///// @othko - Tumblr Blog

Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences (Roy Ascott’s phrase). That solves a lot of problems: we don’t have to argue about whether photographs are art, or whether performances are art, or whether Carl Andre’s bricks or Andres Serranos’s piss or little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’ are art, because we say, ‘Art is something that happens, a process, not a quality, and all sorts of things can make it happen.’ (…_ Suppose you redescribe the job ‘artist’ as ‘a person who creates situations in which you can have art experiences’.

- Brian Eno

foreverfreo

Margaret Preston, Australia 1875-1963

NSW and West Australian banksia 1929

whenever i come back to sydney to visit friends and fam, i’m always confronted with how my life was when i was still living at sydney-home. being away from my melbourne life and not really having anything to do, i have a chance to reflect.

i had a think about how i’ve changed over the past few years, since the days of being on this website everyday, until now. in some ways, the person who i was back then had some attributes that i wish i still had. the person i was 3-4 years ago was much more in touch with her thoughts and feelings. i was writing and posting stuff on here about my life and my feelings. i was sharing things i liked, meaning that i had conviction that these things were indeed things that i liked. i was much more confident talking to strangers, albeit online (i guess social media friendships gives you a ‘blank slate’). however, given the opportunity, i was also really open to meeting people in real life.

not to say i wish i could be that person again (because i’m happy with how i’ve changed), here are some things i can develop in my present self:

01 having conviction in my tastes and opinions 02 being more in touch with my thoughts and feelings (and how to get out of certain thoughts and feelings) 03 dedicating time to cultivating creative skills 04 having a group of close friends that i see often (once a fortnight minimum)

i realise, though, things in my current reality make it much more difficult to do these things compared to 3-4 years ago.

01 being moved out means that working is not an option. 02 being at university full time in a ~creative~ field eats up time (and gives me the excuse not to pursue creative activities outside of school). 03 being moved away from home city and away from friends whom i’ve known for 10+ years, combined with the fact that i don’t have time (don’t make the time) to become close friends to the people i know here.

theories-of

Gerda Scheepers-Small factory for producing clothes (for Myra de Muynck), 2014

this year is going so fast

goodreadss

Fields of Bluebonnets, (1923) / Bluebonnet Field, (1912)

NEW YEAR’S REALISATIONS

I’ve become a very uninterested and uninteresting person.

my life is just work, uni and architecture.

aside from work and uni, I like watching tv and the occasional ride around the neighbourhood.

tv shows are a medium for passive people? I have become a very passive person.

I am obsessed with metricising my hobbies (goodreads, strava, last.fm) which makes my hobbies cause me stress.

is there any art that I actually love?

I used to go to see live music every few months, but now i’ve completely stopped because the crowds and the feeling of exhaustion aren’t worth it anymore. art galleries have started to feel that way too.

I leave my Melbourne life behind once i go through the security gates for my flight ‘home’ to Sydney. vice versa. airports are so emotionally sterile.

being this new ambivalent person, at least i have stopped caring too much about what people think of my appearance.