Art Often Asks: What Is Worth Remembering?
Art often asks:
What might be worth remembering forever?
And if it’s worth remembering forever, then why would it be something you would hide?
Art often asks questions, more often than it necessarily intends or suggests it will supply the answers.
But at least art regularly asks uncommon questions.
As much as this blog is about Sexuality in the Arts, it may be as much about what I saw or experienced in life that was both artistically presented and worth remembering.
Because of tragic events in my past (I may be the only person who perceives them as tragic), I’ve often been focused on issues of memory and hiding memories. For that and many other good reasons, my mind often consciously and unconsciously is drawn back into concepts of Art.
Art inherently asks: Is this worth remembering?
And that question has been a scarlet letter for me, a mark I have chosen to draw on myself.
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Artists Who Work To Remember
I realized today that many of the artists I follow of Flickr appear to have a similar interest of not wanting to forget personal memories.
For those of you who are curious about the question of: Do I often get artists’ permission to post their artworks on this blog, a blog that regularly discusses intimate issues? The answer is: Yes. After I’ve composed a post with an artist’s artworks and the accompanying commentary, I often send the artist an email with this exact text:
Hello,
I posted a few of your artworks on my blog today. If you would like me to change or remove anything about the presentation, I will do so immediately.
http://sexualityinart.wordpress.com
Thank you
Surprisingly to me, only 2 or 3 artists out of hundreds presented during the last 3 or so years of this blog have requested to not be included. Occasionally, artists will ask me to change the presentation slightly or to add a hyperlink.
It’s always a risk, and it’s often a pleasure to communicate with artists, who have created something that is likely very close to their heart, and to ask if I can show it to more people in a forum that regularly discusses candid and intimate personal issues.
Here are some artists I adore who, for various and intriguing reasons, regularly work to remember moments in their lives:
1) freaulein 2eck:
“freaulein 2eck”, Laura, is a woman living in Germany who loves fashion and accessories. Her love of these things is contagious. She sews some of her own clothes and makes some of her own accessories.
(Click on images if you wish to view them individually.)
I love her work and presentations so much because they embody quiet and positive perceptions of self. When she assembles a new outfit and accessories, she photographs her ensembles to remember them. I did my first post on her probably over a year ago.
The first photo above is the first photo she took of herself in 2005, and the bottom photo below is the most recent photo from her Flickr account. Every few weeks or months, she posts photos of new outfits or accessories she has created.
She’s does not appear to chase “the latest trends.” Instead, everything she coordinates is brilliant and full of life, filled with personal attentions and intentions.
If you’d enjoy seeing more of her creativity, you can visit:
http://www.flickr.com/people/fraeulein_2eck/
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2) Carol Woolgar, the lydiannacat:
Carol is an artist. I hesitate to categorize her more narrowly than that. She cares about imagery. She cares about concepts of self-image. She does not appear to care about facades, artificiality, or perfection. I love her work. She appears to want to remember life as she has chosen each day to live it, as she perceives it. And her perceptions of life are probably more sensual, emotional, and intense than yours or mine.
To me, Carol’s work is a rebellion against popular cultural focuses. Her work focuses on imagery that will have meaning long after many of our generation’s popular concerns no longer matter.
Carol rarely titles her photographs, an interesting choice that may speak to a desire on her part to avoid narrowing their interpretations.
One of the testimonials written about her work on her Flickr profile says:
“Carol does not use a camera, she uses magic, I am sure of it. Come on, admit it already!” – boristheblade.
I agree.
To see more of her work and to see her new artworks as they are posted, you can visit her Flickr site here:
http://www.flickr.com/people/lydiannacat/
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3) Bruce Barone:
Bruce doesn’t only see the art around him. Bruce works every day to make the world around him more artistic. I’ve never met Bruce, but I get the sense he would be unconsciously and consciously bothered by environments that are inconsiderate of artistic sensibilities.
For Bruce, life is art. And life without art would lose a great deal of meaning.
Portraits of Bruce from his past:
One of his companions, Nadine:
I think Bruce believes in the importance of well-framed memories. Here is a sample of his wedding photography:
For more of Bruce Barone’s work, visit:
http://www.flickr.com/people/mylastsigh/
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4) Lauren, aka “teenytinyturkey”:
“The Best Muffin”:
Lauren is a chef and author, who also runs the sophisticated cooking website:
“Eyebrow Scar”
“Bubble and Squeak Cakes”:
“Ground Cherry Cupcake Pie”:
A puppet named “Norbert Van der Linden” that her husband made from scratch:
To see and learn more about Lauren’s work, visit:
http://flickr.com/people/teenytinyturkey/
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5) rougerouge:
If rougerouge and I were to take some kind of artistic personality test, I’m guessing we might score on opposite ends of the spectrum – and that’s probably why I so admire his artworks. He creates cinema in his images – worlds I’ll never inhabit – except in my dreams.
http://www.flickr.com/people/rougerouge/
© All rights reserved by the respective artists.
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thank you very much! everything is just fine. (:
i’m glad you like my photos and everything.
just the best to you!
Thank You for looking. And it is an honor to be profiled with people of such great talent and vision.