by Marty Coleman | Oct 11, 2016 | Education - 2016, Will Durant |
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Knowing Everything
Ever notice how a person who has just learned something new about a topic is often very adamant that they have learned everything about that topic? I see it happen often in young people BUT it really has no age. I see it in myself and I am not a spring chicken. I am less like this now than when I was young, but there are so many topics and so much to learn that it never completely goes away.
Knowing a New Everything
For example, I became a Christian at age 21 and I will have you know I knew everything about it in short order. Fast forward 30+ years and after a long intellectual and spiritual journey I decided I was still a Christian, but was now a Christian Atheist. What does that mean? It means I no longer believed in the existence of spirit beings but I believed in the teachings of Jesus on how to live in this world. I will have you know I knew everything about it.
Unknowing Everything
Fast forward another 10 years and now I am a Christian Agnostic. What does that mean? It means I still believe in the teaching of Jesus on how to live in this world but I have studied enough about science to realize that the discoveries science has made in almost every field would have been so unbelievable just 20-100 years ago as to be claimed as preposterously absurd. That tells me the mysteries still out there are also preposterously absurd according to our present understanding of things and might change our understanding all over again.
Peaceful Unknowing
What that means for me is that while I don’t see direct evidence of spirit beings and I don’t see direct evidence of of a God, especially a traditional God that has his/her fingers in the human pie on a minute by minute basis, I just know there is too much we don’t know for me to say it definitely. And that put me in the most peaceful place I can be in, a place where I am open to learn and not threatened by new ideas in any area.
Coda: Dark Matter
If you are wondering what exactly it is in scientific ideas of recent years that makes me say all this, simply look up ‘Dark Matter’ and try to wrap your head around what it is. That should convince you. The book ‘Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs’ is a good book to read if you are willing to dive deep into it.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Will Durant, 1885-1981, American Author. His most famous contribution was the 11 volume ‘Story of Civilization’ written with his wife, Ariel Durant.
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 7, 2016 | Polish Proverbs, Teamwork - 2016 |
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Individual
Here is the most ironic thing about teamwork is that each individual has to do their own individual job for it to succeed. Now, it is true that each individual doesn’t have to perform perfectly at every moment. And it is also true that on a team individuals pick up the slack for one who isn’t able to perform. Nonetheless, no team succeeds if all the individuals fail.
In Concert
What that means is there isn’t some magical potion that transforms all the individuals into one entity. They remain individuals with their own thoughts, their own drives, their own motives. BUT, if the leader is doing things right then those thoughts, drives and motives, while still belonging to the individual, are in concert with the other teammates.
Examples in Life
Being an example is another successful element of teamwork that often goes overlooked. The individual on the team who successfully sweeps away fear motivates his or her teammate (or neighbor) to do the same. The individual who keeps anger under control helps others on the team believe they can do the same. And the individual who does not descend to hate inspires the teammate to do the same.
These individuals can be doing it for themselves but they are also doing it for each other. This is how teams win, this is how societies become better.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote is a Polish proverb
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 4, 2016 | Education - 2016 |
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Here are 10 things you aren’t likely to learn in school.
- How to wash dishes.
- How to grow old.
- How to raise kids.
- How to be broken hearted.
- How to buy insurance.
- How to retire.
- How to lose weight.
- How to go broke.
- How to communicate.
- How to be silent.
What else would you add to this list?
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by John Dewey, 1859-1952, American educator and reformer
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 29, 2016 | Education - 2016, Mark Twain |
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Purpose of School
School, as wonderful as it can be, has a purpose. And it isn’t to make you educated. It’s to make you educated so you will be a contributing member of our society. That means so you can hold a job that contributes, or start a company that contributes. Some schools also want you educated in such a way that you are a positive influence in society. At least according to that society. That might mean you are a good consumer, or give to charity, or compete well on the athletic field.
In other words, the education want to educate you to fit in. And I don’t think that is that bad a thing. I don’t mind fitting in somewhat.
Purpose of Education
But fitting in has it’s limits. If your goal is to only fit in then a good schooling works well for you and for your society. BUT if you want to expand beyond that fit, then you need to be educated beyond school. You need to keep learning on your own. Because learning on your own is how you will reshape your society for the better. It’s how you will challenge and change worn out traditions and prejudices. It’s how you will illuminate and bring to fruition new visions of art, science, nature, ideas, morality, spirit, and more.
Purpose of You
Your purpose is not just to fit in. Your purpose is to become you. Part of you will fit in, and that is good. But another part, no matter how small or large, should aspire to break those bonds. That part of you should work to learn as much as you can in whatever area you want, apart from society’s purpose for you.
Because if you do that, you will not just fit in to society, you will at the same time shape it into something better, something that says you have been here. That is a good thing.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Mark Twain, 1835 – 1910, American Humorist
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 27, 2016 | Education - 2016, Will Rogers |
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Educated vs Educated
I get annoyed when ‘college educated’ becomes confused with ‘educated’. There are many people who have gone to college and graduated, and they are rightly classified as ‘college educated’. But does that mean they are actually educated in the broader sense? I think there is a strong case to be made that that might not be the case for a good portion of those graduates.
I know this makes me sound like some sort of elite education snob. Guess what? I am an elite education snob. I believe in a full and complete, well-rounded, broadly general and inclusive education. I don’t believe college should just be a ‘major factory’ for business or jobs. For us to have a great civilization it also should be, it needs to be, a incubator for intellectual development and critical thinking in the classic disciplines of a liberal education.
Don’t be fooled though, when I say ‘liberal’ I am not talking about it in the political or social sense. It has nothing to do with liberal vs conservative. I am talking about it’s meaning in education, which is specific. It means a broad based, well-rounded education in multiple disciplines.
Ongoing
But, the argument may be given, you can only learn so much in 4-5 years of college. And you do need to think about it having some practical reasons behind all that money and time being put into it. I agree with that. That is one reason why, even if you have the best liberal education possible, it isn’t enough. It isn’t enough for one very important reason. Proper learning in college should always have as one of its main outcomes the realization that what you know now is not complete. There will be new discoveries in science, art, math, politics, environment, religion, philosophy and more. The education of the world does not stop when you get your diploma and neither should yours.
A Proposal
I have had this idea for a while. I propose there be college after college. I don’t mean ongoing education to get mastery in a specific skill or area. I mean tune ups of ideas and information. I mean going back to relearn and expand what you learned way back when. And to add in new areas where you never learned anything in the first place.
And not only that, but I propose we have another graduation later in life. Perhaps every 10-12 years or so. 32, 42, 52? Or maybe 28, 38, 48, etc.? I like the idea of continuing those traditional transitions of our youth into rituals in adulthood as well. I am not sure of the details, but I like the idea.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Will Rogers, 1879 – 1935, American Humorist
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 19, 2016 | Responsibility - 2016, Theodore Roosevelt |
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Who is to Blame?
Was it traffic that made you late? Did your friend make you eat that piece of cake? Was the boss to blame for you not completing your task because she talked your ear off? The answers always lead in one direction or another. They point somewhere. Will they always point to you? Of course not. But check how often they point to you. If never? You are living a delusional lie about your part. If always? You are living a delusional lie about your part.
Reality
The truth is, we will always have someone else to blame if we want to. And sometimes that will be right. But often what seems right at the surface, isn’t. For example. Your boss talks your ear off and so you missed getting a report in on time. Her fault, right? No, not her fault. Your fault. Why your fault? Because you didn’t find a way out of the conversation (or monologue) and get back to work.
BUT BUT BUT
“BUT, she’s my boss. I can’t just tell her to shut up.” No, you can’t. But you can ask her if you can talk to her later about this because you are on a deadline, right? You can take into account she comes by your desk every work day at 4pm and talks so you had better make sure you have the report done, or close to done, by that time, right? You can do preliminary work on the report knowing there will likely be delays later in the day, right? You can do something in most cases. It’s just a matter of whether you have thought of it and if so, are willing to do it.
Other’s Fault, Your Responsibility
You see my point? Even if it is her fault for being such a talker, it’s still your responsibility to get that report done. It’s up to you to figure out how to do it and make that happen. It’s not up to her to not talk so much, it’s up to you to figure out how to deal with it and still be successful in your job.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Theodore Roosevelt, 1858 – 1919, 26th US President (1901-1909)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/theodoreroosevelt
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 12, 2016 | Anonymous, Curiosity - 2015, Education - 2016 |
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Home Schooling
When our daughter’s were young we home schooled them for 3 years. For the youngest, Chelsea, it was Kindergarten through 2nd grade, Connie it was 1st – 3rd, and Rebekah it was 3rd – 5th. We didn’t do it for religious reasons, even though we were within a church that had a lot of home schooling families. We did it primarily because we could. My wife at the time, Kathy, was a teacher and, after seeing so many others in the church do it, decided she could do it too. This took a lot for her since she was up until then not a very confident person. But she believed it and we did it. It was a great time for our family and our kids. It was wonderful in many ways but the way that was most important in my children’s life was this: There was no idea of school is where you get educated and home is not. On the contrary, everywhere is where you got educated. Home, street, groups, books, church, museums, nature, grandparents, etc. It didn’t matter where you were, you were learning.
Curiosity
And that all-inclusive idea of education was driven by curiosity. If you are learning about science in your back yard while checking out bugs, then it’s very likely you will always be curious about the bugs in your backyard. If you are learning about the history from your Grandfather who fought in WWII then very likely you will always be curious about the lives older people have lived. If you are learning about art from your dad, seeing him working in his studio every day, then you are likely to be curious about creativity in others for the rest of your life. Curiosity is the engine.
Around The Bend
So, does that mean you or your kids have to have been home schooled to be life-long learners? Of course not. Home schooling was just a part of my daughter’s upbringing that contributed. Just as important was the example their mother and I set by being curious and willing to explore well after our formal education was over. And all that really was was an enthusiastic curiosity about what was around the bend. Instead of fear of the unknown I tried to instill in them a curiosity of it.
Not Reckless
Of course, that isn’t the same as being reckless or stupid. One needs critical thinking skills, good judgment and wisdom, but those things don’t preclude being curious about life. They just allow your curiosity to proceed with a modicum of safety is all.
I encourage you to embrace your curiosity about life, don’t be afraid of it. It is much better to fear a life not lived then one that has been lived to the max, right?
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote is anonymous with many variations from multiple sources
“Curiosity is the engine driving a good education”
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 10, 2016 | Decision Making - 2016, Peter Drucker |
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The Road to Hell
You’ve heard the saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, right? What does it mean? Since nobody wants to go to hell, it obviously means good intentions are misleading. You think you are paving the way to heaven, or accomplishment, success, fame, wealth, happiness, security, love, etc. but instead you end up in hell? How can that be?
It’s not because good intentions are evil, it’s because good intentions are nothing. They are ephemeral ghosts that flit about and then disappear. They can’t be built on and they can’t be walked on. What they can do is fool people. They tell people they are actually doing something when they aren’t. They tell people they are making progress in life, when they aren’t. They tell people they are becoming better people, when they aren’t.
Good intentions are nothing, and doing nothing in life is the fastest way to be in hell now and find hell in the future.
The Road to Elsewhere
So, if good intentions are nothing, what is something? Action is something. Hard work is something. Practicing what you preach is something.
Making an idea into a reality isn’t good intentions, it’s good action. It might start with an idea and a determination to make that idea real, and that is good. People need vision and ideals. But they are the ink on the paper in the recipe book. They are nothing without the ingredients being put together to actually make the recipe into food.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Peter Drucker, 1909-2005, Austrian-born American Management consultant and author
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 7, 2016 | Artists I Love, Neil Jenney |
Neil Jenney
From 1982-1994 I worked on getting my Master of Fine Art degree from San Jose State University in California. I took a number of high level art theory and criticism seminars where studied intensely studied the recently past and current styles in the art world. Foremost among those at the time was Neo-Expressionism. There were many compelling artists working in this style that I liked, including David Salle, Robert Longo, and Eric Fischl. In addition we studied other strains, including the Pattern and Decoration movement, which I liked quite a bit.
One artist I discovered at the time stood out to me. He stood out because he was was not part of these or other contemporary movements. He was completely unique; sophisticated, astute in his subtle social and political messaging and unabashedly contrarian in his relationship with current art. His name is Neil Jenney and he is the next artist in my ‘Artists I Love’ series. Links to the other artists in the series can be found in the menu above and in a list at the end of this post.
Window #6, oil on panel with painted wood frame, 1971-1976
But let’s go back a bit to get a little better glimpse of the ideas behind his work.
BAD PAINTING
What you see below is a bad painting. It’s bad on purpose to make a statement. Back in the late 60s a new genre came into being called ‘Photorealism’. Artists took a photograph of a scene and painted it to an extreme level of accuracy. They actually enhanced the scene often to be even MORE realistic than the photo. Neil Jenney hated this trend. He understood the technique took some skill but for what purpose? To just recreate a photograph? He saw it as soulless and trite. He said to a friend that instead of having a bad idea and doing it well, “it would be better to have a good idea and do it terrible!” Which is exactly what he did. He called it good drawing, bad painting.
Saw and Sawed, acrylic on canvas with painted wood frame, 1969
Here is an example of the art Jenney was seeing when he decided to go in the opposite direction.
Robert Bechtle, Alameda Gran Torino, 1974, oil on canvas
He continued in this vein for a few years and was rewarded with his work being designated as ‘bad painting’, not as a derogatory critique, but as a positive statement about a new sort of realism.
Birds and Jets, Acrylic on canvas with painted wood frame, 1969
Threat and Sanctuary, acrylic on canvas with painted wood frame, 1969
Girl and Doll, Man and Mirage
GOOD PAINTING
The good paintings were a result of two things. One, the limits of doing ‘good drawing, bad painting’, and two, the plethora of artists who had started to do similar work. Jenney is a contrarian and really dislikes doing what the crowd does. The combination of those two things caused him to decided to do ‘good drawing, good painting’. He started doing very detailed and highly accurate realistic paintings. But, as in the bad paintings, he does not spell things out. He just gives clues. The good paintings are as much about what is not seen beyond the frame as it is what is in the frame.
It also is about the relationship between words and images, as are the ‘bad paintings’. It’s another element that resonated with me, as you can tell by how prevalent words are in much of my work.
Meltdown Morning, 1975, oil on board with painted wood frame
North America Acidified, oil on panel with painted wood frame, 2013
Atmospheric Formation – Rabbits, oil on panel with painted wood frame, 2005
Morning, Evening, oil on panel with painted wood frame, 2012
Ozarkia, oil on panel with painted wood frame, 2012
North American Aquatica, Oil on Panel with painted wood frame, 2006-07
Modern Era, Oil on panel with painted wood frame, 2006
Improved Picassos
Here’s an idea for a sure fire way to be criticized: Decide you can improve upon the paintings of the perhaps the greatest artist of the 20th century. Jenney decided to do just that. He happened to see someone in the Port Authority terminal in NYC selling painted reproductions of Picasso paintings. He bought one from him and decided to improve it, fixing what he saw as incomplete or bad passages in the art. Then he framed them how he would like to see them, instead of the way he saw them framed in the famous museums of the world.
It’s a cheeky and pretentious effort to do something like this, but Jenney didn’t care about what others would think. He wanted to ‘fix’ them so he did. Other people didn’t like it? Too bad for them. I have to admit I really love that ‘in your face’ attitude he has. It’s liberating for artists to see this and realize decisions about our creativity are ours to make, not someone else’s.
He eventually commissioned the artist who did the original copies, Ki-Young Sung, to paint specific Picasso pieces he had always wanted to rework.
Improved Picasso – Boy and Horse, original on left
Improved Picasso – Marie Therese Leaning, original on right
Improved Picasso – Igor Stravinsky
Improved Picasso – Bathers
Improved Picasso – Woman
Conclusion
Neil Jenney is my favorite type of artist, maybe because I feel a kinship with his outsider status. Outsider doesn’t mean uneducated, unsophisticated, or untalented. It simply means the artist does not fit in, either on purpose or by virtue of place, time and style, with the prevailing trends of art at the time. He or she can still be quite popular among collectors and other art people, but it’s a popularity based more on genuine admiration for the work than on any commercial or social advantage one might get by having a piece by the artist.
Photo courtesy of artist
Links and Resources
Improved Picassos – The Creators Project, 2016
An Artist Reluctant to Sell Himself – NY Times, 2013
The Painting of the Future – LanguageandPhilosophy.com
West Broadway Gallery and Jenney Archives
Lofty Ambitions – Neil Jenney Frames Himself – blouinartinfo.com
- You can see and read the entire ‘Artists I love’ series here or by going through the list below.20182016201520142012/20132011/2012
Article © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.comLike this:
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by Marty Coleman | Sep 2, 2016 | Decision Making - 2016, Edwin Markham |
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Not Judging
We had a discussion on Periscope the other day about decision making. It was about this idea and the idea in the blog post before this one, about not judging life events as good or bad, just experience them with minimal judgment. It would lead to less stress and anxiety and more happiness and peace.
People of Faith
Not easy to do of course, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. But how? Many people would say by having faith. But I have been in the Christian church now going on 40 years and I have seen very few people who don’t fret just as much about the future as those who don’t attend church and say they don’t believe in God, afterlife, etc. That doesn’t mean people of faith don’t talk a good game, they do. The script is all there in the bible that you just don’t have to worry. Paul says it again and again in his letters. Peter says it, Jesus says it. It’s a big part of Christianity. But barely anyone (that I know at least) actually lives it out in day to day practice.
The Avoidance List
Why is that? What is it about the unknown future that we really fear? Death? Pain? Discomfort? Does fearing those things help us avoid them? Well, we know we can’t avoid death so that obviously is a problem. But we can avoid it for a while, right?
Here is a list to help you avoid death:
- Eat well
- Exercise well
- Have really good genetics
- Don’t step on a land mine
Same goes for pain. Here is a list to avoid pain:
- Do nothing aggressively physical
- Don’t get in any relationships
- Don’t have kids
- Don’t get blown up on a boat (I didn’t avoid that)
And if you want to avoid discomfort? Here is what you should do.
- Never meet people, cultures or ideas you don’t understand or like.
- Never get a brazilian wax job
- Never eat hot chili peppers
- Never wear tight pants, tight bras or tight hats.
All those ways can be summed up in one rule. Don’t do anything. That will help you avoid all those terrible things in life.
Ok, I Lied
The truth is a life of couch sitting, of never thinking or experiencing anything new is living death. Seeing all the fun, vitality and love others are experiencing in life is a greater pain emotionally and physically than going out and experiencing the world and the risks in it. And by far the deepest discomfort in life is realizing you are afraid of everything.
So, get out there, open that gate, swim that ocean, climb that hill. You will experience discomfort, pain and yes, even death eventually. But the alternative? You are already dead.
Drawing and commentary © 2016 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quote by Edwin Markham, 1852-1940, American Poet
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