Status Updates From Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in...

fashion and art, the painting came to symbolize the perils of the high-fashion industry and the violence against two Italian fashion icons whose lives ended tragically (Maurizio Gucci was killed in 1995 by a hit man hired by his ex-wife). Phrases such as “dressed to kill,” “drop-dead gorgeous,” or “killer smile” echo this notion of glamorous beauty as a destructive force in con- temporary popular culture.

“Aristotle argued that it is possible to make beautiful imitations of ugly things. It is precisely the power of art to portray ugly and horrible creatures in a beautiful way that renders their ugliness acceptable, even pleasurable.”