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The Aesthetics of Rural Appalachian Poverty Culture by Jerry W. Morris Jerry W. Morris is an associate professor of art education, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Illustration by Jerry Morris In my lifetime I have known Appalachian poverty. I was born and reared in the hills of West Virginia. I have lived with, I have looked at, I have talked with, and I have listened to the people here— especially those who are economically poor. Now I live in the mid-west, and I am an outsider to my West Virginia friends and relatives. When I visit for squirrel hunting, or fishing, or just to see people and talk, I view things differently than when I lived here. Maybe, because of this, I am able to understand better the life and people of rural Appalachia than before. This paper presents some thoughts about my association with these people who comprise some of West Virginia's poor, and, in particular, the aesthetic qualitities in their lives. To mention aesthetics in this situation first requires that some meaning for the word, itself, be presented. Referring to aesthetics or to aesthetic qualities is similar to talking about art or artistic qualities . However, any reference made to aesthetics implies more than the usual ''painting-drawing-sculpture " definition associated with art. Typically, the word art is associated with a standard of beauty, with what is "pretty," and with some special groups of objects. It is readily apparent that when the word art is used to mean these things, it has very little to do with the economically poor of rural Appalachia or their lives. Used this way, art relates more to society's affluent, elite, and rich. Those who do not understand this context of art or who cannot afford its presence (e.g., those who live in poverty) simply live without it. However , if attention is directed more toward aesthetics, the meaning implied is broader in nature, and relates to the lives of the poor as well as the rich. Instead of placing importance on a quality which is believed to be in an object or an event as art does, aesthetics place importance upon a quality which is believed to be within a person. Meant this way, aesthetics are akin to a view of life, an attitude, more so than to a standard of what makes some object pretty or beautiful. Being aesthetic or aesthetically sensitive simply means a person has a way of dealing with the objects or events of life. To call a person aesthetically sensitive is to say that person gives special attention to the events or objects of life and the special features they hold. To call a person aesthetically sensitive is to 25 say that person has the ability to look within himself and to realize the special thoughts and feelings he associates with these objects and features. For example, while oak trees may be grouped according to species (white oaks, chestnut oaks, pin oaks), to deal with them aesthetically would imply that each oak of each species be appreciated for its individual qualities and for what it means to the appreciator (it is leaning just so; it has a lightning scar on the base which runs just so; its surface has a particular textural effect; it has a knothole just there ; its top is broken at a certain point; it makes a person feel sad; etc.). Going along with this extreme attention to unique features in objects is an abiding respect for each person and for each life. Being aesthetically sensitive also requires each person to look at his own life and its importance. Just as all things become special when a person looks at them aesthetically, each life becomes special, for each life is uniquely different, and each person goes through life in a slightly different way. Everything a person does in life, therefore, becomes important; each person's life is of special value. Consequently, to say someone is aesthetically sensitive means that person appreciates life; to say someone is aesthetically sensitive simply implies that person richly values that which is around him and what it provides for him. And, beyond a doubt, the economically poor of...
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