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LIFES BIG QUESTIONS
Would the world be better off without messiahs and the blood shed in their names?
:: bloodied hands by Tabbouleh Breath
"I like money on the wall. Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting. I think you should take that money, tie it up, and hang it on the wall. That way, when someone visits you, the first thing they would see is the money on the wall." —Andy Warhol
:: Damien Hirst's Away from the Flock (1994). Steel, glass, lamb, formaldehyde.
Leave it to the maestro of Campbell’s soup-label-turned-modern-masterpiece to point out the fields of futility where art and society often collide. From “art collectors” with little interest in anything beyond appraisal appreciation to “artists” seeking shock value (we’re looking at you and your sheep swimming in formaldehyde, Mr. Hirst), sometimes art crosses the line simply for the line’s sake—for public fervor, for personal attention, even for cold hard cash.
There’s no getting around it: A plethora of addictions are out there, waiting for people to get hooked. There’re cigs and booze, cocaine and celebrity ragazines, and endless outlets for midnight burgers and greasy fries. For some, it’s chocolate; for others, it’s heroin; for others still, it’s porn. Pick your poison.
But if there’s one thing that absolutely NONE of us can seem to live without, it’s the burning desire to understand the ‘why.’ We mine the depths of knowledge for analytical facts and figures, plunge ourselves into the philosophical and spiritual realms for enlightenment, and struggle frantically when meaning eludes us, like a smoker trying to quit who rifles through old kitchen drawers and empty coat pockets for that one, long, last, satisfying drag.
:: @Mayachen
:: masterminded by justin johnson
:: The Lovers by Rene Magritte, 1928
Back in the '50s, you weren’t officailly going steady until the girl got the guy’s class ring. In the '80s (and sometimes even today), things don’t get serious unless a couple trades in their class rings for wedding rings. In the Sicilian countryside, the wedding doesn’t even count unless it's consumated with the stain of conjugal bedsheets. Upload to the 21st century, and a relationship isn’t official until the couple’s Facebook status changes. The thing is, these are all outward signs of a relationship’s reality. The better question is: What's YOUR idea of the UNSEEN symbol of a couple’s affections?
:: witches snapped by geishaboy500 & SophieLawson
It used to be that a ballerina or wicked witch outfit would suffice for girls to get as decked out as boys come All Hallow’s Eve. But these days, we might as well call Oct. 31 Hookerween: Women everywhere don’t seem to be content with their costumes unless it can also pass for “slut.” Just ask a woman what she’s supposed to be for Halloween, and you get a groan-inducing litany of skankiness:
“I’m a sexy nurse.” OR “I’m a sexy cop.” OR “I’m a sexy vampire.” OR “I’m a sexy… ”
... uh, prostitute? What’s worse, the trend of Halloween whorification is quickly moving down the age brackets. My 12-year-old niece was Snow White this year—complete with fishnets and a garter belt. So what gives? Have our youth devolved into a totally uninteresting, unoriginal demographic? Is it all Britney Spears’ fault? Maybe the better question:
:: @CSW
:: swirls-to-suits by Matt Goold
:: soul-spy by -Vik-
Even if the Big Guy is watching us “from a distance,” isn’t it a little creepy to think that nothing we do goes without notice? Sure, there are plenty of things we like to keep private and away from heavenly voyeurism, including the times when we’re a little “into” ourselves. But there are also those moments in life when we want to banish the outside world—including the other-worldly—for a little “me” time.
