1.) WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

That question has been asked already by so many people, and way too many on-line resources exist, so it feels bit challenging and perhaps even not necessary to come out with new, original definition of this matter. This source: https://www.criticalthinking.org has been, so far, the most inspiring source of knowledge about critical thinking, its traits, signs, and usage.

My own question is, if we are even thought how to think? What does it mean: "To know how to think?"

Sometimes it feels like if I would like to be very accurate, very truthful, and very honest, all of the knowledge which can not be questioned further would get reduced on very minimum, and maybe than, this understanding of ancient sages who were simply shouting their mouth forever, and their silence, would come as an explanation itself and justified example of the most accurate way of thinking: so accurate and so critical, that it silenced them forever.

Even the most advanced, cutting-edge scientific theories, will be tested by the fire of centuries. What is true and what is lie and is it even in interest of the educator to teach us the deepest of questioning?

Even though, we are living in the era of information overload, are we truly taught how to put all information together, in order to gain knowledge? What is the definition of knowledge and is there any knowledge which would not be the question of outdate? What happens with all the knowledge in deep sleep? Is it in the interest of political and other leaders to teach critical thinking? Are people who think by themselves dangerous for average society?

If we are superimposed to inherit the belief that we know how to think, yet we are unaware of our emotional and fear-based biases, what and who is benefiting from our, might it be willing, yet un-acknowledged, and not-recognized, ignorance?

Are we ever taught to think critically about the one who thinks and about the way we think, and about the means we use for thinking? What if human brain is at risk of ending up as not fully used potential?

Can any belief equal accurate truth, if looked upon witH critical, uncompromising eyes? What is not a belief? Is the grass truly green or is green juSt another belief inherited by general social agreenment and used as a convention?

You see, one question creates another.

Were we ever taught to question the one who questions? The one who attempts to think critically?

If most of the acquired knowledge is quibble to outdate or criticism, why we are so proud of it? And how can we even be sure of any knowledge when we do not know very well the one who attempts to know? The one who attempts to think?

Critically???

Bibliography:

Chrystall, E. (2015): The courage to stand alone: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti. Atlantic Publishers and distributors.

U.G. Krishnamurti (2003): Mind is a Myth. Conversation with U. G. Krishnamurti. New Dehli: Smriti Books.

U.G. Krishnamurti (2012): Truth. There is no such thing as truth. New Dehli: Smriti Books. why those texts were chosen:

UG Krishamurti's book has been handed to me in early twenties, in one specialized bookshop in Tamil Nadu. All Venice years were influenced by his speeches and till today, his ways of seeing seem to have inspiring relevance, mainly due to his questioning of any beliefs or religious systems. That appearing as an "absolute provocation" does not seem to be in a self-serving need for attention, but aim to point beyond culturally inherited opinions. In his style of enquiring he seems to be very unique. Before traveling to South India, I have been reading a lot of Jiddu Krishnamurti, with whom UG is often mistook.

However there seem to be a clear distinction among them. Both are inspiring yet UG's quality of thought and that what has been heard as a first hand memory from people who have spent years with him, offers a testimony of a man whose words were lived, not only spoked.

2.) FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES 2: "DIFFERENT BRAINS?"

[Date of Entry: 25.9. 2018]

After successful graduation from the Venice Academy of Fine Arts, where the theoretical part was led by Gloria Vallese and practical by Alberto Balletti, they both advised me to continue further studies in countries such as the USA, Canada, Great Britain or Australia. The reason for that was explicit gender ambiguity in a thesis entitled "Art and Trauma".

Another memory: one Czech journalist introduced me to the young curator of a gallery in the Czech Republic for emerging artists. Everything was all right until there was some interference from the older superior of the previous artistic manager. She stated: "Yes, we can exhibit your drawings, but under one condition: no prostitutes, no naked bodies, we can not do that!" At the age of 22, it all felt like a dream-like narrative and there was no need to argue with the environment which choose those apparently arbitrary, middle aged filters as a means to influence both the artist and public.

Finally, a third memory: a person who hardly knew me yet had, in a certain context, apparently more powerful social position, requested me to say "art is not work, art is pleasure!" Of course, there was no single reason to repeat such a nonsense, but my inability to do so led to their judgment of me as a "proud, lazy and spoiled artist and most likely a bad cook and useless female human."

Within the article "Study finds some significant differences in brain between man and woman" written by Michael Price, a large study which found few distinctness yet general correspondences in comparison is summarized. It was known for dozens of years that males had slightly bigger brain capacity than females, yet it is hard to discern which substructures are more or less vast. Verdicts seem to be impossible to be done due to limitations within the presented studies. It was observed that female cortices were undoubtedly much more dense, which is often associated with achieving of high scores on IQ tests. On the other hand, men had higher brain sizes in subcortical areas which are responsible for remembrance, geographical orientation, shyness, and award-dealing; a broader amygdala, which is in charge of conclusion-making; and thalamus, which converts neurological information.) Men had, overall, four subcortical regions larger than women. There were also broader variations in regard to subcortical capacities and cortical thickness, also in IQ scores, and in fluctuation in intellectual and corporal characteristics. Although there were those diversities, the overall conclusions point to similarities, whereas it would be very difficult to discern random brain scans to see if it were male or female because of the general alikeness in the whole brain volume. Popular beliefs often point to biased interpretations leading to behavioral and intellectual differences, but only the reasons behind male aggression pattern were backed up by science. This is a summary of Michael Price's article, where he was mentioning Stuart Ritchie.

Unfortunately, by reading biographies of woman like Marylin Monroe, who supposedly had a higher intelligence than Albert Einstein, or the story of Einstein's wife, or of the way we as humans treated great humans such as Edith Piaf, or of the heartbreaking experiences from South East Asia (such as the 12 year old Sri Lankan Umma who was sold to brothels by her own mother, or the 13 year old Andhra Pradesh girl who was chucked out on the street from an orphanage because her period started, etc, etc, etc), it leads to the conclusion that being female within many contexts is of a great disadvantage.

What is there to say? Even if men had broader subcortical capacities, so what? Trueintelligence should lead to wisdom, and if males were the ones deciding in the period of last centuries, what does the state of human, global and ecological affairs tell about their wisdom? If those differences could truly be confirmed, how they would be possibly used. For example, I probably have zero subcortical capacity which is responsible for map orientation (especially in cities, as I never got lost in the jungle). In a society led by the wise, there could be some kind of solution for this handicap, rather than showing off someone's bigger brain.

The conclusion of the research written in the article by Price makes sense in a way, so those qualities as having good memory, award-dealing and conclusion-making might be very useful for the managerial positions. However, it is very surprising to see that human intelligence should be stored within the impermanent bones of the skull, when the nervous system, for example, is in the whole body. What is aware during a whole narcosis experience?

Sad experiences from third world countries which were related to evident gender discrimination, oppression and vast violence, did lead to confusion about whether those countries still need to undergo first waves of feminism, whereas some western countries already passed the fourth wave. It also seems like it might take a few centuries and somewhere even longer to be ready for those first empowering steps. However, even the Czech Republic still has a system which could be labeled as patriarchic, where misogynistic attitudes and biases are present. For the future, it seems that the best course of action possible would be to point, in an entertaining way, on those gender-related unfair affairs which were observed within one's environment.

Bibliography:

Price, M. (2017): Study finds some significant differences in brains of men and women Sciencemag [Accessed online 25.9. 2018: https://www-sciencemag-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/news/ 2017/04/study-finds-some-significant-differences-brains-men-and-women ]

why this text is mentioned:

Because it is direct source enabling writing this article

3.) WHY DO YOU WORK IN THE WAY THAT YOU DO?

[Date of Entry: 27. 9. 2018]

For the whole Master's of Fine Art project, it was decided that the final outcome will be presented as a comic book. This decision came after research in contemporary illustration practice. Similar to how Amy Winehouse could not find any inspiring contemporary music she wanted to listen to and had to produce her own, the same has happened here, but within the visual field of narration.

The way ideas are being produced is hard to be controlled through conceptual means and hard to grasp purely intellectually. After some period of research, information about other artists with similar sources of inspiration came through. But initially, it was hard to even express having lucid dreams as an underlying source of inspiration, especially when combined with two near-death-experiences and a life influenced by years spent in cultures which directly clash with how my early formative years were spent.

There are some unconfirmed stories around the internet that Lewis Carrol, author of Alice in Wonderland, was a lucid dreamer as well. Personally, there was not much knowledge or even interest in the field of lucid dreaming or any kind of controlling influence on one's subconscious. However, those dreams started to happen on their own, and they have disappeared on their own as well. There never was an intention for them to come and there is not much of a way to resist them. Someone commented that "Flying Elephant and Mathematics" did sound like a trip, and if they hadn't known me, they would think that the author was high.

That is where this lack of inner need for self-defense or self-justification comes from. Firstly, the whole storyline and visual narrative are unveiling in front of me - whenever there is the interference of ego, everything goes wrong. But a certain level of surrender and not-naive trust is present towards this process and so far, it has not been disappointing. It seems as if the comic and its character have had life of their own, as if the narrative is already written, yet all that is asked is to sort of download it. That process of downloading is where years of education and training come into fruition. The visual work and the processes learned in Venice and Prague seem to be useful servers to this process of unveiling of the whole comic.

Scot McCloud's "Understanding Comic" came as a very helpful tool full of tips and tricks to make a viewer able to identify with the main characters. It describes how to use self-centricity in each one of us for the purposes of transferring a message.

Therefore, to the question "Why do you work the way you do?" the best possible answer is it all just happens by itself, and I am trying not to be in its way.

Bibliography:

Mc Cloud, S. (1993): Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art William Morrow Paperbacks

4.) HOW DO YOU DEVELOP SOLUTIONS TO CREATIVE PROBLEMS?

[Date of Entry: 27. 9. 2018]

In order to develop a solution, there needs to be at first some problem or challenge. To explain how the work is done, the journey into some past dreams will be offered. It is a fragile, highly personal land, so please walk with consideration and accept one kind warning:

If you try to judge what you see, you will never understand it. If you try to understand, understanding will never take place. Why? Because this is the effortless land of subtle sources of inspiration, whose beauty and jokes will be damaged by most attempts to grasp them intellectually.

Of course, I do appreciate a lot other people's interest in my work and their desire to understand how it is done, and this warning is not a curt attempt to discourage anyone. It was just often observed that other people's effort and the way they have approached their understanding goes in an opposite direction.

There are also different kind of creative challenges, each of them having different approaches. It might happen that what was told in the introduction might not necessarily be true for all the tasks which are necessary in order to successfully produce the comic book. What was explained in the introduction is valid for the most essential elements of one's work, as, for example, the underlying sources of inspirations, idea generation and other determining factors.

How did this idea of creating a narrative with the title "Flying Elephant and Mathematics. Journey throughout the Lands Prior, Within and In-between Consciousness" start? So, there was a dream at first. It was during the time when there were some physical/health difficulties experienced (mainly due to the uttermost ignorance of a medical practitioner), so uninterrupted sleep was highly appreciated.

Finally falling asleep and enjoying this dream-less land, suddenly Albert Einstein appeared (in dream vision). He explained his new understanding of theories which were created by him. He started to explain them and his new understanding of them, how they were to be approached and re-framed, his other new ideas, and his understanding of the latest theories in physics and math.

A reader can hardly imagine how annoyed the dreamer was. She understood she was dreaming, as it could only be in a dream where she was able to comprehend all these theories and equations. In normal life, she needed to brush up on the equation for the theory of relativity. So when the dreamer understood she was dreaming, with consternation she observed how this random man occupied a part of her brain which was just on screen. He was drawing, writing, passionately explaining. He did not even bother to go to a hairdresser. He started to explain why the theory of relativity was outdated.

So as Einstein was on screen for a while, the dreamer became slightly tired of all of this math and felt entitled to return into the dreamless land for some proper rest. Furthermore, the dreamer withdraw her attention from what was on the dream-screen, despite how the dream-screen character tried to draw the dreamer into mathematical issues.

The dreamer started to think about how to stop this guy from further intervening in her dreams. She went to travel within her brain, searching for the area of brain responsible for dreaming. She remembers this very well, how she was walking throughout the brain trying to figure out what it is useful for and if she could use it for switching that death scientist off. However, she never studied the brain too much in her normal life, so she felt a bit lost. The searching mode switched off and turned into observation mode, where Einstein reappeared again. Meanwhile, as she was searching for the way out of this dream, he wrote many equations on a few boards. The dreamer felt lost in her attempts to escape, and so she told to the dream:

"Can you not stop?" The dream replied: "No, I can't." "But I don't understand why you go on with all of your theories when all I need is proper sleep!" "Because you need to understand why they are outdated now!" "But I am not a theorist; I am a tired painter! Can't you let me sleep?" "No, I can't!" "Please!" "Ok, but you will have a brief, and in this brief, you will speak about the outdated theory of relativity!" "I will do anything to be able to sleep now!"

Suddenly, the dream showed her where to go to switch that screen off, where the last thing she saw was this physicist running in her direction, screaming "Wait, wait, I have forgotten to tell you..." As she was able to fall into the so-much-needed dreamless land, the first thing she remembered in the morning was each second of this dream.

As the memory of this dream came to her throughout the day, she had the idea to simply write it down. The first part of the comic book narration was written in this kind of way. It was not "hunting" me though, it felt more as if this writing process has helped release that which was dreamed of.

This would be the answer to "how do you develop solutions to creative problems?". The solutions come as a by-product of one's inner conditioning, in spite of her will. However, the way "how to do that", is a process of will: as the MA study processed, and research and thorough investigation was encouraged, and suggestions and feedback came from tutor, the answers to "how to download this" came.

5.) CONTEMPORARY COMIC:

HOW DOES YOUR WORK RELATE TO OTHER, CURRENT ACTIVITY IN YOUR FIELD?

Date of Entry: 29.9. 2018 

In the first Chapter The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero by Ndalianis, time, genre and narration are explored, with a brief initial look at the historical need for heroes, how it has changed with comic books, and how its aesthetics have influenced, for instance, television series (Ndalianis, 2009). She explores the way "cartooning" has produced its effects. It mentions Rodriguez's techniques, where he mixed cartoons with live movement (Ndalianis, 2009). Also included is the emergence of Superman and our mental connection with "supernatural human". It points to similarities between Moses and Superman in relation to their journey once they are rescued, and how they materialize in order to unchain mankind, showing earth as an ideal place to be. She contextualizes the emergence of Superman (1938) with the idealization of utopian cities, and explains fake-scientific reasoning that has been chained together with the obscure. Superman (1938) is ultimately linked with comic's golden era.

Frank Miller, the author of Sin City, is highly inspiring for his visual abbreviations and playfulness with black and white. The fact that he was the target of criticism only confirms his greatness, as it was Winston Churchill who said that one who has enemies has once stood up for something.

Ian Gibson's black and white comics are admired for their character building and simplification. It might be good to note that although both authors, Miller and Gibson, are undoubtedly highly esteemed, personal preference and source of visual inspiration is towards their black and white delineations.

Ndalianis (2009) notes how heroes invented throughout the 30s were challenged by the end of the 8O's (Gibson, Miller). She also speaks about the deconstruction of conventional heroes with magical powers by screenwriters such as Morrison and Ellis, for example.

Grant Morrison is a highly sympathetic figure. The story of one of his teachers' encouragement to work in a bank is a delightful reminder of how one director of grammar school strictly prohibited teachers from writing recommendation letters for admission to secondary art schools. However, those are very secondary reasons for him being inspiring (although he is the writer and author of work such as Batman: Legend of the Dark Night for example). Published on Youtube is an interview with him on Late Night with Seth Meyers, titled "Grant Morrison's Fear of the Atomic Bomb Led him to Comics", where he states how it was the same fear of the bomb that led him to Superman (describing Superman's reaction "that tickles" when the bomb flashes in front of him).

Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti collaborated with writer Garth Ennis on comic books entitled The Pro. The Super Zero and other work are totally hilarious, and they could have been linked to my previous work if they had been retranslated into comic form.

It was Italian sculptor Francesco Albano who introduced the work of Antoine d'Agatha, who became famous for his "Cambodian room" photographies. D'Agatha has remarked that he wanted to show those who has lost ownership of their own bodies to those who willfully ignored or participated in their victimization. Together with Marlen Dumas, they were the main, underlying source of inspiration for my bachelor's thesis, where a depiction of Amy Winehouse and prostitutes and general accentuated visualizations of the female body were present. Therefore, inspired by The Pro, it seems to be a nice challenge to have a story-line written based on the memories of life in Asia. Steve Dillon and Garth Ennis have published a DC Comics title called The Preacher. Although it is still necessary to order and read them, based on the satiric genre and the summarized plot which is available for free reading, it seems like it would be a very relevant source of potential inspiration for the planned comic book "Flying Elephant and Mathematics: Journey throughout the Lands Prior, Within and in between Consciousness," where there is this idea to narrate the "Lands of Bastards" which would belong in between the "Lands within Consciousness." This particular land would be inspired by years where incredible and truly entertaining scenes of contemporary spirituality, which are often full of trauma, scandals and deceitful illusions, would be observed. Ndalianis asks: "What do we do with these radical transformations of superhero representations?" (Ndalianis, 2009), whereas she later goes on to suggest that the downward spiral of today's world has happened. She supported the conclusion with Levi-Strauss that fictitious stories serve the purpose of offering structure and descriptive arrangement for individuals to seriously think about the surrounding universe. (Ndalianis, 2009)

____________________

Tutor once introduced me to Chris Ware. Although a great amount of research has been dedicated to him, he seems to be way too intellectual and too conceptual to meet the inspiring aims herein.

___________________

Manga, or Japanese comic art, is another huge source which inspires thorough research. In the Journal of Popular Culture, there was published an article written by Itto, Kinko, titled "A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society." This paper has been a great introduction into the specificity of this genre.

In order to understand Japanese comics better, it might be useful to learn Japanese. But as there is little of knowledge of their habits and no journey to their country was ever taken, the last remaining option is to simply comment on the visuals and what is explained and commented on them in English. This can never be without bias; therefore, the following lines are more to be an outline of where further research should be directed.

Rakuten Kitazawa, whose work was a predecessor of manga, is one of the first figures I have chanced upon, and I was stunned by his complex and highly cultural work. Ittai Okamoto was another who has been recognized for his bright, ingenious pieces and has became famous throughout his era. Those two artists need to be explored further for their highly inspirational potential.

From the era after the 50s in Japan, among the most exciting creators is Osamu Tezaku. On Youtube, there is a publicly available animation, "Jumping", which has identifiable elements with my proposal because it includes "jumping" throughout different lands, views and time-spaces - and that is exactly what my comic book figures are going to be doing.

This was a very brief and rather superficial introduction into the contextualization of planned work within the huge scene of comic book narration. For this blog entry, it is considered to be satisfactory, and remaining posts are going to be even more specific and narrow. Bibliography:

Ndalianis, A. (ed.) (2009): The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero. New York: Rutledge Ito, Kinko. A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society Journal of Popular Culture; Oxford Sv. 38, Čís. 3, (Feb 2005): 456-475.

links:

Grant Morrison's Fear of the Atomic Bomb Led Him to Comic (2017), Late Night with Seth Meyers, 14. December; viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAIia3YqBDo  [Accessed 30.10.2018]

The Pro (La Profesional, 2010), Los Caminantes Peru, 27. May, viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9kUbnHyTk0  [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Garth Dennis, Steve Dylon Interview / Preacher season 1 Premiere (2016), Popcorn Talk, 15. May; viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJlpyoaU8Yw  [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Graphic Novelist, Chris Ware (2012), Elisabeth Alfano, 18. May; viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4MOYCvgEmw [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Minato City (2009) Ippei Okamoto [online] Available at: https://www.lib.city.minato.tokyo.jp/ yukari/e/man-detail.cgi?id=18 [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Osamu Tezuka Jumping 1984 (2017), MSP NIL X, 30. May, viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zBqKj1XOXs  [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

why those links and texts are mentioned:

Ndalianis (bibliography) has enabled introduction into analysis of comics heroes.

The video about Grant Morrison is an inspiring source revealing more about the comic author.

The link on Pro is inspiring because it is relevant to the topics which were illustrated in Venice (regarding gender and trauma), and it is an example on how this could be retranslated into a sequential illustration / narrative form.

Steve Dylon and Garth Dennis are both influencing one's ways of, not only, visual thinking; therefore the interview with them looked relevant.

Chris Ware has been brought up within both parallel Modules (Research and Practice and Practice 1 - Research), and a deeper insight into his ways seems important,

Osamu Tezuka's Jumping is a great animation structured in a way that it can offer insight into how sequential illustration could be done if approached in his style. 11.) HOW THE GODFATHERS OF MANGA - OSAMU TEZUKA'S LATE WORK AND EVOLUTION OF HIS METHODOLOGY - COULD INSPIRE NARRATION OF COMIC BOOKS DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES: (HOW DOES YOUR WORK RELATE TO OTHER, CURRENT ACTIVITY IN YOUR FIELD? )

Tezuka Osamu, Molly Bang and Andrej Tarkovskij are considered to be great geniuses. Each of them would deserve lifetimes of research and books written about them because of their inspiring potential.

Within this concrete Entry Blog, attention is going to be given to Osamu Tezuka, who is often nicknamed the "Godfather of Manga".

In the article titled "Dark Side of the Manga: Tezuka Osamu's Dark Period", Rob Volmar investigates the consequences of Tezuka's position, where after twenty years of recognition in the entertainment industry, his becoming an idol has resulted in a transformative journey embraced by dark shadows. (Volmar 2012)

Hirohito becoming imperial in 1926 marked the beginning of Showa period, under which Tezuka spent most of his life. Tezuka's upbringing conditioned him to dislike war and nationalism. After finishing medical school (1948), where he drew throughout the time spent, he decided to turn his back on becoming a doctor. His success was unpredictable, making him kind of an established star in the 1960s. His "Swallowing the Earth" (1968) marked the beginning of a much darker period which transformed both his life and career alike. The title addressed the downward spiral of civilized species, whereas during the second world war, two soldiers became infuriated by the photo of one beautiful lady. As the story goes on, viewers can see the different story lines of those army men, whereas one became a successful corporate employee and the second sunk into poverty. The rich man hired a weird character to search for the mentioned woman, displaying the oddball parody of manliness to counterpoint ladylike attempts to demolish virility. There is depicted an interdependent, harmonious connection between Japan and the States. Appealing is the glorified "hero" who shows disinterest in worldly affairs, mainly due to the fact they have already been achieved. (Volmar 2012)

Prior to this dark period of Tezuka's work, he has often used "gaps" in order for the viewer to "zoom out" of the picture and to caution that the work is a film. In other work, "Ayako" and "MW" expose sexuality more openly. One of Tezuka's milestones was shifting his focus when not restricted to a children's audience. (Volmar 2012)

MW and Swallowing the Earth are linked together by the visualized idea of the urbanization of Japan. Volmar refers to Tezuka's "Ayako" as his "dark masterpiece". (Volmar 2012) Tezuka has captured three different Japanese time periods: the early Showa period, postwar Japan, and a divided Japan in the 60s.

In 1951, Tezuka created Ambassador, which highlighted the future Astro Boy (1952-68), wherein the appearance of extraterrestrials is present.

In the film "Broken Down" (1985), there is a distinction in styles of narration, where it is partly in color and partly black and white. Its initial simplified figures speak for themselves, and there is "speaking without words". The transition into colors is one of the central ideas in the comic book "Flying Elephant", where Figures will be traveling throughout different Lands - and those could be similarly visually distinguished as done in Tezuka's "Broken Down".

After Tezuka founded his studio (later called "Mushi Production), a lot of challenges awaited him. He was initially discouraged from animation, and he later complained about the difficulties of team work, which is very understandable as some of his suggestions (for example, letting the heroine die at the end of a children's story) were rejected.

There is at the time of this writing a publicly available document entitled: "Osamu Tezaka Documentary: The Godfather of Manga" (please view links under article). In it, one can view the described incident when Giaburo Sugii started to work for Tezaka, and he was supposed to make a surprised Astroboy in three-second motion. When he started sketching, Tezuka asked him to explain his process, and he explained he was trying to narrate expression in the face. Tezuka told him that it was not necessary because Astroboy would move too much, instead suggesting that only the eyes should move. Sugii commented that it was not animation, and Tezuka explained that this was how anime is done. That is also the core difference between Tezuka and Disney animation, where Disney uses full animation (24 pictures), and Tezuka limited (8 pictures). For the 3 seconds the figure talking, its movement will be only the blinking of an eye for example, which is a sufficient amount of movement for children.

However, what is most relevant in the context of the proposed comic book, "Flying Elephant", are mainly his later works, as for example: Legend of the Forest 2. Those could be used for narration of the Landscapes in between Consciousness and for those within Consciousness. Hopefully, by creating the real visuals, it all will become much clearer than in this kind of blogging. Thank you for your attention and good bye.

Bibliograohy:

Volmar, R. (2012): Dark Side of the Manga: Tezuka Osamu's Dark Period Journal:

World literature today Issue 2, Page 14 link: https://ud7ed2gm9k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info %3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Dark +Side+of+the+Manga%3A+Tezuka+Osamu%27s+Dark+Period&rft.jtitle=World+Literature+Today%3A+a+literary+quarterly+of+the+University+of+Oklahoma&rft.au=Vollmar %2C+Rob&rft.date=2012&rft.issn=0196-3570&rft.eissn=1945-8134&rft.volume=86&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=14&rft.externalDocID=R04911507&paramdict=en-UK  

INUHIKO, YOMOTA (2008): Stigmata in Tezuka Osamu's Works Mechademia Volume: 3 Page: 97-109 https://ud7ed2gm9k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info %3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx %3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Stigmata+in+Tezuka+Osamu%27s +Works&rft.jtitle=Mechademia&rft.au=YOMOTA+INUHIKO&rft.au=Hajime +Nakatani&rft.date=2008-01-01&rft.pub=University+of+Minnesota +Press&rft.issn=1934-2489&rft.eissn=2152-6648&rft.volume=3&rft.spage=97&rft.epag e=109&rft.externalDocID=41510905&paramdict=en-UK links:

Osamu Tezuka Documentary: The Godfather of Manga (2016), Channel Mr. Star, 29. July, viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn5NRw0tsxQ  [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

dark period:

DMP Swallowing the Earth by Osamu Tezuka (2009), Channel Digital Manga, 14. July, viewed 30. 10. 2018, Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e1H_xChYFs  [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Why the links and bibliography were mentioned:

Osamu Tezuka's dark period, his Swallowing The Earth and Documentary about him were all relevant for writing this article, and documentaries about him are directly mentioned within the text.

6.) VISUAL POETRY: TARKOVSKIJ (SOURCE OF INSPIRATION):

A lot has been written and told about Tarkovkij and his films. The field of art criticism, theory and film studies is surely very interesting. However, that is not of primal importance within the ways of one's vision. Yet it needs to be admitted that contextual education on Tarkovskij's film meanings and hearing his own interpretations did offer perspective which would be hardly achieved without this knowledge.

It seems as if months, years, decades, or even several lifetimes could have been spent on studying this prodigious man. As further and deeper research went on, it seemed as if less and less would be understandable about him. There is this approach of not trying to be comprehensible. Seemingly, a desire to know is often equivalent to one's hope to take control over the subject, as if one would surrender the need to grasp that which is seen and what might be untouchable by means of rational intellectualism. Accepting the limits of knowledge opens the path to seeing the invisible, which is depicted in his films, yet seems to be hard to speak about. Of course, there are also many visible and real storylines and rationales. Many art theorists have written about them, and they are much smarter and more knowledgeable about him - no need to compete or compare with them. Because Tarkovskij is too big to be explained in one Blog entry, that is the reason why here, the question is going to be further narrowed into the following: How does Tarkovskij inspire the outlined Project Proposal? Based on his visual poetry, what could be potentially stimulating for creating the Lands Within, Prior and in Between Consciousness? What from his attitudes is either of resonant or inspiring quality?

On Youtube, there is published "A Message to Young People from Andrej Tarkovskij" (link below the bibliography). He says: "Learn to love solitude. To be more alone with yourself. The problem with young people is their carrying out noisy and aggressive actions not to feel lonely. And this is a sad thing. The individual must learn how to be on his own as a child, for this doesn't mean to be alone: it means not to get bored with oneself, which is a very dangerous symptom, almost a disease." (Tarkovskij year unclear, probably 1983)

Another Youtube source is an interview documented and carried by Donatella Baglivo (1983):

"And above all trust, themselves. ….(…)…to be defenselessness as the children, as weakness is power and strength is nothing" (Tarkovskij 1983).

"Man is born weak and pliant. And he dies strong and rigid. (….) Rigidity and strength are death's companions." (Tarkovskij 1983) "I don't know. Nobody knows who we are. It's much easier to judge other people. We know so little about ourselves. The fact is that we are unable to understand man." (Tarkovskij 1983) "The issue of happiness does not exist for me. Happiness as such does not exist." (Tarkovskij 1983)

In the same source (Baglivo, 1983), he discloses details of his childhood, that his family lived approximately 100 km from Moscow in a small wooden house, and his parents separated. The time before the Second World War was challenging because of his parents' divorce, and the children missed their father, who rarely came, and who returned from the war with one leg. Tarkovskij mentioned his childhood desire to end the war and bring his father home, and details such as how scarce the resources of food were. His early memories link with his mother who brought them up. She had to give up her studies in literature, and therefore could not achieve her degree in order to support them when their father walked away. He credited her for his underlying philosophical and artist influences. He fell into a group of bad companions when his mum sent him to work in Siberia. His piano and art studies in Moscow corresponded with his mother's support of his vision to surrender to a life of creativity (Baglivo, Tarkovskij, 1983).

What truly resonates is how he compared his own character to a plant: he was not thinking as much as feeling and perceiving. It is encouraging to see his initial humility and doubts about how he had to investigate what his role as a director meant, which contrasted with his self-assured cohorts and how the enigma of cinema remained more of a question even in his mature age.

Donatella Baglivo asked Tarkovskij to comment on the fact that his acclaimed Ivan's Childhood (which was a milestone since a USSR author was recognized by the Golden Globes for the first time in Venice, Italy) caused much criticism. His reply compared two main critics - one who was defending him (Sartre) and the other critiquing (Moravia). It shows the level of Tarkovskij's humility when he liked the quality of Moravia's thoughts and criticisms for being too reflective and unsubstantianted. (Tarkovskij, Baglivio, 1983)

It was heard with delight how he was unable to divide his conscience and expressed ideas, and how that made his life inseparable from his profession.

Mikhal Rhomm was an influential figure for Tarkovskij, as the latter gives credit to Rhomm for teaching him how to be himself. This is absolutely important as it was learnt that one would rather be hated for who she is than loved for any kind of pretense - however appreciated, awarded or esteemed that would be.

In the mentioned interview from 1983, he directly expressed his belief that lyricists should be remembered in the chronicle of film. To Baglivo's question on a definition of art, he thoughtfully answered that it is at first necessary to understand life's meaning, which he assumed to be an otherworldly augmentation, whereas he considered art to be the means to reach it. He stated: "the more we know, the less we know", which fits with my initial proposal from the first semester modules which mentioned Socrates.

Viewing Andrej Rublev (the film) at the age of fifteen has helped my determination in the field, where concept was more appreciated than simple painting and drawing. Tarkovskij commented that the burden of Rublev was nothing special, whereas art is, according to him, never undertaken under ideal conditions. He sees lack of harmony as a precondition for art to exist, whose purpose is to minimize worldly disharmony. Asked about Rublev, he mentioned the pursuit of symphonious connection among humans, amidst creativity, community, in the current and past eras. Tarkovskij argued one's maturity can not be hereditary. He spoke about Rublev's perplexing existence that started during his studies at Holy Trinity under the teacher Radonevsky; he said it initially influenced his ways of seeing, which were overstepped during the autumn of his life.

There is this great appreciation for concrete scenes within Rublev, where initially he gets scolded by an old master who accuses him of sinfully wasting his gift. The master nudges him to go to Trinity. The monk is silent, and slowly, he sees the young boy crying. A painter hugs him, and listens through his tears as he blames his father for not giving away the secret to creating bells. The monk soothes the boy's pain, and reassures him they will both go to Trinity. Fusing bells, which will be his future job along with Rublev's painting in Trinity, will continue to bring joy to people. This concrete scene inspired prints made in a Venice laboratory, and is also hidden within the pieces "Imaca" and "Imaca-Tarkov". That scene resembles humility and acceptance, and is very similar in its meaning to Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son. Both those scenes, Rembrandt's Return of Prodigal son and Rublev's depicted acceptance of the young boy were repetitively inspiring sources within the ambiguous messages of one's prints, drawings and paintings.

In one previous blog entry, there was a description of a dream where Einstein appeared, and it was a great pleasure to hear that Tarkovskij condemned both him and Galileo to be wrong!

Tarkovskij's character was hammered during the hardship of war, where he confessed to Baglivo about prolonged periods of having no food to eat, which helped him to view life with compassion. (Tarkovskij, Baglivio, 1983)

Assistant Professor at Standford University in the Department for Slavic Languages, Skakov is an author of a book, titled: "The Cinema of Tarkovsky: Labyrinths of Space and Time." In the first chapter of this book, he quotes from the diary of Tarkovskij from 1971, where he exposes his time-concerning anguish and expectations to discover great findings about time, which he had seen as highly under explored topic. Skakov points out Tarkovskij's references to Montaigne, Schopenhauer, and Heraclitus, but finds no evidence of Tarkovskij's reflective statements about time. He sees his films as an expression of time's perception.

The Director's two published journals were: Time Within Time and Scuplting in Time (where he explained his seeing the black-and-white world as more psychological, where colored vision is more physical). (Tarkovskij) Pointing out director's typical use of slow-motion where scenes are unusually longer, he believes it challenges the spectator's meditation on time itself, where the story is secondary. This "carving in time" is seen by Skakov as a core reason which puts Tarkovskij in an antagonistic position towards intellectual mosaics as was, for example, Einstein's. Time is used by him as non-sequential tool which gives opportunity for non-observational structuring. Skakov sees that as a medium which opened the door for the film's characters into a framework where space and time are not shown in the way we know them, and often are inhabited, dreamlike visions. (Skakov 2012)

It is for this hypnagogic resemblance in Tarkovskij landscapes that they are inspiring. At the moment when this article was written, weeks of research (listening to Czech Vladmiír Suchánek, who is a professor at Palacky's University in Olomouc), did offer contextual background into understanding the historical and art-historical context of Tarkovskij, Rublev, Russia and Europe throughout the wide periods of times which were reflected in Tarkovskij's films. However, this did not cover the necessary knowledge for full comprehension to reach any slightest conclusion. The most appropriate solution at the present time seems only to outline the direction of further research:

That direction would be to implement his landscapes into this proposed comic books, where there are:

Landscapes Within Consciousness Landscape of Primitivism Landscape of Dualities Landscape of Lucid Dreaming Landscape of Human Suffering Landscape within the framework of time This Landscape could be inspired by these Tarkovskij films: Ivan's Childhood, Andrej Rublev, Landscapes Prior to Consciousness Landscape inspired by Narcosis Experience Landscape without the framework of time This Landscapes could be inspired by this Tarkovskij film: Sacrifice Landscapes in Between Consciousness Landscape where framework of time as we know it is breaking apart This Landscape could be inspired by this Tarkovskij film: Nostalgia

As part of the narrative, there is this expectation that comic book figures are going to discuss topics from three different Perspectives: Scientific, Ethereal and Subjective Individual.

For narration of those three perspectives, (background) inspiring images from the following Tarkovskij films will be used:

Scientific Perspective:

underneath source of inspiration:

interviews with Dr. Caplan, del Kolk, Seth from visual perspective: to be the subject for further research Perspective of Subjective Individual:

underneath source of inspiration: Andrej Rublev (Tarkovkij) Ivan's Childhood (Tarkovskij) Perspective of Supernatural:

underneath source of inspiration: Narcosis Experience, Lucid Dreaming, Nostalghia (Tarkovskij) Sacrifixe (Tarkovskij)

What seems to be a very clear vision in one's inner space might be highly confusing for the reader. There would not be a single attempt to disclose one's processes if it had not been part of an assessment. Thank you for your attention and have a nice day!

Bibliography:

Skakov, N. (2012): The Cinema of Tarkovsky : Labyrinths of Space and Time I. B. London: Tauris & Company, Limited

links:

Andrej Tarkovskij: A poet in the cinema (1983) (2012), Channel abrahamabulafia, 26. April, viewed 30. October 2018, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTvIybrtMqU [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Andrej Tarkovskij, A Poet in the Cinema - Part 1, English subtitled, Spoken languages Russian Italian (2011), Channel Serapeumofhorror , 17. January, viewed 30. October 2018, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2ETxZK9HXM [Accessed 30. 10. 2018] Vladimir Suchánek: Přednášky o tvorbě Andreje Tarkovského, Channel Ondřej Sabol Vladimír Suchánek: Ivanovo dětství (1962) (2014), Channel Ondřej Sabol, 10. February, viewed 30. October 2018, Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJY6y1p5c7Y&list=PLnNjaxHEtamgqpUzNDkQYhXOcMbFXQlrw [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

Vladimír Suchánek: Oběť (1986), Vladimír Suchánek: Nostalgie (1983), Vladimír Suchánek: Ivanovo dětství (1962), Vladimír Suchánek: Zrcadlo (1975), Channel Ondřej Sobol, viewed 30. October 2018, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgXW-VbwbsTqNbJXCeFSCg [Accessed 30. 10. 2018]

why the links and bibliography were mentioned:

Vladimír Suchánek's lectures, which were made publicly available thanks to Channel of Ondřej Sobol, gave insight into Tarkovskij's conditions and other art historical, historical, and political relevant matters which were conditioning his life and not only production of his films. It is always interesting to compare the distinction which is evident in between of Czechs and international art/film/analytics, and that is why source written by Skakov and other documents about Tarkovsky were included, as they were also source of one's learning.