Google "Helios 44-2 bokeh" and look for portraits with a blurry background. The "swirly" effect is the artsy element. Add the fact that these lenses were mass-manufactured back in the day and it means that you can get them pretty cheap.

Interesting. Those images make me a little disoriented. I am prone to visual-based motion sickness, so it's probably just me. But I do not really like the swirly effect one bit.

Ahh. Now I see. That's a pretty cool lens effect.