Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Poetic insight & philosophy by Cecil Lee.

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Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by mtmynd » January 29th, 2012, 3:16 pm

The Art of Forward
My current fascination with the political going-ons has left my creative life cast aside... and far too long. I miss the creative life and I'm reminded of it when I see certain tv programs that use creativity as their hook to gather together others to share what has been accomplished or will be accomplished. These creative pursuits are quite rich and varied on various cable television channels. I cast many creative pursuits into the category of 'Art'... which poses the philosophical question: "What is art?"

Some critics may say 'art' is nothing more than unusable, i.e. it has no utilitarian purpose other than hang on a wall or collect dust on a shelf. That attitude won't attract too many adherents as there seems to be something within we hu'mans that not only appreciate anything we find 'art' to be but are willing to collect it... save it from the trash heap... behold it, admire it, feel its vibes... art is a powerful source of imagination and in turn desire. Art can be beauty and who amongst us does not at least have some appreciation of beauty? Art can instill the imagination with creativity, like seeing an object or painting then wanting to create something ourselves. This is akin to lighting our own candle from the flame of creativity.. passing the torch of imagination.

Art as architecture has been a jaw dropper for me on several occasions... something about the shape and shadows they cast... about the space(s) they create... the materials used in the construction... all these can make a structure more than it's pieces. The great Cathedrals of the world inspire a sense of godliness in people... same with the Temples throughout the world... inspirational structures that cause one to stop and admire. Even some art museums are magnificent structures inspirational enough to cause people to wonder what is within their walls?

Art is a food for people's souls. There are as many arts and artists as there are meals and cooks in the world. Even the art of cooking is currently held in high esteem like never before. Art is recognized in brewing beer or making wine... even the old 'moonshine' is getting its recognition as an art form.

Arguably, the cinema, i.e. movies are the high art of hu'mans. The making of movies encompasses all art forms, from the initial writing of a script to cinematography, from acting to costumes, from make-up artists to directors and so much more (look at the credits after a movie's ending). Hundreds of people are needed to make movies... many of them, if not most, dedicated to the art of the movie.

Design has reached out throughout the world in recent years on a scale never before recognized. Design is in everything from forks and knives to coffee makers, from hand-held electronic devices to televisions, automobiles and planes show the importance of design to our modern world... a look at the design ideas of Steve Jobs and his computers, I-Phones and I-Pads show design principles that have made them highly desirable (no mention of China on this please! ;)).

Design has become a vitally important ingredient for the 21st Century building off many wonderful designs of the 20th Century and before. SooZen and I are on the local arts & crafts circuit ('tent show gypsies', as SooZ has named us and those who are on the circuit) do most of our sales in jewelry... mostly beaded jewelry. I bring this up because here in the 21st, there is another Renaissance going on in the world of beads.

The first known bead dates to 80,000 b.c.. Beads have historically been used for prayers, protection, adornment and even money (Colonial days in America with the Native population, for example). The world of beads has grown into so many varieties and types that it is both a wondrous experience for the bead artist but also difficult to choose between so many on the market today. Clay, glass, stones, metals from precious metals to simple metals, bone and shell, plastics and even rubber. Beaders and bead makers are carrying on an ancient tradition.

The huge populations we have all over the world brings with them new ideas, new arts, new visions, new concepts that we are still trying to digest. Would anyone of us imagined just 20 years ago a China that we see today with nearly every big city rich with skyscrapers of the most modern designs..? Cities across our globe are bursting at their seams with hu'manity doubling more often than tradition can cope with. New way of living within this New Age, the early years of the 21st Century, is mind-boggling when we recognize the tremendous variety of peoples there are amongst us with their clothing, their foods, their shelters along with their ideas and dreams of their futures. Add to that the ability to travel to all these countries and even live in different cities across the globe where we can live among different cultures easier than any other time in our history. Ex-pats from most any country can be found in most any country.

The 21st Century has a great deal to adjust to. We can no longer be content with what was achieved in the 20th Century (and it was tremendously rich with innovations and inventions...). A radical adjust is manifesting itself with our without you and I or them or those. I like the two word motto used on a cable channel I often watch : Lean Forward. Not to the left or right, not backwards but FORWARD. In those two words says what is necessary for all of us in this new time. If we veer from going forward, even is it is not fully clear, it is necessary to bring us together, collectively, in order to maintain a level of peace and civility amongst the 7 Billion of us. If we fail at doing so... I'd rather not imagine....


cecil
1.29.12

Picture of the Week:
"The Wizard of Odds"

Image

Are the Odds
against us as we
Lean Forward
into the new?

Trust! my friends
The Wizard within
and allow the
Silence to
calm the worries
of an unknown
yet revealed

...
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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by Artguy » January 29th, 2012, 4:51 pm

If you come to some objective definition of art let me know...
As far as cinema goes...And the winner is...

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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by mtmynd » January 29th, 2012, 10:15 pm

I'll do that, Kurt! :lol:

Nothing like a well done movie... or a well done anything for that matter. ;)
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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by Arcadia » February 1st, 2012, 11:16 pm

the words "forward" and "rewind" reminded me an old Panasonic cassette- player´s teclas! :lol: . I enjoyed the bead´s history, the wizard and the poem!!! Gracias for sharing another stream with us, Cecil!!!!!! :D

saludos!,

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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by mtmynd » February 12th, 2012, 12:50 am

Gracias a usted, amiga mia! Tiene una dia buena. ;)
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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by still.trucking » February 12th, 2012, 12:54 am

Yes. Art is passing on the torch
the spark

Enjoyed the stream and picture a lot...a well titled picture I must say 8)

ramble ramble on the movies.
Is it real or is it Memorex.
Movies and hyper-reality, remember sweetwater, she/he was always writing about hyper-reality, our heads so full of moving pictures and second hand memories. Have you ever seen The Matrix?
Yeah the 21st I can imagine some strange scenarios for it.
Maybe it is best not to imagine, what good do imaginary fears do us, except they are a popular form of entertainment. People pay good money to get scared sh*tless.
Then there was poor old Nietzsche who said he was writing a history of the future.
Seems like fast forward to me these days
"Natural selection, as it has operated in human history, favors not only the clever but the murderous." Barbara Ehrenreich

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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by mtmynd » February 12th, 2012, 10:27 am

Howdy. JT... good to see you. I was beginning to worry about you not having heard a peep from you.

Re: Movies. It's an arguable subject regarding it's art-worthiness but I feel that it has definitely evolved to a point where many movies are an artform that will survive the ages in the same way other arts have during the history of hu'manity. Are not most movies an evolution of the written novel..? Not that all movies are fictional, of course, but there are as many variations of the cinema as one will find among any other arts. I'm sure we all have at least one movie that has stood out in our memory since the time we saw it, just as a song or singer's voice has, or a painting, a photograph or a book... they are all parts of our hu'manity and 'talk' on the varied and colorful multiple levels or our capability.

As we continue growing as a species we hu'mans have no choice collectively but to evolve and evolving we do but normally as an adjunct to what we do as a species, which is talk (exactly as we, you and I, are doing at the moment our words hit the monitor screen). In the end, as the beginning, we collectively have and do continue going forward... some without knowing and others cognizant of this seemingly endless journey taking us to a place where peace is priceless, wherever that may be. Until that time, there is no reason to not look forward, is there?

Thx for your time, amigo.
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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by stilltrucking » February 12th, 2012, 6:20 pm

I look forward to the grave. The only way I can look beyond that is trough the eyes of a child. 8)

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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by mtmynd » February 12th, 2012, 7:24 pm

stilltrucking wrote:I look forward to the grave. The only way I can look beyond that is trough the eyes of a child. 8)
Life has gotten you down, old friend,
and picked you up and tossed you
to the cold, cold ground where
the sound is silent as death and
the mortal body begins to rust
and your trust in life wains and wails
like the holy coyote baying at the moon
full to its brim like a hymn penned
by the inkwell misery torn from the
pages of a edgar allan poe best seller.

rejoice, amigo, dust off the cobwebs
collected like larvae balanced on the
iron steel of a butcher's best knife
and bask in the knowledge that the
best of your years has yet to rise
on the horizon of your dreams.

peace... plenty of peace to go around
partake of yours at the leisurely pace
of a tortoise whose life is measured
in slow and calculated steps by step.
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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by still.trucking » February 12th, 2012, 7:43 pm

I must have a distorted concept of Buddhism :?


I found the thought liberating not depressing, a calm recognition of what is my fate. . I am Not in any hurry to die, but simply a statement of fact like looking forward, looking in front of me looking into the distance, into time and space, not looking forward in the sense of "Oh boy I can't wait to die" but as a statement of fact. Sorry I did not make myself more clear.
Maybe I should have used an emoticon. Ten four on keeping it simple.

Si vis vitam, para mortem.
If you wish life, prepare for death
Freud not a Buddhist, but I think he had great respect for it Buddhism.
"Natural selection, as it has operated in human history, favors not only the clever but the murderous." Barbara Ehrenreich

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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by still.trucking » July 17th, 2012, 12:31 pm

Wake Up, by Jack Kerouac the life of Buddha

I found another teacher Cec. Where you bin, how are you, everything is okday I hope.
"Natural selection, as it has operated in human history, favors not only the clever but the murderous." Barbara Ehrenreich

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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by mtmynd » July 21st, 2012, 11:38 pm

Howdy, amigo... nice hearing from you.

I've been busy with this and that, taking care of the homestead, my health, the family's needs... you know: just stuff. And when I'm not doing those things I'm just sittin'... contemplatin' and meditatin' on the world and the universe beyond.

But a good thing is I'm back painting on canvas after a long hiatus. Got my cataracts removed a while back, one at a time, two different operations (thx Medicare!) which before being removed made it no fun painting.

The friggin' weather has been at odds with me, along with most of the country... strange times.

Overall, SooZen, Nathan and I (and our #1 son, Noah in Austin) are doing good... health has been treating us fairly.

Kerouac's book is news to me. I didn't know about it. I do have Osho's book on the Buddha, "The Buddha said..." A big book that I enjoy reading passages as necessary. Osho knew his stuff. :)

Thx, J.T., for hunting me down. Our original outlet for chatting was the Sunday Stream, which unfortunately has dissipated into the ethers. I'm glad I saved them. My facebook is slow also... no much posting there anymore. But I do post a bit at Litkicks when Levi has his philosophy posting on Sundays.... something I reply to fairly often.

Cec'
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Re: Sunday Stream [269] ~ The Art of Forward

Post by short timer » July 22nd, 2012, 2:02 pm

Good to hear you are on the mend
and can paint again

I am sorry about Brooklyn, I could have been a better friend. Kind of a shame he can't come here and talk philosophy.


Kerouac a good teacher, just the one I needed along.

Beautiful book to listen to, the actor reading it does a good job, sounds like jack to me. I would not mind having a text copy in hand so I can google jargon.

check it out here
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