Mask Sculpture System

On my little walk today, during my break at work, I was thinking about the nature of humans. Or to be more precise, the masks that we wear everyday. I was imagining to myself, that actually if I was to lift my mask (today as I was walking) underneath it would be another mask, then another and another. Then I realized, this is not quite how it works. Because I think internally we have a Mask Sculpture System. Which means, like an independent suspension, masks are sculpted specifically for a given task. Thus, an extraordinary device of adaptation. We do not choose to put them on, it's a system that responds to a pattern in our everyday lives and interactions. We do not choose to put them on because there is no "real" us, there is only the masks, and the sculpture system. Now, each human may have a unique system, that deals with situations and problems by using different masks, compared to say, you or I.
On a closing note, on the idea of religious fanatics, people who almost never change their mask, I find them to be quite a wonder. For one they arrange their world so that there is the same pattern and therefore response. Therefore they are the keepers of tradition and civilization by reinforcing ideologies everyday. Although, ironically, they are also the reason for a civilization's eventual demise- by their incapability to adapt in this changing world.

sketch inspired by Nirvana & the book Perfume .

sketch "The Colony"

Conclusions

It is on days like this one, that a silence comes over me. It's hard to say what brings it on. Sometimes it's the weather, other times it's a failed attempt at art. I noticed that the older one gets, and the longer one's been in the game of creation, the failed attempts are in reality a coming to face with one's own incapabilities. Issues that one cannot over come by one's nature. On the other hand, it can also be a realization of one's own age and things that have been unaccomplished. Regardless, on days such as this, I am silent- not willing to utter a word or make another promise. It's a day of bitter conclusions.

New Ink (The Baths of Pavillion 3)

Alrighty, I guess three more inks to go. Some of you may notice that this is Baths number 3 and may wonder "what happened to Baths number 2?" Well, I am dyslectic, but more honestly I think the Muse played a role here. I'm still, of course, working on Baths 2.

On another note, I would like to talk about something that has been troubling me lately. And that is certain historical misconceptions. This one falls one the issue of Ancient Egypt and race. Now, as someone who read quite a lot of book on the topic of archeology, I would never say that Egyptians were white or African (black). Too many people with little knowledge in matters of Ancient Archeology, have a tendency to confuse geography with race. Two days ago, I spent an hour arguing with an African American gentleman about the race of Cleopatra. It is a fact that she was a Greek. And the man was trying to convince me that she was black - because Egypt is in Africa. If one follows this type of rational, I guess everyone in American is Indian.

drawings & notes from the 'Formalhaut" sketchbook 05/06

Here are some notes that are in this sketchbook. I know that they are contradictory. Normally, I think a person has one ideology. During the period of this sketchbook- mine completely split in two. On one hand I was still a believer in existentialism and Nietzsche. While my other side was developing it's own interpretation of spirituality and god. Ever since that happened I've been in a certain state of internal civil war.

1. The sun scares me. It's a constant reminder of time in motion. For days now I've been having a paranoia that the sun's going to go out. And we won't be able to do anything about it. We'll simply cease to exist. The sun is both the cause of our existence and our anxiety. To me it's the absolute "look".

2. Why People Invented God. Our mind is based on logic. This is a process of rational calculation. In our existence, our mind always has a hard time calculating it's own death. "It is here now, so how can it cease to exist?" So, in the mind's equation, to balance out death, it created "god" since that clearly overcomes death. Existence - Death = God

3. Rationality (common sense) is neither a tool of a religious fanatic or an ultra liberal.

4. 'It's only art if it sells.' I remember you saying that. That's bullshit. Because the world changes and so does the definition of art. In today's society, true art is what does not sell, and you cannot buy it.

5. On Death. Some of us (especially intellectuals) talk about death. How "nothing really matters". How at the end it's "all just in vain". Yet so few of us have actually witnessed it, this thing, this event that we dread so much...Death.

6. God writes in flesh. God did not write the Bible or any holy book. The bible has been written by man. In order to bring themselves oh-so-much-closer to God. The only thing that God actually wrote is us, or to be more precise, our genetic code. Which is indeed, a divine piece of writing-in flesh.

from the napkin

In the house of my mother
at the room of the dead,
among the faces of my ancestors,
I find the half-shattered mask of my father.
My mother said, "I only kept what was mine."