Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
4.01.2012
3.17.2012
DETACH AND DETOX
Detach and detox
3.17.12
It's been a while since I've wrote a text-heavy entry.
I'm going to try to keep it as short and sweet as possible. The last few months—even days, have been a whirlwind. Living here in NYC has been a wild ride to say the least. Met people, left people; created things, destroyed things; nourished dying relationships, reviving bonds that needed nourishments. It all broke my heart the best way possible; so broken that I can now can soak even more experience and feeling into those broken cracks.
I'm planning to leave New York soon possibly end of month. Just to take a little break; I sort of felt this coming on all along. I mean it's nice being here in the city but only if you have something to do right? I can't wait to go home and see my mom and sister and to relax a bit. Then perhaps a week in Los Angeles to be by the water and clear my mind. Maybe back to NYC afterwards? Who knows. But one thing I know is that there are alternative ways of living rather than the typical pattern: grow up, go to school, get married, have kids, etc. We can just be a wanderer and travel the world until we find a place to call home.
I'm slowly adopting a streamlined aesthetic, or rather a more refined lifestyle; one where I could pick up and leave the country tomorrow if I'd like. To be boundless, and not so rooted. Live light and compact. Reassess your possessions; let go of what you no longer need and keep the ones you do. I set up my eBay account here, check it to see what you can give a new loving home to. Detach and detox; that's the current theme in my life. Because when we have nothing left to lose, we are free to do anything. I think that's how it is being an immigrant child in America. You slowly let go of your language, your culture, and everything becomes... limitless
I feel new. I feel reborn, as if I have crossed the other side. I have so much talent and services to offer... and my services doesn't have to be in one place, it could be mobilized. If you like my work and have grown with me as a visual artist throughout the years, you know where to find me; my portfolio, or even this blog and we can definitely discuss creative business.
When we are so bounded by life's mundane routines, we will never truly be happy; hence the pursuit of happiness. I can't sit at a place all day waiting for happiness — matter of fact I don't think we'll ever achieve happiness, it could only be pursued. But in the process of pursuing happiness we get that rare chance of being happy.
So again, if you'd like to give some of my clothing pieces a new loving home (including the Harajuku Creepers in pink metalltic, and Versace for H&M shirt, a beautiful faux-fur down vest, and all the blazers I've worn a few times before), please visit my eBay listings! :)
Here, I leave you with a few quotes that really spark my train of thoughts lately in life:
“I want to taste and glory in each day, and never be afraid to experience pain; and never shut myself up in a numb core of non-feeling, or stop questioning and criticizing life and take the easy way out. To learn and think: to think and live; to live and learn: this always, with new insight, new understanding, and new love.”
— Sylvia Plath“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes: Awww!”
— Jack KerouacI really love this video and quotes because justifies my obsession with stars and astral bodies. Watch it in closed-caption or you can read the quote I put from the video underneath...
“The most astounding fact is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on Earth the atoms that make up the human body are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures.
These stars, the high mass ones among them went unstable in their later years they collapsed and then exploded scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas cloud that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems stars with orbiting planets, and those planets now have the ingredients for life itself.
So that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up – many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big – but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars. There’s a level of connectivity. That’s really what you want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant you want to feel like a participant in the goings on of activities and events around you That’s precisely what we are, just by being alive.”
— The Most Astounding Factby Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson
See you on the other side!
xQ
3.06.2012
1.14.2012
12.23.2011
12.04.2011
MARRY THE NIGHT: FILM STUDENT'S ANALYSIS
As some of you little monsters already know, GaGa released her new epic music video for "Marry The Night" with a whooping 13 minutes long narration that is re-telling of one of the worse days in her life. When she was dropped from Def Jam records label, but finally got picked up back Interscope Records, the video follows her throughout the journey overcoming her own demons with lots of symbolism. The biggest one is the "Phoenix" or known as the "fire bird" symbolism towards the very end, and how cool that she was dancing on top of a Pontiac Trans Am car that was a "fire bird" car edition. Here I have the amazing video for you to watch and an equally amazing review from a film student (on tumblr) for you to read... trust me, it's a great analysis too!
MARRY THE NIGHT:
Analysis from a Film Student's Point of View
The video is made up of sequences; The Clinic, The Ballet, The Bedroom, The Dance Studio, The Car, The Street, The Montage. Half the video also takes place within Gaga’s mind; at least that’s what the fades tell us. So let’s get into this analysis...
First off, if you listen closely it starts with a film reel starting to turn, when the film reel reaches speed Gaga starts to talk and the fade from white begins. Usually, when a character begins to narrate after a film reel reaches speed it means that they are watching along with us or are looking back on things in their life. Fades from white generally mean death or an ascension into a different plane of existence or thinking, it can also mean an out-of-body experience or that the events being seen are taking place entirely within the characters mind. From the fade to white we go into a close up of Gaga’s face. Closeups are very important in film and have one very important main function, they show the audience what is important in the scene, here we are given a facial close up and these are used to get inside the mind of a character. With this close up we are being brought into the mind of Gaga. Closeups are also extremely intimate shots, when you think about how close you allow people in real life the only ones who get that close are very close friends, mothers, significant others… the people who are important to you, Gaga is letting us in.
Another thing about closeups is that they are either used to make the audience feel comfortable or uncomfortable with a character, here it is being used to make us feel uncomfortable. Because the closeup starts by spinning counterclockwise it gives us the sense that something is off, there is something going on that is not right. Another thing about the close up, film aside and this may be reaching a tad, but Gaga is wearing peach lipstick and the color peach is symbolic for strength. As the nurses push Gaga they are going up hill, this is symbolic for struggles. Majority of the clip is being shot as a medium tracking shot, giving the impression that we, the audience, is following the characters along, but also because of gaga’s voice over and her comments about the nurses and what they are wearing and what they are doing and the little moves the camera makes… like craning up a bit when they start to approach the door gives us the sense that its not only us that are following Gaga and the nurses along but Gaga is also following herself, almost like an out-of-body experience. She is taking us on this journey.
From here we go into another closeup shot of Gaga, as she is taking the camera zooms to an extreme closeup as she starts to cry, giving us another very intimate shot. In this shot she is not only telling the nurse/doctor and us what her goal is, she is telling herself. When the music starts Gaga puts on the cap and the camera start a dolly out, as we move back Gaga’s arms go up along with the music and then she lies down, as we continue the dolly out we are shown the room in a symmetrical shot. Symmetrical shots are very important, symmetry is used in connection with personal enlightenment, it is also often used to convey the high-status position of characters, it may also be used to show community, or it is often applied to scenes concerning death. Also, this is purely speculative, but as we move back into an extreme long shot we see all the other patients running around, laughing, with Gaga in the middle of it all, this could easily represent the struggles she had with her demons. As we continue to dolly out the screen fades to white again, as I stated before a fade to white means that the character is entering a new plane of existence or thinking, we are still in Gaga’s mind. The entire ballet sequence takes place within her head. She stands alone, center stage, the most important spot, the center of attention.
From this shot we fade to black, this fade means that we are now entering reality. We are given a long shot from above of a room, long shots are used to establish setting, and shots from above looking down are used to give a sense of an omniscient presence. We then see a time lapse, Gaga being undressed and put into her bed, she is being taken care of. The color red is extremely powerful in this scene, red is the most emotionally intense color, it stimulates a faster heart rate and breathing, it is usually used to symbolize something of great emotional importance. Which makes sense considering in the next shot she is receiving the call that she is being dropped from the label. From here we have another extreme close up as Gaga holds the phone and rolls towards the camera, this tells us that we are about to have another intimate moment with Gaga, she is letting us in again. Now we go into several quick close ups of gaga, clearly devastated. The quick cutting adds tension, uneasiness, upset, distress, these cuts are intertwined with the ballet sequence, with this cutting we are going back and forth between reality and what’s going on inside her mind. The ballerina’s dance represents her internal struggle. The dance goes from being slow and beautiful to extremely quick and chaotic, one scene the ballet Gaga even appears upside down; this is a representation of how her world was literally turned upside down. The shot of ballet Gaga on the ground looking up at other ballerinas on the stage, symbolizes being the lowest of the low. She started off all alone on the stage, being the star, now she is replaced by 5 more ballerina’s all looking down on her, essentially taking the spotlight from her. This is symbolic of replacement.
We fade to black, this represents a lapse in time, we are now moving forward. In the next shot we are shown a blonde Gaga in the tub, the film reel can be heard again and gaga can be heard singing 'marry the night' in the narration. This tells us that gaga is still watching with us, she is still guiding us on this journey. Her sitting in the tub is symbolic of her beginning to transform from Stefani to Gaga. We have another fade to black and we are propelled further into time.
The next sequence beings with a low shot of Gaga, we are looking up at her this makes it seem like she has some power, she is beginning to rise up. However, from this shot we quickly go to another shot looking down on her, showing that she still isn’t the most powerful. All the dancers are looking down at her, she is still low. This shot also contains two important symbols, first the wall behind the dancers says “The cross is my anchor” the anchor is an ancient Christian symbol signifying hope. We also have Neptune above that, Neptune God of the sea represents inspiration, dreams, psychic receptivity, illusion, and confusion; A youthful, and sometimes naïve, person. He is also associated with intuition and spiritual enlightenment, as well as the yearning of the soul to break free from restrictions and limitations of matter/reality. From the shot of Neptune we move to a shot of the moon, this shot is both symbolic as well as transitional, it moves us from one place to another. The full moon is symbolic of the height of power, the peak of clarity, and the fullness and obtainment of desire. Now, in this sequence we have Gaga both in the trans am as well as dancing around it, there are cars on fire as well as rain, water and fire are complete opposites and the symbolize two different things. The fire symbolizes the powers of change and purification. Whereas the water and the rain symbolize the subconscious mind, the world of the soul and dreams, evocative of all the emotions and qualities which cant be measured by physical means.
From this scene we are brought back to Gaga in the dance rehearsal, this is shot mostly with medium and closeup shots to keep us right in the action with Gaga, like we are with her taking part in the class. There are also some tracking shots, these are used for us to follow Gaga, with this shot we see that no one is really interacting with her, she seems alone in the class. In fact no one interacts with her until she picks Dina up off the ground after she falls, then she is brought into the group so to speak and all the dancers begin to surround her as she dances. This is symbolic of acceptance, finding her place.
The last sequence is my favorite sequence, in this sequence Gaga uses Soviet montage theory. This is a style that relies heavily on editing, and it is used to have the montage express much more than just a simple lapse in time. Here she uses basically two types of montage: intellectual and tonal. Intellectual montage uses shots, which, combined, elicit an intellectual meaning. For example, the cutting between shots of gaga destroying her room and breaking glass and ballet Gaga doing her dance. Or the cutting between gaga about to purge in the bathroom stall and Gaga in the bathtub dumping water on her head. The meaning does not exist in the individual shots, but only arises when they are juxtaposed. Tonal uses the emotional meaning of the shots—not just manipulating the temporal length of the cuts or its rhythmical characteristics—to elicit reaction from the audience. An example of this is when Gaga is shattering the mirror, or throwing the wine glass, or the extreme close ups of her crying while holding her head, she is emoting distress, sadness, anger, frustration, so much emotion, and it is made clear to us by the cutting between shots.
The last minute or so of the video is comprised of quick cuts between 52 shots; this last minute, and quick montage is gaga showing us what struggles she overcame. We see her dragging a piano, eating, then purging, then crying, then dumping gas on cars, all of these shots are cut between with ballet Gaga, doing her dance, the struggle within her mind. In the quick shots with gaga dragging the piano down the stairs she first refuses help from the man but after falling down the stairs the man helps her up and she finally accepts the help. This scene is cut between Gaga purging in the bathroom, she enters the stall after throwing away her food and makes herself sick, she then stands up and starts smoking. After the shot of her accepting help form the man, we cut back to her in the stall, she slams open the door and we see a close up of her throwing away her cigarettes, from here we go to the shot of Gaga walking out the door carrying the piano with the mans help. We then have Gaga sitting on top of the trans am and standing next to it watching as the cars around her blow up, this symbolizes Gaga overcoming her demons. She accepted help and is on her way. We then see Gaga get into the black car and then the extreme close up of “Interscope Records Hollywood, CA 4pm” written on her hand, we all know what comes next. Gaga has achieved her dream.
The video ends with Gaga surrounded by flames, dressed all in red, with the blue mask on. This is symbolic of the phoenix. The phoenix is a universal symbol of the sun, rebirth, resurrection and immortality, this legendary “fire bird” was believed to die in its self-made flames periodically, and then rise again out of its own ashes.
In short, the video is about Gaga overcoming her demons and becoming the woman that she is today. It’s a video about how no matter what it is you are facing, no matter how impossible it seems, there’s always a way to overcome it if you are willing to fight for what your dream is. You have to pick yourself up and go kick some ass.
Some side notes:
The video reminds me a lot of film noir, a lot of the shots are filmed or shot for night, there are lots of mirrors, glass, windows, reflections, and water. Noir literally translates to “dark film” and they are just that, dark. They deal with dark subject matter.
A lot of this video is filmed through P.O.V (point of view shots) meaning that it puts us in gaga’s shoes a lot, we are seeing what she is seeing. Like when she is looking up and all of the dancers are looking down on her.
There are three colors that are mainly used in this video: Red, Green, and Blue.
Red -emotionally intense color
Green -calming, refreshing, this color relaxes people
Blue -The complete opposite of red. The least intense of colors.
Reviewed/analyzed by: rhiannonbmoriarty.tumblr.com
11.03.2011
8.28.2011
8.21.2011
8.19.2011
8.15.2011
6.21.2011
5.23.2011
5.14.2011
5.08.2011
5.01.2011
ANSWERED QUESTIONS 5
Answered questions 5
5.1.11
1) Hi lovely! I need some advice on how to gain self confidence. I am such a shy and insecure person. People think I'm a stuck up and I am seriously not one! It's so hard making new friends and I'm majoring in fashion! I need connections! Please help me!
— Hi there. Sorry for this extra late reply!
Here goes my advice on how to gain self confidence, and believe me, confidence itself is a very hard thing to acquire and maintain, but once you have it, you will feel the power of it, and whether you choose to feel its positive or negative power, that's up to you.
Please don't feel bad if you're a shy and insecure person, I used to be very insecure and hated myself too. I would always be very conscious of what I say or do, because I'm scared people might think of me this way or that way BLAH BLAH BLAH... but sometimes we are our own worse enemies. So, I was my own worse enemy at that time in my life, the truth was, people didn't care about what I say or do, but in my mind I thought too much into it... so, what I'm saying is, sometimes you just have to GET OVER YOURSELF! like I finally decided to get over myself and tell myself to just stop over analyzing things and just be true to what i want, and go from there!
It's hard to make friends in general, it's even harder to establish a genuine connection with another human being, but if you open yourself and be social, active, and have interesting things to share, you will make new friends in no time. Also, connections are from knowing people, the more people you know, the better your connections get, but remember to choose wisely who you get to know! Good luck! :)
2) I love your post w/ the LB photos! I was wondering where did you get your fox tail?! I also liked how nicely you responded to a person's comment of it being offensive.
— thank you! I got my fox tail from eBay
yes, I didn't want to offend anyone so I try to be as mindful as I can, I just think people are so hyper-sensitive nowadays, I mean if you really do think about it back when we first evolved, that's how we survive, it's part of life, love it for all its dirty, beautiful, offensive glory! :)
3) Did you use a pattern for the red bag?
— I didn't make a pattern but I kinda drew out what I wanted it to look like and went from there.
4) Quan. U're amazing! I cried reading your "Do you think you can find it?" entry. It reminded how much I miss the simplicity (black & white) of life, long forgotten. Did you find what you were looking for? Or still looking? It is easy for you to forgive?
— Thank you so very much! I'm happy knowing it connected you on an emotional level. I wrote that entry in the thought of simplicity of life and its rural bliss.
I have yet to find what I'm looking for. Actually, I don't really know what I'm looking for. I'm still looking, I suppose. But I think now, instead of looking so hard for it, just enjoy what you've already found, and more treasures will reveal itself along this journey.
Forgiving is hard at first but very necessary, you must forgive so you can move beyond whatever that troubled you to greater things.
5) Who took those jumping shots for you? they're so cool. tips on taking self potrait pics?
— Thank you! My little sister takes all my "What I Wore" jumping shots, and then I retouch and edit them. Haha! I know, I'm training her early! ;)
I think self-portraits are great. It somewhat forces you to face yourself, accept your flaws, and get over it, so you can continue to take that photograph and perfect your vision. Tips? Well, I think a crisp, well-lit self portrait is always a good start. It all depends on your aesthetic though.
6) Any good movies you would recommend?
— yes of course. I actually answered this question before, and I listed out my top 10 favorite movies, here they are:
1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2) 2046
3) Bad Education
4) Ghost World
5) Amélie
6) Volver
7) A Single Man
8) Closer
9) The Wedding Banquet
10) The Holy Mountain
7) What's the font you use on the 'Calm Chaos' title? it's really pretty, I never thought a script font could be so pretty. xx
— I didn't use any font. That was my handwriting, I wrote the words "Calm Chaos" and scanned it in the computer to trace it and made it red. My handwriting is a mixture of script and sans script at the same time. It's weird. I'm weird. But I love it though.
Thank you so much! ;)
8) If someone see's you and recognizes you from your blog, how should one approach you without looking/sounding weird/creepy, lol?
— lol. They should just come and introduce themselves and say they recognize me from my blog. That wouldn't be creepy right? It would be a great conversation starter actually!
9) Do you have a date for Valentine's Day?
— nope I didn't have a date for Vday. I was alone and busy with school and projects, but I'm happy and focused. Plus, I refuse to be told when I should express my emotions to people by greeting cards company! Any day can be Vday and I'll go on million more (better) dates in the future! :)
10) I honestly love you're blog! I love the clean minimalist style you use in you're pictures! Ever consider trying to do a real life magazine?
— Thank you so much. Well I'm quite messy in an artistic sense, I love mixed media, but thankfully with digitalized things I can keep it as clean and minimal as I can. Real life magazine as in working for a real life magazine or starting my own?! My won would be too much to worry about. However, I will definitely want to freelance for magazine firms, etc.
11) Hi Quan, what do you tell your hairdresser for your new hair? Did you show reference pics? I will cut my hair soon and I want the style exactly like yours. Side short.. and.. idk medium length on top? Hahaha
— Hello! There isn't really a name for this hairstyle, or not that I know of... I just describe it has a coiff meets faux hawk, short on the sides and long in the center. I think the person who wears it the best is male model, Ash Stymest.
12) Wondering where you bought those spikes to embellish your GaGa denim jacket? If not online do you know of any good hardware sites where I can get similar? -- LOVE that DIY by the way it looked fantastic! And that platinum do is too haute. Werk!
— Thank you! hahaha I literally searched in Google for "studs and spikes" and this was the website that came up: http://www.studsandspikes.com/ so yes, I bought my studs and spikes from that website. Happy DIY!
13) Tell me about the process of going blonde. did they get you from black to blonde in one sitting? how was your hair after?
— The process of going blond took me about 2 days... and I had my hair bleached 5 times in total of those 2 days. Then I started to use purple shampoo+conditioner (for blond hair), any purple shampoo would do, mine is Clairol's Shimmering Lights, it helps take away the orange/yellow and becomes more platinum after each wash.
14) Things you do when you feeling down?
— I love this question no matter how many times I've been been asked. Whenever I feel down, I contemplate and reevaluate all that I've done up til now and all that I will do in the near future. Thinking about the future excites and inspires me. I've come a long way. I also think about friends back home in Vietnam who doesn't have the chance to express themselves like I can right now, or a chance to live the American Dream, etc.
What my mom always tell me is that, I should always be grateful even though looking up I'm not there yet, but looking down, I'm more fortunate than a lot of people out there.
Or I always go for a long walk, listening to my favorite tunes, or write long emails to my dear friends and share my sadness with them, because I believe in sharing not only good, but bad too. Embrace everything.
15) How are you now compared to your younger self? Any regrets back then (besides the obvious we've all done before).
— Great question.
Well, certainly how I am now is totally different than my younger self in physical appearance, but I am still the same boy with the same dreams. The things I wanted when I was a kid, I am still pursuing them: to be wrapped in art and creativity, to live on my own, find love, have a stable life, and travel.
I have become more aware of myself and my needs, and I think that's a must; to know what you want so somebody else don't have to make the decision for you! One thing I'm really working on right now in my life is Patience and Balance; Patience because I'm always one for instant gratification but of course being older now I think that patience and hard work brings greater satisfaction. Balance because I believe that too much of a good thing is bad for you; there has to always be a mediation so we don't get too comfortable or suffer too much. That's why it's also a balance to be a grown-up but still have a child's imagination. I want to be a kid with adult tendencies! :)
Of course we all make mistakes and have regrets... but I feel that as I grow older, I realize more, I know better. Now, I always say I rather regret doing it than NOT doing it... that's one positive way to look at regrets.
Thank you to everyone who asked me questions so far (see I used them to make a blog entry, so you didn't wasted your time asking! hehe). You can go here (click!) to see the original links of these questions. And there are some that's too short, so I didn't include it. If you need to vent, I'm always here. Ask away!
Remember: even if people talk shit about you, or say negative things, you have all the rights to feel self-important! LOVE YOURSELF. FREE YOURSELF. BE COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR SEXUALITY. BE YOU! :)
what I wore;
Topman pants, H&M woven cardigan and tank top, biblical sandals, Urban Outfitters necklace
- - - - - - - -
“Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.”
— Lao Tzu
3.27.2011
3.22.2011
12.23.2010
ANSWERED QUESTIONS 4
Here goes the long overdue part 4 of my usual formspring.me questions and answers, this time we have quite a few thought-provoking and deep questions, and of course I tried to answer it as eloquently as I can. There were more than what is posted here, but I chose the ones that are worth reading and also many questions were the same so I just picked one. Read on to see if I shed some light on your question...
QUESTION: What type of camera do you use?
ANSWER: I've already answered this question on this formspring many times, but I use a Canon DSLR Rebel XS, with the basic lens that it came with.
Q: what's your fave movie?
A: hmm... well, I have so many favorite movies. This is a hard question! How about I list you my top 10 favorite movies?
1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2) Devdas
3) Bad Education
4) Ghost World
5) Amélie
6) Volver
7) A Single Man
8) Closer
9) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
10) The Holy Mountain
lol, sorry I know you didn't ask for a top 10, but I just wanted to share those amazing ones, and there's still so many great movies that are not even in that list.
Q: Art is medium to express one's feelings. What if those expressed feelings were hurtful and offensive? Would you consider a limited form of expression when those artistic expressions are @ odds with society's evolving standards and sensitivities?
A: wonderful question, thank you for asking.
I think before viewing art, we must accept the fact that there will always be negative and offensive expressions in life. Personally, I always practice positive and self-fulfilling artistic expressions rather than hurtful or offensive.
You know that phrase "destruction leads to creation"? Yes, well... sometimes when artists feel destructive inside with so much anger, anxiety, sadness, so then... they create and translate those feelings into some sort of artwork.
We all have a choice to view something offensive or not. To consider a limited form of expression would be going against the whole idea of being limitless. I mean, there is a clear difference between producing hateful work and genuine artistic expression, and when someone who makes art genuinely because they feel the need to create, like giving birth, creation, that they must do it... then the viewers will definitely feel the artist's genuineness through their work.
I can understand that it's wiser to be aware of society's evolving standards and sensitivities but times are hard for dreamers/artists as well. There's this quote by Marshall McLuhan, he said: "Art is anything you can get away with." Andy Warhol also rephrased it to "Art is what you can get away with." If you think about it, art really has no rules. You can get away with anything by calling it "art" ...when the line is blurred, that's where it gets dangerous. Art is dangerous! Anything goes; all in its offensive, hurtful, truthful, sublime, eccentric, and eclectic glory.
Q: your blog's awesome, u have serious art blood in u. anyways, just wondering, i'm taking fashion as my major but i always seem to think that i'm the only one that thinks that fashion is more of an art rather than glamorous life. am i lame? cause i feel am
A: thank you so much! you are not lame, don't feel that way! I agree with you that fashion is another form of art. Art doesn't necessarily have to be the traditional painting, drawing, etc. There are a lot of ways to express your artistic desires, like Thierry Mugler, or Gareth Pugh, their designs have many sculptural pieces. That to me is art as well, because it's a form of artistic expression.
Q: I'm very inspired by your art and things you wrote in your blog! I'm currently majoring in Economics and thinking of taking a second major in either Graphic Design or Art History. Which one do you think has better prospects and future?
A: Hi. Thank you so much! I hope my blog continues to inspire you! As for the decision between Graphic Design or Art History. I'd say Graphic Design, but only if you are truly passionate about all things design/art, and have a drive for it, then I'd say go for it! Remember 1 thing, there's millions of people out there who are trying to do the same thing you do if you decide to pursue G.D. but since you are taking Economics, you should just finish that up, and then get a steady job, and have the money to pursue what you love later. Always finish what you started. BTW, I love Art History too, but only modern and contemporary art history, hahaha, I know, I'm so bias because I'm very modern.
Q: Love picking your brain and I admire the way you answer some questions. Here goes...How would you deal with a tainted past? Wouldn't it be nice if we can filter what to remember/forget? Have you ever been marred by an experience to painful to think about
A: :) Thank you!
Now, this is one of the best questions I've gotten. Very deep! With such a delicate subject as a tainted past... it's very hard to know how to deal with it. Different people have different approaches. It depends how was this ago? When was the past tainted, and how long has it been tainted? Sometimes people could just forget all together. Instead of worrying and trying to cover up the tainted past, I think you should just confront it, and say YES, I HAVE A TAINTED PAST, but keyword is "past" NOT "present"...and as long as who are you now doesn't match who you used to be then people will notice that. We all have a choice to make it positive, or negative, so why not use positivity to respond to everything even if they are bad.
I don't really have a tainted past per se, but it did took me very long to come into terms with my past as it wasn't something I'm proud of at first... but now as I'm growing older, you know I realize because of my past, because of all the agonizing metamorphosis, I am able to sit here and answer this question for you. I am able to stand on my ground.
A quote from Madonna: "If it's bitter at the start, then it's sweeter in the end."
Q: Of all the questions to ask, what does your daily diet consist of? You're quite fit yourself. And a more serious one, who are your artistic influences? I'm sure Gaga is one of them. ;)
A: I don't have an actual diet. I usually go jogging on Mondays and Wednesdays for 30 minutes, and then do cardio for my lower body, legs, back, etc. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I usually work on my upper body, chest, arms, with bench press and free weights, etc. I don't even follow an eating routine, lol... I don't really care, I just want to stay healthy and toned up.
Q: Where do you get all your clothes? You always look fantastic! :D
A: thank you! I get my clothes from all over the places, online, thrift stores, overseas, anywhere, everywhere! :)
Q: How'd you learn how to draw? do you know any good books or resources that will help me for a beginner?
A: I always loved to draw, even when I was very little, around 6 or 7 years old, I would always draw all over my mom's books and journals (and got in trouble for it ahaha...) I guess, it's in my blood. I was born this way. But I did went to school and take more art/drawing classes to sharpen my skills. I look up to James Jean and Audrey Kawasaki, they're amazing! I also look at a lot of art blogs like http://www.booooooom.com/ Good luck! ;)
Q: how does your parents feel about you being gay? i come from a Vietnamese family and they're not very accepting.
A: my parents doesn't know about me yet. I'm so sorry to hear that your parents are not very accepting. I'm sure you have close friends that you can find a sense of acceptance with. For me personally, the reason why I haven't told my family/parents yet is because when I was growing up, they always emphasize and wants me to be successful, have a steady career and life, and they'll die happy. So, therefore I'm focusing on myself, my work, and my future right now... and when I become successful and stable, I'll tell them about myself. By then, I will achieve what they wanted, so I'll tell them without any backlash... and even if they won't accept it, I'll still be happy that I let them know and I did my part as a son!
Good luck! If you need to vent, I'm always here, listening, reading, and answering! :)
Q: I'm not much of a spiritual person (except for karma and voodoo), but since I think we've hardly talked about your perspective on spirituality, can you tell us what you think about this subject?
A: Well, I am not religious, but I'm fascinated by religion.
I think it's fine to not be spiritual or religious as long as you are good to yourself and others. But if I had to picked, I'd say I'm NOT religious, but spiritual. I do believe in the universe and creation, but I'm not sure how/what/when/why... and it all gets too complicated. I'm also quite existential. All I know is that we are existing in this very moment of an infinite time span.
I also do believe in Karma, not so much voodoo but that can happen too. Simply put, just be free from whatever conformations people try to put on you, and believe in yourself first and foremost! I just think if you do good, you'll get good back. We get what we give.
Q: Hi lovely! I need some advice on how to gain self confidence. I am such a shy and insecure person. People think I'm a stuck up and I am seriously not one! It's so hard making new friends and I'm majoring in fashion! I need connections! Please help me!
A: Hi there. Sorry for this extra late reply!
I know you asked this questions 4 weeks ago! =X
Here goes my advice on how to gain self confidence, and believe me, confidence itself is a very hard thing to acquire and maintain, but once you have it, you will feel the power of it, and whether you choose to feel its positive or negative power, that's up to you.
Please don't feel bad if you're a shy and insecure person, I used to be very insecure and hated myself too. I would always be very conscious of what I say or do, because I'm scared people might think of me this way or that way BLAH BLAH BLAH... but sometimes we are our own worse enemies. So, I was my own worse enemy at that time in my life, the truth was, people didn't care about what I say or do, but in my mind I thought too much into it... so, what I'm saying is, sometimes you just have to GET OVER YOURSELF! like I finally decided to get over myself and tell myself to just stop over analyzing things and just be true to what i want, and go from there!
It's hard to make friends in general, it's even harder to establish a genuine connection with another human being, but if you open yourself and be social, active, and have interesting things to share, you will make new friends in no time. Also, connections are from knowing people, the more people you know, the better your connections get, but remember to choose wisely who you get to know! Good luck! :)
Q: what, in your opinion, is the key to living a happy life?
A: in my opinion the key to living a happy life is balance! I truly believe that. When you have a good grasp of where you wanna be or stand in life, then work towards that goal but still keep balance by taking it 1 day at a time.
Work towards the future, but live for today. Balance is easy to say but quite hard to perfect, just like in my work... the question that always come up is how do I know when to stop? I don't want to overcrowd the canvas, or leave too blank. That's where balance comes in, step back a little view it from far away, then close up, and if you think it's good enough and content with it, then you achieved your balance.
Also this article of questions that could free your mind is a must read: http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/
Stay balanced! :)
Q: If you were a milkshake, would you bring all the boys to the yard?
A: is that even a question?! BOY BYE! of course.
Thank you to everyone who asked me questions so far (see I used them to make a blog entry, so you didn't wasted your time asking! hehe). You can go here (click!) to see the original links of these questions. And there are some that's too short, so I didn't include it. If you need to vent, I'm always here. Ask away!
Remember: even if people talk shit about you, or say negative things, you have all the rights to feel self-important! LOVE YOURSELF! FREE YOURSELF! BE COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR SEXUALITY! BE YOU! :)
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