BEAUTY: Sculpture--Mihoko Ogaki

Japanese conceptual artist Mihoko Ogaki's series "Milky Ways--Breath" features fibre-reinforced plastic figures of dying or dead people with entire galaxies or even universes inside them. Small holes in the surface of the figure allow star maps to be projected onto the surrounding walls. This simple yet profound image is breathtaking in its scope of meaning. The pieces are rife with the ideas of cycles, transformation, transmogrification, macro and micro, and our connection and place in the reality around us.

http://www.mihoko-ogaki.com/index.html

I am sure I have posted these images before, but here they are again because they are so relevant to the art of Ogaki.

BEAUTY: Photography--Mikko Lagerstedt

Finnish photographer Mikko Lagerstedt beautifully captures what I imagine to be the mood and tone of his home country where winters are long and days are short. Cold, darkness, stars, moonlight, and mysterious figures. It feels like Romanticism from 1790...

http://www.mikkolagerstedt.com/index.html

Currently listening to...

..."Stars" by Cher.

From a 1975 album entitled "Stars," this title track was written by Janis Ian. Cher is an icon and some would say she has turned into a caricature of herself. Over the years, her vibrato has increased, perhaps contributing to the idea of caricature. But during the 70s, she was an actual, viable recording artist (for the edification of those who were not alive then). Although this album did not do well commercially, it was warmly received by reviewers and fans. I had this album in 1975, and this track stood out for me. Ostensibly about the perils of celebrity, the lyrics are touching and poignant.

I was never one for saying what I really feel
Except tonight I'm bringing everything I know that's real

Stars they come and go
They come fast
They come slow
They go like the last light of the sun
All in a blaze
And all you see is glory

Hey, but it gets lonely here
When there's no one here to share
You can shake it all away if you will hear my story

Some people ask for fame like athletes in a game
We break our collarbones and come up swinging
Some of us are downed, some of us a crowned
And some are lost and never found

But most have seen it all
They live their lives in sad cafes and music halls
They always come up singing

Some make it when they're young
Before the world has done its dirty job
Later on someone will say you've had your day,
And now you must make way

But they will never know the pain of living
With a name you've never owned
Or the many years forgetting
What you know too well
That the ones who get the crown
Have been let down
Yet try to make amends
Without defending
Perhaps pretending
You never saw the eyes
Of grown men of twenty-five
That follow as you walk
And ask for autographs
Or kiss you on the cheek
But you never can believe
They really love you

Some make it when they're old
Perhaps they have a soul
They're not afraid to bear
Or perhaps there's nothing there

Stars they come and go
They come fast
They come slow
They go like the last light of the sun
All in a blaze
And all you see is glory

But most have seen it all
They live their lives
In sad cafes and music halls
They always come up singing
Singing
Singing
Singing

http://www.cher.com/