ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the difference between aesthetics and beauty in science and in art. By analyzing similarities and differences between the two visually attractive, and seemingly comparable, representations of flowers, the chapter explains why, how, and when two images that both represent a flower exemplify two different conceptions of aesthetics. In-depth comparison of the aesthetic ideals underlying the two images reveals the significant differences between applied aesthetic judgment of taste and pure aesthetic judgment of taste - of which only the former acknowledges the representational dimension of an image. In order to further nuance the different aesthetic ideals at work in the two images, the chapter discusses a third flower representation that is neither science nor art but a piece of critical design - aesthetically camouflaged as science. By elaborating on and comparing these different examples, the chapter highlights different aspects of aesthetics, their correspondingly different aesthetic ideals, and the role of data representation in these different aesthetic ideals.
