they don't fear much

I have been following the struggle for womens' rights throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan especially close as of late, and the bravery of these young women as they fight for their right to an education has been continuously inspiring. An interesting article in the New York Times today voices the opinions of two Afghani women in response to Obama's recent Afghanistan-Pakistan policy speech, and poses an interesting perspective on America's role as an ally, and global leader in democracy.

"Last November, extremists on motorbikes opposed to education for women sprayed acid on a group of students from the Mirwais School for Girls in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Several young women were severely burned. Yet it did not take more than a few weeks for even the most cruelly disfigured girls to return to school. Like the crowds of women in Kabul this week who protested a new law that restricts their rights, the Mirwais students demonstrate unbending courage and resolve for progress. They don’t fear much — except that the world might abandon them..."

I do not know where the answer lies, but I know that in these hectic times––as the final weeks of my college education loom on the horizon––I must not forget all that I take for granted. Also, take the time to watch this short video about an 11-year-old Pakistani girl's brave defiance against the Taliban. She rules.

tweet

A few weeks ago I happened upon this charming little notebook at the Walker's Bookish Fair, made by the lovely Abigail Mullen. It was just the notebook I wanted to use (I added in the title) for this project I had been mulling about for awhile––taking the concept of Twitter and applying it to a personal journal. My daily poetry/prose/meanderings (in 140 characters or less) serve as a creative writing exercise, as well as a diaristic form of therapy. 

I want to indirectly examine the technological concept of a Twitter, and the reasons why people Twitter and Tweet. Is is really about communicating information? Is it another sign of our society's increasing narcissism? My generation has grown up being told we are all special, and now we behave accordingly, wanting to get our way constantly, wanting everything at our fingertips, all the time. Yet in this age of googles and facebooks, twitters and blogs, are we losing an appreciation for staying power and tradition, morality and meditation? We run the risk of treating all people as pop-culture icons, or seeing human relationships merely as shallow, passing ephemera. 

I am not out to bash Twitter. To do so within the context of a blog would be especially hypocritical. I am merely trying to come to terms with this information age, and questioning what it says about the future. Information at your fingertips is priceless, and a means to increase globalization and human connection. Yet when everyone feels they have something important to say, we stop listening to everyone else. And when our lives are constantly about what is new, we run the risk of taking the time to appreciate what is now. 

"What's missing from our immediate day-to-day lives that this would draw us in?" --Julie Engel Manga, written in response to this. 

I am tired of this ME generation, and worn weary by the information age. I want a cabin in the woods, and a vegetable patch.

ambient awareness

One of the most beautiful spreads I have seen in awhile, with illustrations by Peter Cho and a corresponding article that made me feel like a total friendless loser for refusing to get a Facebook account: "Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant contact. They call it "ambient awareness." It is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does–body language, sighs, stray comments–out of the corner of your eye..."
"In 1998, the anthropologist Robin Dunbar argued that each human has a hard-wired upper limit on the number of people he or she can personally know at one time...psychological studies have confirmed that human groupings naturally tail off at around 150 people: the 'Dunbar number,' as it is known. Are people who use Facebook and Twitter increasing their Dunbar number, because they can so easily keep track of so many more people?"

If I had a Facebook, would I be less shy? Are we losing our appreciation for the simple joy of conversation? Face to face with another human, over steaming cups of tea? I feel guilty for being too busy to enjoy moments such as these...

on those walls

A recent blurb about Keith Haring got me thinking about the functions of public/street art vs. "art art." Is street art meant to be preserved? Or does part of its beauty lie in the fact that is it so reliant on its environment–both a product and a victim of this public space. Buildings decay, taggers tag, posters come up and go down, or get covered by more posters...
I'm looking forward to hunting this down this summer–WACK! A Keith Haring classic.Keith Haring made both a street/public art and "regular" arty art, but always tried to make his art accessible to the masses, not simply the bourgeoisie. This is important...What defines street art vs. graffiti? Is there a clear distinction, besides terms of legality? The lines between "street art/graffiti" and high art have also become blurred, and street art styles are stripped from their original environment. Brad Pitt at a Banksy opening? Suburban kids tagging posters in their garages? Can street art/graffiti art still be relevant when it is entirely lacking in its original environment–that of a public space? 

The beauty of public art, especially graffiti, is it's dependance on its environment–its immediacy, spontaneity, and consequent ephemerality. It gains more meaning throughout time, through its decay and potential defacement by others. Check out super old school Fab 5 Freddy...rediscovered! Also, read more about this topic. The battles between street artists wage on, the criticism from high artists continues. This continuous dialogue is important...
One thing, however, remains clear: The facade of 40 Bond Street, a new luxury townhouse building in Manhattan is derive from graffiti forms. The building, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron is beautiful, but it is also incredibly disjointed. I'm guessing the residents of the luxury condominiums would be rather displeased if actual street artists put up tags and posters all over the front of their bright shiny new building. 40 Bond baffles me. 

funfunfun wid mondrian

 "If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being, play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life, including sleep and dreams..."


Upon rediscovering the precise beauty of the De Stijl, I am not ashamed to admit a large amount of time was spent this morning flipping through the pages of David A. Carter's 600 Black Spots, an amazingly-crafted pop-up book meant for children, but enjoyed even more by adults. 
AirForkOne. By Sibylle Stoeckli. Sometimes it is okay to think like a child, to act like a child, as long as you remember you eat your vegetables. 

*•*•*•*•*•*

There is nothing quite like driving by this house on a dreary winter's afternoon. It's entirely hand-painted and covered in patterns, even the garage. I have been trying to get up the guts to ring the door bell and meet the sorcerer behind this enchanted little home for awhile now. Perhaps they suffer from terrible headaches...
This would be a piece by the Chicago-based artist Geoffrey Todd Smith. His precision is quite intriguing, as are his three-dimensional installations, currently showing at Hyde Park Art Center. I think I need to make a quick trip to Chicago. Perhaps Geoffrey Todd Smith suffers from terrible headaches as well...

What is all this talk of headaches, you ask? Why do I like patterns so much, you ask? Because of the science behind the beauty, the subconscious desire for systems, rhythm, and harmony. Maybe this is why I am a graphic designer...

"Self-organizing activity in vast populations of visual neurons is a prerequisite of visual perception–that is how seeing begins. Spontaneous self-organization is not restricted to living systems–one may see it equally in the formation of snow crystals, in the roilings and eddies of turbulent water, in certain oscillating chemical reactions...The geometrical hallucinations of migraine allow us to experience in ourselves not only a universal of neural functioning, but a universal of nature itself." 

Thanks to my mum for recommending this. But no thanks to my migraines, because at the end of the day you are still wordlessly awful, despite the patterns.

a fine day for bovinae

Ankoles=most beautiful bovines i've seen

Albino Water Buffalo=spell casting luck charms

American cattle=energy sucking overcrowded McDonald's cheesieburgers

A few precious gems harvested from the pages of my Sunday New York Times: enchanted forests and pictogram people! Brilliant.