Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Grotesque?

So in another attempt to define this word all I was able to uncover was that it can mean something that is extremely unpleasing to the eye, or something that is very agreeable to the eye... observe the following:



adjective /grōˈtesk/ 
  1. Comically or repulsively ugly or distorted
    • grotesque facial distortions

  2. Incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree
    • - a lifestyle of grotesque luxury



Web definitions
  • art characterized by an incongruous mixture of parts of humans and animals interwoven with plants

  • distorted and unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous; "tales of grotesque serpents eight fathoms long that churned the seas"; "twisted into monstrous shapes"

  • antic: ludicrously odd; "Hamlet's assumed antic disposition"; "fantastic Halloween costumes"; "a grotesque reflection in the mirror"

  • (grotesquely) in a grotesque manner; "behind the house lay two nude figures grotesquely bald, with deliberate knife-slashes marking their bodies"

  • (grotesqueness) ludicrous or incongruous unnaturalness or distortion

  • The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century. ...

  • Grotesque (After the Gramme) is a 1980 album by The Fall. The music is a departure from that of the previous albums, 1979's Live at the Witch Trials and Dragnet, introducing more drones and Velvet Underground-inspired riffing. ...

  • Grotesque was a Swedish death metal band formed in Gothenburg, Sweden in September 1988 from the remains of Conquest by Wåhlin (Necrolord) and Nordgren (Virgintaker) with the addition of Lindberg (Goatspell). The band was however short-lived and recorded a few demos and an EP. ...

  • In chess, a grotesque is a problem or endgame study which features a particularly unlikely initial position, especially one in which White fights with a very small force against a much larger black army. Grotesques are generally intended to be humorous.

  • Grotesque is ostensibly a crime novel by Japanese writer Natsuo Kirino, most famous for her novel Out. It was published in English in 2007, translated by Rebecca Copeland. ...

  • "Grotesque" is a 1996 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the fourteenth episode broadcast in the show's third season. "Grotesque" features a serial killer who claims a gargoyle spirit committed the crimes. ...

  • A style of ornamentation characterized by fanciful combinations of intertwined forms; Anything grotesque; A sans serif typeface; Bizarre or fantastic; Disgusting or otherwise viscerally reviling; sans serif

  • (grotesqueness) The characteristic or quality of being grotesque

  • (Grotesques) A Shelley line of ugly or disturbing shaped earthenware figures based on fantastic or mythical animal or semi-human forms.

  • (Grotesques) Fanciful and intricate designs loosely incorporating human figures, sphinxes, animals, foliage, etc., derived in the 16th century from Roman originals.

  • (Grotesques) early sans serif designs, such as Grotesque or Royal Gothic .

  • (Grotesques) unnatural characters, usually identified by a feature of physical, mental or speech behavior, who stand for an exaggerated emotional quality. Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane and Sherwood Anderson's Wing Biddlebaum are examples.

  • In literary criticism, the subject matter of a work or a style of expression characterized by exaggeration, deformity, freakishness, and disorder. The grotesque often includes an element of comic absurdity. ...

  • The European term for Sans Serif styles American printers call gothic. In England the abbreviation, grot, is frequently used. (return to top)

  • a style of decorative art that features fantastic human and animal forms, often distorted into absurdity or ugliness. The word is derived from the Italian grotteschi, or grottoes, which refers to decorations found during the excavation of Roman houses around 1500.

  • Lowest degree was called "Grotesque." Which meant the dancer was unsteady, movements were imposing while demanding -- all skill rather than gracefulness.

  • derived from the ornamentation in ancient Roman grottoes discovered during the Renaissance, in the eighteenth century this term came to be applied to decorative motifs of all kinds of Roman origin, including those used in elegant, neoclassical interiors. ...

  • a problem or study with an especially unnatural initial position, particularly one with large amounts of material or with a large material disparity between the sides.

  • A type of ornament, popular during the Renaissance, in which real and mythical beasts, human figures, flowers, scrolls, and candelabra were linked together. often in vertical panels.

  • A decorative motif characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms, often interwoven with foliage or similar figures; the natural may be distorted into absurdity, ugliness or caricature. ...

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