'The architecture that truly defines an age of a people does not do away with the past, it builds
upon it.' Modern Architecture and Ugliness by Edwin Harwood
Theodore Dalrymple's recorded talk - 'Disdain of the Past' - at the 'Another Country - is there a future for Tradition?' Conference - organised by the Traditional Britain Group and the Quarterly Review.
By David Hamilton. High Culture is attacked as upper-class entertainment or a way the ruling elites achieve hegemony over the masses. The elitist argument is ideological rather than factual because working-class people are not barred from attending concerts. Politeness and good manners are essential but if they pay the fee they are entitled to watch a concert.
By David Hamilton. There is confusion about what art is. The qualities that make something art are intrinsic, not external. It is the artifice, the organising of elements, perspective, choice of colour etc, that make it art. The result is obtained by transforming reality and thus nature through human imagination and emotion and is realised by skill and technique.
The word Beauty (or beautiful) is descriptive if used as an adjective to express the response of the beholder to an object, or if used within a clear context; if used as an abstract noun it is universal, and therefore meaningless.
