Wednesday, September 9, 2009

the syringe

I don't know why I'm bothering posting this here.

In my art class, I'm supposed to be illustrating an article about the...genoa(?) project... I had this idea all conceptualized and neat and tidy and everything... But, woe is me, I have another idea that might not work... My first idea was to portray the human body as a machine, so, I was gonna have this kinda matrixy painting of a woman in the fetal position with wires and tubes coming out of her. Now, I want to add in just how much money is going into this research... So I got the idea of a syringe full of cash being injected into this person, but then it makes minimal sense... You have a big black expanse, with a little white woman and big silver pipes, and then a syringe full of green papery stuff. SO here's my other idea: a big scary doctor is holding a syringe, and stuff is squirting out the top of the syringe. But here's the question... is the Syringe full of DNA and is it squirting money, or is it full of money squirting DNA?


Sunday, September 6, 2009

madonna and feminism

I feel so intellectual and classy. I'm reading both Andy Warhol's Diary and a collection of essays written by the journalist Camille Paglia, titled "Sex, Art, and American Culture". First two chapters talk beautifully, eloquently, and respectfully about the rise of Madonna as an artist, and what her work is and was all about. I don't like Madonna much as a singer (I've never liked pop music) but I've always respected her as a woman. Her work, though controversial and borderline pornographic, is so exotically and intimately expressive and beautiful, and even more so because she is not afraid to push it outward and (quite literally) into people's faces.

I consider myself a feminist through and through, but it always angers me when I hear one of them say "Oh, Madonna, she's such a sex object. She's so weak and anti-feminist. She gives all women a bad name...". No. Paris Hilton gives women a bad name. Lindsay Lohan and Amy Winehouse give women a bad name. Unfortunately, most classic feminists do, too. Madonna is possibly one of the strongest women the world has to offer. She is confident enough and strong enough, in her own skin, to speak her mind and express herself through a pure artist persona. I respect her for that.

I feel that feminism took a right-wing turn somewhere along the line... Most of them have the Valerie Solanas standpoint on sexual labels and general sexuality: "women are better than men". This wave of thinking often manifests in women trying to be just like men; not equal to or even better than, but men themselves. It's tragic. To me it seems that in the fight for feminism, we've all but completely lost what it means to be a woman. I think that feminism should mean that we are proud and strong as women no matter our sexuality, marital status, occupation, or religious and political beliefs. We should be celebrated and revered as important members of human society, and beautiful creatures in the web of the world. It seems to me that the weakest members of the women's circle are these classic feminists, who are so afraid of being the object of men that they've completely forsaken true feminism. To me, a real feminist is someone who can be girly and true to herself and not give a shit what men think. That's real feminism, and that's what Madonna stands for.

That is all.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

i feel so generic

I don't know why I created this...blog...thing. I guess it was an impulse thing and I'm reeally bored. I'm not even sure I know what a blog is... I have always made the assumption it was a forum, or a thread type-thing where people had online book reviews and talked about video games and travel and such... Then I read a graphic novel and people had online journals and they were calling them blogs...so now I have one. Woo hoo. I guess half the reason I created it is because I don't expect anyone to look at it, but it gives me something to do besides bending over a canvas plastered in cadmium cancer goo...

I'm miffed. I want to go to a concert. Badly. I'm kind of promiscuous when it comes to musical events, I suppose. If there's a band I like or a collaborative music fest that involves genres I approve of, I will go to one. Unfortunately, I live so far away from any interesting music scene that getting to a $20 concert costs be an additional $70 for transit. ANYWAY I've looked at a few bands I'd love to see live; Muse, Mindless Self Indulgence, Modest Mouse, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and all of them, ALL OF THEM are either not touring, or they're touring half of Europe and the United States, and SKIPPING OVER CALIFORNIA COMPLETELY!!!!! *Rages* It's just not fair. Muse, of all bands, is playing in Arlington then Houston Texas, and, instead of dropping by in Cali, they're going straight to Finland. Fuckers.

Oh well. There are plenty of local (early) Halloween celebrations (raves, jams, blahblahblah...) going on for a while to keep me busy until Reel Big Fish comes to Santa Cruz. I'm gonna end up wasting all my money on that show.