Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, dedicated citizens can change the world.  
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-Margaret Mead

Saturday, December 26, 2009

admiration

"the approval, together with that wise half-smile, granted him a grandeur he did not have to earn; a blind admiration would have been precarious; a deserved admiration would have been a responsibility; an undeserved admiration was precious." 
-ayn rand, the fountainhead 
 
read this passage about a week ago in the midst of my own understanding of such precarious things; some i was aware of, some i have just gotten to know.

admiration is something that manifests itself in many ways, since its origins are as diverse as those who harbor it.  i've realized that an admiration too great becomes noxious for both it's owner and the recipient once it surpasses a casual level.  in many ways it becomes a destructive force, especially as noted above; when it is deserved since this carries the implication that it did not happen by chance.  does deserved mean that you have worked for it? or to maintain it? i'm not sure, but when it is deserved, there might always be a power imbalance and that is the source of it's adverse effects.  i don't think admiration ever ceases to be, either, rather it transforms into other similarly potent methods of perception once it has had reason to react.

in the case of an authentically shared love there may be an exception.  

Sunday, December 20, 2009

street art

shared with me by jack: street art

thank you.

Friday, December 4, 2009

london art- 2012 olympics

found this 'Artists Taking the Lead' project today while working on my/sinead's zine. wonderous.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

sunset

energy heavy 
we ride in mechanical beasts
seared to cement with precision reign-techniques 
to hold cameras in front of our faces 
grainy zoomed interpretations
corralled by eternally exchanged consistencies
but constituted of
matter molded, wholesale
shadowless egos maneuver
streamlined, adjusted, delivered
determines the bundle of rays traversing
admitted, admonished 
expressing some unit of the 
su(n)m

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

the Holland alternative

so according to this Dwell article, the government requires a certain level of energy efficiency in all new construction in Holland; going green is the law!  Sustainability concerns are taken seriously and worked with proactively, a far cry from what we're up to here in the good ol' USofA.

a recent technological development in aiding eco-friendly design are thin film solar panels, which are less efficient than crystalline solar panels but are much more cost effective and are aesthetically more appealing.

maybe we can take a hint from the Dutch's emphasis on conservation of space and resources (and OF COURSE... innovative architecture) and in turn their more sensible, alternative (to US) lifestyle?!

a great quote, "In the U.S. we have a culture that celebrates size and consumption for their own sakes- and on some level, the more resources we use, the more successful we feel." - architect Gregory Kiss

ah, consumption, our sure-fire demise.  

Monday, November 23, 2009

Recession for Artists

A Survey Shows Pain of Recession for Artists
This article notes that while a majority of artists have a college degree only 6% reported earning $80,000 a year or more.  Of the 5,300 artists surveyed most said very little of their overall income came from their artwork.  

Architects were mentioned several times in the article- hadn't anticipated their inclusion under the "artist" umbrella.  

Sunday, November 22, 2009

MoMA

went to the MoMA with sinead and sabina to swim in the abundance of work by Tim Burton (and the lurid beauty of monsters) and was completely taken away by the creative GENIUS of his prolific work.  runs until the end of april and should not be missed! 

also saw the first part of Jenny Holzer's Truisms (1978-87).  
>> Jenny Holzer has done major installations all over the world, like her Projections project. 

Truisms is a large collection of short statements.  A few notable phrases from the piece seen yesterday -definitely worthy of some lingering attention:
a sincere effort is all you can ask for
a strong sense of duty imprisons you 
alienation produces eccentrics or revolutionaries 
all things are delicately interconnected 
any surplus is immoral 
artificial desires are despoiling the earth 
being judgemental is a sign of life 
believing in rebirth is the same as admitting defeat 
disgust is the appropriate response to most situations 
dreaming while awake is a frightening contradiction 
every achievement requires a sacrifice 
everyones work is equally important 
extreme self consciousness leads to perversion 
giving free reign to your emotions is an honest way to live 
government is a burden on the people 
grass roots agitation is the only hope

jean michal-basquiat's album artwork collaboration with rammellzee and k-rob, Beat-Bop is also definitely worth checking out.