Stephen May

The Wisdom of Beauty Stephen May

The Wisdom of Beauty is an artist's credo, a statement of personal and philosophical reflection on the "art phenomenon" in human experience. This extended essay starts with the author's experience as a painter, moves through successive reflections on what constitutes "the good" in both life and art, and returns to the way his best work as a painter emerges from the disappearance of "self" into the process. The book is a dialogue on the relationship of ethics (the good) and aesthetics (the beautiful), which arrives at the author's unique vision of their inseparability and the guidance this provides for both art and life.