So it has been a while since I've blogged about anything. It's a strange thing when you log about your life (whether it be through a journal/ diary/ blog) and have missed a couple days...there exists this peculiar need to try and describe everything that has passed since the last entry date. Well, fortunately now that I reflect back - there hasn't been much to catch up on. The only things that really come to mind is the Occupy Wall Street movement, my Getty visit with my Art class today, and dreams.
The first picture above is a photo taken from my visit to the local Occupy Riverside meeting. Our politically active members of society have pitched tents and arranged tens of posters around the center of Downtown Riverside. Recently, there have been news about police cracking down on protesters - most notably the riot in New York where the city announced that the owners of Central Park have the power to determine whether or not the protesters can occupy the park. A few days ago, students at Cal State LB had a demonstration and were also assaulted by the police. So much is going on throughout the nation in response to the state of the economy - but I wonder what the Fed is doing in response to us.
Anyways, today my good friend David and I visit the Getty Museum in LA with our Art History class and it was so much fun. The visit at the museum was wonderfully informative, interesting, and a wonderful break from Riverside. There, we were met by the Curator and Assistant Curator to the new revolving exhibit titled "Images of the Artist." The focus of our trip today with our professor was to view the pieces they had in this exhibition and tie it to our class - Self-Portraiture. I loved the variety they included in this exhibit - particularly the ones by Zuccaro, Lucas Samaras, and an incomplete pastel sketch by Louis de Silvestre:
Something I was really excited to finally see was one of Messerschmidt's Character Heads. This particular head featured at the Getty (shown above) was sculpted from marble. I wish I could have seen a bronze head...but nonetheless, very happy to have seen that in person. After our tour with the curators, our group split up and explored the museum on our own. My group and I went upstairs to see oil paintings. Very prominent ones were by Rembrandt - which are astounding. I could continue on forever, but in short, very worth the 3 hours it took to drive there and back (due to my poor sense of direction). The last piece I wanted to share is about dreams. Firstly, last week I had a dream that really stood out from the rest. It started in a village where I was the head of a Native American tribe. People came to my home and described an impending doom that would befall my people unless I found the solution. So my family (my mother, sister, and grandparents) jumped into our van and drove towards the city in search of this answer - whatever it may be. We journeyed through underground caves and desert cliffs, and finally arrived at a modern Native American reservation. Upon arrival, we walked into a clean, square shaped clinic and were seated in a circle on a small stage. What seemed to be at least 3 hours, my family and I passed around a HUGE bong and just smoked weed. MAN. Let me just say, I have never smoked weed in my life, and here I was passing a bong to my grandmother. The purpose of this seemingly random practice? I think we were all smoking in hopes of reaching an epitome where the 'solution' would ascend upon us like how antique gods would in Greek tragedies...In the end, no one found the solution and we all decided to take a break and have lunch: Chinese food, of course. My dream ends around here with my grandmother lecturing me how I was not rolling my joint correctly and that she would teach me how to blow 'O's after lunch...
Strange...but quite an amusing dream.
Secondly. Today on the way to the Getty, my car and I were having a conversation about dreams. One of the passengers in the back seat, Sam, was telling us how her dreams were very similar to the surrealist paintings Salvador Dali painted. That concerned me...then she goes on to tell us that she gets sleep-paralysis and saw shadowy shapes that stand at the end of her bend and occasionally sit on top of her. THAT scared me. She then told us that in her house, she sometimes sees things crawling/walking around and also hears voices. All of this has become normal to her. I don't know what to make of her strange life...but what with crazy, surrealist dreams AND scary paranormal activity in her home??? There is most definitely more to this provincial life - for sure. Well, that's enough for another 2 weeks. Hopefully I will finish my Transfer essays soon, nab something cool on Black Friday with my BF, and then finish off Fall quarter with a Bang!
Christmas - I'm almost ready for you!!
