Tired & Rudderless

Had a fun boogie board bash in an onshore breeze yesterday. Water crystal turquoise and weather quite warm. The waves were biggish at times but crumbly and soft, not nasty - I did some 'flying'. That's what I call it when I lie flat on the boogie board, up the front with my arms out behind me instead of holding onto the board, and I turn the board with my body. I also got some more critical ones and stayed right in the top carving left, down, right and left again. Such fun. Feeling exhausted today. I must have got 30+ waves and had to keep making my way back out the channel along the rocks, duck diving the bigger sets that were breaking further out.

I'm still feeling quite directionless in life generally - rudderless. It's probably something to do with my age. Having reached my prime quite a few years ago I am adjusting to my less relevant social status - at least that's how it feels. It is a reality though that 2013 was the pinnacle of my academic career and my surfing prowess peaked a while ago too. Professionally I am unmotivated and feeling jaded. I'm grateful to have my job as it pays well so I don't have to do 30 hours to pay the bills. The 10 hours a week actual teaching can be challenging and exhausting though. The unpaid 1.5 hour travel and 2 hour lunch break added to my 5 hours of paid teaching each day don't help.

My malaise may also have a lot to do with the state of the world in general. My partner and I had a good chat yesterday on our 50km round trip to check another break (which was total shit) before getting in at our local. We talked about what is going on in the world and he confessed to feeling really stressed about it. Like me he is very concerned about what's happening to the planet, the environment, plants and animals. Some of the people he works with are climate deniers. It's frustrating and infuriating that so many are in denial while people like us are bearing the emotional burden of this. They are in denial because it's convenient - if they don't have to face up to reality they don't have to change their behaviour. Sometimes I want to scream at them. I don't know what will change their minds on this - maybe when their million dollar house gets burnt down or swept away in a 'once in a lifetime flood'.

Image: Custom avatar courtesy of Google.

The Patriarchy IS Going to Smash Itself

Readers of this blog may know I have a theory that matriarchies fall apart because they are over-run by external forces whereas patriarchies implode. So I don't agree with the premise of this poster - but I absolutely love the girl-power sentiment and the graphics.

There are encouraging signs the patriarchy is in trouble all over the world. I'm still waiting though.......

Image: Promotional poster for Albany Roller Derby, artist unknown

Culture/Mind Shift

It's a cliche to say that art reflects culture but as they also say, cliches are cliches for a reason. For  what seems like an eternity now I have been scrutinising popular culture and the media for signs that Western culture is tired of the excess, reevaluating itself and thinking about where it will go next. I've been quite despondent and all but given up - nothing seemed to be changing. But in the last couple of weeks, at the eleventh hour and possibly too late, there have been a couple of seemingly unrelated and encouraging signs that we have turned the corner. 

The first obvious shift has been in the global warming arena. Extinction Rebellion's emergence and growth on a global scale has been tsunami-like. I've been to 2 local rallies myself and Robin bought us t-shirts. People of all ages have been protesting all over the country and 350,000+ Australians have signed a petition demanding the government declare a climate emergency. 

The other day at work I was researching 2019 trends in art. Maximalism, Artisanal and Nature-inspired art is trending (1) Maximalism is a move from Minimalism with its white walls and quiet colour palettes towards 'the bigger, brighter, and busier'. (2) It's also a shift in mind-set from 'houses as investments' to 'houses as homes' in which people actually live. Maybe it's because we have changed our perspective. Home has been recognised as a sanctuary from an uncertain world, becoming harder to find and keep - rather than home as a showpiece that doesn't reflect our true identity or what's really important to us.

The shift towards nature is happening on several fronts. On Gardening Australia and Escape from the City stories about urban dwellers turning to nature and the land are popular. 

Another trend is the interest in Artisanal artwork that shows the hand of the artist. It has been around for some time but is gaining ground. Hand-drawn fonts have become more popular and available, and art retail platforms like Bluethumb that only accept traditional painting are doing well. Materiality and texture are sought after as people rediscover and embrace the things that make us human. Fibre, ceramics and other natural materials are big - which also signals a desire for the past. I'm not saying it's all good - this hideous little gem from Saatchi (shame on them) will set you back a mere $6090. 

The move towards the natural is echoed in the plethora of trending hand drawn fonts.

The one below is based on a stroke survivor's handwriting.

In another random event I watched the Top 20 on Rage this morning (mainly because there was nothing else on) and what I discovered was the cherry on the 'evidence cake' (I wonder what an 'evidence cake' would actually look like).

Miley Cyrus - the quintessential millenial drugs'n'rock'n'roll party girl - was singing about 'going back to the hills, giving up the booze and pills'. Her father, Billy-Ray Cyrus is high up in the charts with Old Town Road - a good old country and western duo with a 'back to the future' type video clip featuring horses, chaps and cowboy hats. Looks like cowboy never goes out of style  - in the US anyway. I have to admit I have a soft spot for country music so this is a delightful trend for me. As I write there are 3 country songs in Rage's Top 20 - an indication that people crave a return to a more innocent time.

Many are retreating back into their culture as the world regroups and retribalisies. I can't say I'm sorry about that - watching most music video clips and even movies, I can't tell which country I am in until the subtitles roll (or not). Happily, Australian shows are the exception. Maybe it shouldn't matter that world culture has been Americanised but it has been incredibly boring. I think that as the world has 'globalised' many see difference as divisive. Ironically it is globalisation itself  that has been the most divisive mechanism because it has demanded sameness and tried to white-out traditional cultures. Vive la difference I say. One of the best things about Australia is the wonderful variety of food different cultures have brought to the country.

Back to Rage. Today I saw Hispanic-American pop stars going back to their Latino roots with clips featuring 3 men on acoustic guitars and Mexican hats. Ed Sheeran, who as a Ranga is definitely not one of the beautiful people, currently has 3 songs on the charts - one about an ordinary couple mixing it with and completely unimpressed by celebrity culture, to the strains of 'we are not beautiful'. I saw African-Americans who have finally ditched hair straighteners and are now sporting affros, fat proud Negresses in white underwear and 80s Flashdance style film clips featuring girls in leotards and hairbands. There was less make-up, a lot more sentimentality and retro TVs everywhere.

I think many in Western culture are mourning a 'loss of innocence'. There's a general feeling that we are taking stock and looking back to more hopeful times when we weren't facing existential annihilation. About bloody time! Let's hope it makes a difference.

1. https://www.saatchiart.com/stories/2019-trend-report/
2. https://www.thespruce.com › what-is-maximalist-style-4685629Image 1: https://www.domino.com/content/maximalist-design-for-small-home/
Image 2: https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/trends/g27257676/saatchi-art-trends-2019/
Image 3: https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Hung-or-Hanged/1026813/3833544/view
Image 4: https://medium.muz.li/30-great-free-fonts-for-2019-14814a17e91a
Image 5: https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/typography/kristina-bold-is-font-based-on-stroke-survivors-handwriting/
Image 6: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/billy-ray-cyrus-is-back-but-he-never-really-went-away/2019/09/19/d53a849a-d984-11e9-a688-303693fb4b0b_story.html

Rebel Yell

Author, digital avatar Rebel Yell

beautiful ugliness

This is a digital drawing based on a randomly acquired photo of two hill-billy brothers. 

In the context of societal 'norms' their faces were all 'wrong'. I guess they would be considered 'ugly' to many people. Yet there was something intriguing about the placement of their features and the proportions of their faces - so I did a drawing of one of them. 

image: © Author, digital drawing

Anxiety? Bollocks.

Have you noticed how many commentators are talking about raised levels of anxiety in the 1st world? I even heard Tim Costello mention it the other day in a rerun of his 'One Plus One' interview. I'm actually a bit over it. Not because I don't see it in abundance all around me but because I think it's always been there. We just talk about it all the time.

You could say we are more anxious now because our species is facing the real existential threat of climate change. I feel there is definitely an undercurrent around that. But that doesn't account for the many who are in blissful denial and continue to consume like there is no tomorrow, which there won't be if we continue to do that of course. No, I'm pretty sure they aren't lying awake at night thinking about how badly we have fucked up this planet. They are more likely to be losing sleep over their mortgage or their reliance on insecure employment. And I think this is the point. It's true that as a species we are at a critical time but it's also possible that 'middle class' expectations about lifestyle and owning stuff have never been higher.

Anxiety is just a more palatable word for fear. And fear is an annoying but ever-present aspect of being human.

My Dutch grandparents, with whom I grew up, lived in occupied Holland for the entirety of WW2. My grandfather was a conscientious objector and hid in the attic for the duration. Food coupons allocated to a woman with 2 children were stretched to include a fully grown man. Add to that the fact that my grandmother contributed to the war effort by sabotaging German military equipment after they took over the factory she worked in. If she had been caught she would have been shot on the spot. I can't imagine a more stressful situation than that. My grandmother was a feisty and strong little woman but I don't think she ever fully recovered - even after moving to Australia in 1956. Although she was fully functional she always seemed a bit anxious.

Many, probably most people in the world, still live with that level of anxiety and worse. The threads that bind their lives together are tenuous. They are at the mercy of factors completely out of their control. Those of us lucky enough to be born or emigrate to the 1st world really need to reflect on that - daily. I'm tired of the aspirational middle-class whining. I want to shout: Take a look around you. Lower your expectations, you greedy fuckers.

It's true that I despair at the way my country is devolving. The so-called 'lucky country' is definitely losing its shine. I see the decay, the corruption and the growing inequity. But it's also true that a life in Australia - any life - is still a far better option than a life in many, many other countries.

Digital drawing by Dr Grafix (author)