AUTHENTICITY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

People are deamonised if a unique idea is unpopular.

People that are unapologetically themselves are very attractive.

I am not sure I am one of them.

Flawed fascinating original people.

I envy the individuals that have crafted their madness into a career. Brilliant bright often offensive challenging sensitive confident or not creators. Creators of characters, performers, artists, thinkers that dare. People with the sheer gusto to shove it out there, spill their innards thoughts and insights onto us mere mortals. People that create a stir, cause great debate, challenge laws and at a micro level out there just doing it.

Unconventional; men dressed as women with faux full fleshed lives that span decades, men who are short bald fat and brash that carry huge Hollywood clout. Thin delicate nervous men who perform with courage and conviction on the world stage. Humorists that deride incontinence and mental illness and aging. Artists that portray a slut as the divine. Film makers that show bizarre incest or a car tyre in place of a leading actor.

The unmistakable Bad Boy Bubby by Rolf de Heer

The brilliant and fragile looking Barry Otto

Barry Humphries, Danny Divito, Barry Otto, Little Britain, Jeff Koons, Rolf de Heer, Quentin Dupieux. Without their commercial success what might they be? What if we met these people and they had not garnered fame?

The unlikely A lister Danny Divito

'Hi I am Danny Divito I plan to be a great A list Hollywood actor and producer'

Hmmm - doesn't seem likely.

Jeff Koons 'Violet Ice'

Paris Hilton...hmmm... she does what? Gets drunk and behaves poorly with no pants or pubic hair..go ahead form a career out of that love while you are a no one. The career choices might have been slightly different.But lets get back to the unique talented ones.

What of the brilliant actor, musician, artist, performer, writer too shy to pedal their work? What of the mediocre that know how to work the media machine? I know who we get to see.

Personally fear prevents me from exposing my truest creative ideas. They are too forthright and in direct contrast to how I live my conventional life. They are rough brash raw and unedited I would offend many people no doubt, peoples ideas of who I am might be ruptured along with my relationships. Or perhaps no one would care? Perhaps it would flop, perhaps I would get just enough encouragement to give me confidence, or god forbid fierce direction.

I am always trying to be the better part of me - always.
But alas I am human so I don't claim to always get it right.

Simmering just below the surface is a performer who wants to act out the worst in me - or what I deem inexcusable in other people, to unleash the crude base uncultured moronic alter ego me. I admire it so much in other people. Chris Lilley does it so well.

I have fantasies about photographic exhibitions that would require a two month intensive debrief with the best counselors and specialists to come down from. I dream of a shocking provocative work of art. I have the characters, the sketches and the storyboards. I just don't have the confidence or the will to dare...its the dreaded cliche. Its the fear of being judged or failing its the reason most of us just 'dont'.

The small fearful me thinks I couldn't stand the glare. Big me thinks just be you.

We will see.

IT WAS THE SEVENTIES>>>>>>>

The early seventies...and I was a small child.

Now I may have worn short shorts called hot pants at the age of 4 but only with long sox and sandals. Except when I was swimming in them.

Kids wore kids clothes and once over 28 the adults dressed like codgers...done - that was it your time had passed. I have vivid memories of my primary school teachers that looked like they were dressed as old men and women even though they were only 30 or 40 years of age. Now I am not saying wavy hair and side parts are the way to go but it was a very different time, the media was a very narrow band that we all took in at face value, TV was a pretty metered out event, it wasn't constantly on and there were only 4 channels.

Now there is a plethora of media feeds and options that has splintered off into so many targeted segments and markets but predominantly spawned the birth of the all powerful machine known as Pop Culture.

Thinking about this made me question what was pop culture when I was small wearing my long sox and all ... 3 and 4 year olds now crump with the pelvic thrust that would once make us all blush, now from a small child its permissible, cute even.

Now there are beanie babies, slutty dolls and vagazzaling your cha cha...whats going on? Who is beating this drum? Its the media tarts, the role models, the 'it' people of the moment. Is it Paris daughter of the Hilton empire mogal falling out of a car with her inner labia on show, is it Lindsey Lohan and her shift from Herbie to Cocaine addiction, or is it the latest celebrity in rehab vomiting into a toilet on reality TV or the latest idol contestant?

So in the 70's who were our role models...pull up a seat.

Liberace

Sometimes Liberace the penultimate pianist and flamboyant showman would do an appearance - always memorable.

He liked long sox too.

Dig the decor.

Then there was Evel Knievel dare devil extraordinaire, he jumped cars, buses, canyons, flaming rings, he crashed stacked and hacked his way through so many stunts that every kid on his or her dragstar tried desperately recreate with a fence paining and a few bricks, or Masonite, chip board or plywood if you were lucky, maybe a milk crate if you worked your way up to it. Many a plaster caste prevailed as a result.

He did have style for a real life action hero, white leather - stars and stripe - rockin' threads!

Benny Hill was a very popular comedian of the time with a bevy of supporting characters and my favorite 'The Ladybirds' the female singers on the show. You can find a lot of Benny's work here.

Then there Demis Roussos the singer, looks like we took people at face value back then and noted their talent most of all. Greeks were very exotic back then.

The Harlem Globe Trotters were a sensation to behold those tall  blokes with basket ball tricks that would make our mouths gape and break many a spirit with vain attempts to emulate there effort less style.This 'clip' demonstrates their lightening moves -forgive the poor quality it was shot on super 8 grainy goodness.              

Obviously these celebrities were individuals with no interest or access to, stylists, hair straighteners, shampoo not always conditioner, cosmetic surgery and dentistry looking back it was a weird time but at four I didn't question anything it would be nice if children still had that luxury today.

 A bit like this t shirt

or this Calendar "here".