View allAll Photos Tagged existential
I spent a morning in Roseville last week waiting for Marg to finish up with an outpatient foot surgery. Roseville is a large sprawling city with its roots as a bedroom community to nearby Sacramento. I drove around a bit and true to my nature was drawn to the less attractive side of town--the railroad yard. I'm sure there's an existential reason for this--kind of like thinking about thinking about how your thoughts tend to randomly intersect.
Roseville CA
Kent Monkman derived the title of his piece from the iconic portrait of the same name by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944). Like Munch, Monkman harnesses the universal language of anguish to create an image of terror that reverberates beyond the canvas. Monkman’s work also calls to mind Irish-British painter Francis Bacon (1909–1992), whose image of a distorted Pope Innocent X embodies the idea of power twisted into cruelty, a critique of institutions—the church and the state—that have so often perpetuated violence. But while Munch and Bacon express existential dread, Monkman grounds his scream in lived intergenerational trauma, transforming modernist symbols of despair into a searing indictment of colonial violence.
Sunrise of 2.14.20 over the scar of an old burn near the Lassen/Plumas County line up the near Antelope Lake in Northern California.
where once fruitful soil
and profound sky and earth's thrum
now but futile shards
and frail grasp of meager cleft
through merciless time
Solastalgia: “ …a form of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change.”
*in explore
a fleeting silhouette climbs into the light, framed by brutalist curves and the hush of concrete. the world below watches in shadow, as if remembering a dream it never lived.
When you feel a warm coffee breeze and hear laughter skidding across the table, that’s my kink. I’m dropping caffeinated garbage into my failing corpse to help nature with the deterioration. Excuse me if i’m antisocial. But still. Wanna come over and have an existential crisis together? Extinction protocol dream portal 1.
Invisible Reality - Parallel Fantasy
Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Braden
Gift Shop, West Building, National Gallery of Art
Washington DC
2 Jan 2026
If you visit Whitemill Bay, with the exception of North Ronaldsay, there is nothing but open sea until you arrive at Shetland. The Northerly wilderness and the deserted bay bring home the feral expanse of the Northern Isles and a trajectory towards the Faroe's, Iceland, Jan Mayen and the Arctic Circle.
Whitemill Bay is eerily beautiful, the patterns of the untouched slate that are prevalent across the bay, the white sands and the deep, variegated hues of the ocean inspire awe and evoke a feeling of alienation that is redolent of human disparity with nature. Paradoxically, the beauty of the bay evokes a profound calmness that, for me, is an expression of the existential link between human beings and nature. However. I acknowledge that the bifurcation between man and nature is arbitrary.
There was no human presence during my visit, the only other creatures I observed were a splattering of Sea Gulls in the near distance, baying and shrieking like some kind of Jurassic animal! The natural light appeared to be filtered through the dramatic cloud forms that threatened storms, despite the warm, sunny conditions. Rainbow-like colours hung in the air, giving a subtle colouration and the graphic hues of the rocks, sea and sand seemed to create a painting that was yet to be painted!
Simon
Orkney Isle's, Scotland.
A solitary figure stands where rock meets sea, confronting the vast horizon without promise of reply. Not serenity but the raw tension of existence—alienation sharpened into defiance, solitude carved into symbol. Here, the world is indifferent, the sea restless, the rocks unyielding. Yet in the act of standing, the figure affirms a fragile freedom: to face the void, to remain, to choose.
Life doesn't have to be one big existential crisis after another. It's like any other job. You get two fifteen minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.
When existential mist drapes the immediate world in a layer of mystery
The rising sun sheds it's morning light
Reveals what matters and begins to solve the mystery
Paddling my canoe often provides me with answers
Lyrics and music that answer the enigna can be heard in the link below
Melody Gardot & Philippe Powell - Plus Fort Que Nous
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECuKTK1Tnk8&list=RDpCX3JtxzxI...
Stay blessed
g
Oslo's Frognerparken is known by tourists as Vigeland Park, after the early 20th century artist Gustav Vigeland, who with a few sculptors created an installation of over 200 statues and other works in granite and bronze, mostly human figures in all states of life and attitude. It is epic, existential, and unique. I had photographed it once before many years ago, in daylight and warm weather, so it was interesting on my recent visit to see it at dusk in winter. Some of the figures are lit by stylised electric lights that are part of the installation, and their warm colour made strong contrasts with the freezing conditions, as well as revealing the textures of the granite and bronze in human form. I'll post some more over the next few weeks.
My favourite city walk, the green tunnel that follows the chalk stream, which is a conduit for so much wildlife. Sometimes you won't see any animals, but other times you can see kingfishers, little egrets, water rails, grass snakes, water voles, muntjac deer, foxes and many other species. We are very lucky to have it, and take part in the regular clear-ups of the rubbish that either blows in or gets callously dumped there. This threat is dwarfed however by the existential one posed by over abstraction of water from the springs that supply it; our water supply must be managed for people and environment first, and private profit second.
Darker Regions...
I am alone lost trembling, confused my body turned upside down restricted blinded in darkness tears unseen cries unheard . I am lost forgotten dehumanised, none existential. A voice called out to me in the darkness to bring me hope and carried me home as l dreamt myself back into my innerworld in dawns light.
I am thinking about the struggles women and children are faced with every day who are bravely fighting for their freedom and rights and hope they are soon liberated and live life in freedom and peace soon. Prayers that all remaining hostages of Israel are safe soon brought home to their families' loved ones. ️🙏
#feminists#feminisim#womenempowerment#painting#art#artist#nature#expressionist #painting #artist #fineart #love #newyork#acrylicpainting #artwork #artworldly #artistsoninstagram #newyorkartist #artofinstagram #expression #expressionism #abstract #originalart #design #artstudio#blue #impressionism#collageart #loveart#night
We operate exclusively with things that do not exist, with lines, surfaces, bodies, atoms, divisible time spans, divisible spaces—how could explanations be possible at all when we initially turn everything into images, into our images!
[Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher, classical scholar, critic of culture. Friedrich Nietzsche, Sämtliche Werke: Kritische Studienausgabe, vol. 3, p. 473, eds. Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari, Berlin, de Gruyter (1980). The Gay Science, first edition, "Third Book," aphorism 112 (1882).]
"Among the different types of project, that of bad faith is of generic importance for an existential understanding of what it is to be human. This importance derives ultimately from its ethical relevance. [Jean-Paul] Sartre's analysis of the project of bad faith is grounded in vivid examples. Thus Sartre describes the precise and mannered movements of a cafe waiter. In thus behaving, the waiter is identifying himself with his role as waiter in the mode of being in-itself. In other words, the waiter is discarding his real nature as for-itself ... to adopt that of the in-itself. He is thus denying his transcendence as for-itself in favour of the kind of transcendence characterising the in-itself. In this way, the burden of his freedom, i.e. the requirement to decide for himself what to do, is lifted from his shoulders since his behaviour is as though set in stone by the definition of the role he has adopted.
The mechanism involved in such a project involves an inherent contradiction. Indeed, the very identification at the heart of bad faith is only possible because the waiter is a for-itself, and can indeed choose to adopt such a project. So the freedom of the for-itself is a pre-condition for the project of bad faith which denies it."
University College, London
The Soviet-Afghan War memorial in the Victory Park in Armenia's capital Yevevan. It's located on "Heroes Alley" where Soviet-era war heroes in Afghanistan back to the 1930s are commemorated by name. I can find no more information about it.
3,762 Armenians fought with Soviet forces in Afghanistan and 128 died. Yet it is dwarfed in the Armenian imagination by the wars of independence and the independence era, existential for national survival and, for Armenians, vastly more deadly. The dead of those wars are not commemorated in the Soviet-era Victory Park, but 11 km away at Yerablur.
I cannot even find details of the sculptor of this memorial or its date of construction, although it is well-kept and I do know Armenian veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War hold an annual commemoration here.
Skin retouching totally happened here, without a doubt, as a creative and somewhat existential exercise.
the Scottish Queen apparently is not amused. That's what I like about thistles: their existential stance! :D
he moved slowly. his silhouette sharp against the concrete curves. the city’s embrace felt cold. quiet. only shadows watched him pass.
8x10 darkroom print
This is an experimental darkroom print from my "Aftermath" series. I am really happy that this print was purchased to be used in an album cover by a Japanese band Calme Adiction. Here is a link to where it appears calmeadiction.bandcamp.com/track/land-of-ulcer-live-ver
Also I'm really happy how the solarization turned out, it's a pretty hard darkroom technique.
Aftermath is a photography series I created during the pandemic, using a range of experimental techniques to explore the human condition in times of crisis. By employing methods such as film soup, developing color film with black-and-white chemistry, and innovative and alternative darkroom printing, I aimed to reflect the uncertainties and disruptions of the era. The work delves into themes of resilience, vulnerability, and the broader existential challenges posed by capitalism, offering a layered social commentary on our shared experiences during turbulent times.
Contemplation is at once the existential appreciation of our own “nothingness” and of the divine reality, perceived by ineffable spiritual contact within the depths of our own being. Contemplation is the sudden intuitive penetration of what really IS. It is the unexpected leap of the spirit of man into the existential luminosity of Reality Itself, not merely by the metaphysical intuition of being, but by the transcendent fulfilment of an existential communion with Him Who IS.
-Thomas Merton, The New Man
The Time Warp
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S91wQbYYX3Q
NO AI USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS IMAGE.
By now you well know my take on AI and photography, writing and music. It's like oil and water - they don't belong together! But please don't take my word for it. The great Australian musician, Nick Cave, was so incensed by AI he wrote one of the finest reflections on the subject in defense of the human creative spirit.
When this letter is read by the incomparable Stephen Fry, then it really is something special. Take a few minutes to watch this beautiful reading:
Stephen Fry reads Nick Cave's stirring letter about ChatGPT and human creativity
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGJcF4bLKd4
"Chat GPT is fast-tracking the commodification of the human spirit by mechanizing the imagination."
"This impulse, this creative dance, that is now being so cynically undermined, must be defended at all costs. And just as we would fight any existential evil, we should fight it tooth and nail, for we are fighting for the very soul of the world.
Love Nick."
Breathtaking Last Sunset Of September 2020 On Tampa Bay Florida - IMRAN™
This is what tonight's sunset - the last sunset of September 2020 - unfolded looking like. I knew I had to take some photos as I juggled two steaks on the grill, two German Shepherds playing hard drenched from being in the swimming pool, and two cameras to take photos with. What can I tell you... I am a Gemini. Two of everything. LOL.
2020 has been a surreal year for us. For all of us. Globally, as a species under attack from a pandemic. Nationally, America literally facing an existential crisis brought on by a constitutional crisis being foisted upon us by the agents of an enemy state. And even personally, by the many shocking blows I was hit with this year.
But, at the end of it all, the day, the month, the quarter, soon the year, the decade, and one day my earthly time itself, I cannot deny all the unbelievable blessings I shall forever be grateful for. That is why almost everything I am writing this year makes me refer to things with the particular year 2020 mentioned.
I hope that we all survive this year all the horrendous things that threaten us, our health, our democracy, and our nation. I pray that we grow stronger, smarter, happier, more loved, and more successful in the years to come. I dream of the times we can look back at the writings from these moments in time and be grateful to have made it into those dates in the future. I hope you will be with me then too. Amen.
© 2020 IMRAN™
I Agfa Isolette III , Agfa Apotar 1:4.5 85 mm , Kodak Extacolor Pro 160 , F 4.5 1/60 , expired Dev. and Fixer . I
Restaurant Hilton . Kuala Lumpur.
MY
" It's existential monotony framed. It's interesting, how viewing it can make you sure there is something else. But being in it can make you sure that there isn't."
by She Said Unprintable Things
a man stops to tie his shoe. everyone else keeps moving, blurred figures in transit, reflections stretching across the ceiling. the station hums with motion, but in this moment, he is still. münchner freiheit, a pause in the rush.
If you stare long enough into the fabric of reality
You will see it slowly unravel
And collapse on itself
Within a singular, meaningless void
This moment will remain nameless and seated
an avid reader of the listening mind
a subtle stroke across all it can find
tickling the fancies of a future pre-heated
let the time linger a while longer
it is patiently waiting for no-one but you defined,
yes, it springs to mind within a season so inclined
jaunting these days making my week stronger
the sound of the Blackbird still in flight
that triggers a memory shot fired across the present
a crystal clear souvenir well-kept before reality's descent
greeting me like a sunbeam that's just come to light
a forward path or a back-road it still ends up in the present time
running concurrently with life's surviving relationship thus conferred
the hitherto has the wherewithal of a foreknowledge referred
armed with weightless thought that sees so much still in it's prime
it's that spellbinding positivity that intoxicates my malaise
the outside spirit looks in at the recuperating Soul
where my heart took flight in fright of losing existential control
hope breaks the cursive atom glimmer that inner medicine wishes to appraise
if only, a channel blocked were not a strike to test our highest authority
if only, a blockade were for the greater good of all concerned
if only, a ration could feed the mind of a life appetisingly spurned
if only, a cure could 'speak up' for the pain of this silent majority
help is a hand in the lending of belief, faith and trust in one another
the pie that charts cultural equality and nourishes the Soul of every faith
whatever we believe in, if it's for the good of another then let it be saith
and bury the infelicitous insomniac wraith for natural optimism to smother
there can be no other way than the one before you now
but the path inseminated produces no finer offspring than love
the love of the life given, liven, forever striven thereof
herewith a homely tome; Spring's residue from nature's forbearing bough.
by anglia24
10h20: 19/05/2008
©2008anglia24
a fleeting presence etched in sunlight — the echo of someone just passing by. no face, no footsteps, only the soft weight of absence on a worn city wall.
The rendering of your emotional highway has no barriers?
what do your deepest fears cross and encounter?
is there cherishment upon the way that feeds your heart?
picking moments with which the Soul is eaten, in part
is it the deliverer, the healer, the persecutor impart
smoothly surfaced into the light of day passing
a room, destiny, space, in time, rivers flowing
still in mind, awakening the emotive checklist of strife
recording movements and controlling daily schedules
watching every living matter, is this what you call life??
bear in mind what you simply cannot bear to face
with eyes closed, the entitled apparition becomes real
a chest note unspoken, which designs a noted bas-relief
filled with emotional spirit and natural purulency
go beyond the norm, look further afield, inherit more belief
taking your hand, reinvigorating this life shared
second to none and afraid no more, seize the willowed moment!
behold the veranda of opportunity and purest veracity
entering such a thalamus of hidden and untold dreams
here we feel the world in our hands within plentiful capacity
there is no wrong in a oneness of love, a oneness of spirit
where Nature is present, life abounds in surviving heartbeats
theurgic possibilities astride hermetic touches advancing
where breaths become deeper and silently longing
forever becomes the present of predestined-eternity's glancing
we are the insight of ourselves when open to heavenly calling
into our destiny we strive purely, future surrendered today
as the past catches up with the forgiveness of time itself
we're bold enough to go where our resistance never dared step
a shell of time, and only time will tell where we may tread ourself
are we to remain in fate's shadow, or shall we reflect glory -
on our own offering of light and illumination unto our present?
leaving a prosaic society aside, let your spirit touch it's potential
realise and embrace it, share and reach the four corners of your soul
such propensity of jubilant goodness within every heart existential.
by anglia24
13h35: 20/02/2008
©2008anglia24
Recent work from the ongoing Introspective Illumination project. My intent for this project is to explore themes of identity and mortality. I aim to explore how our identity is influenced by the spaces we inhabit and our connection to them. Additionally, I want to engage with existential questions about existence, impermanence, and the passage of time. By closely observing and collaborating with the spaces I inhabit—considering their colors, light, form, and texture—I create starting points for self-exploration, reflection, and deeper understanding.
For Israelis, politics is a tool for realizing what they believe to be their "historical rights" and ensuring the survival of a nation that faces repeated existential threats. Here are some key elements that demonstrate the inextricable link between politics and history in Israel
Israeli political leaders, such as Benjamin Netanyahu, frequently use history—including the politicization of antisemitism—to strengthen their political positions and dominate the national narrative. The history of major parties like the Likud Party is also closely tied to the roots of right-wing ideology, which focuses on land acquisition based on historical claims.