Posts by Kerry Weston
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And a supplementary question from Bob-the-baby: "Why is the Prime Minister sitting on that lady's [Judith Durham] knee?"
How on earth did Bob spot that?? Does this mean JK is Judith's lovechild? Alert Woman's Day immediately.
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I thought it was OTT to interrupt tv on Sunday night with newsflash and Tony Ryall interview - how will they top that if people actually start dying and hospitals get over-run? Will we all have to follow Ryall on Twitter?
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I've been doing a bit of research on Muhammad Ali and in terms of blasting through the conventions of his time and being politically incorrect in the eyes of the establishment, and carrying on regardless, he is astonishing. This is the man who openly declared he had joined the Nation of Islam a mere two days after winning the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in 1964, changed his 'slave' name Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali a week later, refused the draft to go fight in Vietnam and was stripped of his title, challenged the treatment of black Americans and the neo-colonial exploitation of the Third World (several of his fights were staged in Africa or Asia to raise awareness) and bragged he was 'the Greatest'.
He was called an "uppity nigger", "a sad apology for a man", "the most disgusting character in memory to appear on the sports scene" and "possibly the greatest embarrassment to the USA that sport has ever produced" by the press and politicians at the time. His reputation has been redeemed since, of course.
Can you imagine any sports star today defying the status quo and being so 'out there'?
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Um no. Success in a field, or failure to succeed, has no bearing on copyright and someone who is successful at winning a prize for writing a book has no more credibility in discussing copyright than you or I. Magic realism, maybe, but not copyright. You may wish to write yourself off and defer to Islander, but don't include me in your intellectual abnegation.
Unbelievably crass.
Um, perhaps you're not aware, but Islander is held in great esteem as a Living Treasure.
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Amy, I thought that because my doll had big brass ear-rings, that meant she was a gypsy. For years I made up stories around her travelling in a brightly painted gypsy caravan with horses, possibly telling fortunes. Then I saw some old movie, a Gone with the Wind type possibly, where there was a housekeeper who dressed just like my doll. That changed my picture, then pretty quickly I learnt about the South and slavery and I was extra nice to my doll after that, she got to be the lady of the house and boss the other one around.
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O well said Kerry! (By the way,every working creative person has periods of stasis- which are storing-up-honey times, either to make sublime mead or blow-yer-head-off spritzy crank.)
I'm counting on that, Islander :-)
As for the material stuff, living on the proverbial smell of oily rag is all very well, but I tell ya, I've done my best work when I'm not worrying about how I'm going to pay the bills or buy good quality materials or, worse, allow myself to buy some good brushes instead of shoes for the kids without feeling guilty.
It's not a matter of labelling an artist amateur or professional, it's the simple fact that the more time and energy you put into it, the better you will be. Every "blissful" work I've done has been recognised and "felt" by viewers/buyers. There is potency in a good work that others feel - like Sofie said, when someone else feels it, you know you've done your job. That is also a great satisfaction.
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Yes it can. If you wish to place your preference with your Artistic talent over what you consider your "real job", can I suggest (via personal experience) get a job that allows creativity or get a job that might allow the brain to wonder, but not perhaps the body
Hi Sofie, yeah, I've been down most of those tracks. I've mostly been thwarted by my single parenthood of 12 years - any fantasies I had of child-free weekends or shared parenting, even, crashed and burned. Did I say that painting doesn't marry with marriage etc either??? I'm at uni doing a late degree in the sparse hope (in these downwards times) of finding better paid work that I can do maybe half-time. I'm still coaching one of my sons through Correspondence as well as full-time study and part-time work. I actually found I've had to squash the painterly creature into a box and sit on the lid, so i can do the analytical thing at uni.
But, hey, in a couple of years I'll have my time back and hopefully, plenty of that dancing space you speak of.
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There has been little discussion of the role of the creative in this area, we have touched on the perceived cost or loss to the Artist but not his reason for existence. There is always, or should be, something more than material gain as a reason for living.
Well, speaking as a painter, (or more accurately presently-ex-painter), I was after the sublime. There's a moment when everything comes together, your technique, mood, research and history of pursuing that particular painting/subject, accident, mystery ... and the paint hits the canvas in a rush of perfection. There's nothing else close to that bliss.
See, not every painting is good, let alone great, you have to pursue your quarry with tenacity, yet remain open and relaxed. Put up with dozens of failures till you hit the jackpot. It requires immense amounts of time, energy and meditative space.
It doesn't marry well with having a real job. Copyright is one of your few certainties and protections.
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Our upside down doll is 1940s vintage, I think. The Black doll is very Mambo, with a red frock, headscarf and brass ear rings and embroidered features, both dolls are made out of thick stockinette type material, the white doll has a print dress and bonnet - they were beautifully made. Incredible they have lasted this long. Dolls and other rediscovered toys instantly recall childhood, don't they.
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For one thing, it fosters this ridicolous idea that the change we need can happen from the bottom up, as a consumer movement. It can't and it won't. Politicians and corporations matter a lot more than the sum of the citizens.
Quite. And this particular point in time when the system is shaky would be the best opportunity to re-orient political thought there's been.