manmade: these shoes aren't made for walking...

my pedantic prelude ...

... this blog began as a place to keep photos of real memories, as having existed within the boundaries of my daily world. then the photos begged for more than mere reminiscence; it offered intriguing questions and thoughts, of what actually occurred and what could or might happen. their significance spread beyond a point in time to encompass implications for an entire life.

photos hinted at how much more colourless, and less fascinating, our world would be if confined to our own experiences, with our own eyes- how narrow. how little we would have gotten if we had not paid due attention to the endless sensory stream we have neatly framed in little pocketbooks of picture memory- how shallow, how thin.

... the photos in this blog became a record of the tangible world we live in: visual documentations of people and places around us, among us and within territories unimagined. the pictures taken by me and by others sealed the memory of an ocean's wave or forest lane; it captured social realities in place and time. we spend too many of our days within the four walls of our homes, friends and day-to-days, and too much time in our own heads. time to see more, i thought. time to pay more respect to all around us.

the many pictures of realities everywhere taught me much; humbled me and broadened my vision, challenged my conceptions. then from fellow minds came fantastical imaginings and brilliant ideas. here were not political turmoils or social discontent captured in the news media or a travel writer, but stirrings from within a personal place born into a work of art. these pictures displayed talent, passion, skill, visionaries, humour, labour, intellect- the very best of human qualities. these also humbled me, and uplifted me, encouraged exploration of new depths and heights.

photo-plumbing for this blog has led me to think thus far, we need to break out of our narrow shells to encounter the real, but we also need to rise above comfortable mundanity to feel inspiration and feel ourselves capable of inspiring again.

and so,


... to the official first in the series of manmade muses and musings:



[-all images by Violise Lunn at violiselunn.dk]

when are shoes not shoes?
when they have other functions and purposes.

in this case, danish violise lunn's paper shoes are ethereal and fragile, meant to carry (pardon the pun) you off to a pretty-trimmed fantasy world, not across hard traverses.

or perhaps it is precisely when in a wearing landscape, dotted with obstacles and dour odds, that we need the sustaining oxygen of our ideals and visions- considered as impractical/ inconsequential against the 'real world'- to pull us across. no point hunkering down, sweating blood and tears if you haven't got something, or someone, to give it meaning... i dont quite mean your office boss either.


[-from violiselunn.dk]

your dream needs a backbone;
your efforts need a muse.