(Digging through to China I mean… :-/)

Back in 1991 I sat on a tour bus out of London with a young 19 year old Croatian girl who had been visiting the UK when war broke out in her homeland. She found herself suddenly stranded there. Unable to return home… she didn’t know the fate of her family as she had been unable to get in touch with them. She told me she would often take the tour bus to keep herself busy and her mind otherwise occupied. I felt very sad for her… and so unable to help. But she was strong and resourceful for one so young… and determined to find her way back home. I sometimes think about her and wonder if she did. It seems unreal to we who enjoy peace and relative prosperity in our lives to comprehend that war and the instability it brings is the way of things for a great many people in the world. Meeting her gave me a whole new insight.

I haven’t been to Chicago… but hope to get there one day. The Hindu Alderman sounds like a bit of a character. Hilarious that he should take the oath of office with his hand on a transit map… how very “municipal” that is! (((LOL)))

But looking at this even before art makes it into the marketplace… it seems to me that a vast amount of what is being produced these days remains derivative and uninspiring. And the derivation and lack of original inspiration lies not only within the realms of amateur art as one might expect… although given the burgeoning numbers of aspiring “artists” out there… this would not seem an unreasonable assumption! LOL

I guess it’s important to say here too that not all truly original ideas and concepts will (necessarily) translate into “great” art. But at least it will be “authentic” and hopefully speak for the artist who created it. And with art… that’s an important prerequisite… aside from whether the art ultimately succeeds or not. Authenticity is something we should all be striving for… not only in art… but in life. As individuals we have so much to give.

And as an old relative of mine Herman Melville (wink) once said “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation”

Still musing here… *sigh* chuckles

Isn’t the video clip something else? So funny. I’m glad it brought back happy memories for you. It makes the clip all the more impactful to know that this was once your old stomping ground!

Great assessment John.

Artists definitely are a different breed. But even among their ranks there are those who would be (and are) inadvertently or otherwise constrained by convention… society… and dare I say it mediocrity? I don’t mean this as a criticism of our kind (grin)… just an observation that even among those who would “be different”… many still choose the well trodden path… creating works that have already been created over and over and over again.

I think it comes down to the way people look at things. If we can see through the stereotypes of what might be “expected”… a whole new way of looking… and seeing… and recording what we see may just open up. (And I well and truly include myself here!)

There very well might not be anything new under the sun… but no-one has seen it quite like we have. And by “we”… I mean all of us… each and every one. Artist or non-artist. The creative potential of the individual is enormous. It would be wonderful if we lived in societies which truly fostered it’s growth… and nurtured it out of us. You may say I’m a dreamer… (((chuckles)))

Also, the video is terrific. It brings back cherished memories of when I was going to public high school. I can’t possibly count the number of times I’ve moved through Grand Central Station. Twice a week my mother picked me up from school early and took me to the train to go “into the city” to art school at the Museum of Modern Art. Afterward I would meet my dad at Grand Central to take the evening commuter train home. Those were among my most wonderful times.

I suspect the human animal evolved to “toe the line.” In aboriginal tribal cultures they are the “drones” and “worker bees.” Meanwhile, a few are genetically disposed to lead, while there are those born to be shamans. I believe artists are the descendants of shamans (true artists that is, not the imitators but the innovators who don’t just dare to be different, they can’t do otherwise). Like the original shamans, artists share their experience, perceptions and intuitions through the metaphors of their work, giving meaning to the lives of the others and thereby making life possible.