giovanni tycoon meteorite

Art is to me the glorification of the human spirit, and as such it is 

the cultural documentation of the time in which it is produced. ” -Hans Hofmann

In the morning I'll be headed for the airport to pick up my son who has 'volunteered' to drive the dogs home to MA today as long as he can be home by Sunday night.  So, he and TY plan on 1500 miles from noon Saturday to Sunday evening with a stop in Roanoke for a bit of shut-eye, a shower, and a break from dog whining.  We'll see how this goes.  Meanwhile back at the cement hacienda I will have a shitload of clean-up to do before I can get out.  I'm writing this before the 9 PM fireworks display- we're all going up to the upper deck of the clubhouse where we look out for miles and see the displays at every town around here.  Yeah, I had to take something so went for  brownie mix just because I had one egg left and want to use up everything!  These are not your mama's brownies-  think I got the mix at Costco and it tastes funny to me-  I've never made brownies from a mix before.  Maybe I'll be lucky and they will all be eaten.

  Meanwhile dog-anxiety is running high around here-  they can sense something's afoot above and beyond just the major fireworks frenzy.  People across the road stated sending them up a few days ago, so Molly won't go out to pee-  she's too scared to leave my closet.  Plus it's been thundering for days now every afternoon so that's adding to the problem.  I'll give them both their tranquilizers tomorrow before I leave or the airport so the initial realization that the ride is ENDLESS won't hit till they are pretty much out of it.  

Artist Rogan Brown just completed work on his latest paper artwork titled Outbreak, a piece he describes as an exploration “of the microbiological sublime.” Over four months in the making, the work depicts an array of interconnected sculptures—entirely hand cut from paper—based on the smallest structures found within the human body: cells, microbes, pathogens, and neurons. 

Home Sweet Home

Cell Sweet Cell (NSFW)

‘Home Sweet Home’ and ‘Cell Sweet Cell’ are a series of sardine can dioramas wherein we see the lives of everyday people inside their apartments and prison cells. In this exclusive interview, the artist behind these artworks, Nathalie Alony, talks about her inspiration for the series and thoughts on modern society living.

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Now, to get a bit more serious~

We've had a few discussions on original art, copying, borrowing, and stealing ideas or inspiration from others.  Then, the other day I was listening to 
NPR's TED Talk show, Where Do Ideas Come From  
where they had compiled several talks about this very subject.  How appropriate and applicable to me, and probably you too.  I heard the show the other day in tha car and raced home to discover I had missed the first half so I hunted it down knowing it was important to share. I SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND you go listen to the talks-  there are some new takes on the subject, some I am happily adopting as my own-  yeah, stealing!  And it's nothing new:

‘You are only as good as the obscurity of your sources’ -Anon, (passed amongst artists with many attributions)

'Good artists copy, Great artists steal'-  Picasso

'I invent nothing, I rediscover.'  Auguste Rodin    

'The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel.'  Piet Mondrian 

'Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.'  Salvador Dali 

So, there you have it.  The TED talks cover some interesting points about music where the issues are the same but it was always accepted that  something new would build on music from the past.  Art, to me, is that way too-  you look at as much as possible from all styles and genres and subconsciously gravitate to parts you like and can adapt within your own work.  It might be something as subtle as a new viewpoint, say tilting the picture plane a bit, or it can be outright thievery working up a copy of the Mona Lisa.  The thing is, borrowing, adapting, taking inspiration, whatever you call it there is a tradition behind it.  What must be done is to make it solely yours.  That means you bite off big chunks, chew them well, spit out the bones and seeds and fur, chew some more, finally swallow-  and then let it sit in your belly until it's fully digested, only THEN let it out to use.  (gross analogy, I know)  Tracing your inspirations can be just like tracing your ancestors-  you keep what is best from each ancestor, and ignore the black sheep in your various family lines.  Think of your imaginary chart of where it all came from!  Cool.  


That said, I stole another squirrel for you, getting his digs ready for the fireworks display.  Yeah, the internets make thievery so much easier, inspiration so much broader, adaptations so much more...um...adaptable!  

I renovated my banner on my Facebook page today, also picked a new portrait and sent along the Foi=urth of July squirrel to all of you-    I have no idea what the fascination with squirrels might be, maybe because I identify with their little squirrel brains.  Whatever.  Stick with me a while and it will transition to some other ridiculous animal at some point.  I kinda actually like a cavy...  the zoo has a herd of them, guess I will go take some pictures just to be prepared should the squirrel-thing ever dry up.