an artist’s duty

21 11 2016




if only we could all speak rhinoceros

13 10 2015

-What would you do if you had a magical cloak that could make you invisible?

-If I were invisible, I would head straight to the zoo to be with all the animals. I would climb into the cages and start talking to them.

The words of a lovely young man, around 6 years of age, who I had the privilege of speaking to when Kindred Studios opened its doors to the public this past weekend. Made me think of the extraordinary imagination of Leslie Bricuse and the intimate work of sculptor Georgiana Anstruther.

Oh what a wonderful world it would indeed become if we started talking (and listening) to the animals.





Imagination: in part? no, in whole

7 07 2015

“If (man) thinks of the totality as constituted of independent fragments, then that is how his mind will tend to operate, but if he can include everything coherently and harmoniously in an overall whole that is undivided, unbroken, and without a border then his mind will tend to move in a similar way, and from this will flow an orderly action within the whole.” – D. Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order

Meet the extraordinary team TROTBOT: http://www.teamtrotbot.com/

 

 





Secret of Life

16 06 2015
“Nothing is more creative than death, since it is the whole secret of life.” – Alan Watts
And you as well must die

And you as well must die, belovèd dust,
And all your beauty stand you in no stead;
This flawless, vital hand, this perfect head,
This body of flame and steel, before the gust
Of Death, or under his autumnal frost,
Shall be as any leaf, be no less dead
Than the first leaf that fell,this wonder fled,
Altered, estranged, disintegrated, lost.
Nor shall my love avail you in your hour.
In spite of all my love, you will arise
Upon that day and wander down the air
Obscurely as the unattended flower,
It mattering not how beautiful you were,
Or how belovèd above all else that dies.

– Edna St. Vincent Millay

 





Connecting with our environment through gratitude

18 05 2015

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Art work made by Bella (age 8) in an activity organised by artist and physicist, Geraldine Cox, at St James Junior School (London) as part of our school-wide celebration of the Universe Story.

Here is a link to a recent TED talk & blog post by Geraldinehttps://youtu.be/xkk3CPPFAnY

http://www.findingpatterns.info/journal/2015/4/13/14-billion-five-and-a-half.html





ONLY together with the help of SMALL VOICES

10 04 2015

 

Small Voices Louder is a platform for children’s voices: the innocent, humorous, insightful, honest, confused and critical. It occurs in two parts, an empowering and thought-provoking experience for children, and an insightful and revealing sound experience for adults.

learn more here: http://maybetogether.com.au/small-voices-louder/

and read artist, Alex Desebrock’s beautiful manifesto here:

http://maybetogether.com.au/manifesto/

if you want to be a part of this project go here:  https://australianculturalfund.org.au/projects/small-voices-louder/





RELATIVITY: The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once (albert einstein)

2 03 2015

“We shed as we pick up, like travelers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it. The missing plays of Sophocles will turn up piece by piece, or be written again in another language. Ancient cures for diseases will reveal themselves once more. Mathematical discoveries glimpsed and lost to view will have their time again.”― Tom Stoppard, Arcadia

“Time will warp and confuse and baffle and entertain however much we learn about its capacities. But the more we learn, the more we can shape it to our will and destiny. We can slow it down or speed it up. We can hold on to the past more securely and predict the future more accurately. Mental time-travel is one of the greatest gifts of the mind. It makes us human, and it makes us special.” –  Claudia Hammond

 

 





for the LOVE of TOLLER: abre las ventanas al amor

30 01 2015

“what you see around you is your education. of course i know this because i was like them [children] once. they might not say much when they are little but they are taking in the world around them all the time. and it all comes back. it’s discussed. children always remember.” – Toller Cranston 

dearest Toller – every time we think of you, we will think in the brightest of colours. how we will miss seeing you so very much in SMA when we visit our Omi. what will we most remember? the things you said to us, your words of wisdom, the angels surrounding your pool, your ice-cream feasts, your funny face, the eggs we painted with you, your crazy cowboy belt and very very pointy boots. thank you for being our friend and for sharing your magical paradise with us. we will never forget. promise. love you and hope you are painting even more wildly in the heavens above; we will look up from time to time and see you swirling. –  love, philomena & luna 

 

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Abre las ventanas al amor
Deja penetrar su claridad
Dile no al pasado y su dolor
Sin negar todo lo bueno que te dio.
Piensa en la alegría de vivir
De tener de nuevo una ilusión
Siempre hay esperanza si el amor te alcanza
Deja penetrar su luz
Abre las ventanas al amor
Sueña sin temor al que dirán
Que quien dices sueño, sueños son
Se equivoca cuando se hacen realidad
Tienes que volver a sonreír
Darle rienda suelta a la emoción
Todo es mas bonito todo es infinito
Al amar todo es mejor
Abre las ventanas al amor
Busca ser feliz una vez más
Pídele a la vida otro color
Que la vida si lo quieres te lo da
Di de nuevo si sin titubear
Haz lo que te manda el corazón
Abre las ventanas al amor
No es para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy
Abre las ventanas al amor
Busca ser feliz una vez más
Pídele a la vida otro color
Que la vida si lo quieres te lo da.

– Roberto Carlos

http://bcove.me/jxe1491n

 

 

 





FREEDOM is: carving unknown own paths

20 01 2015

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BEAUTY is a dance on paper

16 01 2015

– Mummy, I don’t want to take ballet classes anymore. (Luna age 6)

– Why not?

– Because even though it’s a dance class, I never get a chance to dance the way I want to dance.

– Do you want to take a different type of dance class?

– I don’t know, I just want to dance my own way. 





HAPPINESS pills

18 12 2014

Mummy: If you could take a pill that always made you happy, would you?

Santiago (age 8): No, because it’s important to feel bad about things you do. 

Mummy: So do you think happiness is something you go out and find or something you just have?

Santiago: Happiness is something you have. In my head it’s like a battle. Goodies against baddies. When you’re born you have happy and sad but then as you grow older,  you have to chose. I’m still young so I haven’t chosen yet. Right now the good side has taken over a little bit. It’s hard to say what will happen next.  

 

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– Hayao Miyazaki





FREEDOM in Vienna

7 10 2014

photo 1 photo 2 Freedom in Vienna

 

 

Die Gedanken sind frei, wer kann sie erraten,
sie fliegen vorbei wie nächtliche Schatten.
Kein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein Jäger erschießen
mit Pulver und Blei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Ich denke was ich will und was mich beglücket,
doch alles in der Still’, und wie es sich schicket.
Mein Wunsch und Begehren kann niemand verwehren,
es bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker,
das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke.
Denn meine Gedanken zerreißen die Schranken
und Mauern entzwei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Drum will ich auf immer den Sorgen entsagen
und will mich auch nimmer mit Grillen mehr plagen.
Man kann ja im Herzen stets lachen und scherzen
und denken dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Ich liebe den Wein, mein Mädchen vor allen,
sie tut mir allein am besten gefallen.
Ich sitz nicht alleine bei meinem Glas Weine,
mein Mädchen dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei!





CREATIVITY: the power of resistance

24 09 2014

cover

resistance is invisible

resistance is insidious

resistance and procrastination

resistance and self-doubt

resistance and mating

resistance can be beaten





BEING HUMAN: The UK’s First Humanities Festival Nov 15-23, 2014

12 09 2014

institute of philosophy

What does it mean to be human? How do we understand ourselves, our relationship to others and our place in nature? For centuries the humanities have addressed these questions. Artists, writers, philosophers, theologians and historians have considered who we are, how we live and what we value most. But are these long-standing questions changing in 2014? We are more connected than ever, yet we spend more time with smart phones and computers than face to face. The world is becoming smaller, yet the digital information we can access and store, even about ourselves, is vast and growing.  Developments in science and technology are moving fast, challenging our understanding of the self and society. What sense can we make of these changes and what challenges do we face? We need the humanities more than ever to help us address these issues and provide the means to question, interpret and explain the human predicament.

The festival is held as part of the School of Advanced Study’s 20th anniversary celebrations and draws on the success of the 2013 King’s College Festival of the Humanities. Being Human will be the UK’s first national festival of the humanities. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, and universities, arts and cultural organisations across the UK, it will demonstrate the value, vitality and relevance of the humanities in 2014. Find out more at www.beinghumanfestival.org or follow the festival on Twitter at @BeingHumanFest.

http://www.sas.ac.uk/about-us/news/uk-s-first-national-humanities-festival-unveils-rich-programme-events

 

 





Relativity: Flying microscopes

24 08 2014

“Mummy, there are lots of things that are invisible–not just in pretend.” – Luna

 





What is REAL? asked the Rabbit

8 06 2014
velveteen rabbit
 
“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room.
 
“Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
 
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
 
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
 
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
 
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
 
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
– The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, Illustrated by William Nicholson
 
 
“If we cannot distinguish between a simulated and real Universe, then the question of living in a simulation is moot: this reality is ours, and it’s all we have.” – Mathew Francis
 
 
aeon is this life real
 
http://aeon.co/magazine/nature-and-cosmos/can-we-tell-if-reality-is-a-computer-simulation/
 

 





Notes & Neurons: In search of the common chorus

3 06 2014




The Drake Equation

31 05 2014
 
Luna –  Mummy is ET real or not real?
Mummy – Not real. This is fiction.
Luna – I know all about about fiction and non-fiction. You know how I know that? because books are like that in the library… But does fiction mean not true at all–that none of it is true? or just a little bit not true? like when Elliot feels what ET feels ? 

In 1961, University of California, Santa Cruz, astronomer and astrophysicist Dr Frank Drake devised the Drake Equation. This controversial equation multiplied estimates of the following terms together:

The rate of formation of suitable stars.
The fraction of those stars which are orbited by planets.
The number of Earth-like worlds per planetary system.
The fraction of planets where intelligent life develops.
The fraction of possible communicative planets.
The “lifetime” of possible communicative civilisations.

Although the Drake equation currently involves speculation about unmeasured parameters, it was not meant to be science but rather intended as a way to stimulate dialogue on these topics. Then the focus becomes how to proceed experimentally. Drake used the equation to estimate that there are approximately 10,000 planets in the Milky Way galaxy containing intelligent life with the possible capability of communicating with Earth.

 





Jumping off the roof

30 05 2014

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Beauty is when the physicist and the artist come together in a dance

28 05 2014

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Poems about Light
Blyth Gallery
Imperial College SW7 2AZ

http://www.poemsaboutlight.com
http://www.findingpatterns.info