Art Review

The picture you see above is "Ophelia" by an artist named Charmaine Olivia. She's a self-taught artist in her twenties. Never took an art class, never went to college. This piece is done on wood instead of canvas, in oil paint. Oil paint literally takes days to dry, and this painting has several layers. Not only did it require extreme finesse and control, it took an insane amount of patience and dedication. Her work, which I enjoy, it not always quite everyone's style. Yet it brings to the surface an aspect of art far different from the abstract concept, the whole "what is art?" dilemma: artistic skill and talent. Even if you don't like it, or it says nothing to you, the skill and dedication that it took to create it is un-ignorable. And even though I think that art has the wonderful capacity to instill thoughts and philosophies and emotions into viewers' minds, and that artists have the opportunity and responsibility to take advantage of that, I also believe that skill is skill and should be appreciated.

WE HAVE THE RIGHT

We have the right.

So often the term “right” is given way too much flexibility. Everything is open to interpretation, but there is a huge difference between fulfilling one’s rights and infringing upon other’s rights. Certainly, we have the right to pursue our own happiness, whatever that might mean. But if it takes making someone else unhappy, than it’s not okay. That being said, there are some exceptions to that rule: Freedom of Speech: if you say something that makes someone unhappy, that’s trivial.

I guess that everyone does have the right to say what they want, do what they want, etc. etc. It’s what makes us human. The condition I’d like to add to that, however, is that you have to be considerate of how your actions affect everyone else around you. So…we have the right to pursue happiness…so long as it’s coupled with empathy.

AND OF COURSE

THE RIGHT

TO FIGHT

FOR

THE RIGHT

TO

PAR-

TAY.

Belated Birthday

OBVIOUSLY it isn’t your birthday anymore.

This, however, is an anytime gift: the best links on the internet. And some music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN3OHwU9w6o&feature=related

http://www.blazinglogs.com/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/

http://figment.com/

http://fakeinterviewswithrealcelebrities.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-road-day.html

http://therumpus.net/2009/09/funny-women-1-the-new-rumpus-humor-column-i-am-sorry-that-i-didnt-write-a-comedy-piece/

http://bieberpuns.tumblr.com/

http://www.rainymood.com/

http://youarelistening.to/chicago

aaaaaannnddddd enjoy.

This means Something.

“I used to be really into the idea of the existential vacuum. Unfortunately, I misunderstood the concept-I bought existential vacuum cleaners. The first vacuum never helped me clean because he refused to tidy a mess that he could never be sure existed in the first place. The second refused to conform to the label society gave him, so instead of owning an existential vacuum, I ended up with a sh**ty lawn mower.”

-Liam Burns

This prompt, of course, brought existentialism to mind. Existentialism is easy to make fun of, as you can see from the above quote, yet it still asks the question that every human being has faced or will face sometime in their lives: “What does it all mean?” I do not refuse the idea that there is some higher power or stronger force beyond our comprehension at work. I do, however, believe that pursuing the answer to what is possibly the most profound and important question will only lead one farther away from it. Think about the question being asked. What does it all mean? It is referring to life-our existence. Think then about our existence-what does life entail? To live is to breathe, to sleep, to eat, to think (constantly and an infinite array of thoughts), to form relationships, to enjoy, to smile, to cry, to laugh, to love or to detest, to become awestruck, to feel helpless or powerful, to regret and to revel, to listen to music, to create and appreciate, to accomplish, to yearn, to be restless or fatigued…

No matter what it means, it is there. One cannot possibly understand why we exist and why we exist the way we do if one is not living. I believe that life means something. I don’t, however, feel that I’ve lived long enough to understand what exactly that meaning may be. I’m certain that someday, someone will belief with absolute conviction what it all means, given that they’ve allowed themselves to breathe, to sleep, to eat, to think, etc.