Modernist Aesthetics

Time for a post on art.

I do have quite a fondness for Modernism in art and architecture.

A central principle in Modernist design is that form should follow function. Unnecessary decorative motifs shoud be discarded in favour of the absolute minimal of features. Beauty is in functionality.

A really beautiful example of this aesthetic must surely be the Dyson cleaner- sleek, smooth and efficent.

But the ultimate ideal of Modernist architecture is surely the heavenly New Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21. The city is an enormous cube, like the Borg of Star Trek (though some Bible scholars think it is a pyramid). The decorative elements of this city- the gold, the precious stones and the pearls are not additional features built on, but are part of the very fabric and structure of the city.

To apply this to the subject of this blog, should lead to the conclusion that shoes should not be worn in homes. Shoes lose their practical funtion once one enters the home. They become an encumberence; an unnecessary decorative feature. One would only wear shoes in homes out of social tradition, and tradition has no part to play in the Modernist vision.

Minimalism rules and this applies to footwear! The stockinged foot is far more in keeping with the Modernist notion of beauty than the fancy Manolo Blahnik shoe.