Ultimate ugly

Abstract

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.