All Creatures Are Beautiful

All Creatures Are Beautiful

At the center of the work is a stag beetle in soft, muted colors. Surrounded by a blue glow, it appears powerful, mysterious, and almost magical. Against the monochrome black background, it stands out strongly. Cockroaches with pink outlines surround the image, while the hand painted frame is covered in cow patterns with neon green ants crawling across it.
The different animals represent different ideas of beauty and value. The stag beetle, one of the largest insects in Europe, symbolizes strength and resilience through its impressive mandibles. At the same time, it does not necessarily fit conventional ideas of beauty. It is the way it is presented (especially through the blue glow), that makes it appear almost precious. Cockroaches and ants, by contrast, are often perceived as unpleasant or repulsive, even though they are also important parts of the natural ecosystem. The cow pattern adds another familiar animal to this idea, one that is part of everyday life, yet is also used and exploited by humans.
The unusual use of color deliberately changes our perception: the stag beetle is aestheticized and placed at the center, while the cockroaches and ants are also given a more striking and almost playful appearance through their bright colors. The work therefore questions why we consider some animals beautiful and others ugly, and how much our perception depends on the way something is presented.

Beauty is subjective and shaped not only by the creature itself, but also by the way we look at it. “All Creatures Are Beautiful” invites us to question our ideas of beauty and to recognize the beauty and value in animals we might normally reject or overlook.

Details 

• Artist: Milena Sündermann
  
• Title: All Creatures Are Beauiful
  
• Year: 2025
  
• Medium: Mixed media on paper, framed
  
• Dimensions: 46 × 36 cm
  
• Original artwork
• Signed on backside