Raluca Nestor Oancea
Abstract
At the beginning of a new century an old question has to be asked: are the aesthetic category
of the Beautiful and the works of art which promote this classical category really obsolete? Many
voices, like the literary critic Sianne Ngai, state that in a new era postmodern categories such as –
Zany, Cute, Interesting – are needed. The mighty Kitsch itself is defined by Matei Călinescu as one
of the very faces of modernity. Other voices, such as the conservative philosopher Roger Scruton
and the modernist art critic Robert Hughes talk about the ageless feature of Beauty that lies in the
very structure of the human senses and mind. At the beginning of a new millennium Hughes even
dares to state that the aesthetic experience is still at the very heart of art.
This article will analyze several opinions of contemporary thinkers about Beauty and will
argue that Beauty is still needed today and still present in contemporary works. Furthermore, this
article will claim that the pursuit of Beauty must not to be related only with traditional media as
painting and drawing, like conservative art critics and thinkers do, but also with new media such
as installation, photography or cinematography.