Abstract art can be very exciting. By nature it must be avant-garde and often it comes with an amazing array of colors and textures. Unfortunately, it can also be intimidating. Who is to say what the painting really is worth or if it is just slop that monkeys could have orchestrated? We have all heard someone say of an abstract, "I could do that," or the all to common "My kid paints just like that."

What is it then that sets apart high quality, investment abstract art from low brow random expressions of color's that have no dollar value?

The first distinction between these two groups is your own personal fulfillment that is provided by a painting. You are completely in control of this phenomena. Does it move you? Can you imagine looking at that painting every day?

Second, we have time as the dividing line for these two categories. Only with time will some artists rise or fall in to the priceless and worthless fields. Unfortunately, most abstract art doesn't stand the test of time.

Many artists get caught up in one style or theme that holds them back from finding the center of their artistic soul. One artist, Sudargono or Gono does not struggle with this at all. Gono constantly redefines himself and his art; every few years he has evolved in medium and approach. He ventures often into realism to hone his skills and continues to grow. Already, he could rest in what he has achieved, being that he is one of the fathers of abstract art in Indonesia. Still, he reinvents! Last year he began working on his most original series to date, best described as an oversized pointillism. The textures and colors are magnificently intense!

Another separation in abstract art is education and experience. Is the artist a real painter? Many people try to copy the great abstract painters however, there is a great difference. Often it is simply the way the colors mix together, or the manner of textures in the abstract expression. These are subtleties learned from studying the masters and the time taken to experiment. Gono has quite a background in studying and painting.

Another well learned painter and experimenter is Élan Vital. Élan is based out of Maui and paints some of the most original art I have ever seen. He has an unbelievable resumé that includes engineering, psychedelic lighting design, fashion design, sculpting and painting. All of these things led him to his secret style. Élan paints with pigments and gemstones ground into powders and mixed with aerospace enamel. This is the same enamel that is used to seal the stealth fighter. He paints using all this knowledge to make his own materials and 'engineer' his paintings with absolutely no use of a brush. Each painting has between 30 and 100 layers of his process. It is like a liquid gemstone psychedelic explosion. Utterly brilliant.

I have learned another important thing about abstract art: your opinion is valid. One doesn't need to be a renowned critic to be a good critic. Every thing you see or feel is valid. I try not to ask the artist what he was painting. Instead, I first tell the artist what I see. Every thing you think you see is actually there! This is why I love abstract art. Abstract paintings involve the viewer in the creative process. The imagination of the art lover is just as important as the painter's.

Thomas (Tennessee) Williams was brought up in a puritan family, and his first love experiences were very chaste. He loved without understanding what exactly this feeling was, and there was not even a hint to the physical side of these passions. Tennessee was a puritan, and even to kiss a guy would be impossible for him. The undisguised homosexuality of the men he met always stunned him. The same can similarly be attributed to Brick from the play. It is quite possible that in the epoch of Puritanism, this young man, as well as his friend Skipper, could not even find a name for his feelings, and even if he realised to some extent what the nature of their mutual fondness was, could he possibly admit that?

We do not know what Skipper thought about their relations, and if he felt the same as Brick. However, we may presume that Skipper had undergone the same as Brick; their destinies intermingled and reflected one another. And the result of their feelings being broken by the social norms and morals is one and the same: attempts to escape from the reality, seeking the remedy in a bottle of whiskey.

In Williams’s life, the death of his true love, Frank Merlo, was a serious shock that changed his life and work. Just as Brick or late Skipper, Williams began to seek oblivion in drugs and alcohol. These parallels between the life of Tennessee Williams and his character Brick are obvious, and we may rightfully presume that the reasons and motives for their actions are also the same. Moreover, we should keep in mind that Williams was prone to self-analysis, and never wrote about anything that did not reflect the hidden and deeply rooted emotions of a personality.

If you are interested in becoming a model and joining one of the most incredible and interesting types of work available, you will have to meet certain requirements. It’s not enough to have perfect measurements, the right height, a pretty face, being a model is much more.

First you must decide what type of model you want to be, this will depend on your physical appearance, your age and the reason you want to be a model.

The requirements to be a model are not just physical, they are also psychological.

Physical requirements include being tall enough, having the correct weight in proportion to your height (depending on what type of model you are), nice clean skin, nice teeth and healthy hair.

The most important psychological requirements include: Self esteem and belief in yourself, punctuality, and a charismatic personality.

Once you have decided what type of model you want to be, you can begin the fight to become one. Becoming a model is not something you can manage from one day to the next. It requires dedication, persistence and patience. Don’t wait to be ‘discovered’ are for someone to offer you work. That only happens to supermodels.

Depending on what you like in the world of modeling, you can take classes to learn it. If you want to be in runway shows, you should learn how to walk. If you want to be photographed, you need to learn to pose for the camera. If you would like to work in television, you must study acting.

In the world of fashion and modeling the competition is stiff. Don’t expect to succeed unless you are well prepared.

The next step is to make yourself a model portfolio and comp card to take with you to see agencies and look for work.

Don’t get upset if you are rejected by some agencies, it happens all the time. The important thing is to keep trying at every agency you can. Also be sure to attend as many castings as possible that fit your modeling profile.

Nowadays, getting your pictures to agencies is easier than ever with the Internet. If you upload your photos to a Website you can be viewed by any agency in the world. All you need to do is e-mail to let them know your pictures can be viewed online.

Against the background of a golden throne hall projected onto a gigantic screen with the melodious music of the Qing Dynasty, a group of beautiful Manchu “geges” emerges elegantly in a line from one side of the stage, wearing deep blue Manchu midi, dalachi-style headgear, and typical Manchurian-style “flowerpot shoes” with three-inch heels. Walking out in small graceful steps, they started dancing delicately.

With the stunning “gege dress,” the graceful music coupled with the strong color of Manchu and the exquisite choreography, the brilliant young dancers from the Feitian Dance School and Lotus Art Group beautifully display the virtues and elegance of traditional females in the “Flowering Age of Kang Xi and Qian Long.”

The gege dance eloquence and graceful style is actually amazing! It connotes not only the virtues and grace of the noble females, but the entire ‘Flowering Age of Kang Xi and Qian Long’ is able to match the great age in the Tang Dynasty. The audience could get a true feeling for the portrayal of substantial prosperity, confidence, and spiritual tolerance.

Some of the shows, such as the "Ladies of the Manchu Court" performed by the Fei Tian Dance School, were also eye opening for the Chinese members of the audience. Some were commenting about the fact that they had never seen anything like this before. I could hardly believe my eyes, that those dancers could actually dance gracefully and in harmony wearing those horseshoes also called flowerpot shoes. When the huge curtain slowly falls down, the classy “geges” gradually disappear in front of the audience, leaving a magnificent, historic, and permanently lasting picture in their memory.

Besides the traditional Chinese dance and music, this year's show includes depictions of the Chinese heroine Mulan, loyal Song Dynasty general Yue Fei, and many more. It also includes an artistic portrayal of a Falun Gong practitioner being beaten and killed by police in China. The practitioner ascends to the sky after being killed, whereas the policemen who beat her face retribution.

Why not celebrate the Year of the Pig in a Spectacular way and treat yourself to a sumptuous feast of ancient Chinese culture – the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular.

Imagine a backdrop of a vast ocean with surging waves for a grand dance called “The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea”. Or picture a fairyland landscape and palace for a dance called “Grinding an Iron Pestle Down to a Needle”. These are but two of the many classic creations used as a backdrop by NTDTV for its Chinese New Year Spectacular show playing at New York City Radio City Music Hall from February 14 – 17.

Tranquil artistic concepts from Chinese paintings and the magnanimous charisma of Western paintings are combined with a hi-tech application of traditional art, photo-electricity and projection used as backdrops. The combination makes for a rare delight of artistic performances. It is not surprising that the show ranked 7th on Billboard Magazine’s top 10 shows in Feb 2006 based on ticket sales for the 2006 shows at Radio City Music Hall.

Li Wencheng, head of the New England Monte Jade Science and Technology Association, said, “The backdrop for the NTDTV Chinese New Year Show is indeed rather unique and the skillful application of projection and photo-electricity has to be the creation of an expert.”

“The backdrop makers of the NTDTV show have extended the effect of our backdrops to its extreme,” noted Radio City’s Manager.

The enormous background screen used during NTDTV’s Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall has the effect of bringing the audience into the performance. In a typical stage setting, it is difficult to create a multidimensional effect, even with a large number of performers. The space on stage has limitations, and stage props also often give people a feeling of things being faked.

However, when Soprano-Alto Yang Jiansheng sings a vocal solo, she stands alone on the stage with no accompanying dance or stage props. However, the magnificent backdrop makes the audience feel as though they are right in the midst of the performance.

For example, in the 2006 Chinese New Year Spectacular, throughout the show the backdrop kept changing along with each performance, from misty rain, pavilions and towers, to the water-bound country in south China to shining spears and armored horses and famous mountains and rivers; from green bamboo and red flowers and the change of four seasons to the sun, the moon, the stars and the auspicious clouds in the highest heavens.

Colorful events that took place in the thousands of years of Chinese history were replayed to perfection on stage. The design of the backdrops was definitely the creation of an expert. The backdrops did not use dominant color themes to supersede the performers on the stage. Instead, they provided a very logical and harmonious artistic atmosphere.