An Introduction to the Aesthetics of Ugliness: An Essay on Quiddity of Ugliness and Its Functions in the Art World

Much of the study of art has historically revolved around the concept of beauty as the most important quality of works of art, and while ugliness has occasionally been spoken of, it has often been used as an opposite or contradictory concept of beauty, and no more. But in the last two centuries, researches has gradually shifted to the concept of ugliness in the art world, and this concept itself, regardless of its relation to beauty, it has been focused and reflected on, although it cannot be speak of aesthetics of ugliness as a rich area under aesthetics in its general sense yet. Therefore, in the essay, we have attempted to provide an introduction to this field of research by dealing with the most important problems of this field. In this way, we first have dealt with what ugliness is and what kinds of ugliness there are, and then have distinguished three types of ugliness: psychological ugliness, aesthetic ugliness, and moral ugliness. Then, we have turned to another important problem in this area, namely the functions of the emergence of ugliness in the art world. And finally we have showed that, just as the appearance of beauty in works of art has its own functions, the appearance of ugliness also has its own functions. Aesthetic function, epistemological function, psychological function, moral function, and propagandic function are the most important causes of ugliness in works of art.