What is Beauty?
We explored what is Art in the last blog post. Considering that Art is related to Beauty were exploring what is beauty today. What is beauty to you? I think just as art is defined differently by different people so is beauty. I hope to dig deeper into this today with you and inspire you to share what is beautiful to you with others.
Over the several months I have been spending hours into planning Max & I’s cut flower garden for our first year of Our Flower Farm. We have been researching the best flowers to grow for production and choosing some purely on their beauty. I keep running into one common thing no matter what, whether I am choosing from color options of a variety based on a logical production decision or whether I am choosing based on how pretty they are. It is the same problem. Its so hard to choose. They are all just so beautiful. Just when I think I have narrowed it down I find a few more ones that I just have to have…and then a few more. Adding each to the list of things we hope to grow, either this year or in the future. Being flowers we don’t think anything of it when asking how can I choose just one that the “most beautiful”? It seems that flowers, yet they have no feelings or ears to hear us we don’t take the time to make as many judgments on them.
If we were tasked to choose the most beautiful women or man we seem to think it may be easier as we pass judgments out without much thought. As humans we judge ourselves and compare are beauty to others, asking ourselves; are we the most beautiful? Don’t we judge the people we are exposed to and judge there beauty comparing them to others regularly whether consciously or subconciouly? When it comes to a flower we can see the uniqueness in each different one, appreciate it and somehow manage to make a “excuse” why there cant only just be one “most beautiful”. Why is this? What really defines beauty? Why Do we care so little about the judgments we place on others and do it so habitually?
If we lined up all the varieties of flowers in the world. I know how unrealistic this is, it would take miles of space up I’m sure. Lets just say we lined them up and we went through and held a “beauty contest” and had to pick just one single “most beautiful” flower out of all of these hundred and thousands of flowers, varieties, colors and individual unique variation’s of the variety. Think about how many flowers this would be. Even flowers of a specific variety, have differences throughout them. Just like humans no single flower is identical to each other just because they share the same “variety” of skin color or eye color. Each of us has unique individual traits and features that define us. With this many flowers to choose from and this many different unique traits of each individual flower our minds would be overwhelmed with this choice. This would be almost impossible, if not impossible to choose on single “most beautiful” flower out of the entire world. The time alone it would take for our brains to sort through each flower and then go back and compare it against all the others alone would be a huge task. Yet we do this everyday with people. We do this everyday with ourselves, comparing ourselves and our beauty against others. We spend so much time and energy comparing each of our characteristics, traits, our bodies, skin colors, personalities. Instead of appreciating that we are all the hands and feet of Jesus. That we all bring something needed and unique into this world that only we as a indidual we can offer. We spend time looking at other peoples lives, bodies, personalities. Wondering if others are making the same compaisons about us and how we measure up in there minds to these other people. Instead of treating people like flowers and appreciating there existence, there beauty and the unique traits they bring into the world, allowing space for all of them without judgment. We make it this competition. We constantly compete for everything trying to gain approval and superiority like the popular kids in high school. Why cant we just notice, appreciate, accept and love the beauty we all bring into this world, knowing we all have part in it?
If you had to choose, you may have a “favorite” flower right now. That preference is based on the varieties you have been exposed to and know off the top of your head. Even still if you have a favorite of those few varieties. I am sure that there is a few others you at least like some of the features of or like somewhat. It would be difficult im sure to say that you don’t like anything about any other flower that ever existed. Especially considering that your favorite flower might have been breed from another flower or gotten traits from another flower. Also you probably don’t spend entire hours of each day researching hundreds of different varieties, so your only exposed to a minimum amount of varieties to choose your ”favorite” from ( unless you’re a florist, flower farmer, avid gardener, horticulturist or some other related field ) and even still its overwhelming to take in all these varieties.
More then likely your part of the majority of the world who has only been exposed to or recognize a minimal amount of the flowers in the world. This is the same with people. You only are exposed to a smaller percentage of the people in the world. Being exposed to and seeing every single person in the world in your lifetime even would be a huge feat….more then likely not possible. So if you were to line up all the people in the world that ever existed could you really choose only one “most beautiful”? Or would like the flowers you start to recognize that everyone has there own unique and beautiful traits that they bring into the world. Some of them similarities and some of them differences. I think just like the flowers we would start to have a new idea of beauty and realize its not so black and white. Maybe even would we start to rethink appretiating the differences that each of us brings to the table and the roll each of us played in creating the beauty in others as part of reproduction.
If we take a minute to think about it. Every one of us also have a different idea of what beauty it. One Man may have a preference for a blonde women, while another may prefer brown hair. Some women Might prefer a shorter man and others a extremely tall. Our life experiences and things we have been exposed to help form these preferences. That does not necessarily mean that the man who prefers brown hair thinks blonde women are ugly and should not exist, that does not mean that at all. It simply means that for whatever reason the brown hair catches his attention and affection more then the blonde. This isn’t universal a guy could still be drawn to a blonde women for her unique characteristics unexpectedly even know he prefers brown hair usually. This could be the same with the flowers. A Man could prefer roses and then one day see this Iris that is unlike one he has ever seen before a completely catches his eye.
If we lined all the people up in the world and held a “beauty contest” each one of us having a opportunity to judge we would each pick out different qualities and preferences that stood out to us and not all of us would choose the same qualities and features. Yet the media for the most part has depicted a certain “person” as what is “beautiful” for so long. This is something more recently the world is attempting to work on recreating a image of beauty as not just one body type, skin color, hair color and so on…but its still a work in process.
The same is true for Art. Everyone has a different idea of what art they are drawn to. My Husband & I were in at art Gallery the other day. We were walking around and there was the artists work that the craftsmanship and quality of it was done very well. The details and the time they spent on it and how realistic it was really amazing. The things is the art was not something that we would have chose for our home, it wasn’t our style or preference. We didn’t understand the subject at all. I did admire the qualities of the art and the craftmanship very much though. That artists work did not speak to us, it didn’t call for us with its unique form of “beauty”. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t beautiful. This art style and subject just didn’t attract us. Someone else will come along one day and will love this artists work and want to buy many pieces of the, to them it may be “the most beautiful art in the world”. This happens all the time when we are browsing galleries. We see things that are so beautiful to us and we truly admire. Then we see other things and they just don’t stand out to us as, that don’t catch our eye as “beautiful” those pieces just exist. Sometimes we don’t see much of anything in the piece that catches our eye at all. Other times we can reflect on some things we like about the piece but others we don’t like so much. This is ok, its ok to have different opinions and preferences. As long as we can do this in a respectful way there’s no issue with having a different idea of what “beauty” is. We shouldn’t shame others for there idea of beauty being different from ours though.
Just like in the media how there has for so long been this standardized idea of what is “beautiful”. It seems to be similar in the Art field. As we have been going to galleries and shops that contain handcrafted art across the US. We have seen that a lot of the “galleries” have so much of the same things. It seems like you have to fit into this box to get into a gallery. You have to do things a certain way and paint like so and so. Even if you walk into a small local gallery you can feel the judgment and the critique of the shop keepers. Like there’s this standard you have to adhere to even look at art.
We are hoping to work to change this. We are hoping to bring attention to all forms of art and styles, genres. Not everyone is going to like some of the most famous artist in the world, Van Gogh, da Vinci, or Picasso. Yet most Artist or gallery staff would put there noses up at this. There is this standard that has been set. There is expectations in Art for something to adhere to be considered “beautiful”. Making it where so many artists are so scared to put there work out into the world. The fear of not being “perfect”. I don’t think we should wait to share are art until its “perfect”. We should not wait to share or writing until its error free. If we have something to say no matter what art form is possesses we should share it. Theres going to be someone out there someday that will appreciate the meaning and beauty of what you have to say with your art and that’s going to mean so much more then “perfection” to them.
Awhile back we had a technician come to our home. Before the technician left we had a conversation about Art, the young kid was a artist said he struggled because he had entered a Art contest in high school and had spent tens of hours on his project. He lost the contest to someone who had spent less then 3 on there’s. He was hurt and said he hasn’t shared his art since. He took the time to share some photos of his art with me and I tried to share encouragement with him that he should continue to share his work. That everyone has different styles and preferences and that shouldn’t stop his from sharing his art. That there’s a purpose for what we each do and a reason for the creations we put into the world. I don’t know what happened after the conversation we had or what he will choose to do with his art. I hope I inspired him. I do know that saying this to him helped me realize I was crippled by the same fear. I was afraid of putting our art out into the world, afraid of what people would think, afraid it wouldn’t fit the “standards”, wouldn’t be “perfect” or enough. I had to remind myself that the reason for the art was more important and that I shouldn’t hide behind the curtain of fear. That God would want me to share our work, our stories and inspiration. Just like he wants you to share yours as well. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, to share your art and beauty.
When you think about “what is beauty?” I hope you take the time to consider that even know you might not have the same preferences as someone else. That every person and thing was created with a intention, with a purpose. That each thing and person was made with time, love, money and effort. Having a baby takes all of these. Creating a Art project does as well. Appreciate the resources that go into these beautiful things. Respect the beauty of difference and what they bring to the world, creation, and evolution. We all as people originated from the same 3 beings…God, Adam and Eve. The world was all created by one, God. Everything from here on out is just a different variation of that beauty. Love each other, Respect each others beauty and do everything you can to inspire the world today. You are all Beautiful.
Blessings!
Acacia McLean
February, 5th, 2024