T o u g h . L o v e

If one can not value, feel

and see through

the tough love early on,

life is going to be

tougher later.

photo: 'university of oklahoma' / oklahoma/ summer workshop2008©sebastian

a r t . c h a o s . & . y o g a

Contemporary art can include the reaction to art making process itself. Some artists do works as a response to art history which has a lot of contradictions to get energy from. Art thrives in controversies. Contradictions rejuvenate art. Conflicts and chaos are good for art. The right quantity matters though. If chaos is too much in daily life, destruction takes over the deconstruction process. Then art making may come at a stand still.

Yoga is meant for the right balance of the mind and the body. It is for our harmonious existence and does not advocate conflicts. Yoga practice is for internal peace. But it may help figure out an art maker to find the right amount of chaos, if she still feels the need to create.

One may also reach a place where chaos is not needed for art making.

Or, one may arrive in a space where art making itself is not needed any more!

photo: 'reflections' / texas/ nov 2008©sebastian

P o w e r . o f . G u e r n i c a

Last night I watched Simon Schama's show called 'Power of Art' - Picasso, on Public TV. It's an examination of Pablo Picasso's “Guernica,” a giant mural inspired by the 1937 Nazi bombing of the village of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Just when he had completed this work, critics and viewers gave a lurk-warm opinion about it as the work was a combination of images from his personal anguishes even when it was a strong political response to the killings by general Franco. The crying women and children, agonizing horse head, minotaur and all the rest of his signature images combine in this stark and stylistic work(20 ft. long). The pyramid composition is to show the abuse of power over the innocent. The light is not used as in impressionist works, but like in Goya's execution painting where the bright yellow lantern is right in front of the victim. The source of light shows excessive power over the weak. Picasso depicts the single bulb hanging on the top center of the work like in an interrogation room. The most interesting observation in the PBS show was that, in 2003 at the time of the crucial historic presentation in the UN by Collin Powell to justify Iraq war, there was a large print of Guernica(same size?) on the wall behind was told to be covered by a blue cloth. Somebody did not feel the presence of it appropriate!

e l e v a t o r . e n t r a n c e

escalators take us to the upper level.
some stand still as they are not in a hurry
many walk up and others even run up the stairs!
faster or slower, all will reach up there eventually.

an entrance to the upper level does not guarantee anything
as nothing is permanent and everything is transient in nature,
we have the choice of moving further up or down from there;
by walking slower or faster, or even by standing still...

photo: 'escalator-entrance to the river-walk' /New Orleans /Louisiana /June2007©sebastian

v i s i o n a r i e s

It is ironic that the word television has 'vision' in it. Rather it creates a 'Tunnel Vision'(TV) for the most part, as it is like a mere puppet show of many vested interests. It is an expensive and complex medium like cinema, thus profit oriented and market driven. TV has grown into a medium of distraction and distortion instead of providing any 'vision' of the real truth. Any moving image invites attention. It creates a virtual reality in our mind which is far removed from the daily reality. After all, perception is more real for us than the reality out there. The secret is that the perceived reality manifests eventually. So if an apocalyptic vision gets prominence on a daily basis in the media, then that does permeate into the individual and collective psyche, and that is what we can expect to happen; unless a new group of optimistic leaders with grand vision appear out of the blue and start paying attention to all the positive things still exist in this planet.

An utopian thinking!?

Anything is possible;

after all, history rhymes with mystery.

photo: jfk airport/new york /2007©sebastian

i p h o n e . m e s s e n g e r s

mobile phone is an important invention of our times, like the radio and tv. new cell phone from apple computer is an amazing device. it is a cell phone, music player, internet device, camera and much more, rolled in one. the 'complete enchilada' of communication. the 'sarcastics' say it has a hidden washing machine inside!

in spite of all the exaggerations of features this phone has, it looks like capable of making all the existing cell phone companies to feel the uncomfortable knots in their throat chakras for coming months. now they have to step up. but look how addicted we are to a new gadget that claims to improve our lives further! people hate the product or they love it. either way it is in their mind-scape. that is what communication means now. create a marketing hype. sensation sells.

media is for communication. culture thrives with more dialogues. african tribes used drumming for communication across the distant plains and deserts. one drummer on a mountain top to another, far away. the messages of farming, war and love were communicated with precision. i do not know whether they still use it. may be iphones replaced the drums. communication is improving for sure; or are we communicating enough, really? if so, what are we trying to say each other?

does the ultimate communication through silence(!)

what mystic-masters talked about, has a chance now?

one could only wonder...
___________________________
" sorry, did I wake you up? "
" can you call me back ? "
" stop interrupting, let me talk "
" I am hanging up "
" wait, you listen to me "
" did you hear about..."
" shut up "
" this one time, when I was..."
" you are breaking up "

" leave a message at the tone"
" oh! my god...can you believe it..."
" I can not talk, I am driving..."
" can you hear me now ? "
" are you there ? "
" you gone ? "
" sorry, got cut off,
so then what happened? "

"oh, nothing...

let me go..."
___________________
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271543545/bclid428890160/bctid422563006

photo collage: 'iphone & distant drumming' 2007©sebastian

C o l o n y . C o l l a p s e . D i s o r d e r

'Colony collapse disorder' sounds very natural. It is another name for the extinction of honey bees; a recent trend it seems. Is that a big deal? it can be. Bees are responsible for pollination among plants. Honey, may be we can live without. We could be facing the scarcity of fruits and vegetables if bees disappear. Why is it happening? cell phone signals are confusing their communication system, global warming, sun's rays are changing, more urbanization, all of the above and much more. Are we surprised? no, it can be just another random occurrence in the planet, y'all.

photo: 'missing bees' 2007©sebastian

p r e m e d i t a t i o n

'now' slips away when

one projects mind into the future continuously.
if premeditation becomes ones habit,
it is harder to get into meditation.

photo: 'premeditation' 2007©sebastian

d a r k n e s s . s w i t c h

Switches are there to turn on the light.
But not one to turn on the darkness.
We just do not turn the switch on.

Darkness does not exist anywhere,

as it is just the absence of light.

Many face muscles move when we smile,
may be the same ones are used when we cry.

Even a grouch needs frown muscles!

But no muscles are needed to be indifferent.

watercolour: 'open switch'/sebastian©2007

a u t o . p i l o t

it is difficult to observe my mind each moment
and listen to my thoughts one after another.
when i am not doing some concentrated work,
thoughts are all over the place, so fast and random.
mind just jumps from one thought to another.
it is just a hit and miss if i can track them at times.

i fall short on observing my emotions and reactions.
so after a while, i give up to work or to distractions
thinking that there is no point in stressing about it,
and not to go so hard on myself and i just surrender.

so the 'auto pilot' takes over.
then by evening i hear myself asking,
where did the day go?
what did i do and how did it all happen?

e l e c t r i c . c a r

watched the documentary called 'who killed the electric car?"
-very interesting.
what I thought was electric cars are not practical because of their slow speed, long recharging time, shorter battery life, smaller size and high price...
_______________________________
following is an excerpt from PBS show called "now" about the movie.

"the film looks at the hopeful birth and untimely death of the electric car, an environmentally-friendly, cost-saving salvation to some, but a profit barrier to others. in a film that has all the elements of a murder mystery, paine points the finger at car companies, the oil industry, bad ad campaigns, consumer wariness, and a lack of commitment from the u.s. government.

"[the film] is about why the only kind of cars that we can drive run on oil. and for a while there was a terrific alternative, a pure electric car," paine said(director)about contrast !!!

____________________________________

-electric car does not have internal combustion engine,

(car industry and the infrastructure makes more money by selling and repairing parts -no wonder marketing guys are not interested in plug-ins)

-80% of Americans drive less than 50 miles per day.

-today's batteries can take EVs 300 miles on a single charge.

-a Plug-in Toyota Prius can easily average 125 mpg.

-EVs are cleaner than gas, E85, biodiesel, & fuel cells.

-EVs use 3-4 times LESS energy than hydrogen fuel cell cars.

-converting to plug-in cars does not require building new coal or nuclear power plants

-oil industry and the car companies can kill a good product and people will not respond!

-the true information can be blocked by media this effectively.

-even when electricity needs fuel like coal to produce, there are wind, solar and other alternative sources.

plugging the car during late night(4-5hrs) when the grid is relaxed,

like my cell phone, and driving during the day sounds perfect!

some sites with info on this:
http://www.pluginamerica.com/
http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/rav4_ev_click_click.html

so how messed-up is the indian's urge for the "american" model life style
with everyone busy buying petrol cars and such? (same in china too)

only indian electric car available now(not very impressive one -really tiny)
www.revaindia.com
______________________________

this is one great EVcar (but recalled by Toyota!!!)

Toyota RAV4 EV
With the looks and style of our popular SUV, the RAV4 EV is a roomy, practical vehicle with a 827-lb. payload and over 125 miles on one charge. Charge it overnight and with standard ABS, air conditioning and a 78-mph top speed, it was one advanced car for 2001! battery technology is much more advanced now!

s h i f t i n g . c l o u d s

clouds have started howering over texas
now a days they are spreading everywhere
shifting into many different shapes and forms
they are unusual and do not go away easily
unpredictable, unpleasent, dark and dramatic
it has become a daily headache for all the 'decent' people
incidently, morning news has pointed out that
the state administration is taking this seriously...



photo: 'shifting clouds' /2007©sebastian

h i g h . r i s e

this high rise does not exist any more. it was demolished may be because of some structural problems. it disappeared right in front of my eyes as i was photographing. wrecking balls worked like *locusts over a green farm land. places just disappear sometimes right in front of us. next morning we are in a totally different space. just memories remain.


*locusts: they are big, winged grasshoppers two to three inches long. locusts move with the heating of the air in the morning; rise and ride on the thermals, and descend late in the afternoon when the heat dissipates. they are at the mercy of the wind, and are a cloud of winged insects. they land where the wind carries them; if they are lucky enough to land in some greenery like this in town or in the oasis, they can strip it in a few hours.


photo: 'high rise' /2007©sebastian

p e n d u l u m

wrecking ball is used for demolition.
it swings like the pendulum of an old clock.

seconds drip away into eternity. time is a mystery.
we think that past and future are loose ends of a string,
and try to tie them together, meanwhile the present blinks away.
tomorrow melts into yesterday like in a dalian space,
leaving the 'persistence of memory' in our minds eye...

everything is changing into something else.
moment by moment. all is alive.
only 'now' is real. here. now. today.


photo: 'pendulum' /2007©sebastian

t i m e: - a y m a r a n ' s . v i e w

there is evidence that speakers of aymara, an indian language of the high andes, think of time differently than just about everyone else in the world. they see the future as behind them and the past ahead of them. this is a truly mind-bending idea.
most of us describe the future as ahead or in front of us, and the past as behind us. until the view of the aymara speakers was deconstructed, no significant exceptions to this way of thinking about time had been demonstrated.

but the aymara call the future 'qhipa pacha/timpu', meaning back or behind time, and the past 'nayra pacha/timpu', meaning front time. and they gesture ahead of them when remembering things past, and backward when talking about the future. these are not mere mannerisms, the researchers argue; they are windows into the minds of aymara speakers, who have a conception of future and past that is different from just about everyone else's. the authors say the aymara speakers see the difference between what is known and not known as paramount, and what is known is what you see in front of you, with your own eyes.

THE PAST IS KNOWN, SO IT LIES AHEAD OF YOU.
(nayra, or "past," literally means eye and sight, as well as front.)
THE FUTURE IS UNKNOWN, SO IT LIES BEHIND YOU, WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE.

human liner time is a mind-construct. then there is the organic rhythm in nature which is the circular time.
but when we're one with it, its a 'no mind ' state where there is no time at all.

reference: New York Times - science /June/2006
The Aymara people have existed in the Andes in what is now Bolivia (and, to a lesser extent, Peru) for over 2,000 years, according to some estimates. Some scholars, and many Aymara themselves, associate them with the highly advanced civilization centered at Tiwanaku, though due to the lack of written history this cannot be proven conclusively, and does not fit with the linguistic evidence.

i c a r u s . f a l l i n g

my grandmother used to tell the story of a man who tried to fly using two large "murams" (these are large square frames made of tropical cactus-like leaves usually seen in the malabar coast, south india)as the legend goes, the man with these "muram" wings jumped off from a cliff and died. earlier also he had tried this flying experiments from less higher places, as he was obsessed with it.

similarly in the story of icarus in greek mythology,

daedalus and his son icarus were imprisoned inside a massive labyrinth in crete. the father made them each a pair of wings, and with these they were able to escape. daedalus warned his son, “don’t fly too high or the sun will melt the wax on your wings 

and you will fall. follow me closely. do not set your own course.” but icarus became so exhilarated by his ability to fly, he forgot the warning and followed his own course instead. he flew too high, the wax melted, and icarus fell down into the sea and drowned. 

man and his fate of fall is an enigma. what is the element inside us that works against ourselves? what is the factor that pushes us to go beyond our natural being? is it desirable? on the other hand, without that almost self destructive gene how can humanity break new grounds and progress? the ego of icarus made him forget about the consequence of his father's warning. on the other hand, it poses the question that whether the young icarus had another choice, as the young blood does what it is designed to do. word of wisdom from the experienced was discarded as it was considered as a weakness and an excuse not to take any risk in life.

photo collage: "flying man" /2007©sebastian

c a t h e d r a l s

even if modern cathedrals like high rises, elevators
and other new urban designs are more utilitarian in concept,
some of them are real architectural marvels i think;
at the same time melancholic compared to an old cathedral.

photo: elevator /dfw airport /2007©sebastian
________________________________________________
Rouen Cathedral is located west by northwest of Paris. He painted more than thirty works of Rouen Cathedral. Monet creates a whole new way to look at the front elevation. His subject was light more than anything. He painted during different seasons and different times of day, allowing him to create many unique paintings of the same place.


ref: google images /Rouen Cathedral: Full Sunlight, 1894 Claude Monet

ps: I remember in the fall of 1993 when I stepped into New York Metropolitan's Monet room, how excited I was and how long I stared at his works. I could smell his cigar just above my shoulders as if he was standing close to me. The painted surface brought me in such a strong presence of the artist. Now whenever I see a four color print of monet around a shopping mall or so, I feel the originals are being devalued. Monet is not there on a print. But at the same time it takes away something from the originals when a print is just hanging over a mundane furniture store. My point is, over saturation of these prints of the masters makes me desensitized towards impressionism. May be that is what time does.

d o o r . w i t h i n . t h e . d o o r

there is an unseen door within every door
and there is an unnamable self within oneself
there is a still body within this moving body
and everybody will find their own silence within.
all the waves are more than just water
for the sea carries an ocean inside.
and by the way, it is possible that
a salamander may be hiding within every crocodile!

photo: "door within" ©sebastian.2007

a t . t h e . c o u n t e r

the world inside is recreated outside
for the word inside is acted upon.
a mold inside is to be broken
to pull out the sting and get over it.


photo: 'at the counter' /dfw airport /summer of 2007©sebastian

b a l a n c e

greeks never had obituaries describing the greatness of the dead.
they asked whether the person had a 'passion' when s/he was alive.
it really doesn't matter what we do, art or non-art;
as long as we do it with awareness of our whole being
whether it is singing, dancing or doing dishes
or just floating in the water like a buffalo
with a bird balanced on its head!


photo: 'buffalo balance' india/ 2007©sebastian