Highlights include: contamplating the view of Kings College, visiting the local Sunday Market, exploring the Botanic Gardens (probably the second oldest botanic garden instituation behind Oxford), and seeing more of Leonardo Da Vinci in the Fitzwilliam Museum.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
LONDON
Walked through Regent's park into the centre of London. Explored the Bristish Museum's collection of the Ancient world: Egypt, Assyria and Greece. Also, visited Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Virgin on the Rocks' at the National Galleries off Trafalgar Square, before walking back up to Regent's Park via Piccadilly Circus. Then dropped by Hyde Park on the following day.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
NOTES FROM ‘BROWNBOOK’ NO.26
Brownbook is an urban guide to the Middle East.
“One of the Arab-world’s best-selling authors Alaa Ah Aswang ... ‘I became a dentist because you can not make a living in the Arab world from writing fiction and you must have another profession ... Even Nanguib Mahtouz – a Nobel Prize winner – had to work for the government until the age of retirement.”
“Hani Charaf, the Syrian designer behind Sharjah Biennial’s creative communication material ... ‘always try to find a balance between your convictions and the reality of the business world.”
“Ahmad Humeid ... [behind] Jordan’s Syntax design agency ... you need tension inside a company between money and art.”
“Yto Barrada [artist and co-founder of] the Cinematheque de Tanger ... ‘You need someone in charge of getting grants and sponsorships ... You need a specialist, but it’s a matter of paying them, and you need money to pay people ... It’s possible you can find the money, if you have the ideas and you’re ready to put together a team. I had an extraordinary amount of help from interns ... The idea of mass tourism is not where things are going. The more it’s local, the more interesting it is ... If you’re doing something else on the side it doesn’t work.’”
“One of the Arab-world’s best-selling authors Alaa Ah Aswang ... ‘I became a dentist because you can not make a living in the Arab world from writing fiction and you must have another profession ... Even Nanguib Mahtouz – a Nobel Prize winner – had to work for the government until the age of retirement.”
“Hani Charaf, the Syrian designer behind Sharjah Biennial’s creative communication material ... ‘always try to find a balance between your convictions and the reality of the business world.”
“Ahmad Humeid ... [behind] Jordan’s Syntax design agency ... you need tension inside a company between money and art.”
“Yto Barrada [artist and co-founder of] the Cinematheque de Tanger ... ‘You need someone in charge of getting grants and sponsorships ... You need a specialist, but it’s a matter of paying them, and you need money to pay people ... It’s possible you can find the money, if you have the ideas and you’re ready to put together a team. I had an extraordinary amount of help from interns ... The idea of mass tourism is not where things are going. The more it’s local, the more interesting it is ... If you’re doing something else on the side it doesn’t work.’”
Sunday, May 15, 2011
ZEGLIACCO
Spider's web,
Infant Abbot
Sprawlieesshadows,
After dawn,
Bumbling bees,
Blossoming trees,
Eagle's shadow,
Summer meadow,
Tractor hum,
Sissy come,
Aunty mows,
Up to Abbey Rose.
Infant Abbot
Sprawlieesshadows,
After dawn,
Bumbling bees,
Blossoming trees,
Eagle's shadow,
Summer meadow,
Tractor hum,
Sissy come,
Aunty mows,
Up to Abbey Rose.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
MARE (SEA)
Diving into water that is so cold that it takes your breath away, your blood vessels constrict as your body adjusts. You slowly swim through the subtle variations in water temperature, looking atop the neighbouring cliffs to see an ancient castle ruin, now only guarded by sea gulls. Pause every so often to take in the beauty of the scene, the clear blue sky, the frigid but perfectly calm waters and quiet ... Moving in sync with the current you return to a resting place, led by sea gulls diving through the sky. A feeling of hesitation arises as you near the water's edge, you instinctively pause and then see a huge, plastic bag-sized jellyfish glide by right in front of you as it gracefully skirts the cliff's edge. It moves with seemingly no effort, in complete harmony with the motion of the sea. After clambering over slippery rocks you wrap yourself in a soft towel, shaking uncontrollably as your body re-adjusts to the ambiente temperature. Minutes pass, the shaking continues ... Eventually the involuntary convulsions subside, your mind is clear, air passes through your lungs like wind passing through a spider's web, warm again, basking in the summer sun.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
ONE OR MANY
For many creatives there is an ongoing conflict of whether to focus on one specific interest OR move across a whole range of mediums. At one end of the spectrum you have people like Japan's National Living Treasures (wikipedia link), who have spent a lifetime perfecting their craft. Then, you have artists who express themselves through whatever medium is most accessible or useful at a given time. That might range from blogging to photography to buying everyday products like food or clothing to drawing to making a garden ... This process is seamless and no less coherent than focusing on one craft, because regardless of the medium it is still an expression of the same evolving personal philosophy. Perhaps it is also equally as enlightening as focusing on one specific thing. You often get that feeling when you speak to someone who has traveled the world and integrated the collective wisdom of many cultures and people into his/her own beliefs.
Picasso did not just paint, he created sculpture, sketches and all manner of creative expression. Even though some people only know him for his later work, what makes him and his work so wonderful is this diversity of media and the ways his exploration of art and life are intertwined. Is this multi-dimensional approach more reflective of humans, whom are rarely one-dimensional, or is it more reflective of a given society? And the case of focusing on one craft is a manifestation of a particular time and place?
As is often the case in our culturally-mixed, hybridized and eclectic society, the answer is not one or the other, it's multiplicity. Do we have a choice at all? Are we better to, as a friend describes "keep breathing, keep attention and let go"? In this way our attitudes and behaviour are allowed to reflect our ongoing dialogue with our surrounds and what manifests is always a reflection of what is required at the time? Even if this is not our conscious choice, is this what happens anyway and the conflict that arises is in our minds?
Picasso did not just paint, he created sculpture, sketches and all manner of creative expression. Even though some people only know him for his later work, what makes him and his work so wonderful is this diversity of media and the ways his exploration of art and life are intertwined. Is this multi-dimensional approach more reflective of humans, whom are rarely one-dimensional, or is it more reflective of a given society? And the case of focusing on one craft is a manifestation of a particular time and place?
As is often the case in our culturally-mixed, hybridized and eclectic society, the answer is not one or the other, it's multiplicity. Do we have a choice at all? Are we better to, as a friend describes "keep breathing, keep attention and let go"? In this way our attitudes and behaviour are allowed to reflect our ongoing dialogue with our surrounds and what manifests is always a reflection of what is required at the time? Even if this is not our conscious choice, is this what happens anyway and the conflict that arises is in our minds?
"I WANT IT NOW"
When you're young, you want to experience new things that you discover as soon as you find them. Like a child in a candy store, there's no sense of time or the maturity to evenly distribute these experiences over a life time. Travelling can be a classic environment where this "I want it all now"-syndrome leads to over-stimulation, and consequential burn out. Whether its information, food or clothing the trend is to acquire beyond one's physical, emotional and economic means.
With maturity, and several bouts of burn-out, one's sense of urgency wains and a more balanced attitude forms. One has to exercise particular restraint with modern media, there is simply too much information to absorb and most of it is rubbish. You have to choose where you get your news from and how you keep up with a rapidly evolving world. This should in theory make younger generations excellent information processors, and those who aren't able to adapt simply get left behind. For those adaptable creatures at the frontier they have to hang on for dear life. Hmm, the modern world ...
Side note: its the same when you meet a really interesting girl, or guy depending. In the back of your mind you think, "This person would be a great partner" but then you realise "Why do I need to do that? Why complicate things?"
With maturity, and several bouts of burn-out, one's sense of urgency wains and a more balanced attitude forms. One has to exercise particular restraint with modern media, there is simply too much information to absorb and most of it is rubbish. You have to choose where you get your news from and how you keep up with a rapidly evolving world. This should in theory make younger generations excellent information processors, and those who aren't able to adapt simply get left behind. For those adaptable creatures at the frontier they have to hang on for dear life. Hmm, the modern world ...
Side note: its the same when you meet a really interesting girl, or guy depending. In the back of your mind you think, "This person would be a great partner" but then you realise "Why do I need to do that? Why complicate things?"
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