There is sound that connects what we see to what our thoughts & souls hear. This is an image/sound mix tape, curated to illustrate things there aren't always words for.
I feel like Jen Mann paints the same way the brain remembers someone you love. She paints hints of color leaving some detail for you to create. In a way moments of beauty w/ people you love seem like an echo. when you first hear them, they are bold and clear. as time goes on their sound enters your mind & slowly dissipates. and even though those thoughts scatter you still keep them. if you remember just one part of that sound, you can almost find & recreate that feeling again - but it's just a hint of the beauty you knew before when you first came across it.
there are so many great things around these days. i really hesitate calling out any favorites in just about every category. maybe it's because it feels like thoughts & opinions are constantly shaping themselves. I'm not sure why this is.
for as long as i can remember, i have thought this way. Equal representation/opportunity was given to the stuffed bears in my room as a kid. As an adult now, i see it the heavy rotation of albums in my stereo. i imagine i just don't want to spoil that moment of 'awesome.' you know that moment you're sitting & listening to that amazing song. And you think 'ohhhh-ho, this is the JAM my friend!" and you may even say it out loud because you believe it that much. ha! that moment is so good. then next time will always be slightly different. so i like to space those moments out so the next one is just as sweet. if it's your favorite song & you listen to it over and over...does it change the impact of that song?
also i think the moment you classify something as being your favorite it is then tied to you somehow because you're kind of claiming it. do those things you claim then define you? i don't think i want that. i think instead of by interests, i want to be defined by the things i do & what i believe. i'm not sure if that makes sense, but anyhow...to the tunes.
dan auerbach = the man. everything he's involved w/ is golden. so's this video, literally. :D he can play on my stereo every day & i think i'd be happy
though i wasn't the most rebellious kid - i do remember attempting to "run away" a few times. I never really made it very far, but i intended on ending up somewhere miles from home. most of the time i brought our dog Buddy (a black lab incredibly afraid of fireworks & thunder, but notorious for his keen skills as a blackberry & tool thief).
i was convinced home was not the place for me - my new home would be...the mountains. i'd most often end up on a hike somewhere in the hills adjacent to my parents house. I remember hiking through the weeds that grew tall overhead. Then moved like an ant over huge granite rocks & along the narrow paths made by bikes to the top of the hill. around each turn of the trail waited my fear of the possible confrontation w/ a coyote, wild dog, or rattlesnake. I'd race to the top of the hill & watch the sun go down over the track homes below me. when it got dark, i'd always find find my way home again. to my dismay no one really noticed i'd nearly been gone forever. The only evidence I had been anywhere that day could be drawn from the marks left on my legs from jumping over weeds. It made me really happy knowing only Buddy & I kept the secret of our wilderness runaway rebellion
this papercuts video reminds me of those adventures:
it's pretty obvious there is a pattern to everything created. It's interesting how each artist has some sort of a signature. it's actually pretty unavoidable. I think i just don't like the idea of making the same things over and over again. i think i feel that way about life in general. i think we have the potential to go after life & experience everything fully. but so often we get comfortable w/ the things we know & do things the same all the time.
I feel one major challenge as an artist is to keep moving forward. Recreating what you know how to do already doesn't necessarily allow much room to grow. I think you can avoid staying in the same place creatively by learning more about the things around you. If you take in more information & allow things to influence the way you see things, you will start to create things that reflect that.
I recently read something Duchamp said, "I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste." In a way i think challenging your own ideas at some point can do some really great things for your perception & creativity. Not only will you see a different perspective of your work, but maybe it will give you new ideas to build on.
i was pretty convinced i would be a park ranger when i was a kid. i loved being outside & loOvve animals so much. on various family library trips (while my older brother was actually reading) i spent most of my time reading Ranger Rick magazines & learning animal facts. a lot of girls collect dolls - i collected bear families. oh and also, things like the moose from Northern Exposure made me want to like the show. sooooo hilarious how the moose walked through the town like he owned it.
sometimes i really wish deer would be chill with me squeezing them. i think it would be great to keep one in my backyard. aaaawwww we could go on walks & talk about Christmas!
photos by Mark Weaver (really good designer too btw)
i wasn't sure if i liked this album until i heard this song. I was listening to it on the drive home, and thinking about how the days are longer in the summertime. Tonight at dusk the sun hit the sky in the way is made everything seem golden. The light seemed to erase the imperfections & makes everything seem beautiful. I really wanted to steal somehow. Cause for that moment, life seems perfect. And just for a second...i am completely convinced that everything's going to continue to be amazing.
i really love joy division. and there's something about this video...I feel like this is what my memories are like. something like those moments of still images that pass in & through your thoughts. sometimes they are vague & sometimes in they're in detail...but usually there's some sort of fluidity to it how they seem to enter your thoughts. and they move like smoke. how smoke enters a room quietly. And just as thoughts cross your mind, they dissipate...onto another some other thought. there's a strange beauty to that. like some sort of choreographed chaos.
that's kind of where my brain would be categorized these days. i know there's some sort of order going on, but i'm only getting small pieces of it. things don't really make sense, but it will come to me at some point...i hope :)
you know when you enter a room & know you should be there...but forget why. that plus the scene in old movies where everything is still when you see what's-his-face across the room. that just happened to me w/ these.
aaaas I'm getting older & wiser (queeestionable :D) - i've been noticing that life has done whatever it wants. Kind of like the truck pulling a house behind it on the freeway. You know what i'm talking about, it totally happens all the time. no one's going to mess around w/ that huge truck. one sharp turn & there's a house on your face.
It's interesting when you're a child, people ask what you want to be when you grow up. i guess as i made loose plans on future goals each year, i found i was more surprised about where i would end up. And while the things I expected wouldn't always happen - new opportunities would come when i least expected. As of now, I'm trying to find the place between making & letting things happen. new goals? Making the best of each situation that comes along & throwing caution to the wind! :)
