The Beauty Project
Photo Credit B. Henderson
I’m not talking about Grace Kelly beauty or about getting a hair and make-up makeover, but a very different kind of beauty. Life isn’t always pretty. Every day we are bombarded with images that are dark, depressing, bleak and ugly. It seems that ugliness is slowly taking over our lives. So, years ago, my sister and I decided to take a photo of just anything we found particularly beautiful during our hectic day, and then text each other our ‘beauty’ photo at the end of the day. My sister lives in California, so we don’t see each other as often as we would like, but we thought that this would be a fun, easy way to stay connected. We decided the subject of our photos would be ‘random’ beauty. Neither of us is anywhere near the Ansel Adams caliber of photographers, but we were up for the sisterly challenge, as we are both somewhat artistic and enjoy snapping pictures.
At first, my pursuit for daily beauty was painstakingly thoughtful in order to capture my perfect image that would fit the bill for my photo, but I soon realized that I was observing beauty all around me. Ordinary things that I had previously taken for granted were now seen in a new light. What initially appeared to look simple or dull, would look much more interesting and beautiful depending on the light, angle, or mood when the photo was taken. Suddenly, beauty was blooming everywhere.
We quickly got into the rhythm of our beauty project. Some days I had taken so many beauty pictures that at the end of the day, I had difficulty deciding which photo was THE MOST beautiful, share-worthy photo. Some photos were funny, some were sad, some were poignant, but we found we never had to look far to find beauty in our daily lives. An odd thing started to happen - I found that I was looking at everything through a different lens and truly seeing beauty in everyday, small objects. Beauty can be seen even in the ugly, mundane things.
The categories of our beauty photos widened to include Wabi-Sabi beauty, the Japanese word for imperfect beauty; the appreciation of imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. We also decided to include Jolie Laide beauty, the French term for something that is so ugly, it is beautiful or pretty-ugly. The less pleasing features sometimes render things more attractive.
I look forward to seeing my sister’s photo at the end of the day, which always makes me smile. Everyone’s idea of beauty is subjective and different and sometimes, very oddly interesting. We each have the power to pronounce what our own beauty is. I admit that some of my photos are a bit like looking at a Rorschach inkblot, but nonetheless, it is a type of beauty. I mentioned this beauty project to some friends, and they, too, wanted to be included in the project, so now the cadre of companions in this league of beauty-collectors has grown. We share our photos of the small, the grand, or the unexpected little things that add beauty to our lives. The sharing part of the project is also another form of beauty. It connects us to each other through our random act of sharing our idea of what beauty is. After all, who doesn’t want more beauty in their lives?
Quotes about beauty abound, and here are some of my favorites. Francis Bacon - ‘The best part of beauty is what no picture can express.’ Oscar Wilde said, ‘Beauty is the promise of happiness’ and ‘Beauty is genius - it is higher indeed than genius, as it needs no explanation.’ Dostoevsky wrote, ‘Beauty will save the world.’ (I want to believe in this one.) Confucius believed everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. Keats penned ‘Beauty has a lasting impact on the soul. A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Beauty is truth and truth is beauty, - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’ (Ode on a Grecian Urn.) Ralph Waldo Emerson said ‘Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful for beauty is God’s handwriting. Webster’s definition of beauty is ‘a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that please the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.’
It is true. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.