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description

first of all, my name is frank krupp and i am not the creator of the wallpapers above. vuni.net was created 2005 as a mirror of some vanished websites.

images and music

misanthropia.net by Joakim Back

i received a public letter from Joakim Back:
28 April 2007

I've had the intention of writing to you all for a long time, but I wasn't sure what to write. It is very humbling for me to have people who I have never met still sharing Misanthropia so long after I quit keeping the site up.

I quit because my interest were lacking, I've always had plenty of ideas and things to work with. I figured Misanthropia had reached its end and it deserved closure instead of life support. You might disagree, but I needed to move on, otherwise I'd just feel guilty for not updating it.

I've always liked the separation of me and the gallery, for a number of reasons. The primary one is letting the imagery speak for itself, and allow personal interpretation. Secondary, I did not want to be too closely tied to it, since like all people, I have many facets depending on my mood and current interest.

However, it's been a very long time and I figure you deserve to know more about it. Besides, it makes a good story!

About five or six years ago, I was admitted to a masters degree program in electronics engineering. My grades weren't sufficient that year to take computer science, and since I had enjoyed the classes I've had in electronics before, I thought it could work out.

It didn't, I failed miserably due to lack of interest and motivation, and suddenly found myself lost without a plan. Also, I was not eligible to apply for any further funding to study something else until I had passed enough courses. By the end of the year, I had still passed close to none, - The second semester I had barely bothered to attend at all!

There was little left to give in me, so I took a year off living of my savings.. spending oceans of time with three great interests throughout my life; visuals, audio and programming. Parts of these two years are the period in which Misanthropia was made.

I would count these as a embarrassing, dark and wasted years of my life if it weren't a couple of things, - I learned a lot that I incidentally can put to use in my daily work and there's people like you who still enjoy what I created.

I still get asked for permission to put the images to use, for CD's, book covers, etc. It brightens my day, and I like the idea that I have somehow brighten yours as well.

I've spent on average 3-4 hours per image, which amounts to a great deal of time. I'm not patient enough to make a good photographer, instead the vast majority of time has been spent manipulating and enhancing them. I would work as an optician, "better or worse"? Layers stacked on layers.

The photos were all taken close to where I used to live, in the south of Sweden. I've grown up spoiled with beautiful scenery.

I'm sure people have created their own interpretation of the gallery and perhaps individual images, and that's how it's supposed to be. It's difficult to put emotions into words without sounding lame but I will go ahead and share my own: The closest thing I have come to sum up the entire gallery is "Darkness with beauty and sources of light". Things may be bleak, disturbed or tiring.. but depending on how you deal with it, it can fuel humility, a social conscience, appreciation for things you've taken for granted and force you to deal with issues you've needed to solve. There might be people not giving up on your tired self, even though you argue you'd like to be alone. Things you like to do and things that you appreciate.

After these years, I chose to pursue a bachelors degree in computer science, and programming in particular. My tendency to think too much becomes an asset in problem-solving, and my creativity helps figuring out solutions. Ironically, since thinking too much often create problems elsewhere. I did consider dedicating more of my time and energy on art of some kind, but I don't think I could endure being dependent on it.

I wish I had something cool to show you, things I have been working on since, but I'm still learning new exciting things which leaves most projects unfinished and abandoned before completion. I will never quit working with art and music, but periodically I put some areas to rest while focusing on other things.

Although I find the old music can be a real strain on my ears, I sometimes daydream of some day releasing an album with new music. If that happens, I'll be sure to tag the site with misanthropia, so that google will index it. (So no, that album at last.fm is not mine, and hellcrown is not a band!)

If you'd like to reply, or just throw random thoughts at me you can reach me at that.misanthropia.guy@gmail.com

I'll turn it into an msn as well, I find it's a more relaxed method of communication.

Well, I hope you found at least parts of this letter interesting.

Best regards and best wishes,

Joakim Back

PS.
I'm sorry I have been rather lousy at replying to mail, during the Misanthropia years in particular. I have read all and taken them to heart though. I'm only human, after all.

terms of use

feel free to continue sharing this gallery, however do not use it for any commercial purposes. this work is licensed under a creative commons license.