Who am I and What Do I Do?
Because that’s what people want to know.
My name is Alex and I’m an artist from the Richelieu Valley in the province of Quebec, Canada. I am a visual artist (painter) and sound designer (+ composer/performer), as well as an independent researcher/scholar.
You now know who I am, but what do I really do in life?
Simply put, I’m a contemporary artist and what research I do functions mainly as a way of “informing” my art practise. I’ve been a practising painter for 20+ years and have been making music for as long. I’ve written over a thousand songs as well as hundreds of instrumental pieces. I’ve painted over a thousand paintings in various media, and have also been a prolific writer of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Prolificness is the norm with me.
I play the guitar and the piano and have a degree in Computer-Assisted Sound Design, which I have been practising since the 1990s. I’m also a blogger (since 2001) and budding amateur digital artist.
But, really, who the %&$? cares? What do I really do in life? What difference does it make? What difference do I make in the world?
What I Am
I am and have always been a Thinker. I spent decades studying philosophy and consider myself to be a contemporary philosopher, but really I’m just a thinker, i.e. I like to think, to spend hours in contemplation. Many have labelled me a shut-in or a recluse, or antisocial, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. I love being around people and actually depend on it for my art and for my general satisfaction in life. What I do though is spend hours in silence and contemplation, on top of having a healthy social life. You can call it a kind of religion. I happen to be a practising Catholic and that’s part of what I do on a daily basis.
Not that anybody cares. What people want to know is, who the %&?% is this guy, what does he think he is, what are his intentions here? Why should I care? What Projects is he working on? Who are his collaborators if he has any? What does he do for a living? What’s his job? Where does he come from, and what does he want from us? Really, what the %?&% do you want from us, Alex? I mean, really???!
I Want To Eat Your Soul
For those who didn’t realize it, that headline was a joke. No, what I really want is to hang out and have conversations with people, share stories about our respective lives, share anecdotes, maybe talk about work, or what kind of day you’ve/we’ve/I’ve had. I’m looking for a little intimacy with the world.
I’m not asking for much. If you’ve read this far, you find something interesting, maybe my writing style or the headlines and/or titles I have chosen. Something gives you a “vibe” of some sort, either good or bad, or neutral. But it’s kept your attention this long.
So what do I want your attention for?
Cats… That’s what people want to see: Cats. That’s what I do, I take pictures of my cat, who is named Ti-Loup, local patois for “Little Wolf”. You may be laughing, dear Reader, but it’s the $%&? truth. What do people want from me? What do people want to see? They want to see cute pictures of my cat!!!
More to come… stay tuned! ☺
