by L♥lli
6 Aug
Barbara Kruger
Most people have a hero. A family member, a friend, historical figure – a person put on a pedestal to be admired, respected and followed. In ‘The Last Station’ Leo Tolstoy is that hero. His chief follower, Vladimir Chertkov, dedicates his life to following Tolstoy’s virtues and beliefs, especially as he gets the chance to befriend and work for him. As he gets to know him better something appropriate happens (and it’s not at all the point of the movie): Tolstoy himself doesn’t adhere to all the rules he preaches. Chertkov discovers this and breaks the rule himself. Sensible, right? Your hero changes, and you change with them. Finding hypocrisy in what you thought was a one way truth, seeing that the virtues upheld were not at all a constant, or a discipline. More often than not, an eye and an ear are kept shut, ignoring subtle diversions, so that the hero can remain a hero. It’s a known cliche: Love is blind. Think about it. The consequences can range from none to world war three. Maybe the bearing of the word ‘hero’ should be changed so that it won’t define the whole person but will instead suggest a particular deed or quality; because a quality is either there or it isn’t, whereas a person’s character can easily sway, and if you sway with them you might unintentionally fall in the wrong direction.
About Barbara Kruger – she is an American conceptual artist who is famous for her layered photographs in which she combines images with captions. Her work deals with hyper-consumerism and the dynamics of different cultural issues as she aims to reveal the deceptions of signs and images. If you are a fan of ‘Supreme’ then you now know where the inspiration for the logo came from. Check out more of her work.. Read more »
Tags: Hero, Leo Tolstoy, Thoughts
by L♥lli
1 Jul
“Levin had often noticed in discussions between the most intelligent people that after enormous efforts and endless logical subtleties and talk, the disputants finally became aware that what they had been at such pains to prove to one another had long ago, from the beginning of the argument, been known to both, but that they liked different things, and would not define what they liked for fear of it being attacked. He had often had the experience of suddenly in the middle of a discussion grasping what it was the other liked and at once liking it too, and immediately he found himself agreeing, and then all the arguments fell away useless. Sometimes the reverse happened: he at last expressed what he liked himself, which he had been arguing to defend and, chancing to express it well and genuinely, had found the person he was disputing with suddenly agree. ” – Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
One of the most enriching books I wish I had read and understood much earlier in life..
Tags: Anna Karenina, Current read, Leo Tolstoy, Ph. Aenne Biermann
by L♥lli
22 May
“It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right
time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to
listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what
was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything
he might undertake.
And this thought having occurred to him, he had it proclaimed
throughout his kingdom that he would give a great reward to any one
who would teach him what was the right time for every action, and
who were the most necessary people, and how he might know what was
the most important thing to do.
And learned men came to the King, but they all answered his
questions differently.
The rest after the jump.. Read more »
Tags: Leo Tolstoy, Three Questions
