Written by: Daylen Byrd | Summer 2023
Art and Culture in Vienna
Inside the Secession, “Beethoven Frieze” -Gustav Klimt
An aesthetic can be defined by its physicality or set principles. One merely experiences an aesthetic when obligated to do so, although others commit themselves in doing so. To flourish in the aesthetic is to command experience and perception. Qualities that help to define or redefine the nature of such. Traversing countries and continents mends a perceived yearning for cultural understanding and artisanal appreciation. Here a person becomes self-aware, relating the foreign to their domestic, establishing if not growing who they are in relation to the world around them.
Venice, Italy
Within the artistic parameters of my global education, I have come to experience Florence, Italy in the summer of 2022 and now Vienna, Austria in 2023. Florence became the ladder to my contempt sanctuary. There I was able to relinquish the prejudice that kept away progress. Surrounded by preserved artistry and a culture foreign to my own, I found the urge to expand. To expand in a way that would teach me about myself and how to evolve in my pursuits. An expansion of self and skill. I floated across waters, hiked centuries-old architectures and adapted to my changing environments, and yet I still yearned for adventure. I left Florence as someone who possessed a keen inspiration and a firm perception of self. But the state of possession has the ability to shift from one hand to another. On June 8, 2023 I left to spend 2 weeks in Vienna.
Vienna, Austria
I knew that a change in scenery brought much needed alterations to life and provided the opportunity for reflection. For years I had found comfort in art, as both expression and a source of happiness, and it is why I pursue it. Much like art, Vienna provided not only a space for expression but it also became an environment of creative exploration. I would visit numerous museums daily, such as the Leopold and the Secession. I rode subways into modern cities merged with historical buildings. I even walked gravesites filled with classical sculpture. But most importantly, I allowed myself to experience the aesthetic.
Upper Belvedere Palace, Vienna
Traveling gives you this opportunity to experience pleasant change. Any student should consider studying abroad as I find it as a way to make traveling more accessible and it provides greater opportunities in discovering yourself outside of your comfort zone. You start to learn more about yourself and your passions, and while in a foreign place you give yourself a sense of freedom that lies outside of a campus or a dorm. When seeking an aesthetic, flourish within it. Go into it with the hopes of learning and changing, appreciating all there is to offer.
Vienna, Austria