The definition of beauty varies from person to person and an art exhibit at USC’s Fisher Museum of Art explores this discrepancy throughout many forms of media.

“Posing Beauty in African American Culture” opened in September 2011 and will end its run on Saturday, December 3.

This exhibit focuses on how African and African-American beauty has been represented throughout history until today.

Using a wide range of media from photography, to film, to video, to fashion, to advertising and more, “Posing Beauty” poses the question of what makes an African-American woman beautiful. From the plentiful pieces of art available for museum visitors, there is no definite answer.

Deborah Willis, the curator of “Posing Beauty” says “the images in this exhibition challenge idealized forms of beauty in art by examining their portrayal and exploring a variety of attitudes about race, class, gender, popular culture and politics as seen through the aesthetics of representation.”

“Posing Beauty in African American Culture” is divided into three distinct sections that emphasize disparities in the way African American women are represented in the media. The sections are “Constructing a Pose,” “Body and Image,” and “Modeling Beauty & Beauty Contests.”

The exhibit “explores contemporary understandings of beauty by framing the notion of aesthetics, race, class, and gender within art, popular culture, and political context,” says Willis.

Even though the “Posing Beauty” will finish its run at the Fisher Museum on December 3, there is still time to join the conversation of what is the true definition of beauty.