Choire Sicha, co-founder of The Awl (anointed by internet-famous Rex Sorgatz as one of the year's best blogs yesterday), and VIP-of-20x200 selected six editions sharing the theme of "not pretty."

Dinner. Village of Zorin, Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl by Donald Weber

He writes of his selection:

I picked six great things that are considered "not pretty," on those merits, which means that they are not plagued by cuteness. Cuteness is the hyper-kitsch of our time. It is kitsch without irony.

...here are six great things by artists that look at the opposite of cuteness, which is consumption and waste and the unpleasant. There's nothing cute about our trash, or our purchasing, or our engagement with environmental disaster, or you know, our impending deaths--or our overwhelming forced involvement with capitalist superstructures and brands. The cute things? They are what beg us not to think about these things.

Other than looking towards balloons or birds or rainbows of color, Choire takes a truly fresh look at our not-cute editions. Included amongst his picks are Dinner. Village of Zorin, Exclusion Zone, Chernobyl by Donald Weber and Bar Tender | San Antonio, TX | 1-Person Household | Goes to sleep at 8AM and wakes up at 4PM daily by Mark Menjivar. Click here to see the rest of his choices and our other VIP and staff picks.