#polka bear

[linaxart]

fall

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Sydney wears different patterns of polka dots headscarves throughout the season.

@sadbanana-69 you are a gem for this. Thanks for pointing out this spotted funeral dress!

[g3othermal3scapism]

artstyle fiddlings ft my special girl and also that freak

[havenalu]

Re-watching all seasons of The Bear and I don’t if anyone else has spoken about this but I noticed there is theme for every season. it could be symbol or a phrase that shows up in almost every episode.

In season one it was the tomatoes, literally in every scene there was tomatoes hanging around the kitchen despite the fact that they never used it until the last episode.

In season two it was the fridge guy that was the theme, they highlighting how important for Carmy to contact the fridge guy and we all know how that went at the end of season 2

In season 3 the theme I noticed is the polka dots, it was not obvious in my first watch but you rewatch you would see it was reoccurring. Chef Terry wore polka dots bandana, Sydney wore a lot of polka dots including the top she wore for Marcus mother's funeral right up until we saw carmy plating dish inspired by said polka dots.

Let me me know if I am straight Delulu 😂

[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[turbulenthandholding]

Sydney's polka dots and Yayoi Kusama

I wrote about it a little bit here, in a reblog of @thoughtfulchaos773's really excellent post (and ongoing thread) about Carmy's polka dots in his sauce but I have wondered since my first watch of S3, if there is some reference in all of the polka dots (Sydney's except for Carmy's sauce) to the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.

Pumpkins and Fruits (1993)

Kusama is an artist who works in a number of mediums, including sculpting and painting, but who is primarily known for her works featuring polka dots, both paintings as well as installations of polka dots in mirrored rooms (as well as even live art installations with naked people painted with polka dots).

There's two threads in her art that I think are particularly interesting, if all of Sydney's polka dots are at all referential to Kusama's work: mental health and sexuality.

Mental Health

The genesis of polka dots in Kusama's art came from her childhood, where as early as age 10 she had hallucinations of spots.

“I translate the hallucinations and obsessional images that plague me into sculptures and paintings."

And from Wikipedia:

Kusama has been open about her mental health and has resided since the 1970s in a mental health facility which she leaves daily to walk to her nearby studio to work. She says that art has become her way to express her mental problems. "I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieved my illness is to keep creating art," she told an interviewer in 2012. "I followed the thread of art and somehow discovered a path that would allow me to live."

I think Sydney's polka dots, viewed through the lens of Kusama's art, could be an indication of the healthiness of using creativity and collaboration in the kitchen as a way to process and work through past trauma as well as anxiety. As Kusama's art has given her a path allowing life, as she said, Sydney's polka dots could represent that Carmy has a path to improved mental health and a better place through his collaboration with Syd and their mutual inspiration. Carmy spends a lot of season 3 doing things for Sydney instead of with her, and his reflection of her polka dots in his sauce stands out as a reflection and a growing recognition in him of the full depth of her importance to him.

Sexuality

Which brings me to the second potential reference to Kusama's work in the polka dots, which is a reference to sexuality.

Sexuality has played a very complicated and, even at times disturbing, role in Kusama's life and she has used her art as a way to process it and reconcile her sexuality with herself. She was traumatized early by an abusive mother who sent her to spy on her cheating father as he conducted his affairs, which led to a reaction towards anything sexual filled with a lot of disgust (understandably). Over the course of her career, she grappled more and more with her feelings on sexuality in her art, with many representation both of female and male genitals in her work. As one article says:

Her works often depict phallic shapes and repetitive patterns, which she has said are meant to represent the human obsession with sex and desire. Kusama’s art also explores themes of self-obliteration and the loss of self in the face of infinite repetition.

Phalli's Field (1965) - first mirrored room installation, filled with phallic shapes made out of fabric and cardboard, covered in polka dots.

From Stir World:

While the work circled back to the phallic motif, the design intervention of using mirrors created an architecture of infinite space. This was the beginning of what revolutionised her career so much so that in 2016, she was chosen as one of the world’s most influential people by TIME magazine. Since then, her exhibitions of infinity rooms like Love is Calling have had waiting lines of over five hours for a few seconds of viewing time. 

Especially when Kusama combines polka dots with mirrored infinity rooms as she calls them, there is very much a sense of both reflectivity and reflexivity that happens. An interesting example in terms of this discussion, Infinity Mirrored Room - Love Forever (1966/1994), the polka dots in this room being represented by round, colored light bulbs:

A description of the installation (emphasis mine):

Infinity Mirrored Room—Love Forever is an iteration of the second mirrored environment Kusama created. Sculptural, architectural, and performative, the installation blurs the lines between artistic disciplines and is activated by audience participation. Hexagonal in shape and mirrored on all sides, Love Forever features two peepholes that invite visitors to peer in and see both themselves and another participant repeated into infinity. 

Kusama used her polka dots, especially when integrated into more phallic shapes in reflective rooms, to process and come to grips with her sexuality. And if there was an intentional reference being made to her art in Sydney's proclivity towards polka dots in season 3, I think it's in Carmy's coopting of the imagery in his sauce. The reflective and reflexive gesture indicates his observation of her (in that he noticed her repeating the pattern over the course of months in her clothes and scarves) as well as his desire for her. At their best, they are vibrantly collaborative and we see each of them let the other in more than anyone else. And this isn't entirely comfortable for Sydney, seen in the way she deflects his questions about her parents and her apartment at different points. But she does eventually tell him more and let him in more - and I think the polka dots could also be a representation of her coming to grips with her feelings and ultimately desire towards/for him, as well as the importance of their collaborative relationship, especially with the difficulty of Carmy in S3 as well as her offer from Shapiro.

(Also as an aside, Yayoi Kusama's art comes up as a rather regular inspiration/collaboration in food and fine dining, so it feels like her art may at least have been on someone's radar as they thought about Syd's polka dots this season. See here and here and here and here and here - as created by a former chef from the French Laundry.)

Sources for info and pictures:

Yayoi Kusama's website

Understanding Sexuality in Yayoi Kusama's Art

Accumulation (MoMA)

Wikipedia

The Alchemist of Polka Dots

Love Forever

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Polka thoughts

I think ThoughtfulC is onto something here, so I started thinking about what @thoughtfulchaos773 said and this came to mind (thanks for the inspo btw):

So, here's how I connect these Polka thoughts dots:

Symbolically speaking Carmy, who was going through his blue period 🔗 and dragged Syd down with him bc they ARE connected even when they aren't and that's what happens when you love someone, whether you admit it or not...

Cut down indeed all joy from his life and he’s sick right now, as I thoroughly described here 🔗and foresaw here 🔗. That's what the polka dots represent, both happiness and sickness. And that's why Storer chose them to make a visual point throughout this season. Polka dots are a pattern, Storer loves them, so here are my 2 cents:

Source: Shutterstock's Blog on History of Fashion

Throughout this entire season, they were barely on the same page on the menu, which represents their emotional connection, 🔗 right?

Please note that no matter how disconnected he was from his heart which in his case is like being dead inside because he leads with his heart, just like Syd, he never stopped praising her cooking.

And as we all know since S1, Carmy’s emotional connection is through food and cooking

and not only was he disconnected from his emotions heart (he was blocked as I mentioned here, 🔗which has to do with him not choosing Sydney the polka dots sauce), and from Syd, he was also disconnected from his own food and his own cooking and as we learned in the finale, that resulted in THE BAD REVIEW:

They both lead with their hearts and therefore, since their hearts were 💔 this season the food was not perfect either. He was stuck here 🔗

But here’s the catch and silver lining:

If we dig deeper we find out that Polka dots also mean this according to Eastern tradition, which Storer mentioned here and there since S2, and Syd seems to be intuned with

Source: au.coeur.du.japon.com

Carmy was moving in circles throughout this entire season, that's why it looked like no progress was made. Well, actually, I beg to differ, but this was basically the cliffhanger → Carmy's breakthrough 🔗

As the article above says: the circle symbolizes ETERNITY in Western culture, as well. These symbolisms do not cancel each other out but rather complement each other because Storer's view is holistic.

So the events that we saw in this ep, which is the culmination of the whole season of death and rebirth:

Are initiating a domino effect that will bring about PERMANENT CHANGES in all the characters involved.

And Syd's polka dots represent exactly that (bears repeating):

We haven't seen the re-birth/light/harmony part yet, (which I'm sure will include a heavy element of Sydcarmy) we only saw the funerals and labor pains in S3. But the Polka dots Syd sported are a good sign. We will see the rest of that Polka dots symbology Storer planted in plain sight soon. Either in S 3B or S4.

Syd is 🔗 the twist ❤️🤌

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[faeryndipity]

Metamorphose Marine Bear

JSK- Metamorphose Blouse- Unique Vintage Socks- Offbrand Shoes- Antaina Hairbow- Me Likes Tea Necklace- Sugar and Vice

[angel-lusions]

carmy saying he "felt like [he] could speak through the food" and "communicate through creativity" is so crazy because there's so much unsaid between him and everyone closest to him... but anything he has to say through food is said to and/or about sydney...

[pick-a-plush]

I'd love to see some pawlette plushies from build a bear, my favourite!! 🐰🩷

Yeah absolutely! There are tons of versions of Pawlette so I could definitely do multiple of these! I’m saving a few for certain times of your though ☺️

(The above pic is from the official Build a Bear Instagram)

[muppetstimmoment]

Fozzie Bear Stimboard!!! [Poll 6th Place!!]

Creds:

https://www.tumblr.com/angelic-stimz/711418430326243328/johnny-rocketfingers-johnny-rocketfingers?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/another-blues-clues-day-hooray/707342173317791744/x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/transolar/705537913434341376/grizzly-bear-stimboard?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/disneyafternooncartoon/662633521579491328/abner-krill-polka-dot-man-stimboard?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/meilia-stims/682434091194449920/arabella-oc-stimboard?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/scop0phob1a-stims/705289332642152448/bear-stims-for-my-best-friend-ever-jfreakingp?source=share

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Sorry, I'm obsessed again with that damn sauce.I may be reaching, BUT I'm going to connect this. Something I noticed throughout the season was Natalie knowing something, and it was from knowing things about Pete.

In 3x04, Natalie talks to Richie, who tells her the story about the zen garden his favorite director visited. She knows it's William Friedkin because Pete loves him.

And in 3x07, Natalie talks to Marcus, who tells her he was inspired by the violet, and she shares a fact that it's the illinois flower. It's such a random fact to know, but she knows it because Pete knows it.

It's about knowing and paying attention to all your partner's idiosyncronticites and what they love.

That's emotional intimacy.

And I'm sorry, but I'll never get over this shit- Carmy seriously observes Sydney. Although he drives her away- unconsciously he yearns for Syd- he has a desire to know who she is outside of work because he's at a point where he hates his career and passion but he finds himself having passion for her.

He notices her fixation on polka dots throughout the month, and he's probably curious if it's her favorite pattern.

Recap if you missed it:

@sadbanana-69 noticed her Polka Dot Dress to the funeral. Her obsession with that pattern had been developing over the course of a month, and I'm sure that even Carmy, despite his agitation, noticed that she was always wearing it. This fixation seemed to start in episode 3x03. It was almost subtle at first, but then it became so intense.

He takes in her love of Thome Browne, her bow and sailor moon outfit. She has a habit of wearing scrunchies. There's a pattern with Carmy and an unconscious desire to know Sydney, maybe?

I'm not saying anything really new here, but lastly, he ultimately wants to know the man who raised her, and his motivation for that may be because he thinks Sydney is the best thing and Emmanuel, who raised her has to be just as great.

I think one of the show's main lessons is about the people and knowing everything about someone because life feels so short. It's a gift to have those around you.

[yosoylagato]

I hadn't dressed like this for too long... To tell the truth, I'm a little embarrassed now, I feel like I look weird 😅 but anyway, I loved how these photos turned out :3

[sophiewillardvansistineart]

car wash bear!!!!! he's really good at his job

[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[thrilling-oneway]

sekai ask game!! number 11?

not the most knowledgable on vocaloid songs but i really want a tokyo teddy bear cover because it's probably my favourite vocaloid song that isn't in the game already. i think mafuyu and ena could do a pretty good one or maybe mizuki and mafuyu. also Queen for emu and nene but that's just because the boys got King.

other than that, Life Reset Button is one i'm surprised isn't in the game yet, that could fit well with Leo/need. There was another one I liked for Leo/need but I don't remember the name of it

while i'm at it i'll throw in one for MMJ and VBS. HaruAi Ai Dee and full MMJ Blooming The Idol. And uhhh Vivids CH4NGE and Cynical Night Plan because they're still slightly behind BAD DOGS and need some covers

also i found the song i was talking about for leoni it was doubleganger and that's why i took so long to respond to this