Musings on Music and Technique.

--Listening to Willie the Pimp from Frank Zappa's Hot Rats album, my I-tunes on shuffle through most of his music.

How could I ever hope to match it? I don't think that the language of painting is sophisticated enough articulate what 5 minutes of pure music can communicate to the soul. It a far more abstract language.
Yet, we dream in visuals, the dark cryptic language of the unconscious, individual and collective, is probably my best hope to match the state of mind music evokes. I must speak not just to minds and hearts, but to souls.

--playing Five-five-FIVE

Interesting observation one day as meditated through the use of continuous instrumental music, courtesy of Frank Zappa. It occurred to me that the purpose of technique, in any art form is to hypnotize the mind, to give it something to chew while the artwork communicates with the unfathomable aspects of the soul. So there is essentially no difference between the so called kitsch and high art in pedestals, except the articulation of a message that either succeeds in transcending the limits of rational mind, or not. Its very personal from one individual to another, thus why its so hard to define where one ends and the other begins. Much like Lon Milo Duquette's explanation of the Cabalah as the Zen of the west in its goal to occupy the mind in endless calculations and allow consciousness to expand beyond it's grasp. Music, for example, attempts to connect the listener to the same blissful mental state by various means depending on the endless varieties of tastes, as though they're all roads leading to the same place. Some can have very simple requirements and have an easy time finding pleasure from simple pop tunes. Others however, may suffer from an overdeveloped sense of musical taste and the average three minute generic rock song doesn't do it anymore. This individual then needs to find something of greater technical complexity as if searching for a drug, to get the same high, and perhaps revel in that high in ways most folks aren't curious to explore.

--playing Rat Tomago

Anyway, the point is, as I've always said to myself, but never internalized, the technique is a mean to an end. A Story is only as good as how its told. Some people are happy with children fairy tales like the Bible, others need a Divine Comedy or a Dark Tower.

I'm In You!

I've been cock blocked all day the 17th of November 2010. I had mustered the will to get things rolling, stretch the canvas for the next painting, which for now I'll code name it Ace of Wands. The Stretcher bar was warped so I had to order anew one. When ordering it, I had to pay 7$ for shipping for a $2.44 item, I couldn't even afford to buy the small can of paint thinner (which I'm running out of) on the same order. So just as I think of instead going upstairs for privacy and compose a thumbnail version of it, I realize that the bible I had ordered 2 days before hadn't come in yet, unusual for the Amazon shipping deal we have. The feeling always was to push forward with no self-doubt or else my will becomes weakened by “reason” until I stumbled upon what seemed like the Universe stopping my momentum. There were other minute events leading to this conclusion, not worth going over, but I did ask Lisa to pull a few cards for me. The overall message seemed to be “Slow down and evaluate your plans, is it desire or will, you're not seeing the big picture” That's is probably one of the most distressing things for me to hear about myself when I'm determined.

The following day I had many self revelatory insights between my internal dialogues and my creative intuition. I recalled a recent dream I had about coming down to earth in a hermetic role and observing ape shooting off a rocket that looked like the Saturn V from toy-like bazooka, then promptly going back to my heavenly bliss of perpetual orgiastic rapture. I really should write about that dream, it was a big one. Anyway, besides a inner vision about the completion of the Empress tarot painting, I got the idea of buying a toy Saturn V and maybe save it for inclusion in some painting. I came home from working at target, where most of this day-dreaming had taken place as my body moved with or without purpose in a ocean of back-stock, and for no apparent reason, read about the Holy Grail myth. Reading the Wikipedia article on it was interesting, the information sounded legit, but it was the featured artwork that really got me thinking. One thing led to another and next thing I know I was looking at pictures of the Saturn V spacecraft and Nortre Dame's stained glass rose, what a juxtaposition of male and female human achievements... Only after looking at a very affordable toy Saturn V that looks to be about the right size, did it really come together in my mind to revise the original design. It was meant to be, to turn it from my own angry crusade, lashing out at my religious past, into something much bigger that could reach more people, and say more about humanity's expanding horizons in a more elegant fashion.

I am above you and in you

The paradox of infinite Space and the infinite Self, destroying the old in an act of creative consecration, ultimately redeeming it (Shin). It is a baptism in fire, the ruling element of the Aeon, the underlying element in all our modern and future myths for the next few thousand years. We are solar beings, after all.

Insane Sanity.

I can only maintain my sanity by being insane.

I've become obsessed with transcendence, not surprisingly so since I've never been very earthly. I'm not implying that spiritual rapture and earthliness are exclusive opposites, but that my innate tendency has always been to dream with open eyes. In fact I've been practicing my observations of the mundane and I'm starting to find meaning in everything, almost to the point of absurdity. Sometimes I can't help but to communicate these musings to other people, who often take my remarks as the stereotypical sign of my eccentricity.

I was going somewhere with this, but Phil came over and I spent some time talking to him him. I'm glad he visited, he needs time on his own or with friends he trusts to define his own identity, then he can devote time to his marriage with Danielle re-energized. Everyone needs time to pursue their own true identity, it could be spiritual or creative development, reading, meditation or just idle chatter with a casual friend. No matter how much I get into my head, I want to be available for my friends and family.