Ultimate ugly: Jake and Dinos Chapman’s Disasters of War and the theology of ugliness

Ugliness is an elusive concept and has been little discussed in theological aesthetics. This article argues that contemporary culture often regards ugliness as being more authentic than beauty and prizes ugliness in contemporary art. Through a discussion of works by the contemporary British artists...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theology
Main Author: Bown, Nicola (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2016]
In: Theology
RelBib Classification:CD Christianity and Culture
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
VA Philosophy
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Ugliness is an elusive concept and has been little discussed in theological aesthetics. This article argues that contemporary culture often regards ugliness as being more authentic than beauty and prizes ugliness in contemporary art. Through a discussion of works by the contemporary British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman that rework Goya’s Disasters of War, this article suggests that ugliness is connected to nihilism, and that it should be seen as not the opposite of, but the negation of beauty. The works by the Chapman brothers embody the aesthetic and affective qualities of ugliness, and thus a consideration of these works can help to formulate a theology of ugliness.
ISSN:2044-2696
Contains:Enthalten in: Theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0040571X16659241