Depraved

A work of art is a strange thing. It can carry us to the soaring peaks of beauty or drag us all the way down to the burning depths of depravity. We often treat artworks as sacred, almost ethereal. But they are an intimate piece of this world - born from the hands of geniuses, and from the hands of monsters.

What makes an artwork immoral? Why do these troubling creations have such a hold on us? And how should we deal with them?

For 73,000 years, humans have made art. From cave paintings made with blood to animals suspended in formaldehyde, art is created to interpret ourselves and the world around us; to make sense of what frightens us, and to express our emotions. Art helps us communicate with others, build communities and explore love and beauty.

But art has its dark side. Many creations - from the Marquis de Sade's writings, to erotic Japanese shunga art, to contemporary performance art - have explored human iniquity and challenged our deepest moral convictions. While some art has taught us about virtue and how to be a good person, just as many works have been considered dangerous, corrupt, or just downright evil.

As we live in a moment when the dangers of art seem more prevalent than ever: artists are 'cancelled' for their misdeeds, public statues are toppled, images of violence and obscenity await us at the touch of a button. But as this provocative new history demonstrates, we humans have always used art to make sense of the less innocent aspects of ourselves and the world around us.

In Depraved, philosopher of art Daisy Dixon takes the reader on a journey through some of the most volatile and contentious works ever produced - from prehistoric sculpture to extreme metal music, Renaissance paintings to videogames. She reveals how beautiful art can sometimes be the most insidious, and why the greatest threat might lie in our own judgements about the art we censor or condemn.

Above all, Dixon builds a powerful case for returning the terrible gaze of our disturbing creations, showing how we can confront them head-on and tame their toxic effects.