"A Work of Art" by Cole Parker

[Talo Segura]

6 hours ago, Camy said:

The latest 'thing' are NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens), which let you sell non existent digital art to morons for a fortune.

Digital art is art, like any other, it exists and NFTs allow the unique creation to be, well, unique. It cannot be copied, but can be bought and sold just like any work of art, it exists. Michael Joseph Winkelmann created his collage of 5000 digital images the "Everydays" series which sold for $69.3 million at Christie's, the highest price paid for an NFT and the third-most expensive work by a living artist.

The future is here and it is now, digital art under various names started way back in 1960, you might say it has now, come of age! 

You appreciate art, or not, in its many a varied forms, digital is one form. One day we will see it in art museums. Art is also an investment, an investment in the artist and the value of the work. 

[Camy]

Cole; Mr. Parker; Guv. I profusely apologise for hijacking this thread, but I beg your indulgence for this last wee point: The World Is Going MAD!

 

[Talo Segura]

Great video, the question asked at the end: "will this come crashing down?" Like, is it some bubble which is going to suddenly burst? You could pose the same question about the stock market. Digital art NFTs are most probably a much better investment. I wish I got an original for $1!

 

[Rutabaga]

My mind isn’t in the gutter all the time and my heart is pure.

LOL.

R

 

 

[Rutabaga]

Reading this story I realized that I kind of like the name "Artie," and after racking my brains have concluded that I have never actually known anyone named Artie.  I think of the Simon & Garfunkel song "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" where, during the endless chorus at the end in which Art Garfunkel repeatedly sings "So long . . ." we hear Paul Simon saying "So long, already, Artie!"  I also think of Artie Butler, the piano player whose iconic theme is the centerpiece of Joe Cocker's recording of "Feeling Alright."  Then there's Artie Shaw, the clarinetist, who was before my time (and surely before the time of the Artie in this story).

I do know at least one person named Art but I can't imagine him as an Artie.  And I now recall working with another Art back in the 1970s, who also was not even remotely a candidate for Artie.  So it seems like the circumstances need to be just right for that nickname to fit.

R

[Camy]

Chapter four rocked... or symphonied, or some such. I've learned more about music in one chapter than I've ever learned in a rehearsal room. Go figure. I wish I knew a Mrs. Tordham.

[Rutabaga]

Artie definitely "went in the deep end of the pool" in both the literal and figurative senses!

I'm waiting to discover that brother Toby is actually a mite envious of Artie having that kind of good buddy.

As for this being "Not a journal," I submit this:

R

[Camy]

Ah, the old 'is that a pipe in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?' ploy. I like. Also, I concur: ce n'est pas une pipe!

 

 

[Rutabaga]

Both Artie and Isaac seem to like using expensive words.

R

[Rutabaga]

And now a CFNM adventure.  At least to the extent that "puberty had had its wicked, adamant, relentless way" with Artie, it has left him with a nice dividend.

I've been trying to put my finger on the "voice" Artie reveals in these not-a-journal entries.  It seems to range from kind of clinical to somewhat self-conscious.  It appears that, despite the amount of detail he provides, there is still a barrier he does not want to let down.  I'm pretty sure I would be the same in his situation.  

R

[Cole Parker]

I think that's one of the challenges we writers face with every story: developing the voice of the protagonist and then keeping it consistent.  This is especially true when writing in first person.  But if that is done correctly, it really helps the reader identify with the character and to care about him.

[Rutabaga]

What surprises me at this point is that we have not heard anything about Artie's father asking either of the boys about the new school policy.  Given the glee with which the father signed the consent form, and the statement that dinner conversation was common, I find it hard to believe that the father would not have asked something or said something.

R

[Rutabaga]

Well, that was unexpected.

R

[Rutabaga]

A relevant picture from the past . . .