You IS. You ARE. 2
Words
Jean Tinguely
Born 100 years ago, died 33 years ago, Jean Tinguely was a painter that decided flat surfaces were too limited for him after which became a sculptor and kinetic artist.
In a 30 years marriage and collaboration with Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely attacked the automation and overproduction of material goods and created machines made from scrap iron bars, wheels, metal pipes, and electric motors void of practical function depicting the absurdity of consumerism.
His creations included, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the partially self-destructed “Homage to New York” and in the desert outside of Las Vegas, the completely self-destructed “Study for an End of the World No. 2”.
Personal experience
Back in 1964, when I was just 16, I visited the Swiss National Exposition in Lausanne where I witnessed Tinguely’s “Heureka” creation for the first time.
Before 1964, Tinguely had been a complete unknown. I didn’t know he existed. But since 1964 he has been on my mind — one of the most inspiring word-users on my journey.
I’m also the proud owner of “Tinguely” by Pontus Hultén, a 400-page biography of Jean Tinguely published by the Centre Georges Pompidou in 1988. Tinguely and Pontus Hultén have a rich history with the Centre Pompidou. Jean Tinguely, the Swiss artist known for his kinetic sculptures, and Pontus Hultén, the first director of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.
I used to wear Tinguely-designed ties and hung Tinguely posters on my walls including posters Tinguely designed for the Montreux Jazz Festival. Those days are long gone, but Tinguely is with me still today.
Now there’s a Tinguely museum in Basel, Switzerland, which opened 29 years ago, dedicated exclusively to Jean Tinguely’s works and kinetic art,
If you’re interested in totally unique and playful art forms, then The Tinguely Museum in Basel, Switzerland, is worth a visit without thinking twice: World’s largest collection on kinetic works of Jean Tinguely | Museum Tinguely Basel
Takeaway
Jean Tinguely’s relation to you and words?
“I can assure you once you get rid of the notion of art, you acquire a great many wonderful new freedoms.” – Jean Tinguely
The search for meaning
We are the only specie on Earth that talks.
And writes.
Because we have a word for everything we know.
If we hadn’t, we’d be like the 9 million animal species — too many to count — that have remained wordless to this day, wordless meaning they neither write nor talk.
The 9 billion of us — and counting — are the only ones that talk and write on Earth.
The difference
The difference between the wordless animals and us is we’re on top of the food chain, second to none, no other specie even close, no end in sight.
All because of words.
Yet we don’t value the words.
We only value the meanings of words for without they don’t make sense.
To believe that words make sense presupposes words have the organs required. But they don’t (have any organs). The one with the organs — the sensational one — is you and me, the word-users, and 9 billion like you and me spread all over the wor(l)d.
Everything we know is a word. Nothing is no exception. Yet a word alone doesn’t mean a thing.
Take nothing
It’s meaningless.
But with meaning attached, nothing means different things to different word-users at different times.
Why is that?
Words are how we aim at what we’re looking for
You can call words are dream, it doesn’t change anything.
“Words become works.” – Seneca
“What a word is, a sentence cannot say.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein
“Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself.” – Patrick Rothfuss
What others are saying about words
(click on the book)
The search for meaning
We are the only specie on Earth that talks.
And writes.
Because we have a word for everything we know.
If we hadn’t, we’d be like the 9 million animal species — too many to count — that have remained wordless to this day, wordless meaning they neither write nor talk.
The 9 billion of us — and counting — are the only ones that talk and write on Earth.
The difference
The difference between the wordless animals and us is we’re on top of the food chain, second to none, no other specie even close, no end in sight.
All because of words.
Yet we don’t value the words.
We only value the meanings of words for without they don’t make sense.
To believe that words make sense presupposes words have the organs required. But they don’t (have any organs). The one with the organs — the sensational one — is you and me, the word-users, and 9 billion like you and me spread all over the wor(l)d.
Everything we know is a word. Nothing is no exception. Yet a word alone doesn’t mean a thing.
Take nothing
It’s meaningless.
But with meaning attached, nothing means different things to different word-users at different times.
Why is that?
Words are how we aim at what we’re looking for
You can call words are dream, it doesn’t change anything.
“Words become works.” – Seneca
“What a word is, a sentence cannot say.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein
“Using words to talk of words is like using a pencil to draw a picture of itself, on itself.” – Patrick Rothfuss
What others are saying about words
(click on the book)
Word masters
Word-masters are not often talked about.
What are they?
As you’d expect, word-masters are the opposite of word-users.
Word-users merely use words and word-masters master words.
Word-masters know in the beginning is the word and that it can be denied only by confirming it, that is by using it. Word-masters know the power of words, that is what words do to themselves and others.
That, my friend, is the difference between the two.
THE ORIGINAL WORD-MASTERS
The original word-masters date back to when words were new 13,750 years ago when the age was stone, the Sahara green, Northern Europe under 1-mile-thick ice, and rainmakers and religion got invented.
RECENT WORD-MASTERS
Recent word-masters include Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, Victor Hugo, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Lewis Carroll, Beatrice Potter, George Orwell, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Walt Disney, Ian Fleming, Patrick Rothfuss, J.K. Rowling, Donald Trump, famous marketeers, and all other authors of stories that never happened, to name a few.
STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED
The difference between stories that never happened and stories that genuinely did happen, the word-masters know the difference between the two and the word-users ignore it. Because to word-users it doesn’t matter whether a story genuinely happened or not, the only thing that matters to them it’s true.
You can tell a story never genuinely happened because it typically features wordless animals and fictional characters that talk, such as dogs, cats, ducks, capricorns, Peanuts, James Bond, Superwoman, Harry Potter, gods, mountains, plants, the Mad Hatter, or tea pots, to name a few. What’s wrong with that? Clearly, wordless animals and fictional characters don’t talk for they never spent a day at school where words are taught.
The ones talking for the wordless animals and fictional characters are the storytellers, actors, or actors lending their voices to the wordless animals and fictional characters. That’s because unlike the fictional characters and wordless animals, the actors and storytellers did go to schools where words are taught.
TAKEAWAY
Whether you are a word-master or word-user doesn’t matter. What matters is we’re all in words together.
This makes it the perfect time to wish both the masters and users the best for their shared future together.
If not now, then when?
Word masters
WORD-MASTERS
…are not often talked about.
What are they?
As you’d expect, word-masters are the opposite of word-users.
Word-users merely use words and word-masters master words.
Word-masters know in the beginning is the word and that it can be denied only by confirming it, that is by using it. Word-masters know the power of words, that is what words do to themselves and others.
That, my friend, is the difference between the two.
THE ORIGINAL WORD-MASTERS
The original word-masters date back to when words were new 13,750 years ago when the age was stone, the Sahara green, Northern Europe under 1-mile-thick ice, and rainmakers and religion got invented.
RECENT WORD-MASTERS
Recent word-masters include Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, Victor Hugo, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Lewis Carroll, Beatrice Potter, George Orwell, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Walt Disney, Ian Fleming, Patrick Rothfuss, J.K. Rowling, Donald Trump, famous marketeers, and all other authors of stories that never happened, to name a few.
STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED
The difference between stories that never happened and stories that genuinely did happen, the word-masters know the difference between the two and the word-users ignore it. Because to word-users it doesn’t matter whether a story genuinely happened or not, the only thing that matters to them it’s true.
You can tell a story never genuinely happened because it typically features wordless animals and fictional characters that talk, such as dogs, cats, ducks, capricorns, Peanuts, James Bond, Superwoman, Harry Potter, gods, mountains, plants, the Mad Hatter, or tea pots, to name a few. What’s wrong with that? Clearly, wordless animals and fictional characters don’t talk for they never spent a day at school where words are taught.
The ones talking for the wordless animals and fictional characters are the storytellers, actors, or actors lending their voices to the wordless animals and fictional characters. That’s because unlike the fictional characters and wordless animals, the actors and storytellers did go to schools where words are taught.
TAKEAWAY
Whether you are a word-master or word-user doesn’t matter. What matters is we’re all in words together.
This makes it the perfect time to wish both the masters and users the best for their shared future together.
If not now, then when?
Red Cross
The Red Cross was founded 161 years ago by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier with a little help from their friends.
When they founded the Red Cross, Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier knew more about aiding word-users in need regardless of their nationality, race, or religion, than they knew about marketing.
So, for the Red Cross branding, they simply inverted the colors of the Swiss flag…
As far as they were concerned, job done, and without further ado they returned to their core business, aiding word-users in need of help regardless of nationality, race or religion.
In doing so they made the BIG mistake of underestimating the power of pictures which everybody knows speak a thousand words. This they found out when they wanted to export the Red Cross with its mission…
“Humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence under the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence regardless of nationality, race, or religion.”
They were told that wasn’t possible, not because the cross is red, but because it’s a cross.
It’s obvious the word-users have lost their mind, gone crazy, flipped out, gone nuts, and lost their marbles when religions are more important than the protection and assistance for victims of violence and armed conflict regardless of nationality, race or religion.
The Red Cross is now recognised by different brands around the world.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with brands. All I’m saying is when you’re looking for proof the word-users have lost their marbles, the Red Cross stands out.
Red Cross
The Red Cross was founded 161 years ago by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier with a little help from their friends.
When they founded the Red Cross, Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier knew more about aiding word-users in need regardless of their nationality, race, or religion, than they knew about marketing.
So, for the Red Cross branding, they simply inverted the colors of the Swiss flag…
As far as they were concerned, job done, and without further ado they returned to their core business, aiding word-users in need of help regardless of nationality, race or religion.
In doing so they made the BIG mistake of underestimating the power of pictures which everybody knows speak a thousand words. This they found out when they wanted to export the Red Cross with its mission…
“Humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence under the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence regardless of nationality, race, or religion.”
They were told that wasn’t possible, not because the cross is red, but because it’s a cross.
It’s obvious the word-users have lost their mind, gone crazy, flipped out, gone nuts, and lost their marbles when religions are more important than the protection and assistance for victims of violence and armed conflict regardless of nationality, race or religion.
The Red Cross is now recognised by different brands around the world.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with brands. All I’m saying is when you’re looking for proof the word-users have lost their marbles, the Red Cross stands out.
