Coffee on a Postcard

UK Coffee Week is approaching (4th-10th April) and below are a collection of postcards of the London Coffee Festival, which I love! I wish I could be in London and see it and be a part of it. However I will drink more coffee instead. Perhaps those close to London will blog about it?

Walking around the art room

One afternoon during team days, we had the opportunity to go to an Andy Warhol exhibition in Southampton. This was a fascinating trip, partly because I didn’t really understand the art nor would I want it hanging on my living room walls. But the best part for me was when one of our relay workers spent the time to explain what she looks for in art and what questions she asks herself about the art. To be honest, I was more fascinated with the process of how to understand the art in front of me rather then the two blocks of colours staring at me. But just because I didn’t find it pleasing to the eye, doesn’t mean that what it’s communicating is not relevant! I appreciate those that enjoy this type of art and I am willing to learn more about it, especially as it affects our culture and our ways of thinking. It’s too primitive for me to believe that I should only listen or look at what I like and ignore all the other voices. 

Gareth Leaney blogs brilliantly about the exhibition here.

With Andy Warhol being such a weight in pop culture, identity and celebrity, means that the audience needs to sit up and listen. Especially the Christian - no more burying your head in the sands of Christian culture, but we need to open our eyes and ears to see and hear that the world is speaking and how they desire for something more.

But will we be a part of the conversation? 

Do we have anything to say?

How art can expose reality

In this society I am presented with the idea of creating my own existence, answering the questions of "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", "What is my reality?". Here we can be faced with existentialism - the idea of self description, self meaning where we can create our own reality. An interesting concept and far from Christianity and yet so close to the mirror of our society now.

Then in steps Francis Bacon, a painter that is partly dressed in existentialism. We had an opportunity to discuss his works within a training week and we were faced with the horror of his paintings and raw depiction of life. He displays to us what is under the skin of creating our own meaning and how that leads to a loss of hope, a loss of soul and darkness.

Within this article, the writer gives us a deeper understanding of what Jean-Paul Sartre says about existentialism in his lecture L'Existentialisme est un humanisme -

A man gets up in the morning. He knows, without a second's moment of self-questioning, what he must do. He must take up the clothes that define his identity as a human being and put them on. He pulls on his black trousers, slaps the napkin across his forearm, adjusts the angle of his chin, and makes for the door. He is, in short, a waiter in a restaurant. That is his nature. That is his identity. That is his destiny.

Such a human being, Sartre points out, is guilty of mauvaise foi, or bad faith. That man is not a waiter at all, not fundamentally. He has chosen that identity for himself. V C The fact is that he is, at root, nothing. He lacks for an essence. He is only what he makes of himself. And, in fact, Sartre is telling us – and this is the baleful truth of the human condition – that there is nothing beyond what a man chooses to make of himself. There is no soul, and no god who looks out for that soul.

Just from looking at Bacon's painting you can see him touching on these things. We may indeed look at them and think they are far from the reality we live in, that they are showing a sign of madness. But truthfully I believe they are showing us the outcome of our thinking of "what a man chooses to make of himself".
Think of this... the world is your oyster and we prefer the grey suits and pay rises that help us create our own meaning.

Not long ago there was a debate in Mexico with Richard Dawkins and William Lane Craig discussing the purpose of the universe. The Dawkins side of the debate did not argue that there was no purpose as such, but rather we create our own reasons for existence and as long as we do good in this world then our reality has proved to be worth it. I guess that's the only possible outcome when you believe that we have no real basis for existence because we are born, live and die.

Yet I was reminded in this of how the Dawkins side of the debate reflects that of Bacon - a hopeless ideology, and perhaps a lonely life that is trying to grip and create some form of meaning within themselves - being whoever they want to be but ending up in the depths of meaninglessness. But of course I am not saying that Dawkins and Co are exactly like Bacon. But I wonder if what Bacon paints is just mirroring the truth and reality of the belief that Dawkins and Co has, but at a deeper and raw level. The difference being is that one wears suits and is portrayed as ideal in our society and the other is seen as an extreme, bleak and lonely artist. Yet I don't think they are worlds apart because they illustrate the stark reality of life without God and its scary.

Hidden Art?

Somewhere in the dark underground of New York City, a very strange art exhibition took place recently-one which didn’t invite any patrons, didn’t entertain collectors and which closed on the same day it launched. The Underbelly Project was the brainchild of two street artists-Workhorse and PAC, who conceptualized this art exhibition two years back and involved more than 100 other artists from around the world in their project. The exhibition was held illegally in an abandoned subway station, where artists showcased their talent on the walls of this dark and damp place, taking utmost care to escape the eyes of the outer world.
-  Taken from this blog here.

A cart full of ART!

Lots of talk about art is surrounding me. I am not about to explore the question of what art is. You can delve into those depths over at "I thought it was a bench..." blog.

But I am going to share with you a cart full of Art that inspires me and makes me stop to consider. This week, I will share with you my favourite poems/poets, artists - music or drawing and random exhibitions of art. Hopefully it will be an interesting adventure.

I thought it was a bench...

The first of July is here.
Relay has ended.

It can only mean one thing!

Lets talk about.... ART!

I have embarked on a new project with fellow ex-relay workers. It is called - "I thought it was a bench" here is the blurb for it:

Have you ever been to an art gallery and sat an a piece of art, mistaking it for a bench? Or have you spend a long time examining the bench as if it were the main exhibit, only to see someone come and sit on it and look at the painting behind you? And then you see loads of similar benches around the room.

Maybe you've not been in those particular situations - but if you're anything like me, you've been to art galleries and felt out of place and a bit of an ignoramus.

Maybe you don't care - just so long as you know what you like... But why?

Today sees the launch of this exciting new project called "I thought it was a bench..." Welcome.

It's going to be a fascinating journey of discovery as we learn more and more about art and truth.

Please continue to check the website out as the plan unfolds about what we are doing.

Captured in the lens

I stumbled across a really great photographer that takes pictures and then changes them to make quite distorted/arty pictures. I really like them, they are imaginative and eye catching. Showing reality in a different perspective. His name is Erik Johansson. check out his website here :: alltelleringet

Here are some photo's that I enjoyed: