Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
Hellhound is one of those artists that I value because they force me to stretch the boundaries of my aesthetics. At first glance, Alias Amethyst is is not the sort of picture I “like.” But then what is liking? It’s such a tepid emotion. This artist wants to provoke, not to be liked. I’m guessing but I think this artist wants their pictures to be loved or hated, but nothing so passionless as liked. Is like even part of the Goth sensibility? Of course, they wrote “I hope you like it.” So what do I know?
Since this picture is demanding so much from me, asking me to think beyond the surface, one truly wild idea came to mind. The braces with their vulpine made me think of kintsugi, the art of repairing pottery with gold, making a pot that was broken and repaired more beautiful and valuable than a new pot. Ostensibly, braces are to remediate problems with the teeth, but these braces add those incisors, creating a kind of beauty in the repair. It’s a thought.
For more pics that challenge my aesthetic, click here:
I had to choose “Ugly Beauty” because not only is the picture striking and provocative with the skulls hung on the flowers like holiday ornaments, but the title is exactly what the first picture made me think of. That phrase came into my mind as I was writing about the first picture, but I censored myself thinking it might sound a bit harsh even though if you think about it, the entire aesthetic idea of wabi sabi is that imperfection can be more beautiful than perfection.
“I am who I am” is a bold declaration. This artist knows there is beauty beyond romantic, rolling green hills with grazing sheep and scudding clouds. This is no shepherd with a curved wooden crook but a reaper with a scythe, all hard edges and sharp points. There is nothing comfortable.
Alias Amethyst Hellhound challenges us with pictures that are not easy. But not everything is “ugly beauty.” There is sly and gentle humor, too, as in “Don’t Go” which could also be called The Goth at Ease, or “Lil Monster.” and in “Bang Bang” that has the best side eye ever. Then there are pictures of exquisite tenderness such as “My Happiness.” If at first glance you don’t like Alias Amethyst Hellhound, take a second look or even a third. There is so much to enjoy.
All images copyright Alias Amethyst Hellhound
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Suggest images and Flickr feeds to Cajsa: Cajsa’s Choices is devoted to unique, artistic, and innovative virtual world-based images and screenshots that showcase the medium as an art form and Second Life as a creative platform. (Generally not images that fit on this Bingo card.) To recommend the best in virtual world imagery, tag the picture with #CasjaNWN or tag Cajsa Lilliehook by adding her to the photo.
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