My trip to the Chelsea Art Museum was enlightening. I went there believing I would be bombarded with stereotypical criticisms about beauty and the media but instead i found myself in the epicenter of creative expression. I enjoyed the exhibit and all the art work. I felt it was a powerful presentation that was moving. My favorite part of the exhibit was the woman drinking water . After watching it for about 5 minutes, I found myself intrigued. I walked across the room to see the same image of the woman, only she was trapped inside a fish net. The symbolism behind that,” Ideal beauty is saturated in the media” , was a very innovative way of going about this issue of “Beauty and Consumerism”. Although there were many disturbing images decorating the walls of the exhibit, I found truth in the art and displays. One image that really got me itching was the deflated and inflated breast implants. I just kept thinking ” You go through all that pain to look acceptable and something like this happens..” It got me questioning my stand on beauty. The images on the second floor weren’t sugarcoated either. There was alot of plastic surgery pictures, before and after pictures. I guess I was really effected because I was looking into having a few things done after school. After seeing the images, I was so disgusted I didn’t know what to think and I still don’t know what to think . The media presents these cosmetic surgeries as a simple nip/tuck procedures. There are so many unpredictable side effects that could really damage a persons esteem and confidence level. The “Dangerous Beauty ” exhibit just got me thinking ” Is it worth it all ?” and ” What is real beauty to me ?” Subject matters that have always been around me, but I always took lightly.
