31/100 - Treasured friend
There is something I still find very intriguing about "ugly" art. Why make it? Why do we like it? How come there are people that dedicate big chunks of their lives to it. It's as if some of us find a little ugly creature at the bottom of a swamp and decide that is beautiful in some obscure way and decide to treasure it despite what anyone else thinks.
The experience that comes to mind for me is the first time I listened to the band Carcass when I was a teenager. I chucked that CD of Necroticism my friend had lent me into my treasured Sony Discman and reclined back on my bed looking at the booklet and following the lyrics. It was disgusting. I hated the lyrics, the ragged vocals, the manic pace, the gory medical feel to the whole thing.
That moment is seared into my memory. What I don't remember so well is how did I come around. It was probably a slow process because memory has no patience for those. The reality is that it's one of my favorite albums ever, I must have listened to it thousands of times by now. But there is no question here, it's a work of art that remains ugly, dissonant, and intentionally repulsive. And I still wonder, what were those four guys thinking? How could they put all their musical skill into that dark and slimy idea?
Somehow they did and I love it. This was the album that taught me to pay attention to the things I didn't like, the lesson I learned was: if I react strongly to something I must dig deeper. Though I still think it's fine to not like it at the end.
I don't have answers to all these questions, I mostly have admiration for those who cultivate their ugly findings. Maybe they don't see them as ugly but often the rest of the world does. It may be insanity or deep conviction but I have benefited from it and I'm grateful for their work.
This treasured friend from the bottom of the swamp is 4.75" by 4.25". Available here(sold).