Beauty, Dating, and Art

If it isn’t obvious by now, I’m a fan of artistic beauty. Beautiful art has the capacity to lift and enliven the soul. I’d suggest that these are very good things. Unfortunately, the opposite seems to be true, too. A lack of beauty in art can depress and deaden the soul. And that is not such a good thing.

The clip below from Woody Allen’s 1972 film “Play it again, Sam” invites reflection on these ideas in surprisingly creative ways. First, Linda (Diane Keaton) expresses “some sort of mystical attraction” to Van Gogh’s artwork. Next, Allan (Woody Allen) notices a girl based solely on her appearance/beauty by noting, “She’s great.” After timidly sauntering up to the girl, he starts a conversation by tipping his hat to aesthetic beauty, “That’s quite a lovely Jackson Pollock, isn’t it?” The girl’s immediate response affirms his hat-tip, “Yes it is.”

But then we get a Woody-esque, ironic, dry, curve ball as the girl goes on to lament a lack of beauty in her soul… a lack that’s depressing and deadening. It’s so blunt, stark, and raw that it’s amusing. Set against all the previous beauty-affirmations, it forces deeper reflection on the importance of beauty, especially in art. I’ve already shared my basic conclusions, above. What about yours?