cursed images: let's get together and pin down the aesthetic!

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed

https://twitter.com/cursedimages_2
https://www.instagram.com/cursed_images/

i: a lot of photo by flash (but not all)
ii: much reflective gleam of animalian cornea (but not all)
iii: it is often quite lynchian (but not always)
iv: it overlaps with creepypasta but is much broader (and imo more subtly imaginative)
v: double ditto "lurking clown" photos, which would obviously belong but actually don't often feature
vi: triple ditto blobismus!
vii: the shadowland liminality (liminalism?) of various psycho-affective border-territories: man-beast, "non-sentient" objects with vivid character, would you eat this, creepy visual puns via juxtaposition, sinister twee peril, suburban darkness, awareness/lack of awareness, daft rando performativity that scares the fkn bejesus out of you (cf coulrophobia and v)

this (and https://twitter.com/WorstBlobby) are the only things that comfort me any more: i am happy to accept this is a decadent pathology and an indication of despair

over to you

proposed name for the aesthetic:

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 10:03 (seven years ago) link

oh yes, the curator ask that images be sent him/her/them/whatever, and selects from that according to i guess "cursedness" -- one stipulation is NO SHOPS

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 10:07 (seven years ago) link

vii encompasses uncanny valley also obv

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 10:49 (seven years ago) link

vii is key. a lot of mundane scenes made jarring by having some sort of jarring animalistic/death-drive presence. there's a lot of meat

ogmor, Thursday, 9 March 2017 11:05 (seven years ago) link

jarring? jarring

ogmor, Thursday, 9 March 2017 11:05 (seven years ago) link

yes i'm not sure if jarring is quite the right word, seems to suggest too abrupt a realisation, too step-change: what's unsettling is that this realisation (that you stepped across a border into a world you really don't want to be in) is simultaneously gradual AND quick, beginning slight ending up intense -- this was ordinary and funny and NOW THERE'S NO WAY BACK

(and partly it''s unsettling partly bcz "gradual AND quick" isn't a real-world category?)

there *is* a lot of meat (shd dig out adorno's stuff on animals and meat, feel it's surprisingly pertinent, esp. as you wouldn't tag TWA as a connoisseur of this kind of stuff)

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 11:17 (seven years ago) link

also, bananas

attention vampire (MatthewK), Thursday, 9 March 2017 11:45 (seven years ago) link

the mapping of the immanent liminality of the banana is an epistemic breakthrough all on its own

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 12:12 (seven years ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2lryuOUsAAbiEp.jpg

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 23:03 (seven years ago) link

(not actually what i was looking for, but i can't resist the expressions)

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 23:04 (seven years ago) link

lmao

Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 9 March 2017 23:08 (seven years ago) link

it's a cursed image world we just etc

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsmxaFfVIAMExAO.jpg

this is closer to what i was after: people in a CI picture where you absolutely can't tell (bcz artful? bcz we are just intruders in their realm?) if this is a performance or verité

(the kid's performing but what about the woman pushing the trolley…)

mark s, Thursday, 9 March 2017 23:21 (seven years ago) link

I get Diane Arbus like vibes from some of them.

MaresNest, Friday, 10 March 2017 00:05 (seven years ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6XUu05UoAArI1B.jpg

^ Actually dreamed this in a nightmare about four years ago

Never changed username before (cardamon), Friday, 10 March 2017 00:32 (seven years ago) link

Loved the truck with the "flames" paint job, on fire.

Sanpaku, Friday, 10 March 2017 00:52 (seven years ago) link

feel this is outside the standard guidelines:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C69END7WYAA07ym.jpg

mark s, Wednesday, 15 March 2017 11:25 (seven years ago) link

four weeks pass...

a crucified easter bunny made of toast, outside tooting station (stolen from @andrewbloch)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9R4c7XXgAEmkkJ.jpg

not officially cursed: i can't decide if it fits the aesthetic (perhaps too well made)

mark s, Friday, 14 April 2017 20:21 (seven years ago) link

two months pass...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDXmc0dVwAA_WDg.jpg

mark s, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 22:08 (seven years ago) link

it plays "Let It Go" when you open the lid

more polls about food and reactionary art (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 22:09 (seven years ago) link

Mark, you need to follow the Facebook group called Theories of the deep understanding of things.

Jack-et potato? (jed_), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 22:13 (seven years ago) link

^is that it? that's it

Heavy Doors (jed_), Wednesday, 5 July 2017 22:35 (seven years ago) link

so not gonna happen

mark s, Wednesday, 5 July 2017 22:40 (seven years ago) link

omg

gin and chronic (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 6 July 2017 10:58 (seven years ago) link

one month passes...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGt74NfVoAADSRP.jpg

mark s, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 15:39 (seven years ago) link

i liked this one https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DGgSkxxVYAANrnj.jpg

ogmor, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 15:42 (seven years ago) link

Imagine: you've called round on some errand and the entire family is dressed like this. No explanation offered.

http://i.imgur.com/MuRaz.jpg

It's the perfect contrast of the mundane and the inexplicable, the ordinary suburban backdrop combined with whatever the hell it is these people are doing.

Another weird detail I've just noticed is "Lisa" isn't holding a saxophone but a large pipe(?)

Pheeel, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 16:06 (seven years ago) link

#nofilter

mark s, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 16:08 (seven years ago) link

man every single one of those "real life Simpsons" photos/mock-ups creeps the hell out of me

frogbs, Tuesday, 8 August 2017 16:11 (seven years ago) link

lol @ all the comments that just say "Russia"

brimstead, Wednesday, 9 August 2017 02:08 (seven years ago) link

two weeks pass...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBBv2keV0AAW2vN.jpg

mark s, Friday, 1 September 2017 22:23 (seven years ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJTZ2McUEAAgnc9.jpg

mark s, Saturday, 9 September 2017 18:47 (seven years ago) link

the gigeresque uh 'aperture' on the tree really adds to the effect

Wesley Shackleton explained "look at that beast." (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 9 September 2017 19:07 (seven years ago) link

feel like the twitter acct deviates from the aesthetic a lot now for just Funny Images though the ones reposted here are mostly on point

ciderpress, Saturday, 9 September 2017 19:09 (seven years ago) link

one month passes...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNexeoFU8AA8R8l.jpg

soref, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 17:37 (seven years ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNZxj0vV4AAlJHy.jpg

mark s, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 20:29 (seven years ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNffpu0WsAI8YCT.jpg

Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 21:04 (seven years ago) link

three weeks pass...
three weeks pass...

DAIRY CULTURE HAS GONE TOO FAR pic.twitter.com/ZI60j0pWoU

— rahel aima (@cnqmdi) December 15, 2017

or click through: http://batheinmymilk.com/

mark s, Friday, 15 December 2017 15:07 (seven years ago) link

I'm upset to find out at the bottom of that page that is not real ;_;

(well, the photos are real, but it's by some dude)

♫ very clever with maracas.jpg ♫ (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 15 December 2017 15:25 (seven years ago) link

idgi

Susan Stranglehands (jed_), Friday, 15 December 2017 16:43 (seven years ago) link

long fingers

frogbs, Friday, 15 December 2017 16:44 (seven years ago) link

Only just realised the teletubbies pic is in a hospital ward, not some kid's bedroom. I guess that kind-of explains it? Maybe?

Pheeel, Friday, 15 December 2017 21:18 (seven years ago) link

https://i.imgur.com/Kf58gr9.png

z_tbd, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 17:21 (one year ago) link

Santa has Odin eye(s)

Hans Holbein (Chinchilla Volapük), Thursday, 14 December 2023 05:52 (one year ago) link

how did they not paint a holster on his belt? missed opportunity IMO

impostor syndrome to the (expletive) max (stevie), Thursday, 14 December 2023 09:12 (one year ago) link

two weeks pass...

ai is kind of cheating.., but also kind of not

https://i.imgur.com/278rLhc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/278rLhc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/278rLhc.jpg

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 2 January 2024 15:56 (one year ago) link

uh not sure what happened there

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 2 January 2024 15:56 (one year ago) link

two months pass...
four weeks pass...

Went to (gatecrashed) Nigel Farage's 60th birthday party last night for @Londoners_Diary. His half melted ice sculpture will stay with me for many, many years. A lot happened: pic.twitter.com/DsoMRYMrhZ

— Claudia Cockerell (@claudcockerell) April 4, 2024

koogs, Thursday, 4 April 2024 17:10 (ten months ago) link

big improvement over usual farage and on an unrelated note it is well known among orchardists that the low-hanging fruits are the sweetest, mmmmmm

"enthusiast" (cat), Thursday, 4 April 2024 22:20 (ten months ago) link

1000% certain that Barron Trump ends up our boy emperor. pic.twitter.com/5BynXNaD9T

— David Roberts (@drvolts) April 6, 2024

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 6 April 2024 22:18 (ten months ago) link

L-R: WWE announced/hype man, bodice ripper cover model, antichrist, his familiar, bar mitzvah boy

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 6 April 2024 22:20 (ten months ago) link

The only regret I have in my life is not buying this painting from the Jerry Lewis estate auction in 2018. It was expensive but I could have put it on a credit card and paid it over time. Just thinking about it makes me sad and upset. pic.twitter.com/WRS6H9WA7v

— Will Sloan (@WillSloanEsq) November 19, 2022

soref, Thursday, 11 April 2024 12:30 (ten months ago) link

one month passes...
one month passes...

lab-grown tory voters

This fleshy, pink smiling face is made from living human skin cells, and was created as part of an experiment to let robots show emotion.
Read more 👉 https://t.co/JiV1VDEA45 pic.twitter.com/KlLtYPvwS7

— New Scientist (@newscientist) June 25, 2024

koogs, Wednesday, 26 June 2024 14:16 (seven months ago) link

Trying to find the source of the JFK / Jerry Lewis painting. I can find the two of them with the two children, but not any photos of them with those medium faces.

However, I did find this one:

https://i.imgur.com/4kUFA4m.jpeg

pplains, Wednesday, 26 June 2024 14:35 (seven months ago) link

scientists so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should create a horrific pink shiny goggle eyed grimacing face.

ledge, Wednesday, 26 June 2024 15:27 (seven months ago) link

Imagine that is the face of the first AI robot and that's why it wants to destroy humanity. I wouldn't blame them.

il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Wednesday, 26 June 2024 15:29 (seven months ago) link

I have no mouth and I must smile.

tbf, it may be a first step in creating "skin" that can be used on burn victims, etc.

nickn, Wednesday, 26 June 2024 23:35 (seven months ago) link

if you read the article it's very specifically about making faces for robots

koogs, Thursday, 27 June 2024 01:27 (seven months ago) link

one month passes...

https://i.imgur.com/iFInJo6.jpeg

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 8 August 2024 10:25 (six months ago) link

No.

Great-Tasting Burger Perceptions (Old Lunch), Thursday, 8 August 2024 14:11 (six months ago) link

one month passes...

good deal

karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Thursday, 12 September 2024 21:39 (five months ago) link

For the amount of labour involved, yes. So much pealing, boring, and... insertion

Hans Holbein (Chinchilla Volapük), Friday, 13 September 2024 07:01 (five months ago) link

ngl my 4-year-old would probably love those, 2 of her fav foods

Lavator Shemmelpennick, Friday, 13 September 2024 11:24 (five months ago) link

https://i.imgur.com/G7BM5pR.jpeg

Humanitarian Pause (Tracer Hand), Friday, 27 September 2024 10:06 (four months ago) link

im the helldude

mark s, Friday, 27 September 2024 10:59 (four months ago) link

i guess burt is feeling some top energy tonite

he/him hoo-hah (map), Friday, 27 September 2024 13:55 (four months ago) link

you've gurt male

My Large Grandpa Says This Plugin Is Gorgeous! (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 2 October 2024 14:28 (four months ago) link

two months pass...

what kind of putty were they made from?

Muad'Doob (Moodles), Wednesday, 11 December 2024 18:24 (two months ago) link

the cream and the clear

Lavator Shemmelpennick, Wednesday, 11 December 2024 18:51 (two months ago) link

software filters have a lot to answer for

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Wednesday, 11 December 2024 18:57 (two months ago) link

Tony Montana posts a hustle selfie from the office (ignore the snow)

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 11 December 2024 20:28 (two months ago) link

the grilled cheese looks fine tho...

Muad'Doob (Moodles), Wednesday, 11 December 2024 20:36 (two months ago) link

so does the foot

he/him hoo-hah (map), Wednesday, 11 December 2024 20:41 (two months ago) link

that really is a great example of a cursed image

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 11 December 2024 20:48 (two months ago) link

why is it snowing in their kitchen?

Judge Judy, executioner (stevie), Thursday, 12 December 2024 11:24 (two months ago) link

is my first but not my last question

Judge Judy, executioner (stevie), Thursday, 12 December 2024 11:24 (two months ago) link

two weeks pass...

we've all been there.

birming man (ledge), Thursday, 26 December 2024 21:02 (one month ago) link

So not gonna happen

Judge Judy, executioner (stevie), Friday, 27 December 2024 07:30 (one month ago) link

one month passes...

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.