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Weak XXIX

17 July 2015

No. 3,364 (cartoon)

I have nothing to prove.

You’ve proved nothing; well done!

18 July 2015

Humpty Dumpty Self-Plagiarism Aborted

Dr. Butler gave me nine rotten eggs a few months ago. I put the decaying chicken embryos in the refrigerator and promptly forgot about them until yesterday, when even I had to acknowledge the stench of decomposing animal tissue. In lieu of an original idea, I decided to push them off the Internet Archive’s sixteen-meter tall east wall.

“In lieu of an original idea ...” should have set off alarm sirens; the rotten eggs led to the most rotten of ideas: copying myself. The results were almost visually identical to a piece I did almost a year ago, Comparing Apples and Oranges.

I was both scared and embarrassed by my failure of imagination, so I obscured each image with a huge COPY watermark, in Futura Extra Bold Oblique, even. By doing so, I accidentally created a new piece I liked, Humpty Dumpty Self-Plagiarism Aborted.

Whew; that was close!

19 July 2015

Jesus Riding a Dinosaur

Herbert insisted that I join him at a colossal arts and crafts exhibit that occupied six and a half thousand square meters of exhibition space on two adjacent piers. He’s absurdly optimistic, and told me that I was certain to find something I liked.

Much to my surprise, he was right: I saw some great paintings of Jesus riding a dinosaur. (Scholar that I am, I failed to note the name of the artist.) It wasn’t clear to me whether the kitsch was intentionally kitschy, ironic, or perhaps trying to make an argument for or against the faux science of creationism.

It didn’t matter; I liked the ambiguity. Most importantly, the images captured my full attention for a minute. Now that’s art!

20 July 2015

And on the Derrière of It

After Wilma told me about her preposterous new scheme, she added, “I know it looks stupid on the face of it.”

“And on the derrière of it as well!” I added.

That remark earned me a nasty look, even though I was agreeing with her. I’ll never really understand Wilma, or anyone else.

21 July 2015

Fame and Success

I just read a nice profile on Lydia Lunch. I’ve never really appreciated her work, but I share her attitude about what is and isn’t artistic success.

“A lot of the people I worked with were no more famous than I was, they just became more famous,” she said. “They did the same record a hundred times, I did not.”

And while I’m quoting other people’s ideas instead of finding my own words, I will again quote Charles Horton Cooley: “An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.”

It’s now time for me to think for myself, but nothing’s happening.

22 July 2015

How to Reduce Paper Clutter

Vivian has a mountain of paper on her desk. At least I believe that her desk is under there; I can’t see it. Sheets of paper from previous avalanches litter the floor. And although the summit isn’t always the most interesting part of a mountain, in Vivian’s case it is.

She placed a magazine article, How to Reduce Paper Clutter, at the pinnacle her collection. That’s too bad; that means that it will be the first thing to slide to the floor the next time there’s a desktop earthquake.

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©2015 David Glenn Rinehart