The Concept of Beauty in Advertising
Beauty is defined as the mental or physical satisfaction derived from the experience of beauty. Beauty is most commonly defined as a subjective quality of objects which makes these objects aesthetically pleasing to see. These objects may include nature, humans, landscapes and works of art.
Beauty, along with beauty appreciation, is the most significant part of aesthetics, among the several important branches of modern philosophy. The word “beauty” was first used by the philosopher Parmenides around 2nd century BC. He distinguished four elements for defining beauty, which were the unity of form, the harmony of form, and the harmony of desire. Later philosophers developed the concepts of beauty, which were derived from these notions. Leonardo da Vinci is probably the most famous philosopher who applied the concept of beauty to his famous Mona Lisa drawing. In modern times, however, the definition of beauty has become far more subjective, due to ever-evolving personal values.
Aesthetic experience varies greatly from person to person, as there are no clear boundaries or standards to define beauty. It is typically agreed upon, though that certain attributes, such as symmetry, proportion, and color, are universal and inherent in all objects. However, the beauty of an object can only be defined by a particular person. The degree of beauty, however, is not a monolithic parameter, since it depends on the observer’s subjective evaluation of beauty. For instance, while some people find symmetrical shapes to be aesthetically pleasing, other people may find a figure to be unattractive because of a lack of form or contours.
In modern days, the word “art” is typically used to refer to any work of visual or performing arts, including dance, literature, music, film and sculpture. The word “performances” is also commonly used, in the broader sense of artistic activities, to describe any works made for pleasure or for profit. Aesthetics are considered to be the essential characteristic of aesthetic performance, which includes the ability to delight in or create beauty. Aesthetics cannot be separated from other aspects of artistic production, such as composition, color, sound, and structure. The theories of beauty then become a matter of interpretation, with different cultures viewing the results of an art production in different ways.
According to the philosopher Kurt Goldstein, beauty is a human ideal. According to Goldstein, beauty is the state of total consciousness, and each individual believes that he or she is beautiful, regardless of how that person actually looks in real life. In fact, the ideas of beauty that are most appealing to the human mind are subjective, meaning that they are not the result of objective criteria. Goldstein states that we are attracted to beautiful things or objects in order to transcend the objects’ external criteria, thus, beauty is a subjective experience that has no concrete definition.
Philosopher James Roper defines beauty as the result of “the harmony of what is present with what is past.” This definition is subjective, as it depends on the observer to interpret a situation and determine the aesthetic experience. However, when comparing two different works of beauty, a particular artist can use the word beauty to describe a specific result. An example would be a work of art that involves abstract paintings of architecture. Despite the different interpretations of beauty, all human beings agree that beauty exists. It is believed by many that beauty is subjective and that it can be defined, although this remains to be seen.