The L’Oreal group documents 100,000 Years of Beauty
Published: 25/01/10
Source: ©The Moodie Report
By Rebecca Mann, Associate Editor
FRANCE. Last year the L’Oréal group marked its centenary, and as part of the celebrations the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation initiated and supported the writing of 100,000 Years of Beauty, a major new book devoted to the human quest for beauty through the ages and across civilisations.
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100,000 Years of Beauty, the ambitious five-volume work commissioned by the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation
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The five-volume work, written by 300 authors (including anthropologists, archaeologists, ethnologists, sociologists, artists, philosophers, historians, art critics, museum curators and psychiatrists) of 35 different nationalities, aims to describe and document the central role that beauty and appearance have played in all civilisations and cultures. It is described as a multidisciplinary reflection on the questions raised by beauty and representation of the body across human civilisations.
The five volumes are titled Foundations, Civilisations, Confrontations, Globalisations and Projections. Each volume contains 60 to 100 articles and is organised in chapters consisting of a general introduction to the theme, era or civilisation concerned and thematic articles on the topic.
The book is published by Gallimard under the editorial direction of Elisabeth Azoulay.
Convinced that beauty has been a universal quest and an essential preoccupation since the origins of humanity, the L'Oréal Corporate Foundation hopes, through this initiative, to share knowledge and encourage the emergence of new perspectives about beauty.
100,000 Years of Beauty claims to be the first book to explore the subject with such an ambitious approach to time and space. At the heart of a book is a central thesis: that the quest for beauty, through the ideal medium of the human body, is a constant in all civilisations.
Modelling of the body, the use of colour, hairstyles and ornaments, nudity and clothing – the extravagant variety of these signs make up a language that defines cultural identity, the particular era or social status. Over and above this diversity,
100,000 Years of Beauty demonstrates the universality of the quest.
L'Oréal Corporate Foundation CEO Béatrice Dautresme explained: “In a fast-changing world, L’Oréal explores the fundamental question of the meaning of beauty. Contributing to and shedding light on knowledge about beauty and reflecting on the business of beauty – these are some of the motivations inspiring this work of social sciences research.
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100,000 Years of Beauty fits perfectly with the values of the L'Oréal Corporate Foundation by highlighting the vital psychological and social implications of beauty, since without paying attention to appearance, there can be no social life, and without asserting aesthetic choices, there can be no civilisation.”
Azoulay commented: "We are entering into a new phase of the history of beauty that brings with it considerable societal challenges (respect for difference, public health, the rise of biotechnologies). The palette of resources now available to people to take care of or even transform their bodies is expanding and each individual is faced with choices.
“We wanted to provide a source of documentation and a reference framework on the subject of beauty allowing people to make enlightened choices that suit their particular situation. In other words, we wanted to do everything in our power to promote greater freedom, personal development and self-esteem for all.”
MORE ABOUT THE L’OREAL CORPORATE FOUNDATION
The L'Oréal Corporate Foundation, created in 2007, pursues the goal of “making the world more beautiful each day”. It draws on the Group's values and business to strengthen and perpetuate the Group’s commitment to social responsibility.
As the second-largest corporate foundation in France with a multi-annual budget of €40 million, the L'Oréal Foundation is committed to three types of action: promoting scientific research in the fundamental and human sciences, supporting education and helping individuals made vulnerable by alternations to their appearance to reclaim their rightful place in society.
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