by Marty Coleman | Oct 24, 2014 | Bertrand Russell, Conscience - 2014 |
I am delighted that today will inflict ‘Conscience #3’ on you.
The Invention of Hell
I know some of you believe Hell is a real place that has existed since time immemorial. I don’t. I believe Hell is a place invented by humans trying to make sense of an unfair and capricious world where seemingly bad people triumphed and good people met disaster too often. How does it all even out? There has to be a place that those bad people go after death to make it fair. That place is hell.
Hell on Earth
Since those same moralists don’t actually know for certain that there is a hell as evil as they want, they make sure that those they hope are going there suffer along the way. There are of course the usual, time honored punishments of burning at the stake, drawn and quartered, etc. But that is for one individual. Far worse is when the moralists devise a hell on earth for an entire population. There is the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the Armenian genocide, the Cambodian Khmer Rouge regime, just to name a few from the past 100 years.
Why Do People Do This?
How does a person, government or a whole nation justify something like this? They justify it by saying these people deserve it because they are immoral and sinful, thus less human. In their moralistic hunger they have rationalized the most barbaric behavior imaginable.
It’s not just in history and it’s not just in some foreign land. Being a self-righteous moralist, especially an uneducated and zealous one, is a very dangerous thing everywhere. Look around you in your own life, watch for it. You will see it. And when you do I hope you stand up and fight it.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, British Philosopher
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“The infliction of a cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell.”
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 22, 2014 | Angela Huckleby, Conscience - 2014, Mark Twain |
Let’s be clear and don’t forget, today is day #2 of our Conscience series!
The virtue of a bad memory
This morning I happened upon a Facebook post by a muse and friend of mine, Angela Huckeby. This is what she wrote:
Tonight’s reflection:
Dates and anniversaries of sad occasions.
Sometimes I wonder if it is a coping mechanism that I have acquired after a few small tragedies, but I have no idea what date ANY of my family members passed away on… Or the dates of my divorces… And most days I can’t even remember the date of my second marriage.
Selective memory, I’m sure.
Seem odd? Probably.
The thing is, I have become a master at NOT dwelling on the past. I’m sure a little bit of dwelling can be healthy, but I see so many people in absolute heartache each year over the anniversary of anything that caused them pain.
What’s the purpose of such torture?
I see no point. Remember the joy and live and love in the now.
Where We Store the Big Mixing Bowl
Angela’s reflections show a different side to the virtue of a bad memory than the one mentioned by the quote author, Mark Twain. He is humorously pointing out that it’s pretty convenient to forget our ‘sins’. But Angela is telling us how beneficial it is to also forget our sorrow, pain, resentments, heartaches.
Now, the truth is we don’t really forget them. What we do is put them away in the far back of a lower cabinet, as we do a big mixing bowl we only use once a year.
We know those things are there, we know we can feel them and remember them again if we want. But we have done our constant remembering, our wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth. We are wrung out and gnashed out. Now we know we can put the memories way out of the way and we won’t lose them. We know we can bring them out if we ever need to.
Not a Sin Excuse
There is a peace in that. If you haven’t felt that peace, maybe there are some memories you need to store away. Not so you can excuse your ‘sin’ in the present, but so you can live and love in it.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Mark Twain
Reflection by Angela Huckeby. Angela and I became friends when she agreed to pose for my ‘Velveteen Women’ project back in 2011. A four panel photo-collage with her as the subject was included in the exhibition at Living Arts in Tulsa in 2012. Scroll down to see all four panels.
Artist and Muse
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 21, 2014 | Halloween, Illustrated Short Stories, Photographic Sunday, Photography |
The Super Hero
Earlier during my cemetery walkabout, right as the sun went down, I happened upon a lone superhero starting her overnight vigil overlooking the city. She was strong and disciplined. I asked her how she got to be a superhero. She said she always wanted to be one and found that the local university had it as a major. She graduated in 3 years with a major in SuperHero Studies and a minor in Civil Engineering. Her day job is with the Army Corp of Engineers.
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The Zombie Pirate Queen
During my cemetery visit I also met the Zombie Pirate Queen. She was desperately looking for something more to eat. I pointed her in the direction of downtown, telling her the bar scene was hopping there and she should find someone to her liking. She thanked me and ran off, but not before giving me her business card, telling me to let my wife know she sold Avon on the side and could give her a free makeover.
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The Night Ninja
I was taking a leisurely midnight stroll around the cemetery when I saw Jack and the Night Ninja doing a bit of competitive grave robbing. I told them they could get a lot more work done if they worked cooperatively instead, which they did. In the end they made their deadline and planned to meet later at IHOP for breakfast.
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The Night Ninja skulked around me for a while after she was done grave robbing. She wanted to know why I was taking photographs and if I worked for the NSA. I told her no, but I was lying. I finally got her off my back when I gave her a coupon I had to Ulta and told her they had a 50% off sale on eyeliner.
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Unfortunately for the Night Ninja she never did get to have breakfast at IHOP with Jack. She instead met her demise at the hands of the Corpse bride who, in spite of being all in white, surprised the Night Ninja while she was checking her Snapchat. The Bride had just been left at the alter and hadn’t eaten all day so Night Ninja had an unfortunate end.
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Sally and Jack
I met Sally in a corner of the cemetery where she was waiting for her blind date. She had been set up by her Sorority sister, Drusilla, with her younger brother. She was quite scared of being alone in the cemetery and was happy to know there were others around. When her date, Jack, showed up out of the dark, hand first, she got so scared she peed a little.
Later in the evening I saw Sally and Jack enjoying a romantic moment sitting on a tomb. Jack had a big smile but Sally was worried about finding a bathroom.
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The Lady in Black
When I arrived at the cemetery she was the first person I came across. But she said nothing, she just looked watched me as I passed. Wherever I went, she was nearby, ever silent, ever watching. After the night was over I finally got up the nerve to talk to her. I asked her what she was doing in the cemetery. She stared at me intently, never blinking and said, “I am your eternal witness that these events were real.”
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© 2014 Marty Coleman – All Rights Reserved
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 17, 2014 | Conscience - 2014, H. L. Mencken |
It’s been weighing on my conscience to do a series on Conscience so here is #1
Rationalizing
Some say humans would not be moral without God, that that is where our conscience comes from. I don’t tend to believe that, I think many non-believers are quite more and conscientious. But I do think there is a basic understanding of right and wrong in most of us (barring mental illness for the most part) and that we know when we aren’t doing right. We may quickly rationalize not doing right, after all most of organized humanity has rationalized incredibly immoral behavior, but deep down we know what we are doing is wrong.
Guilty Before or After?
Not wrong enough to change mind you, but wrong enough that if you get caught you will immediately be repentant and contrite, apologizing profusely. Yes, you are doing all that because you got caught, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t feeling the immorality of what you did. It’s just that the switch was turned on for you to feel that immorality without the buffers and blinders of your rationalization.
Where?
So, where does our conscience come from? Is it inherent or learned, from a God / spirit being or society or?
What do you think?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Quote by H. L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American journalist and critic
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 16, 2014 | Architecture Is - 2014 |
Tonight I am going to be part of CHiTCHaT&11. It is a program put on twice a year by the Young Architects Forum of the AIA of Eastern Oklahoma. The post care below explains how it works.
This is the reason I did the drawings on Architecture last week. I am showing them in my presentation.
I have been practicing my timing yesterday and today. Luckily the slides automatically advance so I don’t need to worry about going to long. I just need to work on fitting everything I want to say into 20 seconds per slide!
If you are out and about feel free to come by and sit in on our presentations!
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Here are the Architects and historians I’ve written about so far:
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Here are some of the products available from this presentation
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 15, 2014 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Yesterday I posted a napkin drawing of Nissi, who I met and drew at Starbucks while waiting for my car to be serviced. Here is the other drawing I did of her, this one in my actual sketchbook.
After I had finished the first drawing on a napkin I showed it to her and asked her if I could draw her again, this time in my regular sketchbook. Nissi was very kind to allow me to draw a second drawing. I gave her my card and told her the drawings would be up on my site in a few days. Hopefully she will come see them.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 14, 2014 | Sketchbook History Tour |
Almost a year ago someone sent me a link to a cool site that was selling an actual napkin sketchbook. I tried to buy one then but they had just sold out and had not made any new ones yet. I forgot about it until recently when I was going through old emails and saw one from that store. I wrote back and found they had them in stock and off I went to order it.
Nissi at Starbucks
Nissi
My first opportunity to use it was, no surprise, at a Starbucks while my car was being serviced. I love drawing in coffee houses because you are going to find people who are still. They are engrossed in their world and that makes for unconscious poses, expressions, postures, and habits. I found Nissi studying and she became my model for the day. I drew her on one of the napkins that came with the sketchbook. They are cocktail napkins, smaller than my usual lunch napkins and absorbent in a different sort of way. I also drew her in my regular sketchbook and will show that one to you when it is complete.
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The Sketchbook
Here is the drawing right after it was done in the coffee house. Since the napkins aren’t attached to the sketchbook I took mine out to draw on it. I am sure others do it the other way but I need a harder surface underneath than a pile of napkins.
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Here is the sketchbook closed.
And here it is open
Baum-Kuchen
The company selling the sketchbooks is Baum-Kuchen, located in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles. They have this and other cool products, some of which would be perfect for a Christmas gift. I plan on shopping online at their store in the future.
Screenshot of the Baum-Kuchen Napkin Sketchbook page
You can find them online at this location: http://www.baum-kuchen.net/
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 8, 2014 | Architecture Is - 2014, Spiro Kostof |
Hello Napkin Kin! Here is the last of my series on Architecture. Next week I will use these 4 images (among others) in a short presentation to a group of architects here in Tulsa.
Spiro Kostof – 1936-1991
Honestly, I didn’t know who Spiro Kostof was when I chose the quote. I assumed he was an architect. I liked the quote and so I used it. When I came to post this morning I looked him up and lo and behold, he is not an architect, he is an architectural historian. That sounds kind of boring compared to an actual architect, right? That’s what I thought. Then I read up on him and it turns out he was a ground breaking academic and writer on architecture who departed from the typical academic review of styles and individual pieces removed from their context. Instead he wrote about architectures place in the world of society, culture, history, and art. He explored the development of architecture in it’s greater context.
Once I learned that I reread the quote and it made even more sense. It was written by someone who studied specifically not only how it develops but how it influences the world it inhabits. Basically he seems to be saying architecture is never in isolation. It can be an actor on the human stage and can also be the stage itself.
I have found the videos from the last class he taught at UC Berkeley, where he was a Professor of Architectural History. I am thinking it would be fun to watch the videos. I will let you know how they are. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/kostof.html
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Here are the other Architects and historians I’ve written about so far:
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Here is a poster of all four architecture drawings available via Zazzle.
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 7, 2014 | Architecture Is - 2014, Mies van der Rohe |
Today is day #3 of my Architecture series. I am part of a program next week called ‘CHiTCHaT+11 put on by the Young Architects Forum of Tulsa. I did the architecture drawings in anticipation of that event and thought I would use the opportunity to take a look at some important architects.
Mies van der Rohe
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) is another of the great 20th century internationalists, like Le Corbusier who I highlighted yesterday. A German who immigrated to the United States (also like Le Corb) he built what can easily be considered some the most iconic examples of the modern style.
Some Examples
The Barcelona Pavilion – 1929
Barcelona Pavilion – 1929
Barcelona Pavilion – 1929
Barcelona Pavilion – 1929
The ‘Barcelona Pavilion’ was actually the German Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain. It was meant to be temporary and was, being dismantled in 1930. The acclaim for this seminal example of the international style was so great however that it was eventually rebuilt to the same specifications in the 1980s.
One way to judge it’s radical nature at the time is to imagine what else was being built at the time. Traditional buildings were still sporting an overwhelming array of decorative facade elements that hid the structure. Mies and others led the spirit of the times and built using a new architectural language. They used glass, steel, concrete and stone in a way that showed the construction, not hiding it behind fancy facades.
Farnsworth House, 1946-1951
Farnsworth House. 1946-51, Plano, Illinois
Farnsworth House. 1946-51, Plano, Illinois – Interior
Farnsworth House. 1946-51, Plano, Illinois – Interior
Farnsworth House. 1946-51, Plano, Illinois
Mies van der Rohe – Chair
The Farnsworth House is known as one of the first residences built in the modern Internationist style. The idea was to have as much freedom as possible in the interior space so walls were kept at a minimum with the entire facade being floor to ceiling windows. It’s interesting to note that like one of his contemporaries (though much different stylistically) Mies also designed the furniture for many of his interiors, keeping in the same vein of minimalist design.
Seagram Building, 1954-1958, New York City
Seagram Building, 1954-1958
Seagram Building, 1954-1958, Interior
Seagram Building, 1954-1958, Interior
This is the sort of building that passersby don’t take a second look at, and in New York City, you can see why. There are a LOT of buildings there that on the surface seem to be similar. But the truth is this building was the first modernist skyscraper in NYC. It was innovative in it’s materials, it’s design and it’s constructions. One fact is often overlooked by the casual viewer and that has nothing to do with the building itself, but where the building is. It does not take up the entire lot, which was the practice at the time. Mies convinced Seagram executives that by making the building have a smaller footprint that allowed for a air and sun drenched plaza in front of it, it would both stand out architecturally and would invite the employees and community into the space in a welcoming gesture. It seems so passe now to have a plaza/sitting area, but it was a radical idea at the time.
Toronto-Dominion Center, 1963-1969, Toronto, Canada
Toronto-Dominion Center, 1963-1969 – Gas Station
Toronto-Dominion Center, 1963-1969 – Gas Station
I just included this structure because I thought it was humorous to think of driving into a Mies Gas Station!
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Here are the other Architects and historians I’ve written about so far:
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Here is a poster of all four architecture drawings available via Zazzle.
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by Marty Coleman | Oct 6, 2014 | Architecture Is - 2014, Le Corbusier |
In anticipation of a presentation I am giving to an Architectural group next week I have drawn a series on Architecture. I am also highlighting the architect who gave us the quote.
Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier is an interesting architect for the 21st century to consider. His work often is disparaged as machine-like and soulless or as boring and mundane. But often those estimations are given with some ignorance of the radical nature of his contribution during his era.
Citizen Kane
I remember my daughter going through the AFI top 100 films of all time when she was younger. She wanted to watch as many as she could. Number #1 on the list was ‘Citizen Kane’ by Orson Welles. We looked forward to it with anticipation for weeks. When we finally saw it we were very disappointed. There was no way we thought it was the best movie of all time.
But when we found out a bit more about the movie and how it was made, we came to understand why at the time, and for a long time after, it was considered the greatest. It was because it broke so much new ground in story telling, cinematography, lighting, plot, acting, etc. It just broke the mold in so many ways. But guess what? It was so amazing that it got copied incessantly over the next 50 years. So much so that when we look at it now we see a lot of very typical techniques and methods that don’t surprise us at all. They have been repeated ad nauseum and we have been jaded. But if you look at the movie with having never seen all the decades of watered down repetition, then you see it’s singular status as a great movie.
What Was New is No Longer
That is how it is with the work of Le Corbusier. We have seen so much of what he did watered down into the typical boring building block of a building. It’s starkness and emptiness is copied but without the incredible innovation of material and philosophy that Le Corbusier had at the time.
All this is not to say I love all his work. I think much of it is boring and dead and philosophically dated. But the essence of his vision is an amazing one, even if the execution tended to be more stolid and ugly.
Some Examples
Villa Savoye – 1928 – Poissy-sur-Seine, France
He had 5 points to his new architectural aesthetic that were all embodied in this home. As a result it became one of the most recognizable buildings in the ‘International Style’ and influenced thousands of buildings to come.
- Support of ground-level columns to allow continuity of the garden beneath.
- Functional roof serving as a garden and terrace.
- Free floor plan with few load-bearing walls.
- Long horizontal windows.
- Freely-designed facades.
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The Curutchet House – 1949 – La Plata, Argentina
If you want an idea of how radical Le Corbusier was, just look at the home next to the one he built. That was the norm of the era and he created this rectangular skeleton of a building that brought in a lot of light in a very odd shaped lot.
Curutchet House – Front
Curutchet House – model
You can see here how it went back from the front at what is almost a 45º angle. A unique solution, no doubt.
Curutchet House – Inside view looking towards the front.
I saw an episode of a TV show called ‘Extreme Builds’ last week. They built the house while keeping a tree that happened to be right in the middle of one of the bedrooms. Here Le Corbusier did the same many decades before.
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Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut – 1950 – Ronchamp, France
Le Corbusier developed a much more fluid and organic building when he was commissioned to do a religious chapel. It’s innovative construction techniques allow the roof to look like it’s floating when it is actually held up by support columns.
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Unité d’Habitation – 1947 – Marseille, France
Unite d’Habitation
Unite d’Habitation – Plaza Wall
Unite d’Habitation – rooftop – Children’s wading pool, penthouse and ventilation tower.
Le Corbusier built 4 versions of this same apartment building throughout Europe. It’s use of rough concrete (Beton Brut) brought on the phenomenon known as Brutalist Architecture.
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Centre Le Corbusier (Heidi Weber Museum) – 1963
This building was built by Le Corbusier to highlight his architectural work and his archives.
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Le Corbusier also was involved in the design of the United Nations headquarters in New York. I did not include it because he was not the predominant architect on the project. He did have substantial say in the overall layout of the buildings in the allotted space.
If you are interested in not just the history of Architecture, but the history of social engineering and how architecture played a role in those efforts during the 20th century Le Corbusier is one of the essential designers you need to be familiar with. He is well worth investigating not just for his buildings but for his wide-spread influence in so many fields of creative and commercial endeavors.
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Here are the other Architects and historians I’ve written about so far:
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Here is a poster of all four architecture drawings available via Zazzle.
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