As you say, it's a theory, and it does describe many of our impulses, to emphasize the decay of human-made objects, and try to revive decaying biological ones. On the other hand, the Japanese have a concept they call wabi-sabi. Originally used in a religious context, wabi denoted the loneliness of living in nature, apart from society, and sabi meant “chill,” “lean” or “withered”. Over time, Japan was influenced by the zen buddhism that was imported from China between the 8th and 12th centuries, and wabi-sabi came to be connected to the Buddha's declaration that all things - natural and human made - are imperfect, impermanent, and essentially interconnected, and that we do best when we learn to embrace this imperfection, impermanence, and the incompleteness we suffer when we don't embrace that interconnection. This developed into an aesthetic, which seeks to display the beauty that is to be found in imperfection and impermanence, and thus to help us learn to embrace it and connect to it, so that eventually we can embrace the imperfection and impermanence of our own lives, and to see the connections that constitute it, and to see beauty there. So they seek to overcome our discomfort with the withered objects of the world by seeing and embracing their beauty, and even emphasizing it in human made objects, and thus connecting to it. So, maybe we tend to emphasize the decay of human-made objects to enhance our connection to these things, while we are already drawn to the beauty of the natural world, and have to learn to embrace the decay to be found there. Another theory.

I eventually got round to going out for some new stuff to post in this thread. I got this today. Part of the story is that it's quite close to Aberdeen city centre (but there's no way to convey that in the shot). Derelict buildings on the edge of town aren't as poignant as those close to town or city centres. There's something in us that wants the centre of our universes to be fully functional.

I could have gone for a more desaturated look to add to the look of deterioration but I'd used the WB and Tint sliders plus some split toning to give an overall green/blue colour cast and those colours don't go against the desired look the way that warmer colours would. I also left the lighting on the low side deliberately, and gave it generous amounts of sharpening.
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I learned about this theory from another UHH member after I posted a number of images of this type, but had not know before that there was a name for my fascination. I've been scolded by online critics for not choosing more perfect specimens for nature closeups. In general, folks seem more tolerant of photos of imperfection in manmade objects (if they are old), and even in people if they're old or unfortunate) than in nature, where there is more tendency to seek out the pristine.

The dying rose is pretty much SOOC, shot with in-camera focus-stacking as it sat on my iPad. The dead weed in shown against a textured backdrop, added in post (the original background was black swamp water).

I learned about this theory from another UHH member after I posted a number of images of this type, but had not know before that there was a name for my fascination. I've been scolded by online critics for not choosing more perfect specimens for nature closeups. In general, folks seem more tolerant of photos of imperfection in manmade objects (if they are old), and even in people if they're old or unfortunate) than in nature, where there is more tendency to seek out the pristine.

The dying rose is pretty much SOOC, shot with in-camera focus-stacking as it sat on my iPad. The dead weed in shown against a textured backdrop, added in post (the original background was black swamp water).