We may have Internet back…
art
I forgot these were there, and there are still more, but 22 is enough for one post.
One of the first things in my feed this morning was an article from CNN titled, “Baring it all: Breasts take center stage at this major exhibition” The focus is an exhibition in Florence, Italy’s Palazzo Franchetti. Why they didn’t invite me to participate, I don’t know. I definitely have enough content to fill a room or two without including any one pair more than once. I’d be offended by the exclusion if I had the energy. That’s okay, though. I’ll settle for entertaining you with re-processed images from 2013’s Rite of Spring series. And hey, there’s no admission fee this way.
Thoughts this afternoon have turned to Hawai’i and how much I’d rather spend this afternoon there than here. If I’m going to have to choose an apartment in which to spend the rest of my life, I’d rather it be there than here. If I’m going to be someplace where people slowly forget about me, I’d rather it be there than here. I know a lot there has changed since the fires, and it’s certainly a lot more expensive to exist there than it is here, but I could get by. I don’t need carpeting because it makes me unstable. I don’t need a pool because I no longer swim. I don’t need excessively large spaces; these pictures were shot in a 10’x12′ room.
I only need beautiful neighbors, food, and coffee. Hawai’i has all that. And just think what I could do on the islands.
Tipper rarely brings home homework from school. There’s seldom anything for her to bring home at all. Yesterday was the exception. She came home, emptied the pockets of her hoodie, and placed the folded pieces of paper on the kitchen counter. Both were already completed on the ride home. That’s not a big surprise for a young woman who often finds school boring.
I picked up one of the papers and looked over it. She’s dyslexic so her handwriting isn’t the neatest and can take a moment to translate. After I’d looked over it a couple of times, I asked her if she would mind if I shared it. She asked why. I told her that it’s because what she said was something that every artist needs to hear, no matter how old they are.
So, with her permission, here’s what she wrote:
Something I am passionate about is art. One way I want to change it is that you don’t need to be a professional to draw or craft because lots of artists give up because they can’t draw right or craft it correctly. I can change it [art] by telling young artists that it doesn’t need to be perfect. Just practice and don’t compare your art to others. It can drop confidence.
-Tipper (age 14)
Go ahead. Screenshot it. Share it. Take the message to heart. And don’t give up.
A Message For Artists From A 14-Year-Old
Tipper rarely brings home homework from school. There’s seldom anything for her to bring home at all. Yesterday was the exception. She came home, emptied the pockets of her hoodie, and placed the folded pieces of paper on the kitchen counter. Both were already completed on the ride home. That’s not a big surprise for a young woman who often finds school boring.
I picked up one of the papers and looked over it. She’s dyslexic so her handwriting isn’t the neatest and can take a moment to translate. After I’d looked over it a couple of times, I asked her if she would mind if I shared it. She asked why. I told her that it’s because what she said was something that every artist needs to hear, no matter how old they are.
So, with her permission, here’s what she wrote:
Something I am passionate about is art. One way I want to change it is that you don’t need to be a professional to draw or craft because lots of artists give up because they can’t draw right or craft it correctly. I can change it [art] by telling young artists that it doesn’t need to be perfect. Just practice and don’t compare your art to others. It can drop confidence.
-Tipper (age 14)
Go ahead. Screenshot it. Share it. Take the message to heart. And don’t give up.
The following pictures were taken in 2009 with the subject standing in front of a windowed door just as the sun was rising. One can see how the light changes color tone as the photos progress. The photos were initially dark and any attempt to lighten them introduced too much noise to make them useable. With improvements in technology, we were able to go back and reprocess the images in a more appropriate fashion.
In June of last year (2023), the Texas State Legislature, one of the most brain-dead in the union, passed a law requiring adult-oriented websites to use “reasonable” age verification to make sure that only people 18+ are accessing their websites. You know, they’re so obsessed with “protecting the children.” Lawsuits were immediately filed and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals applied a temporary stay, but at the same time required adult websites to comply with the law. As a result, Aylo, who owns sites such as PornHub, had a choice to make. Aylo said no, thank you, and pulled its websites from Texas. The revenue they receive from Texas isn’t worth the trouble it would take to add the necessary age verification. Insert giant middle finger here.
Some people in Texas took Aylo’s departure as good news. They got rid of the big porn monster, right? Hardly. In fact, what it did was create a fun challenge for teenagers to get around the law. I’m guessing none of the people involved in creating the law know a damn thing about VPNs, IP masking, or anything of the other dozen or so technologies that can be used to hide the location of someone attempting to access a website. People who want access to the material have plenty of options. And should the courts finally decide, incorrectly, that the law is constitutional (let’s face it, no one has actually read the Constitution in 50 years), it’s unenforceable.
For now, though, we decided to check and see if anyone in Texas can see what we post here. We grabbed a handful of images from 2009-10 and we’ll see if anyone can see them. Let us know in the comments if you can, and we’re guessing you can.
Warning: the following content is for mature and responsible audiences. We are not responsible for anyone who might be offended by you viewing this content.
They came from different backgrounds, different cultures clashing in ways that might have led their ancestors to war. No one could know the relationship between them, the desire, the heat, the need to be close, touching, feeling, and expressing their passion. They were shadow lovers who came and went, unnamed, unknown, creating images captured on camera knowing that were their true selves exposed, their lives would become troubled, at risk from the exposure. So we gave them a different form of erotic expression, one that blurs the lines so heavily that, when viewed on too small a device, one isn’t sure whether they’re human at all. Maybe they’re not. They’re certainly not anyone you know. She’s not eating a burger, thinking of him as she wipes the juice off her chin. He’s not sitting at the bar, drinking bourbon, remembering how she tastes. They live in a strange light and love in the shadows.
Click on any of the thumbnails below to view the images full screen. Again, the images are best suited for larger devices.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17911″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]
Maybe all that pasta isn’t a good thing
All my life I’ve heard, “You are what you eat.” While that is fundamentally true in an organic chemistry sort of way, diet has a limited affect on our personality, the decisions we make, our skills, or the portions of humanity we decide to embrace. A recent body modification convention, which I did not attend, reminded me how much we like wearing things on our skin and got me thinking what might happen if we wore what we ate? I’m not talking about all those times the taco leaks and we are stuck wearing hot sauce the rest of the day. What if the salad we had for lunch, or the peanuts, or the snack cake, whatever we most recently consumed, was reflected onto our skin until we decided to consume something else? As these pictures show, the effects are mixed. I think, of all these, Citrus and Mixed Veggies are the only ones I personally find appealing. Kat likes Tomatoes, though, and you’re welcome to have your own preferences. Click on any thumbnail below to view the collection full screen.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17863″ layout=”contain” columns=”2″]
Actively avoiding realism
No big mystery here. No need for profound comment. Although, in a funny sort of way, this is almost like an artistic “Where’s Waldo?” There’s a nipple in every picture. Some are obvious, others not so much. Can you find all of them?
Click on any image below to view the set full-screen. Do it. Don’t make me cry.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17819″ layout=”contain” columns=”2″]
click on any thumbnail to view the gallery full-screen
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17804″ layout=”contain” columns=”2″]
You can be nice for a while, but when necessary, you have show your strength
One of the things the misogyny and sexism of our culture teaches is that it’s okay to push other people around, especially women. Stop teaching your children that lesson. Stop acting out that behavior. Stop putting women in a position where they have to whip your ass before you understand that what you are doing is wrong.
After the events of this past week, I’m rather over the convoluted and never-appropriate notion that women deserve something less on any level at any time. They deserve just as much respect, just as much attention, just as much opportunity, just as much funding, and just as much credit as any male in any position, ever. We’re well past the point of it being okay to expect women to sit quietly in the passenger seat and let men do the driving.
More often than not, one doesn’t want to see a woman’s badass side. Relationships rarely survive when she gets pushed that far. Lesser creatures have died. But not only can she out maneuver, out drink, out smart, and out think you, she looks better than you while doing it. These pictures are evidence of that.
Okay, so maybe not all women go around topless or wearing a rope corset while being badass. That’s a minor point. What’s important is that you start showing some respect. Polishing her boots might be an acceptable place to start. Get to it.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17710″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]
Some people are always relaxed no matter what they’re doing
I tend to be a bit high strung at times, especially when my schedule is too full and something goes wrong. This would be why I’m on high blood pressure medication. Stress and I do not have an amicable relationship. The more I try to relax and not overload my schedule, the more stress fights back by adding things I neither wanted or needed in my day. This is one of those aspects I’ve come to accept as a part of life.
The young woman in these pictures gets stressed as well. I’d be lying to infer that she doesn’t. And I’m sure there are moments when she gets as frustrated as anyone else. The difference is that I never see her when she is stressed or frustrated. She may text Kat, or fuss at her partner, but by the time I get wind of any of it the whole matter has blown over. So, from my perspective, she’s totally chill. Always.
Carefully lit black-and-white photographs do a good job of communicating a level of casual ease, in my opinion. Regardless of what’s actually going on in the image, the tone of the photograph removes the intensity that comes with color. The emotion, even when it’s sadness or grief, carries a sense of resignation or acceptance that color doesn’t quite muster. As a result, when we start with a casual scene from the beginning, what we hopefully achieve is a level of relaxation that is seductive not in its content but in its emotion.
Judge for yourself. Click on any of the thumbnails below to view the images full screen.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17673″ layout=”contain” columns=”4″]
I’m damn sure not happy with the condition of the United States at the moment
My blood pressure is too high. It’s Saturday night and I’ve lost all faith in the two-party system of government. 43 Senators violated their oath of office, completely ignoring the rule of law. There’s no living with such traitorous action. But at the moment, there’s not a lot I can do. There is a lot I will do when the time is appropriate, but for now, I need to find my happy place. So, here it is. You’ll have to click on the image below to see the full version. No, I didn’t cut everyone’s head off. I’m reserving that action for politicians.
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Having come to the conclusion that I enjoy this manner of editing even when it takes several hours longer and at times makes me angry
Does it matter what anyone else thinks about my work? Well, yes, if one is wanting to be employed or wants their work to sell to an admiring public. When either of those are influencing what we do, then yes, the opinion of others matters.
For the moment, though, I am past caring. With long days of sitting here without any interaction outside of family, focusing on writing, and wrestling with what seems to be a growing number of health issues, caring about what someone thinks about how I edit pictures kinda takes a back set. Anyone who hasn’t purchased a picture before isn’t likely to change their mind and do so now, so why bother catering to that market?
Not that I won’t submit quality work to art shows if they indeed happen again. That’s always an option and it sits outside the online galleries that have yet to be worth the trouble of participation.
But what that means is that instead of whipping out a new set every week, this one took three weeks. Instead of whipping out 40 images a day, most of these took the better part of two days each. Inherently, that makes them more valuable but since no one’s buying anyway that’s not my concern. I’m more focused on whether they meet my goal of what I want from both the image individually and its place in the series.
These were shot on a plain white background, which is evident in the first image. We were a couple of hours into the shoot and the bottle in the model’s hand is empty for presumably obvious reasons. The effect of the wine was just starting to hit with the first image and grew as we progressed. No one was inebriated, but the buzz generated smiles and giggles that were entertaining to capture.
I can’t say I’ll stay in this funk. Part of me is anxious to return to straightforward editorial shots but for that to happen the environment for shooting them has to be safer for everyone. But for now, this is where we’re at. I have more images to edit, but I’m not rushing them. Each will reflect how I want to interpret the scene and situation. If that bothers you, that’s your problem.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17619″ layout=”contain” columns=”2″]
A disastrous year for creatives and creativity is one we should leave behind
This is the time of year when everyone inevitably starts looking back at what has happened the past twelve months, partly to remember the good pieces, to memorialize losses, and to try and make some sense of the rest. If this were a normal year, I would be working on getting art submissions ready, updating the website, and deciding what direction I wanted to take for the next twelve months. December has always been busy trying to wrap things up while still allowing sufficient time for family and festivities.
Not this year. I don’t need to tell you what a clusterfuck this year has been. You’ve been experiencing it right along with the rest of us. All our plans went to shit. Drastic measures, some now regrettable, had to be taken. People and opportunities were lost and neither is coming back. Back in March, we were talking about, “when things return to normal,” but we now realize that isn’t going to happen. Even as a vaccine begins to roll out across the United States in the morning, even as the Electoral College meets tomorrow and (presumably) ends our four-year political nightmare, there’s no returning to the lives we once knew. “Normal” has been blown to smithereens and it remains to be seen what replaces it.
Our model for this week’s photos was also the subject of some of our first posts this year. In fact, if there were an award for the most-frequently appearing model this year, she would get it. She occurs so often partly because she shot with us late last year before everything went haywire, and then was the first person to jump back in front of the camera in September when we thought everything was going to be safe. Silly me. I saved this set of pictures for now because even though there were still five months left to the year when we shot them I knew they would be an apt end-of-the-year metaphor.
There is so much of this year I would love to see scrubbed from my mind, and with my brain working the way it is, that quite likely will eventually happen involuntarily. I don’t think I know a creative who at least once this year hasn’t questioned whether they should continue. Many have contemplated ending their lives completely. Some have succeeded. Others had their lives taken from them by a virus that could have, should have, been controlled if only we had leadership that wasn’t more concerned with their own profit and benefit.
Art shows, and subsequently art sales, were shut down after February. Those that did try to come back were less than successful. Buyers and collectors weren’t in the mood to invest, or even go out and look. This leaves creatives struggling for public grants and for those of us who work along the margins of what is publicly acceptable, applying for those rapidly-depleted funds was futile.
What may hurt most is that for all the hardships and difficulties we’ve faced here, I don’t have to look far to find those who have it worse. Friends and colleagues who were just fine a year ago now struggle daily to keep a roof over their heads, food on their table, and medicine available. Not only has a nation turned their backs on them, but many of those they trusted have also abandoned them, some to address their own concerns, others because of political differences, and still others who just couldn’t be bothered.
These images are stark. There’s no noise reduction because that would require softening edges that need to be sharp. There’s no skin treatment because we need to see things for what they are. These images are dark because light has been rare this year. Some images have visible ripple shadows from the light fixture in the shower. Sure, I could have taken those out, but again, it’s a metaphor for how things external to us, well out of our control, distorted our year, our lives, our personal photographs.
I look at these pictures and don’t see anything erotic or sexually alluring. Instead, I see hot water pounding away at tender flesh, dissolving the accumulated stains of this year. Some of those stains were perhaps self-inflicted, but most of the mud and the dirt of the past twelve months was thrown, harshly, carelessly, without any regard for humanity.
I look at these pictures and remember how incredibly hot the water was, how red the model’s skin was from that water, and the fog that filled the room by the time we were done. Taking these pictures was challenging, both technically and artistically. There were plenty of obstacles to overcome. Yet, again, none match the reality of struggling to survive this year.
You have had your own struggles. As you examine these photos perhaps you find in them your own metaphors, your own interpretations of how your life is different now than it was in January.
For all of us, may this be a time of cleansing, the moment where we repudiate all the nonsense, the hyperbole, the hurt, and the pain, and prepare ourselves to start clean in the next year. Yes, we will still have to wear masks. We will still have to avoid crowds and remain socially distant. Best estimates are that it will be this time next year before the US reaches 70% immunity and even that is a best-case scenario. Still, this time we know what we’re facing. We know the challenges. We know what we have to do.
We start clean. We move forward. Naked. Unashamed to be who and what we are.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17525″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]
2010 wasn’t really that long ago, but in this moment it feels as though lifetimes have passed.
The exif data on this week’s images tells me they were shot April 13, 2010.
I don’t remember shooting them.
Going through one of the archive drives last week, looking for a specific image and not finding it, I opened a folder I hadn’t looked at in a long time. I hadn’t looked at that folder because I thought I knew what was in it. The label referred to a much-loved set of pictures that I’m not terribly inclined to re-process because I love the originals too much. Frustrated at not finding the image I wanted, though, I opened the folder because there are times, as I’m moving things around from one drive to the next, folders accidentally get nested in places one wouldn’t expect. That’s when I discovered two sets of images shot on the same day as the ones I love that have never been processed. With the set I’m showing you today, there’s at least the appearance, based on exif data, that I opened them and made some adjustments to the RAW files. With the second set, which I’ve not decided to process just yet, the images are completely untouched.
Ten years ago, Miranda was one of my favorite muses in a period where there were multiple (so very unlike today). She would drop by, chat, and we’d almost always end up taking pictures of some kind. That I don’t remember every set is probably inevitable. There are dozens. Since then, Miranda’s become a mother, suffered the heartbreak of losing a child to SIDS, and, like most of us, learned a lot of life lessons over the course of time.
Going through these photos raises a lot of sentimental emotions. I tossed Miranda a message and perhaps, if we can make schedules work, we can get her back in front of the camera again. Until then, we have this wonderful set of images to enjoy.
Technical note: For the most part, these are composites of the image processed through three different methods. The two exceptions, each a single process, are obvious.
Remember, click on any of the images below for a full-screen view.
[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17141″ layout=”contain” columns=”2″]
Art reflects what we experience but when our experience is something other than positive or sanguine, how do we make that art fit into our lives?
This week has been unnerving, to say the least. I’ve waited until Sunday morning before deciding whether to post what I’d planned or wait. I won’t argue that what we have to share this week doesn’t fit with national or local tragedies. I don’t have anything in my archives that would. However, I’m not convinced matters will have improved by next week, nor the week after. So, I’m sharing in the hopes that, perhaps, in some moment separate from the chaos filling our conscious existence, the pictures might provide a distraction, a different vein of thought, perhaps even a twinkling of amusement that helps in some small way to carry us all forward.
I created this week’s images, perhaps unsurprisingly, in response to the global pandemic that, despite all other distractions, continues to take lives around the globe. This morning’s verified numbers are that 6.05 million people have been confirmed to have the virus. 369,000 of those people died. 105,000 of those deaths were in the US. 1,850 were in Indiana. COVID-19 is no respecter of race, gender, religion, or political persuasion. Diseases are like that. They don’t care who they infect.
The first six images reflect how the virus takes a beautiful life and distorts, consumes, and obliviates that existence. The last three images shift to the softness of our response. Sure, there’s some caution and some urgency, but we’ve colored our attitudes and responses with excuses and misinformation and a complete suspension of belief in science so that we’re convinced it’s no big deal and you’re not going to notice the body is on fire unless you look closely.
I like the finished works and probably, eventually, will make them for sale. You’ll want to keep checking our catalog at Saatchi Art for those updates. What occurred to me, though, as I was working on the first piece, is that art addressing challenging topics can be difficult to place in a room. Showing the art by itself in a staged room didn’t quite provide the aesthetic experience I want to share. So, I pulled out some design templates and created mood boards for each image with different ideas for colors and textures that might match well with the photograph.
Does one decorate a room around an image representing such an unpopular and rather depressing topic? One certainly doesn’t furnish a room to clash with such an image! If we find the artistry in the photograph, I see no reason to not work the room in which it hangs so that everything is complimentary.
The problem with digital mood boards, though, is that they really don’t give one any sense of the image’s detail. So, I’m giving you both the image and the mood board. Depending on what size device you’re viewing these, the layout will either be helpful or leave you scrolling down forever. I’m not responsible for the failings of your electronics.
These images do not take away any angst or worry one might have regarding current events. They do nothing to address the violence nor the systemic racial injustice. These photographs are a distraction. I hope they provide you an experience void of pain.
Government leaders can’t make people leave their homes to return to large group gatherings. Feeling comfortable in public is largely a matter of marketing.
We, as a society, have arrived at that point where we have to start making some choices that have the potential to be life-altering if we’re wrong. Government leaders, looking at declining tax revenues and a crumbling economy, want businesses to re-open and with that a return of large-group gatherings, such as eating indoors at restaurants, sporting events, art galleries, and more. Cities, especially, have already lost millions of dollars in tax revenue which means less money for things such as infrastructure repair and public safety. The longer businesses stay closed and groups are limited to the smallest of gatherings, the public agencies we look to for basic required services suffer. This isn’t a management issue, nor is it a political one. Reduce the purchase of goods and services and public revenue is going to slide.
The challenge is that even when places do begin to open, many of us won’t feel comfortable going back out in public at the same rate as we did before, and when we do, we’re likely to take more precautions. For me, personally, there’s not a lot of choice. My doctor made it very clear to me that I need to still stay home as much as possible, use extreme care when I do have to go out, and to limit who I’m around. That means I’m not going to be taking any new pictures of people for a while yet.
What’s true for me, however, is not necessarily true for everyone else and a lot of people don’t have a choice about whether they go back to work. While they can still take reasonable precautions, they face an increased risk factor every time they go out.
14 civic organizations, including the Indianapolis Arts Council, have put together a survey to gauge where you’re at with this whole re-opening thing. When are you likely to venture out? What precautions will you still take? This survey is very important as it will factor heavily in determining public policy for Indianapolis. Click here to participate in the survey.
The survey is open until Friday, May 29. If you live or work in the Indianapolis area, it is important that you let city leaders know how you’re feeling about the whole start up thing. We always gripe about no one listening to us. They’re listening more carefully now than perhaps ever before.
I am still convinced that, for the greater majority of people, how comfortable anyone feels going out is largely a matter of marketing. If we see pictures of people out having fun even with health restrictions such as wearing masks and staying six feet apart from each other, then we are more likely to have a positive attitude. If all we see are news stories about increases in Covid-19-related deaths, then we’re more likely to keep our happy little asses at home.
The time is ripe for trying something new, in my opinion, and one of those concepts is the ability to make art mobile. The technology has been there for quite some time now to be able to wrap images onto vehicles of pretty much any shape or size. We can share our favorite pieces of art just by driving around!
The problems, however, are many. First, those wraps aren’t cheap. Wrapping a mini-van or SUV, for example, is going to run around $5,000. Not exactly pocket change for most people. Then, you’re going to want to change the wrap every once in a while, so each time you do the expense is incurred again. Then, if you don’t produce your own art work, there’s the matter of paying license fees for the use of the image. Those can range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars per use.
My problem, aside from the fact I don’t have $5k to drop on wrapping a vehicle, is that the images I would want to use are not exactly what one might call safe for work, or general public consumption. I can just imagine the accidents that might be caused by me driving down the street with an art nude on the side of my vehicle. Our society is simultaneously both horny and prudish enough for the sight of a pair of bare breasts to be considered a public safety hazard.
Still, that doesn’t stop me from imagining what such wraps might look like if they were actually placed on vehicles of different styles and sizes. Fortunately, there are plenty of bare vehicle templates available for me to use. So, of course, that’s exactly what happened. We played.
There aren’t a lot of pictures here because, let’s face it, the concept is steeped in folly and wishful thinking. This isn’t going to happen. However, given as I am to fairy tales, we developed a handful of images to share with you. So, take the survey and then enjoy the images below.
Taking a creative turn toward nature
Being quarantined over two months, not having the slightest clue when I will feel safe enough to invite someone back in front of my camera, is really pushing me to come up with creative ways of processing images. Part of the problem is that I’ve looked at the same pictures for so many years that I now find the originals a bit boring. Whether that might translate into something more interesting when I do start shooting again, I can’t yet say. I do know, though, that I’m likely to be more involved in directing models so that I have a greater variety of poses.
One of the things I’ve noticed in looking around various art sites is the popularity of butterflies and other elements from nature composited or layered onto images. The technique is so popular, in fact, that with some artists it becomes redundant after 20 or so images done in exactly the same style. To that end, the images below are likely to be the only ones you see done in this precise style. I’m not saying I won’t use some of the elements again, but if I do it will involve a very different processing style.
I also am not particularly moved at this point from the stark magazine cut-out style of compositing that is popular with a number of artists. Again, it feels redundant to the point that if I see another butterfly with an uneven white border placed over a person’s mouth I may have to puke just on principle. As a result, I deliberately worked to keep edges softer, often deteriorated, and in some cases completely obscure. In one piece, Floral Explosion, there are no edges at all, no lines, just vague shapes, and colors. Artistically, I like the softer touch and may eventually do a set of figure pieces that avoid lines completely, which would be abstract as hell but potentially interesting. Potentially. What exists as a concept in my head doesn’t always work out in reality. We’ll see.
Anyway, we’ve uploaded this set to Saatchi Art for purchase. No, they’re not cheap because they were incredibly time-intensive to produce. Everything we’re doing at the moment is time-intensive. Part of the purpose is to keep myself focused on creating so I don’t get lost thinking of how much I’m not creating. I hope you find something here you can enjoy.
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Morning Update: 08/07/24
Lesson learned: Don’t eat bacon and then go out in the heat for a prolonged period of time. My stomach strongly disagreed with that decision and, wouldn’t you know it, I was at the Indiana State Fair when my body decided to process that fateful act. Fortunately, there were plenty of open restroom stalls. Still, my stomach never really settled down, foiling my plan to cheat on my diet for the day. I had a $4 bottle of water, instead.
My motivation for going to the fair on such a hot day, besides the fact admission was only $2, was the desire to check out Travis Little’s newest work. Health issues have prevented Travis from being able to paint and this is his first work since regaining use of his hands. Spectacular? Uhm, of course! If you’re going to the fair, you’ll find his work in the Arts building, lower part of the first floor, in the “Professional” room, and in the watercolor section. Yes, watercolor. While Travis mostly uses pastels, he used watercolor for this piece, and that resulted in the unique placement of his work.
Those of you who’ve been around for a while know what I’m going to say next. STOP MAKING ART A COMPETITION! As I walked through both the art and photography galleries I was deeply disturbed by the degree to which superior works received no attention at all. And who the fuck decided to post the photographs with no attribution? Whose work was I looking at? Yes, it matters! I have different expectations for someone who has been snapping for 20+ years than I do for someone who is just starting out. My complaint applies double to the youth sections where failure to acknowledge strong work could result in the artist giving up and setting their tools to the side, causing the world to lose out on a spectacular talent that is just getting started.
Art is and always will be subjective, no matter the medium. The “purists” who strive to put rules and fences around art are detrimental to the open creativity necessary to move art forward. There are some amazing sculptures on display, for example, but the one given the blue ribbon was a cliche that was almost insulting to the works around it. In fact, there were a lot of cliche themes throughout the galleries, perhaps because the selection committee was too afraid to let through pieces that “break the rules.” All artists deserve a platform and the state fair should be the place for that platform.
They should also improve the air conditioning in the building.
I walked through all the animal barns, but there wasn’t a lot to see. Only a few Herefords, Angus, and Highland cattle were present in the cow barn and only 4H horses were present in that building. Both the sheep and swine buildings were all but empty. I did grab a handful of pictures, but I haven’t gone through any except one at the top of this page. I think another trip is in order next week, but it will have to be a lot cooler and I’ll have to be more careful of what I eat in advance.
Getting home, one might have thought I’d been missing for months with the way the dogs greeted me. I don’t know what might have happened in my absence, but both pups were more interested in seeing me than in going outside. Even when I let them out, they wanted all my attention and only left my side long enough to bark at the mail truck, which is, apparently, a requirement. When we came back in, I sat down at the desk, and Belvedere (the hound) was having none of it. He knew I needed to lie down and didn’t stop pestering me until I did, at which point he curled up as close to me as he physically could.
Kids came in, we ate food, and then everyone went to sleep.
Of course, the big news yesterday was Kamala Harris’ choice of Tim Walz as her Vice President pick. Cue the usual, “Yeah, but…” chorus. The fact is that Walz probably balances Harris better than any of the other potential nominees. Sarah Smarsh in an opinion piece for the New York Times says that Democrats Have Needed Someone Like Tim Walz for Decades, and she’s probably correct by most counts. What could be most important, though, is Walz has a surprisingly strong pull with young voters. This could be critical in a race that is going to be analyzed and picked at from every possible direction.
What else? Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader in a show of defiance. If we were hoping for a more gentle response to the assassination of the group’s leader, this wasn’t it. Expect the war to grow more heated and most likely expand to Lebanon and possibly Iran. The entire situation there is not looking good.
Global shares rose and Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.2% as markets settled after a wild start to the week. Tesla has issued yet another huge recall, this time in China. And Thai court dissolved the progressive Move Forward Party, which won the election but was blocked from power. So much for democracy.
The Justice Department says a Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran has been charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil. That one’s a bit scary to read. The question now is whether they only sent one or are there more.
And your stupid ass GOP move of the day? Louisiana governor tells parents against Ten Commandments in classrooms: ‘Tell your child not to look’. Not kidding. Let this be a sign of what’s coming, though, if we allow Republicans to have any level of power after this election. They’ve gone off the deep end. I’m not sure labeling them as weird is enough.
Today needs to be a rest day. I’m going to eat breakfast, check on a few details, and then most likely nap the rest of the day. If you need me you’ll need to wake the dogs.
Good luck with that.
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