Wednesday Whim - Sakura

 images via Sayaka Maruyama via Tumblr

The definition of beauty is relative. Since I write a personal style blog, and follow many other personal style and street style blogs, I enjoy seeing how people interpret trends and beauty. Perhaps the best thing in having access to different blogs is seeing how the idea of beauty is different in other cultures and how it has changed throughout history. 

Japanese photographer, Sayaka Maruyama, is an artist who seeks a new perspective on beauty. She draws on classical Japanese references and Surrealist motifs in her work and experiments with art to explore Western and Eastern perspectives on the Japanese notion of beauty (see more in her artist statement). In this photo series, called Sakura, the images are ethereal with overlays of unexpected color (and sometimes just black and white). The viewer never quite sees the full face of the model despite the exposure of the body. Though the photos are manipulated, the images feel raw and powerful.

What do you think? What's your take on the notion of beauty?