many minutes looking at the gills of the mushrooms that I am going to use in a pasta dish. These mushrooms are organic and come from Denmark. I was yet again thinking about aesthetics and sustainable living. I was thinking about big logos, bags, fur coats, and jewellery that communicate "success". About things that are considered beautiful. Why is it so that a dress made from polyester, gold jewellery, artificially coloured fabrics are considered beautiful, while we so rarely stop to admire the gills of a mushroom or the texture of celeriac? I do not think that it's simply a matter of personal taste. It might be a matter of culture, what we are exposed to, what we are encouraged to admire and value. Some might say that it is shallow to admire mushrooms and potatoes when there are severe ecological and social crises. I feel that I can still contemplate these crises and take part in transformations of social structures and reflect on, and talk about, aesthetics. I will say more about it in this autoethnography, but some places where I started my contemplations relate to simplicity, beauty of basics, undyed materials, imperfections.