A recent trend in my life is that most of the outspoken atheists I know are less compassionate than the outspoken theists I know, who are in the minority. This trend coincides with a shifting of my active spiritual development from recovery to exploration.
For many years, I shied away from theists (save for NeoPagans during high school) because most of the ones I knew had used spirituality/religion to manipulate and hurt people. My personal search was that of a victim/survivor trying to get away from trauma. Ideas of What's Going On, commonly referred to as God to the detriment of theological language, were separate in my mind from the terrible people around me. Blame the music for the douchebaggery of the dj? Blame the art for the snobbery of gallerist? No, I try not to mix the unmeasurable with the measurable so it never made sense to me to blame "God" for the acts of humans. Other people can come to their own conclusions. Nevertheless, it took a long time for me to stop judging theists.
After years of theological and philosophical study, summer '13 was when I chose to stop being a victim/survivor and to begin being a practicant, however curious and hesitant a one. Although I have yet to actually talk to anyone at any of the parishes that I have visited - including the one I've found that promotes both compassion and intellectual search - largely because I still distrust dedicated parishioners in general, I have opened discussion of spirituality/theology with friends, family and appropriate acquaintances. The trend I find today is disturbing.
At this point I should make a distinction: "belief" is a word that I shy away from using. A religious belief used to mean a lifestyle (traditions, symbols, holidays, values, languages, rituals, etc.) that a person practiced. What a "believer" actually thought didn't matter; an atheist was simply someone who didn't practice what any established religious community practiced. The meaning of belief changed when our culture changed away from separate groups of lifestyles. The understanding of belief as an idea that's accepted as measurable reality, an understanding promoted by both anti-theists and fundamentalists, is relatively new. I hate to say it, but I find that this definition cheapens the personal meaning that a person can discover - whether it's through religious practice, scientific research, or something else altogether. In any case, when I say "atheist" I mean a person who refuses any religious affiliation in all aspects of life, and when I say "theist" I mean a person who regularly participates in religious practice. Most people fall somewhere in the middle.
What a person accepts as reality/truth, whether it's 100% scientific evidence or angels, really doesn't matter to me. It's frankly none of my business, nor are my "beliefs" anyone else's business (though I'll gladly discuss it with any interested, non-judgmental parties). But the trend among many of the vocal atheists I know today is to harshly judge anyone who isn't as reliant on science as they themselves claim to be. What is the point of this? I can agree that certain ideas are, for lack of a better word, stupid: arbitrarily attaching doctrine to something mundane and trendy. But who does more harm, the person who prays before every meal or the person who refers to pray-ers as cattle?
It's common for anti-theists to deride all religion altogether because of atrocities done in the name of religion: the Spanish Inquisition, Al-Quaeda, the Exodus (ex-gay "therapy") program, witch-hunts, etc. To affiliate violence with religion, either a specific one or in general, both devalues the benefits of religion as well as shifts the focus away from actually solving violence. I've met atheists who advocate genocide of all theists, I've met people who are atheists because scientific research brings more personal meaning to them than anything unmeasurable, I've met theists who win religious community service awards while locking children and dogs in their basements without food or water for days, I've met people who began volunteering at poverty-stricken nursing homes because The Virgin Mary "told" them to. The religion isn't the point, the practices of both compassion and personal meaning are the point however they are brought about. What disturbs me is that many of the very atheists who blame religion for cruelty are beginning to act out the same hostilities.
I used to block out theists because the only ones I knew were malicious. Now, I try not to categorize people through their practices - and I don't want people in my life to line up into patterns of spite that way again. That does appear to be the trend, though, among many of the atheists I've been meeting the past couple years. As I establish myself as a practicant rather than as a victim/survivor, it is a priority to distance myself from those who would put me back into that state. After all, it seems to me that anyone who thinks less of me because I find personal meaning through spiritual practice would also think less of me because I find personal meaning through art. They're both unmeasurable, personal, nonverbal, harmless exercises that I enjoy and have spent years studying.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
5+ Animated Films You Should Watch
1) Kirikou and the Sorceress
Visually stunning and well-written, this European film stunningly illustrates West African folk tales. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be blown away by the incredible artwork. I really can't recommend Kirikou & the Sorceress enough. A midquel has recently been released and I can't wait to watch it!!
2) The Flight of Dragons
Made by the creators of the more popular animated Hobbit and The Last Unicorn movies, The Flight of Dragons is artistically wonderful. But the writing is unbearable, so watch this one on mute with some Jefferson Airplane or Led Zeppelin playing. This film is purely aesthetic.
Availability of this movie on DVD has been shaky, sadly.
3) The Secret of Kells
Another one that's absolutely amazing to watch, but the writing is just okay. The first 10 minutes of the movie aren't much either, so just skip ahead and turn on some Primus. Inspired by Celtic knotwork and medieval calligraphy, the artwork of this film never ceases to amaze.
4) Heavy Traffic
A Bakshi film clearly based on Eisner's Contract With God, this gives a gritty idea of life in NYC in the 70's. You'll be left feeling filthy and disturbed afterward, but grateful for the experience. It's unpleasant at best, raw and honest.
5) The Point
Created by musician Harry Nilsson (and narrated by Ringo Starr!), it was clearly the Schoolhouse Rock people who animated this trippy film. Nevertheless, this film of hippie-philosophy takes you down the rabbit hole where you can turn on, tune in, and drop out.
Honorable Mention: The Puppetoon Movie
Ok I can't not mention George Pal. A Hungarian claymation artist and producer who fled to LA to escape the Nazi regime, he revolutionized both his field and special effects overall. Yes, his films can be extremely racist - it's important to preserve that sour chapter of American history to see how far we have[n't] come.
Also, these were among the first music videos: Dutch-inspired claymation set to big band!
Visually stunning and well-written, this European film stunningly illustrates West African folk tales. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be blown away by the incredible artwork. I really can't recommend Kirikou & the Sorceress enough. A midquel has recently been released and I can't wait to watch it!!
2) The Flight of Dragons
Made by the creators of the more popular animated Hobbit and The Last Unicorn movies, The Flight of Dragons is artistically wonderful. But the writing is unbearable, so watch this one on mute with some Jefferson Airplane or Led Zeppelin playing. This film is purely aesthetic.
Availability of this movie on DVD has been shaky, sadly.
3) The Secret of Kells
Another one that's absolutely amazing to watch, but the writing is just okay. The first 10 minutes of the movie aren't much either, so just skip ahead and turn on some Primus. Inspired by Celtic knotwork and medieval calligraphy, the artwork of this film never ceases to amaze.
4) Heavy Traffic
A Bakshi film clearly based on Eisner's Contract With God, this gives a gritty idea of life in NYC in the 70's. You'll be left feeling filthy and disturbed afterward, but grateful for the experience. It's unpleasant at best, raw and honest.
5) The Point
Created by musician Harry Nilsson (and narrated by Ringo Starr!), it was clearly the Schoolhouse Rock people who animated this trippy film. Nevertheless, this film of hippie-philosophy takes you down the rabbit hole where you can turn on, tune in, and drop out.
Honorable Mention: The Puppetoon Movie
Ok I can't not mention George Pal. A Hungarian claymation artist and producer who fled to LA to escape the Nazi regime, he revolutionized both his field and special effects overall. Yes, his films can be extremely racist - it's important to preserve that sour chapter of American history to see how far we have[n't] come.
Also, these were among the first music videos: Dutch-inspired claymation set to big band!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My Art Stories
1997, I took an art class during summer school. The teacher, who also substitute-taught and ran the day care, taught us how to draw [Aryan] facial and bodily proportions. She included pencils, chalk pastels, oil pastels and watercolors in the class, which took place in the school library so we could copy pictures out of books. I soaked it up, combining parts of pictures to create something new and experimenting with perspective. Our final project was to draw something in chalk pastels on a large sheet of butcher paper.
In the 70's, my mother took a remedial painting class. Her high-quality acrylics and paintbrushes sat in a tacklebox under a spare bed those 20+ years. On the backside of that butcher paper, I glued down sections that I had cut out from a floral Tiffany calendar and then painted the rest: a flowery landscape with an ocean, mountains in the distance and a sunset/rise. At 11 years of age, I did this completely on my own.
Immediately after finishing my first painting, I, with permission, painted a mural of a vivid sunset on my bedroom wall. Cobalt, navy blue and indigo clouds lined with bright red highlights from the marigold sun. My cousin took notice of my newfound love of art and began taking me to a figure drawing studio. She wholeheartedly supported my passion and still does today.
When I first began painting, my mother asked me "how do you know where to put what color?"
Around that time, my half-sister gave me annual membership to the Art Institute of Chicago for a couple years. This is an incredible gift to anyone, particularly a child. In addition to free visits to the Art Institute, a monthly magazine was mailed out - I held onto these for many years, my only access to color photos of artwork at home. However, my mother never took me there as it was "too far," "too expensive" and "dangerous." I really wish now that I had snuck out and gone myself, as the subway route from her house to the Art Institute is so direct and safe. But as an adult, I made use of my membership by visiting about 15 times a year!
In that summer school class, each student had a sketchbook and we were all assigned to draw certain things each week to demonstrate what we had learned - facial features, expressions, different ways of shading, etc. I still have it, filled with both assignments and my own creations. And ever since then, I've always had a sketchbook - probably the artist's greatest tool.
In the 70's, my mother took a remedial painting class. Her high-quality acrylics and paintbrushes sat in a tacklebox under a spare bed those 20+ years. On the backside of that butcher paper, I glued down sections that I had cut out from a floral Tiffany calendar and then painted the rest: a flowery landscape with an ocean, mountains in the distance and a sunset/rise. At 11 years of age, I did this completely on my own.
Immediately after finishing my first painting, I, with permission, painted a mural of a vivid sunset on my bedroom wall. Cobalt, navy blue and indigo clouds lined with bright red highlights from the marigold sun. My cousin took notice of my newfound love of art and began taking me to a figure drawing studio. She wholeheartedly supported my passion and still does today.
When I first began painting, my mother asked me "how do you know where to put what color?"
Around that time, my half-sister gave me annual membership to the Art Institute of Chicago for a couple years. This is an incredible gift to anyone, particularly a child. In addition to free visits to the Art Institute, a monthly magazine was mailed out - I held onto these for many years, my only access to color photos of artwork at home. However, my mother never took me there as it was "too far," "too expensive" and "dangerous." I really wish now that I had snuck out and gone myself, as the subway route from her house to the Art Institute is so direct and safe. But as an adult, I made use of my membership by visiting about 15 times a year!
In that summer school class, each student had a sketchbook and we were all assigned to draw certain things each week to demonstrate what we had learned - facial features, expressions, different ways of shading, etc. I still have it, filled with both assignments and my own creations. And ever since then, I've always had a sketchbook - probably the artist's greatest tool.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Holidays are OVER
I'm actually pretty relieved that the holidays are over. They were a lot of fun, I really enjoyed them (particularly because they were the first ones spent out of school, independently in Chicago, and away from insanity), but I'm ready to go back to regular life now.
My creative energy was thrown into the holidays during December, meaning almost no "professional" artmaking was achieved. Now that all of that has passed, I can return to painting! My wonderful half-sisters gave me membership to the Art Institute, which will greatly add to my motivation, creativity, and drive to go to grad school there; not to mention will be AMAZING!! If my career/life/etc. ends up revolving around the Art Institute, I would be ecstatic.
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