Living with anxiety, panic disorders or phobias can make you feel as though you don't have full control of your life. For the uninformed or those delusionally self-absorbed, there is little question that we are absolutely not in control.Life and aging often resemble bouts of insomnia laced by dreams that spiral beyond our grasp. An attempt to command and control our chaos is laudable but largely illusionary. Since statistics confirm that none of us ultimately escape life alive, one of our best coping mechanisms is to substitute humor for terror, correctness and emotional paralysis. This tactic becomes a sound Fair Trade Exchange policy and is complimentary priced.Our phobias and obsessions may seem strange or unacceptable to others, but we have not invited them into our dreams or nightmares. Many books, itinerate speakers and bloated self-help enablers stress the urgency of eradicating and eliminating our personal phobias and obsessions. Their explicit goal is to permit us to navigate life more proficiently and accomplish great achievements. For many individuals, their greatest daily challenge seems to be what to eat for dinner. Should we achieve this vaulted goal of being fear free, how would we redistribute our time? Watch more streaming video?"101 Surrealist Phobias and Obsessions" is an entertaining and disarming visual portrayal of some of our shared anxieties, desires, fears, terrors and insecurities. This 115-page edition is California artist Marques Vickers' second visual portrayal of the demons, symptoms and influences that prompt neurotic and unexplainable behavior. A graduate from the bumper sticker school of expression and meaningful social discourse, Vickers' acknowledges eccentricities are inherent with human existence. Diversity separates personalities from the clustered masses. There is nothing irrational about a fear of creepy and savage reptiles, dangerous and teetering precipices or individuals who do not share our common sense approach to life and expansive breadth of experience.His symbolic and iconic photography are arranged in innovative compositions that provide insight and glimpses of the artist's unique perception of life. Radically changing your life can be a gut and wallet emptying process by employing a therapist. Understanding your unique distinctions however may prove a more beneficial phenomenon with a more modest sticker shock. One day, clinical research and pharmacology may cultivate the perfect blueprint for healthy living. In the meantime, we glimpse truth primarily through our dreams and intuition.The preface to "101 Surrealist Phobias and Obsessions" summarizes Vickers' outlook and intentions: I awaken every morning (thankfully) to the decidedly mixed sack of experience, which defines life. Would I trade it for the supposed serenity and smugness of others more confident?I doubt it.For all of life's collective aggravations and uncertainties, there remain sensations, impressions and feelings. Some are profoundly unsettling, but others frequently are rewarding and stimulating.The potential mysteries, hopes and intrigues of each fresh day offer possibilities. These random opportunities for experience far outweigh the superficiality, tedium and the abyss that we are already intimately familiar with
About the Author: Visual Artist, Writer and Photographer Marques Vickers is a California native presently living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington regions. He was born in 1957 and raised in Vallejo, California. He is a 1979 Business Administration graduate from Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Following graduation, he became the Public Relations and ultimately Executive Director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce between 1979-84. He subsequently became the Vice President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel in Westwood between 1984-86. Following a one-year residence in Dijon, France where he studied at the University of Bourgogne, he began Marquis Enterprises in 1987. His company operations have included sports apparel exporting, travel and tour operations, wine brokering, publishing, rare book and collectibles reselling. He has established numerous e-commerce, barter exchange and art websites including MarquesV.com, ArtsInAmerica.com, InsiderSeriesBooks.com, DiscountVintages.com and WineScalper.com. Between 2005-2009, he relocated to the Languedoc region of southern France. He concentrated on his painting and sculptural work while restoring two 19th century stone village residences. His figurative painting, photography and sculptural works have been sold and exhibited internationally since 1986. He re-established his Pacific Coast residence in 2009 and has focused his creative productivity on writing and photography. His published works span a diverse variety of subjects including true crime, international travel, California wines, architecture, history, Southern France, Pacific Coast attractions, auctions, fine art marketing, poetry, fiction and photojournalism. He has two daughters, Charline and Caroline who presently reside in Europe.