Introduction
Muscles play an important role in shaping surface contour and general appearance and are crucial in different spheres of art and medicine. Hence, the knowledge of the face and head muscles is important in the field of restorative art due to a number of factors. This knowledge allows artists, healthcare professionals, and cosmetic surgery specialists to recreate harmonious facial features that may be lacking due to different circumstances.
Main Body
The importance of muscles in surface contour is explained by their potential to create the three-dimensional form of the body. Muscles provide volume to various areas and hence impact the way in which light interacts with the surface. By doing so, muscles create distinctive contours and dictate shapes (Roberts et al., 2019).
Muscles located in the face are responsible for facial expressions, including smiling and frowning, as well as surprised or annoyed looks. Not only do these expressions formulate a person’s individual appearance, but they also help people communicate non-verbally. This ability is highly important as it is frequently more accessible for some to express and discern than verbal language. Additionally, muscles affect the skin’s underlying structure, making them impact the way lines and wrinkles appear over time.
The knowledge of muscles of the face and head occupies an important position in restorative art. This art type involves a reconstruction of individuals’ appearance for various purposes. The latter may include cosmetic surgery, trauma recovery, and post-mortem reconstruction (Haribhakti, 2019). A deep understanding of facial anatomy, especially the muscles, enables professionals to carry out such reconstructions at the highest level and reach the closest resemblance to ideal proportions.
The knowledge of facial and head muscles is imperative for successful reconstruction operations and aesthetically pleasing results. A professional working in reconstruction arts must possess an excellent understanding of facial proportions, muscle attachment points, and tension lines to be able to recreate the original features with accuracy and competence.
The importance of muscles in facial symmetry can be explained by the latter being the decisive factor in determining a person’s facial attractiveness. Muscles maintain facia symmetry by providing a balance between the opposing muscle groups. For example, the muscles accountable for lowering and raising the eyebrows work in accord to keep symmetry around one’s eyes. This is rather significant since asymmetry in muscle tone can cause serious differences in facial expression and appearance.
The Canons of Beauty and Ugliness are a set of artistic and cultural standards defining what is regarded as beautiful and ugly in human features. Different time periods and cultures have had their own Canons. The Canon of Beaty typically includes harmonious, symmetrical, and balanced features. Meanwhile, the Canon of Ugliness is the opposite and includes features deviating from cultural ideals and emphasizing negative traits (Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, 2018).
The Canon of Beauty commonly requires symmetrical facial features, proportional facial structures, clear skin, balanced eyes, and harmonious correspondence between eyes, nose, and lips. The Canon of Ugliness includes such features as asymmetrical facial traits, unbalanced and/or disproportionate facial structures, and uneven skin structure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, muscles significantly contribute to facial symmetry, contour, and overall appearance. A good understanding of facial and head muscles is important for gaining natural and accurate results of therapeutic art. The Canons of Beauty and Ugliness reflect cultural and artistic standards, but it is necessary to remember that they can change over time and are not fixed perceptions.
References
Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, N. (2018). Ugliness. In S. Rodrigues & E. Przybylo (Eds.), On the politics of ugliness. Palgrave Macmillan.
Haribhakti, V. V. (2019). Restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation in head and neck cancer. Springer.
Roberts, T. J., Eng, C. M., Sleboda, D. A., Holt, N. C., Brainerd,E. L., Stover, K. K., Marsh, R. L., & Azizi, E. (2019). The multi-scale, three-dimensional nature of skeletal muscle contraction. Physiology, 34(6), 402-408. Web.