Welcome to the week, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! For all you Chicagoans, you know this past weekend was a people watcher paradise, with drunk people garbed in green falling on sidewalks, packing bars, and vomiting in restaurants. Ah, what a good time. My own weekend was spent around people giddy not from alcohol but from cheap furniture. Gods bless IKEA.

So how to get back into the workweek after various forms of hilarity and excitement? A little inspiration, of course. Beat the block with our Monday date: a creative kick in the arse.

Previously we’ve focused on killer writing as an inspiration. For me, looking at writing I love reminds me of what’s possible, why I want to write in the first place, why my freelance life kicks ass, and why I enjoy creating. Whether that writing is in book form, songs, films and TV, or magazines, the quality specimens push me to keep an eye on the future and focus on my creative dreams and goals, but they also prod me to get back into the work of daily living.

But who says we have to stop at writing? Not me. Although I can’t paint or design myself, looking at striking artwork can be just as awe-inspiring and thought provoking as reading something profound.

So for today’s Monday Date, we’ll look at some pretty (and disturbing, be forewarned) pictures, after the jump.

Leon Golub is a fascinating artist whose works are at once gorgeous, compelling, and deeply troubling. His work is inherently tied to current events, beginning in the era of Vietnam. He portrays the dangers of power, a theme especially relevant in the post 9/11 world. This example, Interrogation II, can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s true size can’t be conveyed here - it’s monstrous, looking down upon viewers from an expanse of an entire wall. It makes you feel very small, very vulnerable, and very awed.

Art reviewers and critics can describe the power of this piece (and many of his pieces) better than I. All I can do is feel it and know it. What I can and will do is direct you to more of his works.

Mercenaries I at Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
Vietnam II at the Tate
Works at MOMA, the National Gallery, and more

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