Between Reality And Wonderland

 

The other day Lisa invited a bunch of friends including me to watch a video she had just finished editing.  The 55 minute film turned out to be a creative documentation of seven months in late 2011 and early 2012 during which Lisa and 21 other artists developed and finally performed live a circus piece called "reALICE".

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" was the main theme of the acts and they depicted Alice in her old age: a woman who gets lost in weird memories full of whirling contradictions, disoriented thoughts, acrobatic banalities, enlightening darkness and sounds that drip of poetry.  The aged Alice balances high above the trees, stumbles through the labyrinth of an absurd reality but won' t let anything get her down.  

Lisa's short film inspired me to think about Robert in Wonderland and the Robert that has a foot in reality and another in wonderland.  The next day I conducted a search on the internet for images, quotes and other material around the theme of "Alice" which made their way into my own (unsurprisingly photographic) interpretation.

     

 "I’m Not Going Back To Yesterday Because I Was A Different Person Then"

When I was a teenager I considered everyone above the age of 40 to be "officially old".  I also believed that at that age everything in my life from job and hobbies to friends and family would be one wonderfully comfortable routine without the real dangers of a less predictable life.  In 1983 at 12 when I decided I wanted to become a "famous songwriter", it would have almost certainly devastated me to learn (from someone who' s been to the future) that exactly 30 years later I would not only have given up on music but also still be at "square one".

The reality however, is far from devastating. I can safely say that I prefer leading a life that constantly creates that "square one"-feeling to that of the "comfortable predictability" that I had actually expected and aspired to.  Time for me to move on to square two, however...

 "But You Can't Help It. Everyone Here Is Mad."

In every day conversations I find it sometimes difficult to clearly state what I personally think about this or that. I am often reluctant to voice my opinion because I feel that I know too little about the topic in question. And I really feel awkward when I have to admit to myself that I don' t even have an opinion at all!

But why? Why is it that I, and probably others, believe that in this world today, we are supposed to have some opinion on everything if we don't want to be considered "uneducated", "disinterested" or "ignorant".    

Could it be because we seek acknowledgment and acceptance?

"If Everybody Minded Their Own Business,
The World Would Go Around A Great Deal Faster Than It Does"

 

I sometimes find it hard to accept people as they are, probably many of us do, as we try to place them in the categories and boxes that frame our world view and expectations of them.

 
I do not care about academic titles, they say nothing about me.  Money is not my main motivator and hopefully never will be.  And I have no intention of stopping to be a "dreamer" who likes to mentally escape into his own "Wonderland" at random moments of the day, every now and then. Others out there like me, who have aspirations that are out-of-the-norm, may be shattering the worldviews of those around them in this very moment!

And we should, as long as we are not harming anyone. The biggest step towards happiness is by being true to yourself.

The Moment I Realised That I Was Tricked

Lying in the face of others is one thing.  But what about lying to myself?  Isn't that an obvious attempt to ignore a valid possibility or even fact about this world which I do not want to accept for whatever reason?

Maybe.  But it is easier said than done to accept the possibility. As it would be for a religious person, to even contemplate the possibility that God may not exist or that their life is a pure cosmic coincidence...

Empty Promises

Man, I really take people by the word sometimes.  And then I get angry at them because they did not "behave" or "deliver" what they promise.  While trying to reason with my anger, I've made two observations: First, in most (if not all) cases the main cause for my anger can be traced back to myself.  Second, I sometimes put people through the looking glass but not my own self.  I do not always "walk the talk" either.

"So Rested He By The Tumtum Tree"

Not that I can remember when I last did it but I just don't understand what is so wrong about hugging a tree!  So why is it that the term "tree hugger" is used to belittle environmentalists?

Is it wrong to acknowledge the "simple" things in life which in reality are far more complex creations than anything we humans could ever make?  No. And if it makes you happy then go and hug that tree for as long as you like.

 "Because Everything Would Be What It Isn’t"

 

I do not expect you to have an opinion about everything, let alone this "Image Of The Subconscious" or its title "Because Everything Would Be What It Isn’t" or on how the image and title fit together. You might like neither or would not want to "meditate" on whether you actually like anything about this image.  That' s fine with me.  Because I, on some matters, refuse to have an opinion.

I Show You Happiness!

“I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness.”
(Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama in his book "The Art of Happiness")

Joy #2

Nigel, a good friend of mine, calls himself "Chief Happiness Officer" (CHO).  He runs the "Vienna Happiness Project" and if you check out the website you will find small square-shaped abstract paintings by artist Petronilla Hohenwarter titled "moments of happiness".  In my opinion Nigel would be the perfect candidate for the position of a "European Commissioner for Happiness", were the European Commission ever to create such a Directorate General. 

handyman

"Why on earth would the EU need a DG on Happiness?" you might ask yourself.  I tell you why: because among the top 40 countries in the "Happy Planet Index" for 2012 not a single one of today's 27 EU Member States shows up.  According to that index the gladdest people lived in Costa Rica, Vietnam and Colombia. The top Western European nation in the Happy Planet Index was Norway in 29th place, which is not a Member of the EU.

The EU country with the most joyous people is in 41st place, namely the United Kingdom, coincidentally the country where Happiness-Commissioner-to-be Nigel comes from.  Maybe president Obama should also think about appointing a "Happiness Secretary of State" because the United States of America (of course not an EU member) is ranked 105.

 Don't Laugh And Stare At This Photo For 1 Hour In Public

Could it be that happiness has little to do with wealth?  Could it be that the "upper 10,000" Austrians do not feel as positive and blissful on the inside as I do?  Should I actually pity the twenty-somethings driving around in their Porsches in the 1st district of Vienna rather than envy them for having been born into a rich family?

I guess I should neither pity nor envy them, right?
  

Eat The Rich

I assume you will agree that below a certain level of material wealth it is impossible for anyone to be truly content, simple because of the daily struggle to afford food, healthcare, proper housing and a decent education for their children.

Sometimes Money Can Light Up Your Life #1

But where is that certain point at which more money does not automatically mean more joy in life?  Angus Deaton and Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University found that the quality of everyday experiences does not improve beyond 75,000 USD a year.  Admittedly I find it somehow relieving that high income does not necessarily bring happiness.  Call me naive or idealistic but I really think that it would not be fair if such a direct correlation existed. 

 Seeing Red In The Mall

What is it then that brings us this desirable positive state of mind?  In the "World Book Of Happiness", Leo Bormans asked 100 leading experts on the topic from all over the world about their views.  Essentially these can be boiled down to "12 secrets".  It' s been two years since I read this book and the three things I still remember and consider relevant for myself are these:

- Enjoy the things you already have and be thankful for having them.

- Make sure you have a decent social network of friends and relatives (and regularly stay in touch with them!).

- Help others.

The Day The Window Was Cleaned And The Opportunity Clearly Visible

I have a notebook in which for years I've been writing down my "revelations", i.e. conclusions or observations that I consider important for my own well-being and advancement in life.  Possibly unsurprisingly a considerable amount of these notes deal with my own happiness.  Let me share three of them:

- "I only truly enjoy things that I consider inspiring.  Every day I will engage in at least one inspiring thing".  Remark: today one of these inspiring activities was writing this blog post!

- The feeling I get when I have the impression that I am contributing to something beautiful, significant and relevant is "joy".  Remark: here' s to IndyACT, an organisation which I co-founded in Austria.

- I am happy when I have the deep feeling that my life is taking a positive turn, that it is moving ahead in the right direction.  Remark: these days I feel that very strongly, and this blog and my photographic project in general definitely also have something to do with it.

Warren Just Kept On Laughing

Apparently the highest ranking politicians in the European Union have also taken note of the aforementioned "happiness deficit" in the EU, because in late 2011 the then Chairman of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy sent out a copy of the "World Book of Happiness" to all world leaders!  Do you still consider the idea of a "European Commissioner for Happiness" far-fetched?

Nigel, get your job application ready :-) 

nigevolution

P.S.:
I am also very pleased to inform you that this blog has its very first follower - it is "Pink Carlienne", a young lady from the Philippines, a "photography hobbyist on the loose" who also has her own blog called "Point and Shoot".

Gnōthi Seauton - Know Thyself

"Composers combine notes. That is all. How and in what form the things of the world are impressed upon their music is not for them to say."

 La Place Stravinsky

Thus spoke Igor Stravinsky when asked whether his "Symphony in Three Movements" was programmatic music.  I had to mention this quote when Nina told me after reading my previous blog post "La Vie En Rose" that she liked the pictures but that the captions were merely descriptions of how the images had come about.  She missed the philosophical deliberations of other posts (like "Parallel Universe").
 

Cercles Mystérieux Des Adolescentes

Do Stravinsky's words apply - mutatis mutandis - to photography as well?  Should I keep it to myself how and in what form the things of the world are impressed upon the "Images Of The Subconscious"?   

The answer is yes!  I will stop explaining my pics right now  :-)

 Quatre Etudes

According to the entry in Wikipedia, four is "the natural number following 3 and preceding 5".  Phew - I knew that!!!  I also knew that 4 is a composite number.  I could have possibly guessed that it is an automorphic number.  But admittedly I did not know that 4 was also a Smith number and a Motzkin number.

Oh boy, there's so much out there to know... You could spend your whole day (and life!) just reading newspapers or watching the news and documentaries.  And still by evening you would most likely feel like Goethe's "Faust" who famously complained that despite having graduated in law, medicine and theology he was no wiser than before.  Or like Socrates who knew that he knew nothing.

 Le Roi Des Étoiles

Being around people who (other than Faust and Socrates) claim to "know a lot" is not always fun.  Countless times have I been faced with questions or comments like

- "You do not know when and where and of what Napoleon died?!?"

- "Come on Robert, it is general knowledge that Kazakhstan has a new capital!!!"

 - "Did you not learn in school that the Hagia Sophia was originally a basilica?!?"  

Unfortunately you can not impress many people with a profound knowledge of pop music, but in a perfect world I would have answered something like "Okay, admittedly I do not know these things, but I know that Stevie Wonder's song "Happy Birthday" is a social activist song from 1981 that was aimed at having the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. become a national holiday (=that holiday become a reality in 1986, it is on the 3rd Monday in January of each year and this year coincided with the inauguration of president Barack Obama on January 21, 2013).

I agree: Even this information might have just the same relevance - namely none at all! - for my every day life, such as knowing that a certain someone passed away 1821 in St. Helena because of stomach cancer (which would explain why in paintings he's always shown with his right hand under his shirt), that Astana succeeded Almaty in 1997 and that a formerly religious building is now a museum.

So let me come to the point: knowledge is very important, there can be no doubt about this.  Education must be a fundamental right for every woman and man, not least because it helps you better realise your potential and makes you more open minded (and thus happier?).  But do not despair if you cannot answer all the questions in a Trivial Pursuit game or a "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" TV show. 

En Passant #1

It might be more relevant for you to know that you have a skill which only few people on this planet have and which could even help solve some of the most pressing problems in this world and earn you money eventually.  Note that Sir Richard Branson's motto is "have fun, do good and the money will come".  Every one of us has unique skills, Richard Branson has them, I have them, and you have them as well.  In case you are not aware of them right now just think for a moment of the things that you really love doing and which you know you are good at.  Why be a passenger in your own life? Where your skills and the needs of the world intersect, that is where your might find your vocation! 

L'Empire Des Lumières # 2

Let' s hope president Barack Obama also remembers this during his second term and that he uses his skills in order to help make this a better (and "greener"!) world for all of us, irrespective of our race, religion or sexual orientation.

 This Is My Tribute To A Man I Admire

La Vie En Rose

 "Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose"

("When he takes me in his arms
He speaks to me in a low voice,
I see life as if it were rose-tinted")

Love is everywhere.  I dedicated my previous blog post to that magical feeling, Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke's movie drama "Amour" just got nominated for five Academy Awards (aka "Oscars").  And Nina and I spent new year's eve and the first days of 2013 in Paris, the world capital of love.  
 

 

Pensiamo In Secoli #1

 Pensiamo In Secoli #2

We spent the last minutes of the old and the first of the new Gregorian year in Montmartre close to Sacre Cœur.  That made sense insofar as our hotel was located nearby.  I made two closeups of my smart phone at the turn of the year.  A few days later we went to the biggest flea market in Paris, the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen where we bought some geometrical objects made from glass for photographic experimentation.

Okay we went to certain places like Montmarte quite often in the course of that week.  But I must admit that it strikes me to see a picture taken on Tuesday January 1st, 2013 at 2 minutes past midnight coincidentally blend with a (multipe image) picture from exactly the same location, only that it was taken five days and some 250 photographs later.  Obviously, the very first of four cartridges I used in Paris ended up as the last one being double exposed. 

   Refined Refinery

 Still Life #1

That very same thing happened also in relation to the Centre Georges Pompidou (which the French also like to call "La Raffinerie").  Photographed at the beginning of our vacation through a glass ball (which I had bought at yet another "biggest flea market", namely the Naschmarkt in Vienna one month earlier), that image blended with a still life I took a few days later in the "Le Georges" on the 6th floor of the Centre Pompidou building after visiting the Salvador Dali exhibition.

I messed up the picture following the "glass ball" image, as no image got superimposed with "Still Life #1".  Perhaps I mistakenly pressed the shutter button in a dark place, I don' t know.  What came out of that "mistake" however is a "Refined Refinery" image without a refined refinery...  I decided to call it "Still Life #1" because I expect more still lives to come in the future.
 

 La Vie En Rose #2

On the tables in the "Le Georges" they have artificial roses.  A picture of such a fake beauty superimposes the "glass ball" image which I took on Place Georges Pompidou just before taking the "Refined Refinery" picture.

 La Vie En Rose #1

The artificial rose merges with the view from our hotel room and makes me think of that famous Édith Piaf song from 1945.  The lyrics were written by the singer herself and today it is hard to believe that Piaf's songwriting team did not think the song would be successful.  I would like to finish this post with my favorite words from this beautiful tune:

"Des nuits d’amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Les ennuis, les chagrins s’effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir"

("May the nights on which we make love never end,
A great joy which takes its place
The trouble, the grief are removed
Content, content to die of it")

http://lyricstranslate.co

http://lyricstranslate.co

Love Conquers All

The other day while I looked at "Images Of The Subconscious" that I had not used for the blog yet I realised that there were some photographs that in one way or another made me think of love. 

 Heartbroken

A slightly out-of-focus picture of young men on Corniche seafront in Beirut during a beautiful sunset in August 2012 blends on its left edge with part of an upside-down image of a poster (of Bashir Gemayel, who is not visible in this photo). 

  

 Forbidden Fruit ?

A strawberry in my hand gets superimosed by a page of the English version of Rajaa Alsanea's "Girls of Riyadh", a book which was banned in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) shortly after its release in 2005 due to its unadorned description of the (complicated) experiences of four young Saudi women with men in a conservative Islamic culture.  The short stories are written in the form of e-mails and are based on the lives of real people.  In my view the book makes for a very interesting read, especially if you (like me) have no clue of what life is like for women in KSA.  And in a way the book confirms my hope that the internet can be a tool for positive change in society.

On the page I used for the photograph, the author cites the lyrics of a song by Abdul Haleem, an Egyptian singer of the 1960s, which read as follows:  

Rid yourself of woe and tears

Instead of crying years and years

Oh you who’ve wept the traitor man

Weep on today, if you well can.

But watch that no one sees tears fall

For such will please the traitors all.

 

Could Love Be The Washing Machine Of Our Souls ?

An inviting public wedding photo session in the heart of Warsaw merges with a picture of an old washing machine exhibited in the Polish Museum of Technology ("Muzeum Techniki").

Good Day Sunshine

The beautiful paper in which "Girls of Riyadh" had been wrapped by the kind person who made me this original gift inspired me to a photo shoot.  The title of the resulting picture - a blend of the wrapping paper with some of my favourite CDs - came very naturally given the CD in the centre of the image: the Beatles' 1966 album "Revolver" which features a song of the same name as the photo title.

Tickled By The Unknown

A painting by an unknown artist from Palestine and a smiling Nina find their way into the same image.  It is hard for me to imagine that there is anyone out there who does not love to be happy as often and as long as possible.  By the way did you know that adults laugh 17 times a day on average whereas children laugh about 400 times a day?

War and Religion Are The Two "Greatest" Antagonists In The Whole Universe

One evening I decided to take photos of two certain religious items which are to be found in Nina's and my living room: a hand-sized statue of a smiling Buddha and a cross that a relative of mine made from a piece of wood found in a coal mine in Apliki/Cyprus and which stems from a tree that existed at around 400 B.C..  Seeing those two spiritual pieces combined with the backs of Austrian soldiers got me thinking about the extremes that we encounter in this world:  life versus death, love versus hate, Republicans versus Democrats.  Or the time-freezing nature of photographs versus the aging and eventual “disappearance” of all things they portray...

...including religions and soldiers?

Music Conquers All

Yet another part of my CD collection merges with members of the "Guards Music Vienna".  I believe that music - like all art - ultimately is an expression of love.  But maybe I am turning a blind eye to a "dark side"?

Parallel Universe

Parallel Universe #2

The section to the left in yellow got exposed to light when I put the cartridge into the camera, indicating that this was the 'warm up picture' I took when starting the portrait session with Avida on a Sunday in November 2012.  What strikes me is that the image of the 'parallel' universes (in fact the search results I got when using Google Images to look for the term 'universe') made it onto the film in its entirety.  I cannot explain how this is possible.

 

Blue Planets

Gottfried is at eye level with our planetary system as he stares directly into the 'sun'.  Which brings me back to Nicolaus Copernicus (see my blog post 'warszawawarsaw'), the first man to present a fully predictive mathematical model of a heliocentric system.

The Dice Of Destiny

Seeing the poker dice in my hand ending up in the same picture as Avida's little boy made me wonder about the extent to which and by what forces our lives are predetermined and whether there is something like a 'free will'.

 

The Man-Machine (Or: A Clockwork Orange)

Speaking of free will: In the 1960s Benjamin Libet conducted experiments on consciousness which seemed to demonstrate that supposedly conscious decisions are already settled before we become aware of them (to find out more about this experiment click here).

Parallel Universe #5

Gottfried looks at the light in his kitchen which again is reflected in the window.  All that blends with a famous fractal also known as the ‘Mandelbrot-Set’. Fractals are visual representations of the mathematics that defines the physical universe.

 Parallel Universe #4

A double exposure of Avida and an explosion-like image I found on the web make for a psychedelic and almost symmetrical result - thanks to Avida's ability to keep her smile for two consecutive photos.

The Red Thread Of Destiny

Shoppers in the mall at Vienna's 'Westbahnhof' superimpose yet another "Mandelbrot set".  The mathematician Benoît B. Mandelbrot was born in Warsaw and studied in Paris, which makes for a great link between my blogs, because the former city was the setting of my blog post 'warszawawarsaw' while the latter will play a crucial role in one of my next posts :-)