Aha! Visual Literacy- Aesthetics

Throughout time people have thought and expressed what they believe to be beautiful without always being able to describe why they think it is. “Beauty is in the culturally conditioned eye of the beholder,” really caught my attention when I was watching the Ted Talk A Darwinian theory of beauty. It showed beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it has been conditioned deep in our mind from our ancient ancestors. Anything with an aesthetic value has the ability to evoke pleasure. So whether you are watching the Super Bowl or you are watching a symphony, if it is giving you pleasure, it is going to be aesthetically pleasing to you. In the same case, just because I think a fragrance smells beautiful, does not mean that my sister is going to find it as pleasing. Although, there are certain characteristics they know are going to be generally pleasing to a large population, such as the scenery picture used for postcards, calendars and more.

Please watch this Ted Talkby Denis Dutton: A Darwinian Theory of Beauty

I believe you can feel an immense amount of pleasure from both a scent and completing the steps of a long proof, because it has an aesthetic value to you. I know individuals can believe both are beautiful, because I have personally felt that way. I have felt the beauty of completing the proof step by step and working it all the way down to the very end. The same thing happened to me with perfume. I walked past a friend of mine and instantly fell in love with the fragrance of her perfume and I knew I was going to purchase it. Every time I wear it I now think of my friend and I still absolutely love the smell of the perfume!

Barnett Newman said, “Aesthetics is for the artist as Ornithology is for the birds,” which was his logic on aesthetics. Although many people study aesthetics and what makes aesthetics a certain way for a person, this is not what an artist is worried about. They are instead creating something that has a meaning to them and tells a story. This is the same as a bird. The birds are not worried about what the study of Ornithology says about them, they are to busy being birds.

A robin bird, being a robin bird. Source: http://pixabay.com/p-167650/?no_redirect CC Public Domain

Aha! Visual Literacy- Killing us Softly

The movie Killing us Softly had such good points to it, which I have never thought about. The media and the visual we see everyday really do point out the perfect body image, so perfect no one can even obtain it. After watching this movie I realized how much seeing these images day after day have influenced me on wanting to look like it. As we see in the video, these are unobtainable goals because they are airbrushed, photo shopped and manipulated to look this way. I do believe everything I watched, although I have never really thought about how much it affects me before. I believe this video made me become more self aware of the different visual ads that were having an impact on me. I really like how many examples she showed us throughout the video, to really drive home her point. We are negatively affected day after day by these ads, without even realizing it.

Source: Cosmopolitan Magazine

Here is a picture, that is suppose to be representing a makeup company in a Cosmopolitan magazine. They are showing off the females, which have beautiful bodies, and flawless features and skin. I cannot tell if it has been photoshopped, but if I had to, both the arms and stomach could have easily been manipulated to look more "perfect". To me this ad does not even show off the makeup, it does not make me want to purchase and use the makeup myself.

I absolutely believe the issues discussed are related to men. First, there are many ads where men are portrayed, certainly not as many, but they are definitely out there. Secondly, I think when there is an issue like this, it affect everyone. Men and women need to be aware of this issue so they can educate people and help stop these issues from happening. We need to teach each other, our children, and our friends that we cannot allow this to continue happening.

Source: Cosmopolitan Magazine

I also found this picture in the same Cosmopolitan magazine. Here is an ad where he is represented showing off his body and showing boys that this is the ultimate goal for where their bodies need to be. This is also sexualizing them the same ways they do to females. This ad shows that men can be treated the same way in these ads, and they are not always covered up and looking more professional (in suits and ties).

I believe the movie is called Killing us Softly because of how unaware we are of the ads affecting us. They are slowly making us feel bad about ourselves, about how our hair is not good enough, our bodies are not the right size, and we are not wearing the correct clothes. Every time we see an ad of a perfect girl, with a perfect body that has been photo shopped, we are telling ourselves we are not good enough. That constant tear down of telling us we are not good enough is, killing us softly.