On Tradition
It seems the modern world consistently creates ugliness and weirdness. Just as beauty is objective, ugliness is too. And these follow clear patterns.
The Sacred
Tradition is taking the wisdom of the past. Most of what we know in fact is knowledge given by us in a long chain and is not invented. It is impossible to reinvent the wheel for everything. Learning mathematics by yourself from the ground up would take a lifetime (or being extremely gifted). This is why teaching is essential. See it as being part of the great tree of being.
You can have the tradition of the Church, which results for example in certain defined rites and how to participate in the yearly cycle. In the church, there exists the catechumenate. In this way, tradition is transferred to those not yet in the know. Liturgy is divided into two parts, at some point catechumens were asked to leave.
The Profane
In the more profane world (but nothing is truly profane), there were the guilds. Through a long process, artists and artisans were educated by a mentor. Through this, a painter could learn the practice of consistently creating beauty or other artifacts according to well established principles. Of course, personal freedom should be allowed. Else, one creates a certain kind of sterility, if all becomes the same. This is why there exist no two exact copies of churches in Europe.
Now, modern art goes a step further. It not only ignores traditional knowledge, it purposely tries to not use traditional principles. Postmodernism especially, claims to “always challenge the established worldviews”. It is an eternal rejection of established knowledge. It is easy to become disheartened to see all public spaces being taken.
The return to the origin
But the great irony of this eternal revolt, is that by adding ugliness, the beauty shines more brightly. It is by seeing what we have lost that we once return to the origin.