The sublime originated from the Latin word sublīmis, it means the quality of greatness, whether its physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. In terms of photography the sublime is a western aesthetic concept of ‘the exalted’ of ‘beauty that is grand and dangerous’. It refers to the wild, unbounded grandeur of nature.
Above is a mood board all around the meaning of the Sublime within art, below is one about the Sublime in photography terms.
Photographs which display a sense of sublime are ones which show beauty but also terror, for example a storm. The sublime can also make you feel at the mercy of something for example when looking out to the ocean it is beautiful yet it makes you realise how insignificant you are in comparison to it.
Edmund Burke and the sublime
Edmund Burke was an Anglo-Irish Statesman and philosopher who spent majority of his career in Great Britain. Burke was born in Dublin however he relocated in Great Britain and served as a member of parliament from 1766 to 1794 in the House Of Commons with the Whig Party. Previous to becoming an MP Burke released a book named ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origins of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful’ in 1757 where he discussed his views on the meaning of the Sublime. In this book Edmund Burke noted there were certain experiences which supply a kind of thrill or shudder perverse pleasure, mixing fear and delight.
Storm Ciarán
Storm Ciarán, known as storm Emir in Germany, was a European windstorm which hugely affected areas of Europe from late October to early November 2023. Ciarán impacted north-western Europe and killed over 20 people. It also hugely affected Jersey and has been seen as the worst storm since ‘the great storm of 1987’. The storm was a terrifying and tragic experience for many people living in Jersey and many implications followed the storm such as schools being closed and trees being down all over the island. It has been estimated over 400 trees were lost during this storm. Experts have said one of the things which was likely to cause Storm Ciarán is climate change. This is believed due to the heavy rainfall we received which is caused by temperatures warming, there is also some evidence stating that storms such as Ciarán will continue to become windier. Storm Ciarán is just one of the many examples of how nature can be beautiful however it can also be deadly, this is an example of the sublime.
