THE UGLY HISTORY OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Ruminations on beautiful things with dark origins.

A love of beauty is an essential part of being human, writes Kelleher, a freelance journalist who specializes in design and visual culture. She admits that for her, the study of beauty is more than a profession, and she notes that her desire for lovely things rescued her from the depths of depression at several points in her life. However, she also realized that many of the things she loved had problematic stories behind them, which she explores while trying to find the roots of her own desires. The mining of gemstones often involves environmental degradation, and most diamonds are unearthed by workers who endure slavelike conditions. The author also loves perfume, but it has a troubling history. Whales were slaughtered for their ambergris, which was the basis of expensive scents for a long time, and other animals were likewise exploited. Many cosmetics have equally unsavory origins. The red coloring of lipstick, for example, comes from the shells of crushed bugs. Kelleher saves some of her sharpest barbs for silk, a fabric she has desired since she was young. The production of silk involves the careful unwrapping of silkworm cocoons, usually done by children. Even marble, whether in sculptures or tabletops, is dangerous to miners and masons, leading to numerous health problems. For Kelleher, all this creates terrible moral dilemmas, but she eventually came to terms with the duality. “I came to accept that desire and repulsion exist in tandem and that the most poignant beauties are interthread with ugliness,” she writes. “There is no way to live without causing harm. Despite all that, we keep trying. At least, I do.” Though occasionally pretentious and self-indulgent, the author has plenty of interesting things to say.

Kelleher has always been obsessed with beauty, and this poetic book is a careful study of its ambiguity and meaning.