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The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Elaine Scarry And Mark Cousins In Conversation

Tue 24 Oct 6.30pm £3.00/£2.00 Concs

How do we decide what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art? If goodness is traditionally allied to beauty, then does it follow that ugliness is a sign of being bad? Elaine Scarry, Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University, talks to Mark Cousins, Head of Histories and Theories at the Architectural Association. Scarry’s recent book, On Beauty and the Just re-asserts a link between beauty and justice, while Cousins’ series of essays on The Ugly argues that the idealisation of beauty acts as an authorization of exclusion.

This event is presented in collaboration with BIRTHA and the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol.