Outhouse Studios

Finding Beauty?

October 4th, 2005 by admin

Art, Ugly & Beautiful, Aesthetic Crossroads

One of the things I enjoy in viewing art, creating art, and interpreting the world - is the cusp between ugly and beauty. We take as common place the expression - " so ugly he’s cute" - but much of the world is the same way. So much so that people talk of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. I never cared for that expression much - because it tends to negate the realness of beauty. Plus as I have stated elsewhere, I believe that taste and perception of beauty are developed and change and grow over time.

It is interesting to note that in art - a little ugliness can make a piece work - note this snip-it of a review in the arts.telegraph how " both works slightly caricature their subjects, making them ugly and so undermining 19th-century conventions for depicting little girls as pretty, carefree creatures." The work of many artists who have been ahead of their time have been frequently viewed like this.

What is more interesting to me - is finding the beauty in something everyday which is considered ugly or that piece which seems to be both ugly and beautiful at the same time. These are not necessarily pieces I would want to live with, but nevertheless find the crossroads fascinating.

I think like much of life, if you are looking for one thing you might find it by looking for what it isn’t. Beauty can be found where there is ugliness, because it stands out. That beauty and ugliness are opposites is clear, but that they actually point to each other is a bit less obvious.

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