Whatever you do could be a form of art

Have you thought about yourself as an artist? Have you ever consider that whatever you do could be a form of art? Ye, I mean true art, like a mystical experience of Flow (the same one Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote about almost a quarter of century ago).

Today I learned about one collective art project and while looking at photographs I was curious about there were absolutely no painting, no sculpture, no graphic design at all. Just imagine: thirty artists run together for a couple of weeks and have produced not even a small picture as we used to know them before.

That's so common now. The art is just one step from you. The point is in significance you attach. Actually it is depends on you. If you need my expertise you have it.  I was teaching art history in the University for twelve years, I defended one dissertation, published a monograph, two textbooks and a bunch of articles. And 'am telling you: whatever you do could be a form of art.

So what have you decide?

Stop complaining. I mean it.

I am abroad now and a couple of days ago in an event for scholars I have met some persons from neighbouring city of my native. In two minutes talk I felt my brain washed with shit. "The prices are so high." "The salaries are so low." "Nothing have changed." "I eat two times a day". "We haven’t bought the transportation card and walk by foot. Ten kilometres each day"."What will happen with our jobs in Ukraine?". It was a good luck that a guy from Indonesia approached our table and I have an excuse to switch.

Look. It’s hard everywhere. There is no fucking place where life is easy on this planet. People wear masks on their faces all the time in Beijing because of industrial pollution and there is no hope to resolve this issue even in a distant future. Haven’t you know that Croatia fought a war with Serbia for five years? In total 20 000 people were killed ! And what about Apartheid in South Africa, genocide in Uganda, default in Argentina, homeless sleeping on the streets inside riches of Manhattan in New York City?

The people are strangling for survival all around the globe. This is the part of life. You cant avoid it. No one can. But you can handle your response.

When on Monday February 20, 2014 in Kyiv the message spread over Facebook that "titushki" (criminal mercenaries) are going to attack Hrushevskyi Street where rebels were fighting with police we just get our shit together and went into the night arming ourself with wooden staffs. We took position down on European Square blocking the back entrance to the battlefield. And there were fifty men with us who came just because  they have read the same message on Facebook as we did. No one complained. We came out to fight. And that night we succeed.

I learned the lesson and want to share it with you. Stop complaining. Shut the fuck up. Take you weapon (metaphorical one).  Stand up and fight. The whole world are watching you. Right now!

PS By the way they have a death sentence for smoking marijuana in Indonesia.

Move forward

It does not matter how many times you fall...

Have you meet those "popular wisdoms" posted over the social media? In that fancy frames? With that stupid blue or pink backings?

It tells that you should then stand up and move forward. The hard part is actually how do we know that we have stand up? I mean really stand up. Not just imagining in your mind but working it out with your feet?

We don’t. But our move forward could be a sort of certain indication.

No matter what just keep going.

Contribution

You won`t succeed alone. That "me me me" staff does not work anyway.

Whatever you do, you should seek advice. Direct or indirect, inspiring or depressing, helpful or useless the advice should always be there.

Reach people. Show you work and ask: what do you think about it?

PS And don't forget to acknowledge the contribution of other.

Choose and work

It is not possible to have everything. So it is crucial to learn to choose, and then not regret about your past decisions.

You never have it at once. It is always long way to go. You choose and then work on what you have chosen.

The initial choice thus not so important. It is the further work what is matters.

The first day of your new life

It happens that you think you hit the top, reached the highest point possible. And everything is under your control. You so cool. You should be proud of yourself.

However just in few days after, you find yourself in a mess. Shit just happens and you can't explain how and you don't know why. It seems like ground you were standing at just split apart.

Despite you feel yourself like shit that is a right time to start it over again.

You have fallen but you can stand up and move forward again.

And you will. If you believe that it is the first day of your new life. Like in computer game.

Just wondering about texts

I am still wondering how it happens that one day I can write a lot and another just nothing. I am wondering how what I have been struggling for month resolves in a few days. How inspiration comes. And why first I have to spend so much time in procrastination. And why some texts I was so proud of now seems to be so flat. And  texts that I was ashamed of now reveals to be just fine. And I am wondering what's next?