Thursday, 5/8/97 The ‘Ugly’ makes its appearance at UCLA
Symposium series on campus aims to bring about critical
discussion
By Stephanie Sheh Daily Bruin Contributor "On the Ugly" hardly
seems to be the appropriate title for an art symposium, since many
people consider art a medium meant to please the eye. In this case,
though, the name works perfectly. "On the Ugly," a series of art
symposiums that began on campus last month, features prominent
artists and scholars examining the themes, philosophies and
theories behind "ugly" art. The symposium is the creation of Mary
Kelly, a new faculty member of the UCLA School of Arts and
Architecture. "One of the things I wanted to do in the department
is to bring a kind of theoretical and critical discussion to art,"
Kelly explains. "I organized this symposium with the intent of
doing one every spring term on a different theme." This year’s
theme discusses art that is abject, formless and "ugly." To most
people, these categories of art may seem ambiguous. However, Kelly
says that part of the purpose of the symposium is to create
definitions for these types of art. One definition that can be
created concerns the area of "ugly" art. The symposium does not
treat "ugly" in the traditional meaning of the world. It is not
related to the notion of beauty. "The minimal definition is that
the ugly is an object in the wrong place and that it is not merely
a question of taste," Kelly explains. "The argument is that the
moment you experience something as being out of place is the moment
that it confuses you." The general public is welcome to alleviate
their confusion. So far, the meetings draw over 100 audience
members on any given night. The symposium complements Kelly’s own
graduate seminar of the same name. "In the graduate seminar we
discuss what the students should ask the speaker," Kelly says. "The
students are required to be a respondent to a speaker. I wanted
this to be – and this is why it’s called a symposium – something in
which we engaged in long-term discussion about ideas. That way it
is more than just having the speakers, who are stars in their own
right, appear, but we have them integrated into our study. (It is
an) attempt to build an intellectual community here." This quarter,
students and visiting artists are examining the trend in the past
decade toward formless and "ugly" art. Their discussions on this
subject stem from present trends in the art world. "This
(symposium) comes out of the current work that is being done in the
field that might be broadly described as cultural theory. (Cultural
theory) cuts across film, literature and art, as notions of popular
culture," Kelly expands. "There are a few debates raging in this
field about raw or unmediated experiences … representations you
might call abject." The abject art of the ’90s involves much
controversial art. The works of avant-garde artists such as Kiki
Smith and Paul McCarthy inspire scholarly discussions about
obscenities. "In the art world, there is much work that uses bodily
fluids or refers to bodily processes or deals with things that
might seem base or horrific," Kelly continues. "So, from the point
of view of cultural analysis you might want to know why people are
doing this. Why are they interested in this?" Although "On the
Ugly" is labeled an "art symposium," Kelly stresses that the
discussion is not limited to paintings and sculptures, what we
traditionally think of as visual art. A past lecturer, critic and
philosopher Mark Cousins, talked about drool in horror movies as
being and non-being. Other lecturers include art historians and
artists with dance and film backgrounds. The combination of diverse
art forms brings different departments together. "This is a seminar
that we intend to cross list in other departments next year,
because I have worked rather closely with art history and the
College of Letters and Sciences, with the School of Theater, Film
and Television, the World Arts and Cultures departments and then in
my own School of Arts and Architecture," Kelly reveals. "Some
people from film were saying, ‘Well, I’ve been here 15 years and
yet I’ve never met anyone from the art history department,’" Kelly
says. "Getting departments from all these different areas to come
together was my first aim." Once all of these facets of art join,
there is a great capacity for the exchange of ideas. Artists,
students and philosophers all contribute to in-depth conversations.
"I just absolutely love when you have intense discussion about
theoretical issues," Kelly adds. ART: Fred Wilson will lead the "On
the Ugly" symposium on May 15 and Hal Foster will lead it on May
21. The symposiums are free and start at 5 p.m. in the Wight Art
Gallery. For more information call (310) UCLA-ART. School of the
Arts and Architecture Professor Mary Kelly created the "On the
Ugly" art symposium series. School of the Arts and Architecture
Mark Cousins discusses issues of abject, formless and "ugly" art
with UCLA art students. Related Links: UCLA, School of the Arts and
Architecture