Thursday, January 23, 2014

exposition of sorts

The pictures and paintings my eyes are drawn toward contain a common and similar feature.  Though the angle of this feature might be different, there is one that wins my attention the most.  This man made geographical construct can be created by design or something that develops over time.  In these observed pictures I find a path of any making will suffice, but the most important aspect is that you must be able to imagine yourself as the creator of the piece who was there in that moment capturing a dream.  I long to stand in observation of a trail I can wander down where the end is uncertain and the danger is unclear.  These inevitable bumps in the road are not seen here, but if one starts walking, it is these obstacles that will be there.  I know the way is not always easy, but the imagined destination is what my mind creates.  I see these pictures that I find myself in, on a road, trail, path, dock or walkway but the end is obscure. Sometimes the path gets smaller giving the perception of distance, and at other times it ends over the horizon or a new undiscovered plain.  Whether the path disappears or abruptly comes to a halt, the way must still be passable either by man or by machine.  The greatest hindrance to imagination or pursuit is an impassable wall.

All this to say I can observe a captured moment of a noun and find the intended meaning and purpose; however these moments of thought don't last more than a feeling.  Contrastingly, it is the tease of a journey which stays with me for a life time.  It is these pictures of paths that spark the vision for my life and provide the needed self reflection of the distance I have gone.  The path makes it possible for my mind to project my presence within a moment. The place evokes the feelings I can identify with; whether it is tropical, desert, mountainous or wooded, the environment elicits my mood.  It is the path's end which provides the hope that I am in search of, to find a purpose worth moving toward and something my mind is left to complete the picture.  These kinds of pictures might seem simple but observing this art is more than the obvious.  These pictures tell a story and it is up to the observer to place the meaning that can be found.  If no meaning is found, it isn't the pictures fault so don't blame the art.  Be open to perspective when I propose a postcard with a dirt path through an empty field is meaningful.

As Robert Frost wrote in his poem, The Road Not Taken, he took the road less traveled and it made all the difference.1 If a road is hardly traveled, then the thing that makes it a road is not clear.  Namely the boundaries of where to step and not step have not been sorted out by others.  This path can be treacherous, confusing and full of wounds but as you walk you will find it is worth every step.  This blog is my attempt at describing that path that is obscured both ahead of me and behind me.  I hope you laugh with me, empathize with me and learn with me. I hope when I describe the picture I am standing in, the layout of the land and the place I am heading that you might find yourself standing in a picture of your own.


http://flic.kr/p/95wUFE
Image by Peter Alfred Hess {link to http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterhess/5302150716/}


Recipe of the day: (As requested by my sister-in-law)

Ants on a log aka "the ants have a journey too." The longer the piece of celery, the more peanut butter and ants there are to consume.

Here is what you need:
  • 1 extra long piece of celery
  • creamy peanut butter
  • ants/raisins/small pebbles if you are a 2 year old
Here is what you do:
  • Put the peanut butter in the crevice of the celery, place the ants on top of the peanut butter, then proceed to press your tongue into the above mentioned celery crevice and scoop up the pb & ants into your mouth in one foul swoop.  I'm really not sure of the purpose of the celery other then being the log portion of this analogous treat.  Who would want to eat a log anyway?


1 First published December 1995; published July 1999 by Bartleby.com; © Copyright Bartleby.com, Inc. (Terms of Use).

Image Credits: Peter Alfred Hess,  http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterhess/5302150716/

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