– feeds your head
A while ago someone asked me why I write. I have been asked that question many times. The simple answer is because I have to. If I don’t write I go insane. And as melodramatic as that sounds, it’s never the less true. I write to sort out my own head, to organize my thoughts. And that applies to anything I write, regardless of whether it’s fact or fiction. I do it to sort out my own head, to understand. This time that answer wasn’t really appropriate though, the situation called for a bit more discretion than saying it was for mental health reasons. So I had to loop it in my head one more time and when I did the other side of it became clear. I write because I believe that story telling can change the world. And that statement actually applies to the mental health aspect too. I want to understand and that’s why I write, that how my brain works. But the products of my efforts, the texts, those are just as much about getting other people to understand. By sharing what I think I hope to get other people to embrace the same thoughts, to see the same patterns. Because I really do want to change the world.
We live in an age and a culture where this ambition is somewhat frowned upon. It’s not really the hip thing to do. It’s too pretentious, too serious, not cynical enough. And at a first glance it may also seem to lack that essential element of immediate satisfaction that we seem to crave more than anything. But I don’t really have a choice. I have to keep on trying. And there is massive satisfaction in doing so. Immediate and long-term. Because it’s all about passion, about actually caring so much that you just can’t help yourself. Of course I write because I love it, I love words and I love stories, I always have. That’s one side of it. The other is the hope of actually making a difference. And I think that’s the two elements of passion: love and actually giving a shit. That’s why you do it, what ever it is you do. Read more of this post
A while ago I was at a street art fair. With an ambition to not only have a look at the art but to also write something about it I brought along my camera and a note pad. I walked around in the big hall taking pictures and making random notes trying to figure out what the hell I was going to write about all of this. What I was going to do with all of these impressions. Writing something about all of the artists was so obviously impossible, so what then? I kept thinking “what do I want to write about all of this?” And I am still not sure.
Art fairs are difficult. Just like music festivals are difficult. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by all the impressions. At least for me. It’s at times like that I realize just how difficult it is to stay in the moment, to really process what you are actually experiencing as you are experiencing it. Even though it’s all so amazing and inspiring it just turns into a big blur of awe.
Afterwards I saw a friend of mine:
“So how was it?”
“It was rad!”
Very descriptive, huh? But that’s the problem, I find it hard to say something beyond that. Because it was rad. Obviously there were things that I liked more, pieces that I spent more time with, but as far as an overall impression goes, rad is pretty much all I can come up with. Pitiful, isn’t it?
But the plan was to write about it, so I feel I should honor the commitment I made to myself and try to come up with something more to say about it than ‘rad’. Read more of this post
stupidity always makes me angry. and most of the time the political opinions about graffiti are insanely stupid. “we must wage war against graffiti. it is a danger to society and creates an environment of insecurity and encourages crime.” ok, like how? how is it dangerous that people create art on walls in our public space? how does that create insecurity? and encourage crime? people see graffiti and think: “oh there’s graffiti here, let’s go mug people and break things”? i don’t think so. there is a huge gap in the logic here. so huge that i am surprised anyone actually believes this shit, but people actually do. and that is scary. i just read a survey in a newspaper and according to that 70% of the people said they were bothered by graffiti. ok… what about all the huge advertisements that are everywhere that are trying to make you buy even more shit you don’t need? anyone finding that annoying? i sure as hell do. but they are allowed to put their shit everywhere. they are not considered a threat to public safety. so it’s better for the public to have a huge advertisement that further feeds the idea and the notion that the only way to get happy is to consume than to get to look at art for free? is that the real problem here? that it is for free? they didn’t ask for permission and they didn’t pay for the space hence it has to be bad for society? there is no money here yo! no one payed and no one is trying to make anyone buy shit. oh scary! Read more of this post
jc.tryps 