2014, Unlucky plus 1
Swagger. Say that a couple times. Swagger. Swagger. Or make it a verb. Swaggers. It is like sauntering but with confidence, swiveling the hips with intention, subtly or with gusto, swerving through space as we go to signal that we are happy to be here and doing what we are doing. It is so different from marching in every way. And really the opposite of plodding, though plodding is a great word to say. Swaggering I am thinking is also uniquely human. Things and critters don't do this. Check that; things made with swagger can.
And at the inception of a new calendar this concept comes to the fore in my mind as something to embrace. Let go of any derogatory connotations of the word and make this motion an outlook. Swagger not because you are superior to others but that you are superior, period, the pinnacle of evolution, the highest form of life on the planet, with an awareness of self and of place. Put some swagger in your day and let the neighbors know that you are here for a reason.
What does this have to do with art? Well, glad you asked. All art is swagger. Why is any image worth creating, recording or preserving? Because it has swagger. It is a thing in space with intention and a smidgen of pride. It is because it is believed, (by somebody, at least one person) to be worthy, expressive, uplifting. That trumpet solo, that cast aside of the bat as the ball sails over the fence in center, those tights, those boots, that hat, the new wheel set, this photo, that painting, even that guy tromping patterns in the snow in a storm somewhere up high is doing something with swagger.
Go this route my friends. Take on 2014 with style and confidence. Be inspired each day and express it will just a little swagger.
Come see my latest in stainless swaggering at Art Palm Beach, www.artpalmbeach.com, with the Maria Elena Gallery, January 23-27, Palm Beach County Convention Center, Florida. I will be there to discuss the imperative of the original and its impossibility. And why James Brown is best for tree skiing.
See you in Florida. Thanks. Enjoy the turbulence.
