The Secrecy Of Seclusion

So dear readers, I have survived the first quarter of Second Year relatively unscathed! Before I post an actual post, I thought I would share the final (work-in-progress) documentary I produced for my Digital Photography Course:

This was my explanation of the project to go along with the photographs:

The Secrecy of Seclusion

secret [skrət] adjective 1. not widely known: known by only a few people and intentionally withheld from general knowledge 2. undercover: working or operating without the knowledge of the general public 3. unadmitted: acting or feeling in a particular way without admitting to it   a secret admirer

When was the last time you kept your own secret? Sometimes secrets don’t have to be things you’ve done or decisions you’ve made. A secret can be a memory. A secret can be a person. But for me, a secret can even be a place.

Albert’s Farm is the second largest park in Johannesburg, yet even the residents who live around out seem to keep it a secret from the rest of the city, maybe even themselves. That is why the park has an air of privacy, of seclusion, of hidden secrets waiting to be found.

But secrets are easier to uncover when you look for traces of them, and the best way to do that is when the park is almost completely empty. Seclusion and Secrecy seem to go hand in hand.

I shall return soon again dear readers, with a proper post and lots of words.

Until we meet again

Talia

Wanted

Is it a crime to want more than you already have? Is it wrong to want more, constantly?

The truth is, dear readers, I have no idea what the correct answer to that is... but I think that if your heart is in the right place, and maybe your mind too, wanting more can't be such a bad thing. I'm one of those people that has learnt to accept what is given, more by habit than by any particular rule or bad experience. I guess it's just something that has become a part of me over time. And I haven't really questioned that aspect of myself... until recently.

I've realised over the last few weeks that wanting more isn't a bad thing at all... It all depends on what that "more" means. If you're a billionaire and you want even more money, that's probably a bad thing. If you hypothetically control the entire world and then you want to control the Martians (if they exist)... then might be a problem.

But what if your heart wants more? There is already enough hatred in this cruel world of ours, so much pain and suffering that we've actually become numb to because we've learnt to not see it. I can't believe that there was ever a doubt in my mind that wanting care and love someone more could ever be a bad thing... I guess I just needed a hypothetical slap in the face to be reminded that caring more could never be a bad thing... Even if everyone is not that appreciative or reciprocating.

Just this little (or not so little) change in perspective has kinda changed my way of seeing the world... which admittedly hasn't been that great recently. But that's okay, sometimes you need a lot of rain to appreciate the sunshine again (or vice-versa for all you pluviophiles). I can actually feel my heart getting bigger and more loving everyday, now this introvert just has to work on showing it to the people that matter.

Keep those hearts going for the people you care about dear readers.

Until we meet again
Talia

P.S. If anyone happens to be a charitable billionaire this art student is always happy to get more art supplies too!

An Enlightening Experiment

So dear readers... Today is Monday... I am a day late and a dollar short with this post... and for that I cannot apologise enough. But alas life goes on, and so does this blog. And what's been on my mind this week is the idea of Experimenting. No, not with substances of a questionable nature but rather with regards to Art.

Do you ever get those times when someone gives you free reign with an assignment and you have so many ideas that you don't actually know where to start? That happened to me with a particular Fine Arts Assignment that I have due this week. This is basically how this assignment worked: Each person in the class was given a specific topic, which we have freedom to respond to in any way we choose. Mine was the following piece of photocopied text:

"All the forms of auxiliary apparatus which we have invented for the improvement or intensification of our sensory functions are built on the same model as the sensory organs themselves or portions of them: For instance, spectacles, photographic cameras or ear-trumpets. Measured by this standard devices to aid the memory seem imperfect since our mental apparatus accomplishes precisely what they cannot: it as an unlimited receptive capacity for new perceptions and lays down permanent - though not unalterable - memory-traces of them." 

So, that was my topic. Quite a mouthful isn't it?

All the words that are in blue are the words that stuck out to me when I read this topic the first time... And I wanted to work around the ways in which I've learnt to memorise something... And the first thing I thought of was writing things, because that is my distinct way of memorising something and also having a memory-trace of it...

So I decided to experiment with layering pieces of writing and displaying it on a light box... And here is the final result:

Home made light box sans light

Text layers with lights on

Text Close-Up

If you want to know the relevance of the writing. I wrote the above passage of text repeatedly in progressively smaller text until I was able to recite the passage word for word. Thus a tangible outcome of a memory aiding device became my work for this project... And I have to say, I think this experiment turned out quite successfully.

And this is the week where every assignment is due, so I am off to get more stuff done dear readers.

Until we meet again
Talia

The Ultimate Aim of an Artist

Today marks the passing of the first week of March. As I'm sure you've noticed dear readers, Time seems quite important to me. And the truth is that it is. Time is the one thing that no human being can escape from, no matter how hard you try. Time can swallow you whole and never let you see the light of day again. But time can also remind you of how precious each and every moment of your life is. Time can be generous.
Time can be deadly.
Time is what you make of it.

That is what I've noticed this year. Even though I've spent each day of this year doing something meaningful to me, whether it's through work or pleasure, it still astounds me how quickly time seems to be going this year.

On Friday afternoon, for our Fine Arts lecture we had Francis McKee lecture us. He is a Scottish curator. I found him to be incredibly bubbly and cheerful considering the depth of the things he was telling us at times. One of the things he said really got to me.

"Immortality is the artist's ultimate aim"

I have never heard it so plainly and profoundly worded. Time is what the artist ultimately aims to defy. Even though we only have a finite amount of time to make work, our main goal is for the art we make to outlive us, to become immortal. Our souls become immortal as artist's because they are entrenched in everything we do. And here I think it applies to so much more than just visual art, it applies to writing, poetry, music, anything that carries a small fragment of us. 

I think these little profound gems that people share are so easily lost among the world, purely because the world doesn't pay enough attention, or take enough time to see it. People ask me how I always find something to write about (whether it's through my blog or in my daily journal), the truth is this. There will be more words than I will ever be able to write, all I have to do is pay attention. There is more inspiration in this world in each and every human being than I will ever be able to make art about. But if I can create one inspiring piece of writing or a work of art that lets people see a tiny bit of the magic in this world, and it becomes immortal, I think I have done my job as an artist.

It's time to start immortalising the important things in the world. 

Until we meet again

Talia

You Reap What You Sow

Hello There Dear Readers!

No this isn't an entirely proper post, but I thought I'd just share some of my work that was completed this week! For Art History, we are currently studying Landscapes In Art, with our main focus this being The Mined Landscape. As part of our lectures, we went on an excursion to the Krugersdorp Mine Fields (In Gauteng, South Africa). Our assignment is based on our interpretation of this landscape.

What stood out for me the most, was that the impoverished people in the area are trying to grow mielies (or corn for those abroad) didn't know that the soil and underground water beneath them had been contaminated by Acid Mine Drainage. In essence, the very thing that was keeping them alive was also killing them. This struck me quite profoundly, and this is the work I produced as a result of this realisation:

 You Reap What You Sow

Watercolour and Red Ink on Paper

21cm x 29,7cm

2015

That's all for now dear readers, I'm off to get some creative things done!

Until We Meet Again

Talia

Time Waits For No Artist

Today is the First of March...That means that 1/6th of the year has already passed, and so quickly it seems too. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems like every year seems to move faster than the one before it. Time can be quite terrifying, it feels as if there is never enough but at the same time it can be overwhelming... how quickly a long space of time will actually pass.

Perspective wise, I have spent 12 years of my life in school. That is more than a decade of time that seemed to go so quickly... and now I'm already in my second year of my degree, another two years and I would have completed my undergrad.

So as you can plainly see, dear readers, Time has been breathing down my neck as of late... But that's alright. It's what you make of your time that counts more than anything else. And I have to say, I guess that's why productivity matters so much to me. During the 3 month holiday, I did feel like so much potential got wasted. So now I guess I'm trying to make up for it by being productive.

And I have to say, I am liking being back at varsity. Yes it means crazy traffic in the morning and unspeakably bad admin, but the truth is, I thrive on working and making things, I am starting to feel like an artist in the making. Even keeping this blog going is in some bizarre way helping me to stay sane!

For now I don't have much new work to post, mostly because it's still being made, but you shall be the first to see anything new my dear readers. Remember, being busy doesn't necessarily mean being productive!

Until we meet again
Talia