Item #: SCP-8953
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8953 is to remain on display in wing A8 of Site-357's Anomalous Artifacts Appreciation sector.
Though personnel may feel inclined to look upon the object with contempt, they are asked not to if PoI-8953 is present.
Description: SCP-8953 is the oil on panel painting Opulent flower still life (sic) by Pieter Faes. Despite its creation in the early 1800s, the piece remains in perfect condition, having resisted degradation due to age and lacking physical blemishes of any kind. Preservation deemed non-anomalous.
The anomalous effects of the painting are found to manifest when it is viewed. Immediately a viewing subject will observe the objective level of quality the work possesses, as the piece depicts its subject matter impeccably and embodies a level of beauty that is both striking and awe-inspiring. As this impression settles, the viewing subject will become aware that the piece is one of many similar still life works made by the artist, and was created in a culture of yet more similar still life works made by the artist's peers. The viewing subject will then weigh the objective beauty of the work with its utter mundanity, and given enough time, will always reach the following conclusion: SCP-8953 has no artistic merit, its creation was flawed at a base level, and would better not exist at all. This interpretation has been reached by all but one subject, hereafter designated PoI-8953.
PoI-8953 is an elderly man. Though he has asked to remain unnamed in documentation, it is to be known that he has worked for the Foundation for many years, is respected by his colleagues, and as such, has a degree of authority he is allowed to exert. While he likes to think himself intelligent, he often feels dull compared to those he works with, seeing all they accomplish and their drive to create something better. Bearing witness to their work, he feels they deserve their stature much more than him. Knowing his father once held his current position does little to lighten the disgust he feels for himself each day.
In his early life, PoI-8953 did everything exactly how you should. He was born to affluent and well-connected parents, and they sent him to the best schools while passing down all the knowledge he would need to succeed. He followed their guidance to a tee, placing just well enough in every class, competition, and evaluation to meet their every hope for him. When the time came to gently pressure him into marriage, he found the perfect wife. When the time came for grandkids, he provided them. Two. One boy and one girl. They are both well accomplished now. They get it from their father, friends joke, and he likes to give a polite chuckle in reply.
In the intervening years, PoI-8953 would gain employ at a college in high standing with the Foundation and over the course of 30 years climbed through the ranks within. Though the exact mechanisms to which his transition from deanship to director of Site-357 cannot be revealed in this document, the reader is assumed smart enough to assume how it transpired. Nonetheless, from there, there was nothing left to achieve that his father hadn't, and so, he remains there stagnant. But that isn't an issue. He isn't the type to rock the boat.
Now, PoI-8953 lives life as the senior curator of the most eclectic collection of anomalous art in the world. Consigned to days of rearranging and adjusting, imagining countless patterns, maps, and displays —An endlessly important pursuit for prime containment. Mindless busywork. When he isn't working, his every need is perfectly tended to, and so he is left with ample time to pursue personal enrichment, often which includes perusing the museum he himself curates.
Consequently, PoI-8953 visits SCP-8953 often, but does not wish to share his interpretation of the work. He insists that it differs from all other subjects. Due to his seniority, this has been deemed sufficient as evidence.
