Make up your world

Artist: Gili Orr
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Make up your world

“Make up your world” was featured in the group ImageWriting

“Make up your world” also won the Gestalt Digital challenge of the group Images & Ideas (16-October-2009)

I realized only through discussion with Rosa the relevance of this 60’s song (by Malvina Reynolds, 1962), which might have had some effect on my thinking in early adolescence and perhaps on the way I’ve led my life, up to now….

“Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there’s doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.”

Well, it sounded horrific to me, that this is LIFE. I wanted something else, no ratrace, no boxes, no known way uphill and no American Dream, living like the Johnsons, or just competing to be a bit better, while worrying what all the neighbors think of me.
I have lived my life with this in mind…
...then at the age of 50 I all of a sudden (mid-life crisis;-) felt worthless because others (i.e., friends from primary and highschool) got this “American Dream”, had lots of nice achievements to show for all their years of effort, had nice houses and saving accounts etc…. I, on the other hand, had nothing but my experiences, my thoughts, my understandings, lots of studies, some minor exhibitions to tell about and some drawings I felt good about…

But wasn’t this all I wanted from life? Learning experiences, some inner growth, being creative in anything I did, as much as was possible… I never set out to rank high in society (what’s the point?) and never was interested in material achievements to begin with, so what’s the problem?

I guess the problem is reaching mid-life and summing up your life according to the standard way of thinking… lol.

Make up your world belongs to the following groups:

Complex Simplicity of Art, ! 100% !, ***♂♥♥QUORN♥♥♀, 60's GLORY, ABSTRACT DIGITAL ART AND WRITING, All Around the Styles, All Things Poetic, Artistic, Philosophical, Bits and Pieces , Descriptions, If it doesn't belong, Images & Ideas, ImageWriting (2/24), LEFT WING VALUES AND POSITIVE GLOBAL AWARENESS, Lifeline, Light In The Darkness, Live, Love, Dream: , PEACE, LOVE & TRANQUILITY, PixElations - The Art of Photoshop, Prize Challenges!!, Put Out! or Get Out!!!, Safe Haven, Shameless Self-Promotion, Solo Exhibition, The Art of Intrigue 2/24, The Graphic Room-Graphic and Digital Art, The Patchwork , Unconventional Artistry - 3 per day and Universal Innovation Available for sale as

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Anne-Marie Bok...

Nice creation hun!
Gili Orr replied

Thanks, dear! :-) .... and it didn’t take 6 days this time… lol.
helene ruiz

This is stunning! i really love this collage….an instant fav for me…FANTASTIC~
Gili Orr replied

WOW! Thanks sooo much, Helene!!!
kathy s gillen...

Fantastic work Gili
Gili Orr replied

Thanks a lot, Kathy!! Hope you are having good holidays:-)
izzybeth

Hey! this is wonderful… Is this a collage? OK now, see it is in a graphic room digital art group. I like this a lot, because it looks like a fusion of many techniques… Favorite.
Gili Orr replied

Thanks so much, Beth! Yep, all done on computer… I just keep exploring my possibilities, and glad to see there are still some more to discover:-)
CanDuCreations

Sooo much to see and admire :)
Gili Orr replied

I am glad you like it that much, Thea!! Thanks!:-)
Sensiworld

Great work Gili !
So much to see…has to be viewed large.
Gili Orr replied

:-)) Thanks! Yes, it has lots of fetails…
Gili Orr replied

details
kaylyn

i loveee this,
nice work
Gili Orr replied

Thanks, Kaylyn!
RosaCobos

I love the collage…
Different objects…. lively and in rows of fantasy and sharing dimensions.
Colourful and meaningful..
To enjoy and “dissect” item by item…..
Highly creative….I love it
Rosa
Gili Orr replied

Thank you so much, Rosa! I just play like a child with what the computer programs offer me;-) With many years of experience as an artist, something worthwhile may come out of my fun and games… and of course, my inner self shows in all that I do, like it probably shows in everything any being does in this world. What I choose in shapes and colors and the way I arrange it is of course my own, and the way I work, it’s always connected more to the subconscious than to conscious decisions and ideas. The conscious ego and super-ego (if we go by Freud’s terms) join in for the finishing touches…
RosaCobos

Sometimes items condense and create a crowdy effect upon us…may be we need to feel the “weird” protection of the “many”. It is what we feel to be a “landscape” that is a dimension where our whole being can be projected on.
Another…they disperse themselves and mirror our sense of individuality…free or caged in extreme need for company.
It is funny because artistically I cherish extreme minimalism and even Zen Spirit and cherish too the stuffed work like this… that were not for that I cannot find hman beings at hand (these may be substituted by the rows and packed houses….) I would have though that havs a sort of Jeronimous Bosch feeling…
And I like the way that the colourful and watered coloulred background is trying to get ride of such an invasion of objects…suffocated but receptive at the same time. The metaphor would be a wonderful spouse-mother starting to tire from too much submission to her role…and trying to explode her own soul resources….
Yes…so the mirror -soul is trying to show me..
Have a hug and keep on searching…we learn from it….as much as you do.
Rosa
Gili Orr replied

Very interesting as usual, and touches some possible underlying stuff… It IS a very crowded creation, and usually I tend to avoid crowdedness. It has a somewhat kitch feeling, too. Still, somehow it’s OK for me;-) And mind you, I am a bit of a hermit, really, love my solitude and a lot of peace and quiet, and can take just a bit of the humdrum of big cities. The city I created has a lot of pebbles, natural stones to balance the
“Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.” (song by Malvina Reynolds, 1962)

You know what… should have had this song in my head while making this one, but it came only now;-). It can be what it’s partly about – my watercolor soul resenting the millions of “American Dreams” of this world, yet… mmm…appreciating something about them… I guess.
Cora Wandel
Gili Orr replied

Thanks, Cora!! Thought you might like it;-)
Joanne Bradley

Brilliant clever lovely image! And very thought provoking words! You must evaluate your life using different benchmarks than those others. You definitely have reached a place where the priorities in life are important and you must hold to these standards and not the ones that are just superficial! Congrats on ImageWriting feature!
Gili Orr replied

Thanks so much for the detailed comment, Joanne! I just have a few friends who really “made it” in the standard terms. And though I never wished to live their lives , I had my moments of self-criticism and self-doubts comparing our “worldly” achievements, since I had some potential and seemingly haven’t done much with it. thanks for the encouraging words;-)
Rambler25

Beautiful image!
Congratulations on the Feature!!!
Gili Orr replied

Thanks so much, E.R.!
ArtPearl

I like this one – a complex combination of cool colors calming diagonals with chaotically sprinkles of hot orange reds, dis-proportionally large cobbles, flowers butterflies..works very well.
Gili Orr replied

Ordered chaos;-) Glad you like it. It’s a quite a-typical creation for me and it took me a while to be comfortable with.
Mike Paget

Interesting composition – interesting reading too!
Gili Orr replied

Glad you found it interesting, Mike :-)
pat gamwell

Outstanding art piece! Congrats!
Gili Orr replied

Thanks a lot, Pat!
eelsblueEllen

WINNER!!
Images & Ideas group
Gestalt Digital challenge!
F.A. Moore

Oh, Gili, I love this one!! Will you please submit this to the Solo Exhibition gallery?

Your Solo Exhibition artist reception today is beginning to fill up with your wonderful, various works, and lots of guests. :)
Gili Orr replied

Just uploaded it to your wonderful grou, Frannie!;-)
You are making a great reception for me – THANKS!!
Isa Rodriguez

oh , gili.. I dont think I have ever related to a writing more in my life than this.. and at first all i saw was staring at this amazing work of art.. but as i also read it. I thought . oh my word.. this is so like how i feel.. well, I wont go on taking too much of your page.. I just busted out bawling and smiling with this. you have such a gift.. and I am glad I saw this art..
Gili Orr replied

I am glad you could identify, Isa! Thanks for your wonderful comment. You are welcome to take some more space, if you wish;-)
PQ Ribber

nice job!
Gili Orr replied

Thanks!!
Elizabeth Bravo

Well, Gili…....I find you again…..I am browsing SOLO galleries and this jumped out at me. I would not have thought of you…..but it shows another side a vulnerable side…....oh how I love this weaving of things in amongst the ticky tacky boxes. I agree with Isa…..this is so easy to relate to. The poem is wonderful, it seems I have read it before. So glad to have seen this.
Gili Orr replied

Glad you have bumped into me again, Elizabeth;-)
It is the only (digital) collage I have made so far, not really my style as I know it, but I was experimenting… And this is not really a poem but more a song, which long-long time ago was a lot on the radio…. and I loved it and was alerted by it.