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Re: Art and Technology



Arthur, I won't be subscribing to your list. Not because I am not interested 
in that aspect of planted aquariums (I am - very!) but because I am limited 
in the amount of time I can spend on the computer.

Can I make an alternate suggestion? How about if we just use this list? For 
example, Robert H. often posts about new plants. People usually respond with 
how they grew it under such-and-such conditions and it got this big, or 
reproduced in this way, or whether it needs certain nutrients, or something 
like that. How about if, next time someone posts something like that, you or 
one of the other aesthetically talented people reply with something like, 
"that plant would make a nice foreground accent under these circumstances" 
or "that plant would be a nice contrast to (or compliment to) a group of 
such-and-such plant."

Similarly, people often post pictures of their tank because they are having 
a problem with algae. What if you took that opportunity to praise a design 
element in the tank? Then I could look at my own tank, and maybe get an idea 
for a way to improve it. I realize this is a piecemeal approach, and could 
lead to tanks which look like a bunch of nicely designed and balanced 
sections all shoved together, but hopefully over the course of time our own 
artistic talents would be developing enough to see how to harmonize the 
pieces.

My own tank is far from beautiful at this point, both due fighting with 
algae and a lack of artistic sensibility on my part, so I am not going to 
post pics of them asking for analysis - I don't need to be told that I suck! 
But I can and do learn from seeing other people's tanks and especially from 
hearing people discuss what is RIGHT about them. Rather than say we all suck 
and challenge us to raise the level (which I, for one, have NO IDEA how to 
do, even after studying picture after picture of beautiful tanks), how about 
being the "Tom Barr" of aesthetics, pointing out over and over what makes a 
particular tank work design-wise, just as he does with the science?

Just a thought -

-rachel

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