WHAT IS BEAUTY? IMage analysis GABRIELLA RYAN N0450390
contents
Introduction and Ulric Collette 1-2 Self Image and Our Images 3-4 The Media 5-6 Metra and Laurence and Cosmetic Surgery 7-8 Conclusion 9 - 10
References 11 - 12 Bibliography 13 - 14 List of Images 15
ULRIC
COLLETTE
Fig 1 & 2. Genetics Portraits, Ulric Collette, 2013.
1.
T
he concept of beauty has become progressively important in society, and whilst everyone seems to have their own preferences about what they deem attractive (Spears 1993), there is still a very obvious image, which we are exposed to of what we should think is beautiful. The long-standing idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder has been challenged by evidence, which shows what is attractive across different cultures (Rhodes & Zebrowitz, 2002). There appears to be a collective interpretation of what is beautiful. Due to pressures from the media and the ability to attract the opposite sex, women in particular strive to have a similar ‘beautiful’ appearance. Ulric Collette is a French-Canadian photographer who produces unusual and unique portraits. His photo series ‘Genetics Portraits’ photographs (see fig 1 & 2) family members, cutting the images in half and aligning them side by side to create one portrait portraying their genetic similarities (Taylor, 2013). It is truly remarkable how alike they appear to be when assembled like this however, when covering one half you can clearly see how different each person is.
2. 2.
At first glance these images may look like normal people, it is not only until you study the portraits more closely that you know something is unusual. This is a similar objective that we aspired to achieve, as our portraits (fig 3-7) may just appear to be of five normal headshots but when you concentrate on them they do not seem as realistic as they should be. Originally our images were going to be cut up creating portraits where the different features would be assembled like a jigsaw. However, after observing Collette’s work we were inspired to blend in the features seamlessly to produce a more polished outcome so it was not as obvious that the qualities did not belong to that particular face. Our images would fit perfectly into ID magazine as the ideas behind our portraits primarily focus on the concept of identity and what makes us individuals. ID magazine is constantly reinventing itself and questions beauty and originality by documenting a range of fashion and contemporary culture (ID, 2013). This is similar to our images as we have reinvented our identity and appearance.
OUR IMA GES
Fig 3-7. Our portraits, 2013.
3. 3.
‘A
mirror can and should be a tool that empowers you, not an instrument of oppression’ (Brown, 2008 in About Face, p7). However, many women suffer from insecurities about their image, according to Mara (2010) young girls and women are always comparing themselves to others, what they have, don’t have or what they want. Berger (1972), says that the state of being envied is what constitutes glamour and desirability. Our images consist of swapping our features between one another to achieve certain qualities that we would prefer. It is the idea that our perceptions of our own face are mutated, and we become insecure about them even though these perceptions are not associated with the reality of our appearance, which inspired our images. Schilder describes that self image is ‘the picture of our own body which we form in our mind…the way in which the body appears to ourselves’. (Preester, H & Knockaert, V, 2005, p28). We construct the way we see things and the aim of our images is to show, even
though individuals may desire a different feature, one that another may possess, given the choice to gain this feature may result in a distorted outcome of their appearance and, make them realise that perhaps they are not suited to this feature. Hurling (2013), a guest speaker from Unilever, spoke about the concept of self-esteem, selfacceptance and campaigns, which promote confidence in appearance for women. Taking inspiration from this, our images aim to question why we want to change ourselves as well as confronting our insecurities. We hope to promote selfacceptance by showing that altering your appearance is not always the solution as the result is not genuine or representative of you as an individual.
‘Ashould mirror can and be a tool
that empowers you, not an instrument of oppression
’
4. 4.
’
THE
MEDIA
he way we see things are affected by what we know, what we believe or what we have been told’. (Berger, 1972, p8). ‘Beautiful’ women in the media, particularly in advertising, are used to sell anything from cars to perfume to jeans or toilet cleaner (fig 8), they show off their perfect features making themselves available to the male gaze (Ross, 2009). It is no secret that ‘beautiful’ faces make advertisements more persuasive (Chaiken, (1979). Weitz (2010) states that women are bombarded by images of what it means to be beautiful and desirable telling them what they should look like, these images produce media-induced anxieties and the consumer is pressured to achieve the same appearance. Therefore, given few role models in the world, women seek them on the screen and on glossy page and desire to share their beauty (Wolf, 1991). Dr Marquardt (The Human Face, 2013) states that ‘there seems to be a universal view of beauty, a pattern that can be measured. Women are told that having big eyes, a small button nose and full lips are beautiful qualities and when asked in this documentary
about their own facial features, they said almost unanimously they would prefer to change their image to suit these qualities. There was always something they would change or envied about another person. You can see from our images that most of us chose the larger eyes, smaller noses and larger pink lips, as that is what we’ve grown up to believe are the better qualities. However it is the configuration of the entire face, not the size of individual features, that determines facial attractiveness, which is why some of the images do not look realistic (Rhodes & Zebrowitz, 2002). People deemed beautiful who appear in ads and magazines all appear to represent these mediainduced standards of beauty with similar qualities and therefore, this image is being imprinted onto us (Rhodes & Zebrowitz, 2002). It is clear that women are being socially coerced into striving to achieve cultural standards of beauty rather than freely choosing to do so (Weitz, 2010). However, as Ross (2009) states, the representation of women in the media will not be improved until there is a wide scale social and political transformation.
T
5.
Fig 8. Dolce & Gabbana fragrance advertisement, Shades Expo, 2001.
6. 6.
Fig 9 & 10. ID portraits, Metra and Laurence, 2013.
METRA & laurence 7. 7.
A
s a result of society’s beauty perceptions, some women choose to permanently alter their appearance by deciding to undergo cosmetic surgery. According to Randall & Polhemus (1996), humans have been adjusting their appearance for as long as they have been living, some willing to go further than others in doing so. It could be argued that cosmetic surgery is an extremely drastic procedure to endure, on the other hand Berger (1972), argues that it can dramatically change confidence levels and provide a new lease of life. In one year £2.3 billion is made from unconscious anxieties in the UK (Triggle, 2010) and around 90% of its paying customers are women (Foster, 2012). It now
seems just as common as buying a new outfit. With 5,000 facelifts and 4,000 nose jobs a year most plastic surgery is completed to meet cultural standards (Kaw, 1998). For example Padmore (1998), explains that African women tend to have their noses made narrower and Asian women have their eyes made wider, the concept of Westernisation amongst cosmetic surgery is very strong and is a result of the many white western models used within the media. Bruno Metra and Laurence Jeanson are French artists who created a series of photos called ID (fig 9 & 10), they consist of parts of glamorous faces from magazines stuck onto another person’s face. The portraits create the effect that the models have undergone
8. 8.
cosmetic surgery. These faces, transformed in this way, take away the identity of the individual, which reflects what surgery, in a way, also achieves (Mullen, 2013). In relation to our own images, we took a lot of inspiration from the concept of cosmetic surgery, as to achieve our idea of changing our features to those of which we preferred, surgery would have to be performed. It also influenced our images when thinking about identity and why so many of us want to change it because, as you can see from our portraits the fragility of our identity becomes visible, we appear to still be ourselves but also with a blend of others.
conclusion O
verall, I believe our photographs depict what we initially set out to portray. However, the final images could have benefitted from being further altered, perhaps in a more creative way using different effects. Other individuals of different race and gender could also have been used to portray a wider range of insecurities amongst people.
9. 9.
To conclude, it is clear that artificial beauty is largely fabricated by the media, which can seriously affect people’s perceptions of themselves and changing your body is not always the answer. Mara (2010), states that women will always compare themselves to others because it is a natural reaction, but they shouldn’t feel the need to change themselves because of it. The next phase of our movement forward depends now on what we decide to see when we look in the mirror (Wolf, 1991). Ultimately, we hope our photographs will aim to encourage people to concentrate more on self-acceptance.
‘
What will we decide to see when we look in the mirror?
’
Fig 11. Phenomenal Woman, My Vintage Curves, 2013.
10. 10.
references
BERGER, J., 1972. Ways of Seeing. London: The Penguin Group. BURT, A., & BAKER KLINE, C., 2008. About Face: women write about what they see when they look in the mirror. California: Seal Press. CHAIKEN, S., 1979. Communicator, Physical Attractiveness and Persuasion: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. FOSTER, H., 2012. Why women are going under the knife. (online). 25 January. Available at: http://www.stylist.co.uk/ life/why-are-women-going-under-theknife#image-rotator-1 (Accessed 20 November 2013). HURLING, B., 2013. Self-Esteem. (Lecture to Fashion Promotion and Communication, Nottingham Trent University). 5 November. ID., 2013. Available at: http://i-d.vice. com/en_gb/about (Accessed 20 November 2013).
11. 11.
KAW, E., 1998. Medicalization of racial features: Asian – American women and cosmetic surgery in: The Politics of Women’s Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance and Behaviour. New York: Oxford University Press. MARA., 2010. What if I stopped comparing myself to others? (online). 30 May. Available at: http://www. operationbeautiful.com/what-if-istopped-comparing-myself-to-others/ (Accessed 20 November 2013). MARQUARDT, S., 2013. The Human Face. (TV). BBC One, 17 April 2013. MULLEN, K.L., 2013. Artists perform plastic surgery with magazines. (online). 17 April. Available at: http:// www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/ fashion-beauty/artists-perform-plasticsurgery-fashion-1837885 (Accessed 20 November 2013). PADMORE, C., 1998. Significant Flesh: Cosmetic Surgery, Physiognomy and the erasure of visual difference. (online). Available at: http://www.latrobe.edu. au/www/english/lateral/simple_cpl. htm:l-22 (Accessed 20 November 2013).
PREESTER, H., & KNOCKAERT, V., 2005. Body Image and Body Schema: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the body. United States: John Benjamins. RANDALL, H., & POLHEMUS, T., 1996. The Customised Body. London: Serpent’s Tail. RHODES, G., & ZEBROWITZ, L.A., 2002. Facial Attractiveness: Evolutionary, Cognitive and Social Perspectives. West Port: Ablex Publishing. ROSS, K., 2009. Gendered Media: women, men and identity politics. Maryland: Rowman & Little field Publishers.
TRIGGLE, N., 2010. Cosmetic Surgery industry in UK ‘has key weaknesses’. (online). 16 September. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ health-11303458 (Accessed 20 November 2013). WEITZ, R., 2010. The Politics of Women’s Bodies, sexuality, appearance and behaviour. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. WOLF, N., 1991. The Beauty Myth. London: Vintage.
SPEARS, R.A., ed., 1993. NTC’S dictionary of proverbs and clichés. Lincolnwood: National Textbook Company. TAYLOR, M., 2013. Genetics are Awesome. (online). 8 July. Available at: http://fullym.com/genetics-areawesome-photographer-exploresresemblance-in-family-members/ (Accessed 15 November 2013).
12. 12.
BURT, A., & BAKER KLINE, C., 2008. About Face: women write about what they see when they look in the mirror. California: Seal Press. CHAIKEN, S., 1979. Communicator, Physical Attractiveness and Persuasion: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. FOSTER, H., 2012. Why women are going under the knife. (online). 25 January. Available at: http://www.stylist.co.uk/ life/why-are-women-going-under-theknife#image-rotator-1 (Accessed 20 November 2013). HURLING, B., 2013. Self-Esteem. (Lecture to Fashion Promotion and Communication, Nottingham Trent University). 5 November. ID., 2013. Available at: http://i-d.vice. com/en_gb/about (Accessed 20 November 2013).
KAW, E., 1998. Medicalization of racial features: Asian – American women and cosmetic surgery in: The Politics of Women’s Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance and Behaviour. New York: Oxford University Press. MARA., 2010. What if I stopped comparing myself to others? (online). 30 May. Available at: http://www. operationbeautiful.com/what-if-istopped-comparing-myself-to-others/ (Accessed 20 November 2013). MARQUARDT, S., 2013. The Human Face. (TV). BBC One, 17 April 2013. MEREDITH, B., 1978. Vogue: Body and Beauty Look. London: Penguin Books Ltd. MULLEN, K.L., 2013. Artists perform plastic surgery with magazines. (online). 17 April. Available at: http:// www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/ fashion-beauty/artists-perform-plasticsurgery-fashion-1837885 (Accessed 20 November 2013).
13. 13.
bibliography
BERGER, J., 1972. Ways of Seeing. London: The Penguin Group.
PADMORE, C., 1998. Significant Flesh: Cosmetic Surgery, Physiognomy and the erasure of visual difference. (online). Available at: http://www.latrobe.edu. au/www/english/lateral/simple_cpl. htm:l-22 (Accessed 20 November 2013). PREESTER, H., & KNOCKAERT, V., 2005. Body Image and Body Schema: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the body. United States: John Benjamins. RANDALL, H., & POLHEMUS, T., 1996. The Customised Body. London: Serpent’s Tail. RHODES, G., & ZEBROWITZ, L.A., 2002. Facial Attractiveness: Evolutionary, Cognitive and Social Perspectives. West Port: Ablex Publishing. ROSS, K., 2009. Gendered Media: women, men and identity politics. Maryland: Rowman & Little field Publishers.
SPEARS, R.A., ed., 1993. NTC’S dictionary of proverbs and clichés. Lincolnwood: National Textbook Company. TAYLOR, M., 2013. Genetics are Awesome. (online). 8 July. Available at: http://fullym.com/genetics-areawesome-photographer-exploresresemblance-in-family-members/ (Accessed 15 November 2013). THESANDER, M., 1997. The Feminine Ideal. London: Reaktion Books Ltd. TRIGGLE, N., 2010. Cosmetic Surgery industry in UK ‘has key weaknesses’. (online). 16 September. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ health-11303458 (Accessed 20 November 2013). WEITZ, R., 2010. The Politics of Women’s Bodies, sexuality, appearance and behaviour. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. WOLF, N., 1991. The Beauty Myth. London: Vintage.
14.
i m a g e s Fig 1 & 2. Collette, U., 2013. Genetics Portraits. (Online). Available at: http:// genetic.ulriccollette.com/ (Accessed 17 November 2013). (Digital Photograph). Fig 3 – 7. Own Images, 2013. Final Self Portraits. (Digital photograph). Fig 8. Shades Expo Blog., 2013. Dolce & Gabbana Advert. (Online). Available at: http://www.shadesexpo.com/blog/ fragrance/light-blue-fragrance--by-dolcegabbana/ (Accessed 21 November 2013). (Digital photograph).
Fig 9 & 10. Metra, B., & Laurence, J., 2013. ID Portraits. (Online). Available at: http://www.metra-jeanson.com/?page_ id=69 (Accessed 19 November 2013). (Digital photograph). Fig 11. My Vintage Curves Blog, 2013. Phenomenal Woman. (Online). Available at: http://myvintagecurves.it/category/ poetry (Accessed 22 November 2013). (Digital photograph).
15. 15.