Dei imago

Shattered Veil

2009-06-09T20:58:00.001-05:00

Shattered Veil
Originally uploaded by isral duke

This photo taken July 04, 2006, in downtown Baton Rouge, LA

Climbing Out

2009-06-09T20:55:00.001-05:00

Climbing Out
Originally uploaded by isral duke

This photo was taken July 04, 2006, in downtown, Baton Rouge, LA.

i have plans

2009-06-06T19:41:00.001-05:00

i have plans
Originally uploaded by isral duke

i have plans to give you a future filled with hope. this is another paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:11. i have a penchant for monochromatic works right now.

I know plans...

2009-05-30T00:40:00.002-05:00

I know plans...
Originally uploaded by isral duke

Paraphrase, I know plans to give you a future filled with hope. This is a paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:11.

Two fonts used here: Petrol, by T26 foundry, and CA Zaracusa, by Cape Arcona Type Foundry. Each of these fonts has been purchased.

T26 Foundry: Petrol:
www.t26.com/search?q=petrol

Cape Arcona Type Foundry: CA Zaracusa
www.cape-arcona.com/start.php?link=zaracusa&typo=2

All astronomical photos taken from NASA.gov

love:selfcontrol:peace:power (version 3)

2008-10-18T11:21:00.006-05:00

love:selfcontrol:peace:power (version 3)
Originally uploaded by isral duke

The full version of 2 Timothy 1:7 reads “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (NET Bible) Paul was trying to remind Timothy that God would never impose crippling fear upon him, that he was to go about his life in confidence.

love:selfcontrol:peace:power (version 1)

2008-09-27T13:37:00.006-05:00

love:selfcontrol:peace:power (version 1)
Originally uploaded by isral duke

right now my favourite palette is black, white, red and blue and the iterations of violet between red and blue. obviously i am including the tones and tints of each red and blue.

evolution to new humanity

2008-08-23T14:49:00.005-05:00

evolution to new humanity
Originally uploaded by isral duke

The first tripart arc descends to touch down upon the point which is the origin for the text. Then, the shadow line recedes from that point into the back of the picture plane to a black, barely visible, semicircle. This semicircle is the point from which the second tripart arc originates as it moves along its ascent.

No Lindow Man

2008-08-14T07:50:00.004-05:00

Sadly, “Lindow Man” was temporarily removed for preserve work from the British Museum. Peat bodies are prevalent in this climate so hope to see one someday. Here’s the book on “Lindow Man” that i read.

2008-08-14T07:49:00.001-05:00

saw assyrian relief wall carvings. the assyrians were harsh in battle. more impressive in person than history classes

2008-08-14T07:47:00.001-05:00

saw the parthenon sculptures. impressive. took lots of pics as the british museum, oldest museum in world, allows photography

2008-08-14T07:44:00.001-05:00

saw the rosetta stone yesterday... wow

Kandinky’s “Lake Starnberg” at Tate Modern, London

2008-08-13T07:25:00.002-05:00

i saw two Wassily Kandinsky paintings here at Tate Modern! The one i remember is “Lake Starnberg.” i also saw a couple of Moholy-Nagy and Miro works!

Big Ben & The Houses of Parliament

2008-08-12T20:04:00.004-05:00

Amazed by the Parliamentary Houses and Big Ben. i’ll have to agree with one of my Art History professors, “No one did gothic revival as well as the British.”

eye, ears, & imaginations

2008-07-30T23:34:00.005-05:00

1 corinthians 1:2:9
Originally uploaded by isral duke

The font is “Petrol,” made by the foundry T26.com. How do you not show “show?” How do you not show “heard?” Ah, those were hard.

“Mind has not imagined, ear has not heard, eye has not see, the things that God has made for those who love Him,” 1 Corinthians 2:9. This is one of my favorite quotes from the New Testament. It says much of the unseen colors, the unheard of music. CS Lewis once wrote that we shouldn’t be surprised if nothing here can satisfy us, because we’ve been made for another world.

it’s hard to show something that hasn’t been seen. Yet, i have to attempt to visually ender what i think the concept of this verse. it’s a kind of enlightenment to come, an elucidation that hasn’t yet occured. Or, it’s equaly valid to think it something just plain new.

A List Apart Survey

2008-07-30T15:54:00.002-05:00

i took the survey. So should you.

Gay People are Treated Unfairly

2008-07-16T00:23:00.004-05:00

i have to post this because i think gay people are not being treated with the care that we should respectfully not remove from them.

We hear that being gay, as a genetic trait is not “chosen,” meaning that such a person is one who is not inclined to contribute their genetic material to the human collective survival: survival of the fittest, passing on successful traits to offspring. Thus, it’s as if nature is reducing the human population on the planet by forcing some people into not “engaging in productive avenues” with their urges. Now, please understand, gay people are to be pitied, welcomed with open arms, not hated, yet they must ask themselves, “Who is the culprit? Nature’s assignment of arbitrary traits, essentially making them painfully bear the idea that they, as human rights possessors, don’t have the right to offspring? Or is it a complacent society which has chosen not to warn them of the injustice inflicted upon them?”

if a gay person ever has children, before or after discovering or deciding to be gay, then they would have already violated their own “nature.” i’d wager that ecological evidence shows that violating nature is harmful to all of us. but then, if the goal is not violating nature, then gays shouldn’t have children! (This has an unintended consequence: the rest of us can live on what’s left of our natural resources, or at least face less competition for natural resources — a selfish aim at gays’ expense.) The idea of human beings not being allowed to choose their own life paths makes people unhappy in some situations. Yet we choose that very idea here: Obey, don’t think, don’t fight, give up choice for peace.

Heroic gays are those who take the choice themselves rather than allow themselves to be “forced” into a lifestyle by nature. We speak, rightly so, of human rights, against child labor, sweatshop labor, yet we condemn certain members of humanity to a life of no choice? A woman’s rights of choice, voting, equal pay should be respected. But why are we tricking other humans into a blind obeisance of inhumane nature?

Where then should we stand?

There is no such thing as fate. There is only willful action. Gay people are human, in the divine image; thus they can choose to be fully human or else nature’s disposable subjects. Viva la choice!

think whatever

2008-07-11T22:32:00.002-05:00

think whatever
Originally uploaded by isral duke

a paraphrase of Philippians 4:8, which reads, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things." (New English Translation)

wistful metal man

2008-07-08T22:37:00.001-05:00

wistful metal man
Originally uploaded by isral duke

i think of myself as an awkward android, my own allegory for being made in the image of my creator, yet, many shades of imperfection lower. here, i dealt with rejection.

perpendicular

2008-06-22T22:28:00.002-05:00

perpendicular
Originally uploaded by isral duke

we’ve decided at my tiny church in baton rouge, louisiana that we’re going to feature art on the walls made from bible verses. i don’t like having to use clichéd images (crosses, roses, fish, cute puppies, white volvos, etc)(well, i don’t and they’ve agreed to humour me) but this verse demands the cross. (i am earnestly searching for a symbol of the resurrection, an image i feel is more relevant to the christian faith while the cross is relevant to the idea of the old covenant being fulfilled). we want them to feel safe to ask hard questions and even disagree as we love discussion. you can see some of the other works here, but we're still working on this project.

Sharepoint Themes and Master Pages

2008-04-17T11:40:00.001-05:00

Excuse me creating the following imaginary and temporary jargonyms.

In the context of the “look and feel” of a Sharepoint Site (SPS), there’s Master Pages (and two types of MPs), Content Pages, and Themes that control the appearances and layouts. Master Pages control the layout (the placements of stuff) of the SPS. The Content Pages (CP) control the actual data ⁄ content, etc., that is inserted onto the published pages. Themes control the colors, fonts, images, etc., the appearance of the content (unless that content is a field control).

MPs come in two varieties: System Master Pages (SyMP) and Site Master Pages (SiMP). SyMPs control the behaviours associated with views, webparts, forms, etc. Branding tasks, etc., probably shouldn’t need to modify or make new SyMPs. SiMPs are the MP type that controls look and feel of published pages and subsites within SPSs. SiMPs are inherited across all levels of a SPS unless a subsite is associated with a different SiMP or even a different CSS file. Thus, branding tasks, etc., would then edit or create a new SiMP(s) for something like the Citizens SPSs.

CPs are the part of the SPS hierarchy within which the actual content is presented, be it from a database, or what have you. The positionings of all the stuff on a CP is controlled by the SiMP with which that CP is associated.

Now, the appearance of all that stuff that is inserted onto the CP is controlled by a Theme. Themes dictate the colors, fonts, etc., of all the stuff that the MP lays out on the CP. Themes must be programmatically applied to all levels in a SPS even though MPs (SyMP or SiMP) are automatically inherited across all levels by default.

Droid ← Calibri ← Gill Sans

2008-01-22T09:44:00.001-06:00

Hm, in a table-turning manner, it seems Google has copied MS.

Droid Sans, one of Google’s fonts for the upcoming Android platform (i have to admit i am a sucker for androids since the days of ‘Otherworld’ and of course, Data from Star Trek TNG ) is actually a nearly 100% rip of MS’s Calibri / Segoe.

Calibri / Segoe was influenced by Gill Sans, yes, but influence is an honor; sure, imitation is flattery.

Yet, one thing pains me… Droid has proper crossbars on the uppercase “i” while Calibri doesn’t have them.

Links:

Droid

Calibri

Gill Sans

Lust

2008-01-01T22:24:00.003-06:00

Lust
Originally uploaded by isral duke

temptation is not the appearance of an opportunity to do wrong; temptation is going along with the desire to do the wrong thing within the appearance of that wrongful opportunity.

blameless

2007-12-17T22:19:00.002-06:00

blameless
Originally uploaded by isral duke

the good qualities of a leader must significantly outweigh the bad, as paul tells titus, whom he leaves to “set unfinished business in order” at a new church in crete.

Raymond Douillet-Chevoleau Opening at Angela King Gallery, New Orleans, LA, USA

2007-11-03T16:37:00.002-05:00

The Angela King Gallery, in the French Quarter of New Orleans, opened an exhibit for French painter Raymond Douillet-Chevoleau on 2 November 2007, Friday. Mr. Douillet-Chevoleau was in attendance for the exhibit. The gallery obviously wanted his second time to exhibit in New Orleans in seven years to be something special. He was to exhibit his second showing in 2005 instead but Katrina cancelled those plans. There was little room even to stand, less for those who had multiple glasses of the wine offerings.

On to the art.

Douillet-Chevoleau’s paintings are executed perfectly. His works make you think of Dali for the slope towards surrealism, Hieronymous Bosch for the allegorial hints, and even Raphael’s School of Athens in his “L’Heures qui passe.” He references other artists too, though usually in an editorial fashion: his mockery of Mondrian is magnifique and he rants about Rothko’s rhetoric.

At the gallery’s links, you can see the images which were on display. while small web sizes won’t do the details and precision any justice, it shouldn’t be less stated that Douillet-Chevoleau’s technique is on par with the classical masters. Peruse the gallery and you’ll find that his pencil work, yes, there were pencil works too, is perfect. The lines on the paper are sharp (i guess he continually sharpened his pencils while working) and even the colors applied on a couple of those pencil works are ink sharp.

Freud held that sublimation, the substitute for unrequited sexual desires, is why artists make art, writers write, and musicians play. Hm, looking through Douillet-Chevoleau’s work you’d think he made art to cope with a controlling female who used sex to control him. In all but a few works the sexual innuendos were prevalent; you’d not need any kind of imagination to force the interpretation either. While Douillet-Chevoleau’s wife was also present at the show, i couldn’t help but stare at her wondering if she was the giant woman who held the tree in her hands and whether her artist husband was getting back at her for an affair or two.

All that being said, Douillet-Chevoleau’s work is destined for a museum, for the Louvre next century, and the loo for people shy of any hints of sexuality within art.

George Lucy Quote

2007-10-27T15:54:00.001-05:00

“These painters are great men, and must be flattered; for ‘tis the custom here, not to think themselves obliged to you for employing them, but they oblige you by being employed.” — George Lucy, 1758 (as read in Houston Museum of Fine Art, October 2007).

i certainly hope George Lucy was being sarcastic when he penned that statement — if so, then the Houston Museum of Fine Art has misread his intent. i think one of the problems preventing society from fully appreciating art is the artist. Their smug aires of superiority, condescending attitudes towards those who don’t get their ‘work,’ and the fact that so many artists fabricate items which aren’t ever given a spirit of usefulness.

Art work should record & communicate while ‘expressing.’ i am certain there are those who will say that these are the ideals of a designer, but these are the ideals of an artist who is employed in usefulness to society. Smug off.