Brands and tribes. Lets all be one.

House in the wind

(Work in progress)

Acrylic and ink on bond paper

12 x 14 inches

Barbara Muir © 2017

Walking through our local high end mall today --
going for an Espresso that reminds me of Paris,
I was struck by the word tribe.  The brands,
high end, and beautifully illustrated with huge
artistic signs and videos flashing up to the 50 or
60 foot ceilings make the space beautiful. But it
also felt primitive -- like we humans still need
to brand ourselves as part of a certain group.
I am reading a book called Joy on Demand
on happiness which more or less says that happiness
is first --we won't enjoy that designer dress or car,
if we haven't figured out how to be happy first.

As artists we are part of both a certain group,
and the world.  The more we travel, the more
art we see -- not just in books, the larger and
wider and more inclusive our art tribes become
and the more we know.

I am a firm believer that one of the best ways
to crack out of the narrow, dangerous, petty
"this group -- people, sex, country, is good,
and this group, people, country, is bad"
thinking is to travel and meet the world.

Ironic perhaps that today I worked a bit more on the
perfect grey Toronto House, which would clearly
make the owners part of the Millionaire tribe
if they sold the place.  I hope they are already
happy.  The house is looking a bit more content with
today's progress. Some of the wind is gone.  New
name?

Have a making the world your tribe day.