• Log In
  • /
  • Register
  • Home
  • Featured AEI
  • AEIs
  • News
ProjectART UBU
Donate
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Featured AEI
  • AEIs
  • News
ProjectART UBU
Donate
No Result
View All Result
ProjectART UBU
No Result
View All Result

Is “Ugly” Art Really Ugly?

by ProjectART UBU
September 20, 2019
in Art and Opinion
Dominik Article Junk Art Main Image What Makes Art Art 1
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own interpretation.”

– E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of Gadfly

Whether you are a fan of contemporary art or not there’s no denying that it is more focused on the expression itself than on beauty. For some reason, we seem to be more in touch with the controversy of it all than with aestheticism. That doesn’t have to be bad per se, but does it really reflect value in art? Once we’ve admired Sandro Botticelli and Raphael, or as in today’s modern look into art, it seems to be all about Marco Evaristti’s liposuction fat or Yoko Ono’s dirt piles.

Open interpretation vs true “art”?

Many argue that the whole popular “ugly art” scene started when Edward Munch painted his famous “The Scream” back in 1893. “The Scream” might be a grotesque painting, but it doesn’t strike you with its aesthetics as it does through the feeling it evokes.

The same could be said for Picasso’s “Demoiselles d’ Avignon” from 1907. If one compares these two “ugly” paintings with what Metropolitan Museum is showcasing today, they would probably look gorgeous. Yet, on the same note, can art really be ugly if there is thought behind it? If we challenge our definition of art, the answer changes with it.

Dominik Article Junk Art Image 1 Doors
1,000 recycled doors as a façade of a ten-story building in Seoul, by Choi Jeong-Hwa

Artists like Choi Jeong-Hwa and El Anatsui manage to make some of the most beautiful artwork out of someone else’s garbage. While some traditionalists would say that the so-called “garbage art” art lacks artistic value, millions of people from around the world beg to differ. This just goes to show that the old proverb often said, “one man’s trash really is another man’s treasure” is still true to this day.

Expression through the discarded

There is something truly noble and humbling in creating artwork from a discarded and seemingly ugly object. We’ve all admired the metamorphosis of tech-junk into amazing mosaics and incredible installations made of recycled plastic. The fact that we take all this discarded plastic that can afflict the land, oceans, and waterways for hundreds of years and use it as artwork becomes even more significant and meaningful.

Dominik Article Junk Art Image 2 Bottle Caps 2
Bottle Cap Mosaic, by El Anatsui

Electronic junk is also a type of highly damaging waste that needs to be dealt with. We don’t think much when we throw away our old phones and get the latest new-generation tech or systems that we apply to our old computers, TV sets, etc. Any lead, tin, mercury or barium residue derived from that particular waste will be leaching into the ground, tainting the environment for decades to come. Why not recycle it and keep it in a controlled environment? Actually, why not use it beautifully?

Dominik Article Junk Art Image 3 Owl of Junk
Owl and bird sculpture made from electronic trash, by Ann P. Smith

Inspiration can be found in anything, anywhere, by anyone

To show my point, I present my favorite artist when it comes to so-called “junk art”, Elisa NaranjaMetalicaInsua. Star Wars fans among you probably already know why. Elisa Insua created arguably one of the most famous pop mosaics -the one and only Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.

Insua shaped Vader out of recycled electronics and this actually makes him look even more impressive. Constructed from bits and pieces of gadgets like his Tetris left shoulder, tech-junk Vader inspires power and still intimidates. Elisa Insua is a young Argentinian artist known for her colorful tech artwork and, unlike many of her peers, she is self-taught. This isn’t an artist who polished her craft in Pomona or Pratt, and every piece she makes perfectly reflects her pure talent and skill, completely and entirely.

Dominik Article Junk Art Image 4 Darth Vader
Dart Vader, by Elisa NaranjaMetalicaInsua

If you look at the art of today you might rightfully say that it is ugly compared to the artwork from the renaissance and impressionistic era. On the other hand, what does “ugly” really mean? Jeff Koons’s “Balloon Dog” was called “ugly” and “weird” by many, but it was still sold for a whopping $58.4 million at Christie’s. We mustn’t forget that we live in a world full of zealous political correctness where calling someone “ugly” can be considered hate speech but that in contrast, many artists use their artwork as the reflection of their inner being, their authentic self.

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder

As one of my all-time favorite painters Tom Wilson once said: “My art is a continuation of my long way home.” So, who are we to judge? Who are we to dub someone’s spiritual and artistic effort “ugly”? Ask yourself that the next time you decide to be vocal about the appearance of someone’s artistic expression and as you are, remember that art is a language we can all share, richly interpreted in ways that defy the regular conventions of (hu)man.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Continue Reading
Source: www.complex.com, www.jotform.com, www.geeksaresexy.net
Via: ProjectART UBU Guest Writer - Dominik Macinger
Tags: art by interpretationbeautycontempcontroversycreativityDarth Vaderdiscarded objectsDominik Macingerenvironmentexpressiongarbage artGuest Writerjunk artmodern artPicassoplasticrecycled arttech artThe Scream Edward Munchvalue in artYoko Ono
Previous Post

The Beauty in Tradition

Next Post

A Lesson Learned in Isolation

ProjectART UBU

ProjectART UBU

Authenticity holds the key to the doors we’ve yet to open, giving us the chance to unify & elevate. Be a key holder of authenticity. We Are Better Together!

Related Posts

Untitled by Dan Kraus

Inspired through the Fire

by ProjectART UBU

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die - life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly.” Langston Hughes Inspiration is defined as “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.” Seems...

1.4 million dollar dilemma

Controversy or Creation? The 1.4 Million Dollar Dilemma

by ProjectART UBU

When did creating become a drama for the world to see (ha, maybe the question is more when has it NOT been a drama?) When did it become a show of thrills, of spills, of how many ways the creator...

Next Post
Royalty Free Image

A Lesson Learned in Isolation

Credit: Unsplash

Syrup Mornings and Reality Checks ...

guest
Save my name, email, and website in this browser cookies for the next time I comment.
guest
Save my name, email, and website in this browser cookies for the next time I comment.
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Follow Authenticity

Facebook-f Instagram Pinterest Rss

Date

Categories

Donate

Loading…
  • AEIs
  • Getting Involved​​
  • News
  • About Us
  • Connect
  • Policies
Connect With Us: Info@projectartubu.org

© 2017 ProjectART UBU- We are generating a platform on which creatives, AEIs (Authentically Exceptional Individuals), businesses, patrons, clients, investors and others can connect through a multitude of diversified avenues. Powered By Shaibit.

No Result
View All Result
  • Log In
  • Register
  • Home
  • Featured AEI
  • Getting Involved​​
  • Donate
    • All Donations
    • Donate To ProjectART UBU
    • Trip Morris Donation
    • Stand4Fam Donation
    • Beth Faragila Donation
    • Victoria Rosenfield Donation
    • Quotes From The Dark Donation
    • Himdad Saber Donation
    • Dan Kraus Art Donation
    • Scarlett Films Donation
  • Gallery
  • AEIs
    • About Trip Morris
    • About Quotes From The Dark
    • About Anastasia Skiles
    • About Scarlett Films
    • About Victoria Rosenfield
    • About Beth Faraglia
    • About Himdad Saber
    • About Dan Kraus Art
    • About Stand4Fam
  • Collaborators
  • News
  • About Us
  • Connect

© 2017 ProjectART UBU- We are generating a platform on which creatives, AEIs (Authentically Exceptional Individuals), businesses, patrons, clients, investors and others can connect through a multitude of diversified avenues. Powered By Shaibit.

Add Your Heading Text Here

Loading…