Tika, My Darling

I was trying to think of an artist I really love. One who inspires me and moves me and all that. A few names popped into my head, but none of them seemed right. After thinking about it, I realized that the artists who most inspire me are usually my friends.

Let’s take my friend Tika.

She’s a goofy free spirit. She’s in my photography class and doesn’t see herself as much of an artist. But I, of course, disagree. Tika creates some of the most beautiful and creative pictures I have ever seen. They make me think, smile, and want to go out and create something too (an effect I think all good art has).

I know there has been a debate about whether or not photography is really art. I know it is. And to anyone who disagrees, I’d like to show them some of Tika’s pictures. She has a real talent for creating a surrealist image just using a camera. Let’s take the photo above. It’s of her cousin and his girlfriend I think. Every time I look at it, I smile. It communicates the silliness and lightness of a relationship, and subtly a deeper and more complex feeling about love. To me anyway. But even without the emotional aspect, this picture is just really cool. It’s beautiful, with colors and textures that are out of this world. I want to have this hanging in my bedroom.

And this one. Again, she did not edit this image, just captured it with her camera. AND it’s a self-portrait. Now, if that’s not artistic talent, I just don’t know what is.

Tika, while being a great friend and an amazing human, is also a superb artist. She makes me feel good and I want to own everything she creates.

Fight...For your Right...

I think the theme of this blog, “We Have the Right”, is an important idea to keep in mind during this next Philosophy of Art Unit. As we figured out in class, it is near impossible to really answer the question “What is and is not art?”, and that’s understandable. People have been debating about their opinions on this topic for ages. I think it’s more beneficial to not try to put restrictions on what is considered art, but rather discuss what makes something “good” or “bad” art. Remember, we have the right to dislike or love any art we want.

For instance, let’s look at that portrait of Elvis we were making fun of earlier. I do not like this painting. I do not think it is good art. It elicits no emotion out of me, neither positive nor negative, and does not inspire me to even discuss it. HOWEVER. This is art. Someone had a vision and created this Elvis. Perhaps in the context of their work, it means more than what I see. But that doesn’t really matter, to me at least. I don’t like it, but I accept that it could totally move someone, or even blow their mind.

And then there’s Keith Haring. If you don’t know already, I love this guy. Almost every piece of art I’ve seen by him has moved me, affected me in some way. But his style is simple. He doesn’t use the techniques gone over in a fine arts class. Some people, because of this or other reasons, don’t consider Keith Haring’s work art, or they call it “bad” art. But I love it. I don’t agree with possible critics, but I have to accept their opinion on it. Because they, along with everyone, have the right to call something fantastic or garbage.

HAPPY BIRHTDAY M.C. CARTHY

You have to want to laugh on your birthday, right?
This video will make your LIFE. And I figured, since it's your birthday, why not bring it back to babies?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yHejN1korE
http://www.maniacworld.com/babies-eating-lemons.html

It's babies eating lemons for the first time. So good.
If you've never seen this, you're welcome.

And if you look at this at school and can't get to Youtube, this is what you have to look forward to:

X is Known

The Autobiography of Malcolm X has made a lot of things known to me.

It was really interesting to discover the lifestyle of a Harlem hustler. I, not surprisingly, know very little about the hustler lifestyle, so most of the information X presented in the first few chapters was completely new to me. I found myself sort of fascinated by a lot of it. The hustlers of Harlem were very intelligent with their schemes. For instance, when X’s brother sells knock-off goods as if they were stolen, so people buy them quickly while giving him a profit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning this dishonest behavior. But it is a unique way to make something out of a bad situation.

It was also informative to hear about the secret undergrounds of Harlem, especially sexually. It really made me think, how much of that is still true today? We hear about Congressmen or other people in powerful positions getting caught in a scandal of sorts all the time. But what percentage of people actually gets caught in situations like that? Is there still a lively underground scene today? I don’t think it should really matter what people, whether they have power or not, do in their free time. It would be interesting to know though.

And of course, The Autobiography of Malcolm X makes a lot of other things known in his book. I learned almost everything I know about the Nation of Islam from this book. I learned about a different take on the creation theory. But I think a really important lesson X proves through the telling of his life story is how you control your own life. X was put in terrible circumstances, but educated himself and turned into an intelligent and powerful man. Sure is inspirational.

X Marks the Spot

Before opening this book, I had never really heard anything about Malcolm X. But I quickly found out what an interesting life he led. He had a lot of opinions, some of which I agreed with, some of which I did not.

For instance, I do think that in Malcolm's society, and even our own, there was a terrible cycle that allowed certain people to remain in power and while never giving others a reasonable opportunity to make it. The family social worker and Malcolm's grade school teacher not only kept an opportunity to succeed from him, but they struggled to keep him away from one. In instances like this, I agree with Malcolm when he says they (the white people keepin’ him down) were the enemy, and that it was important for him to point out who they were. Malcolm certainly led a hard life, and for him to be able to self reflect as much as he does in his autobiography is great. This enables him to spread some really important truths.

However, there were some things he mentions in his book that I did not, at all, agree with. For instance, it’s was obviously difficult to read page after page about what “devils” all white people are. I understand that he has a change of heart towards the end of the book, but currently, I don’t agree with him. I understand what he was trying to accomplish with this generalization, but I still think it was right. Also, I think that all of his claims about women are almost laughable. The idea that women are by nature weaker than men, and therefore need and search for a strong man to keep them in check is ridiculous. I feel so passionately against it, that it almost takes away from the book.

But overall, I think Malcolm X, on most issues, hits the spot.