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Not exactly sure why this guy thinks that idolizing old art makes him the pinnacle of modern design. Oh, no! No shadows! The (lack of) humanity in it! He's jus

by tomc1985 5y ago

Not exactly sure why this guy thinks that idolizing old art makes him the pinnacle of modern design. Oh, no! No shadows! The (lack of) humanity in it! He's just saying your kitchen should look like a Rembrandt painting, as if that aesthetic was truly better. (Hint: it isn't)

mahogany 5y ago
Just curious -- why be so dismissive and snarky? At the very least, it's an interesting discussion to have, and one you clearly have an opinion about. > Hint: it isn't For what it's worth, I think it is, but it's obviously subjective. The modern kitchen aesthetic looks alien, sterile, and uninviting in contrast to the Laquy painting, which looks lived in and homely. In short, the modern kitchen image makes me feel uneasy and the painting makes me feel calm.
- tomc1985 5y ago
  > In short, the modern kitchen image makes me feel uneasy and the painting makes me feel calm. Are you saying that because the article suggested it? Personally I think the spaciousness of the modern kitchen depicted is liberating and freeing. I have a cramped kitchen and it sucks.
  - mahogany 5y ago
    No, I explained why it makes me feel that way but I can expand. The modern kitchen image looks sterile, pristine, and I feel anxiety at the thought of dirtying it. I also think it looks alien and I can't imagine where the materials came from to construct it. I feel no connection to it as a "human place" and thus wouldn't want to live in it. Additionally, I think size is related to aesthetic but it's an independent topic. You can have a small but "modern aesthetic" kitchen. I agree, a cramped kitchen sucks!
- tomc1985 5y ago
  Because I find regressive calls for a past aesthetic tiresome, predictable, and cliched. We do not live in the past, we live in the present. Nostalgia is fun but a highly overrated feeling, and the paintings he references are idealized depictions of life at that time. Not to mention how WASPy and Western-centric it is, I'm sure someone from Asia, Africa, or even some latin state, might feel very different.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
    I think you're getting too caught in the specifics. There are "modern" kitchens in residential spaces across the world, and even if the details in them may vary a bit by culture and geography, they all look very different from the painting in the article. Yes, we do live in the present, but there's no inevitability about the present. The fact that during the 20th century we invented a set of new materials and machining techniques does not mean that we have to be using them today - that's a choice we make based on a variety of different factors. If you look at any magazine/book on contemporary kitchen remodels, you will find some that are closer to the painting than the photograph (and many more that are closer to the photograph). The idea that the aesthetics embodied by the painting are inherently non-modern is, I think, a mistake.
  - mensetmanusman 5y ago
    A WASPy criticism seems to imply that it’s bad to write about one’s own culture unless one first acknowledge all the cultures of the world.
    - tomc1985 5y ago
      It's bad in the sense that it is unoriginal, trite, and predictable. It is essentially advocating for a populist status quo.
- ip26 5y ago
  Maybe the aesthetic is nice. But I’ve done enough cooking in the woods, over a fire, or in tiny apartments to know what cooking in a spot such as that is actually like.
  - davidivadavid 5y ago
    Yes, all that stuff kind of reminds me of some old LessWrong articles about how you should be careful, when thinking of a utopia, of making sure it is not just something that sounds/looks like it would be nice, but that would actually be nice.
    - vinceguidry 5y ago
      At some point it gets difficult to have this discussion without invoking theological framing. Christianity has been thinking about Heaven a long time.
  - mahogany 5y ago
    Well the aesthetic is the point of the discussion, no? And, now that we're talking about personal experience, I've spent weeks cooking with just canister stove and a 1 liter pot, and yes, I've cooked many meals over a camp fire as well, and I stand by my preference.

mahogany 5y ago

Just curious -- why be so dismissive and snarky? At the very least, it's an interesting discussion to have, and one you clearly have an opinion about. > Hint: it isn't For what it's worth, I think it is, but it's obviously subjective. The modern kitchen aesthetic looks alien, sterile, and uninviting in contrast to the Laquy painting, which looks lived in and homely. In short, the modern kitchen image makes me feel uneasy and the painting makes me feel calm.

tomc1985 5y ago
> In short, the modern kitchen image makes me feel uneasy and the painting makes me feel calm. Are you saying that because the article suggested it? Personally I think the spaciousness of the modern kitchen depicted is liberating and freeing. I have a cramped kitchen and it sucks.
- mahogany 5y ago
  No, I explained why it makes me feel that way but I can expand. The modern kitchen image looks sterile, pristine, and I feel anxiety at the thought of dirtying it. I also think it looks alien and I can't imagine where the materials came from to construct it. I feel no connection to it as a "human place" and thus wouldn't want to live in it. Additionally, I think size is related to aesthetic but it's an independent topic. You can have a small but "modern aesthetic" kitchen. I agree, a cramped kitchen sucks!
tomc1985 5y ago
Because I find regressive calls for a past aesthetic tiresome, predictable, and cliched. We do not live in the past, we live in the present. Nostalgia is fun but a highly overrated feeling, and the paintings he references are idealized depictions of life at that time. Not to mention how WASPy and Western-centric it is, I'm sure someone from Asia, Africa, or even some latin state, might feel very different.
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
  I think you're getting too caught in the specifics. There are "modern" kitchens in residential spaces across the world, and even if the details in them may vary a bit by culture and geography, they all look very different from the painting in the article. Yes, we do live in the present, but there's no inevitability about the present. The fact that during the 20th century we invented a set of new materials and machining techniques does not mean that we have to be using them today - that's a choice we make based on a variety of different factors. If you look at any magazine/book on contemporary kitchen remodels, you will find some that are closer to the painting than the photograph (and many more that are closer to the photograph). The idea that the aesthetics embodied by the painting are inherently non-modern is, I think, a mistake.
- mensetmanusman 5y ago
  A WASPy criticism seems to imply that it’s bad to write about one’s own culture unless one first acknowledge all the cultures of the world.
  - tomc1985 5y ago
    It's bad in the sense that it is unoriginal, trite, and predictable. It is essentially advocating for a populist status quo.
ip26 5y ago
Maybe the aesthetic is nice. But I’ve done enough cooking in the woods, over a fire, or in tiny apartments to know what cooking in a spot such as that is actually like.
- davidivadavid 5y ago
  Yes, all that stuff kind of reminds me of some old LessWrong articles about how you should be careful, when thinking of a utopia, of making sure it is not just something that sounds/looks like it would be nice, but that would actually be nice.
  - vinceguidry 5y ago
    At some point it gets difficult to have this discussion without invoking theological framing. Christianity has been thinking about Heaven a long time.
- mahogany 5y ago
  Well the aesthetic is the point of the discussion, no? And, now that we're talking about personal experience, I've spent weeks cooking with just canister stove and a 1 liter pot, and yes, I've cooked many meals over a camp fire as well, and I stand by my preference.