Tag Archives: Dialogue

Talk of the Town: The Boundaries of Freedom?

This week’s Talk of the Town is Part 1 of a 2-session dialogue titled The Boundaries of Freedom? brought to the table by Samuel and Vicken…

We want to open up a dialogue based on the lyrics, symbolism, and concepts in Kanye West’s “Hell of a Life” – Track 10 from his 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Because we feel like this is one of the “under the radar” cuts on this album that many people may have dismissed or listened to only a few times, we wanted to kick off our discussion by inviting yall to take an extended look at this expressive track. In a couple weeks we’ll come together again for Part 2 of this Talk of the Town and create a dialogue around the topic highlighted in our title, The Boundaries of Freedom?

– S & V

Reflection and Response.

Tagged , , , , ,

The Porch Swing: WORD of the day

the LIFESTYLE Collective builds. Welcome to the premiere of our newest weekly series: The Porch Swing. the LIFESTYLE’s role is to create collective space for active Reflection and Response through the arts. This space is built around dialogue, expression, collaboration, and artistic (ex)change involving international craftspeople and their realities.

WE, P and V, share our original visual arts and music projects at the top of the week on Mondays. On Thursdays we showcase Snapshots from the Collective, a series that is driven by photography contributions from ANY individuals. Fridays alternate between Talk of the Town, a series that serves as a discussion and dialogue forum, and the Feature Series, which presents international artists’ perspectives on Reflection and Response. The Porch Swing now opens up a Reflection and Response residency where we will feature a Collective member’s ongoing project through weekly installations. We leave the choice of medium in the artist’s hands to mold their Reflection and Response.

We are PROUD to present our first resident, Samuel Bostick, who will join us on The Porch Swing and engage the LIFESTYLE Arts Collective in dialogue through his unique blend of creative writing. Samuel kicked off our Feature Series back in September – http://the-lifestyle-rr.com/2011/09/23/feature-samuel-bostick/ – and we’re excited to break ground on this new series with an important Collective member at the helm!! Stay tuned for his WORD of the day project, coming through every Wednesday…Craft.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, Jim Natale.

SB: Aright, so this WORD of the day business is a exercise I’ve been pushing on for some time now. I find words to be pretty interesting lil gizmos. I recognize the power they carry. When I first started the WORD of the day postings via twitter, I was doing a word a day. Since then its developed into a week long process of  meditation and reflection focused on one word. Quality over quantity.  I don’t know what got me started on this project, that doesn’t matter so much…I like words, they breath a great rhythm to life. Now, what y’all need to do is STAY TUNED to the the LIFESTYLE’s Porch Swing series & peep the WOTD developments via twitter- @THEREALSHANTS.

Stay cool,
Samuel

 

Vision, n. 1) a- The faculty of sight. b- Something that is or has been seen. 2) Unusual competence in discernment or perception; intelligent foresight. 3) The manner in which one sees or conceives of something. 4) A mental image produced by the imagination. 5) The mystical experience of seeing as if with the eyes the supernatural or a supernatural being. 6) A person or thing of extraordinary beauty.

WORD of the day: Vision

In this hour, that of the haunting, Do not fall ill to weakness.

Strength in its Truest is steadfast in diligence

Diligent especially when the will is weak.

Understand, Focus is at the root of Vision and Diligence is the fruit.

 

Vision present in the experience of a moment,

The smile of a young child

Vision wise to see down the road,

preparation for winter’s chill while the summer is yet sweet

Vision Faithful in times when the light is dim, when the road is dark

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me.

who or what shall we fear lest our eyes, our vision, fall short of faith?

 

Vision

do not fall victim to appearances, masks of deception; as an image is warped by the clearest and purest of waters, this world is manipulated by the appearance.

Do not be confused.

remove yourself from the place where confusion dwells

 for confusion itself is a tool of the enemy. This shall surely, without fail, cloud your vision.

 Have you seen a king crowned with false gold?

Imagine it!

 A King adorned with fool’s gold

What a sight! A mockery at best!

Take heed:

This is a wise man, a wise woman, whom dare embrace confusion.

 

Guard your Vision, Stay on track…

 

Reflection and Response.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Talk of the Town: Craft and Craftspeople

Welcome to another installment of the LIFESTYLE’s Talk of the Town series. This series consists of a platform for discussion. We strive for The Lifestyle to be a venue and we appreciate the love we get on this series, the Snapshots From the Collective series, and the Feature series.

When observing or experiencing crafts do we/ should we ignore the personality of the craftsperson? Collective member Megan sent this article in the Huffington Post that discusses painter Paul Gauguin’s exhibit on work from a period in Polynesia. The article cites a criticism that focuses on Gauguin’s activity during this period and how that can effect how some viewers see his work.

Excerpt:

“Decisions like impregnating a thirteen year old and giving her syphilis surely cast Gauguin in an unflattering light. And yet the artist’s unethical and perhaps delusional escape to paradise led to one of the most revolutionary shifts in the visual vocabulary of all time”

Can we ignore the craftsperson when experiencing craft? Should we ignore artists when looking at art?

We look forward to your responses below in the thoughts box!

-Reflection and Response

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Talk of the Town: What’s OUR California?

Our second Talk of the Town session begins with a question from the LIFESTYLEfam member Megan Branch:

For the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath and for many during that time their future was California. What’s OUR California? #RR

Quick catch-up: Talk of the Town consists of Discussion Questions focusing on any topics interesting to any viewer that feels like it can spark dialogue. Anybody can email us questions to throw out to the Collective, and we’ll post one every other Friday, with dialogue following up in the comments section below! Thanks to Fran’s question two weeks ago and Megan this week for getting this series off the ground!!

Reflection and Response.

Tagged , , , ,

Talk of the Town: Haters Gonna Hate

Kicking off our Talk of the Town series…Our first question comes from Collective Member Fran living in Madrid, Spain. Fran Asks:

Why do people that are involved within one musical style “hate on” other musical styles or put out negative energy within that same style. If music is used to confront frustrations through Reflection and Response, why should people have prejudices against others who use this medium for the same thing?

Tagged ,

The Lay of the Land

the LIFESTYLE has been low key for a few weeks and we hope everyone has had a great start to the new year! We are continuing to strive to be a place for dialogue and thoughts of Reflection and Response. Our weekly schedule has changed a bit so here’s the breakdown for the LIFESTYLE moving forward:

Mondays: Original work from Peter and Vicken

Thursdays: Snapshots from the Collective

Fridays: Fridays will alternate each week between Talk of the Town (Discussion Questions from the Collective) and our continuing Feature series of collective members and their work.

Meanwhile, on the Twitter we will be continuing Peter’s Saturday Flows From Madrid (SFFM) as well as throwing up thoughts, articles, and quotes that connect with Reflection and Response. We will also be shouting out RR Artists of the Week, linking to influential craftspeople whose work inspires us.

With the new elements of Snapshots from the Collective and Talk of the Town we will be looking forward to email submissions from Collective members. Snapshots consists of photographs that people want to get out there and share. Talk of the Town consists of Discussion Questions focusing on any topics interesting to any viewer that feels like it can spark dialogue. Photographs and questions should be sent to the LIFESTYLE’s email at: the.lifestyle.rr@gmail.com. One photo will be posted each week and a question will be posted every two weeks, with dialogue following up in the comments sections. Come one come all!!

the LIFESTYLE’s power lies in its collective; a communal place whose axiom of Reflection and Response drives creativity, collaboration, and dialogue.

Reflection and Response.

Tagged , ,