PROFOUNDLY EXPERIENTIAL

I recently had a very profound experience, one that I recommend. Wim Wenders is the artist. Cinema is the medium. Try it. I learned alot, about many things.

His film "Perfect Days" got lost in the Covid mess of 2023. The philosophical piece was made for the big screen, inside an audience-filled theater. The experience of a crowd would be interesting. I had to settle for a 13 inch iPad, alone.

Director of "Wings of Desire" (1987), Wim Wenders is an experienced filmmaker who knows all of the right tricks. A look at his oeuvre illustrates a thoughtful man. Wenders presents a personal journey for the engaged viewer.

As the film progresses, I found myself utterly focused on the simple decisions that the protagonist chooses. Wenders asked me, the audience, to look inward, at the daily choices that I have made and the new ones I will. It was like magic. New questions rose. I got a fresh look at my self-talk, the constant chatter in the ol' craw. Most profoundly, I saw our human need for philosophy.

Simply, you must hand yourself over to one of the greatest living storytellers for two hours and four minutes. Somehow, a story in which nothing happens, becomes riveting cinema and a personal transience. I became a better person for the experience.

That's art. Keep it coming. Now more than ever. We're rooting for you Wim.

Art Report Today .com

BLACK EYE FOR BEAUTY

With so many international catastrophes running concurrently these days, I made a too-frantic decision to escape into beauty. Is that not, to which, all Art aspires?

Yes, the new "looksmaxxing" craze must be valuable, as it has been appearing across the international media. For the millennia, women have gamed the beauty treatment universe. 'Looksmaxxing' is today's male argument.

Laden with testosterone, these new age-defying techniques are home-based. The before and after pics are astounding. Not out of vanity, but journalistic inquiry, I went undercover.

For our non-coastal readers, 'looksmaxxing' is the new brutal punishment to make the male look better and feel more chipper, against the waves of neo-feminism and male-emasculation. This is a program for real He-Men. It involves extreme food starvation, modest meth addiction, roids and a few broken bones. The word 'broken' separates the He-Men from the Bois. You can't get taller (or shorter) without breaking some eggs. That's where I got into trouble.

If you chew enough stale bubble gum, car tire tough, your jaw muscles swell like actor Robert Pattinson. And now mine. Want a chiseled chin? All you need is a chisel and some gauze. You can change your height, but a medical doctor, extreme surgery and a bag of Benjamins are required.

Taking the path of least expense, I opted for the crafted, homemade rhinoplasty. I even bought a new, titanium hammer. I looked in the mirror and drew a bullseye across the bridge of my nose. There is no test-swing. You just have to aim and go for it. Swift and sure. It wasn't an exact hit. My eye swelled and blackened within a minute.

Determined, I did not quite get the result of the imperial Roman nose that I so desired. But I do have a whole new maxxed look. I may not resemble Robert Pattinson, but I still look like an actor, albeit Barry Keoghan.

We gotta give a shout out to Keoghan. The media is shoving him through the grinder right now. They are making fun of his schnoz. How dare they? His proboscis might be the reason he's had such an amazing filmography ("Saltburn" "Dunkirk" "Killing of a Sacred Deer") We're rooting for you Barry. To the maxx.

Art Report Today .com

THERRIEN

I was talking with a talented friend, an experienced LA-based artist. He was saying "Robert Therrien: This is a Story" at the Broad is very important, especially for new artists. He feels it will expand their horizons, ask new questions, and refocus an individual's personal vision.

He was politely saying that a grad school education has been issue-based for a long time. Art and the artist got the backseat to the message. The Broad's Therrien show should blow free minds to new possibilities and approaches.

Click Here. This Art Newspaper article will tell you "Why Robert Therrien Is a Big Deal."

Art Report Today .com