People and places: essay five

Beauty, well-being and prosperity Bonnie Greer Contents

Published in 2010 by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

Graphic design by CABE Introduction 5 Cover photo: Beaumont Leys and Stocking Farm Sure Start, Leicestershire by Groundworks A study of beauty 7 Architects © Joe D Miles

The views expressed in this publication are the What does beauty mean to us? 12 author’s and do not neccessarily reflect those of CABE. About the author 16 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied or transmitted without the prior written consent of the publisher except that the material may be photocopied for non-commercial purposes without permission from the publisher.

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3 The Parthenon, Athens, Greece © Flickr/ roblisameehan Flickr/ © Greece Athens, Parthenon, The Introduction

Beauty is a We have a notion of beauty as something frivolous: necessary a tool for the indolent; the domain of the rich, component the powerful; and of those lucky enough to see of our very it or have it. But beauty is more than that; it is a existence necessary component of our very existence.

We are hardwired to respond to beauty. Our love of beauty has evolved, specifically its little sister ‘cute’. The big eyes, fat cheeks, and round body of the human infant encourage us to care for our young. If we did not consider babies beautiful, we would leave them to die.

One of prehistoric human’s responses to the animal life around them was to etch and paint these animals on the walls of their caves. Making them into art and rendering them beautiful was a natural response – a way to help make sense of a hostile and confusing world.

Certain clans in sub-Saharan Africa celebrate male beauty. The men prance and parade in front of the womenfolk, preening openly in a bid to attract and win them as wives. For them, male beauty is a sign of reproductive success.

We do the same thing but call it sport…or war. In ancient Britain, tribes sang songs of praise to the beauty of their chief which signified the wellbeing of the gods and therefore blessings and success for the people.

Before the Reformation, churches, monasteries,

4 5 A study of beauty

Mathematicians cathedrals and other places of worship in England, Endangered native species of plants and insects use the word Scotland and Wales, were full of intense colour. have recently been given English names by the ‘beauty’ more Making these places transmitters of beauty aided public. The conservationists who created the than artists. and encouraged worship – colour and glorious contest to name these species believed that if statuary stimulated contemplation, prayer, silence, people could come up with names they thought peace, and pleasure. It could be argued that the were beautiful, then they would notice these consequences of the iconoclasm wreaked such species, conserve them and love them. havoc that the destruction of the statues and the whitewashing of the walls still echo through the These were ordinary people naming species of British psyche. plants and insects – not poets or lyricists – who, when challenged, created names with a level of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth – Gloriana whimsical artifice worthy of the characters inA – used beauty as symbols not only of their special midsummer’s night dream. From now on, a species destiny and that of their upstart dynasty, the Tudors, found exclusively near Windsor Castle will be but also of England: Shakespeare’s ‘green and known not only by its Latin name, but also by its pleasant land’ and the island that held the world new name, The Queen’s Executioner, while another together. is to be called Witches Whiskers.

Nature itself uses beauty. Bees are born in By asking the public to name plants and insects, Fibonacci numbers, a sequence that is incredibly conservationists tapped into a wellspring lying beautiful to scientists and beekeepers – it stretches dormant within those who chose to take part. It is into infinity and applies to everything from biology obvious that making up beautiful names to describe to economics and vulcanology. Fibonacci is well the beauty surrounding them had meaning for those known to lay people because it is beautiful, and involved. because it is the golden mean – the great equation embedded in every heroic structure in ancient Beauty means something to mathematicians as Greece. well. They often use the word more than artists. Beauty is an essential component of an equation and one of the factors that determines its success. And like the face that a baby responds to, beauty in a set of numbers implies its own kind of health – that the theory or equation is true.

6 7 Beauty is both concrete and abstract, nameable Universal and ‘For example, you’ll be out in the fresh air and you’ll and quantifiable, and impossible to name or to equal access to see the trees and birds and then you’ll hear singing quantify. Questions about beauty are difficult to beauty that is and it makes you stop and listen and as you’re set, and difficult to respond to, because it exists essential. doing that you’re feeling calmer and enjoying the at such a subliminal level for most people. Yet, as moment a bit more and…do I need to go on?’ the indigenous population ages newer populations increasingly define society; and as the generational The fact is that most of the people featured in the differences in notions of beauty become more research feel most comfortable with nature. The evident, investigations into the existence and natural environment rates highly in Sheffield as a qualities of beauty, as well as its necessity, become place where everyone can and should experience more urgent. beauty. Experience is the most popular method of accessing beauty – the ability to have an Questions asked in a study by the Commission environment in which they can receive the best of for Architecture and the Built Environment what that it has to give. (CABE) investigate the demand for a society that understands and provides beauty for everyone. And Memory comprises one of the most powerful this research is a revelation to me in that it provides components of beauty for the people of Sheffield. a way to roadmap a kind of aesthetic. The research tells the story of Paul, who takes us to an area which he believes most people would see The research was undertaken in Sheffield, a as ‘an absolute dump’, but is where he escapes to city undergoing immense change and a perfect find calm and peace. microcosm of the nation. Above all, beauty for the respondents is overwhelmingly bound up with the And it is full of memories. It is here – through nature natural environment; a surprising response from the and memory – that he experiences beauty. residents of a major city. Another participant talks about the importance The natural environment, its enjoyment and its of memory in his relationship with the estate accessibility, are seen as essential to wellbeing where his family lived before it was emptied for – and as a right. This ultimately has great redevelopment. The report reads, ‘Jack talked about consequences for central government as it cannot the community feeling that existed with everyone leave this right to volunteerism or localism alone saying “hello” to each other and the difference – these will not ensure the universal and equal it made to the area which now feels hauntingly access to beauty that is essential. empty’.

8 9 And it is not only nature which provides beauty Beauty is for participants. Without natural light, places were through memory. Some participants see bound up with seen as gloomy, depressing and unappealing – Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium, as a the emotional pity was in fact expressed for anyone who cannot place of beauty because of their memories. and historical access natural light. characteristics The research also asks which areas of Sheffield of a place. ‘It’s about a whole feeling isn’t it? That moment were considered more or less beautiful. Most between everyday life and taking time out, when responses were based on the emotional and you can stop and sit somewhere nice for a bit. historical characteristics of a place: ‘People That’s why I like Peace Gardens or Winter Gardens would refer to the look and feel of a place and the and places like that. Places that are away from aesthetic appeal, or lack of. This was often tied up hustle and bustle, more peace and quiet. I can with how the place was seen in more holistic terms enjoy the city more when I’m there, surrounded (the people, memories, crime ratings). This made it by green. It puts me in a good mood, makes me hard for people to see beyond this to see a building comfortable.’ or area simply for the materials it was made with, or architectural details.’ Comfort and calm in the built environment create beauty for many of those surveyed. Yet many of The built environment, as well as memories, must those under 45 were more likely to find beauty in contain some of the qualities of nature for the fashion, people and in consumer products than in residents of Sheffield to consider it beautiful – the countryside. natural light and the use of natural light was crucial © Flickr/Xurble (Gareth Simpson) (Gareth Flickr/Xurble ©

10 11 What does beauty mean to us?

Some people featured in the research consider The ability For me, the research identified two potential crises their homes as places of beauty, but only if they are to extract that beauty will have to address and which only new and ‘worth something’. A new home provides a meaning from central government can tackle. One of the most measure of how far they have come from the local our existence striking discoveries is that beauty matters less for estate – and that trajectory itself is a measure and and impart it to the black and ethnic minority poor than it does statement of beauty. our lives is one for their counterparts in the majority community. of our species’ This indicates a major disconnect with potentially The answers to the principal research questions, distinguishing catastrophic consequences – does beauty matter ‘what does beauty mean to you as an individual?’ traits. less, or not at all, to these communities because and ‘what does beauty mean for places and it is not defined by them? If so, this implies communities?’, show that beauty creates calm, that beauty is considered by central and local engenders neighbourliness and co-operation, and government, municipalities, funders, the media, and even affects crime statistics. opinion-formers as overwhelmingly Eurocentric. In other words, to black people and other ethnic So beauty seems to counter the vicious cycle minority communities, beauty is overwhelmingly ‘not of demotivation and inaction for the people of them’. Sheffield, and aids the essential component of our very humanity: meaning. The distinguished writer Could these communities therefore see beauty as on religion, Karen Armstrong, believes that we are defined and determined outside of themselves? ‘meaning-seeking creatures’. Humans cannot thrive And, if so, what does this mean in terms of how without meaning. they access and relate to beauty, and do they feel a part of the general conversation about beauty? Look around you: the depressed, the dispossessed, What does it mean for all of us if a significant, and the jobless often say that their lives have no and growing, segment of the body politic feels meaning. The ability to extract meaning from our completely out of the loop? existence in this transient, fragile, dangerous world, and impart it to our lives, is one of our species’ If this conclusion is true, does it mean that ethnic distinguishing traits. And it is through beauty that minorities are being denied the comforts that we impart meaning to others: the recent explosion beauty gives to others? And the country in which of violence in Northern Ireland during the marching they were born is depriving them of meaning, season, and the sanctification of a killer on that essential component without which a host of Facebook, are all recent indications of a society in ailments – physical, mental, social and spiritual – search of meaning. present themselves.

12 13 The other looming crisis is this: according to the Government More community participation in planning report, young people are more likely to take their and politicians decisions will help. And this will become crucial notions of beauty from the media, which causes need to as the generational divide becomes more evident. a more people-orientated response to questions engage with, Participation mediated by experts and professionals about beauty – making beauty, possibly, more understand is needed to find a common language and a mutual homogenised and open to control as a result. and protect way of moving forward. New technologies using beauty social networking can be used to create a ‘We This collective versus individual aspect – the Generation’ that can cross those generational collective was more common in those over 45 – boundaries and bring people together around lays the ground for a clash of generations which will conservation, making the built environment better. have to be anticipated and managed. The questions and responses in the report present We are in an era in which the young, in particular, possible consequences that are urgent and new. are creating a world that exists largely indoors. The need for government and politicians to look What will happen within the consciousness of a at, engage with, understand, promote and protect population who, at present, perceive beauty as beauty is apparent. having to do with nature, fresh air and calm? It is clear from CABE’s research that government There could be an intra- and extra-generational would benefit from knowing more about why beauty collision clash around the collective agreement, matters to people and what it means to them. This made evident in the research, that classical – that research allowed the public to speak directly about which was created or built before the 21st Century its understanding of and need for beauty. And in – is considered more beautiful than the modern. these times of austerity, more than ever, citizens What will happen to architecture if the younger need not only to survive, but to thrive. Beauty generation are disconnected from architecture and therefore becomes not just an abstract notion but never notice buildings? a necessity, a portal through which the nation can understand and maintain wellbeing, prosperity, How does a nation go forward if the built growth, relevance, competitiveness and, above all, environment is not connected with the needs of meaning. a mobile, more IT-orientated culture? What will happen to the natural environment if, as far as this generation is concerned, nature is not really seen?

14 15 Bonnie Greer thinks that an understanding of beauty lies at the heart of our culture. But, she argues, the cultural significance of beauty does not lie in appearance, but in helping us to find meaning. Government at every level has much to gain from understanding why beauty matters to people.

About the author

Bonnie Greer OBE was born in where she studied playwriting with . She also studied playwriting at the Actors Studio in New York City with the late Elia Kazan. She is an award- winning playwright, and critic, and has published two novels and a memoir and political analysis, Obama Music. Her book on the African American poet/activist Langston Hughes, The Value Of Contradiction will be published in 2011. Her opera Yes will be produced at the Lindbury Theatre, part of the ’s “Operashots” season. She is Deputy Chair of the and on the Boards of RADA and the Serpentine Gallery.

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