Concepts of Beauty

Julius W. Few Jr. and Michael P. Ogilvie

Summary

This chapter provides the understanding that beauty is the central concept behind aesthetic surgery, but that beauty is very difficult to define. With today’s modern technology and medical advancements, creating greater beauty can be achieved. Today, aesthetic surgeons possess the same passion to redefine beauty by improving a patient’s aesthetic qualities with a finesse few others can produce. Ultimately, natural beauty is best (Video I.1).

Keywords: beauty, history of aesthetic surgery, symmetry, proportion, harmony, Golden Ratio, Divine Proportion

Key Points

Concepts of Beauty

• Understanding beauty is a central concept behind aesthetic surgery.

• Attempted explanations that describe beauty include creating symmetrical images, proportions (Golden Ratio), harmony, and an individual’s own intrinsic beliefs.

• There are significant social effects that surround beauty.

• Aesthetic surgery has transformed into the new generation of art that combines a scientific approach and a keen eye to create beauty.

1.1 Introduction

Elena Dmitrievna Diakonova met Salvador Dalí in 1929 in Paris, France.1 Known as “Gala” by her close friends, Diakonova was a prominent figure in the Paris art scene and known to be a muse for many artists. However, Dalí saw more in her ( Fig. 1.1). In his autobiography,¹ Dalí writes, “‘It is mostly with your blood, Gala, that I paint my pictures,’ I said to her one day, and since then I have always used her name with mine in signing my work.” Gala helped Dalí refine his artistic skills and push boundaries that others were incapable of reaching. Specifically, Dalí was fascinated by the idea of depicting any image, idea, or concept in his imagination and illustrating it as unaltered and realistically as possible. Dalí took this to heart when painting his wife.

Gala makes numerous appearances in Dalí’s art. From Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea to Dalí from the Back Painting Gala ( Fig. 1.1), Salvador Dalí transcribes Gala’s beauty as natural and raw.¹ Dalí did not have to imagine Gala’s beauty—he saw it. Concluding his memoire, Dalí¹ profoundly declares, “Gala, you are reality.” With that simple line, one finally comprehends the main pursuit of Dalí’s life. For Dalí, like many other artists, the obsession to translate an idea or image to an artistic representation dominates who they are as a person. Artists are never satisfied until the image they see with their eyes matches the image found in their innermost self. Dalí was consumed by this ideology, especially when drawing Gala—the artist’s true embodiment of beauty.

Fig. 1.1 Dalí Seen from the Back Painting Gala from the Back Eternalized by Six Virtual Corneas Provisionally Reflected by Six Real Mirrors. (Reproduced with permission from Dali de espaldas pintando a Gala–Dali paints Gala in front of a mirror, 1972-1973. Museo Dali, Figueras, Spain. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY. Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society [ARS], New York 2017.)

Dalí was of course a product of his time period and its respective technology. Imagine what vivid cinematography Dalí could have generated with computer-generated imagery at his fingertips. Could Dalí have created a divine, unearthly representation of beauty?

With today’s modern technology and medical advancements, creating greater beauty can be achieved. Today, aesthetic surgeons possess the same passion to redefine beauty by improving a patient’s aesthetic qualities with a finesse few others can produce. Perceived as a new generation of art, aesthetic surgery carries the fire that Dalí and his fellow innovative artists ignited.

Today’s new aesthetic of art utilizes a needle laser, and energy-firming technology to substitute for a brush, oil pastels, and palate. With a calm, careful demeanor, aesthetic surgeons create an artistic work located one layer beneath the skin’s epidermis. Rather than creating a single dimension that remains lifeless on a painting, aesthetic surgeons create masterpieces with blood flowing through the individual’s veins. This cannot be accomplished, however, without many unusual yet effective methods. For instance, skilled professionals carefully inject micro-doses of Clostridium botulinum toxin (Botox) around the orbicularis oculi (muscles surrounding the eye).

The toxin, the same neuromodulator that causes flaccid paralysis in other situations, relaxes the muscles, thus diminishing wrinkling and accentuating the eye’s beauty. Similarly, hyaluronic acid, a substance that is found naturally outside a cell, can be applied under the skin to smoothen almost any aging signs. A frequent concern for patients includes nasolabial lines or smile lines. Strategically inserted at an angle, the blunted cannula tip spreads out hyaluronic acid while causing little to no side effects. Any of these nonsurgical procedures reveal the modern era of aesthetic tools that have limited downsides.

The beginning days of plastic surgery were coarse. Aesthetic surgeons would primarily focus on surgically altering and not enhancing an individual’s natural beauty. A common procedure, the traditional facelift alone, resulted in a homogeneous population. In some cases, incorrectly, a physician would pull the skin removing not only wrinkles but also the patient’s basic individuality. A doctor certified in aesthetics must be in tune to rapidly changing trends and be able to cater to patient’s desires. Also, a true professional understands that not every patient is a candidate for a specific procedure or surgery, even if a patient is adamant about it. A genuine physician will be honest with the patient and advocate for procedures that follow his or her best interests. In order to avoid the stigma negatively associated with aesthetic medicine, one has to understand the goal of natural-appearing alteration and enhancement. The primary reason for this divide between the aesthetic physician and the public is rooted in the perplexing question: what is beauty?

1.2 “Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder”

This simple yet effective statement demonstrates how one’s perception of beauty is a personal choice. A man may find a woman appealing, although his friend does not feel the same way. What factors determine this? Is it the appeal of Hollywood actresses in extravagant wedding dresses shown on tabloid magazines? Or is it the athletic build of a football player that makes him handsome? Whether it is from the simplicity apparent in the DNA’s helical structure to the complexity apparent in a rosebud, beauty’s presence permeates every corner of the universe. One cannot argue that Michelangelo’s grandiose, dramatic representation shown in La Pietà or his sculpture David outdoes the elegant timelessness that Alexandros of Antioch captures in the Venus de Milo. Clearly, it is impossible to define beauty in an absolute manner. However, there are a number of algorithms that have been developed to attempt to define an answer.

An infinite number of examples illustrate beauty, so there must be at least one unifying aspect that helps produce it. In actuality, some have theorized that there is a reproducible element that attempts to define beauty’s presence—symmetry. Symmetry refers to exact mirror image between two parts separated by an axis or line. The linkage between symmetry and beauty is quite logical. Since its creation, humanity has an intrinsic predisposition toward symmetrical images. People are inclined to favor equality, because it has less dichotomy and disorder. As visualized in nature, countless examples of symmetry are seen in various animals, insects, or even the sun’s shape. Consequently, it appears rational to make human features similar when comparing contralateral sides. By understanding that a genetic code for perceived attractiveness may exist, could one unlock the map for creating natural, humanistic masterpieces?

However, symmetrical proportions are not the main foundation for achieving beauty. A study conducted in Italy explored the three-dimensional (3D) facial asymmetry in subjects deemed “attractive” and “normal.”2 With digital computer technology, researchers demonstrated how asymmetrical features undermine an individual’s beauty. Most importantly, though, they saw a general trend showing no exact correlation with higher symmetry with “attractive” people ( Fig. 1.2). Although this is convoluted, their data² expressed that “asymmetric faces deviate from attractiveness because they deviate from averageness [defined as similarity to the basic appearance of respective genders]…In synthesis, humans’ symmetry may be a good sign of health, but not necessarily for attractiveness, also considering intrinsic asymmetry of our brain, and, therefore, of our perception.”

Furthermore, symmetry, although significant, unfortunately does not equate to real-life applications of beauty. Theoretically, even if a patient were a 100% symmetrical, they may not be identified as beautiful by a lay observer. Artist Alex John Beck³ reveals this in his photographic series entitled “Both Sides Of,” a photography project that juxtaposes side-by-side portraits of models whose faces have been Photoshopped to be mirror images of the left and right sides of their faces. Beck³ perfectly describes his finding by stating, “I think they [mirror image] lack character—beauty is more based on character than an arbitrary data point.” “Humanity is messy and should remain as such. I, for one, am not a fan of center-parting, for example. And even the greatest tennis players favor one arm.”³

Alternatively, beauty’s foundations might lay more in proportion and harmony. A powerful idea that has dominated art of all aspects has been the Golden Ratio and Phi.^4,5 Conceptualized by the ancient Greek sculptor Phidias, Phi is the irrational number strictly based on numerous mathematical relationships and in concert with other ratios can generate “Divine Proportions.” Nonetheless, it seems that its applications for creating beauty are endless. The Divine Proportion’s presence resonates in everything from the faces of models to the spiral structure of a sunflower. Aesthetic surgeons utilize the ratio while approaching the patients’ desires. Dr. Arthur Swift⁴ has dedicated a significant portion of his practice to addressing the power of phi, including the famed calipers that measure the ratio patterns of the face. He describes, “In general, ideal facial width for most ethnicities falls approximately Phi (1.618) times the intercanthal distance [distance between the inner corners of eyes] from the medial canthus [inner corner of eye] to the ipsilateral cheek [same sided cheek].”⁴ At his actual practice, Dr. Swift commonly uses golden calipers when utilizing fillers to achieve the most aesthetically pleasing results for his patients. When proportion works in conjugation with harmony, the ambiguity of beauty is cleared ( Fig. 1.3).