THOUGHTS OF AN ART EDUCATOR

I like looking at things that I have not only never seen before, but have never thought of doing before. One of the highest compliments I have ever been paid came from a fellow artist who worked with me on a project, and when his wife asked him what I was like, he said "The man never stops thinking." And I think a lot about art.

This image looks computer generated, but it's not. I don't post much of that stuff. It's not that I dislike the images from photoshop, I dislike the impermanence. To make a real art statement you have to be committed to sharing a space with it. But maybe that's just me.

I'm a real fan of art installations. I like this one. And what I mean by "liking" is that if I saw it in person, I would give it a few minutes of my life by standing, looking and...considering at it.

This next image is...interesting. Know from what it's made? Bic pens. And the surface is large. But a thought keeps getting in the way of my appreciation. Why Bic pens? Why limit yourself like that? I surmise that it is to get the WOW effect from all the non-artists who walk around every damn day with a Bic pen in their shirt pocket and KNOW they could never do such a thing with something they use every day. This is not so much art as it is "Bic pen art", and I don't like it.

(also the artist's tie sucks)

I have had long talks with fellow artists concerning whether photography is or is not Art. I fall in the "IS" camp. The camera, in my humble opinion, is just another tool, like a brush or, god forbid, a Bic pen. But you better be very careful posing objects to photograph. There are many pitfalls. The image below is interesting enough to share with you, but would you want to look at it every day of your life?

Speaking of pencils...these are made of recycled newspaper and I think that not only are they a wonderful idea, but they are beautiful...in a new, one of a kind sort of way. I want to buy them by the gross and then just give them away and say...SEE?!?! Less landfill and more trees.

Back to Bic pens....I have no explanation for this image...but assume that alcohol was involved. Had I been asked to participate, I would have written a long poem...in tiny little words..."Ode to a Georgian Bun"..."Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness..." (Damn that was clever as shit!...but I did the research)

Speaking of asses.....All I can say is that seeing this in person would make me a pacifist to the core of my being....

Speaking of old women....and asses...

Speaking of colon trauma.... _________________________________________________________

IMAGES THAT CONFUSE ME

Loneliness personified.... (Ya'll?! That is a VERY strange object. I could have nightmares about being chased through a hedge maze by one of those goddamned things)

I like shit like this only because it makes good You Tube videos when things go wrong....

No, this is not fake. It's from a site with 40's and 50's images. What do you suppose prompted him to deny the fact?!?!

(Lonesome Dove: "We don't rent hogs"....brilliant!)

And lastly, a man who is tickled pink with himself. I admire the sick son of a bitch. ________________________________________________________

This is a well in Natwargadh, Gujarat, India. The photograph is exquisitely beautiful. The circumstances of the falling aquifer level....not so much. ________________________________________________________

It is my understanding that when the British came to this site, the first thing they did was to haul off one of the columns to a museum in London. It took long decades to convince them to return it. _________________________________________________________

So....think about this guy when someone asks you "How was your day?" _________________________________________________________

A couple of just flat out awesome shit.

This house is made of pallets like you find on loading docks!!! They throw away millions of these things every year.

(Note: I get a lot of images and most of them don't come with details. I would love to be able to tell you where this is and how it's made, but I am not privy to that information. If you happen to stumble across some details, please let me know.) _________________________________________________________

A dear friend of mine set me up with a web site. He was busy telling me about how easy it would be (cause this blog is a pain in the ass...and I mean that). Then he added that I could make some money. I knew that he has had a web site for a long time and asked how much money he had made. He replied, "Seven cents."

Please trust me when I tell you that I don't do what I do for any potential monetary rewards. I'm afraid that if the cash started rolling in, then I would, for fear of lessening my bottom line, feel compelled to not offend someone...like the queers or niggers.

SEE?!?!?!

Now close close your mouth and stop thinking yourself smug for being so politically correct. I did that for pure shock value only, but if throwing the gag at you would cost me a car payment, then I would have left it out...maybe.

I like my blog and even if not one person read it, I would still do it. Kind of like writing all those novels that will never get published.

(A little comment from time to time would be nice, though.)

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One of my very own...sort of... __________________________________________________________

This may be old hat to most of you, but I ain't never seen anything so cool in a long, long time... _________________________________________________________