marcus wrote:
None of these criteria relates directly to the quality of a person's aesthetic judgement. Indeed the second one may indicate a narrowness of focus that prevents the collector from seeing the beauty in bikes from other countries.
Of course you are correct that we learn from experts. Art appreciation is taught by those who have recognized expertise in a particular field. Today's experts were yesterday's apprentices. Still, one does not need to be a huge collector or a builder to learn to appreciate beauty or craftsmanship. This is why the suggestion that we have to learn to TIG weld in order to appreciate a welded frame is ridiculous. I can't carry a tune, but I can appreciate good singing. Does my opinion not count unless I have a giant record collection and/or have recorded a few albums of my own?
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I could not disagree *more* strongly with this.
One may not be able to carry a tune, and still appreciate good singing, but someone who can carry a tune will probably have a greater appreciation of good singing...and I'd be more interested in what they had to say on the matter. This seems self-evident.
Having said my peace, and admitting that the post that started this thread was mostly a joke, I'll desist.
Charles Andrew
Socal