Beauty Is Pain
Location
Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Entry Number
154
Start Date
4-5-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
4-5-2023 2:15 PM
College
Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Art
Keywords
Illustration, Portrait, Victorian, Anorexia, Tuberculosis, Beauty Industry, Women's History
Abstract
This series will attempt to convey the idea that women’s beauty standards have supported self-harm consistently throughout history by comparing the women who contracted tuberculosis in the Victorian Era and the women that develop eating disorders from a young age. I started this series as a way to transfer my own experience of being a woman affected by society’s beauty standards; I feel like portraying women’s beauty in this way preserves both the femininity behind portrait taking for both time periods, but also shows the gruesome reality that “Beauty Is Pain.” Self-Harm is continually perpetuated as something that is necessary for true-beauty. I chose the comparison between tuberculosis and anorexia specifically because it also shows the implication that anorexia is just as deadly, if not more-so presently, as a literal infectious disease.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs and respiratory system. Historically, tuberculosis was treated completely differently in the lower and upper classes. In lower class societies it was a deadly disease that was a rapid threat due to poor sanitation and cleanliness, but in the upper classes, especially for young women, it was treated as a gift. The “consumption” that upper class women desired was a pale faced, sickly slim, rosy cheeked, feverish look that women of today still desire. With every wave of body positivity fashion trends comes the eventual turn back to society favoring skinny sickly women.
These portraits both individually and all together communicate how close women come to death and decay for the sake of being perceived as beautiful.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Prof. Allen Tenbusschen
Rights Statement
The right to download or print any portion of this material is granted by the copyright owner only for personal or educational use. The author/creator retains all proprietary rights, including copyright ownership. Any editing, other reproduction or other use of this material by any means requires the express written permission of the copyright owner. Except as provided above, or for any other use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.), you may not reproduce, republish, post, transmit or distribute any material from this web site in any physical or digital form without the permission of the copyright owner of the material.
Beauty Is Pain
Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall
This series will attempt to convey the idea that women’s beauty standards have supported self-harm consistently throughout history by comparing the women who contracted tuberculosis in the Victorian Era and the women that develop eating disorders from a young age. I started this series as a way to transfer my own experience of being a woman affected by society’s beauty standards; I feel like portraying women’s beauty in this way preserves both the femininity behind portrait taking for both time periods, but also shows the gruesome reality that “Beauty Is Pain.” Self-Harm is continually perpetuated as something that is necessary for true-beauty. I chose the comparison between tuberculosis and anorexia specifically because it also shows the implication that anorexia is just as deadly, if not more-so presently, as a literal infectious disease.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs and respiratory system. Historically, tuberculosis was treated completely differently in the lower and upper classes. In lower class societies it was a deadly disease that was a rapid threat due to poor sanitation and cleanliness, but in the upper classes, especially for young women, it was treated as a gift. The “consumption” that upper class women desired was a pale faced, sickly slim, rosy cheeked, feverish look that women of today still desire. With every wave of body positivity fashion trends comes the eventual turn back to society favoring skinny sickly women.
These portraits both individually and all together communicate how close women come to death and decay for the sake of being perceived as beautiful.