An artist might consciously choose to incorporate stylistic elements that reflect a lack of ability, such as uninformed and poor rendering of form with haphazard distortions, hesitant outlines, perhaps with uncontrolled painting/drawing “outside the lines.”

An artist might also manifest a crude/clumsy aesthetic in a piece due to his or her own personality or lack of ability. Conscious adoption of a crude/clumsy aesthetic by an otherwise skilled artist might be done in order to reflect the characters/objects/moment in history being portrayed. A crude/clumsy aesthetic might also be consciously adopted to make a piece suitable for a setting or purpose that demands something shoddy.

Featured: The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh.