Perceptions of beauty

Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? Historically, philosophers, poets, artists, and scientists have striven to define and express one of the most complex words in the English language : beauty. In contemporary society we tend to casually ascribe the word beauty to many various objects,paintings, sounds, and ideas. Its meaning can adhere to a stone, to the oscillating waves of an ocean, to the nonorganic as to the organic. Perceptions of Beauty is a project the follows my journey as an artist and how my perception of beauty has changed over the past four years. Using examples from select artists, philosophers, and scientific studies, I will contend that Beauty is not "in the eye of the beholder," but is a complex and formulated characteristic that inspires not only an emotional response, but evokes mechanisms that defy our understanding of ourselves.