Evolution

I was walking along the street today, taking picture of flowers as usual, when I realized I should probably do something about all my flower photos. They are not all that impressive as far as flower photos go (there's probably more pictures taken of flowers than anything else), but I've always wanted to create a site with only flower pictures. Hence, I will probably start a separate blog for them, since I take photos of flowers and trees rather frequently.

All enterprises, for better or worse, evolve. I would have to say the same for blogging. I tried to make it a rule to always include an interesting site and an artist for every post I make, but that is actually pretty hard to do on a regular basis. I don't surf the net that often for fun sites and my time fact-checking artist bios is limited. Therefore, I have no choice but to "evolve" the blog to be a little less rigid in format. Eventually, I'd like to have a section for just links or artists, but for now I can only keep on posting.

Lately, I have been craving sweet and savory combos, sort of like the kind that characterizes Japanese food. With the advent of a long weekend, I finally found time to grocery shop and cook what I crave. The result? Buckwheat noodles with seafood toppings. If I may say so myself, I think it turned out rather good.


Link of the day: www.wordskit.com
What is it: a site a college friend IMed me the other day when I complained that I was running out of fun sites to post on my blog. The site showcases "eccentricities of the English language" that range from funny pronunciations to original and hilarious similes.

Artist of the day: Zhang Da Qian (张大千）
Who is he: a noted Chinese painter of the 20th century. A lot of artists can paint. Many paint well and a good number of them are considered "important" by art history books. Most artists, in fact, contribute quite significantly to art as we know it today, whether by shaping artistic trends or capturing the essence of their era. Only a very select few, however, can be deemed geniuses. Pablo Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci are two such, with Gerhard Richter a potential modern addition. To this elite "artistic pantheon," I would not hesitate to add a fourth: Zhang Da Qian.

Zhang Da Qian has always been widely recognized as a master of traditional Chinese painting. He was gifted with an uncanny ability to emulate Chinese paintings and calligraphy and was exceptionally talented in mixing traditional and contemporary styles and ideas. He was a master forger whose copies were often taken in for originals. In fact, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston recently had an exhibit for Zhang, placing an original he donated next to one of his forgeries that the museum had unwittingly bought decades ago. Ironically, few have been able to emulate Zhang as he had the masters before him.

In any case, like the other artistic geniuses I mentioned earlier, Zhang lived to a ripe old age and developed his art continuously and innovatively throughout his lifetime. Like the others too, he did not stop at being a master of the art he was brought up to revere, but instead surpassed it and blazed new trails time after time. Pictures in this case, are worth far more than words.

Zhang Da Qian, image from chineseartists.net

Zhang Da Qian, image from iecool.com

Zhang Da Qian, image from iecool.com

Zhang Da Qian, image from iecool.com