h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I don't know. Maybe we are to read 'dreadful'. Yes - the use to which Golden Section has been put shows artistic genius. But does/should it affect our judgement if we know that it was almost certainly commissioned as a masturbation aid?

But, yes - you've got me sussed.

Can we admire the glorious camerawork in Riefenstahl's 'The Triumph of Will'? The innovative structure of 'Birth Of A Nation'?

The lying man's right - there's no answer.

I´ve needed a while, I was lost with junction and was trying hard to discover something in Cupido´s groins

Here's a famous work of art we should genuinely regard as dreadful:
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/art/19th/sculpture/degas2.jpg

Degas modelled the original in painted wax to achieve a photorealistic impression - even in the unseen parts beneath the clothing. There was even real pubic hair. The dancer was thirteen.

It was exhibited as the centrepiece a series of drawings illustrating the physiogonomy of "Thieves, whores and other gutter types."

It's an image of child sexual abuse, no?

"but does/should it affect our judgement if we ..."

It proves that sex experiences start and happens 99% in our brains.

>Can we admire the glorious camerawork in Riefenstahl's 'The Triumph of Will'? The innovative structure of 'Birth Of A Nation'?

Of course we do. As Oscar Wilde said, "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all."

Come on lads -- that was published in 1891 (The Picture of Dorian Grey, preface)! Have we not got the point yet?

Look at the trouble Brian Ferry got into when he mentioned the nice architecture of the Third Reich.

Gawd. He was so wrong about their architecture, though. If he'd been praising the Italian Futurist/ Fascist style, he might have had a point. It had an uneasy relationship with the leftwing Bauhaus.

btw - in case anyone hasn't notices, my previous posts were both ironic and rhetorical.

So...when we hear the true story of Degas' ballerina, we feel uncomfortable. And that discomfort is the artistic experience.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7063564.stm

To bookend the thread.

Having seen the full photograph it's neither art or porn in my opinion simply a family photo of two kids playing...but then again how does one define art blah blah blah.

I can see why some people would kee-jerk and scream indecent but they are the ones who need help.