Squabbles between Gen Xers and Baby Boomers

I am 26, I am not sure where I fall in terms of generation. I seem to fall smack dab in the middle between Gen X and Gen.com. So I either don't know what I am talking about or I have an unbiased view.

The relationship between Gen Xers and Baby Boomers is bitter sweet, much like how teenagers don't appreciate their parents wisdom until they have kids of their own. Be patient though, their generalized disdain will soften around the edges.

The main generalizations:
Baby Boomers: stubborn, community oriented, activists.
Gen Xers: self-centered, bored, adaptable.
(I dont think anybody in real life falls into any of these categories, but this is just the general consensus as far as I understand it).

Some people think that it's post modernism to blame for the differences in values between the generations. I have not read Fredric Jameson's work on Post Modernism, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, but from all of my art history classes, I could have sworn that in Art Discourse, no one can really agree on when exactly it began? Many believe it began in the 1950's, but not everyone. Not only that, no onee can even aggree on what post modernism is let alone if it is still a current phenomena.

Another issue I have with a generalization the Baby Boomers have of Gen X feminists: "Embrace your inner slut," seems to be a common stereotype a lot of people think of when they think of the contemporary feminist. Mind you, I am not offended. Its just that I hate it when people assume that is the message of Third Wave Feminism, because its not. If it wasn't for 3rd wave feminism, feminism would either be dead in the water or feminists would go on trying to beat the male species down with their ideologies. It's not about embracing your inner slut, its about being okay with who you are and not having to explain yourself to anyone, especially 2nd Wave Feminists.

Alright, alright. This isn't my favorite kind of blogging (going on a rant), but I just had to say something about the subject after I read this article .

Stella Lai

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Stella Lai, the spotlight artist of the week, is a Chinese-American painter who grew up in Hong Kong and now lives in San Francisco. You can currently see her work at the University of Virginia Art Museum along with other artists from both China and the US.

The reason her work caught my attention was that these are paintings and collages, not digital work. They are so precise and mechanical, they look like they were done with a computer, yet they also have subtle traces of a human. To me, they are wrought with the nervous technological energy of modern culture. Hong Kong used to be a place that was oozing with rich cultural history that was visibly evident. Granted, I have never been to Hong Kong, but when I think of contemporary Hong Kong I think of a large, bustling, and hugely international city much like New York. Of course in New York there is a rich culture everywhere you go, but has evolved into its own unique isolated culture of New York. I imagine that Hong Kong is similar? (I think that kind of environment is very stimulating and fascinating).

The bi-polarness of her work reflects the manic traits of modern culture. Yes, her work is primarily about Chinese culture, but the meaning of her work can be applied to any modern culture; bi-polar histories with hyperactive metropolis' overtaken by a monster in the disguise of consumption.

"Using a visual library of fragments of Hong Kong's history, I have created paintings that accurately reflect the city's present nervous condition," -Stella Lai


For more info, click here

Birds the size of Skyscrapers

I was laying on the ground, looking up. I must have been outside somewhere because there were tiny grains of sand and pebbles which made the ground sharp to lay on. I could see blurry images of buildings in the distance. I couldn't see myself, it was as if my eyes were a video camera and what I was seeing was a home movie.

Then I saw three large birds, about the size of skyscrapers walking towards me. They were pecking at the ground as they made their way closer. They looked like those cute little brown birds that are all over Washington DC year round (I think are scavengers), only they were enormous.

I then realized what I was. I was a bread crumb. The birds weren't out of proportion, I was. I was a bread crumb and they were most likely going to eat me.

I wasn't scared though, I was more interested than anything else. It was just such a curious position to find myself in. How did I get there?