Ugliness and Beauty

The intentional creation of ugliness in our world represents chthonic energies: Decadence and death. The hesitancy of weakness and reluctance allows possession from subterranean energy, which twists into envy and self-hate. It is now a tangible force everywhere the wings of the post-war American technocracy cast their shadow. Ugliness is now the language of business, of domestic cleanliness, of civic virtues. The atmosphere of ugliness keeps us shackled to an iron ball of base materialism.

The creation of beauty in our world represents Olympian energies: Transcendence and life. The atmosphere of beauty elevates man to a state of transcendence, and turns his mind to idealism, investigation, inventiveness.

Beauty and aesthetics have a theological relevance. Without beauty in our world, we fearfully limit ourselves, then begin to devolve and decay, ghoulishly. This is the chthonic realm manifesting, culminating in an oppressive anti-beauty, and ultimately a black landscape where everyone is considered your equal. No Olympians reside in the underworld.

Aesthetics and beauty are both the root and leaves of Olympic nature. Beauty in our world represents a celestial hierarchy, where growth and beauty-expansion result from friction and hardship. Whereas ugliness represents the chthonic realm, where sedentary safety and equality values stultify in darkness and ignorance. Transcendence requires beauty (inspiration, idealism) and achieving beauty requires hardship (growth).

If we don’t try to transcend, mediocrity will not lead to safety and stasis – there is no rest in the forward movement, if you can’t break the shackles then the only movement is downward. Black chthonic tendrils will grow out of the black earth to drag you down, to ever-increasing ugliness, as you degrade and decay into fertilizer for a new, transcendent seed, strong enough to break the barrier you couldn’t.

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”

― Aristotle

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3 thoughts on “Ugliness and Beauty

  1. Too much of the supposedly beautiful architecture of the west is left colourless. The original classical buildings of the Greco-Roman world were all painted in rich and vibrant colours.

    I consider a Europe without vibrant colours on its buildings and the clothes of its inhabitants to be a sign of spiritual decay.

    One would argue that medieval or Renaissance people for instance could not have known that ancient buildings were colourful, since the paint was already gone. I think that’s totally false because even cathedrals were originally painted in vibrant colours.

    Why would anyone go through the time of innovating stained glass, depicting stories in said stained glass to then adorn the windows of the cathedrals of Europe with it and not paint the rest of the building in equally vibrant colours?

    That makes no sense. The vibrancy of colour of classical architecture, and gothic churches and cathedrals were left to become devoid of colour on purpose.

    What I am saying here is that enthusiasts of traditional architecture, specifically of the classical kind, should abandon all nostalgicism towards a history devoid of colour, because it simply wasn’t true.

    Now that being said, I don’t think that there will ever be a day when non Greco-Roman people will build a classical building rich in colour. And therefore, I believe, they shouldn’t build these types of buildings at all!

    1. That is certainly true of the cathedrals here in England pre-Reformation. Thousands of parish churches had interior superstructure painted to some degree or other, which were ruthlessly scraped back and limewashed over during the Tudor and Cromwellian periods. Many panels and much statuary destroyed, also painted. The VIctorians attempted a resurgence of the painted interiors with a mixed degree of success, but some of the best ones are truly lovely.

      Here, for instance .. http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/churches/england/yorkshire/east_riding/east_two/garton_on_the_wolds/index.html

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