There are artists who are one-trick ponies like me that create works in one artistic medium or genre. On the rare occasion, I get to enjoy the works of an artist who creates amazing pieces in multiple areas. M Sarki is one of those rare creative talents with strong branches into multiple artistic outlets.
Sarki is a photographer, poet, screenwriter, and a painter (I am probably missing a few others). The thing I appreciate most about his works is the complexity wrapped up in each one. Whether it is a photo or piece of writing, you can't just stop at the surface interpretation. Each one sucks you in as you try to figure out how each element connects to the next. It took me three weeks to properly read and digest his book, Diary of the Modern Godwhich is filled with his photos and poetry. Do not take Sarki's work at face-value, you will be missing his genius.
One of the first pieces of Sarki's that I learned about was the movie he wrote,Alphonso Bow. I've watched a few trailers for this movie and am anxious for its West Coast premier. Below is the trailer.
What turns you on? well, for one, an extremely good book
What turns you off? anything mediocre
What sound or noise do you love? the soft, warm wind through the trees
What sound or noise do you hate? high shrill sounds
What is your favorite curse word? probably fuck, although if I am mad and want to fight I love to use the word cocksucker.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? short order cook
What profession would you not like to do? anything that demands the wearing of a uniform.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? You're in the wrong place, son.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? being blissfully lost in play.
What is your greatest fear? not being able to breathe.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? daniel boone.
Which living person do you most admire? barack obama
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? my resistance to change
What is the trait you most deplore in others? self-righteous intolerance of others
What is your greatest extravagance? fine hardcover collectible books
On what occasion do you lie? the most frequent lie would occur in order to protect ones feelings. but i am not above lying to protect my person either.
What do you dislike most about your appearance? the extra pounds I gained since I stopped swinging a hammer.
When and where were you happiest? at the great Lake Huron on vacation with my true love.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? to rid myself of fear; become totally fearless
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? their unwillingness to communicate honestly with each other.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? my assembling of things, most particularly my words.
If you died and came back as a person or thing what do you think it would be? a riverboat captain.
What is your most treasured possession? a Gordon Lish lavishly inscribed one-of-a kind handmade boxed hardcover edition of his novel Dear Mr. Capote.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? the loss of ones child.
Who are your heroes in real life? still living? Jack Gilbert, Cormac McCarthy, and Gordon Lish
What is it that you most dislike? murderous child molesters.
How would you like to die? in my sleep peacefully.
Very interesting conversation between Craig Ferguson and Stephen Fry. I wish I could see the whole episode. It is great to see a late night talk show that had substance, even if only for a night. Craig Ferguson
I was watching an episode of the TNT show, Men of a Certain Age. It is a pretty good drama about three middle-aged guys. Two characters were discussing fate and an interesting line came up, "For what its worth, in 100 years, there will be all new people."
I hadn't thought of that. In one hundred years, everybody alive now will probably be gone. I know I will be gone too. In 100 years, I don't think people will discuss me, pontificate on me, or even remember me. I am not being sad or mid-life crisis depressed. I actually find this kind of liberating.
I can do what I want. It will not change the world. If I can make myself satisfied with who I am and what I do, then that is enough. Everything else is frosting.
Joe is a top-level photographer. He's spent many years living as a photojournalist, art photographer, musician, sailor and sailing boat captain, father, and recent addition to the life of New Orleans. Every time Joe posts photos from his life in New Orleans, I intentionally put on some good music and take the time to see his photos and read his accounts. Both are very important to the complete post. Joe inspires me through his fine art, his openness to following his dreams, but mostly from his kind spirit he shares with all he comes in contact with. I highly recommend you got to WWST and read of his life and the photos he shares.
Here are Joe's answers:
What is your favorite word? I don't have a favorite word.
What is your least favorite word? See above.
What turns you on? intelligence, beauty
What turns you off? ignorance, narrow mindedness
What sound or noise do you love? Canadian Geese in the morning
What sound or noise do you hate? a loud car stereo playing hip hop
What is your favorite curse word? I don't have a favorite.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Grand Prix race car driver
What profession would you not like to do? Accountant
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Welcome home.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Doing the things that I love with the people I love
What is your greatest fear? senility
Which historical figure do you most identify with? I can't think of just one that I identify with. I'm fascinated by Vincent Van Gogh, but I also have a great interest in the American revolutionaries, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin, in particular
Which living person do you most admire? Can't think of one off the top of my head.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Being disorganized
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Manipulative behavior
What is your greatest extravagance? Spending 500.00 for dinner on New Year's Eve in Paris
On what occasion do you lie? I try not to do that, but I will withhold speaking the truth to avoid hurting someone.
What do you dislike most about your appearance? I'm not sure. I don't look at myself very often.
When and where were you happiest? Right now. Right here.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I wish I were a better sax player.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? I don't know. I love my family.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? I've survived this long and I'm not in jail.
If you died and came back as a person or thing what do you think it would be? I have no idea.
What is your most treasured possession? My mental and physical health
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being in a state of hopelessness
Who are your heroes in real life? My grandparents (They're all deceased now.)
What is it that you most dislike? See number 4
How would you like to die? at the ripe old age of one hundred, in my sleep
What is your motto? If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space.
PHOTO NOTE FROM JOE - This picture was taken last week at Uncle Lionel Batiste's seventy-ninth birthday party. He is a New Orleans Icon and co-founder of the Treme´ Brass Band. I had the distinct honor of being invited to sit in with the band at the party. Lionel is the guy in the right. On the left is Roger Lewis, one of the best sax players I've ever heard, and without question the best I have ever played with.
Bodily- kinesthetic - learning better by involving muscular movement (e.g. getting up and moving around into the learning experience), and are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance.
Interpersonal - people who have a high interpersonal intelligence tend to be extroverts, characterized by their sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and their ability to cooperate in order to work as part of a group.
Verbal - linguistic - People with high verbal-linguistic intelligence display a facility with words and languages. They are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words along with dates. They tend to learn best by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and discussion and debate. They are also frequently skilled at explaining, teaching and oration or persuasive speaking.
Logical - mathematical - While it is often assumed that those with this intelligence naturally excel in mathematics, chess, computer programming and other logical or numerical activities, a more accurate definition places emphasis on traditional mathematical ability and more reasoning capabilities, abstract patterns of recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform complex calculations.
Interpersonal - People with intrapersonal intelligence are intuitive and typically introverted. They are skillful at deciphering their own feelings and motivations.
Visual - spatial - People with strong visual-spatial intelligence are typically very good at visualizing and mentally manipulating objects. They have a strong visual memory and are often artistically inclined.
Musical - Those who have a high level of musical-rhythmic intelligence display greater sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones, and music. They normally have good pitch and are able to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. Since there is a strong auditory component to this intelligence, those who are strongest in it may learn best via lecture.
Naturalistic - This area has to do with nurturing and relating information to one's natural environment. Those with it are said to have greater sensitivity to nature and their place within it, the ability to nurture and grow things, and greater ease in caring for, taming and interacting with animals. They may also be able to discern changes in weather or similar fluctuations in their natural surroundings. They are also good at recognizing and classifying different species. They must connect a new experience with prior knowledge to truly learn something new.
-Wikipedia
I would say I perceive things best using my visual - spatial and musical intelligences with a touch of the naturalistic as well. I also recognize times when the other ones work for me, but these are my key ways I perceive and create things.
Katie 022110 - Negative Neighbor 2
How we perceive art is as deeply personal as how we experience food, sex, attraction, revulsion, and any other life experience, different strokes for different folks. Can you tell me what blue looks like? You can list examples of blue things, elaborate on how it makes you feel, and even tell me which wavelengths in the visual spectrum are assigned to the blue hues. Thankfully art is easier to discuss how we perceive it, but I know your explanation of your perceptions of art contain only a small amount of what you experienced, felt, and interpreted into them.
The visual-still arts are the most concrete to describe and elaborate on. You can spend time with the piece to interpret it for your own consumption. Your eyes can gaze on each part as long as needed. If you can touch it, then you can touch it as long as needed as well. For some art, a second is only needed, for other art, a lifetime. What I appreciate about this form is that I can come back to it and digest bits of the piece or the whole thing as I need to. This type of art has a very slow temporal life, limited by the length of the show, life of the viewer, or the decomposition, fading, or erosion of the piece. Last month I saw the Pantheon in Rome. It will probably be there the next time I see it. It will be around after me and has been around for thousands of years before me.
Performance/moving art with a visual component is the next most concrete. You are absorbing sight, sound, movement, action and other sensations to form your own version of the narrative. With all this though, it is temporal. The dancer's move, the actor's line, and the dialogue are gone after they are performed. Only our memory (or a rewind button) allows us to experience it again. During that instant though, our visual and auditory worlds have to be open to receive all the information we are going to get. We are living in the temporal existence of the piece.
Music is the most abstract, for me. I play music, love it and try to have it around me all the time. It has some similarities to visual moving/performance art. The temporal existence is a challenge since it lasts only as long as the note is held. When the music stops, the perceiving time is done. We are left only with our memories and feelings created by the music to create an interpretation. A challenge unique to music and other auditory arts is the lack of all senses involved other than hearing. I can't use anything other than my ears to capture what happened.
I love both listening and playing this piece - the tuba line is the best at 5:17 to 6:48 - I get chills hearing and playing that part.
Another challenge with instrumental music (and dance) is the lack of words. Everything exists in a temporal moment and demands the audience to truly make their own interpretation of the moment. Music with lyrics may be abstract, but by listening to the words and how they flow with the music, I can get a deeper sense of the creator's message.
Flamenco music and dance flow with a passion that always stirs my heart, loin and spirit. It can be inspire and heartbreaking all at once.
With all the above said, I have to go back to Dr. L's post.
Art is real. Its essence cannot be conveyed by pixels. The story of its time and place and purpose and moment resides in its physical package, the medium.
and
This is serious business if we come to accept a virtual gallery as a primary venue to show any kind of art. Nad's words "quickly forgotten" tell us all we need to know. We are not talking about just the end of literature. We are talking about the end.
I can see her point, but don't feel it is as widespread or absolute as may be feared. If all art becomes an online gallery, it will be the death of art. That wont happen though. Viewing live sports events on location is still a preferred experience over watching it live on TV. The televised version is probably closer to the action than the person in the stands, but experiencing it live is truly a richer experience. Overall, I think people will always prefer the real thing to the recorded/digital version.
I think the impact of the internet on art, and any other form of communication and information, is similar to the printing press and the first recorded sounds. Before printed words, all books were hand-written and most stories were passed down through oral traditions. Before recorded sound, all music was experienced by live performers. The temporal moment made it a cherished treat. Within one minute, I can listen to pretty much any audio thing I want because of the ease of the internet. While I may enjoy hearing Bach or Bachman Turner Overdrive through my computer speakers, listening to the real thing live is much better. Seeing Ansel Adams Moonrise Over Hernandez on my screen reminds me of when I saw a real print of it, but since I don't have $40,000 to buy one, the virtual experience is better than none.
In considering the future of art, we always need to look at the technologies available to the artist. Early photography was not considered art. To make it more artistic, the pictorial photographer tried to emulate painted art.
Pictorialism largely subscribed to the idea that art photography needed to emulate the painting and etching of the time. Most of these pictures were black & white or sepia-toned. Among the methods used were soft focus, special filters and lens coatings, heavy manipulation in the darkroom, and exotic printing processes
It took some time and now photography is widely accepted and appreciated as an art form. Very few cutting-edge artists exploring new media will have their art considered seriously in their lifetime. This is the challenge of the new artists who is inventing the new art.
In the future, there will be new types of art that solely live in the digital world. They may have no tactile, permanent existence. They will only be exhibited, performed, and created in the digital world of electrons and pixels. We will only be able to absorb it through the machine that it lives in and puts it out onto the device we use to interact with it. That same device may be what we use for communication, making lists, and doing our taxes. Like music, they may be temporal and live only within one sense. It may become something like a holographic universe that we absorb virtually through a connection to a computer. Imagine if you could create a piece of art that a person could truly enter and be surrounded by to experience it.
Candace Nirvana 022110
All of this does not mean the death of art as we know it. As Dr. L stated:
In the beginning was NOT the word, despite what we've been told. In the beginning was the image - those we saw before our eyes, and those we filed inside our heads.
Humans have been transferring images to walls for thousands of years. We have been banging things together to create music and dance to a rhythm. The piano, while made with better materials and engineering, is basically the same as the first pianofortes from centuries ago. Every time a new form of art or technology/technique in art is created, we must make one of five choices, ignore it, accept it, accept parts of it and use it with the old methods, alter it for something even newer, or try to destroy it for all others. There is some music I can barely consider music, so I ignore it or avoid it. I've accepted using a digital camera. I want to try making silver prints from digital negatives. I would love to try taking digital photographs of my thoughts someday and push the format further. I will always speak out about art that promotes hatred and persecution like many speak out about the nude art we create as dangerous.
In conclusion, humans will always need to create art and to experience it in whatever way is best for the individual. Some will be tactile, or aural, or visual, or a mix of all the senses and types of intelligence. Some will be using methods we can not fathom yet and others will be using the oldest techniques of art, a simple smudge on a flat surface. Art is not going to die from new methods of exhibitions. If it dies, it will be from others suppressing the artist's ability to make it.
I often find great blogs by looking at the one's recommended by other blog friends. One such found treasure is Photo Anthems Blog created by Terrell Neasley. I greatly appreciate his blog for its blend of art, photography, great writing and humor.
Terrell is the closest (geographically)blogger to me. He lives in Las Vegas, NV. That may sound like a trivial fact, but I feel a western US bond to his work, stories, and history. As I read others' writings about the art scene, weather, and stories of the northern mid-west, east, and south, I learn about their special corner of the country. When I read Terrell's camping stories, see his photos of women and the the scenery, I get a feeling of familiarity and home since I've shared similar experiences.
Terrell's life is an interesting story and shows in his life beliefs and art. I highly recommend you go to his blog and website (photoanthems.com) to learn more about him. It is well worth it. His photography is beautiful and a highlight of my online perusing. I hope one day to get to meet him on a trip to LV.
Here are the questions. Thanks for the answers. They are greatly appreciated.
What is your favorite word?Altruism
What is your least favorite word?Normal
What turns you on?A naked woman
What turns you off?Clothes!....kidding...People who don't take responsibility for themselves and pass the blame.
What sound or noise do you love?Bacon sizzling in the morning would be the least crass answer
What sound or noise do you hate? Its a tie between a high-pitched nagging voice and an alarm clock
What is your favorite curse word?Fuck
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?Probably acting, but I used to dream about playing football
What profession would you not like to do?There are plenty but I'm going with Nursing. I've got much respect for them, but its not my gift.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?Come on....Get your butt on in here!
What is your idea of perfect happiness?Traveling the world with boundless resources and a model that I photograph everywhere, all the time
What is your greatest fear?I honestly can't say I have one. I mean, I certainly don't want to be eaten by an alligator or fall from the empire state building but they are not fears of mine that I think about all the time.
Which historical figure do you most identify with?Galileo Galilei, just because he's the only person I can think of who was also misunderstood.
Which living person do you most admire?Other than family....Billy Graham, Chris St. James, and Bill Cosby (How can you stick with just one?)
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?Procrastination
What is the trait you most deplore in others?Lack of integrity
What is your greatest extravagance?I spent $400 on comic books once, but I've since sold my collection and not bought another since 1994, I think.
On what occasion do you lie?When I have to take into account someone else's feelings and the truth is not worth the heartache or when I need to be polite because I need the business.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?I'm actually cool with myself. If I had to say any one thing its that I look mean when I am not smiling.
When and where were you happiest?Christmas at Mama Carrie's as a kid
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?I'd be kinder to people and more understanding
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?Me. That's all I have control over.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Jeremy and Cassie
If you died and came back as a person or thing what do you think it would be?As a person: A white female, just so I could experience the opposite of my current self. As far as a thing, I'd want to be a star just for the billions of years galactic experience
What is your most treasured possession?My faith
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?A disapproval of yourself because of someone else's opinion
Who are your heroes in real life?My Mother,
What is it that you most dislike?A coward
How would you like to die?Old age preferably, but if not, then on my feet in a way that makes it count
What is your motto?Stay alert, Stay alive! Hooooah!
We went to see the independent movie Sleep Dealer sponsored by the Spanish Department at UC Davis. Alex Rivera, the director, was there to field questions after the movie. I've never been to a movie where the director was present so this was a rare treat.
Alex Rivera usually makes documentaries, but had thought of the premise for this movie over ten years ago. According to Rivera, Sleep Dealer is the first science fiction movie filmed, set in, and from the point of view of a Latin American country.
Sleep Dealer takes place in the near future in Mexico. The protagonist, Memo (played by Luis Fernando Peña), is a young man wanting to expand his digital life, but is stuck on his dad's traditional corn and bean farm (milpa). After he innocently causes an incident leading to the destruction of the family farm, he heads to Tijuana for work. This is really when the sci-fi part kicks in.
In this near future, people can choose to have nodes, small round data ports, installed into various parts of their bodies. These nodes can be connected via cables to computers and links the brain and nervous system directly to the network. People can experience different sensations, download memories, and directly control robots and other mechanical items remotely. This movie may sound like the movies Avatar or Surrogates, but actually came out before them.
Memo meets a beautiful woman, Luz, who helps him get nodes so he can find work. In this future, the United States has closed the US/Mexican border, but still needs migrant labor. The Mexicans provide the menial labor remotely from big computer/cable hubs and do all the work we use migrant labor today, but by controlling robots from across the border. Memo gets a construction job on a San Diego high rise.
Luz "Writing" a Story
I wont go into the main story more than this since it has many messages about migrant labor, wealth distribution, government/business collusion, and other meaty topics. I want to talk about Luz, played by the talented and beautiful Leonor Varela. In the story, Luz describes herself as a "writer." What is unique is that writers in her future don't actually type or write words to record language. They tell a story through their memories and narrate it, almost like an experiential diary. The images of her memories are transferred through the nodes to a server and match up to the narrated story she tells. After she finishes telling the story, it is then put out on the net and story buyers can hook in through their nodes and connect to the story she shared. She mentions she writes to connect people to others through her memories and stories.
Trailer 1
While watching the movie I thought a bit about this definition of "writer." Luz no longer uses words symbolized by letters to "write"her stories, yet she is called a "writer." I found this an interesting perceived evolution of communication.
After the movie I asked Rivera, "With Youtube, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other online social networks and media, we can communicate anything instantly through video and writing. You have captured that sense of instant information, but now your characters don't even have to write, they just share the information directly from their brains. What made you think to change how we define "writers" to this new definition?"
Rivera shared that he wanted Luz to believe her writing serves as a personal connection between the characters in her memories and the "readers", which is the goal of all writers. With that in mind, he believes that our world is getting more visual and it will be natural that the mass culture would rather experience these things directly like this than through reading.
I grappled with his answer as I drove home. According to studies, people are reading many more words today than they did twenty years ago due to the internet. Like you are doing right now, people are absorbing the internet mostly through written words. Now though, due in part to better technologies, it is easier to post video and animation online to tell a story. Two examples of this are the success of hulu.com and youtube. Both provide pure video content. I usually include at least one or two youtube videos per week in my blog. Maybe we are heading toward Luz's definition of a "writer."
I also considered the source of this idea of a "writer." Rivera is a movie maker. He wrote the story, but we do not read the script. We watch and experience the story through moving pictures and audio he created. Luz's job as a "writer" is not too much different than his as a screen writer, hers just requires fewer steps.
I highly recommend watching this movie. It is not the deepest political movie or most profound, but it will make you think. I found it interesting that I watched it with American eyes and expectation and had predictions on plot lines which were very wrong. It is funny how my cultural and cinematic bias on how a story should unfold was a new discovery of my own American perceptions of stories. That is one of many reasons to watch the DVD.
The Sensual 7 Seconds has decided to "borrow" both of these sets of questions and pose them to readers, fellow bloggers, artists, models and anyone interested in completing them. My goal for this series is for me and the readers to get to know some important people a little better. Today is the first installment of this new series.
Let me introduce the ever elegant, gracious and graceful, intelligent, artistic, and truly sexy beauty, Dr. L. She was one of the first to post a comment on this blog and is a valued commenter, artist, social and artistic commentator, academic, advocate for the sensual, friend, and all around great lady. She co-writes the blog, What We Saw Today, contributes to many other online and print publications such as Carrie Leigh Nudes and has written a book or two or three as well. I highly recommend you visit her blog to flesh out the answers she provided.
Here are the thirty questions and her answers.
What is your favorite word? dog
What is your least favorite word? rejection
What turns you on? the light
What turns you off? The Seven Deadlies
What sound or noise do you love? car traffic on a brick street
What sound or noise do you hate? rap music
What is your favorite curse word? f--- you
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? acting
What profession would you not like to do? anything corporate
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? You've got some great gams, girl.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? swimming in a spring-fed lake on a hot August day
What is your greatest fear? people obsessed with control
Which historical figure do you most identify with? Anne Boleyn
Which living person do you most admire? my 93-year-old uncle
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? None. I've accepted them all.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? superficiality
What is your greatest extravagance? Great coffees
On what occasion do you lie? When other people's feelings are at risk
What do you dislike most about your appearance? The effects of gravity on a masterpiece (each human body is a masterpiece, by the way)
When and where were you happiest? In the present moment which changes quite often
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? Nothing. I've accepted it all.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? My father would still be here in this world with us
What do you consider your greatest achievement? My self knowledge and self acceptance
If you died and came back as a person or thing what do you think it would be? A prima ballerina
What is your most treasured possession? My dog
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Losing your freedom
Who are your heroes in real life? All people who fight for rights and risk their lives for others
What is it that you most dislike? People who never fight for anything that matters
How would you like to die? I wouldn't
What is your motto? What's the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof? Just staying on, I guess.
Gracias Dr. L. Your honest and interesting answers are greatly appreciated.
The pope is not happy with Avatar. According to a Vatican press release, the pope expressed concern over the message of nature being a deity. He is not the only one to be worried by the blue/green movie. Many conservatives believe the movie is anti-military, anti-industry, and blares a liberal agenda that goes against all that is right. I think they are all taking the wrong reading of it.
After thinking about the movie, I discovered a new theme the righteous right should embrace - immigration. A community of pure race is invaded by immigrants that want to destroy their values, take their jobs and resources, and dilute the purity of their life. Fences don't keep these illegals out, only action will. The heroes must form their own version of the minute men and serve as patriots to violently kick the unclean illegals out. In the end, they get to send those dirty sky walkers back to where they came from. The only immigrants allowed to stay are those willing to completely adopt the patriots' language and lifestyle.
Yeah, Avatar may have an environmental bend, but between the property rights issues and the illegal immigrants invasion, the righteous right should be having orgasms over the messages sent in Avatar. One true race, one true religion, one true piece of real estate. Oh yeah, you don't see any gay Na'vi either.
PS- If you are a new reader, please read the rest of my blog before judging the content and bias of this single post.
How many pointless Twitter/Facebook updates do you get that say something like, "Had great dinner at Wendy's, now a beer."? I hate those. I am also guilty of writing a few as well.
Above is a little clip from the Colbert Report commenting on online social networking. Is the only reason we play on Facebook, My Space, write blogs, and Twitter is to be known?
"Cognoscor Ergo Sum - I am known, therefore I am."
At what point am I sharing stuff just so people know that I exist? Am I afraid that I am such an insignificant dot that I must wave my hands and publish all this stuff about myself so I have meaning?
The answers are complicated. I write, create art, and do most everything I do for myself. I appreciate comments, praise and criticism, but it is mostly for me. I hope my stuff entertains, pleases, angers, and makes others think. I guess that is the boundary point then. There is a part of me that plays on these social networking sites to draw attention to my existence, but I also do it to hopefully give my audience something of value. I hope my audience gets a nugget to think about, an image to ponder on, or something to chuckle about.
I guess my intent then is both self serving and hopefully of service. That is like most things we do in our existence. We do them because we all get something out of it.
I am back from Rome and am still digesting the food and the experiences . I am sure it will stay with me for a while. Along the way, I had a great idea for a photo series and am working on the planning for it. Sadly, it wont have nudity.
Candace 021010
Jet lag reared its head on the way back and cost me dearly. Somewhere along the trek home, I lost my diary/idea notebook that I kept in the breast pocket of my jacket. I've carried that with me everywhere for the past two years and had almost filled it. In Rome I bought the next one I would use when I filled that one. Now the first is gone and I've had to prematurely start the second. A good many of the posts on this blog were ideas captured in that book. It is either on one of the Lufthansa flights I took or in the Munich airport. I hope whoever finds it at least looks in the envelope taped in the back. It had $40 US in it that I had stored there for my taxi cab ride on my return. I would hate for the money to go to waste along with two years of reflections on life, art, art museums, travels around Europe and the US, and little things collected along the way. Maybe having a clean slate is a good thing, but I lost many great references and memories stored in that book. The trip was worth it and I love the city and experience, even though the loss of that book really hurts.
Mollee 020110
I am back at work and am waiting for the residual jet lag to hit this afternoon. I am sure I will have more to write about and images to share over the next few days.
