Ordinarily, people seek to avoid sadness, he says. "But in aesthetics and in art we actively seek it out." Artists have exploited this seemingly paradoxical behavior for centuries. In the 1800s ...

If you show a picture of Michelangelo’s statue of David, one of the most familiar works in art history, to a room full of schoolchildren they may smirk or giggle over the figure’s naked body.

The artwork is made from objects collected by Hymas, who then uses paint, markers and other mediums to complete the compositions. “It’s a sad and beautiful world,” Hymas said, describing the ...