This is one of those tree pictures that might be more about the sky.
[daily log: walking, 2km]
Day: April 27, 2020
Caveat: Art #1
It’s become clear to me that I enjoy enumerating things. I have been enumerating poems and trees with some success.
So recently I (re-)discovered the consolidated giant pile of my undifferentiated artwork, dating back to as early as 1971. I had shoved all the “portfolio cases” containing this stuff under one of the many beds Arthur maintains in the attic, and was reminded of them recently when he and I were looking for something and tearing the house apart.
I’ve been hanging on to all this material over the years, and adding to it occasionally, too. I want to make sure I have digital copies of everything. And what better way to catalog it than to blog it?
I’ve therefore decided to introduce a new enumerated topic for this here blog. I enjoy the fact that I’m living here with my uncle Art (Arthur), but that he has nothing to do with this series.
These will be scans (low-tech, i.e. done with my phone camera) of my artwork over the years. Some of it is from my childhood. These are not meant to represent great or even good art. These are mostly just memories. I’ll attempt to estimate a date of composition for each one presented. I will not attempt any kind of system or order of presentation.
There is one specific subset of my artwork that will not be included here under the Caveat: Art heading: my many hand-drawn maps and geofictions. I will post these Paper Geofictions in a different series, over at my other blog, which is specifically – though pseudonymously – dedicated to my geofiction activity.
Here is the first one. It is a picture of my dad’s car. I think I painted this around 1972 (age 7).
Caveat: A Philosophical Comic
I have a vivid memory of having posted this before. I drew it in 2009, I believe, or late 2008. I can’t find it on this here blog, and I ran across the paper copy recently in some old papers I was going through. So I’ll post it again.
I’ll also post the text of it, this time, so that it is more “searchable” in the future.
Teacher says: “I’m going to use these last minutes of our class to give you some advice. Please listen carefully.”
Student 1 says: “Why?”
Student 2 says: “Oh Teacher! No.”
Teacher: “I have made the realization that happiness is not a mental state. It is not something that is given to you, or that you can find, or that you can lose, or that can be taken from you.”
Student 2 thinks: “뭥미?” [What is this shit?]
Teacher says: “Happiness is something that you DO. And like most things that you do, it is volitional. You can choose to do happiness, or not. You have complete freedom with respect to the matter.”
Student 1 thinks: “이상한 사람이구낭.” [Jeez, this guy is weird]
Teacher says: “There is a zen saying that goes, ‘Leap, and the net will appear.’ I have followed it many times.”
Student 3 thinks: “오, 배곱하…” [Ugh, I’m hungry… (I’ve misspelled the Korean)]
Later…
Teacher thinks: “I will search for my purpose.”
Teacher says: “Oh guru, what is the meaning of life?”
Guru says: “I don’t know. The computers are down.”
This comic is the origin of the “distillation of my personal philosophy” that appears at the end of my little “author bio” that is in the right-hand column of this blog’s current incarnation.
Caveat: Poem #1366 “Fresh start”
ㅁ the rain washed it all the trees the stones the birds' songs the morning was clean
– a pseudo-haiku.