Cuteness vs Beauty

joe phelan · 09:47 PM

There's an interesting story in today's New York Times about the latest scientific research on what causes people to respond to something as "cute"

"Cuteness is distinct from beauty, researchers say, emphasizing rounded over sculptured, soft over refined, clumsy over quick. Beauty attracts admiration and demands a pedestal; cuteness attracts affection and demands a lap. Beauty is rare and brutal, despoiled by a single pimple. Cuteness is commonplace and generous, content on occasion to cosegregate with homeliness"

Which leads me to wonder whether there are any notable works of art devoted to cuteness. Botero's paintings of fat women perhaps?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/sc...03cute.html?hp

John · January 3rd, 2006, 05:08 PM

Heh, I predict this will hinge on what you take "notable" to mean. There are quite a lot of artists who fit into the "cute" category. How about the babies of Anne Geddes and the dogs of William Wegman? Fairy paintings such as those by John Atkinson Grimshaw?

The children of Albert Anker and John George Brown? (Not Mary Casatt; I think anyone would agree that her portraiture was serious and not "cute".)

If you want to talk about serious art, the first example that comes to mind is those cherubim by Raphael. Not just the famous two in the Sistine Madonna, but in lots of his paintings.

ozric9 · 03:53 AM

Bernardo · February 7th, 2006, 10:49 PM

Joe,

I was introduced to a book recently by an art teacher -- Drop Dead Cute. It featured female Asian artists. There seemed to be a melding here between anime' and Nature and technology. My teacher believes that the next shift in art will come out of Asia.

-Bernardo

Bernardo · 11:13 PM

Joe,

I heard something recently that said that beauty is tied to symmetry.

I'm reminded that infants are often considered "cute" -- they're rounded and soft and clumsy, fitting with the NY Times piece that you quote. Biologically, it's a good thing that infants and children are seen as cute.

Also, I was in the woods recently, and saw two people moving far off through the trees. I'm reminded of our brain's need not only to identify motion, but to identify the thing that doesn't belong, the flaw, the asymmetric. This has implications for composition, and also for notions of beauty.

I'm also reminded of a recent story on Alan Alda's show -- there's a part of the brain that fires or doesn't fire when a "cool" object is observed. The first kind of people are attracted to the newest and latest, while the second group wants to avoid the flashy. I imagine that other parts of the brain are firing or not firing in regard to beauty and cuteness.

-Bernardo

nina · March 24th, 2006, 02:49 PM

I have viewed paintings in the realm of folk art and outsider art that qualify as being "cute."

January 2nd, 2006, 09:40 PM	#1
joe phelan Editor Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 55	Cuteness vs Beauty There's an interesting story in today's New York Times about the latest scientific research on what causes people to respond to something as "cute" "Cuteness is distinct from beauty, researchers say, emphasizing rounded over sculptured, soft over refined, clumsy over quick. Beauty attracts admiration and demands a pedestal; cuteness attracts affection and demands a lap. Beauty is rare and brutal, despoiled by a single pimple. Cuteness is commonplace and generous, content on occasion to cosegregate with homeliness" Which leads me to wonder whether there are any notable works of art devoted to cuteness. Botero's paintings of fat women perhaps? http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/sc...03cute.html?hp Last edited by joe phelan : January 2nd, 2006 at 09:47 PM.

January 14th, 2006, 08:16 PM	#3
ozric9 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 14	. Last edited by ozric9 : November 19th, 2006 at 03:53 AM.

February 7th, 2006, 11:11 PM	#5
Bernardo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 14	Joe, I heard something recently that said that beauty is tied to symmetry. I'm reminded that infants are often considered "cute" -- they're rounded and soft and clumsy, fitting with the NY Times piece that you quote. Biologically, it's a good thing that infants and children are seen as cute. Also, I was in the woods recently, and saw two people moving far off through the trees. I'm reminded of our brain's need not only to identify motion, but to identify the thing that doesn't belong, the flaw, the asymmetric. This has implications for composition, and also for notions of beauty. I'm also reminded of a recent story on Alan Alda's show -- there's a part of the brain that fires or doesn't fire when a "cool" object is observed. The first kind of people are attracted to the newest and latest, while the second group wants to avoid the flashy. I imagine that other parts of the brain are firing or not firing in regard to beauty and cuteness. -Bernardo Last edited by Bernardo : February 7th, 2006 at 11:13 PM.

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January 3rd, 2006, 05:08 PM	#2
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 156	Heh, I predict this will hinge on what you take "notable" to mean. There are quite a lot of artists who fit into the "cute" category. How about the babies of Anne Geddes and the dogs of William Wegman? Fairy paintings such as those by John Atkinson Grimshaw? The children of Albert Anker and John George Brown? (Not Mary Casatt; I think anyone would agree that her portraiture was serious and not "cute".) If you want to talk about serious art, the first example that comes to mind is those cherubim by Raphael. Not just the famous two in the Sistine Madonna, but in lots of his paintings.

February 7th, 2006, 10:49 PM	#4
Bernardo Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 14	Joe, I was introduced to a book recently by an art teacher -- Drop Dead Cute. It featured female Asian artists. There seemed to be a melding here between anime' and Nature and technology. My teacher believes that the next shift in art will come out of Asia. -Bernardo

March 24th, 2006, 02:49 PM	#6
nina Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York Posts: 3	I have viewed paintings in the realm of folk art and outsider art that qualify as being "cute."