The Harvard Crimson has an interesting essay posted titled “The Aesthetics of Horror: an investigative essay into the value of artistic representations of gore.” After beginning with a considertaion of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes’ painting “Saturn Devouring His Son,” the analysis begins. Here’s an excerpt from this thoughtful piece:
In other words, is it permissible to show something that inspires horror for its own sake? How committed are we to art for art’s sake, to the abolition of artistic boundaries? There is a modern desire to be near-absolute about the freedom granted to artists, a sincere wish for intellectual consistency and an old-fashioned fairness: one might not always like good art, and condemning something merely because it violates our mores or preferences seems petty.
Yet life rarely cuts so cleanly. Can art for art’s sake be a true guiding principle—or, more specifically, horror for horror’s sake? Yes it can; but as horror shows us, it may demand things of us that we are not willing to concede.
There are no responses yet