ART JAIL : My current personal case

A few days ago, while enjoying every second of my visit to the virtual gallery of the American artist "Wayne White" ( waynewhiteart.com ), that I discovered thanks to the contemporary art magazine "Hi-Fructose", I found myself captivated by one of his "WORD PAINTINGS" called "ART JAIL". This particular masterpiece was invasive like a wound opener, for it meant what it shouted at me! It reminded me how hard I can be on myself and how hard it is to let go of the constant search for that unique style that could define me, instead of simply enjoying the ephemeral artistic rides and adventures, which mostly knock on the doors of my brain randomly and by surprise, after losing hope in finding inspiration and motivation! Diagnosing oneself with the "Style Crisis" and the "Chronic Lack of Muse Disorder" can be a seriously damaging and challenging mental handicap with a high physical energy threshold. Trying to impress your pretentious Id while seeking validation from your Super ego is definitely a tough job for your poor ego!

ART JAIL - Wayne White 

Lately, I have found out that one of the best ways to liberate myself from these dark cells, was by diving into the cartoon world, which has always been fed by infinite social issues and intense breaking political news. 

While daring to do more caricatures, I started to learn more about my artistic self, which is obviously so attached to fine art and outstanding facial expressions. Actually, I was unable to admire or accept my naive infantile sketches! I always felt the need to fix them and remake them in a way that pleases my eyes! I cannot deny the fact that it is relieving to draw randomly and write down my thoughts instantly, without trying to excel from the get go, but, I am afraid that it has always been nothing but a temporary outlet, for me! Honestly, it felt more like a task than a short art therapy session!

So, for the past couple of months, I shared about six serious attempts, mostly political ones, on my website (rimaofficina.wordpress.com). But, unfortunately, due to the increasing restrictions on the exercise of freedom of consciousness and expression, especially, here, in Tunisia, I am starting to get really sick of censoring myself, lest I be falsely accused of hate crimes or receive violent threats on social media, like other cartoonists and even facebookers who dared to share socially unacceptable cartoons on their personal pages! 

COLLAGE OF CARTOONS - Rima Said

Frankly, I also started to feel the need to take a break from caricatures and do something else, like, maybe, surreal paintings or meticulous still-lifes, because I don't want to end up saying "Once you go for cartoons, you are doomed'' (Yes, I just came up with that lol) ! So, in order to avoid that trap, a few weeks ago, I bought a canvas and acrylic paints from the one and only small art shop in my miserable hometown! But, since then, I have kept staring pathetically at the blank canvas and its unusual and annoying packaging, which says "Keep smiling^® is the art of living! MADE IN CHINA"!

I m not a big fan of Marcel Duchamp and conceptual art in general, but, ironically, I feel like the whole package is more interesting than what I might create, in the next days or months! So, in the meantime, here is "2020 MADE IN CHINA"!

2020 MADE IN CHINA

2020 SISYPHUS : A cartoon inspired by Camus

2020 Sisyphus - pencil and black pen on paper  (20/04/2020)

INTERNET MEMES : Another form of Art?

mythomaniavirus meme - JPEG (11/04/2020)

Are internet memes another form of contemporary Art? I found myself asking this question, after my first humble attempts in the world of editorial cartooning. Actually, I decided to turn one of my quick sketches into a meme, instead of a clean traditional cartoon, simply, because, I wanted to get fast previews of all the neat options, that I could come up with, before investing more time in one hand-drawn piece. Lazy much? Maybe! But, one thing for sure, I am one hell of a curious perfectionist!

After spending my whole day enjoying my confinement time, using Adobe Photoshop and canva.com, which I highly recommend, I became more attached to my designs and to the message behind my work!

By the way, while I still have your attention, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who inspired me and pushed me to make use of both my artistic and scientific competences, and helped me transcend my anger, during these hard times, through graphic satire! A special "thank you" to those spreading fake news about random untested drugs and vaccines and those who are proudly sharing conspiracy theories about Big Pharma on social media, without citing any credible scientific source! Dear earthlings, I would like to remind you that "In the age of information, ignorance is a choice", so let's spread facts and wisdom and Art, instead of lies, stress and death!

As you can tell, personally, I do think memes, which are undeniably a predominant vogue on social media, are playing a major role in shaping our culture, and they are definitely contributing to the enrichment of our Art heritage! I think everything and anything can level up to the point of matching a good traditional piece of Art! It could be a meme, a meal, a deed…, you name it, and, hopefully, you share it with the rest of the world, by making or taking a photo, or maybe writing about your experience…

It is totally normal for us to feel lonely, while being isolated in our houses, because of the current pandemic, but it is vital to out-smarter ourselves, by practicing and showing more gratitude for having many things that we tend to take for granted, like our unused skills and internet connection!