The truth for today is about the Nobel prize. It is
seemingly awarded to someone who has made a signigicant contribution to the
world at large in some positive manner. Admirable I agree but that is not my
focus. I mean yes, surely it is at the discretion of the Nobel committee to
nominate and so on someone who fits their criteria and then the award is given
but…. I wonder about that.
I am reminded of a part in The Matrix Reloaded about programs-
Loosely paraphrased it states something to the effect that the programs truly
doing their jobs well, you never hear of. And that gets me to think about
contributions to humanity. The people behind the scenes such as teachers,
eccentric uncles, bizzare aunts and mothers. No offence to the other behind-the-sceners not mentioned. There are millions of people out there who go into
making that Nobel winner great, that didn’t really affect the world at large
directly but did so through what they imparted on this world changer.
As I conceded earlier, the Nobel committee is at their own
discretion, if we want to award a prize to every do gooder we would need more
than one, and more than a day and at the end of it all we would probably give
the prize to everybody, because everyone affects someone in some significant
way. Hold that thought. Why don’t we do that? We have a day in a year for all
sorts of individuals and events, don’t get me started on 420 but why
not have a day were everyone is appreciated. We could call it human day or
something. Free drinks and food for everyone, invite a homeless man in, no
murders and crimes on that day, no broadcasted news that’s negative. How good could that
one day be.
Why must we only acknowledge greatness once a year and only
of an individual. Why not everyone at least and maybe we could turn it into a
week long thing. Just a thought. If you’re interested in forming a new
committee to that end, ask me sometime. Truth, Oneness, Peace. Love.
It has been a while since my last post and to be honest I attribute that to a watering down of truth within me. Initially truths flowed like a spring and the more I tried to push it to the pace of social media the more I found myself unexpectedly concerned with what came out than with what was in. So can I say problem solved, truth is back? Maybe. Maybe because truth is everywhere and always around us. Am I the sole master or discerner and 'mentioner' of it, not at all. My truth is here with me, will it be truth to anyone else, well you be the judge...
The truth for today is this:
What is the nature of art in a world where everyone is producing or saying something profound? And that is to just ask of ubiquity, there is also the pace at which this is happening. Every second, I read a tweet, facebook status, instagram caption and marvel. Every second art is in motion. Gone are the days where you had to spend your entire life slaving for that one trip Rome or Paris to get arted up. Now google can take you there while you sit in your underwear in a dark room, for free.
The real interesting thing happens when you look at who the artists are. Anyone and everyone in a moment of brilliance, or should I say moments. I find myself now wondering if there will still be critics in the next 50 years. How do they critique a million comments a day? I guess everyone now plays the role of the critic but does that mean the most followed is the most artistic expression of the day. What of those things we are drawn to on a whim? Those cat memes for instance.
Maybe this is that old insecurity lingering from my own worry that I have become irrelevant. To slave over a book for years in the hopes that this will last throughout the ages as a great work. To take time to type this all out in perfect diction in the hopes that it will be up there old man plato. Does it still matter. Cant I just cough and click send and that should suffice as art?
The truth is that those days are gone. The truth is that this is a new age. The truth is that this is what that old man wanted all along. For everyone, everywhere to be able to express that which they were born to. To not have to claw and fight for attention but to share in the collective awareness that what is artistic is not individual but more an expression of what humanity is as a whole. As an artist, or more appropriately, as a human being there is a comfort in knowing that someone out there is doing or thinking the same thing as you. You are not alone. There are partners as well audiences out there. If you are in need of a partner ask me sometime? Better still if you need an audience link me up with your social addresses and I will support and follow you to the end of my days. Peace. Love. Truth
The truth for today is to be found in our relationship with space. The post title maybe a little misleading but bear with me. We spend hours upon hours wondering about ourselves, our appearances, our diets, our friends, our influences but most of the time we ignore the most significant one. Our environments. We are always somewhere, and rarely do we consider what an effect this has on who we are. When you walk into a room do you say- This place makes me better, This place makes me feel like i belong, This place improves me. I rarely do.
More often than not, we are concerned with the object, rather than the details. Or at least we are trained to. This place has big windows, Nice fixtures, An opulant chandelier, 5, well 6 star service. But we never really dive right into the question of what defines this place as a whole. The information that matters. What were the qualities of the place. The vibe as the hippies would say. From the moment i walked in maybe i felt excited. Maybe as i sat down i felt immediately relaxed. Maybe i felt more connected to the people around me. Trust me there are places, and not just because of timing that have consistantly the opposite effect.
So i thought of my arhcitect brothers and wondered, maybe they should stop designing for other architects who can appreciate their nods to history and cater more to the masses. Granted i know nothing about architecture so to make such a critique is base, i apologise. But my opinion is based on the premise that who is the building or space designed for- the client? The client has no formal understanding of the aesthetic and engineering principles behind beauty. Henceforth, shouldnt the space be designed around the client and not around what is commonly practised. However, before i act even more foolish let me say that not all architects are obsessed with inflicting the world with large obelisks, greek square frames, unnecessarily high ceilings, pillars, marble and columns. I found one such designer, thank you Ayn Rand.
His name is Frank Lloyd Wright. Remember that name, if you will remember anything out of all this. From the very first glimpse of his work, you realize that something is very different, refreshing but terryfying at the same time. Terrifying because his work should not exist, let alone hold up practically. Some things are better as conceptions, as dreams. But what 'Sir Lloyd' (as i call him) does is bring those fantasies to reality. Check him out and ask me sometime... I will only site two of his works otherwise this post might be less about truth and more about Frank.
Fallingwater, an absolute masterpiece, read the reviews and see it for yourself. Instead of clearing the space to put in another repetition of mother history, he built around the enviroment, incorporating it in some parts. No doubt this did not quite go as planned as you will find, mother nature is to ever-changing to be saddled onto by statis. However, with that said, the attempt is sublime.
What can i say about the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum? First of all if you look at its neighbours you notice its defiance. A defiance to rules and conventions. It seems more like a private conversation between the building and the earth rather than being another piece of a whole set of concrete structures. A building that symbolizes ascension, growing larger as you go up and then accented with that virginal skylight at the top. Truth.
Now... There are many architects today, some of whom i know, who still strive to define their own rules and impressions upon the enviroment. As to why these strucutres are seldom seen i can only argue that we the people are as well not ready to be freed from what we understand about the world we inhabit. Initially in writing this i had thought the blame rested solely on the shoulders of architects and i admitted my error and prematurity, asked for forgiveness from my architect friend and here i am now with an evolved perspective. Would you live in Fallingwater or rather choose a home your friends will understand and envy?
As this conversation of space progressed my friend added a further insight. It is not just with spaces but with objects that the stasis in design has halted. In cars, we still face the same direction, sit in the same position and travel the same way since their inception. Doors for all buildings are predominantly rectangular, made of wood and open with a handle roughly 70cm from the ground. Windows and walls are the same. Innovation has a very firm bridle in its mouth. So today i say... Designers and artists, follow the truth in your hearts and limit the influence of influence. Audience, open yourselves to what may well be the best way for you to experience your environment. I guess in this instance the word is not truth but trust. Ask me sometime... Trust!
The truth for today is for my dreamers, well i say my but i include myself in that category. To all the people who are in fields where they have to be pioneers. That scary place where no one sees what you see or believes what you believe. Shout out to Morpheus. This typically includes writers, actors, musicians, photographers, painters, designers and so on... Basically everyone involved in the arts or an industry where you have to pitch a vestal idea. I know you, ask me sometime....
The truth is this. The road is fraught with many dangers and risks. I know this. We all come to that place where what you wished and imagined does not equate to reality. Where the value of your work, personal, does not tally with what you are being offered. No recognition, no gratitude, no mercy and no reward. I know this. What does one do at such a time. Do you comply with the authorities and sell your dream/idea for nothing just so you can continue to live or do you beg, borrow, wait, scheme and slide your way into the promised land. The latter definitely. You are the first, DID YOU REALLY THINK IT WAS GOING TO BE EASY? Did you really think they were going to let you walk in and change their paradigms without any turmoil. NAY!! They have to test you, i have to test you, the universe has to test you. What are you made of that you dare to challenge what is established. Galileo was tested. Why not you?
So it comes down to this, keep walking and keep choosing to be what you know. They will come around and you need to be alive and ready for they day they do want what you have to offer. Let not that day come and you are broken, weary and complacent. On that day you must be more than you have ever been because you have survived hellfire. And when we finally do understand what it is you were on about all along, may we be fortunate enough to be remembered as being the one's who tried to believe, tried to understand and tried to accept.
To the art i say don't stop, every step forward is progress. Every decision made is a way-point on the journey to what you need. To the audience i say, have mercy and compassion, it is not always easy to explain the method in madness. As an artist or one of those above mentioned fancy categories i will also do my best to convey myself with honesty and integrity and hope you will see what i see. That is all i can offer you. However, Ask me sometime... Truth.
This week I had the good fortune of reconnecting with an old friend. He's a writer as well, maybe a better one than me, I can admit that. But it is such an odd thing, how do you compare and judge art and expression. Definitively, we cannot express the same thing in the exact same way, so how can I say he's better? I guess its just my opinion. So check Ennis out.
More to the point, I read something from Ennis about Kanyeism, ask him sometime.... It was with regards to the effect of music on states of mind. Particularly Kanye West's confidence inducing nectar. And this led to a quest to find Truth from music. I found it in a band from Japan called Sakanaction (roughly translated: 'fish' action). They aim to be like fish in the water.
The song in question is called 'Music'. From the moment it started I knew this was something other. It wrapped around me like the arm of an old dear friend and with it's other hand, buried in my chest cavity, began to massage my heart. We all here different things so I will not go into music analysis- the notes, the arrangement, tones, cadence and textures. Instead I want to talk about the feeling in as much as I can express what I felt.
There were definitely two distinct layers running throughout the song. One was a cool and magnetic wave that led me from place to place and from image memory to the next, I trusted them. This must have been the arm around my shoulder.
The second layer was impulsive and hypnotic. It jerked me around at specific points where all I could do was sigh while trying to burst and scream. This was more of a terrified exhilaration. The hand in my chest where no hand should be and doing what no hand should.
The appropriate question now would be how is that truth? If it was just one of either layer then I would say no truth to be found here. However, the juxtaposition of the layers is where I found truth. This is the very nature of truth, to be both constant and uplifting, comforting but also challenging, controlled but also unpredictable. That was the truth echoed by Sakanaction and I heard it.
After this experience I had to know what those strange but beautiful sounding japanese lyrics meant. And here is what I found:
English Translation Lyrics
Flowing along and along
Do the birds end up missing their far away caves?
They flew high into the sky
Nobody knows
Looking down over an unknown town, what do the birds think of?
Are they the same as my lonely self?
When they part
do the birds end up missing their flock companions?
They cried in a high voice
It doesn’t say a thing
The silent town quietly
listened to it
Is it the same as my weak self?
The words of us who have grown used to pain, scars and lies
drift on the surface of the worn-out river
in the town that you live in
They disappeared
They disappeared
(THE RIVER FLOWS)
They disappeared
(YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT, YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT)
They disappeared
They disappeared
(THE RIVER FLOWS)
They disappeared
(YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT, BECAUSE YOU STILL DON’T SEE IT)
I want to go to sleep with my hair still wet
The discarded clothes
are still in the same place as yesterday
It doesn’t say a thing
It’s as if it’s leaning on the wall of my silent room
looking at my sloppy self
I who have grown used to pain, scars and lies align my soliloquy
with the worn out night as the wind blows
towards your cheek
It touched it
It touched it
(THE NIGHT FLOWS ON)
It touched it
(I’M NOT CRYING, I’M NOT CRYING)
It touched it
It touched it
(THE NIGHT FLOWS ON)
You
(WERE CRYING, BECAUSE YOU WERE CRYING)
Turning to look back as they stand in the season
hating that they can’t remember
even the birds that flowed on and on
were surely crying, crying*
in the town
Waiting for a season that’s gone by,
hating that they can’t remember
Because they will part they take flight
The birds were surely crying,
crying
Always waiting on us,
despite being tired of your pain and scars
even though the night remains unchanging
You continue to sing,
continue to sing
You always wait for us
Still unable to see it, you simply wait
Even my sloppy and weak self
can continue to sing,
continue to sing
*Translator's Note: This word can also meaning that 'they were singing.'
Even more disturbing is that the lyrics echo this truth too. A truth I heard before I even understood. So thank you to my senpai: Ishizaki Rui for the discovery, Your taste in music is astounding. Hope the rest of you find a truth that is both eternal and momentary in whatever art you experience. Its not only found in music, ask me sometime... Truth
Here is Sakanaction with Music and then Kanye added for that confidence boost. Truth
A while ago i posted about the Interpol song 'A Time To Be Small' and my truth today follows from that. A time to be something. Arguably everything has its optimum time to exist. We have seasons throughout time just for this. A time for rain, a time for snow, a time to grow, a time to reap and a time to sow. So the truth for today is with consideration to the seasons of a human life. As a result of the dynamic and ever altering moment of the human condition, the seasonal terminology or understanding is less general and predictable. When is it a time for you to be small? Emotionally speaking of course. When is it time to give an endeavor everything you have and when is it not? What are these mysterious seasons in a human life? How do the rest of the creatures seem to have it perfected to something that we can observe and even coordinate our wardrobes and watches too?
The answer is human life does have predictable seasons but the reactions are not as predictable as those of our cousins. How we react to the winters of our lives varies, some would fight it because they would prefer to have it all as a prolonged summer, while others embrace times of lack because they understand that life needs to be this way for a time. I must admit i am not completely of the latter mindset. Lack scares me a great deal. And by lack i refer to times of loneliness, homelessness and general personal deficiency. So what do we do? Do we embrace the loneliness and say: "this is normal, it will pass..." and soldier on? I want to but can I? Admittedly this post was to retain more answers than questions but it seems i have failed. The Truth is that in one lifetime i cannot answer this. I can only give you a truth, the truth that you are not alone in trying to figure out how to react to the seasons of life. The best i can offer is: Try to react as honestly as you can to the seasons. Freak out when you feel like it, Dance when you feel like it. Despair, Laugh, Cry, Sing and Act like you feel like it. No one knows the seasons of life, your life, like you do. Most of all no one can tell you otherwise. No one can dictate how you should react to a particular event or time. Be you, as cliche and watered-down as that sounds. For what it's worth I am proud of you and how you have handled your life thus far and i do not need to know the details. The fact that you are still here and still going means you are doing something right and have earned your place in the universe. You do not have to pay any further dues to anyone else. Seasons change and know this... good or bad. Ask me sometime... Truth and Peace.
For the good of mankind and my favourite band Interpol. Check out "Lights"
Alright... This is the question i found today. Before this becomes a good guy vs bad guy argument, let me clarify the parameters of the answer. We are all different with different prerequesites and capacities. For the record let me say i know people who are polygamous and they are sometimes some of the best and most loving people i know. Personally, i am disgustingly monogamous and it is not really a skill i harness but more a comfortable and natural state of being. At this juncture i'm more concerned with the one and the interaction of relationary preference- monogamy and polygamy, and with this idea of one love for life.
I have had the privilege of seeing both sides of the argument. However, the conversation becomes awkward when i try and defend my polygamy-minded brothers. As a matter of fact, i'm going to do away with that word polygamy and call them free.
Free lovers seem to have an infinite capacity to Love more people than is normal for most. And what is of great significance is that this does not alter their Love for one person when all is said and done. In some rare cases it makes them better Lovers. I must say i am in no way defending people who practice Free Love at the cost of someone elses feelings. That i cannot condone. What my focus is today is that it is what it is and we can spend time trying to change people to see things with monogamous goggles, or we could try to understand how to better have a relationship that accepts a person for who they are and can't help being.
But before i trap myself and pick a side, i will ask a question. Maybe a question you haven't asked yourself. Where we born to only Love one person and that's it? Where we born to Love all? These to questions define what is the limiting factor in understanding infidelity and soul mates. I throw it out. Ask me sometime... Truth.
