This road is closed in the winter. It just recently opened.

Munch knew it, too.

Adminisk8or

06/11/2023

Monday was the “let’s start slowing things down day”, and finally, ever-so thankably, this week has been a hundred times less hectic. Dreams do come true.

And it’s just been another week in the life. I rebuilt built a school’s firewall from scratch, I powerwashed my patio and ruined the garden hose I used, because the pressure in it caused it to rupture in four different places; I scrubbed and cleaned some grill appliances harder and more furiously than I’ve ever scrubbed in my life (chainmail and a powerwasher were used in the process), and I took a couple of days off to try to make up for how much extra time I worked the last two weeks. I failed by the way, I’ve still worked about an extra half-week’s worth.

Probably the coolest and funnest thing this week was getting a new phone. It’s been a hot moment since I got my last phone- my previous model was a Moto G Stylus (2020), and it’s been a good trooper for lasting as long as it did. My wife had the same phone, but a year newer, and hers was starting to exhibit a few issues. So, we decided to replace the both of ours, and just bite the bullet. My new phone is the Moto ThinkPhone, modeled after the good old ThinkPads of yore. I gotta admit, while it ain’t no good ol’ ThinkPad, it really does pack some good power under its skin, and is a really nice phone!

One interesting thing that occurred this week happened today. For my brother’s birthday celebration, we decided to go see an art exhibition that focused on 10 various artists from the past hundred or two years, including Van Gogh and many others. Among such others was none other than our good friend, Edvard Munch.

I’m not going to pretend like I’m an expert on the general history of artists, and how their various styles contributed to our society in a plethora of differing ways. I’m not even going to pretend I know a whole lot about Munch, because the most research I’ve really done is a quick skim on Wikipedia. But I do want to share something that stood out to me, as I was at this art exhibition and saw his works.

Trying to narrow down the inspiration and reason for every artists’ drawings would be like asking if everyone in the world likes avocados. From Claude Monet to Wassily Kandinsky, there are just so many different reasons, visions and styles that went into their creations. And even summarizing each artist by saying “so-and-so was really only ever focused on nature and pointillism,” I think, would be oversimplifying their creative genius. But there are some overall themes and styles that each of these artists used to convey their inward feelings and visions.

In the case of Munch, a lot of those outward expressions of art reflected inward emotions and feelings of his own, and of those around him. Living the kind of life he did, it’s no surprise that a lot of these artistic masterpieces are often rather dark, sad, grim and heavy in emotion. From early on, his mother and sister died, and his other sister suffered from a mental illness. This, among many other factors, makes it plain that the expression of his emotion in his art is no shallow act.

But by now, you might already be piecing together why I found this fascinating (that is, if you have followed this blog very closely. If not, prepare to learn!). As I sat there, looking at various pieces of his art, and hearing this information, the thought occurred to me: “Well, now Edvard… perhaps you and I share something in common.” Medjo Pangit- translated from Tagalog as “kinda ugly”, is the halfway accidental philosophy I’ve built this website, and even my life on. To summarize one of my first blog posts on this site, to really and fully appreciate and embrace the happiness and love there is to experience in this life, we have to at least understand (and perhaps, in a way, to a degree, we must also embrace) the sadness and the fear we experience in life. That summary alone encompasses a whole and vivid spectrum of emotions and experiences, ranging from the devastating to the less-than-ideal, from the ordinary and boring to the most wonderful, unforgettably happy.

In short, I couldn’t help but take a moment to make a small connection to this man, from a time well before I was born, halfway across the world, who was so much more artistic than I could probably ever be, and appreciate that we shared at least one small thing in common. MedjoPangit.

I think I need say no more, save it be that I recommend you look up some of Edvard Munch’s art, and see if you can discern some subtle themes, messages and emotions he suggests by use of things like shadow, color and brush stroke. Until next time, see ya!