Moments D509: Coetaneous

It's always a little nerve wracking when you go to a museum with someone new.  Will you like the same exhibits?  Will you argue over the merits or qualities of art?  Sometimes that generates a great discussion, but in the past, for me, it's always broken down into a conversation that leaves me feeling inept and uncomfortable.

Today when EQ and I visited the Erotic Heritage Museum in Vegas (on our way out of town), I was even more nervous about it.  (After all, who wants to disagree about something so intimate?)

As we made our way through the museum, we were both mostly quiet and kept our thoughts to ourselves.  I realized that we were likely both being tentative about sharing our thoughts.  As we progressed through the collections, we opened up a bit about our thoughts of the art, the collections of memorabilia and other paraphernalia.  Interestingly (though I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised!) we realized that we gravitated towards similar pieces of art and collections.

Without knowing it before hand, we were in step with one another.  Not only with the content (the line art drawing us in the most), but also in how the museum displayed its wares.   Below are a few of the pieces we took photos of.  (And yes, we were allowed to!)

Moments realizing that we're coetaneous.

Moments sitting back and smiling that we are.

Moments D442: Fence Art

Today I took my baby Ma-Ku in to be spayed and declawed. I  know she's in good hands and she's recuperating already! (Yes - go ahead and judge me.  I still can't understand how removing an animals ability to breed is humane and yet declawing them isn't.  Any surgery to modify your pet is "unnatural" and "against its natural being".  You think cats were meant to be lounging around uninterested in reproducing?  Nope....but, I digress!)

After I dropped her off, I noticed something quite incredible on my walk back to the car.  Fence art.  All along the wrought iron fence defining the local park was a most peculiar sight.  It was a flotsam and jetsam of long forgotten knitted items.  Abandoned sweaters, rugs and scarves were all neatly pulled apart, twisted, weaved and placed onto the fence.

What a delightful surprise.  I stood on the sidewalk for quite a few moments just soaking it in!  And then I took some pictures.  (You'll see them below!)  What a wonderful way to start my day!

Moments being surprised.
Moments enjoying new art.

Moments D191: Photos & Poppies

Tonight’s Albert Watson event was amazing. Albert Watson, the man was incredible and his works are inspirational. For the record, he is also having a showing in a local gallery. I must make sure to find time to check it out.

Today’s moment was brought to me by this amazing artist. The moment he stepped on stage, I felt his positive creative energy. And, he was wearing a poppy. I immediately fell in love with him. Why? Poppies mean a lot to me. It’s one time a year that we stop and remember the vets that fought so hard, manywith their lives, to give the rest of us freedom.

Mr. Watson lives in New York City. He’s recently lived through a trying time with hurricane Sandy devastating his condo building and his home town. And yet, in his tenaciousness, he and his family made it to Toronto for the event. And, he remembered to wear a poppy.

A wee side-bar: Poppy wearing is not very popular in the USA. I’m not sure why this is, but it’s something I’ve been aware of for some time. So the fact that he pushed out of his devastated home town and wore a poppy….I was impressed.

During the next 2.5 hours he continued to impress and inspire. What an incredible life story to share; I know I wasn’t the only one inspired by his words.

During the Q&A, an 18 year old student asked about what types of projects she should focus on to get her career started, but she also commented about having limited time to do so. Albert, called her on this, for like anything, to become good, to push beyond the mediocre, one needs to invest time into it. Make the time. Find the time. Shift priorities. That, like anything in your life, hard work WILL pay off.

Why is it that we are so afraid to work hard? It saddens me, as I see it often. Many are lazy and complain about hard work. And sure, I have my moments too, but for the most part, I know that if I put the time and energy into something I see the results. The hardest part is determining where to spend one’s time and energy for there isn’t enough time to go around for ALL the things one wants to do and/or excel at. Choosing paths, for me, is harder than the hard work.

So today’s post - a celebration of a beautiful soul, an inspiring artist, and a true, gentle man - Albert Watson.

Moments to remember.

Moments in art.

Moments D177: Art & Science

Today one of my co-workers shared his idea with me about an art exhibition he’d like to put on. It boils down (if you can boil art down like this!) He wants to present an installation that will combine his love of art (he does everything from painting to music) and his passion for science.

I smiled with my soul listening to him detail out his exhibition. I immediately started to flip through my internal Rolodex to try and find someone that could help him with his dream. His passion. His drive. His vision. All very inspiring.

Moments to appreciate someone else’s dream.

Moments to share a love of art.

Moments D120: Empty Fountains

Today's moment is brought to you by an empty fountain/splash pad at my local beach/park.  Typically it is a sad sight to see.  Why, after all, doesn't the city fill it with water for the kids to enjoy.   It SHOULD be filled with water....kinda like this one:

But instead it remains dry and hot concrete in the middle of a park heading into the beach and playground.  

Today, on my walk to the beach for volleyball I crossed over the empty fountain and I was pleasantly surprised!  No, it wasn't filled with children's laughter as they splashed and played, but it was filled with chalk art.  It wasn't that the art was particularly awe inspiring, but the scale of it was.  Every inch of the splash pad was covered in chalk drawings and there was uniformity to it all as well.  Someone (or a couple of people) must have planned out what they were doing.  The inner circle was all the same set of symbols, and the out circle was another set of the symbols.  

As I walked through it the first time, I smile.  As I walked past it on the way home, I smiled again.

I'd say that was a good moment.  Bravo to the Chalk Artists and their canvas of the Empty Fountain.

Moments for art.