Aesthetics

     It's not about whether art is good or bad, but how it portrays life.

     Aesthetically speaking, two theories- formalism which implies that the purpose of art is to structure reality and guide behavior through form and ideals and romanticism which implies that arts purpose is to connect its viewers to a deeper, mysterious and transcendent reality.

     Yes, it is wonderful to see different parts come together to make something "beautiful", what about the mysteries of life? I side with romanticism because it is much more interesting to ponder more than what we are typically comfortable with. I support the romantic view that aesthetics should be supplemented with the sublime. Going beyond what we can interpret right away and creating a canvas for further thought and contemplation.
    
     Explanatory Breadth - Romantic art isn't merely visual- it also includes poetry, fiction and music as well. Formal art is mostly visual(i.e pottery, furniture, etc). Romantic art makes it easy to understand an artists because there is a variety of forms and there isn't much to take apart from it other than the thought of why an artist chose the color or even the question "was this an accident?" Music can be interpreted, the moral of the story can be discussed and the purpose may be mysterious but romantic art gives its viewers, listeners, readers enough to make something of it.  
     Explanatory Depth - Romanticism has far more details that explain the aspects of art. Romantic art is a painting with more complex brush strokes- color, shade and shadow implying each aspect. Unlike formal works of art the elements of art in a romantic piece present themselves in a manner which is comprehensive to those who really understand the basic concepts of each aspect.
     Simplicity - Formal art can be represented in two very different ways. Abstract formalism represents the direct form(color, shape) allowing the viewer to consider concept without thinking about specific similarities to other examples. Figurative formalism is more symbolic representation of a form.  These types are defined for understanding. Romantic artists however, don't particularly have one or two styles of creating their art. Romantic artists represent deep relationships with nature and the belief of individualism with a deeper emotion, far beyond what we are capable of capturing right away. Formal art requires less thought, thus making it the more simpler theory of the two.
     Conservatism - Although most people are familiar with the concepts of formal art because of its representation of particular things and we think we can understand its "beauty", one could say that romantic art exists more today in the same manner it did long ago, in an implicit sense. Music has hidden messages as well as novels, poems and even TV shows, activities people interest and engage themselves in, in their every life. There are many specific works of romantic art today that transcend reality and go against the grain to express more emotions than we are comfortable with.

1. Formalism and Romanticism are the most plausible explanations of Aesthetics
2. Formalism is simpler  but Romanticism has more explanatory breadth, depth and in my opinion is more consistent with our current common sense beliefs whether we'd like to admit it or not.
3. Consequently, Romanticism is the most plausible explanation of Aesthetics.