I know it’s an oxymoron to write about ugly beauty, but that’s sometimes how I respond when I encounter an object which I would ordinarily think of as ugly but which nevertheless draws to itself something strangely attractive. Here are two examples. The first is a three-tiered stack of rocks in wire mesh. They’re supposed to support the river banks to prevent erosion, but they’ve toppled into the water. The result is rope-like strands. There is something sensuous about the way they have twisted together.
The second is a mesh wire garbage can. The garbage is clearly visible. Nevertheless, there is something sexy about the garbage can’s form that somehow redeems it.
