One of my favorite adages is ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ because it opens up an infinite horizon for art appreciation. Anything can be considered beautiful by some standard, and I think coming to terms with this has deepened my appreciation of not only art’s beauty, but that of myself, others, and the world around me. Looking at the exhibitions of IB students last year made me realize how differently everyone perceives what is beautiful in the world. Some people were fascinated with structure and buildings, others exclusively painted people’s faces, and some galleries were filled with abstractions of nature. I began considering how the perception of what is beautiful changes a person and that beauty can be magnified, manipulated, and twisted.
In this exhibition, I explore different angles from which beauty can be perceived: how society views others (now and in the past), how pop culture views the world, and how I view myself.
Lana is a tribute to a woman–Lana Del Rey–who the media worships as gorgeous, despite previously saying that this was a flaw that couldn’t make up for talent. The same thing she was trivialized for was what propelled her to fame. I think her story points out how hypocritical we can act as a society towards appearances, repeatedly saying that they don’t matter but in the end idolizing them. It’s fascinating how quickly a desire for pretty things can create a vain, shallow monster.
Despite stemming from ancient Greek mythology, Cassiopeia ’s problem was surprisingly similar. She was punished and ridiculed for believing herself to be beautiful, but in the end, immortalized in the heavens.
Courts of Chaos explores the obsession with fantastical, otherworldly beauty, which comes with the danger of devaluing natural beauty. Much like celebrities can make people feel worse about themselves, I’ve often felt myself disappointed with my real surroundings compared to fictional universes. I don’t think imagination shouldn’t be celebrated, but I’ve found my appreciation of natural beauty can be tainted when I don’t keep in touch with reality and look for beauty in the mundane.
Central to the exhibit is #23: Clairvoyance , which shows how this analysis of perception has affected me personally. I’ve never seen myself as beautiful, and I’ve used make-up and clothes to try and hide that. This piece is how I’ve always wanted to perceive myself but lately, I’ve been growing out of this desire. I’ve positioned it in the center of the exhibit, along with a mirror, because I believe that in order to fully appreciate the beauty of the world and people around you, you must begin with seeing it in yourself. It also balances out the color around it, making it a dramatic focal point in the exhibit. The perception of art boils down to adoring beautiful things but also learning to redefine what that means to you.