There’s More To Art Than Paint
Given that during art lessons, I never ventured above a level 3, which isn’t very good, it’s ironic that I have decided to write about art. What is art anyway? After asking Siri, I found that the definition of art is “the expression or application of human creative skill.” So according to Siri, who I trust, the art lessons which I had in school until year 9, have limited my art in the same way that turning off your phone limits the amount of phone calls you receive. In other words, it was a waste of time and pencil lead. This was mostly down to the fact that I was as practical as a coat made from glass during these lessons, so the net result was a mess and no expression or indeed application of my skill.
When I think about it, I’ve spent the majority of my life under the impression that I wasn’t very good at art, however, I now believe that art is more than drawing a tree. Art should be subjective if you ask me. Sport could be art. The other day, I witnessed a masterpiece of tennis from Nadal and Federer. I’m not as good as those two, but I’d like to think that I am producing some art, as hitting shots in tennis is a skill in itself.
When you think about it, pretty much anything is art. Obviously you’ve got the likes of Kanye West to Oasis performing the art of music. Then there are more obscure things, like food; Heston Blumenthal treats food as an art. Look at most of humanity and you can probably find some art.
I do think it’s a shame though that some people don’t see art. Just yesterday, I heard a friend saying that Drake’s music is not art but instead, something that you flush down the toilet. I know that we as humans can’t all like the same things, but the way in which Drake writes clever poetry is and will always be an art and said friend should accept that.
Not everything can be an art it seems. For example, I can argue with my maths teacher that I am correct because maths is an art and art should be subjective, but I would be wrong saying this whilst my answer is a factor of 50 off. So if I get an answer in a maths question incorrect, I have performed the art of maths wrong, therefore I am wrong. It would be like using a rake instead of a football at Wembley, it’s not going to be much of a performance from either team because it is simply not right.
Maths and science are different to art, any engineer is likely to mock and artist and vice versa. However, as a hopeful student of maths and science, even I admit that despite the fact that subjects are different, science and maths do produce artwork. The list is endless; rockets, dams formula one cars, they are all examples of human skill, therefore, they are pieces of art.
So, art teachers of the world, it’s all very well telling young people that art is colouring in, but once they are able to think for themselves, let them find the art that they enjoy, want to do or are good at. Don’t tell us that we are inept at art because we don’t possess a certain set of skills. Don’t limit us as children, in limiting us, you are limiting a future generation.
I’ve never been a fan of painting anyway, so put down your paint brush, grow up and open your mind a bit more.
This post was originally published on my Medium Site on 9th February 2017
Hamilton-Rosberg Rivalry Heats Up For Summer
Currently, nobody can argue against the fact that Lewis Hamilton is in his unstoppable, unbelievable, untouchable form. After winning 6 of of the last 7 races and being the first driver to win four races in a calendar month – July, the triple world champion has overturned what was once a 43 point deficit to lead by 19 points over his title rival Rosberg as the sport goes into it’s summer break.
There was never a doubt of Hamilton’s driving ability and there certainly never will be, for his natural ability has been one of many things that have aided his incredible success no end. It cannot be easy to watch your teammate win the first four races of the season whilst being held back by multiple engine failures during qualifying. Getting caught up in first lap contact and therefore damage as a result would only have made it worse. When the Mercedes pair collided in a first-lap crash which saw them both out of the race and out of favour with the simply seething bosses branding it as “stupid”, Hamilton admitted his “heart sunk.” And so too, at the time, did his title chances.
Since this ultimate low for Lewis, he has been on an exponential upward curve, but for crashing in Baku qualifying. He has won from in front and behind his rivals to make clear that he has the racing instincts. As his form grows, so does his confidence and maturity. It seems that he used to just win races, now he controls them as he decides the pace which suits him. It also appears that the poor race starts, which haunted the earlier races of the season are a thing of the past. If he was at rock bottom in Spain, he is flying high as he leaves Germany, thanks to his private jet but more importantly, mentally, he is on top.
On the contrasting other side of the Mercedes garage, his title rival and Monaco neighbour; Nico, is rather down in the dumps after what he described as a “crap” race. It must be said though that it was a collection of low-quality performances that must have built up to this mood of despair. In Monaco, he was left behind by the leaders as though he had offended them, lacking pace in the circuit he knows best. Then in three of the last four races, the German was called to the stewards for illegal radio transmissions and not giving drivers space in battle, with one case ending in him crashing into Hamilton, his teammate and dropping like a disgruntled rock to 4th. In Hungary too, Rosberg was under investigation for getting pole whilst under double yellow flags, which Hamilton personally pointed out to him meant that he needed to slow down and prepare to stop. This is all likely to be playing on the mind of Rosberg as it would to anyone.
As touched upon briefly, Hamilton has been playing off this misfortune and catalogue of errors from. Rosberg to perfection. After the race in Hungary, it was clear to all that Nico’s sarcastic pat on the back more than epitomises the frosty relationship the pair have as Lewis smiled knowing he was doing just what he had to do to dominate him rival mentally off the track as well as on it. It was very much interesting watching the contrast of Hamilton joking around with the Red Bull drivers in the press conference one week later.
Many were shocked when they heard the roar of delight reverberate around the Hockenheimring on the first lap when the crowd saw that Hamilton was leading and Rosberg had been overtaken by the Red Bull drivers of Ricciardo and Verstappen. There were reasons for this response. Firstly, despite having a German passport and Mother, Nico’s Father in Finnish and the title contender has lived in Monaco all of his life. When he described Monaco as his home grand prix earlier on in the season, these thing build up in the minds of the fans. causing them to find it hard to relate to and therefore like Rosberg. This could explain why last year the German grand prix was cancelled due to lack of interest. This year though, to seemed as though there were more fans from Britain and certainly The Netherlands, who had their men at the front after both making good starts. The fact though, that Hamilton beat Rosberg on his own turf and the Germans weren’t fussed about it won’t have helped Rosberg’s confidence.
Maybe one of the reasons for Rosberg’s seeming lack of self-belief if that every time the Mercedes drivers have battled on track, Hamilton has come out on top or they have crashed. Hamilton seems to be less affected by these collisions too whereas Rosberg goes into his shell and becomes cautious. The result of this is that Hamilton tends to win at the next opportunity after they battle. This only boosts mental strength of Lewis whilst Rosberg clearly has a dent to this confidence.
Many believe that this remarkable fight-back. just goes to show how strong the Brit; Hamilton, is mentally. But he still feels like he is “chasing” even if he leads the championship and has momentum in his direction. The reason for this being that he is already running on him last engine due to the early failures that he suffered. This means that it is more than likely that the reigning world champion will incur a grid penalty later in the season. The result: Lewis will be fighting through the field whilst Rosberg has the chance to walk away with it. This produces an entertaining prospect for the viewers as one of the greatest drivers has yet more challenges thrown him way. It is a good thing then, that the man from Stevenage is not complacent after his fantastic return of late, yet again showing Hamilton’s ever-wiser demeanour that we are becoming more accustomed to.
If we have learned anything from the past two years, it is that one should never question Lewis Hamilton, when he is on song, has the car alive and has confidence like he has done of late, he is, as Toto Wolff said, “unbeatable.” Let us not forget though, Nico Rosberg is a fine driver. The four straight wins at the beginning of the season was not luck. He needs to get his head back in the game over the summer, if he manages this, he has just as much of a chance to become champion as the form man who he calls his teammate. One thing is for sure, drama is on the cards, which is a mouthwatering prospect, especially as Red Bull close in to add more spice.
This post was originally published on my Medium Site on 3rd August 2016
Messi Magnanimous, Not Mean.
On Sunday evening, Barcelona took another step closer to the La Liga title in an enthralling 6–1 win in which each of the feared front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar scored, with the the Uruguayan, Suarez, scoring a hat trick. The third of his goals came as a result of Messi passing his penalty so that Suarez could pass the ball into the net.
Myself and many others see this as genius from the Argentine. Messi, who could have wrapped up his 300th goal for Barcelona if he had scored an orthodox penalty, was so team-spirited, that he set up Suarez for his hat trick. To me, this is a sportsman being a gentleman, which is something that we tend to see little of nowadays in football. It was a moment to savour as we watched in awe of what must be one of the best teams in our generation.
I have read though, that some of the press are branding this action of Messi’s, as “disrespectful.” What he did could be seen as cheeky, you can empathise with the Celta Vigo players, who may argue that they were already losing at a resounding 3–1, so the Catalan side didn’t have to show off. This view is understandable, but not a reason for pundits and the press to rip apart the Ballon d’or winner.
My thinking about the whole situation is that we should not complain when a moment of brilliance, like this, comes up. We should celebrate it. After all, this is what makes sport great, giving those who do it freedom. Luis Enrique, the Barça manager, has given his team just that and that has put them at the top of the league. As a result of freedom, we look at moments such as Dustin Brown volleying a tennis ball behind his back to win a point, with joy, Max Verstappen overtaking around the outside of at speeds of 200 mph, with disbelief and indeed would we have seen the full potential of Lionel Messi without his freedom to create a moment of magic that he does in every match?
What would have been disrespectful is if he had passed the penalty to Suarez who had passed it back to the goalkeeper. That would be against the game of football whereas what we saw on Sunday was pure football, they scored from a penalty, just in a different way. It was as clever as a dribbling skill or a nutmeg.
In conclusion, we, as sports fans should not suppress or complain about what Messi did in Camp Nou at the weekend, this would be killing one of the great things in sport, that is the liberty to be creative and express oneself. Sports stars, especially those at the top of their game, need to constantly add fresh and dynamic aspects to their game. This is so that they keep improving and capture the attention of the audience that they know watch and copy their every move. So don’t label what happened on Sunday as contemptuous, flippant or bad-mannered, label it as something else to appreciate from the magnanimous magician that is Lionel Messi.
This post was originally published on my Medium Site on 16 February 2016
Is Britain’s negativity niggling with it’s success?
Last night, England rugby team have become the first home nations not to progress from the group stages. They were beaten 33–13 by one of the competition favourites, Australia, just a week after losing to arguably their biggest rivals, Wales.
Headlines such as “England Let the Country Down,” a statement made by the rugby team’s captain, Chris Robshaw, have been issued, but should the British press be looking at the story in a different light? Many would agree that thanks to the football media, England are seen as the laughing stock at each international competition of which they enter. Any great sportsman will tell you that to win, you first need to believe that you can succeed. The negative press has most likely been absorbed by the players and the proof is not in the pudding, but on the pitch.
In this day and age the messages the media speak is louder than ever and as a result it is being heard by the sportsmen, who strive each day to be the best at what they do, even clearer. What is the reason for the negative press? Can they not use positive headline to “carry them home” as the fans say? I’ll tell you why the headlines are negative, they are negative because as a British public we naturally are inclined to be more interested in other’s misfortune, even if they are representing us. Look at the news, whenever I watch it, there is something sad or bad as the headline, be it war or a car crash or a so-called celebrity committing a crime. Think about it, when in public there is some sort of argument between strangers, you instinctively want to watch and listen. It’s just a British thing I suppose as that is causing us to lose competitions. Eventually losing will just be something that we Brits are particularly good at.
This desire to put down sports stars of ours for losing is common. I think that everyone has at least called the England football captain Wayne Rooney Shrek at least once. Andy Murray is somebody that many of our nation seems to relate to for his pessimistic attitude. But even Murray is put down by the Brits, when he wins, he is British and when he loses, he is Scotland’s problem. Maybe that is why Lewis Hamilton doesn’t appeal to all, he perhaps is too successful for the liking of most Britons.
There is one thing for certain, Brits like a moan, but is it effecting the performance of our representatives on the international stage?
This post was originally published on my Medium Site on 4th October 2015