We were introduced the different types of beauty within art, including the superficial. Kitsch, and prettiness, which all fit into the “meaningless” category. For example, Jeff Koons’ ‘Large Vase of Flowers’, 1991, bronze (below); we see this painting as beauty as a culture and society, thus making this in particular clever, since he expects the audience to be attracted to its beauty, and is an example of Kitsch beauty. They don’t have any deeper meaning; they exist to please the eye and attract.
We then looked into another side of beauty, which are used as an alibi for a hidden meaning. These include seduction, deception, and a cover for political manipulation. Ai Weiwei’s ‘Straight’, 2008-12 (below) is an example of this, as it’s a beautiful piece to look at, but is about the earthquake that hit China and acts as a memorial for all the children who died. All the pieces of concrete were found from the wrecks of the earthquake and hand straightened back to how they originally looked, making them look like they’d been produced by a machine. They’re also meant to look like the tectonic plates that caused the earthquake, as the design seems as if it’s moving away from each other. We, as an audience, would only realise this after the piece seduces us to look at it for longer; if it didn’t contain beauty, we’d easily dismiss it. This could be argued as being worse than meaningless beauty, as we consume the real meaning without realising it, making it a powerful tool, especially in politics. An example of this is Igor Babilov’s portrait of George W. Bush, 2002, which makes him look kind and intelligent, which is totally the opposite of most people’s opinions of the former president.
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