Beauty
Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate... Beauty, some might argue, is the domain of the visual artist. While some might traffic in the macabre or the abject, beauty- and all of its subjectivities- makes a strong argument for why one creates. Beauty is subject of philosophical debate, has launched a thousand ships, started and ended wars (if you believe in myth), and continues to fall us in and out of love.
Rationale for Teaching
Standards of beauty are subjective, but dominant ideologies about beauty are pervasive. Challenging traditional notions of beauty and who they include and exclude is an important critical exercise for learners of all ages. Analyzing works of visual art and visual culture and producing responses to the visual world around them, learners begin to construct their own narratives of beauty, positive self-image, and more tolerant worldviews.
Key Concepts
- Cultural (re)presentations of beauty
- Pleasures and corporeal manifestations in our environment
- Inner beauty
Essential Questions
- What are different cultural (re)presentations of beauty and how do they shape our personal and collaboratively constructed standards of beauty?
- What is considered beautiful in our environment? What gives us pleasure or deep satisfaction in our environment?
- What is meant by “inner beauty” and how might visual representations/performances of those qualities affect change?
