Remember the "Art is Trash" filing cabinet that I found in Islington a few weeks ago? Well, here's another street find by the same artist -- this time in our neighborhood. Funnily enough, this guy seems to be everywhere lately. Dave and I saw lots of his work in Barcelona, and now he has an exhibit in a gallery just a few blocks from our flat.
Speaking of which, I finally finished putting my Barcelona photos on Flickr. Feel free to browse, if you'd like, but be warned -- there are 258 of them!
Last night I told Dave I was feeling very behind on things, so we didn't turn on the TV at all. I just sat and read, working my way through several magazines and blogs, and then wrote some e-mails and took care of things around the house. Finally I feel like that cloud has lifted.
I had a chance to read, among other things, the Rolling Stone issue featuring Dzokhar Tsarnaev on the cover -- the one some of the folks in Boston got so steamed about. It was a fascinating article. I don't think it glamorized him at all, but it did make me understand how utterly abandoned he was. His parents had a contentious relationship and had moved back to Russia, his sisters had essentially vanished after having apparently been paired off in arranged marriages, and he was trying (not very successfully) to work his way through college on his own. All he had, besides a pot habit, was his increasingly extremist brother. None of that excuses his actions, but it helps us understand how a kid who seemed so westernized could have turned so completely against his adopted society.
I was astounded at the outrage over that cover on Rolling Stone. People don't want to have any more information than can be held in a paragraph and they want to be able to make a judgement immediately.
ReplyDeleteStrange times.
You would think, being older & crankier, that I would get into outrage more. But it just exhausts me. When I saw that cover it just made me incredibly sad...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your cloud cover has lifted!
In a way, I do feel sorry for Tsarnaev. Nothing justifies his actions but, I do have a better understanding of how he got sucked into the black hole of hatred. It's too bad he didn't form closer relationships with friends. If he had, it might have given him a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, nobody here in Boston had a problem with the RS article, which everyone agreed was well-researched and well-written. The uproar was over the cover of the magazine, given the iconic nature of RS magazine.
ReplyDeletePutting someone on the cover of RS suggests they are a rock star or comparably cool celebrity, and THAT is what people here didn't (and don't) want to see. Had that same article appeared in an issue with someone else on the cover, there wouldn't have been a hoopla...and RS wouldn't have gotten so much publicity.
Another "throw away "kid. It never ends well, does it. I had no feelings either yay or nay about the cover, being a mother of a kid his age I only felt sorry for him. His parents especially his mother are so poorly adjusted, little wonder. Anyway, I love the trash art, inspired!
ReplyDeleteI did browse your Barcelona pics! All of them! I guess I should have commented on my favs--there are really a lot of great shots in there. The architecture boggles my mind!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add in my earlier comment about "feel good" old TV shows like Green Acres. For me it's all about the show I LOVE LUCY.
ReplyDeleteMany people have parents with weird relationships, but this doesn't happen. To be fair, I haven't read the article, and yes, I know, I know.
ReplyDeleteStill - they glamorized him. I'm for a free press, but really!
The universal language of street art has always intrigued me. Barcelona, San Francisco, London, Buenos Aires all have so many similar images. Or else Bansky has love children in every port of call.
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