Ugly Devil 1924

Curator: Right now we're looking at "Ugly Devil", an etching and drypoint by John Taylor Arms, made in 1924. Arms was incredibly skilled in his printmaking. Editor: Wow, the intricacy for such a small work on paper is captivating. What I find especially arresting is this blend of grotesque and somewhat…amused. Is it meant to be monstrous? It's hard to say. Curator: He did tend to focus on Gothic architecture, you know, those magnificent cathedrals bristling with gargoyles. What's fascinating is that Arms pulls one of those grotesque figures off the facade and presents it alone, almost like a portrait. Editor: So, it's ripped from context? Given a new identity. The interesting question here is what does it represent divorced from its original symbolic, possibly apotropaic, meaning? Is it meant to frighten? What does it tell us? Curator: Perhaps Arms is encouraging us to consider our own ugliness, the darkness that lurks within us all? It's a harsh suggestion, certainly, but the beauty is, as it usually happens with art, that it poses a challenge to those seeing it. Editor: Absolutely! Look at how those rough lines carve out that face—the bulbous nose, that knowing smirk. These lines feel incredibly old to me. We read so many traces of ancient cultures that once perceived monstrous entities lurking about, guarding passages, warning us not to transgress boundaries. Curator: Exactly. The "ugly devil" can then become a reminder that while we build our cathedrals and strive for divine beauty, we can never fully escape our human—dare I say, devilish—side. Editor: Which also shows how cultures morph one way or another. Even the term ‘devil’ becomes a shape-shifting metaphor through representation. From genuine demon to an ugly portrait, a suggestion of what lays within us all. So rich, indeed! Curator: So much from such a seemingly simple print, isn't it? I always find something new each time I revisit it. Editor: Me too, a dark beauty that sticks with you. Thank you!