Is "Liminal Space" considered aesthetic?

IlluminatiPirate

The Dreaded Pirate of Agora Road
Joined
May 29, 2018
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
5,056
Awards
275
I can see that liminal space can be a cousin to mallsoft aesthetics and abandoned malls, but I feel like its more paranormal rather than aesthetic. I notice that it has been added to the aesthetic wiki.

What Liminal Space is "The aesthetic known as a Liminal Space is a location which is a transition between two other locations, or states of being. Typically these are abandoned, and oftentimes empty - a mall at 4am or a school hallway during summer, for example. This makes it feel frozen and slightly unsettling, but also familiar to our brains."

https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Liminal_Space

Here are some examples
1622078235408.jpeg
1622072346112.png
1622078086531.jpeg
1622089966115.jpeg
 
Virtual Cafe Awards
Joined
May 12, 2021
Messages
32
Reaction score
48
Awards
9
I think it can be considered aesthetic but like you said in a paranormal or creepy way. Reminds me strongly of the Backrooms. Empty spaces that feel completely deserted and cold but in a weirdly nostalgic/nightmarish way. It's hard to describe. These pictures feel like you were there ages ago but they were filled with life and now they are empty husks of once busy and comforting places. It feels like these cold neon tube lighted rooms draw you in like a moth is drawn to light but at the same time they activate a sense of dread and pure crystal clear lonliness. You are the only living being trapped in memories of the past.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

IlluminatiPirate

The Dreaded Pirate of Agora Road
Joined
May 29, 2018
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
5,056
Awards
275
I think it can be considered aesthetic but like you said in a paranormal or creepy way. Reminds me strongly of the Backrooms. Empty spaces that feel completely deserted and cold but in a weirdly nostalgic/nightmarish way. It's hard to describe. These pictures feel like you were there ages ago but they were filled with life and now they are empty husks of once busy and comforting places. It feels like these cold neon tube lighted rooms draw you in like a moth is drawn to light but at the same time they activate a sense of dread and pure crystal clear lonliness. You are the only living being trapped in memories of the past.
That's just so scary though I can see it as a paranormal aesthetic sense. Ive been seeing it pop up alot on Vaporwave twitter
 
Virtual Cafe Awards
Joined
May 12, 2021
Messages
32
Reaction score
48
Awards
9
That's just so scary though I can see it as a paranormal aesthetic sense. Ive been seeing it pop up alot on Vaporwave twitter
I think paranormal aesthetic is a fitting term for that feeling because it's hard to describe :D
There is actually a free little game on steam wich delivers the feeling quite well. It's really creepy. Best played with headphones and lights of xD

here is the link:


View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1111210/The_Backrooms_Game_FREE_Edition/
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

IlluminatiPirate

The Dreaded Pirate of Agora Road
Joined
May 29, 2018
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
5,056
Awards
275
I think paranormal aesthetic is a fitting term for that feeling because it's hard to describe :D
There is actually a free little game on steam wich delivers the feeling quite well. It's really creepy. Best played with headphones and lights of xD

here is the link:


View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1111210/The_Backrooms_Game_FREE_Edition/

Wow I would be afraid of pop ups, they scare the crap outta me. I wonder if you would get the same feeling like in the old open world games like Second Life? Do people even play that game IDK. Im just thinking if I played Playstation Home again with nobody around and how empty it would be.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards
Joined
May 12, 2021
Messages
32
Reaction score
48
Awards
9
Wow I would be afraid of pop ups, they scare the crap outta me. I wonder if you would get the same feeling like in the old open world games like Second Life? Do people even play that game IDK. Im just thinking if I played Playstation Home again with nobody around and how empty it would be.
There are definetely pop ups that scared the shit outta me xD But I think you can also change the mode into exploring. That means you endlessly wander through these empty office spaces wich is creepy enough:eek:
Never heard of second life but I'll check it out! Your quote ,, Im just thinking if I played Playstation Home again with nobody around and how empty it would be.'' gave me chills. I think this scenario describes the lonely empty feeling exactly:eek:
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

naa

I think part of why liminal spaces are considered aesthetic might be because they can be such a hallmark of really run down American towns? Houses that are damaged but have been walled off because it's too difficult to remove them, sprawling empty homes no one can afford to move into anymore, malls that shut down because they got no traffic outside the locals that were too broke or busy to really use them, schools that are otherwise perfectly functioning but were shut down for black mold that no one could pay to get rid of, childhood homes still technically owned but allowed to rot because no one wants to live here. I think all of this is inherently spooky, especially considering some of these are locations that older people lived their lives in, then likely died in, and there's also always a risk of contracting something like pneumonia if you enter these places.
 

spaceghost

foreign ramen exchange student
Joined
May 10, 2021
Messages
162
Reaction score
318
Awards
84
i feel as though you could construct a venn diagram with liminal space and vaporwave aesthetic and they would overlap at least somewhat. the hollow emptiness that ensues within a liminal space could also ensue when listening to some vaporwave. emphasis on some because not all vaporwave activates those feelings but at the same time feelings and experiences are subjective so, to each their own. i do feel however that these 2 topics are not really related as much as they go hand in hand when it comes to chasing those void feelings or experiences of virtual space loneliness, but this does not apply to all vaporwave, and like stated by others on this thread the key difference of liminal space is the paranormal or psycological horror that the entire subject radiates, while a key similarity would be nostalgia and feelings of being alone, or not so alone as you might have thought..
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

IlluminatiPirate

The Dreaded Pirate of Agora Road
Joined
May 29, 2018
Messages
1,562
Reaction score
5,056
Awards
275
i feel as though you could construct a venn diagram with liminal space and vaporwave aesthetic and they would overlap at least somewhat. the hollow emptiness that ensues within a liminal space could also ensue when listening to some vaporwave. emphasis on some because not all vaporwave activates those feelings but at the same time feelings and experiences are subjective so, to each their own. i do feel however that these 2 topics are not really related as much as they go hand in hand when it comes to chasing those void feelings or experiences of virtual space loneliness, but this does not apply to all vaporwave, and like stated by others on this thread the key difference of liminal space is the paranormal or psycological horror that the entire subject radiates, while a key similarity would be nostalgia and feelings of being alone, or not so alone as you might have thought..
It would closely relate to ambient and mallsoft genres, and maybe signalwave.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

eco

I think with every liminal space comes it's own aesthetic

I think 'liminal space' as a term is pretty watered-down so it's really versatile, but incredibly vague. I can take a picture of any scene without people in it, and that's a liminal space. And maybe it does or doesn't fit into like, a vaporwave aesthetic, but it may fit into another. Places that post liminal space pics are a good source of aesthetic inspiration I think
 
  • Coffee (Like)
Reactions: naa

vaporwavemaster1

Eccojamming Emperor
Joined
Oct 22, 2020
Messages
721
Reaction score
809
Awards
130
リミナリティスペースについては、本質的に超常現象や怖いものは何もありません。リミナリティ空間の写真を見たときに感じる感覚は、恐怖と深い個人的なつながりへの期待から来ています。リミナリティスペースは既視感を引き起こすように設計されています。私はそれらを美的だと思います
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Darohan

Live the Hiraeth Dream
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
24
Reaction score
42
Awards
20
Definitely feel like liminal spaces are vaporwave-adjacent. Maybe just because they so often contain the *remenants* of the same era that vaporwave is inspired by.....
 
Virtual Cafe Awards
Yeah, well... There's a lot of abandoned places popping up in #aesthetic but most of them are not as creepy simply because the lighting and everything is correct except the absence of people. They're either very pretty or pretty and uncanny at the same time, it can't just be abandoned without care.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards
  • Pepsi (Enjoyment)
Reactions: naa
I've seen a lot of things being considered "aesthetic", even things that have little to no ties to vaporwave. that being said, liminal spaces, while not conspicuously tied to traditional vaporwave aesthetics, it does deal with similar topic like abandoned commercial buildings and nostalgia found in unassuming places. though it is a different concept, it could totally fit in with vaporwave aesthetics due to the loose and unsure definition of what could be "aesthetic"
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

vaporwavemaster1

Eccojamming Emperor
Joined
Oct 22, 2020
Messages
721
Reaction score
809
Awards
130
I've seen a lot of things being considered "aesthetic", even things that have little to no ties to vaporwave. that being said, liminal spaces, while not conspicuously tied to traditional vaporwave aesthetics, it does deal with similar topic like abandoned commercial buildings and nostalgia found in unassuming places. though it is a different concept, it could totally fit in with vaporwave aesthetics due to the loose and unsure definition of what could be "aesthetic"
美学の定義はそれほど緩いとは思いません。蒸気波以外にも何千もの美学があります。それらの多くは、初期の表現主義やダダイスムにルーツを持っています。
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

SimplyJojo

Internet Refugee
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
5
Reaction score
28
Awards
5
I think it can be considered aesthetic but like you said in a paranormal or creepy way. Reminds me strongly of the Backrooms. Empty spaces that feel completely deserted and cold but in a weirdly nostalgic/nightmarish way. It's hard to describe. These pictures feel like you were there ages ago but they were filled with life and now they are empty husks of once busy and comforting places. It feels like these cold neon tube lighted rooms draw you in like a moth is drawn to light but at the same time they activate a sense of dread and pure crystal clear lonliness. You are the only living being trapped in memories of the past.
I love how you worded this, the poetry is moving
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

That1Producer

universal truth seeker, also part time producer
Joined
May 21, 2021
Messages
92
Reaction score
177
Awards
41
This is actually an ongoing mystery, as far as we know, nobody knows the source of the backrooms image.
Some of the more nerdy foos I know tell me it's actually a Sears back room. Take what I'm saying as a grain of salt though cause they could obviously be wrong.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Similar threads