Observations of the Urban Scenes

Paintings | Art

Whoever said art was only for the rich who can afford it?

Increasingly, 'exquisite' art pieces are becoming accessible to the mass public. When I visited the Musee d'Orsay exhibits at the National Museum of Singapore this morning, there were a school of 6-year-old kids, tourists and young professionals like me, appreciating the pieces.

To some, it is an indulgent endeavor, that is fulfilled, only when the demands of life's realities are met (with family status, background, etc), but to others, it is an exploration of the essence of human nature. (Granted, are gray shades of perspectives in between.)

For me, art is a venue for insight and reflection. Perhaps due to my ignorance and the lack or prior knowledge about Art, viewing the pieces open up spaces for me to escape into my inner world; and of course, I am a sucker for poetic/romantic observation of light, colour and life, so that's something else that draws me to different forms of visual art.

"Colour is my obsession; my joy and torment." -Monet.
This was the painting of his wife on her deathbed. Who paints a dying person-- not to mention a loved one?! But I have learnt (through my relativist perspective) not to judge too quickly.


Woman by the Beach/Jetty by Steers.

My favorite piece from the exhibition. I could go on poetically about this piece but I am trying to drown that voice in me, at least for now, so I would stop at describing this piece as one that relates to me most-- a clam, independent, reflective woman figure by the water. (:

Intelligence...

... is a state-of being, guided by the desire to achieve goals and ambitions; and fueled the determination and pragmatism to achieve those targets.

ORD lorh!!

When was the last time I did a photo post? Been pretty bad at keeping this blog updated (as I settle into the routines of work life) but my brother's ORD day calls for a post.

Took this with my Nikon camera I bought 2 years ago. The camera is good for large landscape shots during the day but not so good with night settings or motions. But I kinda like this picture, taken at dusk.

Clay

The mind, malleable as clay, is molded by the learning environment.

My four years at Carleton, has been that learning environment. Then, my mind has been stretched to conceptualize abstractions, hardened to give weight to arguments I was making. It also took the form I never imagined it would, when I embarked on the challenge of combing the tools of anthropology and political science for my senior thesis.

Now, three months after graduation, I face yet another challenge of softening the hardened clay once again so it can fit into the mold required for my work at TRP, which requires understanding a lot of country-level data, and statistics. This kind of thinking is no doubt very important, should one aspire to understand the vast political and economic landscape of the region or the world. But I can't help but stop wondering if, in my quest to see this 'bigger picture,' I might loose the small, and fine details (social dynamics, cultures, psychologies) I have worked so hard to focus on at Carleton.

Certainly, depth and breath are not mutually exclusive and one does not have to trade the breadth of knowledge for depth. However, it is possible that skills we don't use regularly will be weathered and dulled eventually; that a clay left to air will loose its malleability.

My challenge now, apart from learning to shift the thinking framework to a broader one, will be to find out ways in which I can (secure) the details of the pictures, to remember the shape of my molded clay at Carleton, so that I can retain the shape of both forms and remain flexible.