Evil Alien Conquerors

Some People think this film is bed. I think it is very good, though rather weird. I like weird movies.

Aliens attack earth with great confidence btu soon realize they may have more trouble then they realize with this task and accept that they must find another alternative. On their hoem world they are accustomed to disgusting food, no music, and overall a gross bad lifestyle. They are not allowed to be nude. On earth they encounter Supertramp and other delights and realize they woudl rather live on earth that destroy it.

The budget for this film seems to have been very low but the acting is amusing and the dialogue is memorable.

Is Photography Art?

     We humans make music – some of us think it is beautiful – but this is subjective, and some humans may not find it beautiful. Aliens may not find it beautiful. What then is beauty? It is an experience. To say something is beautiful is to say “I experience a feeling of beauty when I see or hear that “. There is probably even some kind of brain phenomena that could be measured when someone experiences a feeling of beauty. Can animals sense beauty as well? Perhaps in some way.

Ellen Terry

Julia Margaret Cameron

     Beauty also has a historical context, such as art history exemplifies. All art we experience is experienced in a frame of reference. To me, all art is understood against the backdrop of art history. Many abstract works made today may look like ones made in the 40’s but will not be worth as much money because it is not part of that historical event though they are appealing. 

     

                Art museums house pieces of art that are historical icons and relics. This is like a church of sorts.

                Is photography art? It has been considered so. Today we all have cameras in our pockets and are taking millions of pictures all the time. However, is it not the camera that is making the image? Surely drawing yourself portrait in front of the grand canyon is different than taking a selfie with your phone.  In the past photography was much harder and involved negatives, prints, chemicals, lighting…now your phone does it all. Suffice to say if you had a machine that could paint a painting for you of a view that you specify, I’m not sure anyone would be impressed with you, but they would be impressed by the machine. But is the point of art to impress people or to create something that impresses people? 

     The question is loaded: surely most people think today that what “what is art” is subjective. Many photographers would probably be insulted to have their art questioned. Suffice to say, photography is visually appealing but it is its own special form of art and cannot really be compared with other forms of art such as drawing, painting and sculpture. Photographs are in art museums. 

My new tumblr

I created a tumblr to reblog Instagram photos since my instagram is private.

http://lathamgreenherecords.tumblr.com/

Sometimes I wonder if I am working too much on some paintings I am doing. Maybe I should learn when to stop. I have tried this on a recent painting of Willard Beach. I decided to leave the water basic instead of water effects, after admiring some paintings of Milton Avery. However, sometimes I think I am somewhat influenced by the opinions of others, and if someone said I should paint water effects I probably would. Perhaps I would like it either way. Sometimes I think “I’ve paid this money for this surface I better put some real time into it.” But if the picture looks better with less time then why do it?

Oil paints

I am now working on an oil painting. I usually work with acrylic as that is what I learned. It is always interesting to see how the difference of medium can change the style of the art. With oil I can produce blending, blurry effects that are harder with acrylic. Acrylic dries amazingly quickly. One can add mediums to slow the drying but why not just use oil?

Anyway it is the medium of the old masters so that is  thrill, and the colors do seem more vibrant, the paint seems more tacky and thick for a lower price than you would get with acrylic. 

"THIS SYSTEM SUUCKS!!"

A creative mind is restless I think. I see creativity as a search for the new and good things, the better things, the novel things. The creative mind wants to wander and explore new hills valleys and caves.

We use emotional language to get the right release of feeling - we don't say "this system could be improved" - not satisfying - we say "THIS SYSTEM SUUCKS!!" - what we could say is "I am so frustrated by this system!"

TAKE A NICE WALK BY A STREAM AND FEEL BETTER