Space, Aesthetics, Humanity, and Love

Tauhid Nur Azhar

Last Thursday was a truly delightful day for me. After a satisfying job in the cool and beautiful city of Batu, I felt the pleasure of interconnected transportation modes that made Indonesia’s beauty more appreciated without draining much energy.

The Brilliant Leadership class organized by BRI Corporate University in Batu was lively with explosive laughter throughout the session I attended.
The participants from East Java, known for their straightforward and spontaneous character, are indeed the ideal students for instructors and mentors in training classes. It was very refreshing and generated a distributed energy circulation that penetrated every dimensional barrier.
On my way to the next class at Danone Academy Indonesia, I encountered a crucial moment — a doctoral defense at ITB. Held on the 3rd floor of the ITB Rectorate Annex building, a dissertation about space design and the noble values of women, which are correlated, was to be defended by a lecturer from ISI Surakarta.

I, for some reason, was suddenly involved in research related to aesthetics, which touched on the theoretical, empirical, and experiential aspects of aesthetics as proposed by Stecker et al., so I had to attend this sacred event, didn’t I?
By connecting between Batik Air, GoJek, Whoosh, the Feeder train, and my personal motorcycle, I successfully arrived at the location according to plan.

The allocation of time for presenting research results and defending ideas was passed with great pride by the doctoral candidate.
It turned out that the presence of supporters, including mega stars like the famous sinden Dr. Peni Chandarini and her colleagues from Norway, made the examiners quite fascinated and eventually captivated by the overall aura of the defense, which suddenly became more vibrant.
As a result, the chairman of the defense, Prof. Yasraf Amir Piliang, representing the highest academic institution at this very tense academic moment, announced the doctoral candidate’s graduation with cum laude honors, which we had suspected from the beginning.
Dhian, the doctoral candidate, wrestled with discourse and thesis premises that gave birth to a hypothesis about the relationship between space, design, and Javanese women’s values, behind the walls of the Mangkunegaran palace.

Dhian’s thesis, which was beautifully and elegantly presented in her dissertation, successfully mapped various unique relationship models between design, space, and human values that are embodied in a woman.
Where a woman herself is a masterpiece of literature that appears with all her charm and nobility, which will captivate other humans in the world. In fact, a woman is the essence or core of the universe’s vortex.

Women and space are connected by an aesthetic network. Beauty is not just about sensory experiences, but also about supra-cognitive beauty that requires meta-analysis of signs to extract meaning.

Etymologically, the word “aesthetics” comes from the Latin “aestheticus” or Greek “aestheticos”, which means “to perceive” or “something that can be perceived by the human senses”.

The term “aestheticos” is derived from “aisthanomai”, which means “I see, I touch, and I feel”. Isn’t that a sensory experience?

This term was first introduced by philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten in 1735. According to Baumgarten, aesthetics is a science that deals with things that can be perceived through feelings.

Initially, aesthetics was about evaluating something beautiful and judging it from technical aspects in creating a work. However, changes in societal thinking have influenced the evaluation of aesthetics.

Meanwhile, the concept of beauty embedded in the context of sensory interaction and metacognition, which is intertwined with esoteric adventure and empirical and mystical experiences, is certainly influenced by cultural structures in the realm of anthropology.

In Structuralism theory, French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss argues that social and cultural structures can be understood through relationships and interactions within human living spaces.

According to Lévi-Strauss, social structure reflects collective thinking patterns formed through myths, rituals, and cultural symbols within that space.

Meanwhile, in Symbolic Interaction theory, Erving Goffman suggests that social interaction can be seen as a “drama” where individuals act as actors playing roles on the stage of everyday life.

Goffman emphasizes the importance of “front stage” and “back stage” in social life, where individuals present themselves differently depending on the social context.

There is also the theory of Social Space Modality proposed by Henri Lefebvre, where he tries to introduce the concept of social space production.

In his book “The Production of Space”, Lefebvre argues that space is not just physical but also social and symbolic.

Space is produced and reproduced through social practices, power, and ideology that manifest in architecture, urban planning, and land use.

For Javanese cultural heritage, a study by Koentjaraningrat shows how traditional Javanese households are organized based on cosmological and social principles.

The space in Javanese houses is divided into a front room (pendopo) for guests and ceremonies, and a back room (dalem) that is more private for family members.

This division reflects the social hierarchy and religious values of Javanese society.

Meanwhile, public spaces and social interactions that occur in these spaces, such as markets, parks, and places of worship, also play a crucial role in constructing the order of civilization through the formation of various social interaction models.

These spaces become meeting points for various social groups, enabling the exchange of ideas, goods, and services, as well as strengthening social bonds.

A fascinating case study is the traditional market in Indonesia, such as Beringharjo or Johar Semarang. Clifford Geertz’s research on traditional markets in Indonesia shows how markets are not just economic transaction spaces but also social spaces where identities and social relationships are formed and strengthened.

Markets become meeting points for various layers of society, from farmers, traders, to consumers, who interact with each other in a highly social and cultural context.

Thus, space in a palace or public space like a market is a medium where human interactions with the environment and other elements in life will occur. Socioreactor (my personal term), might be an apt description for the role of various spaces in life.

There are many theories that have been born in the last two centuries by scholars to describe various interaction models within spaces, along with their influencing factors and preferences. Some of these theories include:

Environmental-Evolutionary Theory, which states that human preferences for certain environments originate from evolutionary needs for survival.

Environmental psychologists, such as Stephen Kaplan and Rachel Kaplan, argue that humans tend to feel comfortable and safe in environments that provide cues for the presence of water, vegetation, and shelter.

Space design that incorporates natural elements, such as gardens within buildings or green views, can increase feelings of well-being and reduce stress.

Personal Control Theory, which is extensively discussed by Altman (1975), emphasizes the importance of an individual’s ability to control their environment.

Spaces that provide control, such as windows that can be opened, adjustable lighting, and private spaces, can increase comfort and mental health.

Restoration Attention Theory, popularized by Kaplan and Kaplan (1989), suggests that environments that are visually appealing and provide opportunities for mental reflection can help restore attention that is fatigued.

Spaces that contain natural elements, art, or beautiful views can facilitate mental recovery, healing spaces.

Please permit me, if I naively try to conclude that space, signs, and interaction models that occur within the social reactor medium have a crucial role that significantly contributes to the construction of social genetics, which guides the construction of civilization’s structure.

Thus, homes, schools, workplaces, virtual spaces, or digital media that have evolved into digital habitats with hybrid ecosystems that have conjugated various dimensions, interdimensional juxta bridge, are prerequisites for the emergence of beauty in the context of aesthetic philosophy.

In line with the construction of multi-sensory theory in the realm of cognitive competence that prioritizes sensory guards. Also in line with the concept of aesthetics that is subtle because it is behind the soft veil of philosophical sutra.

Thus, space is an energy trap, like a Faraday cage that can convert electromagnetic radiation through the mechanism of style and gesture.

Space that is empty yet not vacant, often appears hollow. It is also never full, even though it appears very crowded and noisy. Space that is flexible and can be stretched, in line with the dynamics of reason and awareness.

Therefore, there will be many sciences that require a lot of data from various research results, which are needed to design and create various spaces that are accommodating to the many branches of civilization.