Free your mind.. Your ass will follow!

console by Wakeupnaked

Tuesday June 11th

“Free your mind and your ass will follow” ~George Clinton

“Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” ~Oscar Wilde

Hey Group..

In our recent journals.. We've been discussing.. What is it about masculinity that prohibits us from simply being ourselves? Why does masculinity have to hide behind personas displayed with clothing which allows only a male face and hand to be seen "nude"? Why is so much of the world embracing a myth that men are nothing unless they are somehow a war machine, and women are nothing unless they are beautiful?

But maybe.. Maybe we've been asking the wrong question. Maybe a better question is..

What can we do to confront silly myths and mindsets in which we find ourselves?

I suggest we can start by simply applauding deviations right here on dA that brilliantly show the silliness of these myths.

Such as.. for me.. I do not believe that only the young is worthy of artist explorations.

No title II by trulsespedal

I believe.. It's more than fun exploring alternative realities (mindsets).

I believe.. It can be energizing. (and even enlightening)

Lord of the Dead -Revisited- by Nobody

“The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.” ~Auguste Rodin

Kaldorei by Nobody

"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” ~Albert Einstein

Caught in the Rain by Nobody

“If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.” ~Émile Zola

(I greatly enjoy images showing beauty.. Especially when the subject is male. I believe the image below this line is as adorable as the kitty above this line.. When I look at either deviation.. Somewhere in my heart I hear.. "Meow".. hehe)

Kira by Nobody

“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.” ~James McNeil Whistler

Free__request_for_Spirited-butterfly by Nobody

“To draw, you must close your eyes and sing” ~Pablo Picasso

Only Music Can Take You There by Nobody

I know.. In both myths and actual history.. Men are the world's "war machines"..

Nightwing by Nobody

But does this have to mean that men cannot flaunt awesome beauty?

nico XX by Nobody

Even as war machines.. Does handsomeness mixed w/ protective paternal energy not excite some realm w/in the soul?

Rough Magic by Nobody

Can rugged masculine strength be something other than machines of conquest and death?

Defined by Nobody

Can masculine strength not be adventurously fun and absolutely adorable?..

Bishie of the month: October 2013 by Nobody

Can adorable masculine strength build and develop affections w/ one another?

Athletes goofing around by Nobody

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” ~Jung

Takamatsu commission by Nobody

The Thinker. by Nobody

“Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you” ~Jerome K. Jerome

Mark and Zmei by Nobody

The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience." ~Sir Kenneth Clark

I heard the Earth inhale II by Nobody

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

Kyle x Connor - waking up by Nobody

"When I began to photograph nudes, I let myself be guided by this camera, and instead of photographing what I saw, I photographed what the camera was seeing. I interfered very little, and the lens produced anatomical images and shapes which my eyes had never observed." ~Bill Brandt (photographer)

bedroom project #43 by Nobody

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” ~Albert Einstein

Cowboy by Nobody

"The function of man is to live, not to exist." ~Jack London

The Beast Within by Nobody

But.. "The mob gathers to execute the warlock"..

Shrike by Nobody

So.. Really.. What else is there for us to do other than respectfully and comfortably be who we are.. ourselves!

Dreamtime3 by Nobody

"Every artist undresses his subject, whether human or still life. It is his business to find essences in surfaces, and what more attractive and challenging surface than the skin around a soul?" ~Richard Corliss

Adam by Nobody

Let's close this journal w/ this awesomely phenomenal photo..

Mykel 11 by Nobody

And.. Let's applaud Nobody for showing us his heart warming thoughts while, last week, spending time in a shelter away from home due to floods..

Shadowplay by Nobody

Tim.. the little silly mischievous beachelf