I needed a break from studying so I set out to create a very specific image. The result was something entirely different, but to me that is what's so beautiful about creative expression. Intent is important when creating a photo but being open to new possibilities, to truly living in the moment and reacting fluidly to what is around you...Responding to the forces that surround you while you're creating - that is just as special.

This photo is rooted in two thoughts...The first is from one of my favourite movies, Chronicles of Narnia (I read the book a long time ago, I'm sure it's amazing but the visuals in the movie are incredible <3)...The image has to do with the scene where the little girl meets Mr. Tumnus and learns that winter has lasted for a long time. So that connects to the whimsical aspect of the photo. The second part is that this looks like an ad for something. It has that element of sexuality and smoking. The materialism that is symbolized represents how obsessive we have become over consumer goods, over trivial nonsense. The two girls face the same direction, and one even looks straight at the camera. The earth behind them is warm, green and lush but there is no way of knowing whether or not they are aware of this. They are huddling together for warmth. Ultimately, they are immersed in the lifeless cold of winter but there is always hope for summer and what summer represents :)

BTS shots are on my blog

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.

2019 aug 10

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm via extension tube

the last of the suns rays playing a tune on my guitar...maybe a little led zep

There's a feeling I get

when I look to the west,

And my spirit is crying for leaving

In my thoughts I have seen

rings of smoke through the trees,

And the voices of those who stand looking

Stairway to Heaven, one of the most well known rock classics. Like many, I've pondered the meaning of it's lyrics and finally realized it's not about materialism or religion it's really about shallow depth of field!

For ODC ~ warmth

Black Friday at the local Walmart.

Generations of shoppers sharing materialism.

It's a learned disease.

Part of the Walmart(ian) set.

“Finishing The Sea of Fertility makes me feel as if it is the end of the world.”

Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) is the most famous modern Japanese novelist for a reason completely unrelated to his writing. On November 25, 1970, angered by Japan’s abject acceptance of Western lifestyles and materialism in the post-war period, he led a group of disciples from the Tatenokai (楯の会, "Shield Society" - a civilian militia he had founded) to the military barracks in central Tokyo. He addressed the assembled soldiers hoping that he may incite them to a coup which would restore the power to the Emperor that had been taken away after the WW2 surrender. When it became clear they would not listen to his entreaties he then committed ritual suicide (Seppuku). It stunned the world, and though I was not yet out of primary school at that stage, I still remember the TV news broadcast.

Later I came to appreciate Mishima’s extraordinary writing, especially the novel based on the true account of a monk burning down the beautiful old wooden Temple of the Golden Pavilion (kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto in 1950. Now thankfully it has been rebuilt and remains one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

But Mishima, like most geniuses, was an extremely complicated man. A titanic intellectual with a driven personality, he was a fitness fanatic, an actor and film maker, and a passionate believer in restoring Japan to its once great spiritual and political power. He also believed that his literary art could ignite a spark of renewal to make Japan great again. If not for his political views he would almost certainly have won a Nobel Prize. No Japanese writer has ever been as prolific or as deeply understanding of world literature.

In 1985 a film directed by Paul Schrader tried to piece together this complicated life: “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters”. The sound track by Philip Glass is quite compelling. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima

To some “The Sea of Fertility” is Mishima’s greatest novel – comparable to Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. Consisting of four quartets, “Spring Snow”, “Runaway Horses”, “The Temple of Dawn” and “The Decay of the Angel”, it was completed in October 1970. And so it really did prefigure the end of the world for Yukio Mishima.

Also in this still life: Japanese pottery.

Nearly every one of the 47 prefectures in Japan makes their own unique ceramic ware, using locally available materials, from earthy unadorned clay bowls to highly decorative white porcelain. This great variety of Japanese ceramics tend to be named according to their place of origin, including Karatsu ware, Imari ware, Mino ware, and many more. You will also see the names written with the suffix yaki (焼), which means fired as in fired ceramic ware.

japanobjects.com/features/japanese-pottery

A Sake jug - Aizu-Hongo Ware (Fukushima).

"Aizu-Hongo ware is a traditional craft from the region of Aizu, in Fukushima prefecture, with a history of about four hundred years. Aizu-Hongo pottery, which is thought to have started during the Sengoku period (1467-1600), was patronized and promoted by the lord of the Aizu domain at the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868). Comprising both ceramics and porcelain, sometimes produced in the same kiln, Aizu-Hongo is area with the longest history of white porcelain production in northeastern Japan.

The differentiating feature of Aizu-Hongo-yaki (会津本郷焼) is its varied types of decoration including a blue ore named asbolite, traditional Japanese dyes, enamel, and western paints. Aizu-Hongo pottery tends to be very practical. It includes celadon and white porcelain, carbonization, as well as different textures and finishes such as glossy and matte."

japanobjects.com/features/japanese-pottery

Two small Japanese Imari porcelain bottle vases (c.1890).

These were made around the town of Arita, in Saga prefecture. “Imari ware is delicate and lightweight. Its fine transparent white porcelain, and its colors, indigo, bright red and sometimes gold, make it easily recognizable.” japanobjects.com/features/japanese-pottery

2019 july 30

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm via extension tube

2019 oct 29

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube

2019 oct 28

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube

Although the Industrial Revolution increased life expectancy, it also produced many negative consequences. As a result, we live in a society that has lost much of its roots and moral grounding. Therefore, we live unfulfilling lives. As technology continues to advance, we will witness more social disruption. We now live in an industrial-technological system, which we will not be able to turn back. As this system marches forward, we will lose our dignity and freedom—even our humanity.

We have become a society of leisure; we have become decadent. As a result, we have become bored, hedonistic, and demoralized. An individual must have meaningful goals in life, which they can ‘autonomously’ work toward—goals with real adversity and reward. In accomplishing such goals, a person finds fulfillment. In our modern society, we have lost much of our autonomy. We have been trained to be obedient to the system. We must follow ever-increasing bureaucratic rules and regulations. Nowadays, experts tell us what to do and how to think. We are cogs of the machine—we are under the direction and control of the system. Yet this is not healthy for human beings. We must have our own independence, so that we can build our lives by our own initiative. If there is little room for a person to exercise autonomy, they will feel insignificant. If they have the autonomy to attain meaningful goals, they will gain self-confidence. A society that cannot make/create/set or fulfill meaningful goals will become demoralized; they will suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority; they will suffer from depression, anxiety, and guilt; they will become frustrated, hostile, and unfriendly; they will become bored and pursue hedonistic pleasures in order to cope.

Many young people today lack goals. They cannot see themselves attaining enough financial stability to marry a spouse or raise a family. They cannot see themselves owning a house or having a future to look forward to. This results in demoralization and defeatism.

In the past, people had to truly survive. This took serious effort. They had to make tools and weapons. They had to hunt down an animal, kill it, butcher it, get it home, cook it, and eat it. How manly and satisfying! A man would find fulfillment in a lifetime of roaming and exploring the land, hunting wild game for his family. He would have many adventures. Yet in our modern society, it takes minimal effort to attain one’s basic needs. Today, we work dead-end jobs that are unsatisfying. They provide us with a paycheck, but they don’t provide us with real fulfillment. We then try to find fulfillment in hobbies and other leisure activities, which will not bring us real fulfillment. What is worse, we spend our spare time sitting around staring at screens. The human body is not built to live a sedentary life. The human brain is not built to doomscroll. Living sedentary lives and doomscrolling obviously leads to unhappiness. Such activities are less satisfying than accomplishing meaningful goals such as buying land, clearing the land of trees by hand, using the trees to build a house by hand, carrying ones wife over the threshold, raising a family, working the land and raising livestock, thus conquering the land and continuing ones posterity. This in itself is Biblical. Why do you think, when Christ returns, He will divide up the land among the people (as it was done in the Old Testament)? It is so that man will work his ‘own’ land. Then man will work in nature, where he will be happiest. God made nature for man, not man for nature. The goal of the globalist agenda is to further divide man from nature; it is an antichrist agenda. Their goal is transhumanism, which will dehumanize mankind and further divide him from nature. Moreover, transhumanism will divide man from God.

A pre-industrial society is predominantly rural. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the population of cities vastly increased. A technological society changes rapidly, thus there is less stability. These changes affect all aspects of society and cause the breakdown of traditional values. Breaking down traditional values causes the breakdown of societal bonds. An individual’s loyalty changes: it must not be first to their family or community, but first and foremost to the system. Indeed, individuals must be tools of the system. This makes us less independent and autonomous, because we become reliant on the system. The system is constantly changing, and we are taught to obey its changing rules and regulations. Yet these regulations are laid down by others. We have little to no input in the making of these rules. They are made by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, corporations and organizations. This makes us feel powerless, which gives us a sense of hopelessness. Can you see why society has become so frustrated, insecure, humiliated, and angry? The more unfulfilled a society becomes, the more restless it becomes. Restlessness causes friction, and friction causes factions. Thus, a society breaks into factions. A society of impoverished relationships makes for a toxic society. Science will give us the tools to alter the material world, but our relationships with one another and with nature will be destroyed.

As society advances technologically, we lose more freedoms. People can’t even put down their phones, let alone toss them away to fight the system. People don’t want to sacrifice what they have become addicted to and dependent on. Yet they will replace their current technology with something more advanced. They will go from cell phones to wearable technology to microchips. With the promise of eliminating diseases and gaining super intelligence, much of society will give up freedom to be genetically engineered and microchipped. Even though, such a step will never be reversed. Humans will be modified to suit the needs of the system. They will become one with robotic technology.

Many people are not concerned about these dystopian scenarios. Yet technologies such as robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology pose a great threat to humanity. These technologies will be used as tools to redesign the world. Self-replicating technologies will cause great damage to the biosphere. In the end, self-replicating technology will be impossible to control.

Artificial Intelligence will replace human creativity. In the future, the internet will be accessed only by your personal AI assistant. You will ask your AI assistant questions, and it will surf the internet for you. You will not go on Youtube to watch videos. You will ask AI to make the kind of videos you desire to watch. There will be no human content creators. Get used to AI art, AI videos, AI music, AI articles, AI slop! That is what you will be fed. Many who want to fight the system will eventually become passive, and they will no longer resist. They will be sucked into the system and become zombified. They will become docile slaves of the system. It desires complete control over everything on earth, both man and nature. Humanity will then be reduced to the status of domestic animals. Of course, this will be for the good of the planet!

If university students are using AI to write papers, AI will replace them in their future jobs. If teachers and professors are using AI to write curriculum and mark papers, AI will replace them. If the younger generation has no work ethic, they will be replaced by subsidized foreign workers, then both will be replaced by AI. If generation Alpha can’t read, then AI will replace them. The (dangerous) foreign semi-truck drivers on our roads will be replaced by AI self-driving trucks. AI in the schools, AI in the hospitals, replace, replace, replace. The politicians make many terrible decisions, thus they will be replaced by AI.

Moving on! The more society moves away from the traditions of marriage and family, the more unfulfilled and unhappy society will become. Radical leftists feel the least fulfillment, because they long to destroy society and its traditions. How happy can one be if they want to destroy their roots? They are constantly deconstructing themselves, it’s the Maoist way—how else can you brainwash yourself? Therefore, they feel guilt and self-hatred. They gain an inferiority complex. They have a love-hate relationship with themselves. On one hand they loathe themselves, but on the other hand they selfishly desire power. For this reason, they are self-loathing narcissists. They feel unfulfilled and powerless. Therefore, they seek power to bring about fulfillment. They feel weak and helpless, so they desire to feel strong and competent. It’s a coping mechanism. They also hate anything that appears strong, moral, and successful. They hate America, Western civilization, capitalism, the family, patriarchy, whites, males, heterosexuals, the rich, the middleclass, and even rationality. They despise all who are more beautiful, talented, intelligent, or successful than them. Envy does not equate to fulfillment or happiness. Side note: social media causes much envy and unhappiness.

The far left wants society to take care of them, because they are lazy and lack confidence. They feel strong only as a member of a large group or movement. They like to be abusive to those who disagree with them, because they have masochistic tendencies. The Marxist ideology is an authoritarian ideology, which is masochistic in nature, because it revolves around revolution. The far left may act empathetic, but they are apathetic. Indeed, a study on this topic found that radical leftists were apathetic and narcissistic. Their goals revolve around revolution and power. Their insecurity causes them to feel hostile, and their revolution helps them to vent their hostility. They don’t care about diplomacy, so they act hostile. With them, it is all or nothing: they want revolution, they want power. How can you have a rational conversation with individuals who don’t want dialogue? They use minorities as an excuse for revolution. They hide behind minorities, using them to shield their intentions of revolution. They go into poor black communities to fight for poor black people, yet they burn down black businesses and ruin their local economy. The communist must fight for the revolution, for everything opposed to the revolution is a sin. The communist tries to find fulfillment in the act of rebellion; he tries to find fulfillment in the act of revolution. He, however, is never satisfied. Thus, the revolution moves onward.

For the radical, activism is a vent for their pent-up emotions. Activism produces unity among the young militants, creating a bond between like-minded people. Losers can feel accepted, like they belong. Many of these communist agitators are from middle and upper middleclass homes. They have had an easy but unfulfilling life. They are the most radicalized, because they feel the most unfulfilled. They have become so demoralized that they have become nihilistic. Their life seems to have no meaning. They have lost their moral compass. They rely on emotions rather than on reason. They rely on feelings rather than on facts. “Their political activism is thus only a reaction to the more basic fear that the times are against them, that a new world is emerging without either their assistance or their leadership.” These activists will gradually accept more deviant subcultures as they further divorce themselves from reality. “The supreme irony of that loose and volatile sociopolitical phenomenon of contemporary middleclass America named the New Left is that it is itself the creation of the technetronic revolution as well as a reaction against it.” “The New Left was able to draw on the deep-rooted traditions of American populism, Quaker pacifism, and the pre-World War II largely immigrant-imported socialism and communism.” (The ‘New Left’ refers to the leftist movement of the 60s).

Paying for your child’s first car, college tuition, wedding, or house down payment will give them little sense of accomplishment. Giving children everything not only spoils them but also makes life boring. There must be ups and downs for life to be interesting. Bad times can produce growth and maturity, that is, if a person desires to learn from life. Especially if they want to build a strong moral character. The rewards of being cogs in the system produce great boredom. These middleclass kids have a self-indulgent lifestyle that contradicts their professed anti-materialism. Their material existence tends to depend on their parents. Their ideological infantilism stems from obsolete nineteenth-century criticisms of capitalism. They are spoiled kids who are rebelling against middleclass society. These activists offer no real response to the dilemmas of our age. Their revolutionary movement is really an escapist movement. It is a way of coping with their unfulfilled lives. They supposedly desire to change society, but they really want to create a refuge (safe space) from society. Their activism is a psychological safety valve, in which they can blow off steam. They escape their boring lives through activism, so they can feel a sense of freedom and self-gratification. They pat each other on the back, because they are supposedly fighting against their capitalist enemy. However, this is really a form of group therapy.

The woke activists on the ground are the canaries in the coal mine. They are indicators of the problems of our society as a whole. Through them, we have the best lens on society’s anxiety, uncertainty, vulnerability, and dissatisfaction. Side note: we can see the incoming collectivist system through the lens of the United Nations. They want to eradicate poverty. Yet they hide behind poverty, using it to shield their intentions of ruling the world. With communism, it’s all about gaining power. Communism is meant to go worldwide. Collectivism seeks to bind together the entire world (both man and nature) into a unified whole.

Neo-Marxism went through the dialectic with postmodernism and produced wokeism. Some think that post-postmodernism will have a more spiritual element to it. I think that wokeism will go through the dialectic with some sort of religious spiritualism, which will produce antichristism. Wokeism is authoritarian in nature, yet it has a quasi-religious character. Post-postmodernism will lead to an authoritarian system with a spiritual flavour. Man must be grounded to a one-world religion to be grounded to a one-world government. Woke socialism must have a spiritual awakening, so to speak. Wokeism must awaken further in its social enlightenment in order to transcend to the next level of social consciousness. This dialectic enlightenment will mix socialism with a spiritual experience. It will lead to transhumanism. The coming socialist leader—the antichrist—will combine socialism, religion, and transhumanism. Modernity, with its globalization, technology, and social(ist) change, has produced a society that lacks fulfillment. Although technology will bring less fulfillment to humanity, the technological system will lead it forward on a leash. I can see one of the marketing strategies for the Mark of the Beast: we live in stressful times, take the microchip and become numb to the stresses of reality. The soma of the Brave New World Order will give you fulfillment. You will be modified to suit the needs of the system. Warning: do not follow the world system!

Revelation 18:4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: ‘Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.’”

1 John 4:4 “Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

In a sinful world, no individual can experience perfect fulfillment. When I’m in eternity with the Lord, I’ll know perfect fulfillment!

2020 feb 18

One more stretch-framing completed for possible exhibition in Oxford a few months down the line ..... hopefully.

macropaintograph - 'kromofom' (2017)

I like this shot, the chair and the boarded up Sears store kind of exhibit the sense of loneliness and isolation this space has to offer

"Rivierenbuurt" in Den Haag. Brug en gracht.

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"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.

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>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<

"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."

Volto 1928-1929

An androgynous head, modeled in the most classical sense, is an early work attributed to Fausto Melotti, who will go on to be one of the founders of the Novecento movement in Italy.

“This stupid love for materialism. Art does not have its genesis molded, forged or compressed out of emptiness like Minerva sprouting from the brain. Many artworks openly reveal that they are born out of talent, visible to all. An inconceivable wall, the wall of poetry, enclosing the citadel of art. Wherein the ideas stroll naked”

(Fausto Melotti)

2019 sept 16

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm via extension tube

2019 july 22

title: all consuming

abstract optical materialism paintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm

DAY: two hundred eighty-eight / three hundred sixty-five

you like my work? :)

facebook

I can trade this card as a special trade. I will trade it for a card from my favorites.

***

Everybody knows…

shit happens

TAOISM – ”if you understand shit, it isn’t shit”

HINDUISM – “this shit happened before”

CONFUCIANISM – “confucious say ‘shit happens’”

BUDDHISM – “shit will happen to you again”

ZEN – “what is the sound of shit happening?”

ISLAM – “if shit happens it is the will of Allah”

SIKHISM – “leave our shit alone”

JEHOVA’S WITNESS – “knock knock, shit happens”

ATHEISM – “I don’t believe this shit”

AGNOSTICISM – “can you prove that shit happens?”

CATHOLICISM – “if shit happens, you deserve it”

PROTESTANTISM – “shit happens, amen to that”

JUDAISM – “why does shit always happen to us”

ORTHODOX JUDAISM – “so shit happens, already”

TELEVANGELISM – “send money or shit will happen to you”

RASTAFARIANISM – “let’s smoke this shit”

HARE KRISHNA – “shit happens rama rama”

NATION OF ISLAM – “don’t take no shit”

NEW AGE – “visualize shit happening”

SHINTOISM – “you inherit the shit of your ancestors”

HEDONISM – “I love it when shit happens”

SATANISM – “sneppah this”

CAPITALISM – “this is MY shit”

FEMINISM – “men are shit”

EXISTENTIALISM – “what is shit, anyway?”

SCIENTOLOGY – “if shit happens, see Dianetics p. 137”

MORMONISM – “excrement happens” (don’t say shit)

BAPTISM – “we’ll wash the shit right off you”

MYSTICISM – “this is really weird shit”

VOODOO – “shit doesn’t just happen – we made it happen”

DISNEYISM – “bad shit doesn’t happen here”

WICCA – “you can make shit happen but shit will happen to you three times”

COMMUNISM – “lets share the shit”

MARXISM – “you have nothing to lose but your shit”

CONSPIRACY THEORISM – “THEY shit on us!”

PSYCHO-ANALYSIS – “tell me about your shit”

DARWINISM – “survival of the shittiest”

AMISH – “modern shit is useless”

SUICIDAL – “I’ve had enough of this shit”

OPTIMISM – “shit won’t happen to me”

TREKISM – “to boldly shit where no-one has shit before”

SHAKESPEAREAN – “to shit or not to shit, that is the question”

DESCARTES – “I shit therefore I am”

FREUD – “shit is a phallic symbol”

LAWYERS – “for enough money, I can get you out of shit”

ACUPUNCTURIST – “hold still or this will hurt like shit”

DOG – “I just shit in your shoe”

CAT – “dogs are shit”

MOUSE – “oh shit! a cat!”

POLITICALLY CORRECT – “internally processed, nutritionally-drained biological output happens”

EINSTEIN – “shit is relative”

FAMILY GATHERING – “relatives are shit”

MATERIALISM – “ whoever dies with the most shit, wins”

VEGETARIANISM – “if it happens to shit, don’t eat it”

FATALISM – “oh shit, it’s going to happen”

ENVIRONMENTALISM – “shit is biodegradable”

AMERICANISM – “who gives a shit”

STATISTICIAN – “shit is 84.7% likely to happen”

HIP-HOP – “motherfuck this shiznit, beeatch!”

TANTRISM – “fuck this shit”

CYNICISM – “we are all full of shit”

SURREALISM – “fish happens”

"Mr Pinocchio" by the Chinese artist Liu Ruowang.

Most of Liu Ruowangs art work are so huge, that it doesn't make sense only to have them as part of the exhibition for just one year.

This group of sculptures was first part of NordArt in 2023, where the catalog wrote the following:

"During a trip to Europe, Liu Ruowang bought a Pinocchio toy as a gift to his child. After telling the story of Pinocchio, the words "puppet" and "lie" continued to torment him.

In 2019, he began the sculpture group "Mr Pinocchio".

The artist uses extraordinary spatial scale, full of symbolism and metaphors, to express problematic relationships in our modern society.

With Pinocchio's character at the centre and a group of contemporaries marching unaware in the endless circle,

the manipulator and manipulated reverse their conventional roles. The soulless "people" have lost control over the soulless "thing". It is becoming impossible to jump out of the strange circle of control and manipulation by "things" in modern

society where materialism and money worship prevail.

The artist warns people about the seamless lies that encourage material desires, to shake off the shackles

of materialism and return to the authentic state of life.

Liu hopes to inspire people to think about the origin and nature of lies.

Who is the puppeteer?

Can manipulated people recognise the lies and, if they do, have they got the will to withstand the puppet's manipulation? "

www.louwmanmuseum.nl/en/exposition/always-on-display-the-...

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>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<

"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."

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.

Sounds very familiar...nothing new under the sun....

-rc

/******

I would like so much to instill in both of you some of what, after every new blow, gives me fresh strength. I can only say that after everything I went through in the past year, I affirm life more than ever. . . . I really believe, at times, that one has to get accustomed to the idea of possibly not living to see the end of this war. Even then, one may not despair. One should not restrict one’s view merely to the particle of life that is within one’s ken, much less to what lies clearly apparent on the surface. After all, it is quite certain that we are at a turning point in the evolution of the intellectual life of humankind; and one may not complain if the crisis lasts longer than is acceptable to the individual. Everything that is now so terrible, and that I have no intention of glossing over, is precisely the spirit that must be surmounted. But the new spirit already exists and will prevail beyond all doubt. It may be clearly seen in philosophy and in the beginning of the new art form of expressionism. As surely as materialism and naturalism have become outmoded here, just as surely will they become obsolete in all the other spheres of life, even though slowly and amid painful struggles. One senses the will for this also in the political and social struggles that are driven by motives that differ totally from the hackneyed slogans people are wont to ascribe to them. Good and evil, knowledge and ignorance are mixed on all sides, and each one sees only the positive of his own side and the negative of the others’. That holds for peoples as well as parties. All this, intertwined, is spinning madly so no one can tell when some calm and clarity will set in again. In any case, life is much too complex for anyone to impose on it even the most clever plan for bettering the world, nor can one prescribe finally and unequivocally how it should proceed. (Self-Portrait, 27)

-María Ruiz Scaperlanda Edith Stein The Life and Legacy of

St. Teresa Benedicta

of the Cross

The heavily autumnal trees with their drooping branches, the low mists, the browns and last greens of Fall, the earthy smells of the water: all of nature seemed very material on this early Sunday morning. I couldn't help but think of Paul-Henry Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (1723-1789). Great French philosopher of the Enlightenment and one of the Encycopedists, he devised a system of philosophy based upon or perhaps deriving from atheism and in particular materialism. D'Holbach in the middle of the eighteenth century owned Heeze Castle, just beyond the tree horizon in the distance. Dinner there last night was quite deliciously material!

I don't know whether the famous humanist Erasmus (1466-1536) was much given to walks in nature; and I don't imagine Theodoricus Hezius (c.1485-1555), originaly from here, would've contemplated much in these natural environs. But perhaps if they'd taken time to traipse these cowpaths and 'd made light conversation, they might have ironed out their violent antagonisms.

I wandered back to the village and soon found myself again with the small beauties of very material nature: late Campions, autumnal mushrooms, colorful fallen leaves, and some deer on the forest's edge.

Der Brunnen setzt das Motiv eines doppeldeutigen Spottbildes zu Altjenaer Studentengeschichten um, den "Fremdenenpump": Die immer hungrigen und vor allem durstigen Studenten pumpten dabei Philister - ein damaliges Synonym für Bürger bzw. Nichtakademiker, später auch Spießbürger - und einmal sogar den Großherzog um Geld an. "...Die und die Wirte / sind die besten auf der Welt. / Wein und Bier in vollen Humpen / tun sie den Studenten pumpen / und dazu noch bares Geld! ..." Jenaer Studentenlied, um 1830 Beschreibung entnommen einer Informationstafel vor Ort, die mit dem Hinweis endet: "Diesen Philister können Sie bedenkenlos anpumpen!"

The fountain, more accurately an artistically decorated water pump, evokes a common practice of Jena students in old times, that is borrowing from strangers. And now I am at a loss to translate the bun at the origin of this fountain. To borrow from or take on credit is translated in colloquial German by "anpumpen" what means pumping in English. The old Jena students, always short of money, but thirsty for beer, used to borrow money from Jena citizens, showing at the same time their disdain for them by calling them "philistines", a term that in German has about the same meaning as in English: "a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values" (Merriam-Webster), or, as it was also used by the students, simply a non-academic person. All this is explained on an information panel next to the pump, ending with the notice "Don't hesitate to pump (water on) this philistine", evoking once more the double meaning of the verb which I can't reproduce adequately in English.

2019 oct 7

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube

T.P.G.Proj.Pj sexy bodysuit with hud 8 colors stripes for Maitreya Freya Hourglass curvy

Visit the store : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ontario/225/84/3478

More info : www.flickr.com/groups/3116817@N25/

Tattoo by Cinnamon cocaine [Suicidal Thots] Unicorn Kawaii Sticker Tattoo : marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Suicidal-Thots-Unicorn-Kawai...

[Suicidal Thots] Gacha #3 Tattoos Materialism - maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Valle%20Verde/52/59/24

did i hear someone say 'rule of thirds' ? hahahaha...

45 optical materialism macropaintographs with household materials from the 2009 to 2011 period. Each of the 45 images were shot using one of either 1.2 Mpixel Olympus mp3 Player Camera or the 2.0 Mpixel Sony Mavica FD200 camera.

My 3-panel display is part of a more than 30 panel- Oxford Flickr group exhibition by 11 photographers just started, for Oxfordshire (UK) Artweeks 2025 at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Andrew Wiles Building, Woodstock Road, OX2 6GG.

It is a free public exhibition 8am-6pm Mon-Fri 5 May to 26 May in and around the Cafe Pi area on the basement mezzanine floor..

Thank you Oxford Flickr Group/OxfordPhotographers for organising the exhibition.

jAm, jericho, oxford, UK

[This photo needs to be enlarged.]

There are several interesting cultural and scientific features about a Giraffe. I won't give you the essential biological details, you can get some of that here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe

But the name itself has its earliest known origins in the Arabic word zarāfah. This might be translated "fast walker". However, some linguists believe the Arabic term was in fact derived from the Somali name "Geri". What's in a name? Well lots actually. The scientific name given to the species by Linnaeus the great taxonomist in 1758 is, Giraffa camelopardalis. The second part of this name was taken from the ancient Greek terms for camel and leopard, and has much to do with its appearance.

The Giraffe is the tallest land mammal and the largest ruminant. Its long legs and neck allows it to graze from tall trees and gives it a commanding view of the landscape. These features were a major part of the pre-Darwinian argument for evolution put forward by French scientist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829). Lamarck argued that in order to meet certain survival needs over long periods of time, animals "developed" physical features such as the long legs and necks in a Giraffe.

Of course there was no knowledge of genetics at the time and the concept of DNA was a long way from being discovered. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) intuited the principles of genetics in his theory of natural selection (which subsequent genetic theory and DNA evidence has shown to be correct). Natural selection makes Lamarckian theory obsolete, because once genetic theory was fully developed it showed categorically that characteristics like a Giraffe's long neck are passed on through DNA replication and mutation. Species develop that way because the mutations that allowed advantages in survival are positively selected to meet the needs of its environmental conditions.

For those who may be concerned about the ramifications of evolutionary theory on belief in creation by God - a debate I will NOT enter into here - I will just say that the correct scientific position is one of agnosticism. It is not the role of Science to advocate for Theology, nor is it appropriate for Science to become "Scientism" demanding a reductionist rational-materialism. I will refer you to Rupert Sheldrake's "The Science Delusion: Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry" (Hodder & Stoughton, 2012).

It is the task of science to deal with evidence, not beliefs. And conversely, religious faith ought not to demand submission to the views of clearly pre-scientific texts when the evidence points clearly in another direction. I learnt that lesson in the 1970s in high school Biology, and it has stood me in good stead.

I've been back home for some weeks during the holiday, and i found this old TV in our garage. I had almost forgotten that it existed. Love it, AND it still works too. Fabulous thing !

-Materialism. So easy to replace and forget what we have when new ideas and products are brought to life...

made and shot april 8 2019

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube

"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.

Since I do not believe in the concept of copyright all my work can be downloaded and used free at will without any prior consent."<<

-------------------------

>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<

"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."

It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, as pastors teach, but idealism. Men get into trouble by taking their visions and hallucinations too seriously.

H. L. Mencken

tears for the impoverished

tears for the pain of being a harijan a lower caste with no future no present and a bitter past

tears for the infirmed for the lepers who barely walk limp or stroll in wagons

tears for the wars in so many countries in this world

tears for the inability of MAN to get along with one another.

tears for famine for greed for rape for bigotry for dishonor for selfish materialism

tears of a child whom most people pay attention to.

Patna

in the state of Bihar

Photography’s new conscience

linktr.ee/GlennLosack

linktr.ee/GlennLosack

glosack.wixsite.com/tbws

2019 nov 26

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube

[Please take the time to read this reflection. In memory of Walter Benjamin.]

As we end this series looking at life in death at the Melbourne General Cemetery, I have focused on three impressive statues. In my previous photograph "Precious Angel" I mentioned one Jewish genius. In this one I wish to discuss another, Walter Benjamin (1892-1940).

Early in the series I showed you some memories of Shoah (the Holocaust), in which 6 million Jews were put to death in a singularly evil genocide. In history, what meaning is left to life after this event?

The great Italian writer and Holocaust survivor, Primo Levi (1919-1987) was so haunted by it all he took his own life in Turin. Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) also a Jewish scholar, is regarded by many as a prophet of post-modernism, and strongly anti-foundationalist (i.e. there is no ultimate ground of meaning), and yet late in his career he took a distinctly mystical turn as he tried to recapture a sense of purpose in the face of loss. For those scholars among you, try reading John Caputo's "The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida: Religion without Religion" (Indiana University Press, 1997).

But back to Walter Benjamin. "(He) was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. An eclectic thinker, combining elements of German idealism, Romanticism, Western Marxism, and Jewish mysticism, Benjamin made enduring and influential contributions to aesthetic theory, literary criticism, and historical materialism." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin

Benjamin's collection of essays, "Illuminations" had an immediate impression on me when I discovered them in 1990. I was moved immediately by his phenomenological piece called, "Unpacking my Library". But there was more, much more. You see Benjamin was a marked man as soon as the Nazis rolled into Paris. His scholarship was well known in Germany, and was the very antithesis of Nazi doctrine itself. In January 1940 he wrote his seminal "Theses on the Philosophy of History". On June 13 he and his sister escaped to Lourdes as the Nazi tanks rolled into the city. Sure enough, they raided his Parisian flat, but he was gone.

In August he was able to obtain a US visa as a refugee and had plans of travelling to neutral Portugal, and at Lisbon to embark for the safety of America (yes, the movie "Casablanca" was based on facts). The Gestapo were everywhere. When Benjamin arrived in the Catalonian town of Portbou (then controlled by Francoist Spain), he was stopped by the border police. Orders were made to return all refugees to France, and Benjamin knew this would mean into the hands of the Gestapo. Benjamin killed himself with an overdose of morphine tablets on the night of September 26, 1940. His brother Georg was killed at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in 1942. The details are numbing. How could rational humanity be reduced to such barbarism?

So what did Walter Benjamin make of this development as the world marched headlong into an abyss? Well, let's just focus on his "Ninth Thesis of History" as Benjamin struggles with the notion of Progress and the ensuing chaos:

"A (Paul) Klee painting named Angelus Novus shows an angel looking as though he is about to move away from something he is fixedly contemplating. His eyes are staring, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress."

You can see immediately where my inspiration came from for this photograph. The Angelus Novus is the angel of history who surveys the wreckage we leave behind, as Paradise after Paradise is lost. Even the missing left hand of this statue seems to have a very distinct meaning: The angel of history is himself injured by the catastrophe we leave behind us. If faith means anything at all after Auschwitz, then it must be because God also partakes of the universal suffering. All our neat conceptual images of God must go, and we are left with nothing but sheer Faith on which to rest our hopes. But the German mystic and priest Meister Eckhart was saying this in the early 14th century.

Another Jewish philosopher who fled the Nazis, Ernst Bloch (1885-1977), believed this and it formed the basis of his great work, "The Principle of Hope". In turn the German theologian Jürgen Moltmann (b.1926), made it the basis of his entire theological work. For Moltmann the meaning of history lies in a "Crucified God". But far from being an end, this is the true beginning of an eternal hope that lies beyond the vicissitudes of a failed universe. The death of Death is the beginning of New Life.

2018 june 19

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Lead picture and 1 of my 9 OxfordPhotographers gallery pieces for Oxfordshire Artweeks 2021 (Photography)

title - good moon rising

year - 2018

photographer- jamal ibrahim

technique - 'optical materialism' - 'macropaintography'

influence/reference - yellow-ish crescent moon and background red and white stripes plus a touch of blue, all referring to the flag of Malaysia, country of my birth. Expression of hope for increasing social peace and stability in Malaysia in the wake of a landmark general election result in 2018. Name is wordplay on Credence Clearwater Revival song 'Bad Moon Rising'

image idea - a gentle crescent moon backdropped on a gently rippling Malaysian flag.

main medium/image construct - photo of sugar and toothpaste plus a touch of hair gel on glass 9x6 cm with controlled backlight.

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macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR ) + Supermulticoated Takumar 1.4/50 via extension tube

2019 aug 9

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm via extension tube

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.

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.

45 optical materialism macropaintographs with household materials from the 2009 to 2011 period. Each of the 45 images were shot using one of either 1.2 Mpixel Olympus mp3 Player Camera or the 2.0 Mpixel Sony Mavica FD200 camera.

The display is part of a more than 30 panel- Oxford Flickr group exhibition by 11 photographers just started, for Oxfordshire (UK) Artweeks 2025 at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Andrew Wiles Building, Woodstock Road, OX2 6GG.

It is a free public exhibition 8am-6pm Mon-Fri 5 May to 26 May in and around the Cafe Pi area on the basement mezzanine floor..

Thank you Oxford Flickr Group/OxfordPhotographers for organising the exhibition.

jAm, jericho, oxford, UK

2019 july 10

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50mm via extension tube

www.kunstmuseum.nl/nl/tentoonstellingen/titanic-fashion

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27 september 2025 t/m 25 januari 2026

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"Please feel free to use my images any way you like.I do not feel the need to "own" them. It is only a picture.

---------------------------

>>To be seen in Flickr-group "Creative Composition" and others<<

"No PERFECT CAMERA? No PERFECT GEAR?....do not let materialism kill your creativity. Show the whole world your creativity through your photos and let us change the way others see things."

A page from the ancient "Secret Works of the Yellow God" - tales of creation and re-creation of the a world long past, mired in materialism and re-woven again in wonder.

Veering off into Surrealist fantasy, giving abstraction a breather for a bit. This image unexpectedly resulted from the "mirroring" function applied in a certain way. I didn't expect the result that I got but when it happened I ran with it. Unforeseen imagery, kismets of chance are what I'm looking to provoke out of the Muse now. A nod and a bow to my friend, Master of Fantasy, Daniel Arrhakis.

Music Link: Japanese Shingon Buddhist Chant.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2rZNsqS-aw&list=PL2C12FF12B1...

View Large on Black

2019 nov 9

abstract optical materialism macropaintograph with household materials

Camera: Pentax K-50 16 Mpixel Digital SLR + Carl Zeiss Jenna 2.8/ 50mm via extension tube

Confucius (551–479 BCE) is seen as the pre-eminent Chinese sage, and the most influential person in China’s great history. He is the embodiment of all that has come to be associated with the religion that grew up around his teachings. The development of Confucianism is seen to have occurred during a period known to scholars as “The Axial Age”. This was a time of significant moral and spiritual development for humanity. The term was first coined by Swiss philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Jaspers (1883-1969). In a nutshell Jaspers summed up “The Axial Age” starting with the Chinese masters:

“Confucius and Lao-Tse were living in China, all the schools of Chinese philosophy came into being, including those of Mo Ti, Chuang Tse, Lieh Tzu and a host of others; India produced the Upanishads and Buddha and, like China, ran the whole gamut of philosophical possibilities down to materialism, scepticism and nihilism; in Iran, Zarathustra taught a challenging view of the world as a struggle between good and evil; in Palestine the prophets made their appearance from Elijah by way of Isaiah and Jeremiah to Deutero-Isaiah; Greece witnessed the appearance of Homer, of the philosophers—Parmenides, Heraclitus and Plato,—of the tragedians, of Thucydides and Archimedes. Everything implied by these names developed during these few centuries almost simultaneously in China, India and the West."

— Karl Jaspers, "Origin and Goal of History", (p.2)

Confucius had no idea that his ideas would become so influential in Chinese history. He failed to convince the politicians of his own day to see the virtue in his teachings about respect and harmony. Moreover, he had to endure a life of considerable hardship, even poverty. But through it all he gained to himself some loyal followers who after his death collected his principal sayings and developed the rudiments of a philosophy that some consider almost a religion. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism

There is a very readable biography on Confucius by Meher McArthur published in 2010. And here is a nice little summary by Alain De Botton and his School of Life: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUhGRh4vdb8

There is a long documentary by Dan Snow including major interviews with scholars on “The Story of The Real Confucius”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaFDr11g4Rg

* We don't know what the real Confucius looked like, so this porcelain figure of a wise man from China can stand in for the sage.