Why do we love beautiful things so much?

Cult of beautiful puppies. It’s a Web user craze that its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, didn’t think about when he created the great interconnected web in 1989. Since then, photos and videos of kittens have created a record audience worldwide on the Internet and social media. No fewer than 294 million hashtags are created for the simple mention of “chat” on Instagram.

“The cat, the totem, the emblem, the symbol is one of the main themes of our exhibition,” explains exhibition curator Claire Catterall. Cute, dedicated to the movement of the same name, which ended a while ago at Somerset House in London. Scanning several subcultures and epiphenomena, from the birth of kawaii in Japan to the character Hello Kitty celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, including: My little ponyPikachu and the works of contemporary artists, this British exhibition recalled how the history of this movement cute it’s not news.

The kitten, the star of the Internet

Sharing cat memes may predate the internet. Indeed, the relationship between cats and cuteness dates back to ancient Japan. For example, the first one mannequin-neko, these small statues of lucky cats raising their paws (now found in all souvenir shops) would have appeared at the end of the Edo period (1603-1867). British photographer Harry Poynter’s work is closer to us. “In the 1870s, he photographed his cats in humorous poses that could be compared to the first memes,” says Claire Catterall. This long story goes a long way toward explaining why cats have quickly become Internet stars.

But beyond the single case of the cat, how can we explain its growth? cuteness In our life? With its 675 million dedicated hashtags on Instagram and pop culture celebrating it in all its forms, the phenomenon is everywhere. He even invites himself to the half-breed when Prime Minister Gabriel Atal shares photos of his puppy with his colleagues. To understand the phenomenon, let’s first remember that cute was theorized in 1949 by ethnographer Konrad Lorenz.

Another connection to childhood

According to him, the cute creature is definitely a juvenile, with a pronounced forehead, a head larger than its body, large eyes, short limbs, elastic skin and clumsy movements. “These traits make us empathetic and nurturing,” says Vincent Lavoie, author of So cute! Beautiful myths (PUF ed.). Therefore, we will be programmed to take care of everything that is cute. But this emotional response, the famous “awww,” represents much more than a simple biological phenomenon. “We can connect cute for the evolution of social conventions throughout history,” argues Dr. Joshua Paul Dale, a specialist nice studies, a new subject being taught at Chuo University in Tokyo. The transformation of the relationship with childhood in our postmodern societies, which we now regard as an important stage of life, rather than as a moment to escape from as quickly as possible, has enabled an aesthetic; cute assume its full meaning. And its power.

Thus, collecting figurines of sylvan animals or sharing animal videos on social networks has become a kind of bulwark against the horrors of the modern world. “Yes cute childish but not childish. By allowing us to rediscover a little of this youthful spirit, this movement offers us respite from the anxiety and pressure of modern life. It creates a space where we can find kindness, comfort and a sense of belonging,” explains Claire Catterall. For his part, Vincent Lavoie believes that behind the apparent naivety of the big-eyed stuffed animal lies a form of resistance to productivity. politics, cute ? The power of tenderness.