What is Beauty? Beth Hamblin-Warren N0429794
What is B eauty? B y B e t h H a m b l i n - Wa r r e n Fashion C ommunication and Promotion C ommunication and Mess age Sarah Lewington FA S H 2 0 0 3 1
C ontents
What is B eauty? 02 Cultural References 03 C omposition 09 C ontextualising Our Images 13 Conclusion 17 Image References 19 References 21 Ap p e n d i x 22
‘81% of girls aged 15-17 believe the idea of beauty is often too narrowly defined by physical attributes.’ (Etcoff and Orbach et al., 2006, p. 19)
What is Beauty?
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Men and women are constantly surrounded by the notion you have to look a certain way to be deemed beautiful. Moving away from traditional ideals of beauty and through non-conventional forms of portraiture. Our photo shoot explores the concept beauty is formed
from within and isn’t just based on your physical attributes. Using objects that are considered to be rare forms of beauty, due to their mis-leading appereance. We wanted to create a physical representation of inner beauty, helping to portray the notion, beauty is not only skin deep.
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Cu ltura l R eferences
For our photo shoot we looked at artist that challenge themes of identity. Initially concerning the perception we have of ourselves and furthermore how we are perceived by others. These artists helped inspire and form the contextual references needed to create the narrative for the photo shoot.
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Urs Fischer is a contemporary artist who explored similar motifs; through discarding classic Hollywood icons portraits with common objects. (see Fig.24) The ‘Problem Paintings’ series questioned the importance of a face and the value of the object once put in a different context. ‘each obstacle is quotidian, but at this size, for some are as large as a pony, they are immediately iconic’ (Mcgarry, 2012) We believe our photo shoot explored this idea further. Challenging the audience to look past the initial connotations, they might have with an object and instead look at it from a more detailed perspective. We believe our images challenge stereotypical portraiture, and offer the viewer a more interesting image.
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Another artist we looked at was Rene Magritte, who also confronted similar notions of identity. He explored this through such works as ‘The Son of Man’ and ‘The Man in the Bowler Hat’. Similar to Fischer, Magritte replaces part of his subjects face with a quotidian object, with the intention to hide part of their identity. (see Fig.5-6) This approach is something Magritte argued is a regular occurrence within society. ‘Everything we see hides another thing, yet we still want to see what is hidden by what we see.’ (Totallyhistory. com, n.d.)As an artist Magritte challenged the relationship we have with ourselves and our obsessive nature to portray our ideal self with the consequence of hiding part of our identity. (Hamilton, 2011) 05
We are constantly seeing Rene Magritte’s work being referenced within the creative industry, as the messages and themes he tried to convey are still relevant in today’s society. (Hamilton, 2011). We see creatives such as Rei Nadal, reference Magritte’s work, within one of her latest collaborations with Primal Scream. The ‘2013’ music video depicts Bobby Gillespie’s philosophy of us living in a ‘violent dark and reactionary’ society. The film radiates dark yet romantic tones, classic to Rei Nadal’s creative direction. Nadal’s aesthetic follows similar motif ’s to Magritte’s work questioning the reasoning for an explanation. ‘Nothing is real, nothing is unreal’ (Gillespie, 2013) Within the film we can see the use of contemporary tastemakers such as Maison Martin Margiela, who supplied the masks used within a scene that took direct reference from the Rene Magritte’s painting ‘The Lovers’ 1928. (See Fig.7)
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Within this painting the audience witnesses a couple sharing an intimate moment through a passionate kiss. However because they are being obstructed by a garment, it would appear the subjects are in fact isolated. (See Fig.8) ‘The Lovers’ painting by Rene Magritte emits confusing messages for the viewer. Magritte’s work is intended to confuse the audience, in order for them to question and analyse the painting for a deeper meaning. (MoMA.org, n.d.) We wanted our photo shoot to question the audience in a similar way, instead of just passing by the images without a second thought; we wanted our audience to try to analyse the images and find a deeper understanding of how beauty is perceived through our photographs. Looking at the way Rene Magritte uses subliminal messaging to portray a narrative within his artwork, we tried to emulate a similar narrative, our photographs question the relationships we have with ourselves and one another. 06
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Marjaana Kella uses unconventional forms of portraiture, to explore identity. By photographing the model from behind, Kella creates an unusual and intriguing piece of artwork. The viewer is compelled to analyze and interpret the fundamental elements of her portraits, to gain insight to the persona displayed. The audience is not able to depend on a person’s physical attributes or rely on the gaze to make a judgment. (See Fig.910) ‘The subjects of Kella’s work never offer us their gaze and we are compelled to contextualize them in our own imagination.’ (Zoetendaal, 2002) The series of photographs are a study of how discarding a subjects identity allows the face to become a facade, this idea is something portrayed within our photo shoot.
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‘My photographs are kind of studies of perception and experience, or of the interface between people’s external and internal spaces.’ Marjaana Kella
C omp osit ion
Regarding composition and experimenting around with the gaze, we were heavily influenced by the artist Marjaana Kella, as shown in figure,11. Using non-conventional forms of portraiture, our photo shoot challenges the traditional ways in which beauty is presented. Acknowledging the face as the first reference point used by the viewer to gain insight into the subject within the image; we wanted to challenge our audience by taking away this key aspect. Forcing the viewer to look beyond their initial judgements, compelling them to examine the model in further detail.
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Taking inspiration from Urs Fischer, we used unique objects and gave them an aspect of importance within the composition; challenging the viewer to question the objects value and significance within the portrait. By using objects with unattractive exteriors but beautiful interiors, the props used within the photo shoot create a physical representation of inner beauty and prompts the viewer to question the relevance of the object within the portrait. We chose our objects carefully taking into consideration how they would fit onto the models face. As shown in figure,12. We wanted to ensure they followed the contours of the face, almost giving the impression they were always meant to be there. Regarding composition the objects are placed with the intention to discard a part of the models face, hiding their identity, therefore provoking the audience to look beyond the models physical attributes and analyze the portrait in more depth. We wanted our shoot to question the importance of a face, and its significance when making a judgment on whether someone is beautiful. Fig.12
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This photograph contains a women facing her back to the camera on a slight right handed angle, offering the viewer her side profile. By offering an averted gaze the model within this image depicts an element of mystery, leaving the audience unsure of where she is looking and what she is looking at (Dyer 1982). Following her hairline, we can see her hair is tucked behind her ear, drawing your eye to notice a dash of blue at the end of her hair. Your eye is then distracted by a piece of wood placed between the join of her neck and shoulder, the unusual shape of the wood seems to morph around her body and almost becomes a part of her. By taking a piece of wood and placing it within a different context, we create an entirely different meaning to the object, therefore changing the initial connotations you have with the wood. The positioning of the object makes it hard to determine what the object is adding to this sense of mystery, we did this with the intention to challenge the viewer to scrutinize every detail of the image to gain a further understanding of the subject.
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C ontextu a lising O ur Images
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We are constantly being exposed to images of beauty within the media, depicting their version of the perfect body image. We wanted our photographs to challenge this idea, forcing the viewer to question, if you take away certain aspects of a person’s attributes i.e. the face, can you still determine whether they are beautiful? Our photographs consider the face as a facade and questions the viewer to analyse the images in further detail, looking at every aspect of the image to further understand the subject within the image. 14
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We believe our photo shoot resembles and discusses similar themes to that of i-D magazine. i-D is a magazine who’s roots stemmed from the punk street style movement. Starting off originally as a free zine, i-D explored the punk identity and their evolving culture. Looking into areas regarding youth culture music and art, i-D was a zine with a raw and real aesthetic. We believe our shoot fits well within i-D magazine as it challenges the stereotypical ways beauty is portrayed. Offering an unusual visual representation of beauty, we hope our images will challenge the viewer to question the importance behind the images. Emulating the essence of i-D, we asked our models a series of questions regarding their perceptions of beauty. What makes you beautiful? Who is the most beautiful person in the world to you? What do you get complimented on the most? What is beauty / what do you find most attractive in others? What makes you happy / smile?
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By asking the models specific questions relating to the topic What is Beauty, they were able to understand the message of the photo shoot more and convey the correct narrative we needed. It was interesting as the answers given confirmed most of our research and the messages we were trying to convey. ‘There are a few aesthetic qualities that interest me...But it normally boils down to what is inside a man’s head that attracts me. Ambition, drive to be someone better attracts me, having a quirk to your personality attracts me’ (White 2013) Its evident people are attracted by physical attributes and this is therefore exploited within our media and advertising. Targeting the insecurities of so many men and women to try and change their body into something it’s not. (Frith and Shaw et al., 2005) However after asking these questions it is also evident that in order to be attracted to someone, they have to have an attractive personality.
‘There are a few aesthetic qualities that interest me...But it normally boils down to what is inside a man’s head that attracts me.’ (White 2013)
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C onclusion
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Our photo shoot is an exploration of how beauty is too overly determined by your physical attributes. We wanted to challenge our audience to question the relevance of these attributes when regarding someone as beautiful. Exploring the idea of inner beauty further we used objects that created a visual representation of inner beauty. On the outside these objects are regarded as ugly however once you look beneath their surface the objects are considered to be rare forms of beauty. Collating the inspiration we gathered from various artists and combining that with the research we collected regarding the medias influence on the portrayal of an ideal body image. Our photo shoot pulls from a variety of different contextual and cultural reference points. Forming an intelligent visual response arguing the idea beauty doesn’t have to be defined by physical features. Instead we are portraying the idea beauty is in fact formed from within, answering the question What is Beauty?
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Image References Figure.1 Group Image 2013, Reversed Beauty. Figure. 2 Fischer, U. n.d. Problem Paintings. [image online] Available at: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a5/60/72/ a56072d467e060e2a49532422372db4a.jpg. Figure. 3 Fischer, U. n.d. Problem Paintings. [image online] Available at: http:// gagosian.vaesite.net/__data/229a83dcf7090588c35e0a9ede998e0e.jpg. Figure. 4 Fischer, U. n.d. Problem Paintings. [image online] Available at: http://3. bp.blogspot.com/-aLlV6gZyrMg/T0fvm3kWbpI/AAAAAAAAZz0/GgNc979tIrE/ s1600/Urs-Fischer-beds-and-problem-paintings-gagosian-gallery-beverly-hillsfebruary-2012-www.lylybye.blogspot.com_2.jpg. Figure. 5 Kella, M. n.d. Reversed. [image online] Available at: http://31.media.tumblr. com/tumblr_lnxn7sOPU51qzr36to1_500.jpg. Figure. 6 Kella, M. n.d. Reversed. [image online] Available at: http://media-cacheec0.pinimg.com/736x/5a/88/94/5a88940b39e18c93eddf43e6322f94ae.jpg. Figure. 7 Magritte, R. n.d. The Son of Man. [image online] Available at: http://mediacache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e8/32/7f/e8327f26c80cc2a9a94e6751419a8a32.jpg. Figure. 8 Magritte, R. n.d. The Man in the Bowler Hat. [image online] Available at: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/bf/c9/18/ bfc9181188601b6b50b289239dd526f3.jpg. Figure. 9 Magritte, R. n.d. The Lovers. [image online] Available at: http:// totallyhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/the-lovers-rene-magritte-1928.jpg. Figure. 10 Unknown. n.d. Untitled. [image online] Available at: http://www. marieclaire.ru/images/th/1021/36f9/bcaf/485@323@36f9bcaf038bbfc0fd36beea510d 0bd7-Y2YxYTFkNDcwZQ.jpg. Figure. 11 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 12 Group Image , Reversed Beauty Figure. 13 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 14 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 15 Group Image, Reversed Beauty 19
Figure. 16 Unknown. n.d. i-D Cover. [image online] Available at: http://ftape.com/media/ wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Amanda-Murphy_iD-Magazine.jpg. Figure. 17 Unknown. n.d. i-D Cover. [image online] Available at: http://www.designscene. net/wp-content/gallery/022013/kate-moss-i-d-magazine-pre-spring-2013-01.jpg. Figure. 18 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 19 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 20 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 21 Group Image, Reversed Beauty Figure. 22 Group Image, Reversed Beauty
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References Chandler, D. and Dyer. 2011. Notes on The Gaze. [online] Available at: http://users.aber. ac.uk/dgc/Documents/gaze/gaze02.html [Accessed: 25 Nov 2013]. Etcoff, N., Orbach, S., Scott, J. and D’Agostino, H. 2006. Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs. [report] ANON, p. 19. Frith, K., Shaw, P. and Cheng, H. 2005. The Construction of Beauty: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Women’s Magazine Advertising. Journal of Communication, 55 (1), pp. 56-70. Available at: http://icm.cm.nsysu.edu.tw/teacher/JOC.pdf [Accessed: 12 Nov 2013]. Gillespie, B. 2013. 2013. Interviewed by ANON 20 February 2013. Available at: http:// showstudio.com/project/2013/interview_bobby_gillespie [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013] Hamilton, A. 2011. Smoke and Mirrors: The Surreal life and work of Rene Magritte. The Independent, [online] 10 June. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/art/features/smoke-and-mirrors-the-surreal-life-and-work-of-renmagritte-2295262.html [Accessed: 4 Nov 2013]. Mcgarry, K. 2012. Out There Urs Fischer’s Really Big Problems. New York Times, [online] 1st March. Available at: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/out-there-ursfischers-really-big-problems/?_r=1 [Accessed: 02 Nov 2013]. Moma.org. 2013. MoMA | René Magritte. The Lovers. Le Perreux-sur-Marne, 1928. [online] Available at: http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/rene-magritte-thelovers-le-perreux-sur-marne-1928 [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013]. MoMA.org. n.d. Untitled. MoMA Teen podcasters discuss The Lovers. [podcast] Anon. Available at: http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/rene-magritte-the-lovers-leperreux-sur-marne-1928 [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013]. Totallyhistory.com. n.d. The Son of Man by René Magritte – Facts & History about the Painting. [online] Available at: http://totallyhistory.com/the-son-of-man/ [Accessed: 4 Nov 2013]. White, S. 2013. What is Beauty?. Interviewed by Camilla Lewis [in person] University Campus, 4 Nov 2013. Zoetendaal, V. 2002. Marjaana Kella | Claxton Projects. [online] Available at: http://www. claxtonprojects.com/books/marjaana-kella/ [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].
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Appendix Sam White Interview
What is Beauty? Sam White - Interview What makes you beautiful? With regards to pinpointing what is attractive about someone I believe that
myself, but someone could easily class those as my best traits and vice versa Pardon the cliche but I believe my attitude towards that aspect is the
Who is the most beautiful person in the world to you? Here you’re probably expecting something cliche like my mum or maybe an incredibly gorgeous celebrity, right? All considered there is a lot of obvious someone that has overcome hardships and still manages to show a
What do you get complimented on the most? I don’t see how I can answer this question without sounding obscenely
at least!
attracts me, having a quirk to your personality attracts me, a range of attracted to someone but each individual is bound to have something I
What makes you happy/smile? Wouldn’t exactly call it happiness, but I thoroughly enjoy that moment of headphones with something relaxing causing everything to at once
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Appendix Model Consent Forms
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Appendix
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