View allAll Photos Tagged existential
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
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.
After realizing that he is going to spend the next seven years in the swamp, the Charming Prince had an existential crisis.
Entry to Bio-Cup 2020. My Round 1 theme is amphibians.
Thanks to everybody who helped me with this entry!
a fleeting moment through the window. shadows of the present pass by, blurred and faceless, while the statue stands still, timeless and unmoved. a silent witness to all who come and go. between stone and shadow, past and present merge. a quiet reflection on memory and time.
..si nos vamos para el cielo o para el infierno | ...if we're going to heaven or hell |
Pues... la decisión de dónde vamos no depende de una respuesta simple. La verdadera pregunta es: ¿Estamos viviendo de una manera que nos permita tener confianza en nuestro destino?
El camino al cielo o al infierno se construye con cada elección. Cultiva la confianza en ti mismo y en tus acciones para encontrar la paz interior.
Ahora bien, la idea del cielo y el infierno es un tema complejo y personal. Tal vez sea más importante vivir con integridad y confianza en que estamos haciendo lo mejor que podemos.Así que en lugar de preocuparnos por un destino final, enfoquémonos en construir una vida llena de significado y confianza. Resulta que la felicidad verdadera se encuentra en el camino, no solo en el destino.
En resumen: la confianza en nosotros mismos y en un poder superior es lo que nos guía. Cultivando esa confianza, podemos encontrar la serenidad que buscamos.
“The rocks, the air, everything speaking with audible voice or silent; joyful, wonderful, enchanting, banishing weariness and sense of time. No longing for anything now or hereafter…”
–John Muir (My first summer in the Sierra)
The Wawona tunnel view is the iconic Yosemite overlook, visited by an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people per day during the height of the tourist season (NPS website). It was therefore somewhat of a mild disbelief to see the dark overlook totally deserted on my way to the valley from the glacier point. It was past midnight and the air was filled with smoky whiff of several ongoing forest fires ignited by recent lightning strikes in the valley. Past the valley, behind the cathedral rocks, the waning gibbous moon sauntered towards the sky full of shy stars, revealing the swirling mist all around. The dreamy mist pampered those iconic granite peaks poignantly. Slowly, faint psalms of nearby waterfalls grew in my ears as the rest fell silent. The silence was everything he said it would be; ‘enchanting, banishing weariness and sense of time’. It also banished inherent urges to fit in with people, places, situations and times. As time meandered along that moonlit amphitheater of mind-numbing silence, the peace felt equally real and ethereal. Existential desires tamed down like a mountain creek in a meadow as his words echoed somewhere nearby in mute silence… ‘no longing for anything now or hereafter…', only wanting to ‘...cuddle down on the forest floor and die like the leaves and flowers, and like them leave no unsightly remains calling for burial’.
I want to take the time to humbly thank my partner in my 365. I owe better than 90% of the laughs and ruined keyboards from my 365 project to Kim. My 365 project would be a somber dark place without her.
Kim has been a fixture in my humble 365 project for two years now. When I am drained of ideas, she refuels me. When I am to tired to continue she kicks me. When I am down, she inspires me. She's not a muse. She's a co-conspirator. She's funny, intelligent, beautiful and daring. But most of all, she's my friend. She is the best.
We're Here! : The Three Stooges Existential Balloon Factory
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Rovingian Council - A Universe of Free Spiritual Forms by Daniel Arrhakis (2026)
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A Universe of Free Spiritual Forms
In the Rovingian cosmology, everything in nature and the Universe is imbued with spirit in a vision of a vibrant cosmos, where matter is not inanimate, but permeated by consciousness and spiritually timelessly connected.
Each Being or Entity possesses a unique spiritual form that has the right to exist, to evolve and is endowed with free will.
Here are some points for reflection on this vibrant cosmology:
1. Matter as Conscious Energy
In this model, the distinction between "organic" and "inorganic" becomes merely a matter of density or frequency. If matter is not inanimate, then an atom, a star, or a mountain are not just objects, but subjects.
Vibration: The idea of a vibrant cosmos suggests that reality is a continuous flow, where "solidity" is merely a perception of our human scale.
Consciousness: Consciousness would not be a byproduct of the brain, but a fundamental property of the very fabric of the universe.
2. Singularity and the Right to Existence
By stating that each entity possesses a "unique spiritual form," you touch on a crucial point of cosmic ethics:
If each entity has the intrinsic right to exist, the negligent exploitation or destruction of nature ceases to be an ecological error and becomes a spiritual violation. This establishes a democracy of forms, where the human being is not at the top of the pyramid, but a participant among equals in terms of existential value.
3. Free Will at All Scales
This is perhaps the most radical concept of this vision. Attributing free will to all spiritual forms suggests that:
Evolution and natural processes are not merely mechanical or random, but the result of small and large choices and interests of each being.
The universe can thus be seen as a creative and open system, in constant co-creation, where everything that exists is interdependent but at the same time possesses existential and creative freedom!
By elevating matter to the status of consciousness, this perspective transforms ecology and politics into something sacred.
If each atom and each being possesses a "unique spiritual form" and free will, oppression ceases to be merely a social error and becomes a violation of the fundamental laws of the universe.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Um Universo de Formas Espirituais Livres
Na cosmologia rovingiana, tudo na natureza e no Universo está imbuído de espírito, numa visão de um cosmos vibrante, onde a matéria não é inanimada, mas sim permeada pela consciência e espiritualmente conectada de forma intemporal.
Cada Ser ou Entidade possui uma forma espiritual única que tem o direito de existir, de evoluir e é dotada de livre-arbítrio.
Eis alguns pontos de reflexão sobre este cosmologia vibrante:
1. A Matéria como Energia Consciente
Neste modelo, a distinção entre "orgânico" e "inorgânico" torna-se apenas uma questão de densidade ou frequência. Se a matéria não é inanimada, então um átomo, uma estrela ou uma montanha não são apenas objetos, mas sujeitos.
Vibração: A ideia de um cosmos vibrante sugere que a realidade é um fluxo contínuo, onde a "solidez" é apenas uma percepção da nossa escala humana.
Consciência: A consciência não seria um subproduto do cérebro, mas uma propriedade fundamental do próprio tecido do universo.
2. A Singularidade e o Direito à Existência
Ao afirmar que cada ente possui uma "forma espiritual única", tocas num ponto crucial da ética cósmica:
Se cada entidade tem o direito intrínseco de existir, a exploração ou a destruição negligente da natureza deixa de ser um erro ecológico para se tornar uma violação espiritual. Estabelece-se assim uma democracia das formas, onde o ser humano não é o topo da pirâmide, mas um participante entre iguais em termos de valor existencial.
3. Livre-Arbítrio em Todas as Escalas
Este é talvez o conceito mais radical desta visão. Atribuir o livre-arbítrio a todas as formas espirituais sugere que:
A evolução e os processos naturais não são apenas mecânicos ou aleatórios, mas o resultado de pequenas e grandes escolhas e interesse de cada ser.
O universo pode ser assim visto como um sistema criativo e aberto, em constante cocriação e em que tudo o que existe é interdependente mas ao mesmo tempo possui liberdade existencial e criadora !
Ao elevar a matéria ao estatuto de consciência, esta perspetiva transforma a ecologia e a política em algo sagrado. Se cada comportamento e cada ser possui uma "forma espiritual única" e livre-arbítrio, a opressão deixa de ser um mero erro social e passa a ser uma violação das leis fundamentais do universo.
I almost didn't make it to this round of Food Court (again). I'm a melancholy soul often swept up by the tides of existential dread. To calm my spirit, I make mesh food. This month I've made some Honeybell & Navel Oranges. Not bento, sorry. But they ARE super cute and perfect for the New Year. I don't know about your personal New Years' traditions but in my household, we always have to have round fruits during the turn of the new year. Specifically, plenty of oranges. They signify money (their golden color), and wealth, and prosperity; and I'm all about that, and any excuse to indulge in some juicy honeybells. They make a nice touch to any virtual room needing a little bit of a stylish citrus kick. Orange is also my mom's favorite color. She says it's a happy color and swears by it, painting her entire kitchen a loud bright orange. Love the fruit, not a fan of the walls.
Find the Juicy Honeybells & Navel Oranges at The Food Court Event hosted by Ramadiez Carter of PewPew! starting January 5th, 12 PM SLT.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fawns/136/132/31
Oh, and there's also a 50% OFF SALE of Select Previous Food Releases at The Food Court Event from your favorite bistro boutique. If you like saving money and dig some good eats, pick some up for yourself or a friend on sale for the entire month.
The Nomad Monks - Leaving Comfort by Daniel Arrhakis (2025)
The Nomad Monks - Leaving Comfort
The Nomad Monks follow the example of Franciscan monks, pilgrims and wanderers, following the example of Saint Francis, who walked through Italy and to the Holy Land.
Although different in their spirituality, they aim to leave comfort, explore paths, discover sacred places that were landmarks of human spirituality, many in danger of disappearing, catalog sites, record and analyze mystical forms or symbols, contact and dialogue with local religious authorities, they consult local documents and libraries, discover horizons, learn from other cultures, collect stories and legends, but above all, reach out to those who seek them... and need help.
Each monk has a life path that is their mystical itinerary, their destiny as an individual in their brief passage through each existential cycle.
When they gather in the Rovingian Council (Every Five Years) they share their experiences, exchange knowledge, and their most important records will become part of the Great Rovingian Spiritual Guide - "The Mystical Itinerary of Rites" .
"Here we are, in the middle of our existential reckoning.
Long ago we all traded, regretfully abdicated,
Self-sovereignty
Charge, our command, and means,
Trade it all for bread and circus."
-Maynard-
“In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone.” The world is quiet here; and the words of the American existential psychologist Rollo May seem to ring truer than ever. Snowshoeing on the Athabasca Glacier. Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
www.robertdowniephotography.com
Love Life, Love Photography
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdl7aMsNmFg&feature=related
Yo Que Pasa .... Gare Du Nord
Ever wonder which path ?
Perhaps towards the light
He said...
Guy
SHE - Dorotea Saykaly
Choreographer : Dorotea Saykaly
Revolving around identity while tripping on doubt, the solo SHE draws inspiration from the novel The Passion according to G.H. by Clarice Lispector – in which the female protagonist, alone in a room, confusingly and sensually talks through her existential and spiritual crisis.
Through movement, distortion and an interview with a phantom interrogator, the work morphs in and out of different states and proposes looking at a questioning body through a female lens.
Choreography, Written and Performed by Dorotea Saykaly
Music: Riku Mäkinen
Costumes Conception: Carla Romagnoli
Lighting Designer: Erwann Bernard
Outside Eye and Consultant: Eve Garnier
#SHE
We're Here! : Existential - Picturing the questions {and vice versa}
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Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies is a 2014 book by the Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom from the University of Oxford. It argues that if machine brains surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could replace humans as the dominant lifeform on Earth. Sufficiently intelligent machines could improve their own capabilities faster than human computer scientists, and the outcome could be an existential catastrophe for humans.
Photo By: Cate Infinity
"Pray, what light through yonder existential abyss breaks? For in this mortal coil, we are but players upon life's stage, each striving to find meaning amidst the tempest of existence, where fate's cruel hand guides our every step, and our souls doth wrestle with the eternal question: to be or not to be."
Music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfjHLJqcDDU&list=OLAK5uy_kwYw...
after Magritte
original title was "look at the wall" as kind of a joke but i remember the existential painting series by magritte called "the human condition". they blew me away! this has a similar idea.
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Street photography from Glasgow, Scotland.
Previously unpublished shot from September 2020.
On 21st February 2022 the UK Government announced the complete abandonment of public health measures to protect its citizens, especially the most vulnerable, during the continued coronavirus pandemic, the worst pandemic for over 100 years.
Removing free and freely available testing and rules requiring isolation of the infected is nothing less than a policy of discrimination against over 3 million clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable citizens of the nation.
Those vulnerable to increased risk of death and debilitating severe long-term disease from Covid-19 will now face an existential crisis when leaving their home.
Shopping will be dangerous, medical appointments will be a deadly place of airborne pathogens and dentistry will be impossibly dangerous. Just a few examples.
The Omicron variant is, through data from many countries, proving to be more damaging to people through blood clots than previous variants. Heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms and strokes are rising in those far past their infectious period. There is clinical evidence of brain damage from Covid-19 and growing evidence of testicular damage. Covid-19 is a disease of endothelial tissue and blood clotting - it always has been. There will be huge long term consequences and any damage from one infection will make an individual more vulnerable to a Covid-19 reinfection.
The vulnerable and extremely vulnerable people in this are not an exclusive group or club. Every single human is just one illness, infection or injury away from becoming clinically vulnerable themselves. It can happen to you - at any time.
Reducing the vulnerable population to an 'acceptable loss' in a public health crisis is nothing short of eugenics. Every death adds to a tally of democide.
A civilised society protects it's most vulnerable.
A selfish society does nothing.
Under these measures we are all vulnerable to Covid-19.
Yes I am angry. I, however, follow the science. The peer reviewed science by the majority of highly esteemed medics and scientists around the world. I listen to anecdotal evidence of the millions of people suffering from post-Covid disease, some for over 2 years without improvement.
The removal of protective health measures (*they were NEVER restrictions) is nothing more than a populist move and not only goes against all scientific fact, it defies basic common sense.
Please stay safe my Flickr friends and thank you if you took the time to read my thoughts on this. Thank you.
Solitude
While studying photography in Pathshala, I developed new technical and aesthetic skills at an academic level and gained a fresh perspective on seeing the world around me. However, I still felt that something was missing. That missing piece was the ability to articulate aesthetics through language and to experience aesthetics with the basis of life itself.
During this time, I developed a deep desire to understand philosophy. Within a few months, I decided to pursue academic studies in philosophy. There were two main reasons behind this decision: first, to gain knowledge of philosophy, and second, to reshape my photographic view point through a philosophical angle—essentially, to integrate aesthetics with philosophy.
As I delved into this complex subject, I found myself particularly influenced by three philosophical ideologies: the philosophy of Nihilism, Engels and Marx’s materialism, and Gautama Buddha’s theory of Functionalism. These perspectives began shaping my understanding of life, humanity, society, and aesthetics. My way of seeing the world started to transform.
Nihilism and materialist philosophy argue that humans are not a special species. According to Buddha, life itself is full of suffering. Since humans are not inherently special and life has no predetermined purpose, people often experience restlessness. My photographs reflect this idea through landscapes, where excessive negative space in the frame symbolizes despair, purposelessness, and solitude in human life. Most people live under the illusion that they are unique compared to the surroundings. This belief prevents them from feeling truly connected to nature.
Lalon once said, "He and Lalon exist together, yet they are separated by infinite distance." Even though humans exist within nature, they somehow remain detached from it. In my frames, vast negative spaces with tiny human figures symbolize this very detachment. Here, nature is immense, and humans are small—serving as a reminder that humanity is not any superior to nature.
The mist in my photographs enhances the minimalist effect, further detaching people from their surroundings. The presence of human-made structures in the background represents our ongoing struggle to prove our superiority. However, the blurred, barely visible architecture behind the fog reflects the failure of this pursuit. Humanity is trapped in this endless contradiction, deepening its existential despair. Meanwhile, the fog thickens, and the distance between humans and nature continues to grow.
All rights reserved
This was part of my Gay Pride week coverage. Hope yours was a Happy Pride Week!
From an NOWPUBLIC ezine article I recently published: "Sexual fetishism, Abu Ghraib and the razor's edge of liberty......." members.nowpublic.com/sexual_fetishism_abu_ghraib_and_raz...
When I walked through the Folsom Street East XI fetishist street festival entrance, I paid and noticed the well-built leathered-up guy taking my money looking at me with a small knowing smile.
As he gave me a pink stick-on label he said: "I suppose you were waiting for me to ask you where you'd like me to 'stick this'"..... That got a smile out of me, that's for sure :~)> I didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be a painless experience.....in fact, a special "New York City kind of moment".....
The event was sponsored by the Gay Male S&M Activists (GMSMA) organization which bills itself as the world's largest organization of men seriously interested in safe, sane, and consensual s/m. gmsma.org/ The festival itself raised monies for various charititable activities including the prevention of homophobic based violence/hate crimes.
While what I saw was not my particular idea of eroticized fun, I did have platonic fun taking photos...... Any arousal I might have experienced was born out of a curiosity about how we humans manage to create and maintain a sense of community around just about anything.....
I felt like a tourist and, in my mind, somewhat complicit. I found myself looking about trying to pick-out the (more or less) obvious posuers from what might be the scary "hard-core" types. As I did this, I free associated to recent events.
I didn't see see any anti-Bush references to torture in the Abu Ghraib prison incident, but those CNN scenes did flash before me.
I mused whether, in this context, such blatant references could possibly be considered in "bad taste" or a show of solidarity with torture? The folks here were clearly having fun and on this New York City Sunday afternoon no one was being threatened or hurt. Liberty is such a razor's edge...... When, if ever, does an alternative lifestyle become complicit with human psychic abuse?
I wondered: what is it about police work or the context of war that incites "normal" heterosexual men to endulge in homoeroticized power plays in the name of fighting crime and or terror? What is the existential phenomenon behind eroticizing death and suffering?
Sooo many questions........ So-ooo, here's what the Wikipedia oracle had to say about sexual fetishism........
The basic idea of sexual fetishism is sexual arousal and satisfaction through an inanimate object, the fetish. The concrete definitions are not only differing but even contradictory:
In psychology, fetishism is a paraphilia, a sexual psychological disorder.
The diagnosis of fetishism is justified only if the additional criteria of paraphilia are fulfilled, above all only if the affected person suffers or harms other people.
According to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), fetishism is the fixation on an inanimate object, while according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), fetishism is the fixation on an inanimate object or a body part.
In common speech, any fixation on a singular inanimate object, body part, body feature or sexual practice is called fetishism.
For more of my photos see: www.flickr.com/photos/artedelares/sets/72157600464007609/
The sun is a generous lord | It shares its light |
With all things Great or Small.
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.
This Japanese red fox approached me in a small resort on Hokkaido during a spontaneous portrait shooting. He was curious enough to get that close, to look at me for a few seconds and then to stroll on, well aware of his beauty and mythological status in Japan.
Hummeln im Arsch?
von Helmut Höge
Als Aushilfshausmeister hat man Anspruch auf eine anständige Mittagspause. Diese nutzte ich heute, um a) im Buchladen “Schwarze Risse” die neue Marx-Dogma-Zeitschrift “Exit” käuflich zu erwerben. Es gibt darin einen Aufsatz über Alfred Sohn-Rethel von Eske Bockelmann und einen über De Sade - “unser Freund?” von Anselm Jappe. Und b) um auf dem Bethlehemskirchfriedhof am Mehringdamm zu kucken, wo die Hummeln bleiben. Überall blüht es schon , aber ich habe noch keine einzige Hummel gesehen. Dabei kann die Königin schon bei Temperaturen ab 2 °C fliegen und Arbeiterinnen ab 6 °C. Dafür haben sie ja den Pelz und die Fähigkeit, durch Vibrationen der Brustmuskulatur Wärme zu erzeugen.
Auf dem Friedhof, obwohl auf fast jedem Grab Blumen blühten, war kein einziges Insekt zu entdecken,dabei schien die Sonne und es war schon richtig warm. Schließlich fragte ich eine Frau, die sich gerade über ein Grab beugte, um einige neue Blumen einzupflanzen. Die Frau erschrak, als ich sie ansprach. Und als sie sich umdrehte, erschrak ich etwas, denn es war Natascha Ungeheuer - und sie pflegte gerade das Grab ihres 2006 gestorbenen Lebenspartners Johannes Schenk. Ich wußte nicht einmal, dass man ihn in Berlin beerdigt hatte. Sie hätte in diesem Jahr schon alle möglichen Insekten dort gesehen - Wespen, Bienen und auch Hummeln, meinte Natascha Ungeheuer. Wegen des Wetters sei in diesem Jahr nur alles ein bißchen durcheinander geraten. Ich bedankte mich für die Auskunft und verabschiedete mich, damit sie sich wieder dem Grab von Johannes und vielleicht ihrer Trauer um ihn zuwenden konnte. Die beiden wohnten früher in der Dresdnerstraße in Kreuzberg 36, wo Johannes in einer Fabriketage so etwas wie ein Privatcafé betrieb. Während die Studentenbewegung wesentlich die Gegend links und rechts des Kurfürstendamms sowie den FU-Campus in Dahlem bespielte, hatten die beiden mit ihrem “Kreuzberger Straßentheater” sich auf den späteren “Problembezirk” konzentriert.
Natascha ist Malerin, ihren Stil könnte man vielleicht als romantischen oder naiven Realismus bezeichnen. Das spiegelte sich auch in der Gestaltung des Grabs von Johannes wieder. In den Siebzigerjahren gestaltete sie regelmäßig die erste Seite der von Tilmann Fichter gegründeten Zeitschrift “Der lange Marsch”. Der Titel spielte auf den “langen Marsch” der Befreiungsarmee von Mao tse tung an, der dann von Rudi Dutschke und Hans-Jürgen Krahl in die Vertikale umgedacht worden war. Die beiden “Studentenführer” wollten damit die Karriereleiter der Studenten gewissermaßen politisieren, indem sie ihnen nahelegten, ihren bevorstehenden “langen Marsch durch die Institutionen” subversiv anzugehen. Allerdings gaben sie ihnen dabei auch zu bedenken - auf der SDS-Delegiertenkonferenz 1967: “Das Sich-Verweigern in den eigenen Institutionsmilieus erfordert Guerilla-Mentalität, sollen nicht Integration und Zynismus die nächste Station sein.”
Zehn Jahre später machte der SDSler Tilmann Fichter daraus wie gesagt erst eine Zeitung: “Der lange Marsch” und ging dann selbst mit gutem Beispiel voran - durch die ganze SPD-Hierarchie. Anders als z.B. die Trotzkisten “integrierte” er sich jedoch darin - und fiel damit noch hinter Ernst Jüngers antiamerikanischem Individualpartisan zurück, den dieser nach dem verlorenen Krieg als einen “Waldgang” skizziert hatte, als den er Martin Heideggers “Holzweg” umdeutete - zur Existential-Utopie eines Vereinsamung riskierenden Unbeugsamen. “Der Wald ist der Ort des Widerstands, wo neue Formen der Freiheit aufgeboten werden gegen neue Formen der Macht,” so faßte Jüngers Verlag dessen “Waldgang” im Klappentext 1951 zusammen. Carl Schmitt kritisierte daran das Unpolitische: “Dann kann schließlich jeder Einzelgänger oder Non-Konformist ein Partisan genannt werden, sofern er auf eigene Rechnung und Gefahr Position bezieht und Partei nimmt”.
Johannes Schenk war ein Dichter, er stammte aus Worpswede, wo er sich noch oft aufhielt und einen Wohnwagen besaß. Er hatte Seeman gelernt und als Brunnenbauer gearbeitet. Immer mal wieder baute er sich ein Boot aus. Aus dessen Namen wurde dann der Titel eines Buches, das bei Wagenbach erschien. Einmal schipperte er von der Lesum aus mit seinem Schiff “Jona” in Richtung Casablanca, sein Boot kenterte jedoch in der Wesermündung bei Bremerhaven. Ein Frachter fischte ihn mitsamt seinem Schiff raus - und brachte beide sicher nach Marokko. Dort wurde Johannes aber schon bald so krank, dass er das Land verlassen mußte und wieder in Worpswede landete. So habe ich die “Jona”-Geschichte jedenfalls in Erinnerung. Berühmt waren vor allem seine Jacob-von-Hoddis-Vorträge.
Johannes Schenk hatte eine tolle Mutter, Heide Weichberger, die mit sehr interessanten Männern zusammenlebte. Einer war Johannes’ Vater - eine Art Landstreicher während der Nazizeit: Er veröffentlichte vor dem Krieg mehrere populäre Bücher über Pflanzen - u.a.. “Die Schwertlilie - Königin unter den Lippenblütern” - und eins über Arthur Rimbaud. 1945 machten ihn die Amerikaner zum Bürgermeister von Worpswede. Er war der einzige unbelastete Intellektuelle dort. Er trank jedoch sehr viel und verlor bald die Lust am Regieren. Dennoch empfahl sich sein Sohn Johannes, der eigentlich Seemann war, aber 1961 über Fürsprache von Erich Fried als Dichter von seinen Eltern akzeptiert wurde - als “Bürgermeisterkandidat” der mittlerweile eingegangenen Worpsweder “Künstlerpartei” - mit der Begründung: Er sei mindestens so trinkfest wie sein Vater. (1)
Ähnliches gilt auch für den Klavierstimmer Oskar Huth, der auf dem selben Friedhof wie Johannes Schenk und E.T.A.Hoffmann beerdigt wurde.
Der Weddinger Klavierstimmer war vielen von uns ein Vorbild. Im Merve-Verlag erschien unlängst der “Überlebenslauf” von Oskar Huth. Diese Kriegserzählung verhält sich zu Klaus Heinrichs Doktorarbeit “Versuch über die Schwierigkeit, Nein zu sagen” wie Hegels “Phänomenologie” zu Marx’ “Kapital”. Der “Überlebenslauf” ist jedoch, wie auch schon das vorangegene Buch zu Ehren Oskar Huths “Für den Fall der Nüchternheit” (1978 erschienen), genaugenommen ein Buch über Oskar Huth: Seine “Ansichten und Erinnerungen”, aufgezeichnet vom Maler Alf Trenk, der ebenso wie der Autor des ersten Buches ein Fan des Klavierstimmers Oskar Huth ist. Es gibt mindestens drei Fankreise in Berlin: in den Kneipen “Lusiada”, bei “Hoek” und im “Zwiebelfisch” am Savignyplatz. Nur dort konnte übrigens bis 1994 der “Überlebenslauf” käuflich erworben werden. Der Begriff der “Balance” ist darin zentral. Insbesondere gilt dies für die “Nazizeit” des 1946 von den Amerikanern zum “Evident of Anti-Nazi-Activities” erklärten Einzelkämpfers. Oskar Huth selbst spricht 1975 von einer “artistischen Balancemeierei - unvorstellbar!” Und erklärt sie wie folgt: “Was mir dazu geholfen haben muß, durchzukommen, ist wohl, daß mich die Leute hinsichtlich meiner Nervenfestigkeit, meiner physischen Kraft und (wenn ich’s mal ein bißchen eitel sagen darf) auch, was die Sache eines gewissen Witzes angeht, unterschätzt haben…” Später wird man ihm immerhin eine Stelle im Kultursenat antragen. Der “freischaffende Kunsttrinker” zieht es jedoch vor, selbständig zu bleiben. Im Gegensatz zu dem Mitbegründer der Freien Universität, Klaus Heinrich, der 1971 ebenda Professor für Religionsphilosophie wird.
In dessen bereits 1964 vorgelegter Habilitationsschrift, “Versuch über die Schwierigkeit, nein zu sagen”, geht es recht eigentlich um eine “Balance” des Protests - die sich heute (1982 erfolgte eine Neuausgabe im Verlag Roter Stern) wie ein vorweggenommenes Resümee der 68er-Protestbewegung liest. Nicht einmal der schon unvermeidlich gewordene “Exkurs über Buddhismus als Ausweg” fehlt in diesem “Frühwerk”, das den “induktiven Verfahren” den Vorzug gibt, denn “erst die Mittel heiligen den Zweck!”
Oskar Huth war pro forma als Zeichner im Botanischen Garten angestellt, 1941 tauchte er mit falschen Papieren unter. Am Breitenbachplatz betrieb er dann im Keller eine Druckwerkstatt, in der er Pässe und Lebensmittelkarten herstellte. Damit ermöglichte er fast sechzig Menschen, überwiegend Juden, die sich in Berlin versteckt hatten, das Überleben, dazu gehörte ab 1944 auch nach dem fehlgeschlagenen Hitler-Attentat untergetauchte Freiherr von Hammerstein: “Alles hing natürlich an einem seidenen Faden. Wer wirklich Leute versteckte, das waren die Proletarier untereinander. Die Ärmsten halfen den Armen. Und die Leute, die wirklich Möglichkeiten hatten - da war nichts, gar nichts.”
Tagtäglich war Oskar Huth zu Fuß unterwegs auf Buttertour zu den Versteckten, er selbst spricht von seinem “monsterhaften Latsch durch die Stadt” - zeitweilig auch bewaffnet. Einen besonders “widerwärtigen Nazi und Einpeitscher” brachte er sogar um: in den letzten Tagen des Krieges in einem Luftschutzkeller, wo der, im Rollstuhl sitzend, alle dort Schutzsuchenden herumkommandierte. Oskar Huth und ein arbeitsverpflichteter Franzose redeten dem Nazi schließlich ein: “Da hinten wär noch eine Tür offen. Wohin sie führt, das wollten wir jetzt mal ausprobieren. Er sollte mal mitkommen, die Sache überschauen. Wir nahmen den also mit. Aber diese Tür, die schon heiß war - dahinter gab es nichts mehr, da brannte es schon. Die machten wir auf, und weg mit dem Stuhl. So. Da war einer weniger da.”
1989 meinte Oskar Huth im Café Hegel dennoch: “Aber der Spielraum, aus sich was anderes zu machen, als einem prädestiniert ist, der ist ein lächerlich geringer.” Auch über die ewige Wiederkehr ist er sich - am Ende des Buches - nicht sicher: “Wenn es nach diesem Dasein nichts mehr gibt, dann hab’ ich versäumt, etliche Kanaillen abzumurksen…” Oskar Huth starb 1991, fünf Jahre vor Jes Petersen, in dessen Galerie in der Goethstraße Oskar fast täglich einige alkoholische Erfrischungsgetränke zu sich genommen hatte. R.W. Schnell ließ ihn in der “Geisterbahn” barocke Monologe halten, Matthias Koeppel pries ihn in “Starckdeutsch”, G.B.Fuchs schrieb Verse über den Freund…” In Thomas Kapielskis Buch “Der Einzige und sein Offenbarungseid” kommt Oskar Huth sogar selbst zu Wort. In einigen weiteren Berlinensia kommen beide - Johannes Schenk und Oskar Huth - vor., z.B. in Aras Örens Roman “Savignyplatz”.
Der Dichter Johannes hielt sich jedoch wie erwähnt oft in Worpswede auf, wo er in den letzten Jahren auch abstinent wurde, jedenfalls sah ich ihn dort stets Mineralwasser trinken. Über diesen Ort gäbe es ebenfalls viel zu sagen.
Das norddeutsche Teufelsmoor mit seiner Geestinsel Weyerberg, auf der das “Künstlerdorf” Worpswede liegt, geriet in der Nachkriegszeit ins Visier der Politik. Im Dorf lebten jedoch seit langem schon derart viele Künstler, die sich von der Moorlandschaft inspirieren ließen, dass sie selbstbewußt genug waren - als eine der ersten Bürgerinitiativen in der neuen Bundesrepublik den Widerstand gegen alle “Projektpläne” - abgesehen von den agrarischen - zu organisieren. Carl Einstein nannte speziell die “nordische Kunst” der berühmten Moormalerin Paula Becker-Modersohn, aber auch die Werke ihrer Kollegen im Dorf verächtlich “Worpswederei”. Heute wird der “staatlich anerkannte Erholungsort” mit dem weiten Himmel überm Teufelsmoor, das keins mehr ist, täglich von 5.000 Touristen besucht. 130 Künstler leben nun dort sowie 70 Millionäre. Worpswede wimmelt von “Museen, Kunsttreffs, Galeriepassagen und Malschulen”. Es ist wohl der einzige deutsche Ort, in dem am zentralen Parkplatz statt eines Gebührenautomaten ein Bronzebuddha lacht. Noch immer gilt hier die These des ersten “Verschönerungsvereins”: Je mehr Kunst desto weniger Polizei! (Die öffentliche Toilette ist doppelt so groß wie die Wache.) Es gibt ferner zwei kreative Managerschulungszentren und zwei Bordelle, eins für leitende Angestellte und eins für Freischaffende, sowie zwei Atelierhäuser: eins von oben (vom Land) und eins von unten (vom Gatten einer Künstlerin) initiiert: Martin Kausche. Die gesamte Dorf-Atmo wird von humanistisch-musisch gebildeten Frauen mit grauen Haarsträhnen geprägt, die sich nun nach Ehe und Kinderaufzucht der Kunst widmen. Erwähnt sei die Worpsweder Lampenfabrikantin Barbara Lippold, die gerade - mit 61 - eine Töpferlehre begann.
Die markantesten Gebäude wurden in den zwanziger Jahren im Auftrag des Kaffee-HAG-Gründers und Erfinders des coffeinfreien Kaffees Ludwig Roselius vom Bildhauer Bernhard Hoetger entworfen, der erst für die Arbeiterbewegung künstlerisch tätig war und sich dann - vergeblich - Hitler andiente.
Während der Gründer der Künstlerkommune, Heinrich Vogler, nach Rußland auswanderte, wo sein Sohn Jan eine ML- Professur bekam, wurde sein Mitkommunarde Uphoff während der Nazizeit “Kulturwart” vor Ort, und der “erste Worpsweder”, Fritz Mackensen, ließ sich mit “Major” anreden. Er hatte während der “Systemzeit” ein Gewehr erfunden, das um die Ecke schoß und das er als Patent an die Firma Zeiss verkaufte, die es dann nach England weiterverscherbelte. Mackensen brachte das wenig später die Partei-Rüge ein, den Feind unterstützt zu haben. Das Gewehr tauchte erst 1965 in dem Mexiko-Revolutionsfilm “Viva Maria” wieder auf, nach dem sich dann einige Jahre später eine Münchner Kommune benannte.
Nach dem Krieg war es zunächst wieder eine Künstlerin gewesen, mit der Worpswede in Schwung kam: die Keramikerin Heide Weichberger. Sie war erst mit dem Mexiko-Exilanten und Vogler-Schwiegersohn Gustav Regler liiert, dann mit dem Botaniker und Vagabunden Gustav Schenk, und schließlich mit dem Maler Philip Weichberger, mit dem sie einen weiteren Sohn zeugte: Tobias Weichberger. Er wurde ebenfalls Maler - und lebte in Worpswede, bis er 1998 starb. Wichtig für das Dorf war ferner der “Edelkommunist” und Galerist Fritz Netzel. In den fünfziger Jahren gründete er die oben erwähnte erste Bürgerinitiative: Sie verhinderte den Abbau des Weyerbergs durch ein Kalksandsteinwerk und wandelte sich dann in eine “unabhängige Wählergemeinschaft”, mit der die Nutzung des Teufelsmoors als “Nato-Bombenabwurfplatz” abgewehrt wurde, ebenso dann auch der SPD-Plan, aus den Hamme-Wiesen ein “Surf- und Badeparadies” zu machen. Diese “heimliche Regierung” wurde jedoch 1972 mit der SPD-Gebietsreform, die der bäuerlichen CDU aus den Dörfern eine Mehrheit bescherte, ausgebremst. Erst 1986 versuchten die “Künstler” - im von Vogler erbauten Bahnhof - einen neuen Anlauf, der sich diesmal auch gegen die “Trittbrettfahrer” (die Schickimicki-Kunstladenbesitzer) richtete, ihre Partei kam diesmal jedoch nicht mehr über den Stammtisch hinaus. 1994 starb Netzel. Aus seiner Galerie wurde eine Stiftung. Als Ortsberühmtheit gilt außerdem noch Frau Laves, die Schmuckschmiedin: Zu ihren “Kursen” - mit echten Sufis, indischen Yogis und dem Indianer Sunbear - reisen authentische Frauen von weither an.
Zurück zu den Hummeln, die ich wie gesagt in diesem Jahr noch nicht gesehen habe...
Zurück zu Helmut Höge: Helmut Höge, taz-Autor der ersten Stunde, arbeitet im taz-Verlagshaus in der Berliner Rudi-Dutschke-Straße (vormals: Kochstraße) als Aushilfshausmeister. Zuletzt erschien von ihm der Reiseroman “Neurosibirsk” (Peter Engstler Verlag), in Vorbereitung ist eine “Anti -Darwin”- Anthologie (Kadmos-Verlag), seit seine Gedächtnisleistungen altersbedingt zurückgehen, zieht es ihn verstärkt ins “facility management“