Starling: A Search For Meaning
Reconstructing After Postmodernism
What Are You Willing To Fight For?
I have spent the last few weeks considering the human need for meaning and how our place in history has us embedded in a time that means we may need to fight for the right to have meaning and emotional experience. As we stand in the rubble of postmodernism it is time to let go of apathy and allow ourselves to admit we need meaning and hope again. I started this week's episode with a quote from The Neverending Story, cause it feels like the Nothing has been after us for a while and it may be time to turn and face it...to call it out and reclaim the power of our own imaginations again. I admit, personally I am in a place where I want there to be meaning again. I am ready to let go of cynicism and sarcasm in favor of honest connection, which seems radical in some ways. Listen to this episode in the link below and explore all the content discussed and a recap of the practices as well.
The Neverending Story (7/10) Movie CLIP - Come for Me, G'mork! (1984) HD
Mark Rothko
I tend to go back and look at Rothko's work and read about his ideas when I am at a loss. He seems to have stood at the abyss and captured that feeling. While images of his work do not do it any justice, you can get the idea. But to experience it you need to spend time in front of one of his paintings.
The Tower
When discussing the energy of postmodernism I mentioned it was similar to The Tower card. Click on the card image to discover more about The Tower.
Tom Friedman
I mentioned how Tom Friedman made expanded versions of packaging that used smaller boxes to recreate the package. Here is an example.
Kris Martin
Here is the artist Kris Martin and the vase that he shatters and rebuilds. Discover more about this in the link below.
The Star
In the tarot, The Star comes after The Tower, bringing hope and renewal. Click on the image of the card to learn more about The Star.
Suggested Practices:
- Look at your own relationship with postmodern thought. How has it affected you? If you are alive today it has affected you in some way.
- Consider times you have felt deconstruction. When have you had things fall apart in your life and how did you recover? How was your art practice part of that healing?
- What has meaning to you? Consider things in you life that you have given meaning to. These could be physical objects, thought structures, symbols, people…what meaning have you given and why?
- How is fear connected to meaning for you? Does fear stop you from having experiences that could give you meaning in life? Why?
- What is worth fighting for? Atreyu took on the nothing, would you? Consider what you believe in strong enough to risk your safety.
- Consider your symbolic understanding of stars…When was the last time you wished on a star? Do you look to the stars at night, can you find awe and wonder in them?
- Look into some current artists. You can look at what exhibits are currently being held at places like MoMA and Tate Modern I will make sure to add some links in the show notes this week. But…it is important to know what is happening now. What new worlds are current artists trying to envision? What sounds are current musicians sharing? Look for new stories being told….
- Make something that has meaning and give it to someone. When was the last time you made something meaningful for another person? As an expression of connection and feeling. We need to meaningfully reconnect and share emotion. Make something…like a little kid who makes a picture for their parents…
- Consider emotional experiences you have had with art. The last time a song made you cry or laugh, the last time you felt transported when looking at a work of art, when were your heartstrings pulled reading a book or watching a movie?
Museums To Discover
If you are looking for exhibitions of current art, see what exhibitions are being hosted at any modern art museums...like the ones in the link below.
Arrival
As an example of art that moved me and pointed me towards meaning I mentioned the 2016 film Arrival. Here is the trailer for that film.
Arrival Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Amy Adams Movie
Jason Salavon
Data artist who compiles data into visual images and creates art that asks us to see data points differently. In this episode I mentioned one of his pieces that compiled images of kids with Santa into one new image. It is sort of amazing how his art shows how similar experience really is. You can hear him discuss his work in the Ted Talk below.
Three things about art: Jason Salavon at TEDxMidwest
Connect:
You can connect with me at any of the links below:
email: starlingcreativeliving@gmail.com
website: starlingcreativeliving.com
facebook: @starlingcreativeliving
instagram: @thestarlingcreative
twitter: @artteacheramy
Join my emerging community (It's just starting): Starling Creative Community
Playlist For Finding Meaning
I started this playlist with Yellow by Coldplay because I have a clear memory of the first time I heard this song, it felt so pure and innocent compared to all of the music I was listening to at the time. What songs do you think of as meaningful?