December 1950 — Vol. 31, No. 12 — The Search For
Beauty
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Beauty is as much a necessity of
our everyday life as bread. If our lives are to be more than
mere existence, they demand something besides a weekly pay
cheque, three meals a day and a roof over our heads. There
must be food for the mind and the eye, the soul and the spirit.
The thought of beauty, its expression, and the love of it,
have been present in the minds of men of every century. Writers
and artists have spent their lives capturing and immortalizing
the beautiful in words and in paint; the men of the Middle
Ages made lasting monuments to beauty and the glory of God
in the building of great cathedrals; ordinary people have
been inspired and uplifted by beauty in their physical and
spiritual lives.
As far back as 25,000 years ago, in the early stone age,
paintings on the walls of caves in France and Spain show the
desire of men to create, and to rise beyond the limitations
of the daily struggle to keep alive. We today are also struggling
in an anxious world - and if ever any people needed some power
outside themselves to give relief from worry and alarms, we
do. We are more fortunate than our forefathers, for we have
the accumulated culture and wisdom of the ages to draw upon.
What is Beauty?
We use the word "beautiful" dozens of times a day, to describe
anything from a new fashion to a sunset, but what actually
is beauty?
Great thinkers have defined it in many ways, some of which
we might quote. One of the best known, one that has had far—reaching
influence, is the teaching of Plato: Beauty is the splendour
of truth. The influence of this can be seen in the lines written
by Keats, in his Ode on a Grecian Urn: "Beauty is truth,
truth beauty, - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need
to know."
Molière, in one of his sparkling comedies, went so
far as to recommend beauty as a civilizing force. The music
master in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme ask: is it not true
that war proceeds from want of concord among men? He suggests
that if all men learned music, it might be a means of keeping
them in tune, and of bringing universal peace to the world.
Ruskin, in The True and the Beautiful, had this to
say: "Any material object which can give us pleasure in the
simple contemplation of its outward qualities, without any
direct and definite exertion of the intellect, I call in some
way, or in some degree, beautiful." But perhaps the simplest
definition of all is that given by St. Thomas Aquinas: "That
which when seen pleases."
These descriptions can include everything in life, from
a bride to an advertisement, from a bird—song at dawn
to a radio broadcast, from a heather—covered mountain
to a department store window.
We live in a world that abounds in beauty, but sometimes
we are too absorbed in ourselves, our pursuits and our problems,
to see the beauties. We scarcely notice the small unselfishness
or the single flower; it is the grand gesture or the big bouquet
that ordinarily calls forth our admiration.
But there is beauty all around us, in poetry and in paintings,
in our vast forests and in our own backgardens, in city streets
and business offices and in factories, and in the lives of
saints and ordinary men. To feel this beauty makes the imagination
richer, and the world more interesting.
A recent editorial in a Montreal newspaper called attention
to three kinds of beauty.
First there is beauty of the senses, the joy that comes
from loveliness of colour, line, form and tone. A second aspect
of beauty exists in the understanding of the origin and being
of Nature (including human beings). This constitutes science.
The third form of beauty lies in seeking the meaning of beautiful
things we see, and the purpose they express. The deeper and
farther we go in the search for beauty, the higher we rise
beyond the physical and sensuous to the spiritual sphere.
We were all born with an eye for beauty, but when we were
children we were perhaps more closely akin to the homespun
beauties of the world. The softness of a kitten's fur, the
brightness of an autumn leaf, the first fresh snowfall, these
were all sources of wonderment and pleasure. As time went
by, and sophistication set in, we lost this first fine appreciation
of beauty, our eyes were not so open to the simple things
which once gave us pleasure, and our outlook became not so
alert and eager. We lost some of our natural eye for beauty,
and with it we have lost some of our happiness too.
Beauty and Happiness
Beauty contains the seeds of happiness - that dearest wish
of every human being. Happiness and beauty are closely intertwined.
In our social life we try to make our surroundings, manner
and conversation pleasing. We do not wish to expose the duller
portions of our lives to the public eye. In the books we read,
in the plays and the films we see, we all desire the happy
ending, and we are slightly disappointed and "let down" if
things .do not "end well." In enjoying the beautiful,
we increase our own happiness.
This cultivation of love of the beautiful is not a special
privilege, the preserve of the few or the possession of a
caste. Beauty is ours to enjoy without money and without price
- a rewarding joy within the reach of all. It has nothing
to do with technical ability or wealth or high education.
We cannot all create beauty or be artists in the grand manner.
Not many of us will write a great novel, paint a masterpiece
or perform on the concert platform. But every one of us is
capable of creating beauty in one form or another, and of
appreciating it even more widely. The woman taking a well—baked
loaf out of the oven, the man gathering vegetables from the
garden he has carefully tended, the mother telling a story
to her children, and the employer who makes a congenial working
atmosphere for his employees - all of these are creating something
that is beautiful. Beauty can be small, but it can never be
insignificant if it adds to the enrichment and dignity of
human life.
Russell Lynes, in the Centennial issue of Harper's Magazine,
points out that before the American and French revolutions
taste had been the prerogative of the few families of wealth
and position. Then, as a result of the political revolutions
and the Industrial Revolution, a new middle class was created,
eager to enjoy the arts of leisure and the exercise of taste.
It has been truly said that beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. Incidentally, it is comforting to know that, by
some divine astigmatism, each one of us is supremely beautiful
in the eyes of another! But perhaps in no other sphere is
there such latitude of choice or expression of individuality
as in the love of beauty. What seems beautiful to one person
does not appear so to another - and here you have the yardstick
of taste.
The Test of Beauty
In all the arts there has always been a controversy of opinion
concerning what is beautiful. In commenting on Turner's painting,
The Slave Ship, Ruskin wrote that it was "perfect and
immortal" The painter Inness declared: "It's claptrap." Thackeray
was puzzled and neutral: 'I don't know whether it's sublime
or ridiculous."
Eric Newton, the British critic, whose book The Meaning
of Beauty has just been published, said some years ago
that there is no real test of beauty, because beauty is the
expression of the artist's aesthetic excitement. If one person
shares that excitement and another does not, then the former
thinks the work beautiful, and the latter thinks it ugly.
When we say that there is beauty in a picture what we really
mean is that that particular arrangement of colours and forms
causes a state of mind in us which is good.
An object cannot be beautiful if it can give pleasure to
nobody. A beauty to which all men are forever indifferent
is a contradiction in terms. And to be beautiful, an object
must communicate some idea. It must mean something to someone
other than the person who created it. Not until the second
quarter of the twentieth century was the essential communicability
of art ever denied, says Francis H. Taylor, Director of the
Metropolitan Museum in New York. "Communication has been common
to all the great racial traditions...The one and only quality
denied to a work of art throughout the ages is privacy. Unless
participation is allowed the spectator, it becomes a hopeless
riddle and ceases to be any work of art at all."
In our choice of the beautiful, familiarity plays a big
part. We all cherish scenes and memories which "flash upon
that inward eye" to strengthen and uplift us, and on these
our future choices of the beautiful are based. These things
of beauty, like a great affection, a clear thought, or a profound
faith, are eternal possessions.
We cannot, of course, retain everything in our own personal
storehouse of beauty. Something that we find shining with
beauty at one time we may find later has lost interest for
us; this holds true for people and paintings, books and memories.
There is an interesting variation of this. As time passes,
and we undergo wider and more varied experiences, we can and
do return to people and to art and discover new beauties and
new values which we did not see in earlier years.
An example of this is to be seen in the work of the Canadian
artists who are known as the Group of Seven. When their work
first appeared, about thirty years ago, it was adversely criticized
in some quarters. Today the work of these artists, which includes
such great names as Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris and Dr. Arthur
Lismer, is considered by the majority of our people as being
typically Canadian. It has captured the character and flavour
of our country.
Where to Find Beauty
Where can we look for beauty? Where can we search and be
sure of our reward?
Art may sometimes disappoint and confuse us, but Nature
never. The effect of natural beauty is to elevate us to a
higher level. We cannot look upon a great natural scene, a
serpentine river, a snow—capped mountain, or a green
and gentle meadow, without feeling remote from our personal
pettinesses. We cannot, in these days, and all of us would
not, even if we could, follow Thoreau in choosing a hermit's
life by a Walden pond, but natural beauty can play a vital
part in raising our lives from the humdrum to the enjoyable.
Sometimes we are almost barbarous in our disregard of nature's
beauty. The man who takes a motor trip with the sole idea
of covering so many miles a day, and arrives at his destination
with mingled memories of the country he has sped through,
is not only ignoring a source of physical relaxation but he
is rejecting balm for his eye and his spirit. To catch a record—breaking
number of trout in a day is not as soul—satisfying as
to enjoy the mental peace and physical joy of a clear stream
and the cloistered calm of tall trees.
Even a city dweller walking quickly along a crowded street
can catch some moment of natural beauty. Often a shaft of
sunlight striking a church spire, a strange and interesting
formation of clouds, or the delicate outline of an ancient
weathered tree, can pierce our busy day with a little stab
of pure delight.
One of the grandest photographs we have ever seen was of
an electric—wire pole against a cloudy sky; it was entitled:
"The Power and the Glory."
Art, Beauty and Life
The nearer one is to nature the more instinctive art becomes.
It has been said that art is the one thing we all want, the
expression of man's joy in his work. Line, form, colour and
sound all play a part in widening our mental and spiritual
horizons, stimulating our senses and our imagination. Art
is the work of the whole spirit of man...it is not something
extraneous to life, but the way by which vital needs are perfectly
satisfied.
Before the industrial era, there was greater opportunity
for creative expression within the limitations of a man's
working day. The craftsman, making things painstakingly by
hand, had a particular pride in his whole artistic achievement.
Today, with the fragmentation of production, there is not
this satisfying sense of creation.
Since many of us do not derive this full artistic satisfaction
from our daily work, we must find the answer elsewhere - in
the broadening of our culture in our leisure time.
An indication that this is becoming more and more usual
is shown in the mounting interest and participation in adult
education. Men and women of all ages gather in groups all
over the country to listen to fine music, to study the great
books, to learn new skills in handicraft - to learn anything,
in fact, to which their tastes incline.
It is interesting to hear from McGill University that 25
per cent of the extension courses given there are cultural.
Doubtless a similar proportion would be found elsewhere. This
is a symbol of our desire, in this age, for what are so inadequately
referred to as "the higher things in life."
It is quite true that we cannot all become outstanding in
the arts. But a man is not an artist only because of what
he writes or makes, but because of what he feels. To have
imagination and taste, and to love the best, is an accomplishment
in itself.
To live in these days is a strenuous experience, demanding
more than ever before of vigour, thought and spirit. When,
then, we learn to enjoy beauty as we seek it and find it,
we are indulging (as it were by proxy) an instinct which in
other times and other circumstances would find expression
in the doing of beautiful things.
Beauty in Business
From beauty in art to beauty in business may seem a sudden
transition, but beauty plays a very important part in the
world of commerce. In practically all goods produced for sale
there must be an appeal to the eye or ear. Advertisements,
displays, shop windows and billboards, as well as the actual
products themselves, concentrate on this, and so create a
desire to possess the goods. Everything from automobiles to
bookjackets and bacon wrappers is designed to appeal to the
consumer's aesthetic sense in addition to more practical considerations.
One of the first things to attract the would—be purchaser
is the packaging of an article. This was thought to be so
important a part of selling goods that a survey of packaging
in Canada was carried out recently by representatives of the
British Board of Trade and the British Export Trade Research
Organization. The main purpose of this survey was to help
British manufacturers design the packaging of their products
to conform to the tastes of Canadian consumers.
The survey showed that British designs were often considered
old—fashioned and without eye—appeal chiefly because
of lack of colour. Canadian taste was found to prefer simplicity
in design, with abstract patterns generally preferred to pictures,
and full, bright colours, with blue, red and green as the
most popular.
Colour in our Lives
Colour has always played a principal part in our selection
of the attractive. A recent issue of C.I.L. Oval, entitled
World of Colour, tells in small space the potentialities
and influence of colour. In the world of nature and of science,
in our homes and in our factories, in art and in the expression
of emotion in literature, as pointed out by Hugh MacLennan,
colour has a predominant meaning in our lives. We can use
it in modern merchandising and to make our living more graceful
and attractive.
We know that there are certain effects of colour that give
us pleasure, and others that jar, almost like a musical discord.
The development of this sensibility, and the increased availability
of colour materials, has created a new art, which deals with
colours as music does with sound.
Colour can create psychological changes. Hospitals choose
colours that help build an atmosphere of calm and relaxation;
schools and factories use colours to stimulate activity and
efficiency; and industrial safety can be aided by special
painting of buildings and machinery.
Patrons of Art
We can see that business needs and profits by beauty, but
in this century business is playing another part also...that
of patron of the arts.
In earlier ages, the role of patron was assumed by men of
culture, position and wealth. Then in the Middle Ages the
Church largely superseded the private patron. It employed
the finest talent in building cathedrals and monasteries,
and fostered the arts of painters, sculptors, goldsmiths and
silversmiths. It was only the Church's influence and position
as art patron that enabled the European artist, and thus the
thread of European culture, to survive.
Later, kings like Henry VIII and Charles I were patrons
of such famous artists as Hans Holbein the Younger and Van
Dyck. And by the eighteenth century it was an established
tradition that great and noble families should Contest with
one another in their art collections and in their employment
of artists.
The high peak of patronage was reached in the eighteenth
century; the nineteenth saw its decline, and the twentieth,
with high taxes and death duties, saw its almost complete
disappearance.
And here, with happy results for both artist and patron,
has entered industry. Imperial Chemical Industries in Great
Britain is an example of an industrial sponsor of the arts,
with its informative advertisements for which it commissioned
well—known artists. A series called Portraits of an
Industry, which pictured actual workers employed by the
company, was so successful that, after being used for advertising
purposes, it went on a two—year tour of municipal and
other art galleries throughout England and Scotland. The Canadian
Pulp and Paper Association, commissioning such artists as
A. J. Casson, Thoreau MacDonald and A. Y. Jackson to interpret
the operations of the industry, has contributed greatly to
art in Canada.
Beauty in the Home
Business can use and cultivate beauty on a large scale,
but each one of us can create an atmosphere of grace and charm
in the smaller environment of his own home. We have come a
long way from the over—ornamental architecture, gloomy
colours and heavy hangings of the Victorian era, and the modern
trend is toward light, space and colour in our surroundings.
There is a growing appreciation of utility and grace in
household goods. From this has come an emphasis on functional
beauty as the basic requirement for good design in articles
made for everyday use. Recently the industrial designer in
Canada has been given professional recognition. The Association
of Canadian Industrial Designers has been formed, and, in
1948, a National Industrial Design Committee. This is made
up of manufacturers, retailers, research officials, educationalists
and designers, all united by an enthusiasm to co—operate
in ensuring that Canadian industry will be able to meet our
mounting desires for more attractive goods, and to compete
abroad with the best—designed products of other countries.
Thousands of labour—saving devices are now on the market.
When first invented, many of these were of intricate mechanism,
cumbersome to handle, and unattractive in appearance. The
industrial designer has worked toward increasing their simplicity,
their ease of operation, and their beauty. These principles
apply to the design of anything, from a toaster to a tractor.
As Donald W. Buchanan, Secretary of the National Industrial
Design Committee, says, "Good design in manufactured articles
means a combination of simplicity, fine proportions and functional
utility."
The Power of Beauty
It is true that we can create an atmosphere of beauty and
grace with the wealth of goods that modern ingenuity and manufacturing
have developed and perfected, but the very first seeds of
beauty lie within ourselves.
If we cultivate the many attributes of beauty in our relationships
with our families and our associates, we can achieve a happiness
and a spiritual content such as no possession of material
goods can give us. The understanding ear, the appreciative
eye, the open mind and the generous heart are not only blessings
to us who possess them, but their benefits extend to all those
whose lives touch ours, no matter how slightly. By beautifying
our social and domestic existence, we can all be artists in
life.
We can educate ourselves intellectually and spiritually
to see the maximum of beauty...in the world of nature, of
art and of human beings. By this aesthetic education we will
achieve not only that general sense of steadfastness and resource
which is perhaps the kernel of happiness, but a new joy and
meaning in living.
It is a fundamental truth that nothing but the good enters
into the beautiful In this largest sense of the word, beauty
- the yearning for it, the search for it, and the contemplation
of it - has civilized mankind.
Published by RBC Financial Group. All editions from the RBC
Letter collection are available on our web site at www.rbc.com/responsibility/letter.
Our e-mail address is: rbcletter@rbc.com.
Publié aussi en francais.
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