The Aesthetic Appreciation of Darkness

Darkness.. a world that lacks light and visual stimulus., as visual beings, darkness is often a detrimental condition for us so it is not surprising when people have negative perceptions about darkness

Not infrequently darkness is also played as part of the elements of things that have negative connotations. Horror films, the abode of monsters or demons, darkness is also used as a symbol of the opposite word of holiness and so on. Why does the role fit into the dark?

Because dark conditions make us incapable of guessing and seeing what is in a space, giving rise to an element of mystery where anything can happen, this situation that does not benefit our senses of vision is prone to corruption/used by predators to prey on us, while we as humans always trying to identify threats.

As a result, it is natural for humans to imagine bad things happening in the world of darkness, on the other hand.. naturally, naturally, light conditions that make it easier for us to detect threats are a loss for any predator or monster who wants to harm us so that the logical thinking of predators will look for dark places and maybe that's why darkness is often imagined as a place for demons or monsters. This kind of imagination is then poured into the form of works of art and symbols of trust so that it affects the branding of perceptions of darkness

But ironically people who often say that darkness is a symbol of ugliness or darkness is the devil's lair also sleep with their eyes closed and the bedroom lights turned off… For some people like me darkness has the advantage that people forget about the existence of dark. These benefits may be subjective.

But psychologically some people especially those who are referred to as "nyctophilia" like dark shades, why?

1. Darkness offers a sensation of serenity due to the lack of external stimuli

Perhaps this is also due to the personality tendency of people who are easily overwhelmed by many sensory stimuli such as light and others.

2. Darkness is like a hiding place when you want to disappear from a world full of crowds, stressful, dynamic affairs, well.. How about a night club?

Of course it's still crowded and maybe you and I can't calm ourselves down there, but the dark shades themselves have the effect of dampening the visual sensory input.

In addition, darkness gives a deep impression on whatever we think about or pour into a work of art, such as a clear water lake with a cloudy water lake, you may be more likely to suspect a cloudy water lake as a container of water with depth, something cloudy/dark is always anticipated to contain something dark. something more than what meets the eye

The mysterious aspect of darkness is also an attraction in itself, when the mind is confronted by a darkness then the mind will always guess what is behind the darkness in a work of art, the depth and mystery aspect is an advantage for expressing certain types of themes or emotions to attract curiosity

Source : https://www.yourquote.in/

For darkness reveals the stars

Darkness provides a contrast to previously hidden things, which we may not be aware of before, philosophically we think that darkness provides an opportunity for shining objects that emit their own light to be seen.

In a work of art, this contrast effect may have an intimidating effect on the luminous object, because the object becomes highlighted causing its own focus on the shining object where the surroundings are only darkness.