experiment: data complex 7 | a world apart | video art
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After several weeks of editing, I have completed my most recent video in my “Experiment: Data Complex” series. It is entitled ” A World Apart” and it focuses on the historical, and current separatist constructs that have negatively affected African-Americans and society as a whole. The Data Complex series brings together modern digital technology, and ambient music with various visual artistic styles such as Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Futurism to convey its message. Recently I watched the video of the Jay Z performance art piece entitled “Picasso Baby” at the Pace Gallery in New York City. His merging of Hip Hop culture and High Art culture was impressive. As a digital artist, and an African-American artist, I believe as Jay Z so eloquently said, that (and I paraphrase) it is a time for us to take the technology and expand our vision for the world to see. I hope to always push forward and merge the boundaries of digital art, video art, and contemporary soundscapes as tools to bring together “A World Apart”.
variations | savannah river walk
This past week, Nancy and I spent our vacation at Tybee Island, and in Savannah GA. A little beach, surf, and ocean mixed with downtown art and galleries. We did some kayaking on the backwaters and enjoyed the festivities along the River Walk in Savannah’s Old Historic District. The sights, sounds and smells were wonderful. I hope to capture in my own unique way, the experience, in several upcoming posts. I am also currently working on my latest video project entitled “Data Complex 7 | A World Apart”. With the current climate of injustice and unrest in our civil, social, and political spheres, I thought the video might be an appropriate experimental exploration for the times we lives in. Be on the look out for a short video preview this week, and the final piece next week.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal
Another great challenge: Renewal. It certainly can be seen and expressed in many forms. This piece is from “The City Series” and is entitled “Across The River The City That Sleeps With Dreams.” Both the city and our dreams can be a starting point to or a departure point from when finding the path to renewal. In my own experience; one of past substance abuse and present recovery, the city and leaving it was the impetus for renewal. I found a new way to dream. I may never return to the big city life, for now living in a rural setting with mountains, have given me a new lease on life. Next up for the challenge of renewal are mountains.
Post Canvas And Paint: Another Industrial World (A Future Lost Remix)
Outside my window, in the last industrial park, the remnants of dreams lost and a world decaying…
Another Industrial World
the industrial age has come and gone
a global feudal state awaits for the masses
– perhaps
but for now we can only look to a future unknown
as the structure of civilization unravels
Post Canvas And Paint: Another Parisian World (A 1990 Paris France Remix)
As I Stood on the Eiffel Tower and looked across the rooftops of Paris, I marveled at the world I had discovered…
Another Parisian World
What an eclectic moment, basking in timeless beauty, here above the City of Lights.
Post Canvas And Paint: Another Sleeping World (A On The Street Remix)
It was an early morning moment when I awakened from my deep and troubled sleep…
Another Sleeping World
Post Canvas And Paint: Another Creative World (A On The Corner Remix)
On a corner, somewhere in my world, I can find a place … to embrace … imagination.
Another Creative World – On The Corner
It is here, in this world, in the experience that is my life, I find myself...
Images For Android Phones: The Abandoned House And The Darkness Of My Room
across the street
their memories abandoned
the years in view
slipping away
fading to and fro
weathered by the storms
and dreams
long since gone
The City Series: First Published Book
I just received the first copy of my self-published book: n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s – art for posts: the city series. It is a 20 page volume of art, prose and poetry. The print quality is very good. And I am pleased with the final product.
I Keep Standing On The Corner Waiting On My Own (A Robyn Remix)
The city series….
On the corner, on my own
some things feels like destiny…
some things never change
standing on the corner
waiting on my own
never knowing which direction
I should go
it’s all for show
you know
waiting on the corner
with nowhere to go….
Not The Kiss Your Mother Used To Give You (When She Wanted You To Leave The Room)
The city series….
Standing by the curb
So you think you’re a man….
You think you know what she is trying to tell you. Sitting by the curb with your new Trek bike. With your boys. Trying to be cool.
Looking cool … Being defiant.
Did you even listen? Is there any clue?
Baby Boy Blue
As to why she decided on … you?
Yeah I know, you think it’s because of the ball you play. Or the things you say. Just yesterday she gave you that look. When you helped her with her books. Were you listening then? When it was your hand she took. Yeah I know. It’s all about the tool of the trade. And not feeling like you’ve been made. Is it good to know? Keep the show? Or stay in the flow? Yeah, it’s a tough day and what a blow.
You sitting on the curb with your boys.
Being her toy.
But did you even know
That kiss….
Is not the kiss
Just for show….
Music For Parks And City Streets (A Day Like No Other Remix)
The city series….
Sitting by the river, standing on the corner, music for parks and city streets
The moments we find time standing still…
Music is energy …
It captures the imagination and sets the soul on fire. It frees our thoughts and liberates our dreams. It illuminates the night stars and sets the day in motion.
Music is lucid …
We dream to music. We create to music. We make love to music. It touches and caresses. It embraces our intimate space.
Music is you and I …
It gathers the crowd on a beautiful day. It sings the songs our hearts have found. It teaches and consoles. It soothes our spirit at birth and death.
Music is humanity … restored.
For you and I it was a day like no other as we walked together … dreaming and listening….
In celebration of a summer day to come. A picnic with the band The Januaries and their song Chocolate and Strawberries…
A Beautiful Time Gone, Is Like A Moment That Never Happened
Sometimes there is a beautiful journey just waiting to happen….
Searching for the ferry on the docks
A journey has its moments. A beginning, a middle, and an end. Sometimes it is a physical journey, but most often it is one of internal longing and desire. A journey of memories. It is a beginning where we once believed in something, someone or someplace. Then perhaps a middle, when while living in the present moment, we believed time stood still, and there was no tomorrow. Or perhaps a tomorrow we could come to love. And then there is the end. An ending. A final moment. Magic and lost, beauty and longing for what was. The memory of beautiful times gone, like the fleeing of dreams in the waking of a new day.
I often see things through the spectrum of my experiences, while questioning the meaning of it all. But desiring to have no grounded answer to mislead me.
Sometimes in our awareness the journey has long since come to an end….
Every Artist Deserves A Look Back (A “Best Of” Remix)
This has been a fantastic weekend. I am the featured artist at the dVerse poets pub. Many of the poets that participate and share their poems have given me a lot of positive response. And I certainly do appreciate it. It is motivating and inspirational. Late last night, it came to me that I should share some of my most popular posts. I have only been blogging for 13 months, and have explored a host of themes, concepts and ideas. Below you will find links to the 5 most popular posts so far. They were determined by the number of comments and likes by my readers. I have included thumbnails of each image in the posts. They are in the order of their popularity.
Enjoy
To the right side of my design (a force of nature remix)
Weekly photo challenge - between
The silence series: urban meditation
The path to everlasting consciousness and love (a yellow brick road remix)
We are the everlasting consciousness (a centered moment remix)
First You Make A Roux (A Window Shopping Remix 03)
The city series….
First you make a roux
Yes we are still cruising down Magazine Street—just seeing things from a different perspective….
Vintage Clothing On Magazine Street (A Window Shopping Remix 02)
The city series….
Nothing quite compares to finding a unique place to shop and browse.
Stopping to check out what's inside
We stood at the entrance as a glimpse of what was inside called us to enter….
Magazine Street – New Orleans (A Window Shopping Remix 01)
The city series….
New Orleans is famous for two distinct areas; the nightlife and party vibe of the French Quarter with its Bourbon Street, and the rather cool, hip, and very left of center (in a moderate way) Magazine Street. M St. runs parallel to its more famous counterpart, Charles Street. But unlike C St., with its two Universities (Tulane and Loyola), trolley cars, beautiful homes and churches, Magazine Street has a rather unique quality about it. Interspersed with its numerous art galleries are small vintage clothing and antique shops, various ethnic restaurants and small corner parks. I really enjoyed this part of New Orleans and would consider living in this neighborhood than any other. If you visit New Orleans, you will find that this is a great place to hang out and enjoy the day.
Window shopping on Magazine Street
Hope you enjoy this three-part series, a short stroll down Magazine Street….
Asheville And Art For Cities (A Post Canvas And Paint Video Remix)
Asheville the Paris of the South….
I have had the pleasure and opportunity to travel to some rather unique cities such Paris France, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and here in America, cities like Washington DC, NYC, and Los Angeles. In these major cities there are never a shortage of great art, fine dining, and exciting culture. The streets are always alive throughout the day and into the night.
But I have also come to love the small to medium-sized cities such as Greenville SC, Burlington VT, and my favorite Asheville, NC. Asheville is very beautiful. Bohemian and unique. It is a gay-friendly city and a haven for those who seek a more spiritual lifestyle. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. It host for the visitor or long-time resident, diverse experiences to discover the world of art, theatre, music, and outdoor adventure. I simply fell in love with the city many years ago.
Here is my tribute to a great city….
We Can Say Things That Are Just Shadows Of Ourselves
The city series….
We are at times left behind
A shadow of ourselves
there was a photo of me
here
against the granite wall
falling
to this very day
knowing
not just a shadow now
with little to say
except
time does fly
when saying good-bye….
The Silence In Urban Meditation
The silence series….
Towards the inner silence of the city – urban meditation
Urban Meditation 01
Urban Meditation 02
Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there – buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day. – Deepak Chopra
In the city the choices that become attachments lead us into the noise of our thoughts….
Urban Meditation 03t
Urban Meditation 04
My meditation is without hesitation, and the marks left behind are indications of a state of oneness with my environment, my people and the universe. – Ian Factor
Somewhere in the city; in its alleys, playgrounds, parks and abandoned buildings, we find the place to know ourselves….
Urban Meditation 05
Urban Meditation 06
At the museum a troubled woman destroys a sand painting meticulously created over days by Tibetan monks. The monks are not disturbed. The work is a meditation. They simply begin again. – Susan Griffin
In the city we find the process of renewal; we simply find the quiet place….
Urban Meditation 07
Urban Meditation 08
Is there a meditation that is not the ego trying to become? Is meditation conscious if every effort implies time? – Jiddu Krishnamurti
The city offers its timeless darkness and beautiful heaven; our meditation frees us from both….
Urban Meditation 09
To meditate is to observe yourself, for you are totally responsible for your body, mind, thought. – Jiddu Krishnamurti
The city has always been a place where I could lose myself. And at times I have….
Urban Contemplation: 14 – The Industrial Revolution and its Deconstruction
The city series….
The forming of an industrial moment in time
The cities where the industrial revolution was founded….
I remember the period in our American history, when the industrial revolution was coming to an end. I was in my mid-twenties and working as a Process Engineer at the DuPont Company. If you were a young person in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s trying to believe in the American dream, a job with the DuPont Company was a great place to start.
Or so I thought. Little to my knowledge, things were about to get very difficult. Life was going to become very hard. The way in which our society ran and governed its social, civil, economic and political spheres were about to change.
The social agenda of the New Deal that sustained the dreams of many families and individuals would slowly be deconstructed until it (with the hopes of some) would be gone forever.
In the mid-seventies, early 1980’s and in 1991 we had economic recessions of various lengths. They were short, but a tell-tale sign of things to come. In 2001 we had another recession. These four recessions were not as severe as the present recession; however, the factors that led to these five occurrences over time are similar; deregulation, the creation of a “false paper economy” and an insidious construct to shift the wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.
And unfortunately it is working.
I was laid off from my job at DuPont after having worked there for four years. Still emerging from the perception that all you had to do was start at an entry level position with a good company; move up the ladder and retire 30 years later. Remember how your parents or grandparents followed this rule and uplifted themselves into the middle-class? It appears that in 2011, that route to the middle-class is long since gone and not returning any time soon. It is a global world now. It is now a have and have not world that is shattering the dreams of many. It is 146 million Americans in the United States living in poverty or near the poverty line. It is a health care system that is dysfunctional and over-wrought with cost. It is an education system that is mostly for profit (remember when the California State Schools were free). It is a manufacturing sector that barely exists. And it is a corrupt body of government that wants to protect the rich, sustained the rich and become rich, at the expense of the poor.
And the attack is calculated and vicious to the core.
But I love America. With all its faults, it still has the potential to be a great nation. But we must learn from our past, and if possible turn back the hand of time just for a moment. And perhaps in that moment we can have a true political and social conversation, wherein we remember what we fought so hard for—a fair and equal society for all.
This post is in support of all those who participate in the Occupy Wall Street protests in America and around the world.
The Setting Sun and the Years of Our Descent (Recovery Remix 2011)
The city series….
From across the park I see the days end and the last day begin
We remember what we shared—the deep dark place and beautiful heaven.
And to never forget is now the bond that liberates and heals.
It is the recovery we now hold dear
and
the rising sun….
The Ending Memories of a Deep Dark Place and a Beautiful Heaven (Turning the Page – Recovery Remix 2011)
The City series….
A deep dark place a beautiful heaven to lose yourself forever
small towns…
big cities
where hopeless dreams
dance
swim
when the carnival is over
and
we are lost at sea
the magic escapes us
and the years are gone
small towns
big cities…
where the dreams
we shared
in the deep dark place
and
beautiful heaven
are
just moments
now forgotten
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 