2.15.07

henri cartier-bresson seems to be obsessed with mimesis in his work. when he is not photographing architecture or countrysides, he is photographing people, although usually either multiple people in one shot, or a person and an object which is representative of, or similar to, a person, also in the shot. an example of this would be a mannequin in a shop window next to which a shopkeeper stands, or a face of a clock in the foreground, behind which can be seen the face of a man. it seems that he does this in order to present man in a way that reminds the viewer of a non-living object, and in order to present the non-living object in a way that reminds the viewer of a man.

yesterday was a better valentine's day than some of the ones i've experienced. my life feels chaotic, although not necessarily in a bad way. for once i feel that i can't predict what will happen in the coming months, and i like this, because usually things seem to be pretty cut-and-dry in my life, which leaves room only for superfluous thought about the workings of my own psyche and silly analysis of what has gone wrong or right in my actions and in how i deal with situations. when things are completely up in the air, the mind is able to distract itself from its own manner of functioning and apply its energies to the tasks at hand. which is nice. it means the self is able to be more present, whether while talking with a friend or burning matches or reading a book. sometimes i think i make decisions too carefully, which usually renders the ultimate result disappointing, because either i'll learn that i was wrong and that the actuality of the scenario is worse than i'd anticipated, or i'll just be completely unsurprised by the end result, although right about it, and this is a boring phenomenon. i'd like to make my life a little more based in the present moment, and i'd like to keep myself busy with schoolwork and with music and with art and with the people that i love.

i think inspiration comes from the internal workings of the self, and if the self is eager to be inspired, it will find a way to make this inspiration happen. i'm also coming to fully condone social interaction, and to be less enthralled by the idea of constant isolation. reclusion is good as a balancing factor, but not as a full-time thing.