AMES, Iowa — How is beauty constructed and defined? Who determines meanings of beauty? What are historical standards of beauty and the consequences of their application? And what are the relevance and impact of how we think about beauty?

Researchers, scholars and creative practitioners from Iowa State University and peer institutions will explore aspects of the cultural construction of beauty from multiple perspectives in a symposium Feb. 15–17 on the Iowa State campus.

The symposium, “Beauty Investigated: Dilemmas, Projects, and Promises,” will take place in the College of Design’s Kocimski Auditorium (Room 101) and Gallery 181 and in the Launch Pad (Room 4250) at the Student Innovation Center.

An accompanying exhibition is on view now through Feb. 22 in Gallery 181.

Organized by art and visual culture professor Ingrid Lilligren and assistant professor Johnny DiBlasi with funding from the ISU Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities, Department of Art and Visual Culture, Department of Architecture, Robert Allen Wright Endowed Chair Fund (Paul Canfield) and College of Design, the symposium’s focus on the interdisciplinary aspects of aesthetics will specifically spotlight the questions and problems that arise from constructed principles of beauty:

  • How are these principles taught to us via society as behavior learned by the group?
  • When we experience beauty, where does the intrinsic reaction to beauty come from?
  • How do we innately experience and derive enjoyment and positive feelings as a behavior/reaction to something or an experience that is termed beautiful?
  • How do we come to agreement on what is considered beautiful?
  • Who determines this and who benefits? Who is included and who or what is not?

“This research is at the forefront of fields such as aesthetics, visual arts, creative artificial intelligence and generative art systems research, and this symposium will bring together researchers and creative practitioners who are working within these themes and disciplines,” Lilligren said.

“We’re pleased to bring attention to these areas of innovation and the arts and invite all members of the Iowa State community to participate.”

Symposium Schedule

Thursday, February 15

5 – 6 p.m.
Introduction and keynote panel overview
Kocimski Auditorium (101 Design)

6:15 – 7:30 p.m.
Exhibition reception (Gallery 181)
6:15 p.m. Debra Marquart reading
7 p.m. Ritwik Banerji performance

Friday, February 16

9 a.m. – noon
Morning sessions (4250 SICTR)
“Beauty and Community” (Drinkwater, Kyle, Lilligren, Morgan)
“Beauty and Social Justice” (Iancu, Marquart, Samuelson)

Noon – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch break

1:15 – 4:15 p.m.
Afternoon sessions (4250 SICTR)
“Beauty and Material Culture” (Canfield, Chikerinets, Neubauer, Stein)
“Beauty and Computation” (Banerji, Bello, Castellanos, DiBlasi, Sanders)

5:45 – 7:15 p.m.
Dinner break

Saturday, February 17

9:30 – 11 a.m.
Roundtable conversation (4250 SICTR)

11:15 a.m. – noon
Conclusions

Iowa State University Presenters

Ritwik Banerji, Assistant Professor, World Languages and Cultures (Anthropology)
Paul Canfield, Distinguished Professor, Physics and Astronomy; Robert Allen Wright Endowed Chair in Physics; Senior Physicist, Ames Laboratory
Roman Chikerinets, Associate Teaching Professor, Architecture, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellow, College of Design
Johnny DiBlasi, Assistant Professor, Art and Visual Culture (Scientific Visualization and Digital Media)
Jennifer Drinkwater, Associate Professor, Art and Visual Culture, and Community Arts Specialist, Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development
Raluca Iancu, Assistant Professor, Art and Visual Culture (Printmaking), and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scholar, College of Design
Sarah R. Kyle, Professor and Chair, Art and Visual Culture
Ingrid Lilligren, Professor, Art and Visual Culture, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellow, College of Design
Debra Marquart, Distinguished Professor, English, and Iowa Poet Laureate
Emily K. Morgan, Associate Professor, Art and Visual Culture (Art History)
Daniel Neubauer, Associate Teaching Professor, Industrial Design, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellow, College of Design
Scott Samuelson, Professor of Practice, Philosophy and Religious Studies; Public Humanities Specialist, Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development
Eulanda Sanders, Chief Strategist of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, College of Human Sciences, and Donna R. Danielson Professor in Textiles and Clothing

Guest Presenters

Bello Bello, Interdisciplinary Artist
Carlos Castellanos, Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
Tom Rice, Jo-Ann and Robert Stewart Professor of Art, Kalamazoo College, Michigan
Joshua G. Stein, Professor, Architecture, Woodbury University, Burbank, California; Founder, Radical Craft

Contacts

Ingrid Lilligren, Professor, Art and Visual Culture, ililligr@iastate.edu
Johnny DiBlasi, Assistant Professor, Art and Visual Culture, jdiblasi@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Director of Strategic Communications, College of Design, hsauer@iastate.edu

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