Do you remember the saying art for art’s sake”? Perhaps many do, but do you understand the meaning behind it and why it was so popular? This intriguing question had me thinking also so I decided to do some research as I thought it would make an interesting article for art lovers everywhere and hope you agree.

The philosopher Victor Cousin, a Frenchman living in the 19^th century, is generally credited with the saying in French, l’art pour l’art, which express the belief held by many writers and artist associated with Aestheticism that art never needs any justification, either ethically, politically, or socially for what it is. In other words, it is what it is, the end of the story.

So, what is the purpose of art then, you might ask? This is answered eloquently inside this message as there does not have to be a message or purpose. As such, why do we love art and support it as we do? What is it that excites us and draws us into the world of the artist?  Why does an artist have so much control over us that we willingly pay massive amounts of money for their work if it is just art?

Truly spectacular art has one gift that can not be defined in many aspects, as it is not about the artist, but instead, it is all about the beholder of the art, an individual person that has no boundaries or limitations, or even expectations of any kind who can interpret it as they feel fit without any critiquing or judgment imposed upon them.

With that said art is also a universal language that is shared by the emotions and evaluations of art in and of itself. Attempting to understand the passion, the love, or anger brought to life by an art piece is a challenge to be sure, and why I have stepped into this review of a famous saying.

Understanding art of art for art’s sake, is an attempt to understand what justifies the unexplainable or at least something that needs no justification. If the skill and justification of the artist’s work are not to be questioned, then why so much time spent attempting to do so? Why support an artist if there is no justification or critique of the artist’s work?

Yes, so many questions, but then again, in reality, that is what an artist perhaps is very much attempting in their work, raising questions, and not accepting the world as it appears.

Thus, the art of enjoying art is as simple or as complicated as you wish, and thus an individual thing. Supporting artists to be free to create such works is what allows the questions to happen, and questions are what move us humans along to better and better lives.

As a fine art photographer, it keeps me traveling the globe as an international nomad with a thirst to capture special moments in time that you can interrupt in your own way and enjoy on your walls forever. Support is a great feeling, especially when you understand the true meaning of art for art’s sake.

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Thank you again, as your friendship means so much to us and our travels as international digital nomads.

Hello, my friends from around the world, and let me be one of the first to wish you a very Happy New Year. We will be celebrating for 24 straight hours as each time zone enters the new year. The first time zone which is UTC (Universal time)+12 will enter the new year at 7am Eastern time. We are in Uruguay right now which is UTC+3

We will be switching between the following platforms where we will posting, making reels and shorts, and going live for the next 24 hours to share the excitement and celebrations from around the world.

Blogs

Our main digital nomadic website www.johnnyray.online

Our Sir John online fine art photography gallery www.sirjohnphoto.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/TheNomadicKing

Facebook profile https://www.facebook.com/NovelistJohnnyRay

Facebook business page https://www.facebook.com/SirJohnPhotoGallery

YouTube account https://www.youtube.com/@Sirjohnny

Instagram’s main account is https://www.instagram.com/sirjohnray and in the profile, you will see a list of the extra 5 Instagram accounts there

We travel the world to enjoy those special moments in time that you want to remember forever. The spirit of football and tango are some of what makes Argentina so very special. The people are friendly and they are very passionate about both, and it is a very emotional time here as you can imagine. We see people celebrating in the streets by the millions. There are no riots or destruction of any property, and everyone is safe to roam the city and make some noise of course.

Yes, we see many enjoying some drinks as they walk around, but we do not see any overly intoxicated groups, but people having fun and a major festival for sure is underway and this should last many days. Some stores are closed as their employees are out celebrating with others, and some are concerned about being overrun by locals trying to buy items, especially alcoholic drinks. Additionally, the local subway is shut down as it would quickly be overloaded and not safe. However, no one seems to mind as there are many streets to walk and sing with others to celebrate such a major victory.

It will take some time to process and sort the photos from this trip and hope you check out the Sir John online fine art photography site www.sirjohnphoto.com to see what we are talking about. This place is amazing and as digital nomads, we will return as often as we can. In a few days, we are heading to Montevideo Uruguay to prepare for the carnival there next month, which is the oldest in the world. We move one month per country and it works out fantastic for us.

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I hope you are all staying safe but still enjoying life as this is a great big beautiful planet we live on. We are in Argentina and love the vibe of this city with so much to see and do. We love to dance and tango is so passionate here as well as soccer being played in the World Cup competition going on right now. People here do know how to celebrate when they win here and it looks like they might go all the way.
We are taking a ton of photos as you might guess and will be doing a documentary later for YouTube so you will see what to do and see when you come here. We have the sir john online fine art photography gallery up and running and will be adding images as quickly as possible and already have over 100, but with a goal of over 10,000, we have a long way to go. Please check it out and also subscribe to the blog and the newsletter there. No obligation and cancel whenever you want. You will find updates there and discount codes for special events, etc.

I am also working on adding photos enhanced and digitalized to look like paintings. A complicated process but with amazing results, and hope you love it.

We are researching Argentina and capturing the heart and soul of this amazing city, especially the tango vibe. There is so much to see and do here with so much amazing architecture. There will be much more to follow as we hunt out and discover more about Argentina.

Thank you for being a part of our life and again we hope you also follow Sir John’s fine art online galleries on various social platforms. The link to the gallery is www.sirjohnphoto.com once there be sure to click on the blog and sign up for the newsletter.

Additionally here is my new business card

As most of Europe fights the spread of covid 19 and the variants, the use of the vaccination QR code has been used to restrict access to many places and the rules vary from place to place, with inside dining vs outside dining center stage. If you do not have a code then you might be able to have a covid test within a certain time frame. For a while the vaccination cards were allowed, but there is a big move to only accepting the European QR code.

The problem is that a foreigner, a traveler, a digital nomad, can not get the code easily. In Greece for example, you have to apply for temporary citizenship, which takes a month, then order a latest shot, be it booster, or second dosage, etc., wait for it, then ask for the QR code, which in total time can take several months. Most travelers do not have that much time to wait.

With many countries attempting to lure digital nomads to their country, this is a big roadblock in doing so. The long lines at testing centers around most towns is growing because people have to go to work, they have to eat, and shop. The one thing good about being a digital nomad is that you have the freedom to select where you live and can do so where the rules and laws do not hinder you from living a good life.

Hopefully a more integrated system will be developed so that those depending on the tourist traffic will not be hurt by imposed restrictions such as this. With so many changes in the law it is so important to follow the countries you want to visit, and make sure you have exit pans in case the laws shift against your movements.

Please follow by e-mail, see the right side panel, so that you can see all of the updates on traveling as a digital nomad around the world.