Fell down this rabbit hole today and wanted to share, for no good reason. I love Girotto’s work, and this particular exercise is intriguing.
“Without bothering Jung and its “Puer aeternus” or Pascoli with its “Little Boy”, we can certainly agree that, somewhere inside each of us, there’s a young core, instinctive, creative but also innocent and naïve. What would happen if this intimate essence would be completely revealed?”
Have a look at the full exhibition and enjoy as much as I did.
Young children and babies are, with some unfortunate exceptions, almost universally cute and appealing. According to Jeffrey Kurland, associate professor of biological anthropology and human development, “we are inherently attracted to a specific set of characteristics, including large, symmetrical heads, large eyes, small mouths, and small noses.” But why do almost all humans find this particular set of features so appealing? Kurland’s answer: Evolution. Click through for the full article.
Whatever the case, those features have been admirably co-opted and sugar-coated by the ultimate wizards of cuteness, the Disney corporation; feast your eyes on this:
I was talking to the Goodwoman of the House the other day and mentioned that Rapunzel was probably the most archetypically attractive princess they’ve ever constructed; comparing her features to Girotto’s manipulation above, it’s easy to see why. Once again, “large, symmetrical head, perpetually large Bambi eyes, small mouth, and small nose,” combined with other unmistakable traits usually associated with youth and beauty. In essence, she has all the cuteness of a baby blended with the body of a youthful goddess… how could she not be universally lovable, unless you have an allergy to saccharine?
The Old Wolf has spoken.
