View allAll Photos Tagged existential

Inspired by the great Jason Mott's book "The returned " about the return of the loved ones from the dead . Unfortunately the movie shot on the basis of this tragic , breathtaking , deeply emotional , existential novel turned out to be another banal thriller .

The idea , btw, had brought to life the creation of Martial Chronicles and Solaris...

  

Equipped with a Barron auto cannon (torso mounted)

A Barron anti infantry machine gun (arm mounted)

And is meant to combat infantry support armored infantry and defeat rogue jägers aka 7ft tall super soldiers as dangerous as a tactical nuke and as precise as a surgical scalpel.

 

Jägers are the best of the United Nations military command socom corps. Adept in combat and resourceful, jägers are practically a living weapon, and a existential threat that after the resent terrorist attack on the colony world of sernas, where a rogue jäger massacred over a thousand civilians before a jäger James 050 was able to stop him.

 

Made by davo mech works the JH-7070 or baryonyx will be tested for wide scale used by jäger James 050

.... I can't choose between these two editions! lol What is your opinion??? Which do you prefer? xD Thanks in advance for the opinions! greetings and happy week!

 

....así es, no puedo decidirme por ninguna de las ediciones de esta foto!! jajaja Cuál es vuestra opinión??? Cuál os gusta más u os disgusta menos?? xD Gracias desde ya por las opiniones!! un saludo y feliz semana!

 

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.

The devil makes work for idle minds too.

French Quarter

 

New Orleans, LA

The Insidious Paths of Shadows - The Void And The Emptiness by Daniel Arrhakis / Pethros Thoryan (2025)

  

The Insidious Paths of Shadows - The Corruption of Sensations - The Feeling of Uncertainty And Emptiness

   

The Feeling of Uncertainty and Emptiness

 

Darkness and the Human Psyche

 

Darkness often appears alluring, seeming to promise fulfillment. Yet, at its core, darkness is emptiness—a void defined by the absence of light, truth, and reality. It stands as a symbol of fear, the unknown, and the gradual decline of humanity.

When people succumb to this darkness, their fears obscure the truth and reality. In this shrouded state, darkness manipulates minds, giving rise to chaos and unrest.

 

Emptiness as a Human Condition

 

Emptiness manifests as a pervasive state of boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. This condition reflects a detachment from surroundings and a sense of meaninglessness that colors everyday experience. Such emptiness is not merely a fleeting sensation but a deeper existential concern, signaling a lack of fulfillment and connection.

 

Philosophical Insights on Emptiness

 

The exploration of emptiness reveals a profound insight: all phenomena lack inherent existence. Recognizing this leads to the understanding that attachment to these impermanent entities is the source of suffering. The realization of emptiness encourages a detachment from transient experiences, prompting a search for meaning beyond material or fleeting constructs.

 

Emotional Correlates of Emptiness

 

The feeling of emptiness closely intertwines with other emotional states such as dysphoria, boredom, loneliness, and numbness. It is especially linked with feelings of hopelessness, isolation, and loneliness. Notably, emptiness is a strong predictor of depression and suicidal ideation, though it is not directly associated with anxiety or actual suicide attempts.

 

The Concept of the Void in Philosophy

 

Philosophically, "The Void" captures the essence of nothingness and emptiness—a concept that has sparked debate and interpretation across various traditions. In ancient Greek philosophy, thinkers like Democritus considered the Void a necessary space that allowed atoms to move, making the existence of matter possible. In contrast, Aristotle denied the existence of a true Void, asserting that nature inherently resists a vacuum.

 

Eastern Perspectives on the Void

 

Eastern philosophical traditions assign significant spiritual and metaphysical meaning to the Void. In Buddhism, the concept of Śūnyatā (Emptiness) refers to the idea that all phenomena and beings do not possess an independent existence or permanent essence (they have no "inherent nature" or svabhava) because everything exists in interdependence with other things. Thus, all things are empty, and this means that they have no independent existence.

 

Western Thought and Modern Science On The Void

 

Modern scientific discourse, especially in quantum mechanics and cosmology, continues the approach that associates the Void with the quantum vacuum and the fundamental structure of the universe. The quantum vacuum is not an absolute "nothingness," but a state of minimum energy where virtual particles and antiparticles constantly appear and disappear, influencing the physical laws and the very existence of the universe. This view contrasts with the old notion of vacuum as empty space without properties.

 

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Os Caminhos Insidiosos das Sombras - A Corrupção das Sensações - A Sensação de Incerteza e Vazio de Daniel Arrhakis / Pethros Thoryan (2025)

 

A Sensação de Incerteza e Vazio

 

Escuridão e a Psique Humana

 

A escuridão parece muitas vezes sedutora, prometendo plenitude. No entanto, na sua essência, a escuridão é o vazio — um vácuo definido pela ausência de luz, verdade e realidade. Apresenta-se como um símbolo do medo, do desconhecido e do declínio gradual da humanidade.

Quando as pessoas sucumbem a esta escuridão, os seus medos obscurecem a verdade e a realidade. Neste estado envolto em mistério, a escuridão manipula as mentes, dando origem ao caos e à inquietação.

 

O Vazio como Condição Humana

 

O vazio manifesta-se como um estado generalizado de tédio, alienação social, niilismo e apatia. Esta condição reflete um distanciamento do ambiente e uma sensação de falta de sentido que ultrapassa a experiência quotidiana. Tal vazio não é meramente uma sensação passageira, mas uma preocupação existencial mais profunda, sinalizando uma falta de realização e de conexão.

 

Reflexões Filosóficas sobre o Vazio

 

A exploração do vazio revela uma profunda perceção: todos os fenómenos carecem de existência inerente. Reconhecer isto leva à compreensão de que o apego a estas entidades impermanentes é a fonte do sofrimento. A perceção do vazio encoraja um desapego das experiências transitórias, impulsionando uma busca de significado para além das construções materiais ou efémeras.

 

Correlações Emocionais do Vazio

 

A sensação de vazio está intimamente ligada a outros estados emocionais, como a disforia, o tédio, a solidão e o entorpecimento. Está especialmente associada a sentimentos de desesperança, isolamento e solidão. Notavelmente, o vazio é um forte preditor de depressão e ideação suicida, embora não esteja diretamente associado à ansiedade ou a tentativas de suicídio.

 

O Conceito do Vazio na Filosofia

 

Filosoficamente, "O Vazio" capta a essência do nada e da vacuidade — um conceito que tem gerado debates e interpretações em diversas tradições. Na filosofia grega antiga, pensadores como Demócrito consideravam o Vazio um espaço necessário que permitia o movimento dos átomos, tornando possível a existência da matéria. Em contraste, Aristóteles negava a existência de um verdadeiro Vazio, afirmando que a natureza resiste inerentemente ao vácuo.

 

Perspetivas Orientais sobre o Vazio

 

As tradições filosóficas orientais atribuem um importante significado espiritual e metafísico ao Vazio. No Budismo, o conceito de Śūnyatā (Vacuidade) refere-se à ideia de que todos os fenómenos e seres não possuem uma existência independente ou essência permanente (não têm "natureza própria" ou svabhava) porque tudo existe em interdependência com outras coisas. Assim, todas as coisas são vazias e isso significa que elas não têm existência independente.

O Taoísmo refere-se ao Vazio como Wuji, representando o estado indiferenciado que precede toda a existência, contendo tanto o potencial para a criação como a ausência de forma.

 

O Pensamento Ocidental e a Ciência Moderna sobre o Vazio

 

O discurso científico moderno, especialmente na mecânica quântica e na cosmologia, continua a abordagem que associa o Vazio ao vácuo quântico e à estrutura fundamental do universo. O vácuo quântico não é um "nada" absoluto, mas um estado de energia mínima onde partículas e antipartículas virtuais surgem e desaparecem constantemente, influenciando as leis físicas e a própria existência do universo. Essa visão contrasta com a antiga noção de vácuo como espaço vazio e sem propriedades.

  

Imagem e texto por Daniel Arrhakis / Pethros Thoryan

There may be more to reality than what we can see. "The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next." — Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Pentax K1000, Tri-X at box speed, D23 1+1

 

Two dance friends were married last night at the little "E Church" (Existential Church) in Candler Park. I have been watching them dance together for years. They make a smashing couple on the dance floor, and that seems to bode for a happy marriage. I loved the look of rapture on her face when they danced a tango together last night.

 

Shot this handheld with the 50mm lens. The sun had gone down by that point. I'm pretty happy with how the lens held up in unpredictable light. The 20D body and the 50mm seem to "play well" together.

OK-GFR waking up to an existential crisis: is it called S'´`´team or ČČSAHIES? Even though bolting on replacement parts in stock colors is a common and financially-sound practice (especially with radomes, engine cowls and control surfaces), it does occasionally produce some interesting results...

I've been having a lot of existential crises lately. I have so many hopes for the future, and I just don't want to be let down and disappointed as a result.

 

Model: Lloyd Revald

The sea had already begun forgetting the day.

 

Light still burned in the clouds above—slow, copper fire spreading across their soft towers—while the water below darkened into a patient, breathing gray. Between the two, a single figure moved with the rhythm of the swells, neither arriving nor leaving, simply balanced there where the world folds into itself.

 

From the shore, if there was a shore, the person would have looked like a mistake of scale. Too small for the sky, too fragile for the ocean. Yet the waves lifted them the way breath lifts a chest—again, and again—quietly insisting that being small does not mean being lost.

 

Nothing in the scene demanded meaning. The clouds did not speak. The horizon did not explain itself. The sea rolled on with the same ancient indifference it had always kept.

 

And still the figure remained upright on the moving water, watching the last color withdraw from the sky.

 

Perhaps that was all I saw.

 

A moment when the world grew enormous and silent, and a human being—brief, unremarkable, stubbornly alive—stood inside it anyway, suspended in the fading light, as if existence itself were a wave that had not yet decided whether to carry them forward or let them fall.

the last light of the week cuts sharply through the city, carving out silence where noise has been. christopher, the bookseller, sits in its path, framed by the weight of his own stories. smoke curls into the cold air, dissolving like unfinished sentences. his wristwatch catches the light—a quiet reminder that time moves even when he does not. in his hands, a book, pages worn, read by others before him, waiting for those who come after. the moment feels borrowed, as if palma itself paused for just a breath.

Cheetah cubs consider their options - to play or not to play? Or, how seriously should we consider the needs of zoogoers - particularly ones with cameras - as opposed to our own, more existential dilemmas?

Instead of taking photos I have been watching The Office. The weird thing about the death of a friend...along with the sadness (regret, guilt, etc), there's also all these existential questions that come to mind, except instead of their usual abstract form, they suddenly seem so clear and important and personal. And it just comes 24/7, these thoughts... And so I drown it out by watching The Office and therapizing myself on flickr.

The wound was the boredom, the unconquerable, existential boredom that killed time and history, passions and hope. I see no sweetness in their eyes. I do not see that deep melancholy that we see in the young Renaissance faces painted by Lotto and Titian…. I see eyes that are bewildered, ecstatic, stunned, furtive, greedy without desire, lustful without lust, lonely in the crowd that contains them. I see desperate eyes … eternal children, … a desperate generation … advancing…. They are trying to escape from the plastic void that surrounds and suffocates them. Their salvation lies only in their hearts. We can only look at them with love and trepidation.

-Eugenio Scalfari, founder of La Repubblica

The apple motif is allusive in many ways. Voluminous and sensuous, it graces innumerable still-life compositions, but it is also traditionally pictured as the forbidden fruit.

 

One of the leading figures of American Pop art and an early pioneer of environmental and installation art, Claes Oldenburg reveals in his works the hidden potential of everyday objects, making them tangible, soft, and humorous. Oversized foodstuffs such as an ice cream cone or baked potato, often rendered in a somewhat unpredictable way, are frequent elements in his vocabulary.

 

The perishability and vulnerability of the decaying apple core evinces Oldenburg's consistent preoccupation with the process of decline and death. It is also the residue of a natural ("perfect") form altered ("spoiled") by human intervention. The existential imperative of growth and decomposition - its poignancy once heightened by the lushness of vanitas pictures, with a worm or insect accentuating the moralizing intent - is ironically underscored in Apple Core by both the mock-heroic scale and the "organic" coloring. Ultimately, these very elements, enhanced by tongue-in-cheek sculptural-painterly effects and hard-soft punning (the "rotten" apple has an actual steel core and is fashioned in stiffened urethane foam), make Apple Core an endearing rather than forbidding piece, inviting tactile exploration.

 

Another photo of this unique sculpture is in comment box below.

 

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Thanks to all for 11,000.000+ views and kind comments ... !

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

   

Part of "Melbourne International Arts Festival"

www.melbournefestival.com.au/

 

Scottish artist and Turner prize nominee, Nathan Coley will erect his famous message sculpture Heaven Is A Place Where Nothing Ever Happens on the ACCA Forecourt. The sign evokes religious roadside architecture conjoined with retro fairground aesthetics. Its message is open to a range of readings, both reassuring and unsettling, but is ultimately no salve for our existential angst.

This project, where the use of reflecting surface and experimentation are the essence, includes three series exploring existential issues "Talk To Her", "Broken Embraces" and "Identity" ; two self-portraits with my tool of the trade "Self-portrait With Camera n◦ 3" and "Self-portrait With Camera n◦ 4" ; seven nudes "Nude With Camera" XIX, XX, XXI, XXII and XXIII, XXIV, XXV ; two works with the reflections of my cats as an integral part of my body "Self-portrait With a Paw And a Tail" and "Self-portrait With a Cat In the Belly" , two pieces of my ghostly nature "Ghost" I and "Ghost" II as well as two self-portraits focusing on deformations of the human body "Self-portrait With Three Heads" and "Self-portrait With Three Legs".

Unified entity distinct

Metaphysic dimensions

Existential attitude

 

Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us represent worthily for one the foul brood to which a cruel fate consigned us! What do you say? It is true that when with folded arms we weigh the pros and cons we are no less a credit to our species. The tiger bounds to the help of his congeners without the least reflexion, or else he slinks away into the depths of the thickets. But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come --

Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

 

***I loved it! The play’s minimalistic style, light, shadows and the actors' dialogue were impressive. The music and voices were captivating and added to the overall mood. It perfectly reflected themes of waiting, existential crises, and relationships. The fact that the actors kept hugging suggests that maybe waiting together, forming strong bonds, could be the true meaning of life. That feeling of hugging someone you love or share a connection with is truly special.

 

Okay… Keanu Reeves…

 

In my mind, he's always that young guy from 1997 in Devil’s Advocate. I'm biased! I'm biased!!!! 1997!

 

BUT…

 

I believe that over the years, people become attractive in different ways through experiences and human qualities. Youth is beautiful, but age is attractive. Youth has a face, but age has a soul.

   

Existential tourists' question at the corner Naglergasse/Heidenschuss in the 1st district of Vienna

This image represents a state of active consciousness turned outward.

The gaze is alert, attentive, exposed. It observes the world as it is, without filters, fully aware of the risk involved in opening oneself to the outside. There is no naivety here, only awareness.

 

The external world appears as a place of possibility and, at the same time, of threat. The gaze does not close itself off, but remains on guard. It is a fragile balance between the desire for connection and the need for self-protection. Here, consciousness does not withdraw or escape; it faces what lies outside, accepting its own vulnerability.

Placed alongside the image of active consciousness turned inward, this work becomes its natural counterpart. The two images enter into dialogue as complementary states: one born from protection, the other from exposure. Two different, yet equally necessary, ways of inhabiting both the world and the self.

French Quarter

 

New Orleans, LA

A serendipitous observation. The Whitney Museum, NYC -- February 15, 2021

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Hope everyone has as happy a time as is humanly possible without descending into a spiral of existential guilt.

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There are places where what we see is not necessarily what we are truly looking at.

Forms, architecture, sacred images, a cross, a face, a skull, a figure crossing a doorway… they are only signs. Traces left by humanity in an attempt, perhaps, to give a name to things that cannot be explained.

But the real subject does not always reveal itself.

Sometimes it hides in an almost insignificant detail.

Sometimes it lives in the contrast between two presences.

Sometimes it is found in the light that enters and the darkness that remains.

Sometimes it is simply a question the image refuses to ask.

I tried to remain precisely there, in that uncertain place where what we see stops being merely reality and becomes interpretation.

A church can be a place of faith, but it can also become a place where we question our own existence. A cross can speak of hope, or remind us of the weight of time. A memento mori can be a symbol of death, but also an invitation to look at life differently.

And then there is a threshold.

Two figures meet for an instant, coming from apparently distant worlds. One emerges from the shadow of the sacred, while the other waits in the light of the world.

I do not know whether a true boundary exists between what we call sacred and what we call profane.

Perhaps that boundary exists only in our eyes.

That is why I would rather not give these images an answer.

I would rather leave the viewer free to discover their own true subject — the one that does not immediately appear before the eyes, but slowly emerges within us.

Because perhaps a photograph reaches its deepest meaning precisely when it stops belonging to the person who made it.

And then what I saw no longer matters.

What matters is what you will see, when you are left alone, on the side of silence.

 

Ci sono luoghi nei quali ciò che vediamo non è necessariamente ciò che stiamo guardando.

Le forme, le architetture, le immagini sacre, una croce, un volto, un teschio, una figura che attraversa una porta… sono soltanto segni. Presenze lasciate dall'uomo nel tentativo, forse, di dare un nome a ciò che non può essere spiegato.

Ma il vero soggetto non sempre si lascia vedere.

A volte è nascosto in un dettaglio quasi insignificante.

A volte vive nel contrasto fra due presenze.

A volte è nella luce che entra e nel buio che rimane.

A volte è una domanda che l'immagine non pronuncia.

Ho cercato di fermarmi proprio lì, in quella zona incerta in cui ciò che appare smette di essere soltanto realtà e diventa interpretazione.

Una chiesa può essere un luogo di fede, ma può anche diventare il luogo nel quale ci interroghiamo sulla nostra stessa esistenza. Una croce può parlare di speranza, oppure ricordarci il peso del tempo. Un memento mori può essere un simbolo della morte, ma anche un invito a guardare diversamente la vita.

E poi c'è una soglia.

Due figure si incontrano per un istante, provenendo da mondi apparentemente lontanissimi. Una esce dalla penombra del sacro, l'altra attende nella luce del mondo.

Non so se esista davvero un confine tra ciò che chiamiamo sacro e ciò che chiamiamo profano.

Forse quel confine esiste soltanto nei nostri occhi.

Per questo non vorrei dare una risposta a queste immagini.

Vorrei piuttosto lasciare a chi le guarda la possibilità di trovare il proprio vero soggetto, quello che non appare immediatamente davanti agli occhi, ma che emerge lentamente dentro di noi.

Perché una fotografia, forse, raggiunge il suo significato più profondo proprio quando smette di appartenere a chi l'ha scattata.

E allora non importa più ciò che ho visto io.

Importa ciò che vedrai tu, quando resterai solo, dalla parte del silenzio.

....may occur when cellular and wifi service goes down for 10 minutes and everyone realizes who they really are.

 

Image imagined in MidJourney AI and finished with Topaz Studio and Lightroom Classic.

The image suggests the human condition of someone who, after a first negative event, is struck by further blows, yet continues to move forward.

 

ORIGIN OF THE PROVERB

The proverb “It never rains but it pours” is of English origin and dates back at least to the 18th century.

It appears in collections of British proverbs as early as the 1700s and has become commonly used in colloquial English.

Over time, it has also been used in literary and journalistic contexts to describe situations in which difficulties tend to arrive all at once.

 

MEANING

The proverb means that problems, misfortunes, or negative events rarely come alone:

when one happens, others often follow in quick succession.

More broadly, it expresses the idea that life unfolds through accumulation: both in hardship and, at times, even in good fortune, events tend to cluster together.

Italian conceptual equivalent:

“Le disgrazie non vengono mai sole.”

 

CONNECTION BETWEEN PROVERB AND IMAGE

The physical rain represents the accumulation of events.

The clouds wrapping around the body embody the weight of difficulties.

The figure who keeps walking, instead of stopping, introduces an additional dimension: not only the acknowledgment of misfortune, but the ability to pass through it.

The work does not merely illustrate the proverb; it transforms it into a visual experience.

I remember the exact moment when I experienced my first existential crisis. I was sitting at the dinner table and my dad was going on and on about his miserable day at work. It suddenly struck me that my parents were no different than any of my friend's parents and my life was pretty much the same. Up until that moment I had lived the fantasy that my dad was a super hero, my mom a saint, and that I was destined for greatness. I was shaken to my core. But I suppose in the end, it relieved my parents and me from the pressure of unrealistic expectations.

 

I learned my lesson well. My wife once asked me what qualities I would look for in a woman if I were ever to remarry. Only one I told her, "low expectations."

 

Monterey CA

Who can comprehend or explain the mystery of what it means to awaken to one’s own reality as an existential consequence of the fact that we are loved by Reality Itself? To see, in a contact too close for images or for concepts, and to understand in a vision too intimate to reach out to an object beyond itself, that our actuality is a spark in the infinite blaze of Pure Act Who is God. That our existence and being spring forth from the superabundant joy of His Existence. Above all, that we exist because He Who IS decrees, by an infinitely free option of His own liberality that we should mirror analogously in ourselves His own Act of existing, and share His own liberty.

-Thomas Merton, The New Man

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