Aesthetics for Birds

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art for Everyone

A woman sits at a kitchen table and peels the first potato out of four. She stares at it vacantly. Her outfit is drab, and so is her kitchen which houses an utterly routine assortment of household items.

September 16, 2025
by Aesthetics for Birds
5 Comments

In Praise of Boring Art

We miss out on something important about life and art if we want things to be constantly stimulating, interesting, and engaging. Continue reading →

Ani dancing happily with her eyes closed, surrounded by people in a club-like setting, bathed in vivid blue and magenta lights.

February 27, 2025
by Aesthetics for Birds
0 comments

Oscar-Winning Film Anora on the Life-Giving Power of Love and Sex

Sean Baker’s film Anora tells a story that challenges our current, libertine sexual climate. Continue reading →

February 20, 2025
by Aesthetics for Birds
13 Comments

Why Women Should Rethink Their Love of Gay Male Manga

Unraveling the mystery of a genre designed for women and by women, but with no women in them. Continue reading →

April 18, 2024
by Aesthetics for Birds
0 comments

Five Scholars Discuss Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter”

Five academics review “Cowboy Carter” from different angles: genre, place and community, politics and the market, and the boldness of Beyoncé herself. Continue reading →

March 30, 2023
by Alex King
9 Comments

Taco Bell and the Paradox of Ironic Appreciation

If you like something ironically, do you actually like it or not? Paradoxically, the answer seems to be yes AND no. Continue reading →

A black bedazzled jacket. Vertical and lines going up and down the entire back form bars on a jail cell beyond which a lonely cowboy plays a guitar.

March 2, 2023
by Aesthetics for Birds
1 Comment

Nose to the Rhinestone: The Authenticity of Country Music’s Sparkling Suits

How can the country singer’s rhinestone suit be truly authentic if it’s not what cowboys or farmers would actually wear? Continue reading →

A total of thirty-six sepia-tone stills, organized in three rows show a woman walking in a sheer, white dress. While each row shows her from a different angle, the photos within a row look almost entirely identical but for the placement of her feet. In all photos she holds the tail of her dress in her left hand, and raises her other to her head, perhaps shielding her eyes from the sun, her elbow pointing out far to the right.

February 3, 2023
by Aesthetics for Birds
4 Comments

How Should Literature Mean? A Conversation About Art and Ambiguity

Scholars John Gibson, Magdalena Ostas, and Hannah Kim discuss how art creates meaning, and how we play a role in that meaning-making. Continue reading →

January 26, 2023
by Aesthetics for Birds
2 Comments

Nine Scholars Discuss the Philosophy of Comics

Nine scholars discuss the philosophy of comics: What are comics, really? And what artistic and ethical questions do they raise? Continue reading →

Five bright, peach-colored flamingos appear from the neck up against a dark green pond in the background.

January 19, 2023
by Aesthetics for Birds
0 comments

Lizzo Playing Madison’s Flute and Kim Wearing Monroe’s Dress Are Not the Same

Lizzo playing James Madison’s crystal flute is a success story for preservationists. Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress is not. Continue reading →