Landscapes, faces, fine art, or epic architecture; stars in the sky.

如風景、臉孔、藝術品、壯觀的建築、夜晚的星空

Or simply the reflection of the sun on an empty bottle.

甚至是太陽照在空瓶子上反射出的光芒

Beauty is nothing tangible, it only exists in our heads as a pleasant feeling.

美麗不是有形的存在它只是我們腦中產生的一種愉悅感

If we have to define it, we perceive something as beautiful if its color, shape, form, or proportion somehow are appealing or delightful to us.

如果一定要下定義，我們可以說當某物的顏色、外形、形式或比例吸引或取悅我們，我們就會覺得它美麗

Beauty is a very human experience that's been with us for millions of years.

美感是人類很重要的經驗，幾百萬年前早已存在

Even our first tools were trimmed to a symmetrical shape.

就連人類最古老的石器工具都是做成對稱的形狀

Researchers have tried to find practical reasons why our ancestors invested the time to make their tools look nice, but couldn't really identify any.

研究人員不斷在尋找答案：為什麼人類的祖先要花時間把工具美化？卻仍不得其解

It seems that early humans shaped their tools into teardrops, simply because they liked them better that way.

早期的人類把石器工具做成淚滴形似乎單純只跟喜好有關

Throughout our history, the definition of beauty has changed a lot.

在漫長歷史中，人類的審美標準經歷了劇烈的變化

Ideals have shifted or turned into their opposites.

所謂「美」的典範不但會轉移，甚至曾完全顛倒

But beyond individual and contemporary tastes some things have never really gone out of fashion.

但撇開個人或時代品味不談，有些標準卻不曾退流行

The golden ratio, symmetry, or fractal patterns can be found in the art and architecture of cultures from our beginnings, to today.

黃金比例、對稱性或碎形圖案都可見於古今各種人類文化中的藝術和建築

Humans seem to be in mysterious, inherent agreement about the beauty of certain things.

人類對某些事物的美感似乎有著神秘且與生俱來的共識

The patterns that keep coming up are all rooted in nature.

這些不斷出現的圖形，其實都源自於大自然

They became part of our biology because they helped our ancestors survive.

由於它們對人類祖先的生存有貢獻因此成了我們的一部分

Fractal patterns for example, occur all over nature.

［美為什麼能讓人感到愉悅］

In snail shells, flower heads; waves or clouds

舉例來說，碎形圖案普遍存在於自然界

Identifying and assessing these things and phenomena correctly used to be vital.

在海螺殼、假單花、海浪或雲朵中都可看見

Do those clouds mean rain will come soon? Are these waters safe to swim through? Can I eat this?

能正確辨識和評估這些事物和現象曾經是攸關生死的技能

Another pervasive thing is symmetry.

這些雲狀代表大雨將至嗎？這片水域能安全游過嗎？這東西能吃嗎？

In nature it means everything is as it should be

另一個隨處可見的例子，就是對稱

Stems and trees and leaves and blossoms all grow symmetrically

在大自然中，對稱表示一切正常

A deer with impressive antlers is probably a source of nutritious meat.

樹的莖幹、葉和花朵，都是對稱生長的

A deformed wheat hair may not be safe to eat.

某鹿若有一對雄偉好看的鹿角，通常表示牠的肉很營養

A symmetrical face is more likely to belong to a healthy and fertile mating partner.

小麥鬚若變形，表示吃了可能不安全

Because symmetry is so common in fauna and flora, it's extremely familiar to our brain.

一個健康、生育力強的對象，臉孔通常都比較對稱

It helped our ancestors evaluate their environment more easily, and react quickly to danger.

由於對稱是動植物中十分普遍的特性所以我們的大腦對它非常熟悉

Things that helped us survive activate the reward center in our brain,

它讓人類祖先能更輕易地評估環境並迅速對危險做出反應

recognising signals of safety and nutrition, triggered nice feelings in us.

這些事物能幫助我們存活是藉由激發人類腦中的獎勵中心

So our sense of beauty probably evolved from pattern recognition, but it goes way beyond that now.

當我們發現安全和營養的信號，就會感到愉快

Humans seem to have evolved an instinct for beauty that is deeply hardwired into us.

所以說，雖然人類美感可能是由「圖形辨識」演化而來的但它的功能可遠不止於此

It remain even after other processes in our brain stop working.

對於美感，人類似乎已演化出一種根深蒂固的本能

Alzheimer's patients were asked to rank the beauty of several paintings

就算大腦中其他功能已停止，美感仍繼續存在

Then the experiment was repeated two weeks later

研究人員請阿茲海默症患者依「美」的程度來為將幾幅繪畫排序

The patients have long since forgotten the paintings, but still ranked the beauty of the paintings in the same order.

然後，兩週後再重覆一次相同實驗

One could argue that this doesn't say much. So what if people stick to their personal preferences?

病患早就忘記看過這些畫，但排出的順序仍然不變

But other research has shown that we have a sort of lowest common denominator when it comes to beauty.

有些人可能認為這不能證明什麼那些患者只是堅持個人喜好而已吧？

In different experiments, people were asked to distinguish real from fake abstract paintings.

但有研究已顯示，人類在美感上有一種最起碼的共同點

Some were originals by Mondrian and Pollock that were painted based on strict rules like fractal patterns, while the imitations were not.

在另一項實驗中，受試者被要求去區分抽象畫的真偽

The majority picked out the original artworks.

當中有些蒙德里安及波洛克的真作是根據碎形圖案等嚴謹的規則畫出來的，而贋品則不是

This worked for paintings from both artists, even though their arts are very different.

大多數人都能挑出真品

Another experiment also used abstract artworks but, asked people to pick them out among similar paintings made either by children or animals.

即使這兩位畫家的畫風迥異，實驗結果卻一樣

Again, the test subjects pointed out the legit paintings whose patterns were carefully planned and not random

另一項實驗也是使用抽象畫，但要求受訪者從其他由孩童或動物畫的類似畫作中挑出真品

So while we have a hard time pinning down what beauty is or what it's based on, we somehow recognize it when we see it

同樣地，受試者仍能成功挑出精心繪製的大師之作

Humans don't navigate nature trying to survive day by day anymore

所以，雖然「美」似乎沒有一定的定義或基礎但當它出現在我們眼前，我們總是有辦法認出它來

We left the natural world behind and created our own.

［美為什麼重要］

We made the objects that surround us the things we wear and use and look at.

如今人類不再需要每天在大自然中求生存

As we spread over the planet and our numbers grew, we shaped a completely man-made environment.

我們已離開大自然，創造了我們自己的世界

In the process of doing so, we often neglected beauty in favor of functionality cost or efficiency.

我們周遭的一切都是我們的作品包括我們穿戴、使用，及觀看的所有東西

We built rows and rows of concrete housing blocks that nobody wants to live in.

人類不但遍佈各地，生養眾多也塑造了完全人造的環境

We have ugly underground subway stations, shabby public service buildings, and sprawling malls.

過程中，我們經常忽略了美感反而更在意功能、成本和效率

One bland, standardized box beside the next.

我們用鋼筋和水泥打造了一排排沒人想住的樓房

Humans, don't like monotony.

建造了醜陋的地鐵站、破舊的公共建築和無限延伸購物中心

Eye tracking software has shown that people keep focusing on details and ornaments of architecture while brushing quickly over blank walls

平淡無趣的標準化方塊，一個接著一個

And not only are they no fun to look at, they actually make us miserable.

人類其實並不喜歡單調

Experiments with skin sensors showed that looking at vast, dull facades makes us feel bored and uncomfortable.

透過眼球追蹤軟體可以發現，我們看到無聊牆面會快速掃視而過，但卻會仔細盯著建築上的細節和裝飾

This kind of boredom has been linked to raised heart rates and stress levels and the opposite seems to be true, too.

單調的建築不僅沒什麼好看，還會影響我們的心情

Over the last decades more and more studies have found that surroundings that are actually aesthetically pleasing to us can improve our well-being, our behavior,

一項使用皮膚感測器的實驗發現，注視龐大而沉悶的建築不但讓人感到無聊，甚至令人不舒服

cognitive function, and mood.

這種無聊感與心跳率及壓力感的上升有關而相反的實驗似乎也導向相同的結論

Our bodies and brains react measurably and visibly to everything that surrounds us

過去數十年來，愈來愈多的研究發現身處於有美感的環境中，有助改善我們的健康、行為、

Beauty in particular has such a strong impact on our well-being that making useful things beautiful can actually make them better.

認知功能，以及情緒

In 2017, a hospital examined recovery factors through observation and interviews with patients and found that visual art in their lounge areas

人的身體和大腦對周遭事物都會產生明顯的反應

made them more comfortable and happier about their stay in general.

「美」對我們的幸福尤其有著強烈的影響力——把實用的東西做得好看，確實可使它們更好

Another study looked at how well patients recovered in a hospital that had two wards.

2017 年一家醫院通過觀察及訪談病患來探討康復因素他們發現，大廳裡的視覺藝術

A very old and rather ugly one, and a newly renovated ward.

可以讓病人在住院期間感到更加舒適、愉快

To the researchers' surprise, the patients that stayed in the new, renovated environment, needed less pain medication

另一項研究則探討醫院病患在兩間不同病房中的康復情況

and were released on average, two days earlier than patients recovering in the old ward.

一間病房又舊又醜，另一間則是最新整修好的

More beautiful surroundings made them feel better, physically.

研究人員驚訝地發現，住在新病房的病患需要的止痛藥量較少

Beauty also has an effect on us on a daily basis.

而且比住在舊病房的病患平均早兩天出院

It can improve our general happiness.

較美的環境讓他們的感覺身體變好

A study that looked at the main factors influencing the happiness of adults revealed an unexpected result.

「美」也影響著我們的日常生活

Besides things like good health in a harmonious family life, individual happiness is affected by how beautiful you find the city you live in.

它能讓我們感到比較幸福

Beauty scored even higher than cleanliness or safety.

一項探討影響成人幸福感主要因素的研究發現了令人意外的結果

So what can we learn from all of this?

除了身體健康、家庭和諧以外，一個人認為自己的城市有多美麗，也會影響他的幸福感

We know that we humans have been fine-tuned for millions of years to process visual input and assess our surroundings.

環境美不美的重要性，甚至比清潔度和安全度都還要高

It's just what we're programmed to do and we're starting to learn more about how much beauty as a property is really influencing us.

那麼...我們能從中學到什麼？

Beauty meets an inherent need for meaningful information.

我們知道，人類經過數百萬年的演化如今非常善於利用視覺來評估周遭環境

Maybe it would be worth giving it more space in this man-made world we have created.

我們就是被如此設定，而我們也開始認識到美感這項特質對我們的影響有多深遠

This video was a collaboration with the creative agencies, Sagmeister and Walsh as a contribution to their upcoming beauty exhibition.

「美」為訊息賦予了意義，以滿足我們的內在需求

The exhibition will be shown at the Mak Vienna from Oct. 23, 2018 - Mar. 31, 2019

也許人造的世界應該給它更多的立足空間

and a Mak Frankfurt from May 01, 2019 - Sept. 30, 2019

本片是與創意機構Sagmeister & Walsh合作的作品以贊助他們近期將開幕的關於美的展覽

If you want to learn more about the impact of beauty and see tons of gorgeous installations and multimedia objects,

該展覽將在2018年10月23日至2019年3月31日間於維也納應用藝術博物館(MAK Vienna)展出

go check it out!

之後在2019年5月1日至9月30日間於法蘭克福應用藝術博物館(MAK Frankfurt)展出

review: Doğa Poyraz Tahan

如果你想瞭解更多關於美學的影響力並欣賞大量華麗的裝置藝術和多媒體物件