So many things to say, so little time in a day - ahh! unintentional rhyme! - I am really sounding like Carrie Bradshaw!! Good for the play I suppose...
(I aplogise in advance for the incoherence - I am soo tired, I am typing with my eyelids closed and fingers half asleep, but I just had to get this out of my system!!)
So what can I tell you that wont keep me up all night typing ?!
My day today? It was wacky. And that is an understatement.
I got up late and had to rush and get my pix for this art gallery up north (about 1 hr from the city - it's a quaint small town in the country). I had to make my first stop at the photo lab, picked up the prints, and began to hit the highwat. To my shock and horror (I know, I should have checked in the store) I opened the envelope and saw that the technician cropped off wuite a bit of the image! At the time, little did I realize, that seeing the copies of the originals as 11x14's and not computer screen size made a huge difference (and being 11x14 - the whole effect was lost if you looked at them up close - step back 5 feet and it makes all the difference in the world) so I panicked, had a serious freak out hair pulling hyperventilating fit, and had to get E to circle back to the lab, got the explanation from the technician, hopped in the car and had to drive to 3 different stores to find the suitable frames, and all managing to get to the gallery with 20 minutes remaining before she closed. God bless E - being able to put up with me, manage traffic and stupid Saturday shoppers, he is a real angel.
Well, the gallery owner LOVED my stuff! I have never seen anyone so enthusiastic about my work in my life!! This woman obviously is well off, and is an art collector, has her own gallery just because she loves art (oh to have lots of money and be able to do something just because you like it, like sailing across the ocean, buying a villa in Rome...). Listening to her comments, I realized that this was coming from a seasoned art connoisseur, and that in itself was a compliment deluxe!!
While in her studio, she served us tea and we began to chat about erotica in art. She made a valid point in saying that erotica in art is being replaced by the savage, the vulgar and the violent. Some jeans ads that are out there are downright obscene, degrading women and turning their misery or abuse inflicted on them as sexy. Women have always been portrayed as sex objects in the fashion world, but now, there is an underlying current of hostility that disturbs many of us artsy fartsies who have seen the progression from lipstick gloss glam to heroin chic.
"There is a fine line that divides erotica and porn, and as an artist I can explore that boundary, pushing the limit, but never going over it. That is avant garde. That is hot. That is what I would like to see in art now. That is what I would like to explore in my photography."
She seemed really impressed by what I had to say and vice versa. An older woman in her early 50's, she had the spunk and energy of a 30 year old. There was an instantaneous bond - two woman artists wanting to explore and bring to the public the sensual side of art, and going out on a limb for the first time in doing so.
"I don't know what the public is going to think! All my clients are used to oil on canvas and watercolours, abstract yes, but nothing like this! They even have to pass my gallery on the way to the local church!"
I felt so great. Meeting her felt so great. I instinctively knew that I was where I was because it was meant to be. This is my time. My work is being noticed. I have chosen this path for a reason; (even though it seems hazy to me at times - like looking down a road during a snow storm) I have only my faith and duty to myself in following my dreams to guide me the rest of the way.
After looking over the promotional posters that she designed for the event, the gallery owner, spoke about a photographer who was also taking part in this exposition. His gallery was just down the street from hers. We agreed to take some of the promo posters down to him.
His photos were average, nothing spectacular, and the atmosphere of the space was pretty drab, but meeting with fellow photogs that are actually successful in the biz is always good for me (to hear about their tips, learn about the ins and outs of the biz). He was proud to show us all that he did with his digital camera (my model - I was surprised) and then showed us his back room/studio. On the way was a wall of press clippings and the various articles written on him. There was one article that struck me. Struck me down, I mean, I almost fainted...
He had been commissioned to design one of the newer subway stations here in the city. Its on a line that does not get much traffic, and if you have never ventured to that area of the burbs, you would have never even known it was there. Bur I knew it was there...
About 10 years ago when I made my second student film, I had chosen that exact same subway station because I was drawn to the graphics and colours - photos of a woman flying in mid air, mid-bounce on a trampoline, shoes and purse in motion beside her. To me, this symbolized a woman who was suspended in a state of confusion, inertia, lost and not knowing when she would 'hit the ground'. That was me, that was my character in my film . I juxtaposed the two images of my actress running in front of the upsidedown woman during the editing. It flowed seamlessly, beautifully.
Of all subway stations.
Of all murals that spoke to me.
Of all images that I had to choose from, I chose this one to be in my film, to symbolize my state of mind during my nervous breakdown 16 years ago.
16 years later, and I was now standing in front of the exact image. In front of the artist who had been commissioned to design it.
What were the chances.
Really, what were the chances.
A small town an hour out of the city center, an art gallery accepting submissions that I just happened to stumble upon through a link through a link and then another link.
A friend of the art gallery owner who happened to be in his shop who just minutes before she called, was on his way out for the night?
What were the chances.
I am still flipping but I have to think of something else because I will be up all night in amazement and awe about how little coincidences like this, little signs from the universe that appear to tell you that you are on the right path at this particular time. A sign to say: "Its all coming together, it's all connected. You are here and this is happening for a reason..."
This is defintelty one for the record books.
I will elaborate more in tommorow's blog after I get my solid 3 hours of sleep.
2 comments:
That's an interesting story- its true that real life is always stranger than fiction. A lot of the time things happen to me in the kind of way that makes me think 'hang on...!' Life is wonderfully wacky.
Sometimes the circles we run in are small enough that they will loop back onto themselves.
And given how many people we come across every day with whom there is no connection, hitting one every blue moon with a profound connection is... probable.
But I'm glad you feel blessed by the universe. That's a good thing.
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