Learning Archives - The Aging Artist

Home Invasion

Robbed and Beaten

I have inadvertently let an intruder into my home. He entered by a back door, and now he is running amok and destroying so much of my beautiful sanctuary.

It started years ago when I bought my first cellphone. The screen icons invited me to check the weather, the time and sports scores. Next I started reading news headlines The phone put a window into the wider world conveniently at my fingertips. Over the years viewing information from my phone became a daily habit. I didn’t realize the consequences this could have.

I am fully immersed in the iPhone universe with the latest technology. But now I feel compelled to read and watch whatever my phone is pushing my way.

Shadows

I have my own echo chamber of course, most apps and information feeds are populated with visual arts, hockey, and liberal minded articles that focus on an integrated and harmonious world.

My view of life is not shared by everyone. There are significant multitudes that have drastically different political, economic,and societal beliefs and outlooks. I am fine with all these differences, Having a broad spectrum on ideas and beliefs should be encouraged. That’s fine by me. The world needs and thrives on diversity and and difference. I want to learn by viewing life through other perspectives.

Like the sorcerer’s apprentice, the phone offers me great powers. Like the apprentice in Walt Disney’s Fantasia wielding great power means simple commands can quickly get out of control. Instead of being my benign servant, the phone has suddenly overtaken control and is flooding me with unwanted rumours, opinions and propaganda.

My phone opened the door to an intruder’s ideas, emotions and fears. He brought in his hatred of those who disagree with his views. Donald Trump and all his supporters have entered my space and overtaken the peaceful world I live in.

I am told there are enemies and conspirators everywhere. The world is divided into two categories: the worthy and unworthy. Anyone who has a different opinion or culture or ethnicity is unworthy of inclusion.

He believes “What you gain is my loss. When you win, I lose.There are NO win/ win possibilities.. The choice is black and white. The choice is you or me, and I won’t accept losing to you. “

These aggressive views are growing, and social media is overflowing with this attitude. My phone is overflowing with this poison.

It seems too late to shut the gate as my Trojan Horse has let these views directly into my home and, far worse, into my mind.

Infection and Spread

I fear that there is less tolerance for variety and openness.What is most insidious, my own polarization is growing. I have become infected and spreading the polarization further.

My tolerance is changing to intolerance. My goodwill is turning to animosity. Now I am calling those who hold opposing views enemies. I am judging all Americans to be distrustful, the same as their leader.

STOP!

Can I stop this intrusion and contagion? I need to find a way to recover and restore my home once again. I don’t know how this will change. I am out of balance and falling!

“When you are a hammer. everything else looks like a nail”

Tolerance is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly.” Voltaire

Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.”
Robert Green Ingersol

Year End Reflections

Unexpected Events

I expected 2024 to unfold like the year before. I expected it to be comfortable and routine.

Extremism

2024 was the worst of times. The external world and my personal world were unexpectedly chaotic. (Okay, I should have expected the outer world to be an unpredictable mess.) There were housing crises, immigration crises, and political crises. There were hurricanes, floods, forest fires and extreme heat. Economies faced inflation and stagnation. There were revolutions and wars. Artificial Intelligence threatened jobs and humanity.

Down in the Depths

Personally 2024 began with the threat of metastatic cancer. Numerous tests and scans identified prostate cancer and I underwent intense radiation and hormone therapy. It was unpleasant but necessary. In September I had a trabeculectomy to stabilize the glaucoma in my right eye. For a month my eyesight was blurry, and I couldn’t drive or exert myself.

These infirmities overtook my sense of wellbeing. Giving up driving, giving up sports and giving up painting and living a shorter life seemed imminent possibilities.

I felt angry and upset at the way the world was unfolding. I was sad and disappointed. I have been despairing, anxious and reactive. I have felt impatient, frustrated, numb and heartbroken.

Uprisings

Eventually my optimism returned,.In November my oncologist confirmed that my prostate cancer had been eliminated. My eyesight recovered sufficiently to allow me to drive and to play sports. I was able to resume my normal life.

All that I had lost during my infirmity was rediscovered, but with much more value. Normal wasn’t just normal any more. It became wonderful!

I have felt surprised and encouraged, hopeful and appreciative. I have felt relief and compassion, I have experienced thankfulness and contentment. I have felt humbled and honoured.

The Best of Times

Accepting the limits of life changed my perspective. Sometimes I feel unbidden joy and and deep elation. Ultimately 2024 made me much more appreciative of my life. I want to feel the full gamut of emotions.

I want to love, hate, fight for (and against) this crazy unfathomable, overwhelmingly complex ugly and beautiful world.

2025! Bring it on!

Vienna: Part 1

Vienna Opera House

City of Arts and Culture

Today’s post examines my love affair with Vienna, the one of the great cities of Europe. I visited Vienna in June this year.

Brief History

Vienna developed from Celtic and Roman settlements into a medieval city. In 1683, Vienna became the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled by the Habsburg dynasty.

Landmarks and Museums

Vienna is known for its cultural heritage and landmarks such as the Hofburg Palace, the State Opera House, and St. Stephan’s Cathedral. In the 1800’s the city fortifications were replaced by City Hall, Parliament, and The University of Vienna. Countless beautiful museums, churches, streets and parks are found throughout Vienna.

Not only are the structures themselves spectacular, the columns, arcades, staircases and ceilings are works of art.

Musicians and Artists

Renowned musicians and artists called Vienna home. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms, Schubert, Mahler, and Schoenberg worked there and made Vienna the “City of Music”. Viennese designers, artists, and architects contributed to Art Nouveau, the Secession, and the early Modern Movement.

Museums Galore

The Habsburg emperors were avid collectors. The Museum of Art History houses their primary collection, with works by van Eyck, Dürer, Titian, Brueghel, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc. It also includes extensive Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Antiquities.

The Leopold Museum houses Austrian Art from the 19th century and Modernism, highlighted by works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Alfred Kubin.

The Albertina Museum collection spans French Impressionism, German Expressionism, the Russian Avant Garde and Modernism. It includes masterpieces by Dürer, Rubens, Schiele, Cézanne, Monet, Klimt, Kokoschka, Picasso, Beckmann, Chagall, etc.

The Upper Belvedere Palace exhibits art- from Medieval through to Contemporary. It includes Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’.

The Weltmuseum is the largest anthropological museum in Austria with ~400,000 ethnographic objects from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America.

The Museum of Natural History has a collection of 30 million items, including meteorites, fossils, and minerals.

Infatuated!

It was a joy to wander the streets, window shop, and absorb the ambience. I admit I was infatuated with the glitz, glamour and the opulence of Vienna. I was seduced by the extravagance of the decoration- the gold, bronze and marble, the sculptures, carvings and embellishments. Like infatuation it was a brief romance for the senses.

Sightseeing Overload

A week of dedicated touring of galleries and museums was both amazing and daunting. The quantity and quality was astounding. Every gallery in every museum displayed hundreds of artworks. What I sampled was amazing, yet countless others were equally worthy of attention.

The Candy Shop

In Vienna I was a ‘kid in a candy shop”. Vienna was a feast, an all-inclusive buffet of art. There were so many temptations, so many choices. Unfortunately my appetite was large, but my capacity was not.

Saturation and Satiation

Despite my enthusiasm, my eyes and my mind quickly reached saturation. I had to make instantaneous judgments of what appealed. After a quick scan of each gallery, I focused on one or two ‘objets d’art’ for a few minutes before moving on. For a week I binged on museums, art and culture until I was fat with overconsumption. I became a over-indulged visual glutton.

I couldn’t sustain my appetite before overwhelm and optical indigestion overtook the experience. When I returned to Canada my brief affair with Vienna was like a beautiful dream. I was sad that the romance was over, and I was back to reality.

Love Actually

More than the whirlwind attraction to Vienna, I felt a deep affection and devotion to the artwork and artifacts. If I had a year to savour what I was trying to cram into a week, I would never tire of Vienna. Art and craftsmanship were evident everywhere. I loved the museums, the architecture, the sophistication. Vienna must have a vibrant community of artists and artisans to create all this. I can understand why Vienna has been named the best city to live in.

Inspired by my Vienna memories, I painted the rainy scene of the State Opera House after a wonderful ballet and opera performance.

Infatuation: a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love or admiration… an object of extravagant short-lived passion
Vocabulary.com

“Love: an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and regard towards a person or thing.“

Synonyms: Love, affection, devotion all mean a deep and enduring emotional regard,… Love may apply to various kinds of regard: … reverent adoration toward God .., romantic feelings .., etc. Affection is a fondness … that is enduring and tender, but calm. Devotion is an intense love and steadfast, enduring loyalty …; it may also imply consecration to a cause.
Colins Dictionary

Vienna’s Dark Side?

Are there aspects of Vienna that may not be so wonderful? That is the topic of my next blog.

Happy Birthday?

What’s with this event called “Happy Birthday”? It happens once a year to everyone. It’s a day when we get to eat cake, blow out candles and indulge in having our way for 24 hours.

Birthdays were great when we were 9 or 10 and probably peaked at the age of 21 when we became real adults who could drink and vote.

Now as the decades pass, a birthday isn’t so much fun. Like Cinderella after the clock strikes midnight, we are left in tatters. “Holy Bleep!” We are a year older, we look in the mirror and imagine we see a more wrinkles, less hair, and our memory about yesterday has disappeared. We look more like the pumpkin. than prince charming.

We know we are getting old when It takes twice as long – to look half as good.

we know we are getting old when everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt – doesn’t work.

We know we are old when the candles cost more than the cake.

Pessimistically Optimistic

A birthday happened to me last weekend. I am faced with the cruel reality that I am a year older.

This could be a happy occasion, but I am unsure. The pessimist in me sees the sand draining from the hourglass, and feels infirmities slowly prevailing. Darwin told us only the fittest survive, and I survived another year.

The optimist in me wants to celebrate a year well lived with many many happy moments. My optimist is grateful for the parts that still function well. There is much more than mere survival.

It is not my habit to celebrate my birthday extravagantly. It’s a time of quiet introspection and resolve. It is a time to make changes based on recent experiences.

Magnificence

I once belonged to a men’s support group. We shared experiences in order to have fuller lives. Each meeting ended with this affirmation:

“We love and accept you just the way you are- in all your magnificence.”

At first this seemed to be an insincere and ridiculous affirmation. We were average, we were broken is various ways. We didn’t love ourselves very much.

However, something happens when we look at each other differently. The key phrase “just the way you are”, means we are worthy right now. We don’t need to improve, or achieve or become. We are accepted unconditionally. We are worthy, we are magnificent!

“Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is.”

Brené Brown

Figure drawing helped me see this clearly. As I draw the person before me, I am seeking something unique, something about their spirit. If I am observant enough, I might capture a bit of their magnificence. They are beautiful just the way they are.

Drawings from winter/ spring 2023

My birthday is a good time to apply this affirmation to myself, for myself.

I acknowledge my magnificence just the way I am.

If I don’t see myself as special, no outside compliment will overcome my critical self judgement.

It’s time for me to find and acknowledge my own uniqueness, my own magnificence- if only for a moment. I am worthy.

That is my birthday present.

I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.”
John Green

Blogging for Fame

What is the Price for Fame?

My secret ambition when I started this blog was to reach a large audience. I had visions of blogging to hundreds or thousands of readers. People around the world would ask “what did Ron write about today?” A Google search of a topic in art or aging would quickly lead to this blog. Fame and fortune would soon follow.

This desire was very naive and troubling.

Publicize or Languish

This vision of having a large readership can be ethically dangerous. The quest for fame is akin to the quest for higher profit: more readers, more subscriptions, more clicks, and more money!

To be famous and rich on the web, creating publicity is far more important than writing posts. It is tempting to find ways to ‘go viral’ to get readers.

Tempting Headlines

Here are some ways newspapers and websites create publicity and attention.

Fake News, False Facts

False information and fake news proliferate on the internet. People write almost anything to get noticed.

Provoke Controversy

If fake news doesn’t work, news channels use outrageous provocation to press our hot buttons to get us upset. The tabloids and their prominent columnists peddle sensational and controversial opinions. Their rhetoric instills curiosity and outrage.

News and information are becoming so biased and opinionated that we are wary of any information provided by the web. Facts and truth get lost to emotional reactions. Websites that provide factual information in a unbiased and rational manner are often overlooked and hard to find.

Stupidity and Misfortune

Writers provoke our curiosity by revealing the stupidity or misfortune of others.

Free Stuff or Easy Cheats

Other headlines tell us how to get more from less, to get more clicks on a webpage.

Catastrophizing Life

Headlines tell us what’s wrong with people, society or the world to get our attention.

“… it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Macbeth, William Shakespeare

My Headlines

Based on these tried and true techniques to grab attention, I should create provocative headlines to attract readers.

Ron’s headlines as clickbait.

He shared what he had with poor peasants

Make 10,000 paintings and sell them for $100

Food for Thought

It’s not surprising that many industries are putting profits ahead of the quality of products they produce. If people can be persuaded to pay more money for a fancier product than why not? Give them what they think they want. It’s usually short term pleasure over long term value.

Much of the food industry tempts people to buy products with promises of more flavour, sweeter taste, easy preparation, quicker cooking, or lower prices.

We can’t be sustained by fancy packaging and instant gratification. It’s no wonder we have an ongoing worldwide health crisis.

We require nutrition that promotes health and well-being. Wholesome food may not be so profitable to the manufacturer, but it will have far more benefit to the consumer.

No! No! No!

Similarly a blog needs to omit the bombast of outrageousness and shock. It needs to offer sustenance with a deeper level of satisfaction.

I am unwilling to provoke publicity just to entice more readers. I would rather have a small faithful readership who selects substance over frivolity. This blog will provide sincere and engaging content without sensationalizing the information.

Information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not wisdom. Reading – even browsing – an old book can yield sustenance denied by a database search. Patience is a virtue, gluttony a sin.”

James Gleick