Pretentious pish?

I had the day off today.

It's would have been really easy to do nothing but I've not been to Tate Modern in Liverpool for ages so a trip was in order. I prefer Tate Modern Liverpool to London. It's more intimate although not quite as full of interesting looking people.

It was a worthwhile visit. I'm starting to "get" art. It's taken a while! The Gillian Wearing photo spoke to me, showing a University Challenge type looking chap holding a sign saying: "EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED IN LIFE THE POINT IS TO KNOW IT AND UNDERSTAND IT." Of course, knowledge is never ending......infinite. Trying to grasp at infinity is like trying to get to grips with enlightenment. But why did the statement resonate with me?

Well.... a few weeks ago I was speaking to Ian about poetry and I said I was far too much a pragmatist to enjoy the stuff. He countered by suggesting that by exploring it deeper, I may form images in my mind, gaining a deeper understanding of the world and ultimately have a more fulfilled life. Although still sceptical, such a statement was worth exploring.

Then last week, Steve from Has Bean was talking about coffee.... about how taste allowed us to visualise certain images or emotions in our minds which impacted on how we described a taste (well my interpretation of what he said anyway). My fav quote was "it tastes like strawberries in dung but in a nice way".

So back to art... I've never really understood how artists (or curators) manage to put such profound meaning to even the most abstract art. Pretentious pish some may say! But by linking Ian's suggestions on poetry, Steve's description of the effect of taste and Wearing's photograph, art and indeed life starts to make a bit more sense. Our cognitions are impacted on by our senses, whether it be taste, sight, touch or smell..... this is what makes us all individual but connected. Exploring art, poetry or even coffee stimulates our senses giving us a better grasp of what is around us......seeing, feeling, experiencing. No one will ever know or understand everything, even the enlightened but the point of life is aspiring towards understanding the world we live in! Pretentious pish..... I know!

Anyway what did I like today:

My Blip piccie is one, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi's reconstructed head of Michelangelo's David. Tough picture to take (ISO 800) as it was kinda dark and no flash was allowed. I loved another of Wearing's photographs, a portrait of Lemmy with a sign saying "I have been certified as mildly insane", a Lucien Freud painting of a bald man (remarkable genes in the Freud family) and Alison Wilding's sculpture "on the day".

I spoke to a cool African chap called Michel on the train who was into film making. He showed me a cool footie clip he had done of this Man Utd player and we talking about lots of other stuff.

Then went to North Tea Power and Wayne brewed up my Guatemalan Finca Bourbon from Tapa. It get's 67%. It was really acidic making the end of my tongue tingle in like when clubbing at Pure (emotion again), it had a taste of caramel that had gone too far, it was very rich with a hint of cocoa. As it cooled, a real nuttiness came out. I enjoyed it, but I prefer a lighter roast with fruity notes (oooo ar missus).

Not a bad day all round.