I applied for a fellowship recently. It is Atlas Obscura’s ‘Fellowship of the Loneliest Road’. They are granting $5,000.00 for an artist to drive Rt 50 in Nevada. The road has the moniker as ‘the loneliest road in America’ because of its isolation, paucity of humans and lack of electronic connectivity. The idea is for the artist to creatively document the journey, finding unique and interesting expressions of that loneliness and separation from the fast blur of modern life.
I thought about this quote as I was writing the few essay type responses needed. My main work wasn’t in the writing, it was in the editing, getting the words to be essential to the message instead of filler to make the word count.
Less is More
The minimal art movement of the 20th century was all about this idea. Reduce each form of art to its essential. What is it at its essence, and just do that. Painting for example is color on a two-dimensional surface. It’s not about recreating a thing or a place. It’s not about an illusion of space. It is just color. So, the minimalists were painting flat, abstract images that forced the viewer to just see the paint and it’s properties, not anything else.
Brice Marden – The Seasons – 1975
Architecture was reduced to ‘form follows function’ which is what building something is in its essence. Just a structure to do something in, nothing more.
Andrea Oliva – Italian home
Sculpture is mass, surface, texture.
Tony Smith – untitled – 1960
Music is sound
Dance is movement
Lucinda Childs – ‘Dance’ – 1979
This is a great discussion about minimalism in art music and dance coming together. Worth checking out.
I have been doing a fun thing on Periscope lately (you can go to the ‘periscope’ tab above to read about what that is if you don’t know). I am calling it ‘Guess the Quote’. I start a drawing with just part of a quote. In this case I started it with what you see below. ‘_____is better’ on top and ‘______than’ below.
Here is a recreation of the napkin as I started.
Then, as I draw, my viewers (the Napkin Kin) try to guess the rest of the quote. It’s a lot of fun, very interactive and engaging.
While I draw I also write down the guesses on a napkin. Here are what they guessed. Don’t scroll past the list if you want to guess since the finished drawing is below it.
By the time I am done with the line drawing someone has usually guessed the quote. We then have a great conversation about the quote and it’s meaning. I usually don’t want the scope to end, it’s that much fun.
Here is the final drawing and quote.
So, what do you think of the quote? And don’t forget, if you are on Periscope (Android or iOS) make sure you follow me so you can enjoy the next ‘Guess the Quote’!
Also, if you enjoy this post (and any of my other work) I would love it it if you would be so kind as to share it with others via social media. The buttons on the left and below can be used to share on twitter, Facebook and more. Thanks!
Did you know that most models don’t look like models? Yes, they have certain base features that most models have; a certain figure proportion, a certain bone structure. But models don’t look like models. They look like young women, and in most cases, average looking young women. Models start looking like models when they prepare for a shoot. The makeup artist, the hair stylist, the art director, the photographer, the photographer’s assistant, the editorial assistant, the advertising agency rep, the advertiser’s rep all play a part in creating the image you see in a magazine. The model is in the mix, contributing, but it is not her you end up seeing. It’s a photograph, an image, that you see.
Crush
I should know this since I am a photographer but I always forget and have to be reminded. That is because I have also been a fan and follower of a number of models and photographers for decades. I get seduced into the beautiful image just like anyone else.
In college I had my first major model crush. It was the model, Lisa Taylor. She was a well known model in the 70s and 80s. She was a favorite model for the fashion photographer Helmut Newton, whose work I loved. She also happened to be in one of the all time iconic images from the 70s.
Lisa Taylor wearing Calvin Klein by Helmut Newton
Confession
I had a copy of this Harper’s Bazaar magazine with Ms. Taylor on the cover hidden under my mattress in college.
June, 1977
I had it hidden not because it was pornographic obviously but because it would have been even MORE embarrassing for my roommates to find it than if I had had a Playboy or other men’s magazine. This was because I had a major crush on a girl at school who I thought looked just like Taylor. I thought they would know right away if they saw the magazine cover. One day us guys, hard to believe I know, were actually cleaning our rooms and we all decided to flip our mattresses over as we had been taught growing up. Well, you can guess what happened. They saw the magazine and had a really really big laugh at my expense. I turned bright red from embarrassment as you can imagine. Just as I thought, they immediately saw the resemblance between the model on the cover and the girl I had a crush on. They didn’t threaten to expose me because they said everyone already knew I had a crush on her. Oops. So much for that secret.
Reality
The truth is the real woman I had a crush on wasn’t perfect like the photograph of Lisa. She didn’t think she was beautiful (and still doesn’t). She had issues with her father, she easily felt guilty about many things. But she was also energetic, enthusiastic, funny and principled. And it turns out she had a bit of a crush on me. We always stayed platonic (well ok, we had one brief kiss) but we had a very emotional time of it during that year. She ended up marrying a great guy (who she was dating during our crush). We are still connected and good friends. She is still herself, positive and negative. But she is wiser, happier and more real inside and out than she ever was way back when.
Taylor Now
In 2009 Timothy Greenfield-Sanders did a project for Vogue Magazine. He took photographs of former models from the 70s and 80s. This photograph of Taylor was included in the project and the resulting exhibition in 2011.
I love taking photographs and I love visual images, but seeing this photo and thinking about my ‘crush’ reminds me once again that whether it is age, style, Photoshop or something else, the image is not the model. The model is a living, breathing person, better and more real than any image.
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman, who is beet red right now.
Quote by Cheri Erdman
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The models we see in magazines wish they looked like their own images
It may be another week but it’s still the perfect day to continue my perfection series.
Do you know anyone who is perfect? See, proves my point. All perfect people are alone. And all who pretend to be perfect, they end up alone too. Maybe not physically alone, but emotionally and socially they quite likely will be. This will be especially true if they combine their perfection with judgment.
But wasn’t Jesus perfect? Personally I don’t think he was. I think he had imperfect reactions at times. For example, I think he was often annoyed and impatient with his followers (including his mother) instead of being understanding and patient. Realistically, I think he might have been grumpy and short with people if he was too hungry. He seems to have been harsh and a bit mean to whole groups of religious folks (the pharisees come to mind). He certainly was inconsiderate to his parents when he stayed behind in the temple when he should have been with them on the journey home. I think of Jesus as one who moved towards perfection much faster and with more courage than others (especially me) but I don’t think he was perfect.
Are you perfect? Or perhaps you just play a perfect person in real life? Either way you are probably much more alone than you wish to be. It’s not fun being #1 and alone. I bet you will find a lot of loving people ready to support and help you when you allow your honest, imperfect self to show through.
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Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman, who humbly submits that he has perfected the art of being imperfect.
It’s hard to improve on yesterday’s I know, but here is #3 of Perfectionist week.
I doubt many perfectionists would agree with this. But if you are a perfectionist and you believe in improvement how do you explain your constant belittling of yourself and your efforts while in the very act of improving? You know that you have to not be perfect in order to improve, otherwise you would already have achieved what you were attempting, right? If you believe in improvement in life, work, relationships, hobbies, creativity, art, and more then you should aspire to improve, not to be perfect.
What do you perfectionists think? Do you agree with the quote and with me or do you disagree?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who is Wabi Sabi.
It’s a perfect day to give you #2 of my Perfectionist series.
Really? How you stand apart from others, how you are imperfect, brings joy? Sometimes it brings the bad kind of joy that isn’t really joy at all. It’s gossipy, mean-spirited, resentful, entertaining judgment disguised as joy. That is what much of today’s reality TV is based on. Real housewives, top models, bad restaurant and salon owners, locals who aren’t local to your locale, celebrities who wear something odd, anyone who can be seen as displaying what we would never do, wear, say, eat, play or believe. That is the ‘I will look at you, laugh at you and judge you so I can feel better about myself’ sort of joy. If that is what you indulge in, you are not only not doing yourself or your world any favors, you actually are doing damage to yourself and those around you.
So, can how you stand apart, how you are imperfect, bring legitimate joy? Yes, you can obviously bring joy when you are a good example in your imperfection. Maybe overcoming an obstacle, maybe fighting back from a setback. Or perhaps you are a going to only be a vehicle for joy by being a warning to others about how not to proceed in life; not a good example, but a bad example.
By the way, I allowed a few ‘imperfections’ to stay in the drawing, can you find them?
I happened upon a fantastic TED lecture this morning by Brene Brown. It addresses the idea of shame and vulnerability in a very compelling way. And it struck me that it really was addressing the issue of perfectionism and the fear of judgment as well. Find some time today to watch (or just listen to) this 20 minute presentation. It is well worth it and illuminates many ideas that are worth considering. Plus she is funny as all get out.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who is ashamed to admit many things.
Quote by Doug Larson, 1926 – not dead yet, American journalist
You know what would be perfect? If I did a series on Perfectionism.
First, a disclaimer. I am not a perfectionist nor do I play one on TV.
A regular reader and commenter on my blog, Agnes, said I should do a series on perfectionism. it was perfect timing for her to say so because I had just finished giving a presentation at the 2nd annual Social Media Tulsa Conference on ‘The Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road’ and one of the stop signs is about perfectionism. As I gave the presentation I wished I had more time to spend on that topic. Now I do.
Let’s start Perfectionism week out with 2 questions to set the stage and get our definitions out there.
What is your definition of perfect?
What, within humankind’s thought and creation, can be, or is, perfect?
I will give my answers in the comments after a while.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who thinks Oreos are perfect.
Quote by Winston Churchill, who liked a good cigar.
