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1/3/2016 8 Comments Ageing Beauty: RegardWe have come to value things with history and antiquity; things with noble wear coloured with the patina of time but what of our aged folk. Have they not earned our regard; can we not see their beauty? As a visual artist, my aesthetic goal with the elderly is to express the beauty of aging: rice paper skin, meandering lines, embedded eyes that see forever, strained postures and distorted joints burdened by the physical decline of time’s fate yet glowing with an existential beauty undefined by words. Our western culture’s vision of human beauty evolved from the Roman-Greco ideal based on youth, strength and symmetry. Is there any wonder we shrink from the idea of getting old? We live in a youth-oriented society where physical and mental strength rules. It follows that signs of ageing should be avoided at almost all cost. Cosmetic surgery is a burgeoning global business… Could we shift our visual culture to appreciate this ageing beauty? 
8 Comments
Monika
1/3/2016 03:33:44 pm
Perhaps fear of death may also be a factor. If you don't get old, you won't die. Signs of aging which could be seen as signs of accomplishment & beauty are seen as signs of failure.
mary
1/6/2016 09:51:40 pm
Interesting comment Monika. Perhaps that's how the elder feels. I have found that most of my subjects have been very surprised that I would want to draw them...some have even stated they felt ugly! For the viewer, I think we have a very narrow vision for human beauty. People seem to think life is all downhill after youth and perhaps there is a fear of death....I have met some amazing old people. Perhaps I am getting two entirely different issues meshed....
Jan
1/4/2016 09:22:17 am
My mother will be 95 years of age on Jan 10/16. She is very sharp mentally, and is physically independant, living in a senior's apartment and doing her own cooking. She is an inspiration to us and in my opinion, could be considered a model for aging. She continues to amaze me and I hope that I am able to follow her excellent example as I myself continue in the process of aging.
mary
1/6/2016 10:00:42 pm
Thanks for sharing Jan. You are most fortunate to have such a role model in your life. Do you have a sense how your mom feels about her looks? How do you see her? I wonder if one has an inspiring elder in their life, they SEE the beauty in ageing? It is a very different kind of aesthetic then that of youth. I try not to view/think of ageing as the absence of youth but that part of life afterwards when, if we are lucky and aware, will only get richer. 1/25/2016 09:27:53 am
Your drawing/paintings are beautiful. You capture your subjects so well! Do you know any of their stories? It would be fun to know a bit about the portrait. Their life well lived.....
mary
1/31/2016 11:25:25 am
Thank you Doris. I do know their stories....or at least parts of it as for the most part, I had been their nurse as well. I will use that as the stimulus to my next entry....Good luck with all of your work!
Ali
2/9/2016 06:15:26 pm
Mary this post forced me to look at the beauty not just in human subjects as we age but in nature too . I look at the old tree in my yard and see the fractured branches as a symbol if the strength endured during a storm
mary
2/20/2016 02:20:31 pm
Thanks for your comment Ali. If you check out my latest blog entry, you will see that you are following the awareness of the aged masters of Zen who actually attribute these features to nature not people. So we go back and forth until the pendulum rests with what we see and feel in our minds and hearts. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMary Whale is an artist and nurse advocating regard for the beauty of the ageing process. Archives
May 2024
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