‘On September 29, 1998 Anwar appeared in court and pleaded innocent to charges of corruption and sodomy. A photo of Anwar with a black eye (which he incurred from a beating by then Inspector General of Police Rahim Noor) and one hand raised became a symbol of the political opposition in many reformasi posters.

The black eye was explained by Mahathir Mohamad and Rahim Noor as being “self-inflicted” and caused by “pressing a glass over his eyes”.’

- wikipedia entry

SEE ALSO:
Tunku’s Merdeka Day Nazi salute/Oh hai 5 people Hishammuddin Hussein’s Keris waving at UMNO’s 2005 Annual General Meeting

The generally accepted interpretation that Adam was receiving the ‘spark of life’ is not tenable. We are undoubtably at a moment well past Adam’s initial creation from dust and clay since part of his body is already in action.

The presence of a belly button and suggests that Grod would have stuck his finger in that area instead of touching fingers, which when one pictures it being done between two real grown men, is rather feminizing instead of empowering.

In the fresco, Grod was actually pointing out to Adam the details of his job function as gallery sitter. When it dawned on Adam that he had to stay put and keep watch from the peak of Mount Everest forever, Adam’s initial reaction to accept his fate. This resignation is seen in the way his right hand, toes, and penis curls timidly inwards and away from Grod.

Yet Adam was not contented to be a passive observer. As Grod continued pointing and bla-blad on and on about not letting angels touch his creations and making sure visitors signed the guestbook(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoglyph), Adam courageously faced his creator and raised his eyes to him. He then pulled in his left leg and was just about to push himself off the rocks to grab Grod’s index finger when Grod’s chief security officer, Eve spotted this and along with the band of killer cherubs, whisked Grod to safety.

In his magnimity, Grod would forgive man’s first rebellion against him and sign of disinterest towards artistic matters.

Before going off on a long holiday, Grod left on eARTh his most trusted agent, Eve to keep eye on Adam keeping eye on eARTh. ‘At least there’s someone to keep watch and my toilet breaks’ he thought. Adam took on longer and longer breaks to wander around eARTh. Adam thus begin to actually enjoy Grod’s creations.

The more responsible Eve did no such thing. As she sat alone keeping watch of the gallery while Adam smelled the roses, her mind begin to uncoil and this gave her strange ideas about destroying the dinosaurs…

- should be differientiated with the genius, who is ‘born with it’.

- an alpha artist is more traditionally known as a ‘master’ but since there are hardly any apprenticeship system around these day, it’s more appropriate to describe the big kahunas using words associated with capitalistic sociaty’s fetish for order, ranking and marking dominance.

- an artist keen on collaboration will assemble his/her ‘A-Team’.

- the gallerist always has an ‘A’ list for everything: profitable artists, prime collectors, cooperative press and writer, quick framers, reliable transporters, cool guests, and generous sponsors.

According to absurdism, there is a fundamental disharmony that arises out of the co-presence of man and the universe. Man has a desire for order, meaning, and purpose in life (LIKE WHAT THIS DICTIONARY IS ABOUT), but the universe is indifferent and meaningless (WHEN MALAYSIA NO LONGER EXISTS, WILL THIS DICTIONARY STILL MEAN ANYTHING?); the Absurd arises out of this conflict.

As beings looking for hope in a meaningless world, Camus says there are three solutions to this dilemma.

Suicide:The first solution to the dilemma is simply to end one’s life. Camus rejects this choice as cowardly.

Religious belief in a transcendent world: Such a belief would posit the existence of a realm that is beyond the Absurd, and, as such, has meaning. Camus calls this solution “philosophical suicide” and rejects it because it amounts to the destruction of reason, which in his view is as fatal as suicide of the body.

Accept the Absurd: According to Camus, this is the only real solution. It is to accept or even embrace the absurdity of life and to continue living. The Absurd is a crucial characteristic of the human condition, and the only true way to deal with this is bold acceptance of it. Life, according to Camus, can “be lived all the better if it has no meaning.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life#Absurdism

Most Malaysians choose option 2.

Those who accept option 3 can often be found at art openings still in search for meaning.

Suicide is no longer an option since the act itself has become absurd:-

‘An hero’ from urban dictionary

an hero
1) Committing suicide over something really stupid.

2) Failing to commit suicide over something really stupid.

3) Doing something stupid, which results in accidentally killing yourself.

4) Also sometimes used on the work safe boards for someone who deliberately posts porn, which is considered both “suicidal” (due to the ban that usually follows), but truly heroic.

Term originates from a grammatically incorrect poem posted at a myspace memorial for a boy (Mitchell) who killed himself when he couldn’t find his ipod.

Example: Yasmin Browder hung herself when her mother didn’t let her watch big brother; she is an hero.

Incredible abstract art can be found here: http://hubblesite.org/

Unlike most corporations which saw art as tools for decoration, investment, displaying status, or possibly tax evasion, Ayah Pin knew that the monumental tea pots and umbrella he commissioned at a cost of RM 45 million would become the beacons of hope and change that was promised to those working at Sky Kingdom Inc.

One devoted Sky Kingdom worker was quoted saying:’Tea breaks were all that I would think about at my former office. Now that I am here, I feel alive and willing to serve’

In early 2005, there were plans by curators of the Dia Foundation to transport one of Ayah Pin’s giant tea pots to their 300,000-square-foot gallery at Beacon, New York for a temporary exhibition which would have included other colossal works by artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Louise Bourgeois,and Richard Serra.

Unfortunately, the grand displays of Ayah Pin also bought unwanted attention from older and larger rival corporations. Sky Kingdom Inc. headquarters was subjected to vandalism, governmental investigation for corruption charges, and eventually shut down by August that year.

Ayah Pin is suspected to be in hiding alongside Osama Bin Laden in North Korea and they are said to be planing their comeback with even more spectacular performances and monumental constructions.

( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4692039.stm )