Nikki Gosselin
April 23th, 2018
Professor Emerson
ENG 110
What Defines Beauty?
It can be argued that there is beauty in everything. Whether it is nature, something physical, or something emotional. But what really is beauty? Is it something that is physically pleasing to the eye, or is it something that evokes emotion within? Some may say that this is an abstract concept, but it truly depends on the person on what beauty is. I believe that the infamous quote “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” falls true. However, in some cases there is more to beauty than what meets the eye. Nowadays society has a large impact on our views about beauty. This may cloud our true visions on what we believe to be beautiful. Society seems to view beauty as completely physically appealing and skin deep. This is causing unrealistic beauty standards to the younger generation. John Armstrong discusses Schiller’s views on beauty, along with his own, and describes the whole process of what we see as beautiful and why. Society has a different experience with beauty, and the problem is that we are conforming to their beliefs. We should try to shift away from falling victim to this, and to focus on what we see as beautiful. Everyone has different beliefs on what they perceive as beauty throughout the experiences that they have had in their own lives.
Beauty plays a large role in many people’s lives; more than one may think. Schiller believes that what we view as beautiful has to do with human nature, and that there are two drives: the sense drive and the form drive. The sense drive is viewing the physical aspect of something that is “in the moment” and “seeks immediate gratification” (2). In other words, sense drive is the beauty that you see right from the start. This type of drive is not overthought. Armstrong portrays Schiller’s views and says, “What he’s calling the sense drive and form drive are powerful impulses in us. But they are often in conflict…we can’t hope to see why beauty matters to us unless we pay attention to them both. If we want to understand beauty, we can’t just talk about the things we find beautiful. We have to talk about our lives.” (2). This demonstrates that a lot of what we find beautiful has to do with our own experiences and our own lives. The form drive is the type of beauty that you find over time. This is when once you start to think about something and what it means to you, you find its true beauty. This drive is not mainly focused on appearance, but mostly on meaning. For example, sometimes at art museums you may see some pieces that are not that pleasing to the eye. However, once you read an overview about what the piece of artwork is about and really start to notice its purpose, that is when it will hit you.
Society’s Vision of Beauty
vs.
What Beauty Means to Me
The media and society as a whole impacts the views and opinions on the upcoming generations. Young girls are being exposed in every aspect to their life on what society sees as beautiful. These insane beauty standards are not healthy for these growing individuals, whether it involves looking the best or owning luxurious items. Striving to be “perfect” is causing teenagers to put themselves at risk for eating disorders, and stress. Because of our society, people are caring too much about the materialistic things in life, such as a brand new car or owning the latest fashion brands. As Armstrong states, “To regard beauty as a luxury adornment or a social signifier was to miss the true potential of the experience.” Life is too short to spend time trying to please others and to constantly be in competition. I agree with Armstrong in the aspect that the way you look or the things you own don’t define beauty. It is important to slow down a bit and notice the beautiful things in life instead of focusing on your image. The picture on the right describes my view on beauty which is represented as something as simple as daffodils in a meadow. As stated in “What is Art For?”, “Art also tells us what is glamorous and important…John Constable draws our attention to the skies. Van Gough reminds us that oranges are worth paying attention to. These artists aren’t falsely glamorizing things that are better ignored, they’re justly teasing out a value thats been neglected by a world with a deeply distorted and unfair sense on what truly matters.” (4:19) Certain types of artwork and beauty that is in this world may not be “glamorous” like celebrities or materialistic items, but they represent the simplicity of life. Some artists bring light upon objects that go unnoticed day by day, but sometimes it is worth paying attention to.
There are ways that beauty touches everyone differently. For me, it occurs when I hear a specific song, “River Flows in You”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7maJOI3QMu0
This song is simply a beautiful piece of piano, and being a pianist, it allowed to me form a connection to it. I learned it and memorized it quickly. Throughout high school, whenever I was overwhelmed or wanted an escape from the world I would take a breath and either play or listen to this song. I believe that music, such as piano music, brings emotions and feelings to life in a creative way. For many years, I played the piano at an elderly home near me. It was very rewarding to see all of the elders getting excited while they were listening and enjoying the music. This form of art demonstrates how the beauty of piano music impacts others and provides happiness.
Sometimes, beauty strikes you without even knowing it and catches you off guard. As Confucious says, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it”. The things that we find beautiful depends on your experiences and your own personal life. Recently, I was in South Carolina to see the solar eclipse. We were on a beautiful beach in the afternoon with many others who have traveled to see the total solar eclipse. The anticipation was insane as we all waited for this natural occurence to happen. As the solar eclipse became total, I was in awe. Looking around, it was dark and there was a sunset all across the horizon. This took me off guard at how amazing this was, and how it put things in perspective. It was like life stood still and everything was calm as everyone was staring in awe. It lasted only a couple minutes, but it really impacted my life. The beauty I saw in that moment caught me off guard, and it was crazy how beautiful nature can be.
Beauty is something that has meaning and comes in many forms. In the “Let’s Talk About Art” presentations, there were two that really stuck to me. Taylor Williams discussed why tattoos are art to her. Tattoos are a form of creative expression and allows one to become a human canvas. In most cases, tattoos have great meaning to the person who has them. Taylor interviewed her friend Maddie, who describes what her tattoo means to her in this way: “the birds represent finding my own path and learning to fly after I’ve been knocked down. Each bird represents my mom, brother, and sister, because they are the ones who have always given me that push to keep flying after what I want in life.” (3). I find this very heartwarming and beautiful because this shows how important this tattoo is to her. I never viewed tattoos in this deeper way until I listened to Taylor’s argument. Another presentation that was eye-opening to me was Alexis Deguzmans. Alexis’s presentation evoked emotion, and was beautiful in that aspect. She talked about how when her sister passed away, her family was overwhelmed with emotions. Her family finds the song “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith very meaningful. They connect this song to Alexis’s sister, and whenever they hear it they find themselves to be very emotional. I find this very beautiful, because it shows that you can find beauty within everything, even a song that represents a tragedy.
There are many different views on what someone sees as “beautiful”. Society has a major effect on these views, as they praise those who have the nicest cars and materialistic items. It is necessary that we shift from that before we all conform to these beliefs. The upcoming generation will grow up trying to fit in and look the best to be beautiful. It is dire that we each have our own opinions on what we believe it to be. Beauty is something that one finds meaning in, and should not be skin deep. Something as simple as a sunset or a random act of kindness may touch the heart when one is least expecting. Never stop noticing, because you never know what you might miss.
Works Cited:
Armstrong, John. “La Bella Vita – John Armstrong | Aeon Essays.” Aeon, Aeon, 24 Apr. 2018, aeon.co/essays/can-beauty-help-us-to-become-better-people
Deguzman, Alexis. “Let’s Talk About Art.” UNE. Biddeford. 3 April 2018. Oral.
“Model Wallpaper.” wall-pix.net. April 25th, 2017.
http://www.wall-pix.net/people-models/00031426.jpg.html
“Pretty Meadow With Dandelions and Buttercups at Sunset.” shutterstock.com. April 25th, 2017.
“What Is Art For?” thebookoflife.org, The School of Life, Sep 9, 2014, http://www.thebookoflife.org/what-is-art-for/
Williams, Taylor. “Let’s Talk About Art.” UNE. Biddeford. 3 April 2018. Oral.
“Yiruma, River Flows in You.” Youtube.com, Feb 9, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7maJOI3QMu0
“2017 Total Solar Eclipse.” nasa.gov. April 25th, 2017.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/2017-total-solar-eclipse
