Fashion

Here's some thoughts on fashion I got after reading some of "The Philosophy of Fashion" by Lars Svenson.  (I hope I got his name right)     I didn't finish the book.  It's in Norway.  I will try to come across it again.    I was inspired to read it from a conversation had where one of my friends was defending the idea that it is ok to by a 1000 dollar purse.   I don't think it is.  

  

        "There is a natural inclination of man to compare his behavior to that of a more important person.  (a child compares itself to grown ups, or you to your favorite author, rockstar, celeb, etc.) in order to imitate that other persons ways."    -Kant-

       When the only reason for it is to not appear less important, then it is fashion that I don't like.    Like a lower class person trying to look like they are a higher class.   

      There are 2 opperative principles here     1. Differentiation   from others in your class (which I think is not so bad and can be individual expression/can be art)   and    2. Imitation  of the class above.  (this I don't like at all.  It's where the purchasing of symbols comes into play, and the concept of conspicuous waste or conspicuous consumption.)   Any person engaged in this is a materialist and I find that so boring. 

        This person will confuse economic and aesthetic worth. 

        It's the need to conform vs. the need to express individuality. 

Hippies

Hippies aren't just more fun, they are also more fun to draw.      

Caricatures

Here is some caricatures I did at work.   Some of my fellow artists and some regular stuff that I do everyday.  

 this one below is without a foamy.   they don't use foamies here.   I think it makes the thing look like crap. 

by by Norway

Here's a picture I made for Matz before I left.   I didn't put everybody in there.   So whoever isn't in the picture it is either because I didn't draw you earlier or didn't have room or time to draw you in.   I think of this one as a prototype and I will do a much better one later and present it to Matz.   

     I'm thinking about everybody there and I miss Norway and everybody there a lot.   In Drobak and in Norway there are some of the best people I have ever met.   Great hospitality, great friends.   I look forward to when I can visit again.     Thanks for everything.

Coming Back !!!

t.v. stinks, meaning in life, and back in the new world

I was just sitting here reading an article in "Everything you know is wrong" (go get it and read it now and then make some appropriate life style changes, please)>   The article was "Toxic TV syndrome".     Here's an excerpt. 

        "If you reduced all of history"s best advice on living well to two fridge-magnet-worthy goals, they would probably be 1) pursue excellence or 2) pursue balance.   In other words, either drill down - work with obsessive focus in one area, try to create something new and valuable and lasting; or go wide - learn to surf of meditate, read good books, tend a garden, raise a kid or two, try to be neighborly.  You know, all the stuff that makes life worth the price if you job itself isn't all that fulfilling."

           Pretty good stuff,  and it says a lot more about t.v. and culture and its bad effects and the epidemic of depression in our culture and the possibility of our entire culture being just  toxic.   

             Any way, I'm back here in the U.S. to focus in one area.  I'm drawing 8 hours a day at work and then I come home and draw.    What I was doing before was going wide.   Now I do feel very passionately about drawing, its one of the few things that can keep me settled down and have me look past allot of things that are against my ideals. . ie.  submitting to corporate ideals of dress that are in place to rid one of identity, take a drug test that is an illegal search and a direct violation of the 4th amendment, live in the u.s. again where people and communities are isolated from each other and cars are necessary to get around, I will also be paying taxes to a system that i disagree with, that threatens life on the planet with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and i will even have a bank account where rich people can use my money to get richer.   

           I mention this because when I was back in Missouri last summer I had a conversation with a friend who thought that I had no purpose in life and that it was a bit depressing, thus once again proving that often the people that you think are weird are thinking the exact same thing about you.    I was not able to find any sense of purpose in people working at jobs that one cannot possibly have any passion for and that support unnecessary invented goals, while amassing more stuff and popping out babies.   It seemed so much like everyone was just doing what came next because that's what your suppose to do.  I cant understand there choices of how to live there one and only life.    I also can't understand how they don't see a sense of purpose in my life.  For me there is a natural connection between the traveling, activism, visiting and participating in social experiments in living and sustainability, and art, that they can't see.   Maybe the first paragraph clarified a little.   I will explain more later.  

           oh, well,    I'm back in the New World.. and for real this time.  I actually live minuets away from Jamestown and Williamsburg.   I'm drawing the tourists and trying to save money for art school...and if that doesn't work, action and adventure.    And I'm happy to say that the price in gas increase has caused lifestyle changes.   There is talk of a 4 day work week, the people I live with have moved much closer to the work, and they want to get mopeds.  This is all using less.   It's still america and very wasteful and using way to much energy, but there is some improvements.   I'm very optimistic for the future and the change coming to this country,  it is a little to slow for my lifestyle choices but it will come for the masses sometime soon.