AN AESTHETIC OF CUTE HARMLESSNESS

[droqen]

I showed The End of Gameplay to Eric & Milong and while Eric and I spoke in depth especially about the emotional resonance of the work, Milong (who had only played an earlier version) noted that the art style made her feel as though the negative emotions were not as accessible to her as the positive ones. This was more of a hypothesis than something she had tested, but I have been thinking about it.

[droqen]

I am not too interested in "retro" or nostalgia but when I consider my art style, why this limited art style, there is a kind of foundational cuteness, inoffensiveness, ineffectuality that appeals to me about it.

Terry proposed that the aesthetic function was one of setting low expectations, being surprised. I thought about this, too, and I think it is also a component or facet of this whole idea of allowing me to let my guard down.

In a sense, believing that my art style is simple and has no capacity for depth allows me to better face those frightening depths. It's a deeply scary act and choosing to limit myself from fully expressing them has the effect of unburdening me somewhat from the fear that if I get too good at this then someone will really see and understand what is going on...

I can throw myself completely at the attempt to convey an idea and fail not due to cowardice or a lack of introspection but because the beauty of the form itself has gotten in my way.

[droqen]

I like the innocent aesthetic quality in things I consume, too. consume me was effective that way, and i liked the innocent-childhood-memory vibe of The Earliest Dreams