(per)severance

mustwritesoonbuttoofuckingtiredtoday

(...)

Fin de Semaine (Frida)

Chanson du jour

Jesus is my

PostSecret

Thought for the day

"What formerly had cheered me
Now seems
Insignificant
Insignificant" 

 

Surfacers

So, last night I went to the closing of the “I AM NOT YOU” exhibition curated by Satellite Spaces /// The Untitled Gallery. The space for this exhibition was The Mills situated at 66 Carr Street, Newtown. The exhibitions feature numerous established and emerging artists from different artistic backgrounds. Mediums vary from digital media to print, to photography to paint, to lithographs.

I had my reservations about going only because I’m flat broke and I knew this would prove an irresistible opportunity to buy a quality piece of art. As is to be expected, the opportunity arose and the impulse was irresistible. Enter Frederick Clarke and his “Surfacers”- love, and overall disquiet, at first sight. It reminds me so much of Penny Siopis’ “Pinky Pinky” series she did a few years back. Despite the two figures’ creepiness, there is a softness in their eyes and a vulnerability in their demeanour. I don’t know what they are, human or animal or a combination, but I feel protective of the figures- they force me to confront "otherness" and push me out of my comfort zone. Unsurprisingly, I continued to have a visceral reaction to the work as I strolled by it again and again.

I’ve wanted to start collecting (serious) art for a long time now but perpetually make up excuses for not buying a piece (read: forking out the cash-although I guess that the R120 000 for the Gerard Sekoto painting and the R70 000 for the Diane Victor sketch, was a bit unfeasible at this stage). Anyway, in consultation with and in partnership with Ric (read: his forking out 50% towards the price as a Christmas present) I took the plunge and purchased my first authentic (read: credible upcoming artist, non-copy, only one in existence) piece of art.

I was speaking to a friend of mine this morning and she said that when her dad was about my age he bought his first piece of art from a young and upcoming artist called William Kentridge (read: wtf?!) So, although I bought this piece out of love, striking gold on an investment opportunity would be a pretty sweet off-shoot. 

I'm so happy I finally took the plunge (read: pics to follow...)               

Chanson du jour

“I walk you home to see
Where you're living around
And I know this place
Pour yourself on me
And you know I'm the one
That you won't forget

And in your denim eyes
I see something's awry
And I see you're weak
When he comes around
I see you're fixing to shine
And my face won't speak”

World Vegan Day

I've been a Vegetarian since 2003 and towards the end of 2009 I started phasing out dairy, egg and fish. It's been a tough process and I've regressed many times. It's not easy being Vegan- products you would never imagine to contain dairy or egg seem to have them included just for sake's "sake", which just goes to prove the point that their inclusion is gratuitous and entirely redundant. I've slowly become aware that being Vegetarian, while a noble effort, isn't the end but merely the means. The conditions in which dairy cows/goats and poultry are kept (yes, even so-called "free range")(unless you are talking about the one and only Jimmy's Farm) is deplorable. The greatest lesson I've learnt over these past few years is that complacency is complicity. And the fact that I'm aware of what's going on means that I cannot trigger that selective acknowledgment that we humans are so good at. 

In honour of World Vegan Day I'm going to read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran-Foer. While he will be preaching to the converted, it will be an educational read which will probably help me to engage in more eloquent debate with those who look at me either as if I have a disability or react with outright hostility when they find out I'm a vegan. On the same note, my hope is that I'll be able to handle such reactionists without looking at them as if they are disabled (mentally,spiritually and developmentally) or with blood-chilling hostility. So any way you look at it, it will be a good read. 

What I love about the title of this book is that it calls a spade or spade. The question which keeps turning around in my mind (with increasing intensity) is what is "meat". I'm perpetually hearing people talk about "meat". They're eating butchered animal. Not meat. I'm hoping this book will showcase the irrational disjuncture between reality and the bullshit we are fed (literally). Its insane the extent to which simple "Semantics" facilitates and enables denial.   

Food for thought:
http://www.eatinganimals.com/

http://www.weanimals.org/about.htm