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†January 1, 2011

Veil of Perception

Facebook December 22, 2010
     The key to drawing realistically is to draw what you see... not what you 'think' you see.  That simple truth, in its essence, is what "Veil of Perception" represents to me, others are free to view it and even read this writing about it through their own prism.  Whether we want to admit it or not we all wear veils of preconceived notions which color what is real or even true.  This core truth is at the heart of this piece.  With all the recent hoopla over headdresses and all things Muslim, some will instinctively and with prejudice see a Muslim woman adhering to male dominated traditions, derived and driven by the fear of a woman's power of seduction.  Some of which may be true, with one exception, she's not Muslim. Unless of course you want her to be. Just know... wanting doesn't make it so, true or reality.

     The title also reflects the process in which I produced this drawing through daily updates on Facebook.  Veil of Perception progress album on Facebook   As I added images to this album I wondered (despite listing the dimensions) if those following the progress realized the larger than life aspect.  During the process I speculated that some would have their predetermined mindset of facial and human proportions fully engaged, and not grasp the true scale of the drawing.  So for the final album image, I've included myself for perspective.  One eye is about a head, or to be exact, nine inches in width.  I've never drawn anyone to this scale and the gaze which follows you around the room can be overwhelming.

     In much the same way that I draw, when I write, I have to move past thinking about it and how others may read it and just tell the tale as it is.  It's a recognizable shift of consciousness when I throw the switch in my head, like putting the car into drive.  The drawing becomes clear and I see the shades of light without effort. Likewise, with writing, words flow and seem to appear out of nowhere.  It's the sweet spot that is always one sour thought away from being quashed.  Financial concern, which seems almost petty when you contemplate the vastness of the universe is at the top of list of thoughts which derails this process of creation.

     In all my years of producing artwork I have never compromised the art for a buck.  Is this my problem?  Is this my fault?  If it is, then what is it all about?  Contemplating my fate, I watch hope in the form of Obama's presidency negotiate and compromise, cutting a deal with insanity, turning my hope for change into an insane act.  In the end, adding to the number of homeless whose only hope for change are the coins thrown at them in disgust.  The veil of the rich man sees a lazy bum, without caring to know the full story, and the only people who ever say, "there is someone out there who has it worse than I", are the ones who are either financially embarrassed themselves or who still recall their own past struggles.  Perception predicated on experience and who we 'think' we are is who and what we see.  The truth of my story is, I may not have money, but that doesn't mean that I am worth less.  I may look like a bum most of the time, but I am anything but lazy.  My parents recognize this quality in me which I acquired through watching them work hard all of their lives.  I suppose that's one of the reasons they are there to help.  Without our families' financial support there is no way "Veil" or any number of other works would have seen the light of day.  But the price you pay for such help is pride in self, because we live in a world where a polar bear's relevance is measured in economic terms.  No disrespect, but in my day I have swallowed more pride than a gay parade.  I'm full, and with my pride as a side dish, I have adopted a measure of worth dictated solely by the successful execution and completion of each piece in itself.  In this place which I've had to embrace, a smidgen of peace still exists, allowing the work to continue.

     Twenty-seven days to finish this piece, during which my total fiscal intake was less than zero.  I cost more than I brought in.  By the laws that rule the human jungle, where the economy is king of all and self worth is measured in dollars, euros and loonies, I should have quit doing this 'making pictures thing' long ago.  At the risk of sounding like a whiner, complaining about a life where I doodle in the comfort of my own home, this financial flat line of fate has been mine for a long time.  Forgive me my apparent self-pity but something doesn't seem right here.  As a comparative example (one of a number that could be made): I should quit creating works of art which seem to enhance people's lives because the market doesn't support it, while someone like Sarah Palin gets a high income tax break for doing whatever the fuck it is she does.  What is she doing?  Recently, a photo-op with suffering Haitian earthquake victims to enhance her Presidential resume?  What's wrong with this picture?  Do we live in a world turned upside down where abstract concepts of mind are worshiped to the point where shit is an art form and the scum on top use drowning victims as props?  Sure looks that way to me, or is that just the way I perceive it to be through my cynical viewpoint?  The well-to-do need more, while the poor need to pull up their broken boot straps, if they are lucky to have any at all... boots that is.  "Everyone has to sacrifice during these times of austerity measures."  Sacrifice what, if all you have left is your tenuous sense of right and wrong?  Sacrifice your life I guess.  Which, sad to say, is becoming an evolving trend as a growing number of desperate people get the dwindling end of the stick.  Recently I watched as some guy on the News painted the V for Vendetta symbol on a wall before he pulled out a gun, took aim and shot at members of a school board.  It was a disturbing sight which if he had actually hit anyone before he took his own life, I would not have seen.  I guess that's what's meant by the phrase popularized through the latest US election, "second amendment remedies".

     Someone did a recent study and found that 78% of Americans doubt evolution.  I read this, glanced over at my funny looking dog and wondered... where did you come from if you didn't evolve from the wolf?  In other words, proof of evolution is sitting there right in front of me begging to be acknowledged.  Perception, veils, rose colored glasses, belief, a trick of the mind or political ploy does not reality make.  We as a species need to evolve past our flat earth illusions of reality and cut through the dark precepts of history to see what's right in front of us.  Then and only then will we as an evolved species see the truth.  And just maybe... maybe... we might leave something left of this earth to (what was once a Native American seven generational principle for conscious action and has now been turned into a meaningless political cliché) our children and their children's grandchildren's children.

     This is starting to turn into one of my journal rants and I better stop.  For what it's worth, those are some of the thoughts that ran round my brain while I drew "Veil of Perception".  I'll end with this... all those who support what I do through their energies exchanged in compliment or cash, I sincerely thank you and hope you have a good 2011.  And if you happen upon a bum on the street, don't think about it, drop him or her a coin.  For it's the end of the line for the so called 'trickle down' train and people are not always who you perceive them to be.

Click for: Veil of Perception progress album on Facebook

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"Don't believe in yourself
Don't deceive with belief
Knowledge comes with death's release

I'm not a prophet or a stone age man
Just a mortal with potential of a superman
I'm living on"
 

† Quicksand lyrics by David Bowie from the album Hunky Dory

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Just one more...

Trickle Down Hope
(Click on Image to View at 2048 x 3000 pix / 374 K.)

Facebook December 8, 2010
     It may be, as Obama said, "not an abstract debate..." but the compromise he reached with his comrades on the right looks like abstract art to me.  As in it makes no sense to me that rich people need more money.  And no matter how you try to spin it, two plus two does not add up to five.  Here is where my hope for a better tomorrow rests today.  If Obama can not do what he feels right regarding something he campaigned on furiously and claims he still believes, what (for example) are the chances for meaningful climate change legislation with people who consider it a hoax?

     As a sign of the times, the election of Barack Obama revived in me an all but dormant hope that sanity still lurked somewhere in the shadows of a mad world. Through the Facebook photo album [Stages of Hope]* I use and abuse the iconic Shepard Fairey Hope poster to express my own hopes as they ebb and flow. Lately my hope in humanity's sanity has seen better days.

"Trickle Down Hope" ~ Digitally Recycled Recreation originally published through the Facebook Photo Album "Stages of Hope" Copyright © 2010 by Petrus H. Boots

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* "Stages of Hope" is a Facebook photo album on my Petrus Boots Facebook account.  For those not on Facebook, all four images to date (Lost Hope, Restored or Tattered Hope, Battered Hope and Trickle Down Hope) can be viewed on this site through the CGI or Digital Images section.

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Disclaimer:  Use of images and quotations on this page are meant to illustrate and enhance a personal point of view and in no way indicates or infers the individuals depicted or the photographer's or artist's support of any opinion or statements expressed by the author.

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Note:  To reach other entries of the past just use the Index on the right by choosing the date, a flyout title will also appear to help in your inquiry.  Or click here for Page 17 of the Journal.

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