It's a piece by Piet Mondrian. He wanted to create a "real equation of the universal and the individual." I'm fascinated by modernist artistic philosophies like his because of their brashness and audacious optimism, which was clearly a failed project. But I also like his aesthetic.

I would have sworn that was Frank Lloyd Wright art deco. I have definitely seen it before. I too like the aesthetic of it. Very orderly.

I just like asking why. :)

I killed my parents, and replaced them both. The monkey king is goku, but hes one of many many representations of the ideal man. Spiritual mother likewise is utena, the ideal woman.

Besides art though, im not massively immersed in the eastern tradition, so i tend to use a lot of protestant christian vocabulary as i was raised and am immersed in that tradition. I also fall back on some buddhist and yogic tradition as i live that tradition most.

The goal though, which has been my goal since i was about seventeen is to surpass humanity, and become the world. Thats more like plan b though, ill try being normal first... only if i fail that.

The claw foot chair is not well equipped to grasp its escaped ball, but feels compelled to reach anyway. Sort of like life itself. Should I change my handle from "bitter crank" to something else? What would you suggest.

I would have sworn that was Frank Lloyd Wright art deco. — geospiza

Mondrian Vs. Frank Lloyd Wright:


FLW would never use primary colors, and his art deco designs were representative in an abstract way.

Here's a page charting the evolution of Mondriaan's style from figurative to abstract:

Dharma wheel, reflects my interest in Buddhism. Also it's like the steering wheel on a vessel which is not a coincidence.

Just like the word "sin" comes from archery, and means to miss the mark. Similarly both seem to be about aiming.

Escher's Dewdrop (mezzotint)

Thanks for encouraging me to explore my avatar.

Escher and the Art of Mezzotint

Nobody will ever know the species of succulent Escher used. It is has an unusual leaf margin together with an obovate shape. Pelargonium related possibly but it remains a mystery.

Because I got 23/23.

Earendil's landing on the Uttermost West. An image of my life (and of anyone's life if they wish to).

Should I change my handle from "bitter crank" to something else? What would you suggest. — Bitter Crank

You should only change your name to accompany a strategic change in your persona and target audience. Marketing. Otherwise stick with what you've got.

It's a selfie.

So geopisa, why didn't you explain yours? You started this...

Mine represents my history. I was educated in a Calvinist school and was taught good science. Then the church (mine included, but perhaps not the school) seemed to declare science some sort of adversary. When forced to choose between science and dogma, it's science that's going to win.
Anybody recognize it? Clues are all there.

That and I like the background as an example of something that isn't yellow, a fantastic illustration of the difference between naive realism and representative realism.

Petals of Fire by Cy Twombly. I think it looks pretty (and a little menacing too).

So geopisa, why didn't you explain yours? You started this...

Mine represents my history. I was educated in a Calvinist school and was taught good science. Then the church (mine included, but perhaps not the school) seemed to declare science some sort of adversary. When forced to choose between science and dogma, it's science that's going to win.
Anybody recognize it? Clues are all there. — noAxioms

I think I can detect the source of your illustration being from Calvin and Hobbes, and it appears to be an object in flight. Maybe it is a figurative expression that you threw away Calvinism?

My avatar is an illustration of the American Flamingo by J.J. Audubon from his masterpiece, the Birds of America. It is significant to me for a variety of reasons, but basically what it boils down to is that I am an avid birdwatcher.

I think I can detect the source of your illustration being from Calvin and Hobbes, and it appears to be an object in flight. Maybe it is a figurative expression that you threw away Calvinism? — geospiza

Comics yes, but not Waterson. Scott Saavedra is the artist.
The character is an ever-present but rarely interacting sidekick, sort of like Weiderman in Mr Boffo.
Google Its science radium and my avatar was taken from the 3rd image, the cover of issue 2.

I was educated in a Calvinist school and was taught good science. Then the church (mine included, but perhaps not the school) seemed to declare science some sort of adversary. — noAxioms

A similar thing happened in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (a mostly German branch of Lutheranism in the US) in the 1980s. It was engineered. It split the synod, congregations, and institutions. The institutions (like the seminary and college administrators) adopted a very conservative, literalist Biblical view. A lot of talent and congregations left to join mainstream Lutherans.

There was nothing inherently, theologically conservative about the German Lutherans in the US. Like I said, it was engineered. It wasn't a mass-movement change.

How did this change come about in your experience?

My avatar is an illustration of the American Flamingo — geospiza

I have a plastic pink flamingo in my yard, for purposes of low camp. Audubon was spared this embarrassment.

Mine is a neo-fascist emblem used in the Captain America comics books series.

Hail Hydra!

Mine is self explanatory... I'm a fanatical follower of St. Ludwig.

Well, it's Lloyd. Lloyd the bartender, from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (I won't say Stephen King's as it seems he thought the movie had little to do with the book, a fact which doesn't trouble me). Lloyd may or may not exist, but is a striking and intriguing, and somewhat eerie, figure with whom Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance converses while knocking back Jack Daniels, though he's an alcoholic and knows he shouldn't be doing so. A perfectly groomed, polite, efficient, chillingly-friendly purveyor of what we want but what our reason tells us we can't have, played by the great Joe Turkel.

An ideal avatar for a philosophy forum, I think.

Symbolic of wisdom, as you probably already know.

Mine is of my dog. :P No real meaning behind it other than I attempt photography.

Barred Owl (Strix varia). Why did you choose a North American species and not something native to your home region?

Mine is self explanatory... I'm a fanatical follower of St. Ludwig. — Fafner

What is it like to be a disciple of Wittgenstein?

What is it like to be a disciple of Wittgenstein? — geospiza

It ain't easy, nobody understands you.

TLP Wittgenstein or PI Wittgenstein?

Both :)

(Y)

I like how you can already see the beginnings of his style and focus in how the trees in his early work look like tapestry. Makes me think his evolution must have been more instinctual and intuitive, even if also guided by his philosophy.