What is beauty?

     In trying to answer this question we must first determine whether beauty is made up of multiple cultural viewpoints that differ from one another, or if there is an inherent standard for beauty that transcends all cultures. For the most part, beauty remains in the eye of the beholder. Just like your sense of humor, different things appeal to different people. Beauty as a cultural standard is subjective and ever changing. This can be seen in the transition from contemporary to modern art, in the differences between eastern and western art styles, and in the changing of fashion over time.

     Small side note: Not all art is meant to be beautiful. Art has the dual purpose of catching the eye, but also of conveying a message. This applies very much to the design collective Dada and Marcel Duchamp's piece Fountain (pictured above). The work of Dada was to create art that rejected all that art had previously stood for and to show how the perception of art had changed in previous years. Their goal was less to display the beauty of a factory-made piece of porcelain and more to prove a point that something can become art if it is declared so. This is an interesting discussion on it's own, but not the one I came to make today.

     Despite all this, in the end, beauty remains a social constructive, albeit a standard that transcends viewpoints. How then, can two vastly different forms of art, such as a rock song and a piece of Mozart both be considered beautiful? It is here that we can break down some objective standards of beauty, specifically in art forms that have crossed the boundaries of time and culture.

     Something to be taken into consideration is the technical difficulty of the piece. In essence, how hard it is to replicate. In this case, difficulty adds value. As humans, intricacy amazes us. This 'awe factor' also points back to God, his creation, and things we cannot understand that inspire our awe.

     When we see something we consider beautiful it points us back to God, the true source of beauty. This then allows for an infinite spread of options that beauty can take form in, varying from genre, culture, time period, and medium. Even so, only God can be perfect and truly beautiful. He is Beauty and everything else can only be beautiful in their own capacity. This also means that everything has some intrinsic beauty. God is the Creator of all things and is beautiful; anything that he creates is beautiful in at least some way. Therefore, everything that exists, having some connection to God and His creation, then carries value and a standard of beauty.

    It is true, however, that beauty can be distorted and warped. And we must be wary of this. Even so, just be existing, an object has some connection to God and his creation. Therefore, it has even just a smidgen of beauty, inherent just by it's existence. This can be applied to many things, from warped beauty that while dangerous and alluring has some redeemable qualities, to people and places that seem without hope.

     By the same token, even if something is beautiful, we don't necessarily have to like it. Bringing us back to our comparison of the difference between classical music and classical rock. We only affirm beauty - we can't assign it. However, society can value certain forms of beauty over another. Therefore, each person may not appreciate certain beautiful things a much as another person. However, that does not diminish their inherent beauty.

Still, with all these differing standards of beauty, what can be considered beautiful? There is a message that I want to get across to each and every one of you reading this; You are beautiful! Yes, you! Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever said to yourself, “Yes, I am beautiful.”? I know it can be hard. Society likes to cram unattainable standards of beauty down our throats sometimes. But the truth is, you are beautiful! You are completely and totally unique - no one is exactly like you. And, most importantly, you are made by God and in His image! How cool is that?

So, the answer to my question is: What is beauty? It’s what each and every one of you are!

Pictures:

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573

Essay inspired by a discussion from the Upper Room Society.

Sometimes Life Gets Dirty!

Here is a short photo montage of some of the projects I have been working on for school.

This one is made out of spoons!

Comedy and Confusion

     I had the honor and joy of seeing Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors performed by a fortnight ago (I waited two weeks just so I could use that phrase). For those of you not familiar with the Comedy of Errors, here is a short synopsis to provide some clarity:

The city of Ephesus is at war with Syracuse. Anyone from Syracuse who illegally comes to Ephesus must either pay a fine or forfeit his life. Egeon, a merchant from Syracuse, faces this predicament. He tells Duke Solinus that he is in Ephesus searching for his son. When his twin sons and their twin servants were but babies Egeon and his wife were separated in a ship wreck, each with a set of twins. Supposing his wife and other son to be dead Egeon names his surviving son and the servant after the ones he lost. He is now looking for his remaining son, whom he has not seen for several years.

Unbeknownst to him both of his sons are alive and well and in the town of Ephesus. To make matters worse, neither knows that the other exists. Confusion ensues when the brothers and servants are repeatedly mistaken for the other. 

     My main emotional response for this play was puzzlement. According to the director’s notes in the playbook they, “sought to be true to Shakespearean sensibilities, not by way of historical accuracy in costuming and such but rather with respect to the desire to be funny and relevant to our particular audience and the embracing of theatricality.” This meant that while they did change the costumes and add a few modern references, much of the language was still kept the same. This, combined with the content of the play itself (where two twin brothers and their twin servants repeatedly get mistaken for the other) left me in a state of mild confusion.

     Even though the meaning of the words were hard to make out, the actors did a good job of portraying what they meant through voice inflection and body language, so I was not completely lost. The play is a Shakespearean comedy, in that no one dies, but it was also a comedy in the modern sense. While tense at times the situations the twin brothers unknowingly put the other in were comical and much hilarity ensued through out the course of the play. I also felt relief, at the end of the play, when the two sets of twins were reunited and all the confusion was made clear.

Carriage Factory Art Gallery

     A week ago I visited the Carriage Factory Art Gallery with my mother and grandmother. The gallery did indeed produce carriages at one point in time, but it has since been converted into a space where local professional artists can showcase their work. The main floor of the gallery featured a series of paintings by Joseph Longanbill of scenes around town. Having spent many a Friday in the adequately sized town the pictures depicted, I enjoyed seeing how he transferred familiar scenes onto canvas with pain and brush.

     In the upper portion of the gallery another piece caught my attention. It was a painting done by Ethan Patrick Harris called The Vibes. Most of Harris’ work displays grotesque fantastical creatures, but this one was of a tree with what looked like pink bubbles of bubble gum on its branches. This gave it a lively and joyful appearance. However, on closer inspection I realized that the tree was dead and the ground around it was barren. This greatly contrasted with the bubbly appearance of the tree’s foliage. I wondered what had inspired Harris to paint the pretty bubbles on a dead tree and what the piece meant to him personally.

     Unfortunately for me (and for all of you) the gallery prohibits photos of its artworks, so I don't have any pictures of the paintings to go along with this. I planned on getting a photo of the front of the gallery as we left, but I forgot. However, we stopped by an outdoor Stutsmans greenhouse to pick up some pansies and admire the multiple mums. And these I do have a picture of!

Art Problems (instead of math problems)

     "What does it mean?" asked a professor walking by.
     I looked up from my sketch of a nearby sculpture.
     "That's what I am trying to figure out," I replied.

     I was working to complete an assignment - to draw 13 of the 70+ sculptures located on campus. In addition to drawing them from at least three angles, we also had to take notes on their formal qualities. Now, I am not talking about how the sculptures would look if we dressed them in a suit and tie (although that would be pretty funny!). Each artists takes certain factors into consideration when he (or she) is creating art. These factors are called Elements of Design. This includes things like line, shape, mass, texture, color, and scale. Think of these as the building blocks of design. How you implement these 'blocks' is through the Principles of Design (for example: balance, direction, harmony, proportion, and unity).

     By keeping these in mind the viewer (in this case me) can attempt to determine the meaning behind the artwork. Let me tell you, it is not always easy! However, this assignment gives us practice drawing and forces us to study the sculptures for long enough to get at least some idea of what they might be protraying.

An Artful Weekend

     This Friday I had the privilege of going to an art show exhibiting the work of graduating graphic design majors from a local college. It was a last-minute change of plans, but I am very glad I went. I am planning on majoring in Graphic Design at that college myself, so it was really cool to see what I would be expected to do my senior year and to gain inspiration from some talented designers.

     The next day was 'prom' (my school has a Banquet). It is put on by the Junior class and every year they choose a theme. This year's theme was an art gala, combined with the whodunnit mystery of a stolen painting. Besides the stolen painting (which we never did see) many other paintings and pieces of artwork were on display. My favorite piece was the Chihuly hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Instead of glass it had been made with plastic bottles, but it could have passed for the real thing!

     There was also a large-scale sculpture, a Calder mobile, and dozens of paintings. All of the paintings had been done by the teachers or members of the Junior class, but most were recreations of classic pieces. We had a Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," and, of course, Van Gogh's "Starry Night". Even though the paintings were recreations I was impressed to see how close they came to the original artwork.

     Art is something that we so often take for granted, but it can have a profound enrichment in our lives. Art is humanity's attempt to recreate God's glory. I want to encourage you to seek Christ and make an effort to become more like him this week. As my fellow upperclassmen did in their paintings try to recreate God's love for others in your life.