The greatest capital in the world is the human capital

 

Around this time last year I had a chance to volunteer for the Mayor's campaign and canvassed and knocked on doors on the Upper West Side, between 90th and 101 st street and between Broadway and Riverside drive.

In the span of one day I got to meet a South African racist who literally was rolling down the street in his vile opinions and because we are a tolerant society no one beat him up. In the same day I got many complaints from decent citizens about "the homeless people" where I couldn't believe my ears that in the century of the Space Odyssey someone may consider that a certain human being has less value than another.

Many in the latte holding crowd thought that homeless people are simply out to cause inconvenience in accessing venues that dispensed said lattes.

No one complained that we have too many shops. I am sure no one will complain if instead of homeless we have piles of gold and diamonds on the streets. They will be much better looking piles, right? And not talking and certainly not disturbing the paradise we have built for all the good looking people.

I believe that the moment we decide that human beings who are down on their luck are somehow less worthy, of love, affection, attention and consideration with dignity, we are lost as a society and we are back to being simply a beast. Beast do not care for the injured and the sick but we humans should.

The amount of consideration and respect we pay to simply dug up dirt that was smelted, and cut up crystals, the care we take to put these on display and in shops, it is to me ridiculous and surreal. At the same time we want to put out of sight and out of mind humans who literally took millions of years of evolution to make and whose position of being on the street is only special today; but we have lived in huts and in the dirt for thousands of years, how can we forget what it is to just be human.

Our humanity  is our greatest capital. The greatest capital in the world is the human capital. My dream is that in 500 or 1000  years differences will be considered obsolete and humanity will be comfortable enough to dispense with slavery to the material world. And will dispense with the material measures.

...............

back to my campaign and the human stories of New York...

My main task was to talk to people - in the street and also to knock on the doors in apartment buildings in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world.

Only one person out of many threatened me with police and literally threw me out. But I had many and wonderful conversations with many people who were simply happy to talk. I remember meeting a Bulgarian-American-Jewish man who told me that every year he used to go to his home town, by the seaside in Bulgaria; he used to rent a hotel room from which he could see his childhood home. He said they built a hotel now which blocks the view so he hasn't been back in five years.

Another man shared that their father passed but his values lived on and signed for my campaign. ....................

To sum up my feelings on this matter - I feel it is time we take a good look at our values, of what we consider worthy.  Why do we care about gold and diamonds, why do we care about handbags? Why is a sack with straps that important so we put it in nicely air-conditioned rooms and well lit while humans are out in the elements? I can tell you right now a pile of gold is probably only worthy if it has been buried with a mummy. I think instead of saying someone has a heart of gold we should say they are simply human.

The greatest capital in the world is the human capital. In fact I believe there is no other capital to be had at all.

Giant Hands in Beacon

A Great night in Chelsea

One of the greatest things about art is not just the fact it pleases us but it transcends everyday life. No one wants a life mundane and ordinary, so mundane and ordinary art is short lived. I am not saying a goat has a meaningful place in art, i am saying art is bigger than life and large enough to fit anything, with enough will. Thursday nights in Chelsea are one of the best nights in the city in terms of energy and crowd.  Everyone is back in the city and everyone loves to hang out in a beautiful and fun environment with like minded people. I had a blast and looking forward to more shows, and more art. Because ultimately art saves us - imagine we may be the only creatures in the universe that do it.

Giant Hands in Beacon - day three

I loved the look of this space - so well proportioned, special, abandoned - meaning it was no longer used by humans which is a great thing. Use implies purpose and I do not wish to put purpose in what I do. Things that have purpose cannot transcend everyday life. It has no purpose other than to create a brand new visual experience, and fleeting.

I loved the sounds of the space as well, it's like nature was pushing its way into the building but couldn't take over and get all in.

Plus I had the local bullies come in and complain about the yuppies coming to their town, and to be honest I was scared but not terrified but my friend freaked out so i had to start folding. I will make sure to come alone next time because I do not care to "burn with my art" - this was the only time I have been threatened to be burned with something I created so I feel it was quite special.

And then the cops showed up, they were really nice.

On the other hand the local shuttle driver for the college took us to the bar up the hill completely free and out of the goodness of their heart which was great, and the bar was great too - I loved the food and the ambiance because there was nothing pretentious about it, and with great tasting beer.

Not affiliated by any stretch - but would love to be - Meyer's Olde Dutch Food & Such.

Giant Hands in Beacon

Today, Sep 2nd, and Wednesday, Sep 5th, I am working on a giant hands installation at Dennings Point State Park in Beacon, NY. Like most installations this has not been planned but happened spontaneously on the spot. When i discovered this abandoned brick factory i started working with the space without much deliberation just made a few hands and hung them. I really cherish the spontaneity of the process where things happen naturally, especially that the space is situated in nature.

The space is understated beautiful, I discovered it while hiking in the area and had the effect, and the pull of a magical forest.

Drawing the tree of life

[video width="1152" height="720" mp4="http://www.mirenarhee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Drawing.mp4"][/video]

Steve Jobs at his best

Art Truck

http://mirenarhee.com/performance/art-truck/mirena-rhee-art-truck.html

I will rent a 24 foot moving truck, package it in primed canvas and park it at rest areas and parking lots along the i-95 highway. I will have acrylic and sign paints (all water-based paint ) available as well as brushes on sticks and ask the audience to paint on the truck. Canvas will be hung alongside cargo area of the truck (see diagrams) using fishing line. Truck will be protected with plastic drop cloth underneath canvas. The intent of the piece is to ultimately collaboratively produce a 56 feet long painting.

The Art Truck is special in that it was originally inspired by the American trucking culture I have long been fascinated with. I meant it as a country version of an art installation, where a large truck makes frequent stops along highways – at truck stops and rest areas, and out of the cargo hold come art materials. Primed canvas is stretched over the truck and then a quick and impromptu painting happens with people that happen to be there.

This is also the mini version as I'd like to go with a 24 ft truck. Looks like a 24 ft one could easily be rented one way between Florida and New York.

Drawing!

...... ..

A journey into zen

A journey into zen - a year after I returned from Japan I left my six figures job and the beautiful apartment by Golden Gate bridge, donated my car & sold my possessions and moved to New York. It is not that I decided, upon returning to America, to throw away everything out of the windows, instead the ideas and images of zen reverberated and made me ask questions. I started asking what it is to have? Which became part of the I have everything project and questions. You are not going to find Nirvana if you get rid of your possessions. But you are going to find out everything about yourself and the people around you. Guaranteed. I personally did not want to find Nirvana, the best things can’t be said, can’t be had - but I sure didn’t want to spend the precious moments given to me by whatever process is responsible for self-awareness, I didn’t want to spend these moments worrying about particle board.

So here's me getting rid of the rest of the particle board I own, in the dumpsters somewhere in central Florida.

…………… I have been working on my Japanese Garden book on the train and someone asked me if I am into horticulture. I am not into horticulture, I have had plants in the past but never really invested my time into the care and observation of plants. I like people, and that area I find extremely interesting. I realized that in Japanese gardens there is the absence of horticulture, there all seems to have been carefully arranged to invoke a natural feeling. …………. You are not going to discover yourself if you sell your couch, but you will discover yourself if everything you have is yourself. It all ties back to Thoreau and goes all the way back to ancient times. You don’t sit on the couch for Nirvana, it is human nature to seek comfort from the unknown in possessions.

This is not a recipe for happiness and often is the recipe for all kinds of disasters, but  is the recipe for truth. ……………..

I have always been fascinated with objects, they are to me artifacts and I study them like an archaeologist would. Objects are like little octopus, it holds strings that reach back to the very moment it was made. The strings wrap around various objects and spaces and hold tightly onto the owner. Then they create memories and experiences for the owner and grow more attachment strings. The octopus can move between owners and spaces and its filaments reach further and wide. Until discarded. The lives of objects are fascinating to me, I imagine that in the grand scheme of things in the universe each object we humans create is quite special. An artifact of a civilized existence. I realized that my I have everything project is not really about getting rid of objects per se but rather about the fascinating lives of objects and their termination and conversion into other matter. ……………… I highly recommend poverty for a little while. …………… You have to remember that there are very few people that would understand, there is one thing you need to know and that is that you will need to take the journey alone, very few people would be willing to willingly come along. Don't force them.

My dad never really forgave me, leaving behind everything anyone ever really wanted, six figure salary, beautiful home, great job, beautiful area to live in. All this on the surface sounded great but

I was oppressed by possessions and the bourgeois way of life.

 . . .

.

What is it to have

Currently working on the third edition of my Japanese Gardens - a Journey into zen book and it all ties into the questions of possessions, having, not having, and what is it to have.  

EMINENT DOMAIN Exhibition - organized by Scotto Mycklebust

An epic eminent art party and exhibition Scotto Mycklebust threw at 524 West 26th in New York. The work I liked was by a Pakistani artist - painting on carpets and performance with a shroud made of bullet casings. The work is about the particular types of violence we practice in the US which is school shootings and other targeted decimations like the Orlando massacre. In Pakistan, violence is what they refer to as "honor killings".

Violence is very popular and practiced widely in the world today, although on a very human level we  all agreed it is completely senseless. Violence, although completely absurd, is very popular today for three reasons:

1. it is very profitable and
2. allows for complete control of another human being or an entire state
3. it is easy

Because you do not need hard work or study, or the labors of love, because love is difficult. Violence and guns, on the other hand, are cheap and easy.  All you have to do is wave a gun and you are instantly in control of another human being and their entire world. No need for labor, no need of any sort of skill - these days in the US even toddlers kill people, inadvertently.

Practicing non violence is very difficult, labor and love intensive, and deadly.

Just look at the lives or Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, both bringing dramatic changes to the world. Because killing is easy and non-violence very difficult because requires talking, love, sharing - all the hard things.

Green, trees, nature, ponds... twigs

Here I met a turtle, in such a place it's very difficult to think the world needs any art, all the best was already made here. I get into this Thoreau mode, and can't stop looking at the grass, all the twigs, and how well composed the colors are, and how everything is always harmonious and pretty much complete. I realized I understood why painters painted the same scene over and over, the same exact place perhaps with different lighting, because Nature has everything already, can't be beat when it comes to creativity and beauty.  

The shadows are so well placed, the twigs, the colors. Marvelous patterns, never to be repeated.

..

Think for yourself first - my "i am always writing" book, and this is number one rule in it

We are back to relying to the opinions of all kinds of royalty, media royalty, political royalty, opinion royalty, kitchen royalty, banking royalty. We forgot that it took storming the Bastille to establish the equality of the common man and this is what this country is based upon. The sweat and the thought of the common man. in fact the most important thing and rule number one is - think for yourself first. The gift of the enlightenment combined with our 21st century ability to access all information instantaneously… always depend on yourself to think, learn to develop your judgement with historical or any other perspective you choose.

You are the utmost authority, chances are the learned have as many chances to get it right as any of us.

Self-reliance updated for the 21st century.

Having recently become overly reliant on images and words from long times past, on this glorious July morning occasion I wanted to mention that the most important words and thoughts you will ever read and have are your own. No one else is more important or wiser than what you got inside. That’s why we were given this faculty – and this is why the thoughts of “sages and bards” are only second to the bard inside.

World Trade center sketch I did in Tilt Brush

I have had this realization for a while now but for me certain death is not being able to create and just throw things out there and mess with various mediums until something new hatches. I have had many instance in my life where I had to go by on $5 a day.. heck, I had done it for months at $2 a day ( hello dollar pizza ) - but I cannot imagine my world without the adventure of art. I can go on without food but without having to use my faculties and writhe my hands into drawings - I can't do.

Automatic in Unity 3D - Constructed my Automatic pen and ink drawing in Unity 3D

Constructed my Automatic pen and ink drawing in Unity 3D

Vader Tesseract Video