The Grotesquely Beautiful
An Examination of the presence of the seeming Paradox
Through Animation
A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Animation
Department in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Fine Arts
Savannah College of Art and Design
By
Jaganmayi Himamshu
Savannah Georgia
March 2011
Table is Contents
Thesis Abstract………………………………………………….………………………1
Literature Review………………………………………………………………………3
Methodology…………………………………………….………………………………8
Background and Key Concepts……………………………………………….………14
Main Argument…...………………………………………………………….….……..21
Observation…………………………………….……………………….………………29
Illustrations………………………………………………………………..….…………31
Bibliography…………………………………………………………..….……………..36
1
Thesis Abstract
This thesis will explore a natural duality which appears in Art, Literature, Music etc.; the
frequently occurring relationship between beauty and ugliness. My focus will be on a unique
aspect of this relationship where an object’s element of grotesque becomes its beauty. These
objects strike a sense of curiosity in one that force them to stare at each one closely, while trying
to figure out how these creature’s mechanics work while/if they were alive. This thesis will
illustrate this fascination visually, through an animation showcasing a creature and objects of
such grotesque beauty while exploring their mechanics and instilling a personality in them
through their movements.
This thesis paper will be accompanied by its visual counterpart, which draws inspiration
from the works of contemporary artists such as Kris Kuksi, H.R. Giger, as well as the great
masters of Renaissance era, Leonardo Da Vinci and Caravaggio. The goal of this thesis is to
seamlessly interweave the element of beauty and its antithesis in such a manner, that while the
audience is aware of the grotesque elements, they are not repelled but rather fascinated by it. In
order to do so, the film not only aims at creating a creature which embodies this visual paradox,
but also fashions an environment which fully reflects this aesthetic quandary. The creation of the
creature will be done referring to the National Geographic and combining the different features
of some unusual animals to form a unique life form. And this, to a certain extent would also
direct the mechanics of the creature as its structure would have to support the mechanics of the
body and vice versa. But the combination of various forms would also lend a certain amount of
freedom for the overall body movements which cannot generally be found in a single animal in
the real world. The same technique would be used for the creation of the environment in which
2
the creature calls its abode. In this manner, this thesis will be evidence for the existence of the
paradox in the organic and the inorganic world.
This thesis aims at creating and demonstrating this delicate amalgamation of the two
aspects of aesthetics through the medium of animation, due to the vast freedom that only the
computer graphic world has to offer. In order to show case the paradox visually, this thesis takes
a turn towards the surrealistic approach which allows the exaggeration of the coexistence of the
grotesque and the beautiful in a single element or entity.
In conclusion, this thesis will contribute another dimension of art to animation by
bringing out the element of grotesque in an object and show casing it as its beauty.
3
Literature Review
Literature has traditionally been engaged with the notion of beauty and its antithesis.
This is reflected in the range of books constructed for all ages. This section will first deal with
the fictional world of literature, followed by non-fictional academic and psychological reading
on aesthetics.
Fiction has explored these two topics as faithful allies, natural adversaries and a
coexisting paradox. While some children’s books like Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly
Duckling deals mostly with moral aspects of judging people based on their outward appearance,
books like Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are1 seem to simply enjoy dealing with the
grotesque creatures, just for the sheer joy of it. A book that walks the line between a children’s
book and of being written for a more mature mind, is The Hunchback of Notre-Dame2 . The
author, Victor Hugo weaves this fictional story around the beauty of a gypsy girl who captures
the heart of a deformed hunchback and the consequent result they have on each other’s lives.
Here the author plays with the attraction of the opposites by romantically bonding the aesthetical
contrasts of the beautiful Esmeralda and grotesquely deformed Quasimodo who find a strange
companionship between them.
In the book The Grotesque in Art and Literature3 by Wolfgang Kayser, comes to an
interesting conclusion that the grotesque is a game with the absurd, in the sense that the
grotesque artist plays, mockingly, with the deep absurdities of existence. As Kayser writes,
1
Sendak, Maurice. 1983. Where the Wild Things Are. New York : Scholastic Book Services
2
Hugo, Victor. 1802-1885. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. London, Collins
3
Kayser, Wolfgang Johannes. 1906-1960, The Grotesque in Art and Literature. New York: Columbia University Press
4
“the grotesque appears to us in paradoxical guise…and it elicits from us paradoxical
responses.” (Kayser. Unpublished Essay 16, 1)
What Kayser is saying is that while the grotesque is grounded in its fundamental pose of
being a rival of beauty, its connotation has quietly evolved to give room for ambiguity. And an
excellent example of this would be Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic Frankenstein. This fiction
explores the most engaging idea of conquering the art of creating life, and the resulting birth of a
monster created by sewing up various parts of corpses to form a body. Here Shelley has
beautifully amalgamated two aesthetic contrasts by giving something as beautiful as life to a
morbid creature made of dead body parts of various corpses. The focus of the grotesque now
carries an undertone of ambiguity which intends of gripping the reader’s curiosity over such
visual blasphemy.
In his book Modern Art and the Grotesque4 Frances Connelly elucidates the grotesque as a
pillar of estrangement that gives the viewer another worldly experience. He goes onto say that
the grotesque is something:
Destabilizes certainties, pushes boundaries, shifts expectations and calls current beliefs
into question
This establishes the evolution of grotesque over time as it evolves with the current day’s beliefs
and traditions which are challenged and confronted by the so called ugliness. In other words, a
grotesque element is a rebel promising freedom from the conservative mind set, while presaging
a certain amount of chaos and disorder.
4
Connelly, Frances S. 2003, Modern Art and the Grotesque. New York: Cambridge University Press
5
Connelly further mentions the term grotesque creates a predicament due to its accidental
creation. The original meaning of the word grotesque was restricted to an extravagant style of
ancient roman decorative art which were painted in a grotto, Latin for a cave or hollow. But with
the passage of time, this word became an adjective for the strange, ugly and incongruous
elements, both living and non-living. The popularity of the word’s later meaning can be seen in
numerous art works through all ages.
The popularity of the word’s later meaning can be seen in numerous art works through all
ages. Among the great masters who dealt with this theme is Leonardo Da Vince who’s 1940
sketch Five Grotesque Heads5 and 1500-1505 sketch Grotesque Portrait Study of Man6 clearly
depict very ugly and unpleasant people. Ironically, the lines that make up these grotesque objects
are beautifully curved almost as if to make up of the image they create together.
Poetry is not too far behind and is equally abound with this theme. The poem that fits best
to this thesis is the Anglo-Saxon English epic7 Beowulf8 which clearly describes a monster’s
terrible beauty as the cause of all problems in a European kingdom. Here, both the beauty of the
queen and the ugliness of the monster Grendel, are clearly overridden by the paradox that existed
in the description of Grendel’s mother who assumes a form of a beautiful monster. The epic has
Beowulf battling several such monsters, each described to be more horrifically beautiful than the
other.
5
ABC-Gallery. http://www.abcgallery.com/L/leonardo/leonardo25.html (accessed November 20, 2009)
6
ABC-Gallery. http://www.abcgallery.com/L/leonardo/leonardo27.html (accessed November 20, 2009)
7
George University. http://www8.georgetown.edu/departments/medieval/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a4.1.html
(accessed and November 13, 2009)
8
The University of Virginia. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/AnoBeow.html (accessed November
13, 2009)
6
An author who has delved deeply into the psychology behind the perception of ugliness is
Charles Feitosa. In his paper Alterity in Aesthetics: Reflections on Ugliness9 he goes onto prove
that although ugliness and beauty sound like conflicting attributes, they have in fact been
historically bound. He begins with the question What is so ugly about ugliness? And then goes
onto explore it in its traditional dais as the rival of beauty, until he reaches a point of reasoning
why it creates the emotions that it does. He then goes on to relate ugliness with shame and hate
and goes onto say,
“Ugliness in aesthetics” may sound paradoxical at first. But historically ugliness and
aesthetics have been bound together in several ways. From Etymology we learn that the
German word “Hässlichkeit” is connected to “Hass” [Hate]. The Portuguese term
“feiúra” comes from Latin “foeditas”, which means dirt and shame. The French word,
“laideur” comes from Latin verb “laedere”: “to hurt”. Why do we feel ashamed in front
the ugly? What are we afraid of? What is it in ugliness that we hate so much that hurts us
so much? I will suggest that the connection between ugliness and alterity is the reason
why ugliness is so unbearable. (Feitosa. Unpublished Essay 16, 1)
He writes of how grotesque developed to its present day avatar, and points out how the concept
of sex, which is currently a mundane and almost beaten up subject was once considered erotic
yet repulsive as it makes use loose our human face; we become more like animals or just another
force of nature. This concept he says, has a biblical origin of paradise expulsion caused by
yielding to one’s own passion.
In conclusion, this research has provided a good look at the origin and various
facets of the relationship that exists between beauty and its antithesis, and has also revealed that
subtle differences that exists in the paradox itself. This thesis aims at creating and demonstrating
9
Erasumus University Rotterdam. http://www2.eur.nl/fw/hyper/IAA/Yearbook/iaa5/feitosa.pdf (accessed
November 13, 2009)
7
this delicate amalgamation of the two aspects of aesthetics through the medium of animation.
8
Methodology
This thesis comprises of two components: theory and practice. The methodology used for
this dissertation is one of qualitative research. The use of beauty and the grotesque was explored
in the fields of art, literature, architecture, academic research, film and digital media. And since
this topic involves a frequently evolving aesthetic opinion, a study of psychology was also used
to understand why and how these perceptions of beauty and ugliness have developed through
time. By doing so, this thesis will identify and reveal the irrefutable existence of this unique
contradiction.
Upon deciding the thesis topic, the exploration of the possible approaches and resources
were brought to light by means of mind-mapping. Another instrumental tool was the internet. It
provided access to a vast array of articles, images, academic publications and discussions on
these subjects.
Books:
The library at Savannah College of Art and Design was the first stop for the research.
This provided a look into the history and constant evolution of aesthetics over time.
Psychological literature like The Grotesque in Art and Literature10 by Wolfgang Kayser, Frances
Connelly’s Modern Art and the Grotesque11 shed invaluable light on human psychosis of craving
the beautiful, either to possess it or become a part of it. Simple story books such as Hans
Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling, Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are,
10
Kayser, Wolfgang Johannes. 1906-1960, The Grotesque in Art and Literature. New York: Columbia University
Press
11
Connelly, Frances S. 2003, Modern Art and the Grotesque. New York: Cambridge University Press
9
Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuveto’s Beauty and the Beast to Victor Hugo’s The
Hunchback of Notre-Dame12 from the world of fiction, revealed the constantly recurring premise
of beauty and ugliness and more importantly the continuously changing attitude towards these
themes.
Academic Texts:
The thesis and essays dealing with either beauty or the grotesque supplied rich
information on the discussions surrounding these notions. An author who has delved deeply into
the psychology behind the perception of ugliness is Charles Feitosa. In his unpublished paper
Alterity in Aesthetics: Reflections on Ugliness13 he focuses on ugliness from its origins to its
present day avatar, and exposes the mental constitution regarding this subject.
Newspapers and Magazines:
News articles proved to be a vital source of contemporary information which clearly
reflects the impact that the evolution of aesthetic senses has had on present day people. Articles
like CBS News’ Becoming Barbie: Living Dolls gave this thesis an insight into the strong hold
that beauty still holds on a lot of people today, while The Los Angeles Business Journal’s article
Toys-Mattel Giving Middle-Aged Barbie a Major Makeover14 exposed peoples fight over the
acceptance of the ordinary.
12
Hugo, Victor. 1802-1885. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. London, Collins
13
Erasumus University Rotterdam. http://www2.eur.nl/fw/hyper/IAA/Yearbook/iaa5/feitosa.pdf (accessed
November 13, 2009)
14
Los Angeles Business Journal. http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2000/mar/17/toys-mattel-giving-middleaged-barbie-a-major (accessed February 25, 2010)
10
Film and Digital Media:
Film and digital media were also key aspects of this study. The films and reviews found
on official sites such as IMDB were one of the most effective proofs of the existence of the
paradox. Movies such as Giuseppe Tornatore’s movie Malena and the popular television series
Ugly Betty portrays the impacts that a person of beauty and ugliness has on the society as well
the consequence their impact, has on their own lives. A writer and director who is arguably a
master of creating aesthetic paradoxes is Tim Burton. He proves the acceptance of this paradox
by the public with his enormously successful commercial films such as his 2007 Sweeney
Todd15(Figure 1), 2005 movie Corpse Bride16(Figure 2) and his 1993 Nightmare before
Christmas17(Figure 3). The proof of approval of this paradox formed a very important reasoning
in handing the subjective nature of aesthetics.
Architecture and Sculpture:
Architecture and sculpture were the other areas of research which provided great
assistance to this thesis. The architectural wonder, the Giger-bar18 (Figure 4) which also goes
under the moniker of Skeleton Bar, created by Swiss artist H.R. Giger provided strong visual
proof of the paradox. This Oscar winning artist created bars that are world renowned for the
unique out worldly experience that they offer, purely based on their aesthetics. Again the
popularity of the bar itself, provided evidence of how this subjective paradox is not that
15
IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236 (accessed February 25, 2010)
16
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121164 (accessed February 25, 2010)
17
IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688 (accessed February 25, 2010)
18
H.R. Giger. http://www.hrgiger.com/frame.html (text (accessed January 14, 2010) Figure 4
11
subjective after all.
A sculpture artist whose work is the embodiment of grotesquely beautiful is Kris
Kuksi19. All his works depict various unpleasant elements like skeletons and ugly people
composed to form beautiful and intricate pieces of art. One of his works Through Death United20
(Figure 5) shows two skeletons in a loving embrace and the red hearts made of various tiny
grotesque objects.
Internet:
The internet gave access to the thoughts, articles, and debates from all around the world.
This provided a powerful base on which comparisons of various cultural notions were possible.
This in turn offered insight into the opinions which are of universal acceptance of beauty and its
antithesis. The internet also allowed the access of older issues of newspapers and other historical
archives which were invaluable.
Installations:
Installations and industrial design work of artists such as John Nouanesing’s work
named Paint or die but Love me21 has been used to demonstrate a clear visual application of the
paradox in the inorganic world.
Art:
The field of art was a vital resource for visually understanding the thesis concepts. A look
19
Kris Kuksi. http://kuksi.com (accessed November 20,2009)
20
Kris Kuksi. http://kuksi.com/artworks/sculpture/through-death-united/74/ (accessed November 20,2009) Figure
5
21
Nouanesing, John. http://www.johnnouanesing.fr/catalogueuk.html (accessed March 13, 2010)
12
into various eras of western art yielded a clear relation between art and the contemporary
attitudes, fears and beliefs. For instance: an artist such as Hieronymus Bosch created a craft an
creating organized chaos can be observed in Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly
Delights22dated from 1490 to 1510. The fantasy and surrealism of this image gave insight into
the fear of hell that prevailed in the artist’s era. It also proved a very powerful force to the
approach taken for the overall direction of this thesis’ visuals.
Discussions and Presentations:
The research from the above sources shed light on the relationship that aesthetics has
shared with the beliefs and fears of that era. In order to present the vast knowledge gained, this
thesis is broken into a range of issues which once answered and established, would give room for
more complex topics to deduce their proof and answers. It begins with interrogation of some
fundamental psychological questions and once these questions are answered and proved, the
questions would increase in complexity until they culminate in establishing the existence of the
paradox.
Observations:
Observations were made from the answers provided in the discussions. This helped in
summarizing the thoughts so far and presenting clear evidence of the underlying paradox
between beauty and the grotesque.
Visual Counterpart:
Consequently, the visual counterpart of this thesis follows the very simple art of visual
22
Bosch, Hieronymus. 1490-1510. Figure6
13
trickery. This is followed by disillusionment aimed at presenting the existence of the paradox.
And since this thesis deals with the examination of its existence, the audience will be treated to
visuals which allow them to judge what they see and conclude the aesthetic faction they would
fall under. They will then be treated to a closer look at the very same subject which would
explain in detail what they actually saw and would allow them to question whether the initial
perceptions they drew were really accurate. In this way, this thesis aims at making the audience
judge their own decisions and become aware of the existence of the paradox between beauty and
its counterpart, the grotesque.
In order to show case the paradox visually, this thesis takes a turn towards the surrealistic
approach of exaggerating the coexistence of the grotesque and the beautiful. The utilization of
computer graphics animations greatly assisted this approach as it allows infinite possibilities of
creations for a surreal world.
Another objective of this thesis is to stir a debate on the necessity of categorization of
objects into pre-allotted order of things, and thereby, expose the existence of the paradox of
beauty and ugliness that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
14
Background and Key Concepts
This provides a background to the development of the portrayal of beauty and the
grotesque. It also examines the key concepts that govern such aesthetics. This also facilitates
discussions on contemporary perceptions of beauty.
Origins:
In general the grotesque is a powerful aesthetic category involving disruption and
distortion of the objects that is depicts, while beauty is a notion used to depict everything that is
ideal, harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
And while the meaning of the word beauty has remained constant, changing only in its
application, the word grotesque has evolved with time to take on the ambiguous meaning that it
is has today. The term grotesque initially derived its meaning from its Latin roots of grotto
meaning a cave. The caves were in fact rooms and corridors of the Domus Aurea, the unfinished
palace complex started by Nero after a great fire in 64 AD, which had become ruins with several
statuettes of distorted figures. These were found in the 15th centuries and the modern meaning of
the word grotesque was born. And although it still exists today with various meaning in an
assortment of fields, its evolution can be said to be at its peak due to its continuous usage to
describe the incoherent.
The Renaissance and the Romantic era:
The exploration of the two aesthetic notions is rampant with the Renaissance and the
Romantic eras of western art. The Renaissance era was a time when the idea of beauty shrouded
western cities and countries like a thick blanket. But in a time when every artist competed with
15
each other in capturing the ideal beauty, one of the greatest artists Leonardo Da Vinci, who
arguably epitomized the renaissance era, was busy capturing the grotesque and exploring the
attributes that made them so, almost as if to try and make sense of them. A great example of this
is his 1490 sketch Five Grotesque Heads (Figure 7). And what was most interesting, was that he
did this while simultaneously drawing and painting subjects of great beauty to his many patrons.
He even attempted to establish a sound theory of symmetry that dictates beauty in his The
Vitruvian Man (Figure 13).
Another good example with a different context of beauty is
Caravaggio’s 1599 piece Judith Beheading Holofernes23(Figure 8) where we are confronted with
a vision that is even more monstrous and awful than even Gentileschi, in all her agony, was
capable of providing. This was also an era when aesthetics was closely related to morality, with
goodness being portrayed with beauty. A good illustration of this is Michelangelo’s fresco The
Last Judgment (Figure 14) on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. This topic
will be revisited in detail latter on in the discussions section.
The Romantic ear was a period of great change and emancipation moved away from the
strict laws that governed the Classical era by allowing artistic freedom, experimentation, and
creativity. This sense of freedom made it the perfect time for artists to experiment and divert
from creating what was regarded as sublime. This made the theme of grotesque an indispensable
adjunct to their various art forms. Although it was not uncommon to see its depiction, it was
often isolated from its counterpart, beauty. There was always a clear line demarking the object
which was beautiful and the one which was not. And with this clear demarcation, the two themes
were explored as allies and adversaries, sometimes complimenting and at other times mocking
23
Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi Judith Beheading Holofernes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caravaggio_Judith_Beheading_Holofernes.jpg (accessed January 20, 2010 )
16
each other.
A prominent artist from this era was Henry Fuseli, whose painting The Nightmare24
(Figure 9) clearly captures the beauty and the beast at one shot. This painting tries to capture the
effects of a nightmare by painting a nightmarish image. It shows a woman lying limp on the end
of her bed with her head hanging down, while an incubus sits surmounting her staring at the
viewer. Emerging from behind the curtains in the background is a horse which has huge
featureless eyes. The chiaroscuro effect adds to the nightmarish effect the painting holds. And
among all these monstrous creatures lies the woman who embodies a voluptuous figure, ideally
symmetrical face and great beauty.
20th Century Art:
One of the best exhibits of the paradox between beauty and ugliness is Francis Bacon’s
paintings which he claims were literal paintings. He used the approach of distorting the
appearance of his subjects in order to reach a deeper truth in them, thereby rendering them
grotesque to the common man’s eye. In his 1969 Self Portrait (Figure10), we clearly see that the
seamless transition between beauty and ugliness to such an extent that the ugliness of the
painting becomes its beauty. Many of his subsequent works took much from this painting and
can truly be called as grotesquely beautiful paintings.
Architecture & Sculpture:
The term grotesque in architecture and decorative art includes fanciful mural or
sculptural decoration involving mixed animal, human, and plant forms often depicting eerie
24
Fuseli, Henry. 1781. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG (accessed
February 1, 2010)
17
creatures. The grotesque was revived in the Renaissance, and a fashion for it in 16th-century
Italy quickly spread to the rest of Europe; it was used most frequently in fresco decoration
painted, carved, or molded until the 19th century. Gargoyles25 can often be found on buildings
which have a Gothic architecture. Here the grotesque has already taken an ambiguous position of
becoming a fascinating embellishment rather than a prejudiced object of repugnance. This
conundrum will be examined in detail in the main arguments section later on.
Late 20th Century till present:
Beauty has always presented a standard for judgment throughout time. And it has often
caused antipathy and disappointment when it is not realized. This is because the benchmark of
ideal beauty is ingrained in us since our childhood through the various toys available. A
contemporary example of this is the doll named Barbie which has made its presence felt
internationally. Young girls look up to the impeccably beautiful Barbie who has the body that an
ordinary woman can never hope to have. This is simply because it is medically impossible26.
Barbie’s ultra slim figure measures 32-20-42 inches, while her neck is two times taller than that
of an average woman. She stands 7 feet tall, weighs 125 pounds and has feet that are half the size
of the normal woman. And yet she has been revered as the ideal woman for over 40 years. CBS
news wrote an article27 of a woman named Cindy Jackson who confesses to have never gotten
over her childhood obsession of becoming Barbie and underwent 20 surgeries costing over
$100,000 to look like the doll. After a lot of criticism from the parents and a huge drop in sales,
25
26
27
A carved stone grotesque with spout to convey the water from the roof and away from the building walls.
BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7920962.stm (accessed February 25, 2010)
CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/29/48hours/main632909.shtml (accessed February 25,
2010)
18
Barbie’s makes Mattel finally gave her a makeover28 in 2000 by widening her waist to that of an
average woman (Figure 11).
Installations and Industrial design:
John Nouanesing’s work named Paint or die but Love me29 is a work that epitomizes the
paradox of being beautifully ugly. It depicts a table that seems to be dripping with a red liquid.
Here that artist plays with the audiences association of red liquid to blood by naming it Paint or
die but Love me. Again, this will be discussed in detail in the arguments section.
Television:
The television sitcom Ugly Betty30 is a useful example of the contemporary interest31
about the antithesis of beauty. It portrays the life of a normal girl who is deemed unattractive by
society. And as a result goes through several hardships professionally and personally. Although
it is popular, this show does not try to sell ugliness itself, but rather cleverly directs itself to a
situation where several beautiful actors become a part of the ugly girl’s life. In this manner, it
confirms that the audience gets their daily dose of beautiful, while tapping in on their
sympathetic and moral psyche of the need to appreciate the not so beautiful people (Figure 17).
By doing so, they hypocritically conform to the modern day mantra which suggests that Sex
sells, while pretending to do the opposite. Another irony is that the woman who portrays the ugly
girl is herself a model in real life. She adorns the accessories deemed to make one look ugly,
28
Los Angeles Business Journal. http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2000/mar/17/toys-mattel-giving-middleaged-barbie-a-major (accessed February 25, 2010)
29
Nouanesing, John. http://www.johnnouanesing.fr/catalogueuk.html (accessed March 13, 2010)
30
IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805669 (accessed March 13, 2010)
31
BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6182239.stm (accessed February 25, 2010)
19
such as glasses and braces (Figure 12) for the portrayal of her character. In this way, this sitcom
further establishes the stereotype of physical beauty, and that eye glasses and braces make one
look ugly and has to be dispensed.
Movies:
Interestingly however, a person may also be targeted for harassment because of their
beauty. In Giuseppe Tornatore’s movie Malena32 a strikingly beautiful Italian woman is forced
into poverty after the departure of her husband to war. And this is attributed to her beauty as she
is viewed as a danger by the women of the community who refuse to give her work for fear that
she may steal their husbands. Here Malena’s life turns ugly because of her beauty. And this is
emphasized again when her forced poverty pushes her towards prostitution, creating a paradox
that her physical beauty landed her in that ugly state of life. The director also focuses on the
physiological paradoxes of beauty. While some people hate and envy Melena, others go to any
extent to possess her because of it. He also creates an innocent paradox in a teenage boy named
Renato who jealously loves her without ever attempting to possess her.
Director Tim Burton is a contemporary leader in the field of movies and animations
depicting the dark world of ugly beauty. An outstanding example of a live action movie his 2007
Sweeney Todd33, where a vengeful barber teams up with a barker to produce meat pies made of
human flesh. As morbid and grotesque as the theme was, the execution of the movie scenes were
done with extraordinary artistic talent, which were shown in the movies scene in beautifully
ironic compositions and lighting.
32
IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213847(accessed February 25, 2010)
33
IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236 (accessed February 25, 2010)
20
Animation:
Tim Burton brought his talents to the field of animation by creating movies like his 1993
Nightmare before Christmas34 and his 2005 movie Corpse Bride35. And while both these movies
depicted characters with dark histories which reflected on their appearance, neither of them
broke the rules of beauty. For instance, in Corpse Bride, the lead female character who happens
to be a rotting corpse, still followed the general rules of beauty such as wide eyes, tiny lips, a
heart shaped face and an hourglass shaped body.
And although these movies have been significantly dark compared to any Disney movie,
they still make sure that the element of grotesque is dominated by the rules of beauty. This way
they strive to make it an acceptable visual for their younger audiences and never really allow a
true balance to be struck between beauty and ugliness.
Since this thesis is bound by no such needs of visual gratification, it aims at surpassing
toleration level set in the above movies and will strike a perfect balance where the two elements
of aesthetics and truly complement each other while exhibiting their respective splendor.
34
IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688 (accessed February 25, 2010)
35
IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121164 (accessed February 25, 2010)
21
Main Argument
The premise of this thesis is to examine the paradox between beauty and ugliness,
existing within a single entity. In order to do so, we must first examine what determines beauty
and ugliness of an entity. But that raises the fundamental question of the need to discriminate one
object from another. This section discusses these issues using the assistance of the research done
on literature, background and key concepts of beauty and the grotesque.
Distinctions:
People have a penchant for gravitating towards things that they are already familiar with.
These actions can sometimes be discriminating when faced with a choice of fraternizing between
familiar and foreign surroundings. Like the proverb birds of a feather flock together it is
instinctive to choose the safety of a recognizable company and surrounding. This is generally
done to avoid the challenge of socializing and attaining acceptance, or having to accept an
element of change into one’s own routine.
Another reason for the evasion of change is the self-appeasing illusion of control that
people desire. This is commonly achieved by ignoring or avoiding the truth. And maintaining a
regular lifestyle facilitates this illusion by hindering the occurrence of anything that challenges
this fallacy. The simplest of example of this is the concept of planning. Nobody can control their
time of death. And yet most people make plans with a self- assured notion of completing it in the
future. It is most probable that the person planning is aware of the unpredictable timing of death,
but prefers to assume that it will not hinder their plans in any way. This clearly exhibits the need
to believe in a delusion of control, over one of nature’s most dominant forces.
Being unable to understand the purpose of randomness, man has always attempted to find
22
patterns to justify and supposedly identify the purpose of their current state of existence. This is
done in order to reassure the theory of control over the surroundings. This indispensable need for
order also has us drawing vertical and horizontal lines of longitudes and latitudes on the
spherical earth. With the earth broken into organized blocks, the distinctions between locations
become an easy task. This need for divisions is also reflected in several walks of life including
that of aesthetics. While the beautiful have always been adored and craved, the grotesque have
frequently faced disgust and scorned.
Common perceptions of Beauty:
Aesthetics plays a vital role in our lives. And since our visual senses are amongst the
first to react, they determine a lot of choices ranging from the choice of one’s partner to
everything that an individual chooses to interact with. Beauty is an attribute of an entity that
provides an experience of gratification. And despite its subjective nature and subtle variations
with time, the experience of beauty is often related to the beautiful entities’ harmonious
existence with itself and its surroundings. A lucid example of this is the Renaissance art, which
are till date revered by many for their beauty. With its goal of achieving ideal beauty, the
Renaissance era has created some of the world most beautiful art, where symmetry was the law.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Vitruvian Man (Figure 13) is an outstanding example this, where the
drawing is based on the correlations of the ideal human proportions being described by
Geometry.
However beauty is not restricted to an entities physical appearance alone, but also its
personality. And while some would call this the inner beauty and true beauty, it is still the
physical beauty that catches ones initial attention. Thus when we speak of beauty, it is often
23
related to the visual pleasure derived, rather than the emotional connection felt by the observer.
This study will focus on the visual beauty and the conundrums that it presents.
Physical beauty has often dictated the social raise and fall of a person. As mentioned
earlier, Giuseppe Tornatore’s movie Malena36 depicts the social degradation of a woman mainly
because of the treat and jealously over her beauty. The television series Ugly Betty37 shows a
similar situation of how beauty or the lack of it affects a woman’s life. Here the star of the series
is deemed ugly and is subjected to ridicule and neglect by her peers.
But beauty has a subjective nature. As in the saying Beauty lie in the eyes of the beholder,
an object of beauty to one person can be seen as ugly by another. A contemporary example of
this is the weight and dimensions of a woman. In most western and western influenced countries,
a woman is considered beautiful if she has a lean and slim built 38. This can be seen in the journal
Women’s Health which has a permanent section dedicated to losing weight. But in the African
country of Mauritania, women are considered39 desirable and sexy if they are fat and obese.
It is relatively easy to identify beauty, due to its association with ones pleasure and an
individual’s own need to look beautiful. Ugliness however, is far more obscure and hence a more
enticing aesthetic segregation.
Examining Ugliness, or as Charles Feitosa asks what is so ugly in Ugliness?40
36
IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213847(accessed February 25, 2010)
37
IMDB, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805669 (accessed March 13, 2010)
38
Women’s Health. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss (accessed March 1, 2011)
39
BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3429903.stm (accessed March 1, 2011)
40
Feitosa, Charles, http://www2.eur.nl/fw/hyper/IAA/Yearbook/iaa5/feitosa.pdf (accessed January 20,2010)
24
It can be defined as violence against our senses, more preciously, our visual and auditory
senses. As Feitosa explains, while a deformed face offends our eyes and a horrific cry is related
to an equally terrific mental image, a foul tasting dish does not share the entitlement of being
ugly. Thus, ugliness is the lack of the visual beauty. And since beauty is characterized by
harmony, symmetry and balance, it clearly suggests that ugliness is the lack of it and hence
imbalanced and chaotic. This can be seen in the origin of the word Grotesque. The word
originated41 from being used to describe the destroyed frescos and idols in a cave like rooms of a
castle which was destroyed in fire. Ever since then, the term ugly and grotesque has been used to
describe all that is perceived as visually incoherent. An artist, who seems to have made the
grotesque the theme of the majority of his work, is Hieronymus Bosch. In his triptych The
Garden of Earthly Delights (Figure 6) dated from 1490 to 1510, he fills his overcrowded
painting with various imaginary creatures whose bodies seem to be a combination of human and
animal parts. This painting depicts paradise with Adam and Eve and many wondrous animals on
the left panel, the earthly delights with numerous nude figures and tremendous fruit and birds on
the middle panel, and hell with depictions of fantastic punishments of the various types of
sinners on the right panel.
This raises an interesting issue of the correspondence beauty and ugliness has to
spirituality and morality. Goodness or godliness of often characterized by the same aspects
pertaining to beauty, while evil shares that of ugliness. And an example of this is evident in
Michelangelo’s fresco The Last Judgment (Figure 14) on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in
the Vatican City. In this depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse, souls of
41
The Dictionary. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grotesque (accessed January 20,2010)
25
humans rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ. Christ is shown as handsome,
muscular, and sits in the center surrounded by his angles while, the devil and his domain is
painted at the bottom of the fresco. Here, the beauty of the individuals sees a depleting gradation
until the doors of hell. Hell’s door creates a boundary from which ugliness becomes the
commanding force. The stark contrast between the beauty of Christ and the demons of hell
clearly establishes the artist’s belief that a beautiful body was the physical representation of a
beautiful soul. And the fresco’s acceptance and reverence by its many observers through time
clearly reflects the artist’s belief in common man. Given its spiritual background, it is also
certain that Michelangelo wanted to establish the fear of sinning and its consequence of going to
hell.
Fear and the grotesque:
Fear is described42 as a feeling of distress, apprehension caused by impending danger or
pain. Interestingly, fear if often dependent on the lack of knowledge on the object feared. It often
enters in the form of suspicion and eventually grows with the individual’s ignorance of the
fearful element. Fear has many faces. And it is a progressive emotion. It evolves with time and
knowledge, to reflect the current era’s predicaments. The inability of relating to the
unharmonious chaos of the fearful object often leads one to be aghast at the visual discord. And
the consequent inability to create order is the cause of suspicion of such an entity.
But not all ugliness is associated with fear. Fear is more dependent on ignorance than
ugliness. The grotesque has a tighter partnership with visual senses than our emotions. On an
interesting note, we also see instances where ugliness is used to protect against the much feared
42
The Mrrriam Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear (accessed January 20,2010)
26
evil spirits. The gothic architecture created gargoyles which have the primary duty of diverting
water away from the roofs and a secondary duty of warding off evil spirits. This practice of using
ugliness to keep evil at bay is still practiced in Indian houses today, where a brightly colored clay
head of a demon is a common sight atop houses (Figure 15).
Conundrums of Ugliness:
The discussions so far allow us to scrutinize ugliness under two broad classes: the first
type being revolting, morbid and evil, immediately revoking an involuntary need to stop the
transfer of visual data. This is also the sect of ugliness which facilitates fear, and thereby
amplifying the observer’s need of self protection against such aesthetic violence. An example of
this can be a rotten corpse, which is commonly regarded with disgust, fear and revulsion. The
lack of humanness is ironically emphasized here, with the observer’s knowledge of the human
body and the comprehension of the possibility of that happening to their body and ultimately
his/her fear and denial of acknowledging the ultimate destination of their currently acceptable
and beautiful bodies.
The second form of ugliness is a more beguiling one, which also appears revolting
initially, but at the same time captures one’s fascination and attention enough to maintain his or
her visual scrutiny. This second faction of ugliness gives rise to an abstracted allurement, which
becomes an unspoken beauty of ugliness, giving birth to a unique paradox between two of the
most ancient and instinctive aesthetic segregations. Here the ugliness of an object becomes its
beauty, as it has captured the observers awe and a unique sense enjoyment. An example of this is
French artist John Nouanesing’s work named Paint or die but Love me43. It shows a table
43
Nouanesing, John. http://www.johnnouanesing.fr/catalogueuk.html (accessed March 13, 2010)
27
apparently created by red liquid which drips down to form the four legs of the table (Figure 16).
Here the artist plays with human psychology of associating images with a predefined knowledge
of elements already encountered, thus letting the observer connect the red colored liquid with
blood. He also guides this particular association by inducing the word die in its name. The artist
creates a unique balance between beauty and ugliness by creating a feeling of awe over the
elegant and flowing structure forming a table while playing with the notion that the elegant flow
could just represent blood.
Another example is the self portraits of artist Francis Bacon (Figure 10). Here the artist
plays with our need of control, by painting himself with just enough chaos to be recognizable
and yet deformed. Thus, creating the visual challenge which keeps the viewer enthralled and
attracted to the art piece.
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which has a class of decorative sculptures
called the Grotesque. It is a style sculpture and ornamentation in which monstrous and natural
forms are intertwined in a bizarre and fanciful combinations. They generally emphasize the
supernatural and comical elements in furniture and sculptures, designed with demons, dragons,
dwarfs, and other mythical creatures. Here the ugly has become an embellishment and also holds
the distinction of have the power to ward off evil spirits. They are found on many gothic
architectures of all times, thus establishing two things. First, these sculptures are fully recognized
to be ugly and grotesque and second, they are not deemed visually repulsive.
Paradox or Self Control:
It can be argued that our need for stability has become so strong that ugliness itself has
28
been accepted into the categorized grid of order, and has become a source of enjoyment. This
would render the existence of a paradox between beauty and the grotesque baseless.
But this is theory can be refuted, due to the fact that some elements are still considered
ugly and visually unacceptable. Human will as strong as our weakest sensory organ. Also, the
psychology of human being in general is dominated by ego. Ego can only be served by
condescendence. And condescendence is achieved by patronizing someone or something, in
order to feel like the bigger person. Thus as long as ego dictates human psychology, man is
always going to feel the need to look down upon somebody or something else to appease his
vanity. And the will of vanity far supersedes the rebellion need of self-control.
Hence it is safe to infer that acceptance of the unspoken beauty of ugliness is a corollary
of the observer’s bohemian dismissal of a stringent aesthetic restraint and not one of selfindulging force of dictatorship.
29
Observation
This section will present the inference of the discussions made in the previous chapter.
It shall also summarize the results of the written component of this thesis.
Distinctions:
Upon inference, this study has validated the existence of the paradox between ugliness
and beauty. It has shown that the human nature of segregation is a justifiable one. Without the
seeming order that exists today, the comprehension of our surroundings would be unthinkable.
And the lack of this knowledge would have impeded science, and in the process, human
evolution itself. It has also established that our sense of beauty is profoundly influenced by our
own need of control and conservative mind set of refusal to change. And ugliness of an entity
depends on the extent of challenge it proposes to our illusion of control.
The proof of the paradox is definitely a reflection of an aspect of us which is willing to
let go of control and simply appreciate the arbitrary nature of things. It also shows the rebellion
psychology of not simply accepting everything without questioning and judging. This also
implies the evolution and open minded attitude of the time, which is only possible with a firm
control over fear. Control over fear also reveals the continual victory over ignorance. This in turn
mirrors the pace of evolution and human progress that has been taking place.
The aesthetic quandary:
The aesthetic dilemma that was discussed in the earlier chapter presents a clear paradox
between beauty and ugliness. The fascination that is felt upon observing such a paradox is one’s
ability to relate to certain aspects of the entity, while detecting the subtle shifts from them.
Features such as, symmetry, integration and coherence which are generally associated to objects
30
that are found beautiful, can coexist with chaos and irregularity. The prolonged capture of one’s
visual interests is the individual’s instinctive urge to create order out of the chaos, mentally or
physically.
The denouncement of an ugly object as a sensory injustice is nothing but ones will to
ascertain the reign of stability and order. In a sense, it also brings to light our lack of
understanding of exact purpose of randomness and chaos. But order is a necessity for human
comprehension of our environment. It is also needed to create a segregation of paradigms which
would not only help in establishing each other’s existence but also appreciate their opponent’s
significance.
But this does not mean that everything can be firmly categorized under one branch of
aesthetics while negating all suspicions of it possessing any aspects of the other segregations.
The world would not retain its element of surprise if everything met the definition of beauty. It
is the anticipation of chaos that truly lets us appreciate the beauty around us. For without this
expectation we would eventually lose our attention for beauty. And everything would become
mundane as it fits within our sensory routine.
Ugliness can and has been working for beauty on many levels. This thesis has examined
and proved the existence of a paradox where the ugliness becomes the beauty of an object, which
is a truly unique and awe inspiring relationship of the two rival aesthetic segregations.
31
Illustrations
Figure 1: Sweeney Todd (2007) Written
And Directed by Tim Burton
Figure 3: Nightmare before Christmas (2007)
Written & Directed by Tim Burton
Figure 2: Corpse Bride (2005) Written
And Directed by Tim Burton
Figure 4: Giger Bar
by H.R.Giger
32
Figure 5: Through death
Figure 6: The Garden of Earthly Delights
United by Kris Kuksi 2007
By Hieronymus Bosch, 1490 to 1510
Figure 7: Five Grotesque Heads. 1490.
Figure 8: Judith Beheading Holofernes.
By Leonardo da Vinci.
1598. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Pen and ink on paper.
Oil on Canvas
33
Figure 9: The Nightmare. 1782.
Figure 10: Self Portrait. 1969
By Henry Fuseli.
By Francis Bacon
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas
Figure 11: The evolution of Barbie.
By Mattel Inc.
Figure 12: Ugly Betty star, America Ferrera
34
Figure 13: The Vitruvian man. 1487
By Leonardo daVinci.
Pen and Ink
Figure 15: Clay demons used in Indian
Houses to ward off evil
Figure 14: Last Judgement. 1969
By Michael Angelo
Oil Fresco
Figure 16: Paint of Die but Love me
By John Nouanesing
35
Figure 17: Ugly Betty star, America Ferrera
Surrounded by a beautiful cast
36
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