Clarification on Ugly and Grotesque

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When I contend that the ugly and the grotesque are discordant, I am making that assertion in the creative context of the second pillar, Enable Beauty.  I am moved to that declaration by some of the works of the surrealists, older artists such as Hieronymous Bosch, and CONtemporary artists such as Andres Serrano.  There is no doubt intentionality in their works.  But life is short and I choose to spend my time enabling that which, as I said, makes me smile. 


Similarly, I find that when we look and listen our way around the world, much that we encounter that seems at first blush ugly and grotesque, is more an issue of cultural preference and scale than actual discord.  I am not drawn to the digeridoo, but it is obvious that my preference for the violin and the guitar is taught.  The fault, dear Brutus, is in ears I see in the mirror - not in the funky ancient aboriginal instrument.  And consider the common housefly - now consider that same housefly at a 1000x magnification. Incredible. We often can find harmony aka beauty where we least expect it.

So, in an attempt to honor the third pillar, distill complexity: I do not argue the existence of discord in our lives, I simply assert that there are better ways to spend one's time than giving discord a platform.

Bye-the-bye, NPR might take heed.  I know that bad things happen to good people, but our local station's seemingly unrelenting somberly intoned reportage of the woes of the world is beginning to bring me down. And I have to wait through, again "seemingly unrelenting," non-commercials that sound a lot like commercials before the next story gets a chance to further depress me.

Enable Beauty.  Make me smile.
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