Perfectio

The oldest known definition of perfection dates back to Ancient Greece, where philosopher Aristotle distinguishes between three different concepts of perfection:
1. which is complete;
2. which is so good that nothing of the kind could be better;
3. which has attained its purpose.

None of these concepts seem to apply with the vision of perfection that we all take for granted today. Everywhere we look there are images of unrealistic perfection; perfection unattainable by humans. So, if the perfection we cannot attain is unrealistic, why are we so fixed on the idea?

A few examples from Greek art:

Take this exquisite Statue of a Young Man. It is a perfect depiction of the human body - a perfection the ancient Greeks had longed for. When they finally attained it through this highly realistic statue, they stopped making them, most probably finding that nearly photographic perfection was not nearly as pleasurable to the eye as the far-fetched perfection of some other works of art.

Now take a look at this:

An anatomically impossible depiction of Laocoon and his Sons. Clearly it is impossible for a man the age of Laocoon to possess such a muscled body; also the exaggeration of his sons' diminished sizes. But would this statue be as exquisite and as famous if they were all depicted realistically?

Why do human beings seemingly refuse a perfectly realistic vision which is attainable by humans? Perfection is an illusion which is in our minds. Let us say that in this case, a state of perfection is a work of art which depicts nature as it is. Humans since the beginning of time wanted to reach an epitome of perfection, and when they did, they abandoned it. Why? Because the perfection of nature is all around us. Why would we need to replicate it? We just want to create something different, and become better than perfection.

As Plato put it, Art copies nature, so therefore if nature is perfect then Art is perfect. But what if the nature is exaggerated? How is the concept of Art hindered?