This assignment made me rethink my definition of beauty countless times. While at first, I thought beauty could be a dichotomy of subjects like past and present, happy and sad, etc., I finally came to a conclusion that I could stand by. I thought back to the embroidered bag that I brought in as my beautiful object in class. I chose this bag because of the eye-catching aesthetic that I am drawn to, but also because of its the personal connection I have to the place I bought it, its origin, and the memories it carries. I realized, because of this, that beauty is not just the aesthetic, or the memory, or the desire. Beauty is a culmination of several layers that make up an object whether it is tangible or not. Through this definition, I chose six objects to represent through the layers that create their beauty. The objects I chose to represent are the painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat titled “Boy and Dog in a Johnypump,” a memory that I photographed of a soldier in Israel standing at Mount Hertzel, the memory of the view from the top of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London based off of my photograph, a Charles James dress, the memory of the lake behind my grandparents house based off my photograph, and macaroni and cheese. Each of these artifacts are beautiful because of the layers that they have built up and can connect to personally.
The Basquiat painting, for example, is beautiful to me because of its aesthetic which first drew me in, but then also because of its layers of history through the artist himself, the memory I have of stumbling upon his gallery with my mother and discovering this artist, and the emotion behind each brushstroke. These layers are the beauty and the beauty could not exist with only one layer. The aesthetic may have drawn me in to the painting at first, but the layers allow me to create the idea that it is a beautiful object.
Each object contains several layers that make up their beauty, which I wanted to express through paper cut-outs. The idea for using the cut-outs was a result of the desire to show the layers of beauty. The layers of paper mimic the layers of what is beneath each object. The soldier at Mount Hertzel is a memory that I recently experienced. The moment was beautiful because of the connection I had with this soldier in the Israeli Defense Force, the reminder of how fortunate I am to live the life that I do, and the emotion that the soldiers had to be living in a Jewish State amidst the conflict. The image of the buildings in London from Saint Paul’s Cathedral mark a memory, the feeling of freedom, the desire to travel and see the world, and the history of something new from the vantage point of something so old. The Charles James dress includes the layers of a memory of seeing his Met exhibit, learning about his history, the couture technique, grace, and happiness. The scene of my grandparent’s pond contains the layers of memory, home, family, belongings, and nature. The last image is of macaroni and cheese which includes the layers of tradition, family, taste, appreciation, and relaxation because my family makes the dish for every Boxing day and these layers create its beauty.
Beginning Ideas of definition of beauty:
Beauty through layers brainstorm:
Detailed shots of paper cut-outs:
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Final Project:
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