As an artist, a Taurus ruled by Venus, and a philosophically minded person, I watched this documentary at least twice over the past number of years enjoying how it delves into the appreciation of beauty and art. Just a few weeks ago while writing about Venus for an astrology horoscope here I was thinking of posting this video on this site to share with my readers as I figured many of you would also find it interesting.
I just found out that Roger Scruton passed away yesterday – January 12, 2020. I thought his name was familiar, and when I saw his picture I remembered I had watched a documentary a few years ago where he made the case for the importance of beauty in our world.
Why Beauty Matters is a documentary where Roger Scruton talks about the transcendental nature of beauty, how it affects our world, and how it makes us think and feel. He discusses, with many examples, how beauty is often lost in today’s world of modernity, where cutting corners in favor of saving money and focusing largely on the practical application of design, such as what we see in much of our modern architecture, can lose the sacred essence and soul of beauty. Scruton discusses where some artists may strive to provoke for attention, rather than to evoke the spirit of beauty, art can devolve into a soulless marketing tactic. Here he states, “I think we are losing beauty, and there is a danger that, with it, we are losing the meaning of life.”
Interestingly enough, an architect I know actually looks a lot like Roger Scruton, someone I saw just a few weeks ago at a Christmas party, so I’ve had the thought of posting this video to share with you come up again and again. Venus is entering Pisces in just a few hours as I write this, and as Venus the archetypal Goddess of Love and Beauty is in Pisces which is associated with the afterlife and philosophy I think this is a most appropriate time to finally share this video on this site.
If you are interested in philosophical considerations of visual art, creativity, architecture, beauty, history and modernity I’m sure you will enjoy this.
Symbolic Living 