Felines: To Be or to Meow

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Frequently life forces us to moments of solitude.  Variable forces mitigate our active agency, life's paths wind in ways which wound and weary.  The passing of time can uplift as quickly as oppress.  Like a brick wall, all of our worries can be stopped in a moment by the transcendent beauty of the world we inhabit.
The scale and grandeur of the universe are kept outside of our bubble of blue.  The atmosphere and clouds block out the eternal abyss - the eternal possibility - of the universe.
This piece calls to mind the stress and anxiety that might lead one to being alone on a rocky outcropping in an ocean or bay area.  Facing toward the light, the figure would be reminded of time's transience, mortality, ennui, the existential hoplessness of optimism, the absolute neccessity for it.  The various maelstroms of contradictions and compliments which house our experience.
Except it is a Cat.
Cat's lack higher cognitive functions.
Just a cat.

Ego facio, ergo sum

A meteoric, reflective piece which births ennui and disillusion 

The "What I Do" meme is the signs of the reawakening of the economy and the renaissance of how we view employment and life choices.
This - widely considered the primordial piece - reflects the timeless plight of the artist.  Specifying that the artist seeks to expand art in it's most contemporary forms, the creator defines the artist's existence within the concept of perception.
It is oft cited that the artist must eschew if not fully disdain the opinions of the masses.  In this piece, the reality of art is revealed viciously, exposing that all art must be seen and thus judged.  The integral aspect that unifies these pieces is the juxtaposition of expectation against reality.  The self referential sections construct the foundation of humor for the previous sections - exposing the opinions of friends and family whose thoughts are often romanticized or trivialized.  The self-section exposes the inner ideal of the craft assumed by the creator and the final two juxtapose the absurdity of society's view against the reality which is often much less glamorous.

What God thinks I do?

Unless you are NPH, in which case, no one can ever truly understand your greatness.

Dunecat

The DuneCat.  A timeless generational piece which speaks not only to the great Frank Herbert, but to the generations of admirers which he spawned and the tribute indie films such  as Star Wars and Star Trek which drew from this genesis piece.
DuneCat, wrapped in a costume of linen, achieves a wormish appearance while still maintaining the adorable feline quality all felines seem to possess.
While the crossbreeding of animals implied by the costume may at first be off putting, the Catmeme derives most of it's humor from the naivety of the cat.  Assuming the cat is striving for attention, the piece suddenly adopts the humor associated with a child attempting to impress a parent.

The Superlative Porringer

Sports support Photoshop

(I'd like to note that I did consider making this post simply a picture of anything related to the Super Bowl.  Would have been appropo methinks.)

Spectacles of athletic and regional dominance have dominated the mentalities of plebeian mobs since time immemorial.  Used to assuage tensions between rival fiefdoms and establish a proverbial pecking order, organized competitions create a distraction from the world at large.  The modern incarnation is most prominent in the Americo-Centric Football tradition.
"Football," ironically named for it's nigh complete lack of ball-foot contact, is a game in which geo-political regions select warriors based exclusively on skill, not their particular adherence to the sponsoring region, to conflict over the possession of the tanned hide of a pig.  During this engagement, the selected specimen of either team are made to clash against each other at high velocities - often causing fractures, the tearing of ligaments, and severe impact based concussions to their brains.  One team must move the skin beyond certain markers to gain credit toward a victory.

It is known that all young males should strive toward this.

Throughout a particular period of time roughly adhering to a calendar year, teams engage in repeated engagements weekly.  At the cessation of this period, teams with particular penchants for victory compete for the ability to engage a final quest for superiority.
The Super Bowl is that competition.
In this ultimate response to the free-market voting system enacted by television ratings, massive portions of wealth are expended to create a spectacle which entices more viewers than the State of the Union (a yearly address by the incumbent President of the United States meant to inform the populous of the direction he intends to take their country of residence).
The competing teams this year represented the regions of New York - though support in that state is widely divided between two teams which presume to control favor - and New England, which is actually a conglomeration of inferior regions dedicated to competing through union.  The team representing New York refers to themselves as Giants despite their mean size being similar on average to that of all other competing teams.  The team representing the conglomerated New England refers to themselves as Patriots a references to their nation's history, though that is shared by their opponents (perhaps a sign of ignorance on their part or a strategy to amalgamate more teams into their union).
During the competition a musical act is brought fourth, presumably to widen the appeal of the spectacle to audience members who may be forced to suffer through by other clansmen.  This year, an aging woman garishly flaunting Roman and Egyptian motifs of extravagance and slave labor wasted millions on a sentiment of world peace.

A very subtle commentary on the plight of the wealthy.

The outcome of the competition saw those presuming to be Giants defeating the misguided diplomatic strategy of the amalgamated states of New England.  Perhaps a commentary that massive corporations and Giants of industry will always subdue a more intellectual, philosophical ideal.
More interestingly, though, is that - during a time of apparent fiscal, social, and world troubles, importance is still given to maintaining such rewarding and empowering traditions such as watching grown men pummel each other in a display of misguided machismo and masturbatory egoism.

To Boat, or not to Boat.

Perhaps the most popular meme theme pervading the internet's artistic space is the Cat.  A motif revived from the Egyptian era - perhaps homage to an age of increasingly centralized governmental powers* and a tip of the hat** to the Arab Spring - the Cat is now a staple of modern art and expression.
Here, in this piece, we see a Calico cat, robed in business attire engaging the domestic ritual of news paper and the breaking of the night's fast.  The text very simply reads "I should buy a boat"
This piece is a testament to a generation torn between the domestic standards associated with previous generations and the whimsical freedom which is presented in our endless tomorrows.  The suit, news paper and coffee recall a traditional patriarch set out to financially provide for his family.  Domesticity chaining him to the confines of what appears to be a suburban kitchen, away from daring adventure, locked in terminal safety.
Suddenly - abrupt in it's subtle fading into the white table cloth - the text dawns on us as a dream, violent and wondrous.  It's appearance on the table can almost be said to shake the room for it shatters all acceptance of normative life.
The Cat is now a pirate.  The cat - the domestic man, the suburban cess pit draws us away onto the high seas fraught with peril and adventure. The blues of the picture recall both sky and sea, the contrast of light through the window and darkened lower corners thrust the reader away and outward through the window into the dream-scape of boat ownership.
This piece is an embodiment of narrative assumption.  We, the audience, are now asked whether or not the Cat does indeed purchase a boat, or does the cat regress, sip it's coffee and trudge to the office, forever a landlubber.

*Nope
**Forgive my colloquialism