Though ugliness is coupled with the inherent, figurative qualities of actions, incidents and people, it is more frequently associated with the appearance of an object or a person. The perception of ugliness changes with time and culture that flows along the contemporary standards of beauty. And, like beauty, ugliness is considered subjective and is amenable to various kinds of interpretations. Similarly, art, too, is subjective and welcomes a great deal of opinions. But, art in its various forms, encompassing painting, sculpture, fine arts and more, is remarked as ugly under some conditions. These conditions in art usually include jarring, unnatural colors and unsettling subject matters, including immoral or vulgar presentations. Such pieces of art are seen to use grotesque style of brushwork, representation and composition.

In history, ugly art was often seen as a result of mistakes which had to be rectified. In ‘The Republic’, Socrates was the first one to ‘correct’ Homer and other poets for representing things which were not true and morbid in appearance. Almost every ugly art created before the nineteenth century was made intentionally ghastly and not as a consequence of the artist’s poor skills. In some instances, they were created to rebel against the prevailing art standards.  However still, there are people who admire ugly art and believe that the art isn’t hideous in itself, rather it is interesting in the stereotypical unappealing manner. While looking at ugly art, these people endeavor to find out what led the artist to that creation. Over the centuries, it has been observed that ugly art often represents ominous times and situations. Therefore, ugly art, put simply, is nothing but art which causes discomfort to the viewer. Owing to this, the perceived ugly art is often grotesque, unsettling and frightening.

Furthermore, the debate centered around the freedom of artistic expression and social responsibility also emanated from the idea of ugly art. As artists endeavored to transcend societal norms, they were constantly opposed by the limitations of what was acceptable to the viewers and what was not. This also drew a thin line that separated ugliness from obscenity. While ugly art has been tolerated to quite some extent, obscene art is instantly disparaged and defamed. This coerced artists to create a clever interplay between the ugly and the unacceptable.

Nonetheless, numerous artists disregarded such social constructs and used their art as a means to protest and raise cognizance about prevailing ills of the society. As it has been noted in several cases, ugly art eventually became a requisite asset to steer the society towards change. With its profound emotional impact, ugly art doesn’t only challenge norms, it reshapes societal restrictions entirely. But most of all, it acts as a mirror reflecting the flaws and imperfections of our society.