Background image: SPC 4 Quinn Jacobson (aka Jake) locks in on a target 175 meters downrange with an M203 grenade launcher mounted on an M16 rifle.
The Studio Q Show LIVE! September 21, 2024 at 1000 MST
Greetings!
I hope you can join me on Saturday for a conversation about war and violence in our culture. This is episode six of Conversations with Solomon.
Some questions to ponder after watching the video:
What aspects of the video did you find the most engaging or thought-provoking?
Do you believe that war and violence are inevitable aspects of human existence?
If you agree, what reasons support this belief?
How might the themes of violence and war in our culture be expressed or transformed into artistic creations?
Can you give any examples of artists using war and violence as a topic in their art?
I wanted to have this conversation a couple of weeks ago. It's so timely; I think we should look at the idea of war and violence as a jumping-off point for creating art. This is a topic that hits close to home for me. For those that have served in the military, these ideas can alleviate some of the trauma and stress from serving. I'll share some personal insight (my military time) and how Becker had a similar experience in the Army after WW2 liberating the death camps of Europe. Ernest Becker served in the infantry as well.
If you can, spend some time with this; take some notes and wrestle with the questions I asked (above) or your own. It's 40 minutes long, but worth every minute.
Conversations With Solomon: War and Violence
The links to the show on Saturday:
Stream Yard: https://streamyard.com/tvn88jifd2
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/live/AG2mKG-VrP0?si=Rar2IUvz-shViVLW
I hope you have a wonderful week, and I hope to see you Saturday!
The Studio Q Show LIVE! September 7, 2024 at 1000 MST
Join Quinn on Saturday for a talk about the Ernest Becker Foundation's paper called, "Death Anxiety and Social Change." This paper explains how to approach these ideas both in your work and talking with other people about how death anxiety influences our day-to-day lives.
Stream Yard: https://streamyard.com/qw7aq7725j
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/live/xrrVChZd-Nc?si=CedDtlW_xp8tdgw3
“Consuming My Illusion” 9” x 12” paper, acrylic, and cardboard. - September 1, 2024
I Feel Pretty Good About This Painting
In some cultures, fish are believed to be messengers of the spirit world, connecting the living and the ancestors.
I've been painting and working with these two figures for a while. I did a painting that was very "primitive" using the drawing here of the homo sapien. The fish is something that I've been working around in ideas. This is multimedia piece; 9" x 12" paper, acrylic and cardboard.
“What the herd hates most is the one who thinks differently; it is not so much the opinion itself, but the audacity of wanting to think for themselves, something that they do not know how to do.”
The Studio Q Show LIVE! September 4, 2024 at 1700 MST
Join Quinn on Wednesday evening (September 4, 2024, at 1700 MST) for a talk with Dr. Sheldon Solomon, author of The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. Quinn and Sheldon will talk about how artists differ in their response to death anxiety. What can an artist do to harness this powerful psychological phenomenon? Can the knowledge of our impending deaths make us more creative?
The Studio Q Show LIVE! August 31, 2024
Engaging with Themes of Mortality
"Camera Lucida" by Roland Barthes
Join Quinn for a discussion on how artists can explore themes of mortality. The conversation will reference Roland Barthes' book Camera Lucida, which delves into the relationship between photography and death. The wet collodion process, commonly used in 19th-century postmortem photography, is particularly suited to these themes due to its unique aesthetic. Barthes' insights on photography and its connection to death will serve as a central point in this discussion.
"Camera Lucida" is a profound meditation on photography, but it also deeply engages with themes of mortality. Barthes reflects on the nature of photographs as they relate to the passage of time, memory, and death.
Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 1000 MST
Stream Yard: https://streamyard.com/ukhsywxuis
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/live/SMZ_L8Zrx8I?si=fnfegB_v7KChp_19
You can read Camera Lucida here: CAMERA LUCIDA by ROLAND BARTHES
The Studio Q Show LIVE! August 10, 2024 at 1000 MST
Join Quinn to discuss Sheldon Solomon's video on bigotry, “Conversations with Solomon.” How can we use this for making art? What inspiration does this provide for creative and expressive work? Moreover, how is this connected the fear of mortality?
“Because cultural conceptions of reality keep a lid on mortal dread, acknowledging the legitimacy of beliefs contrary to our own unleashes the very terror those beliefs serve to quell. So we must parry the threat by derogating and dehumanizing those with alternative views of life, by forcing them to adopt our beliefs and co-opting aspects of their cultures into our own, or by obliterating them entirely.”
― Sheldon Solomon, The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life
The Studio Q Show LIVE! August 3, 2024 at 1000 MST
Join Quinn on Saturday, August 3, 2024, for an hour and explore the relationship between creative and non-creative people and how they cope with mortality. Quinn will cover some of Ernest Becker's thoughts on Otto Rank's breakdown of how artists manage their anxiety about death.
Stream Yard: https://streamyard.com/rdy5fe8ipy
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/FPPpLUQFz7U?si=uJZIftVEZFMVHzHs
The Studio Q Show LIVE! July 27, 2024 at 1000 MST Part 3
THE CREATIVE ANIMAL??
This week, Quinn will continue the series on The Creative Mind and Mortality, Part 3."This will address artist's unique perspectives on why they create art and the struggles they face in light of existential dread or mortality.
What does it mean to have a "creative practice"?
How does creating art help with the fear of death?
Do creative people process existential terror differently? If so, how?
Ernest Becker's "The Denial of Death" and Otto Rank's book "Art and Artist."
Stream Yard (LIVE): https://streamyard.com/jc28hrjyd2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/VeLDm2Xv2K0?si=nUy1SRxfR75J481P
“Phrenology” - Whole Plate Black Glass Ambrotype - Viernheim, Germany 2009
A Very Fine Line: Narcissism and Self-Esteem Boosting
Every time I start to write about narcissism and self-esteem, some wires get crossed and confusion sets in, and I try to wriggle my way out of explaining the difference between the two. There is a very fine line between the two, and it’s very difficult to explain the nuances.
Self-esteem is very important for psychological security. You need it; every human being does. But what is self-esteem? Most people think that it’s feeling good about yourself. And that’s true, but it plays a much bigger role than that.
Ernest Becker said that self-esteem is as important as food to a human being. That’s quite a statement, but I think it’s true. Self-esteem boils down to a very basic need: having meaning and significance in a world that values you. Most of the time, our culture provides ways that we can bolster our self-esteem. Getting a degree, accomplishing important things at your job, raising a family, or belonging to a certain religion or political group. Even joining in with the fans of a specific sports team. All of those cultural constructs can give us the framework for boosting our self-esteem and making us feel like we’re significant in a meaningful world. That’s what we’re after (psychologically speaking), whether we’re aware of it or not, and most aren’t.
There are plenty of harmful ways we try to find that comfort, too. Ernest Becker articulated some of the malignant traits of pursuing this; he called it, “tranquilizing with the trivial.” These activities include shopping, social media, drinking, drugging, etc. These are all ways humans “turn off” (or try to) the constant gnawing of mortality. Most of the time, we try to work within our cultural worldview and boost our self-esteem by following what’s appropriate and accepted in our culture. If our culture doesn’t provide obtainable ways to bolster our self-esteem, we'll resort to tranquilizing with the trivial, or worse.
I just read an article about America's declining IQ. It’s called “Our Falling IQ Shows in the Polls” by Sabrina Haake. You can read the article here. I can’t help but see that social media has played a big role in this, among many other things (see article). I’m worried about this country. These are not new concerns; they are just more present and potent than before. And I can’t help but tie all of this back to Becker’s theories and Solomon’s empirical evidence about death anxiety and terror management theory. It’s so easy for me to see the correlation and causation. Some food for thought.
On another note: I’ve been editing my book like crazy for a few days. I try to get some editing time in every day. It’s exciting to see it get closer and closer to becoming a real, published book! I know there won’t be very many people interested in it, but for those that are, I hope you’ll find it potent and thought-provoking.