Abstract

In the foreword to Beauty Matters, Eleanor Heartney tells us that the concept of beauty, especially physical beauty, embraces ambiguous, sometimes conflicting elements. The cover picture, a poster photograph of the Kitchen Table series by Carrie Mae Weems, along with the insightful reading of it in Peg Zeglin Brand’s introduction to the book, gives testimony to the wider social, economic, and political implications of beautification practices that are discussed in the book’s essays.