Diary Of An Artist In A New World

What Am I Reading? - A Biography Of Steve Jobs

iCon: The Greatest Second Act In The History Of Business

Earlier this year Steve Jobs had a liver transplant and the world is faced with the prospect that his life will eventually come to an end. When a man is as young as Jobs is questions of death are rarely raised but the seriousness of his illness and his unique role in the digital revolution that we are all experiencing brings attention to the details of his life into sharp focus.

I find Steve Jobs a fascinating character and because I love computers I regard him as an incredibly important man. He is a very flawed human being by all accounts and yet is role in computing is so essential that it could be argued that computers would not be the ubiquitous devices in everyones homes that they are today if not for Jobs. He is the person who changed their development from being the toy of engineers and turned it into the first real personal computer as we know it today. 

It might have been Steve Wozniak who was the engineering genius who designed the circuitry and programming for the first Apple computer but if that was all that happened it would be nothing special. There were many brilliant minds in Silicon Valley who had the desire and ability to make circuit boards for computers that anyone (not just universities and government departments) could buy. But none of then, Wozniak included, saw much beyond the circuits and geek talk. 

Alan Turing had done the math for the first computer algorithm back in 1936 making him the father of all electronic computers but they remained huge and inefficient machines until the transistor and the integrated circuit enabled miniaturization in the 1960's. The first personal computer was the Micral in 1972 and several others followed over the next few years. Problem was that all these computers required expert knowledge. The computer was just a collection of components and the user had to use a soldering iron and screwdrivers to assemble the machine. Then the software had to be installed into the machine every time it was turned on. No wonder people had to be very enthusiastic to use one. It probably helped to be a genius like Wozniak.

But then Steve Jobs came along. He didn't know much about circuits or software. He was a college dropout who had studied Zen and calligraphy. He had a vision which was that a computer had to be something different to what it had been up until then. It had to be able to be operated by ordinary people without a degree in computer programming. It needed to be fully assembled when bought - you should be able to just plug it in. It needed and operating system that stayed in the computer memory. It needed a television screen so graphics could be seen (previous microcomputers relied on flashing lights) and it needed a mouse to make it easier to control. Wozniak apparently didn't agree but Jobs was insistent and so he drove Wozniac to make computers the way Jobs wanted them to be made. The Micral may well be the first personal computer but it was the Apple was the first one that you and I would recognize as being one. The modern personal computer market was born. And it was Steve Jobs who envisioned it in a realistic way and made it happen. 

Sydney New Year's Eve Fireworks 2008

100,000 fireworks, 20,000 on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a further 80,000 on 6 barges strung along Sydney Harbor, and on city buildings, 1 giant animation 36 meters by 36 meters on the bridge, and 13 minutes of stunning pyrotechnic display set to music.

Norman Mailer: A Brilliant Mind

Norman Mailer (1923 - 2007) is possibly one of the greatest writers and thinkers of the 20th century. Possibly not. However, according to some of his critics he was little short of the devil incarnate. That such a range of statements is found in the same paragraph is a mark of the contradictory and provocative nature of a man who new no fear when it came to the role of the writer as artist.

Some people sample life, others observe it. In Mailer's case his philosophy was "be physical" - get in there and live life with passion, and an appreciation for those moments that separate leaders from followers; those times when fear, duty, experience, and courage come to the fore, as when a pugilist steps into the ring against someone who may well cause great pain and loss, yet does it anyway because winning is not possible until that bridge is crossed.

Of course as every war shows, the heat of the moment sometimes brings out the worst in people and Mailer was very publicly exposed when he was alleged to have stabbed Adele, one of his 6 wives.

New Ideas Versus Tradition In Yemeni And Saudi Film

"A New Day In Old Sana'a" is representative of the difficulties facing potential film makers in the Middle East. While some west asian countries have a long established film industry, notably Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Iran, other countries have only a handful of films to their credit.

A New Day In Old Sana'a, released in 2005 is the first film shot in Yemen. On the first day of shooting religious fundamentalists stoned the set and the film crew needed to be guarded by soldiers during the rest of the shooting. Despite this state security effort there were reports of continual difficulties faced by the film makers from the Yemeni Authorities.

Yemeni women are said to have refused to be filmed and Lebanese and British actresses took the female roles. Even so, criticism of the film has included the observation that the females are so well covered by veils that it is difficult to discern the subtleties of emotion that enable audiences to engage with the characters. The plot is about the choices a young photographer faces as he is faced with the alternatives of rebelling against his family by choosing true love, or obeying tradition and accepting the marriage his family has arranged for him. The backdrop of the intensely beautiful city of Sana'a and the respectful depiction of the very real conflicts between tradition and new ideas won the movie widespread acclaim and a special screening at Cannes.

How Robert Mapplethorpe Contributed To A Great Museum's Troubles

The Corcoran Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C. is widely regarded as one of the world's great collections of art. What is less well known is the up-hill struggle the Corcoran has to keep its doors open these days.

Founded in 1869 as a private art gallery its mission was to encourage American genius in art. By that measure it has been wildly successful, at least in its early days, but with a strategy so nebulous it was bound to have difficulties once more finely focussed (and state supported) institutions opened their doors starting with The National Gallery Of Art in 1937.

In this light public perceptions are hugely important, and for many years substantial private donations kept the Corcoran's coffers awash with sufficient cash reserves to enable them to initiate the planning for a Frank Gehry designed new wing estimated to cost $115 million. By 2001 it was reported that they had raised $60 million, yet 2005 the project was cancelled due to lack of funds.

Now in 2007 the Corcoran spends $2 million to stage a huge exhibition called "Modernism", attracts 60,000 less patrons than the 2002 exhibition "Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years" and appears to have lost as much as $500,000 yet the Corcoran leadership describes Modernism as a "smash success". Huh?

Last Supper Makes History Again

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is the subject of the highest resolution photograph ever made. At 16 billion pixels it dwarfs previous high res efforts. Best of all - it has been published on the Internet and is freely available to anyone with an Internet connection to download.

Father Stefano Rabacchi, Prior of the monastery where The Last Supper is located said that "Although Leonardo painted it for us, but we are obliged to share it with the world."

Monet Masterpiece Vandalized: Suspect Perps Caught.

Vandals who broke into the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and punched a Monet masterpiece, thereby creating a fist sized hole in one of Monet's most famous works have been apprehended. The destruction of the priceless masterpiece "Le Pont d'Argenteuil" resulted from drunken mayhem resulting from the celebrations following the French victory over the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup.

Security camera footage of the appaling attack on the painting scandalized the culturally sensitive French when it was broadcast on TV. One of the suspects fearful of the consequences turned himself in to police and named the other 4 perpetrators who are being held for questioning.

The painting is widely regarded as an important work and is widely reproduced and so is one of his most famous images. The iconic nature of the work and the savagery of the attack has lead to calls by the French Minister For Arts, Christine Albanel, for increased penalties for art vandalism.

Eclipse Of The Moon

Tonight art class went downstairs into William Street to watch the moon entering totality. It was Simon, our model who reminded us that it was time. Thank you, Simon. Even here in the center of the city where so much city light washes out the color it still looked magnificent as the last small sliver of sunlight left the moon's surface. Ashlea pointed out how everyone else in the street seemed oblivious to the marvel in the sky. They were missing the most gorgeous sight. This is the sort of thing to make me glad to be alive.

Yuk! Pink's A Girls Color

It's official, girls really do have a preference for pink, and boys? - they've been proved to have a case of the blues.

For years we've been told that gender color differences are cultural, that it is learned behavior, that gender neutral toys and time would rid society of this pernicious inequality. Girls don't really like pink, they are taught to like it by a paternalistic society, despite the evidence every parent sees, that their children seem to be born with inbuilt personalities and preferences. In the same family there can be two girls with the same education and influences yet one can be a tomboy who hates pink, the other can love her Barbie doll and only want to dress in pink.

And boys are pretty consistent in thinking three things are Yuk! Girls, the color pink, and kissing girls. All except for that small portion who seem to prefer feminine things. But any number of screwed up adult trans-gender people will tell you that while their boyhood preference for feminine things including colors was frowned on, and strongly discouraged, it could never be extinguished.

Researchers Anya Hurlbert and colleagues at the University of Newcastle in the UK appeared to be sympathetic to the nurture rather than nature theory at the beginning of their testing as they admitted they were looking for cultural differences in color preferences by studying two culturally diverse groups. One consisted of exclusively British adults and the other were Han Chinese.

They were surprised to find that there was little differences between the groups, but marked differences between genders in both groups.

The study showed that both males and females have a strong liking for blue. It has been suggested that human prehistory may account for this. The color blue is associated with clear skies and clean water, both important components in the survival of early humans.

The study also revealed that only the females had a strong preference for another color - red, and particularly light reds and pinks. This could possibly be explained if early human females became gatherers of fruits, red being a very common indicator of ripening fruit.

This color preference was also found in the types of blue that females preferred to the males. Men seemed to choose pure blues when given a choice, but the women chose reddish blues such as lilac before the pure blues.

Evolutionary pressures in early humans due to behavior is highly likely to be a major factor for the reason for these color preferences. Few mammals have sophisticated color vision. Most mammals have only two receptors in their eye for two different wavelengths. This means that most mammals confuse many colors, much like a colorblind person does. Only the highest primates like humans and gorillas have a third wavelength receptor. That means that we and other apes can distinguish a full range of colors. Evolution selects for traits that offer a survival advantage. That includes the ability to better distinguish between ripe and unripe fruits as primates need to. Flowers too are an indicator of maturing plants of all kinds. It seems no coincidence that reds, pinks and lilacs are very common colors for flowers.

So, as you choose your colors for a painting pause for a minute and consider the colors you are using. Some of the choices may well be due to the needs of the moment, but some of them may well be rooted in the activities of your ancestors in an African Savannah a quarter of a million years ago.

There is another aspect to this. Knowing the deep psychological connection between color and the human psyche enables an artist to create a heightened emotional effect from their artwork. Knowledge of the differences in gender responses to color enables an even more finely tuned use of color to evoke response.

Beam Me Up Scottie (Well, Soon, Maybe)

Not to be outdone by a 22 room space hotel announced a few days ago (see my post "The First Artist In Space" August 12, 2007), Brigelow Aerospace has brought forward its plans to launch its own space station called Sundancer. Although not described specifically as a space hotel that would seem to be the most likely source of income for the venture.

Brigelow has already launched two inflatable test orbiting space ships called Genesis One and Two. Sundancer appears to be planned for launch before 2010. So it seems there is going to be ample opportunity to become the first artist in space. Now all I need is the four million dollars or so to get up there. Maybe I will just have to Hitchhike. Have thumb, will travel...