Understanding Taste
Taste /teist/ noun 1. A person’s tendency to like or be interested in something. 1.1 The ability to discern what is of good quality or of a high aesthetic standard. 1.2 Conformity or failure to conform with generally held views concerning what is offensive or acceptable.
Introduction Several philosophers, writers and artists have theorized the subject of taste during different eras across the world. Regardless of each of their theories there is no conclusive answer to what taste is and how our tastes are influenced. This is because taste is complex and has several internal and external factors influencing it. We cannot pinpoint as to who or how taste is influences but what we can do is aim to understand it and how it travels better. It must be said though that taste isn’t a constant – it changes as we change. It is an evolution of choices through out our lives that change in accordance to our upbringing, our surroundings, peers, idols and society in general. Our peers or tribes’ tastes influence ours as does marketing and advertising. However that doesn’t go to say that we don’t have personals tastes as well – we do – but they are often secret to others around us. What this book shall aim to accomplish is provide an insight to what taste us and how it travels differently to give a well rounded but not conclusive answer as to what taste is.
good /guod/ adjective 1. To be desired or approved of. 2. Having the qualities required for a particular role.
Good Taste
Bad Taste bad /bad/ adjective 1. Of poor quality; inferior or defective. 2. Not such as to be hoped for or desired; unpleasant or unwelcome.
What is Good or Bad Taste? Good taste is a taste that is accepted by others. These might be people that are a part of your tribe or society as a whole. Bad taste is a taste that isn’t accepted by others and is often a taste that doesn’t please society or those that are a part of your tribe. Everyone’s opinion on what is good taste or bad taste varies since it is an individualistic opinion that is informed by society.
Taste is binary – it is seen as good or bad. Taste is quantized – it can be measured with more or less taste.
Theorists On Taste The ideologies behind Kant, Simmel and Bourdieu.
Kant German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote about taste and judgment in the Critique of Judgment. He argues that it is our faculty of judgment that enables us to experience beauty. When we view something we judge it for its beauty and take pleasure in judging beauty. To Kant taste involves the judgment of beauty. Kant opinion on taste can be seen as quite conflicting since he says that taste is a subjective judgment in which an object is referred by our imagination to our subjective selves to the feeling of pleasure or displeasure that the object arouses in us. But Kant continues to say that even though taste is subjective and we can claim to view something as beautiful subjectively, this claim may also apply to others. Kant concludes his argument by saying that taste is both subjective and universal, that there is a consensus of taste (sensus communis) that takes place since everyone judges beauty and those who do will most likely find the same things beautiful.
Simmel Simmel’s theory of taste is partially influenced by Kant’s theory however he relates taste to social classes. Simmel’s theory on taste revolves around fashion in which he proposes that the upper classes – who would be considered as tastemakers – would abandon fashion that were considered tasteful as they became adopted by the lower classes. Simmel’s theory segregates tastes into social divisions of the community. There is generally a variation between groups of socioeconomic status in preferences for cultural practices and goods, to the extent that it is often possible to identify particular types of class taste. In expressing and displaying taste through various everyday actions, people reveal much information about their positions in social hierarchies. Preferences for certain consumer goods may signal status because it is conceived as part of the lifestyle of high-status groups. Simmel believes fashion is a vehicle for strengthening the unity of the social classes and for making them distinct. Upper classes tend to signal their superiority and act as the initiators of new trends. But the upper classes taste is the adopted by the middle class (who are looking to gain social status) then the lower classes. Once this taste is popularized, it looses its function to differentiate, so the upper classes have to originate yet more stylistic innovations. This theory proposed by Simmel is similar to how fashion trends function today.
Bourdieu “Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier” (1984:6) French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu released his most converted work La Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Bourdieu adapted one of the most empiricist solutions to the anatomy of taste by claiming that the taste of the ruling class is the legitimate taste of society. Bourdieu’s theory opposes that of Kant’s in claiming that there is no such thing as personal taste as the ruling classes taste is the only taste. The reasoning behind Bourdieu’s empiricist aesthetical approach is because class tastes became a factor in understanding taste. Metaphysical or spiritual interpretations of common aesthetical values shifted towards locating social groups who formed contemporary artistic tastes. Bourdieu’s view on taste is similar to Simmel’s in the sense that for them taste is related to the class system where those in the upper ruling classes determined what was deemed good or bad since they were in a position or superior cultural knowledge and the other classes followed their tastes.
How does Taste Travel?
Taste travels in many different ways, there is no one precise path. When considering how taste travels, we must also consider what and who influences our tastes.
Tribes Before discussing how taste travels within a tribe, it is important to define what a tribe is. A tribe can be a social class or group as seen in Simmel’s theory of taste. But in today’s world a tribe may also be considered people whom you surround yourself with – family, friends or work colleagues. Another notion worth mentioning is how taste and consumerism correspond to each other. Consumerism provides a platform to express our tastes – we are defined by what we buy since those inanimate objects give a glimpse of ourselves. Each object/brand that we own provides other people with information about ourselves – most importantly our socioeconomic state – but it also informs others about what tribe we may be a part of. Each tribe has particular brands that they deem ‘cool’ since they may aid in distinguishing their tribe from another. So the better part of every brand we buy relates back to our tribes since we are most likely to buy the same objects as the people around us since we are more likely to either be in the same economic position, same life situation or a particular brand may be seen as ‘cool’ or popular by our tribe. Hence a more affluent tribe (or upper class) taste may be luxurious and the brands they indulge in may correspond to this. This is the inverse for those of a less affluent tribe (lower class), but middle class taste may differ as they may have the means to afford certain luxuries that the upper class have and might posses a similar taste to them than the lower class. Tribes are the most personal way in which taste travels as they are relate directly to our lives since people around us influence it.
Marketing: Advertising & Branding mar·ket·ing /märktdiNG/ noun 1. The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising. The purpose of advertising is to influence viewers into buying products that are catered to a certain target audience. Marketers use different platforms such as advertising and branding to grab viewers attentions in a bid to increase sales. But how does taste relate to this? Every brand must carefully craft its identity, all the time thinking about its target audience and catering to their tastes. They must presume that the majority of their customers would have a similar lifestyle when creating their customer profile of their audience. From this presumption of whom the brand is for and who they want to attract, they must then create pragmatic advertising and branding to persuade those people to buy from their brand. For this reason it is important to create a strong brand identity that customers can relate to and want to possess. Strong marketing not only makes customers want to wear the brand but also renders the brand as cool. A ‘cool’ brand is not about being youthful
but it about being popular and desirable. When a brand manages to market itself correctly and be seen as desirable it becomes tasteful. However with this being said not all tribes will see the brand as tasteful because it may not appeal to those particular tribes. As mentioned before a brand has a specific target audience whom they cater to, so only those whom they are targeting would find the brand tasteful. Certain tribes find certain brands ‘cool’ since they would be of their taste. The flip side to this idea is that when a brand doesn’t market itself well and cannot resonate a connection with it target audience, it will be seen as ‘uncool’ and hence distasteful.
“We are constantly bo lot of imagery and me of those are for diffe and different audience persuaded if there is a campaign that’s suppo with you.”
ombarded by a essages but all erent purposes es so yes we’re a particular ad oses to connect - Teresa Havvas speaking at the Fashion Advertising & Taste Panel
Trends trend /trend/ noun 1. A general direction in which something is developing or changing. 2. A fashion. Before delving into how trends inform taste it is important to establish the notion of mass taste. Mass taste is a taste that targets a large proportion of society, appealing to more that one tribe. Trend forecasters create trends that appeal to mass taste. A trend forecasters role is to look social, economical, environmental and technological changes and predict what and how consumer will be shopping. They predict what will be tasteful in these situations to assure retailers that within the next coming season their customers will be interested in these trends. Trend forecasters must appeal to the ‘mass taste’ segregating society into categories targeting each trend to different age groups. The reason why trends inform taste is because products are created based on these trends and are available to buy to stores. What they predict is then available to buy. A trend informs taste because it is secretly telling you that these choices/ products are acceptable. It is letting you know that these tings allow you to be cool. Being fashionable and stylish whilst being accepted.
Media Magazines and newspapers may not necessarily create tastes, but they aid in promoting them. Fashion magazines promote new and accepted tastes to their readers through editorials, musthaves and reviews. They are selling tastes rather than creating them. However it must be said that each magazine caters to a different tribe who have a different taste. Some magazines might target ‘tasteful’ products to younger reader and other to an older.
“Magazines try to push an image out there, push this idea of what we should find tasteful.” - Brillant Nyansago speaking at the Fashion Advertising & Taste Panel
Social Media A recent phenomenon, social media has enabled people to connect to other around the world and share their thoughts, like and dislikes. We are exposed to the different ideologies through social media, so we can view so many different tastes. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram allow us to gain inspiration from a sea of tastes, but also give us the option of filtering the content to our tastes. With this exposure we can discover and influence others with content that we find tasteful and others can indulge in our tastes as well. Social media is the most effective tool when sharing our tastes since its spread is worldwide. Essentially social media has let us become tastemakers; we can directly influence a mass of tribes who appreciate our tastes. Validating our tastes When we share images or content on these platforms we are not only looking to share our tastes with others, but we are also creating a need to validate it. By validating our tastes we are assured by others that our taste is good, establishing us as tastemakers. The content we post is measured by ‘likes’ or ‘reblogs’ and the more that happens, the more our tastes have been approved by tribes who share our like and dislikes. The number of likes also helps us feel good about ourselves; it is as if society is accepting us.
Celebrities celebrity /ce·leb·ri·ty/ noun 1. A famous person. 2. The state of being well known. Celebrities are one of marketing’s best tools to spread a message. It is because of they’re exposure in society that they are able to influence many people at once. Once a celebrity is sporting a certain look by a designer or fronting a campaign, it creates a social buzz that allows people to learn about it. Celebrities hold a different position in society; their exposure in the world makes them influential rather than tasteful – but it is easy to confuse the two. This is because we assume that what they do must be tasteful since it is coaxed by glamour and desirability. Whether celebrities are the face of a campaign or just ‘tweeting’ about a product, their input (because of their reach in society and their desirability) make them effective when marketing a taste. Gossip columns constantly criticize them whether their taste is acceptable or not as well.
Conclusion The subject of taste is complex and difficult to understand especially in today’s world. We are constantly exposed to different forms of taste influencing us in new ways. It is impossible to understand exactly what it is that we find tasteful and why, but by understanding how taste travels we can see how it affects us. More than just complex, taste is ever changing. Our choices alter because of different circumstances so we may not find the same thing tasteful today as we did yesterday. The only thing we can learn to do is accept these changes and change with them, discovering new tastes.