In the Neighborhood

“To the extent to which an activist project deviates from popular expectations, particularly aesthetic and ethical expectations it may need to include interpretive cues.”

~Heather Wainwright

          I agree with this "part-heartedly" (part since I think the viewers should take it upon themselves to interpret and parse through possible meanings). But there are sometimes when the artist is not understood and should defend their piece amidst an onslaught of commentary. I sometimes the audience doesn't have the tools to decipher the puzzle… perhaps the artist should take that into consideration… perhaps that was the purpose in the first place.

The Shilvian Spiral

"While we are sitting in meditation, we are simply exploring humanity,

[materials, and all things in existence] in the form of ourselves."

~Pema Chödrön, Awakening Loving-Kindness

Moku-Sou!

*Eyes fade, lay down the active thoughts, breathe...

All things fade to black as I deconstruct myself that I may reconstruct myself,

All I am there but am no longer distinguishable amongst all there is around me.

*breathe...

There is a whirl of the particles in my place.

They spin in a circle about my origin.

After the first cycle, they whir more vigorously.

Arcanely, they take up more space now as if they've multiplied.

I am more than just me now,

I can see more clearly.

My path is greater now; the arc creates ripples in space with each pass,

My memories of recent and of days long past bobble amid the waves.

*breathe...

I know that it's not just me now,

I can feel more clearly.

The world is not as straight as it once seemed; it now appears voluted,

The great arc of the earth is in sight as I move gracefully about it.

*Breathe...

What's this feeling? A point within a point within a point?

Where am I? The center or about a center?

I found myself back with my thoughts,

I was waiting back in the arc.

A single quanta of light to represent myself,

And that lonely speck contains everything.

*breathe...

That's where I am; the critical point of everything while circling the center at the same time.

That's where I'll be incarnated.

Mokusou Yame!

Get over it

          Many of the stereotypes around artists include re that they do their work alone and their genius shines behind closed doors only for the public to see the final image. This is breaking down as the author mentioned. We’re taught art in school (university) in groups, we create in cohorts. Pieces are subject to review by our peers and rivals. The finished product is increasingly collaborative.

“I don’t know what public are is, really…Public art is something else I’m not sure it’s art. I think it’s about a social agenda.” Chris Burden.

That’s interesting to say the least. When I think about public art, I think it is art that would better the community by inciting discussion or giving inspiration. After reading that. I paused and thought about the criteria that the particular work has to meet. Its purpose weather it would edify of bring down. All of the criteria are subjective to what the current political scene believes is socially acceptable. Furthermore, the pieces that they would support tend to reflect the agenda they are trying to push or the look they want to have. It’s similar to Mitt Romney saying that he likes that too and that he supports it, to everything.

“We cannot judge new art by old standards”

Debatable;

I think we should judge new art by old standards to see how we are progressing. If the old standards still apply, are the standards good ones to keep or are they thing s that we want to move away from? I think there are advantages in knowing some of the old standards to help push through. New art in the sense that there is something new about the way we perceive art  such as the touch Sanitation project have meaning in another sense that previous styles like sketching don’t necessarily have. I think we should keep exploring new media and continue innovating in that sense. The innovations can lead to new standards that can lead the society to another level of thinking.