View allAll Photos Tagged existential
Today is a critically important day: Ukrainian Independence Day. The modern, democratic, free nation of Ukraine was born on August 24th, 1991 with the signing of their Declaration of Independence. It also marks exactly six months since the start of the all-out invasion from Russia.
A while back, knowing that this existential conflict was likely to last a long time, I ordered some sunflower seeds. Not your average variety, mind you, this is a special “white sunflower”, a cultivar known as “ProCut White”. Years ago, I was given a tip that white sunflowers are some of the most beautifully fluorescent; This tip has just been proven correct. While the pollen of that particular species does not seem to fluoresce, the petals certainly put on a light show!
I have seen “electric blue” lines in some flower petals before (snowdrops), but the two-tone colours of the petals themselves is something I’ve only observed in flowers directly related to sunflowers. The reason for these fluorescent colours is simply a byproduct of the method for which the flowers absorb UV light. Sunflowers have a “black” center, including half the petals, and bright white external portions of the petals when observed in UV light directly – which many pollinators can see. And there are two ways for a flower to appear “black” in UV: direct absorption, or fluorescence into the visible spectrum, such that the UV light becomes lower-energy visible light. That’s the science behind these “by-product” colours, but then also happen to match very closely to the national colours of Ukraine.
In support of Ukraine’s continued battle, I place this image into the Public Domain. It’s currently my phone’s lock screen image, and you may wish to do them same. Use it for anything you’d like, personal or commercial. Spread it far and wide.
Today is also an ominous day. There is word that Russia has closed its airspace in the western-most territories in anticipation of some event today. Kyiv has placed restrictions on mass gatherings. It would be very symbolic for Russia to attempt something horrific today, and I sincerely hope nothing materializes. We’ve seen a few missiles launched, but that’s sadly an every-day occurrence. Russia’s forces continue to be decimated, so any escalation could have some level of desperation associated with it.
In Russia, the middle-class are finally afraid. They fear restrictions on their travel to other countries, and they fear direct attacks on their homes in places like Crimea, which they have been fleeing after Ukraine has made a number of successful attacks in the occupied region. The Russian elites no longer feel safe either, after the car bombing in Moscow that took the life of Darya Dugin, a philosopher and political theorist who was very much in support of Putin’s actions. Her father, Alexander Dugin, is one of Putin’s top ideologists. It sends a very clear message: regardless of social class, you are not completely safe. This fear can become a powerful threat to Putin’s regime, if it can be escalated properly. Increasingly, it appears that Ukraine is holding all the cards, but they still need more help.
Slovakia is sending 30 T-72 tanks to Ukraine after Germany agreed to send them 15 modern Leopard II tanks. New aid packages from many countries including Canada, Sweden, and the United States have been announced. There are reports that Saudi Arabia is returning the Grim-2 missile systems it purchased from Ukraine, some of the most modern long-range systems in existence. The range here is the critical factor: 500km maximum range. The distance between Ukrainian controlled territory in the North, say Hrem’yach, directly to The Kremlin in Moscow, is 473 kilometers.
If Ukraine does indeed have the Grim-2 system, with the longest-range ammunition, they could be in striking distance of Moscow. Would taking such action be a smart move? I don’t think so. However, the possibility alone can bring a layer of much-needed fear to Russia. The hubris cultivated from previous imperialistic gains is eroding. Ukraine will win this war, thanks to the world coming to its aide. It’s far from over yet, as the area controlled by Russia is larger than the majority of nations in Europe.
The fight continues, and today should be a day to celebrate the heroes of Ukraine, both past and present. Show your support!
And on a personal note, I have discovered that I have living relatives in Ukraine. Specifically, my paternal great-grandfather’s cousin who still carries the same last name (it changed a bit when my ancestors emigrated from Ukraine, the original is Komarychko). Likely due to some people having children later in life, his generation has all but disappeared. Soon I hope to have a conversation with him via a translator, and eventually visit the village at the center of my Ukrainian roots where he still lives.
These images were created around 2020, in a time marked by Covid, but they do not belong only to that moment. I am republishing them today because reading them again means realizing that their meaning has not been exhausted: the facts change, tragic events change, names and circumstances change, but outside the same violence of human mechanisms, inequalities, intolerance, constraint, and imposed survival continues to hold. That is why these photographs remain contemporary. In the contrast between blue and red, in the purity of white, in the vulnerability of the body and in the harshness of the words, there is still a clear position: not a closed memory, but a thought that is still alive, still exposed, still in conflict with the present. I am republishing them in my Pro account so that they are not lost and so that they can continue to speak.
Complete album of the series:
www.flickr.com/photos/192876881@N08/albums/72157719324029...
I place clouds on my head because I do not recognize myself in the world as it is organized. This is not escapism; it is a conscious distance. My gaze does not fully belong here.
Yet I am terrestrial. I have a body, a history, a matter that must be respected. Nourishing myself is not a trivial act, but a deliberate choice: to remain, without confusing myself. Freshly squeezed orange juice is a simple, affirmative gesture, a way of saying that life, despite everything, can still be sustained.
This image arises from a fracture: between not feeling of this planet and having to live within it. The nourishment is terrestrial; the identity is not. The clouds do not deny the body; they accompany it as it endures.
Artificial intelligence is used as a contemporary tool, deliberately bent to my will and my way of feeling, to achieve what I intend to express. It does not replace in any way the traditional and fundamental forms of art, nor photography, which for me remain central and untouchable.
Yes ... I wish you a fire-red Christmas that heats up your hearts and ... help You to quit from any crisis (financial, existential, loving or health crisis).
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Si ... vi auguro un Natale tutto rosso fuoco che riscaldi i vostri cuori e ... vi aiuti ad uscire da qualsiasi crisi (finanziaria, esistenziale, amorosa o crisi di salute).
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Happy Immaculate Day to ♥ ♥ ♥ Everyone ♥ ♥ ♥
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♥ ♥ ♥ Christmas Atmosphere ♥ ♥ ♥ - © Kris de Curtis (YouTube Video)
♦ ♦ ♦ Christmas Atmosphere ♦ ♦ ♦ - © Kris de Curtis ( Christmas PhotoSet )
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Best View: Large On Black
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Two days of debates and only a few identified climate change as our most pressing existential threat. Which tells me that some of our candidates don't have a basic understanding of science and what we are facing.
Also - it is disgusting that our election season is now a year and a half long and costs billions of dollars.
There's a song that my mother played over and over again when I was young. It's a tune named, "Stranger on the Shore," and was performed by Acker Bilk. I don't know if it conjured images like the one above in my mind, but it does now.
You can check it out here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jzx664u5DA
Image imagined in MidJourney AI and finished with Topaz Studio and Lightroom Classic.
so jedenfalls stellt sich Precious Okoyomon seine Praxis vor ...
"Self-therapy" ...
Im Erdgeschoss befinden sich zwei Büros, die an die psychoanalytische Praxis Carl Gustav Jungs erinnern. Möbel aus der Zeit um 1900 schaffen eine Atmosphäre, die zugleich vertraut und sachlich wirkt.
„Existential Detectives“ in verzierten Laborkitteln treten mit den Besucher*innen in Dialog und stellen Fragen zu Träumen, Erinnerungen und verborgenen Gefühlen.
Fragebögen und Aquarellfarben laden Besucher*innen ein, mit ihren Bekenntnissen still zum Kunstwerk beizutragen. In einem Regal stehen Bücher zu Themen wie Liebe, Kochen, Philosophie und arabischer Poesie, aber auch Werke von Édouard Glissant, der in seiner Arbeit auf die schöpferischen Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Kulturen hinweist.
Das Muster der Tapete zeigt Zeichnungen von Precious Okoyomon. Die hybriden Figuren mit ihren großen Köpfen, puppenhaften Körpern und flammenden Augen, die an Eulen und Eulenteufelchen erinnern, wirken sowohl verträumt als auch dämonisch. Sie regen dazu an, in die Tiefen der eigenen Psyche einzutauchen.
At least that's how Precious Okoyomon imagines his practice ...
There are two offices on the first floor, reminiscent of Carl Gustav Jung's psychoanalytic practice. Furniture from around 1900 creates an atmosphere that is both familiar and matter-of-fact.
“Existential detectives” in decorated lab coats enter into a dialog with visitors and ask questions about dreams, memories and hidden feelings.
Questionnaires and watercolors invite visitors to quietly contribute to the artwork with their confessions. On a shelf are books on topics such as love, cooking, philosophy and Arabic poetry, as well as works by Édouard Glissant, whose work refers to the creative interactions between cultures.
The pattern of the wallpaper shows drawings by Precious Okoyomon. The hybrid figures with their large heads, doll-like bodies and flaming eyes, reminiscent of owls and a mixture of owls and devils, appear both dreamy and demonic. They encourage us to delve into the depths of our own psyche.
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The We're Here! gang is getting existential today.
The central claim of existentialism is that existence precedes essence. That means our essence – our purpose in life – is neither given to us nor dictated to us. We make our own choices and find our own purpose.
There's a fantastic eight-minute crash course in existentialism in this video.
Acrylic/mixed media 50 x 50 cm / 19.7 x 19.7 inch
SEHNSUCHT is a German word. for a deep, inner longing, often painful, for something that is unattainable, vague, or absent.
It is not a concrete desire, but an existential state.
You often do not know exactly what you long for — only that you long. Sehnsucht is the inner yearning for a possible other, fuller reality — one you do not know for certain exists.
Soon to be seen in SL!
The Principles Of Change - Intrinsic Spiritual Recognition by Daniel Arrhakis (2018)
With the music : Overcome by James Paget
youtu.be/n8WBwM6FXWk?list=RD9bOq8BA-0kM
The Contemplative Recognition of our own existence as universal spiritual beings. The awareness of ourselves beyond the physical body, the timeless soul that illuminates matter and animated it with movement and transformation.
The awareness of the Intrinsic Spiritual Being that goes far beyond our own and unites all living beings in an equilibrium that is renewed and transformed in a timeless and universal way.
The consciousness of ourselves as spiritual beings is the beginning of an individual path of transformation and acquisition of knowledge to respond to our existential doubts and recognition of our role in the Universe.
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O Reconhecimento contemplativo da nossa própria existência como seres espirituais universais. A consciência de nós próprios para além do corpo físico, a alma intemporal que ilumina a matéria e que a anima de movimento e transformação.
A consciencialização do Ser Espiritual Intrínseco que vai muito para além de nós próprios e que une todos os seres vivos num equilíbrio que se renova e se transforma de forma intemporal e universal.
A consciência de nós próprios como seres espirituais é o inicio de um caminho individual de transformação e aquisição de conhecimento para responder às nossas duvidas existenciais e reconhecimento do nosso papel no Universo.
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A wonderful final of the week dear friends, thank you for your visit, kind comments and support, returning better but very late with you all ! So sorry once more !
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I spent the past few days in Colorado and had the wonderful opportunity to climb the 13,857 ft. Clinton Peak - marking my 84th of the 100 highest in Colorado. On the way up, my friend Ethan and I stopped at Wheeler Lake to take in these post-sunrise views of 14,295 ft. Mount Lincoln, Colorado's 8th highest peak. Also featured in the scene is a huge crop of rose crown wildflowers in the foreground. I have to tell you, I really needed this wilderness adventure to fill up my existential fuel tank. It was awesome being back in Colorado to visit my favorite places and people. Hope you like this shot!
The Loneliness of the Cosmic Dance represents the existential quest for meaning in an indifferent universe and the human struggle for connection and significance. The contrast between light and dark pillars, along with the lone figure, creates a sense of isolation and introspection. The geometric layout of the pillars suggests a choreographed dance, but the emptiness and lack of human interaction highlight feelings of solitude and alienation.
A white mist drifts across the shrouds,
A wild moon in this wintry sky
Gleams like an angry lion's eye
Out of a mane of tawny clouds.
--from the poem "La Mer" by Oscar Wilde
Image imagined in MidJourney AI and finished with Topaz Studio and Lightroom Classic.
Straight out of the Camera. A camera is a receptacle of light. A photographer is a gatherer of light. A camera can capture infinite attributes and hues of light. Attributes and hues which can be manipulated but (perhaps) never enhanced by post processing on a computer. Personally I believe that a mild tweaking of exposure or white balance may be necessary at times but extensive processing sucks out the meditative and emotionally charged component of an image leaving behind something which is unreal and lifeless. To PP or not to PP? An existential dilemma which every photographer has to solve for him-her-self.
Take a breath, prepare to bow, you're about to experience your very own personal life's curtain call. Let the applause ring in your ears. You deserve it for making it this far.
Image imagined in MidJourney AI and finished with Topaz Studio and Lightroom Classic.
"For Ben Russell, the Science Museum’s Doctor Who-like curator of mechanical engineering, robots are nothing like the existential menace they have been cracked up to be. They are magic tricks. They are ingeniously contrived fragments of the human mind and body, but nowhere close to mastering the fine motor skills or mental adaptability of a five-year-old. And their role in our society has barely changed in 500 years." - The Times, Feb 7 2017
the lover miss
number 21
system sen
regulating the pole gear
different sun watches over the long ing day
oh we've un fanned ourself
stare ing our face in to the
non existential
just in one of us
in itself
merging
(coriander) cilantro
condition of
Tribute to Cesco Dessanti
Tra pochi giorni ricorre l’anniversario della scomparsa, avvenuta un anno fa, del geniale Artista pittore espressionista e poeta Cesco Dessanti. Voglio ricordare e rendere omaggio, per quanto mi sarà possibile, con 8 fotografie che aiutino a comprendere questo grande Artista , particolare persona che ha sempre vissuto con la schiena dritta ed enorme coerenza pagando spesso in prima persona questo difficilissimo percorso esistenziale ed artistico. PER MAGGIORI INFORMAZIONI VEDERE L'ALBUM “ Tribute to Cesco Dessanti”
In a few days the anniversary of his death, which took place a year ago, the brilliant artist expressionist painter and poet Cesco Dessanti. I want to remember and pay tribute, as much as I possibly can, with seven photographs that help to understand this great artist, especially someone who has always lived with your back straight and enormous consistency often paying firsthand this very difficult existential and artistic journey.
FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE ALBUM "Tribute to Cesco Dessanti"
Like so many abandones schools and farms, this school has a long history of returning students with words and lately more grafittists as its existential isolation allows one to imagine what it must have been like to be so far away from all other touchstones.
The Auxiliary for Recycling Old Grocery Lists has discovered that new grocery lists are being written on phones, which they consider an existential threat to Somewhereville's documentary heritage. Their position is that a digital list cannot be recycled, preserved in a shoebox, discovered in a dead relative's coat pocket, or used by future historians to determine why anyone needed twelve cans of peaches.
They're asking the Mayor to support the Municipal Grocery List Preservation Act, which would require every resident using a phone at the supermarket to produce one handwritten archival copy.
The Mayor has come to negotiate a compromise by suggesting screenshots. We'll see how this goes over. Stand by.
Image imagined in chatGPT and finished with Lightroom Classic.
tribune.com.pk/story/831276/the-mangroves-of-karachi-faci...
The most visible and delicate ecosystem of Karachi, a city with a profound coastal environment, is that of the mangrove forests that thrive in the mingled salt and freshwater where the Indus River meets the Arabian Sea.
These forests, however, are under existential threat for a number of reasons, particularly along the city coastline. There is untreated municipal waste and industrial pollution causing still-undetermined amounts of damage, there is exploitation of the trees by the area’s communities for use as firewood, building material and fodder and, most alarmingly, there is the chopping down of the forests to make way for coastal development projects.
The Pakistani coastline stretches for around 990 kilometres, with the Exclusive Economic Zone – the sea zone in which the state has special rights over marine resources – covering an area of about 240,000 square kilometres. Meanwhile, the 220-kilometre Sindh coastal belt, characterised by a network of tidal creeks and numerous islands with mangrove vegetation, is divided between the Indus Delta system and the Karachi coast. The former is home to the largest arid climate mangroves in the world, while mangrove forestation also dots the latter.
A vast ecosystem
According to the Sindh Coastal Community Development Project, the extensive mangrove swamps of Sindh spread over approximately 100,000 hectares. The black mangrove, with aerial roots growing up out of the mud, is the most common species. The forests also house the red mangrove, Rhizophora mucronata, Ceriops tagal and Aegiceras corniculatum, as well as several species of marine seaweed that often grow as algal mats on the surface of the mud.
The mangrove swamps, creeks and mudflats serve as a breeding ground for a diverse variety of marine life along the Sindh coastline, such as mussels, oysters, shrimp and fish, which move offshore as they grow. Some species of migratory birds, too, use the swamps as wintering grounds.
It is not just animals and vegetation that are supported by the vast ecosystem formed by Sindh’s mangroves. The 100,000 people living along the northern edge of the Indus Delta use an estimated 18,000 tons of mangrove firewood each year, while the leaves and shoots are used as fodder for livestock.
The mangroves, beautiful as they are, offer more than just aesthetic value: they can greatly benefit both the city and the country if they are properly harnessed. Protecting them could enhance the financial dividends for the fishing industry. Research has also proved that they can act as a barrier against tidal flooding and coastal erosion, as their roots, embedded in the coastal land, provide shoreline stability.
Another important yet neglected element of the viable use of the mangroves is recreation. Countries with these natural assets often develop ways to utilise coastal mangrove forestation as sites for exciting recreational activities, which not only draw tourists and have tremendous financial value but also provide educational benefits.
Farhan Anwar is an urban planner and runs a non-profit organisation based in Karachi focusing on urban sustainability issues
Published in The Express Tribune, February 2rd, 2015.
These images were created around 2020, in a time marked by Covid, but they do not belong only to that moment. I am republishing them today because reading them again means realizing that their meaning has not been exhausted: the facts change, tragic events change, names and circumstances change, but outside the same violence of human mechanisms, inequalities, intolerance, constraint, and imposed survival continues to hold. That is why these photographs remain contemporary. In the contrast between blue and red, in the purity of white, in the vulnerability of the body and in the harshness of the words, there is still a clear position: not a closed memory, but a thought that is still alive, still exposed, still in conflict with the present. I am republishing them in my Pro account so that they are not lost and so that they can continue to speak.
Complete album of the series:
www.flickr.com/photos/192876881@N08/albums/72157719324029...