Beauty vs. repulsion

For our first assignment in Drawing II, we are comparing beauty and repulsion.  These are strong words with a lot of emotional context behind them.  Overuse of strong words can dull us to their meaning and lessen their impact to the point where we can call something beautiful or disgusting when it really inspires nothing in us at all.  But these words do have meaning.  It can be a little difficult to pin down an exact description, because the effects we can measure happen on an individual and emotional.  But I will try.

What makes something beautiful?  It’s hard to describe exactly why we find something beautiful.  Perhaps we like the colors, or find the form pleasing.  Maybe the detail is impressive, or the simplicity refreshing.  Now, obviously personal opinion will play some part in how someone will see and define beauty, but there seem to be a few constants that most people will agree are beautiful:  sunsets, mountains, a starry night (many scenes in nature).   A person’s setting or culture, and life experiences will also affect and evolve their view of beauty.

I find movement beautiful.    Something that is moving, changing, transforming.  But movement alone does not equal beauty.  So what type of movement….? Fluid, graceful movement.  Actual physical motion, such as grass blowing in the wind, or a dance can have this .  What about stationary or very slow moving objects, like the stars, or the clouds or a growing tree?  Even though it is slow, you can almost feel the movement in the very shape of things like the clouds or the stars   Or a picture?  Line, too, in a painting can be made in such a way as to inspire this feeling of movement.  Beauty invites your attention and guides it smoothly along somehow, be it visual, auditory, thoughtful, or emotional.  What causes this smooth transitioning of the eye, ear, or mind from piece to piece of the work/scene?  I think when there is a harmony, or unity, of the pieces that make up the whole is when beautiful movement happens, and we can follow along.

 Here are a few photos of things that I think are beautiful:

 

Artist for beauty: Lorraine Shemesh

So what then is repulsion?  Where beauty invites our attention, what repulses us grabs it without permission.  Like the car wreck you can’t look away from.  It pulls us in and pushes us away at the same time.  Death and decay seems to be a common thing to be repulsed by: the smell, the rotting, often accompanied by bugs.  Road kill is discussing… especially when it’s stretched along several miles of the highway.  When something’s insides are on the outside, it’s just wrong.  Repulsion, like beauty, can happen on sensory (aroma, visual) or emotional level.  Horrible treatment of others can be considered repulsive.  Domestic violence, oppression, and slavery are very rarely viewed positively.

These things may not be repulsive to someone else though.  We can make ourselves immune to something over time through repeated exposure, or a change in perspective. 

And here are some photos that I find repulsive:

Artist for repulsion: Christina Quarles