Aesthetics & the Arts

Alongside autism, another area of special interest for me is in a self-defined category of 'aesthetics & the arts'.

I would quickly add that I consider myself an amateur in this arena too ~ I'm certainly no expert in the arts, individually or collectively, nor am I an expert in any associated formal discipline.

But, I really do take great pleasure from pictures & words, and from music & drama, popular & otherwise.  And I can become absorbed by anything I find to be aesthetically or sensorily rewarding, from single pieces of art to images of the wider world around us, naturally occurring or designed, as seen through my own eyes or through the eyes of others.

The arts ~ art in particular & now authoring ~ have been an effective escape for me, even a refuge on occasions.  I used to lose hours to art, to writing too sometimes, to listening to music, even to creating ideas that never saw the light of day (just the bottom of a bin).  And now I stay awake far too late at night collecting aesthetics (or pictures) & words, courtesy of Pinterest ~ a visual thinker's dream social media channel, in my view, & an easy way for me to communicate what's in my head.  Whether anyone else understands my clumsy attempts at non-verbal, visualised communication is another matter but it is all in the pictures.

Interestingly, while aesthetics & the arts are my arenas for escape & expression, these subjects do link strongly back to autism.  Certain autistic traits lend themselves to creative pursuits, like:

• an ability to focus for an extraordinarily long time on one thing (if of interest!)
• a very keen eye for detail
• an idiosyncratic, sometimes advanced, vocabulary
• an ability to think differently, outside the box
• an intense alertness & awareness of surroundings 
• extreme empathy & sensitivity  

So, actually, there is a satisfying synergy & logic bringing these interests together in one place with the anticipation of exploring further in future posts (found by selecting the category from the column on the right).

And, you know, maybe my passion & autistic traits actually do make me a little bit more than an amateur in those specific areas of the arts that I focus on.  After all, it's a growing frustration in the autism community that autistic special interests are often dismissed as being "unhealthy obsessions" yet if non-autistics were to show similar focus, it would be regarded as dedication, commitment & expertise.

Many an autistic expert is hidden away in their bedroom ... undervalued, overlooked ... their unique skills & expertise untapped & unutilised (I may have made that word up ... if it doesn't exist, it should!). 

The Harvest by Helen Timbury 2011