The Joys of Ugly

May 30, 2013 at 4:00 am

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Throughout history, beauty has been idealized in the fine arts, and anything less is discarded at best and loathed at worst. In particular, ugliness (as opposed to homeliness or commonness, which are at least somewhat acceptable) was and often still is associated with notions of evil, worthlessness and lacking in any positive attributes. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum's new show, Ugly: An Alternative Look at Western Art, opens for discussion our adherence to conventional evolutionary psychology; if beautiful works are the most treasured and those less than perfect are ignored, why have artists continued to make work that is grotesque or vulgar? Ugly opens Wednesday, June 5, and continues Wednesday through Monday through Monday, July 29. The Kemper Art Museum is located at 1 Brookings Drive on Washington University's campus. Contact the museum at 314-935-4523 or visit www.kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu for more details.
Mondays, Wednesdays-Sundays. Starts: June 5. Continues through July 28, 2013