paul's art

Winter arrives ...

2011-12-22T06:16:00.002-05:00

"The world as a living being - one nature, one soul ... and how everything feeds into that single experience, moves with a single motion ... and how everything helps produce everything else. Spun and woven together". Marcus Aurelius, B.IV, p. 40

Autumn Paintings ...

2011-12-14T00:04:00.005-05:00

cascades ...

2011-06-27T06:15:00.004-04:00

Click "Cascades" to view another sound + vision journal entry ...

CASCADES

See me see ...

Cascading imagery

forests and trees

through seasons

and sunsets

of familiarity ...

Oceans

that speak

through fluid memory ...

dawn,

of timeless uncertainty ...

A Desert

of mindful remedies

(through) solitude and clarity

causal

simplicity

Under canopies of ageless blessings

through paths of grace

It’s all about vision, process, and thought ...

cycled through seasons,

It’s all about vision ...

branching inclusions ...

2011-06-16T18:37:00.002-04:00

Agate is reputed to have qualities of bringing stability to life - and to the 'ancients', it rendered the wearer invisible. Discovered in prehistoric France (30K B.C.) and valued during early Egyptian Civilization, our appreciation of its' qualities and coloration have accompanied the development of human history.

"We have various abilities, present in all rational creatures as is the nature of rationality itself.

Just as Nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it -

so too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal."

Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations": Book 8, S.35

Little Gems ...

2011-06-11T11:13:00.004-04:00

New - eight small paintings ranging in size from 20"H x 16"W to 12" x 12".

From left to right: Garnet, Citrine, Iolite, Alexandrite, Charoite, Jacinth, Malachite, and Agate.

All pieces are acrylic paint, ink, and epoxy on wood.

Desert Painting ...

2011-06-01T08:01:00.004-04:00

Click HERE to watch the video ...

Mojave Painting Project (narrative)

I’ve been drawn to this area of the Mojave Desert since the early 1980’s ...

Apparently desolate - lacking ordinary routine,

this solitude appeals to me ...

allowing focus of a different scale,

on undistracted beauty ...

The perspective is unified,

and clearly distinguished ...

self, earth, and cosmos ...

The spirit of this place,

is ancient and palpable ...

Aquatic - primordial, burial grounds ...

bridging the prehistoric past with a distant future -

between here and beyond time ...

I’ve participated in Native American rituals of this region -

continued for millennia ...

experiences that reveal a profound reverence for this land -

earth as a living and breathing organism,

land with Soul ...

This landscape offers perspective,

with no shortage of inspiration -

where imagination runs free ...

Nature is the repository of answers to all questions ...

I came here to observe and learn -

if conditions prevailed,

to paint ...

My work takes cues from Nature -

especially, from what appears as a random flow of simultaneous events;

where information’s magnitude is paralleled only by nature’s variety ...

The desert simplifies by separating relevance -

the arbitrary from necessary;

with precise transitions,

of broad-stroked eloquence

and evolutionary expressionism ...

Sometimes,

the consequence of modernity

is more visible through nature ...

continuing ...

2011-02-24T16:52:00.002-05:00

Seven months since my last entry - a period of intense work, study, and re-defining ...

The majority of the time has been tremendously satisfying - what more could I ask for?

A strange world we live in - and it seems to get stranger by the day ...

I could resort to that over-used cliche: "this isn't what I signed up for" - but who did?

Especially in this era of re-negotiating promises and truth.

Lets just say that I imagined a different outcome being a product of the 60's, Kennedy, Beatles, and Disney - but life goes on ...

step #16 ...

2010-06-23T06:05:00.003-04:00

aqueous washes and editing ...

hydrangea ...

2010-06-22T16:17:00.002-04:00

clematis ...

2010-06-22T16:13:00.002-04:00

step # 15 ...

2010-06-22T06:20:00.002-04:00

aquarium, 7'h x 15'w, progress ...

tax time ...

2010-06-21T23:47:00.000-04:00

details, details, details ...

painting weather ...

2010-06-15T21:43:00.001-04:00

studio 3 - aquarium + jacob's ladder ...

art farm corral ...

2010-06-13T23:42:00.000-04:00

gallery converted to work space ...

living with work ...

2010-06-12T22:24:00.003-04:00

living space turned ...

prima vera progress ...

2010-06-11T17:57:00.004-04:00

studio 1 - finishing details - 5'h x 9'w ...

lorca's granada ...

2010-06-10T17:27:00.002-04:00

40"h x 36"w, 6.10.2010 ...

in defense of florence ...

2010-06-09T18:36:00.003-04:00

40"h x 36"w, 6.9.2010 ...

step #12 ...

2010-06-08T18:47:00.002-04:00

aquarium ...

step #11 ...

2010-06-07T19:04:00.004-04:00

aquarium progress ...

step #10 ...

2010-06-06T23:17:00.001-04:00

aquarium, progressing - 7'h x 15'w ...

biblical ...

2010-06-05T19:22:00.003-04:00

Gan Eden, creation, the beginning of Jacob's Ladder, and Eve ...

step #8 ...

2010-06-04T19:41:00.002-04:00

aquarium in progress - 7' x 15' ...

zephyr ...

2010-06-03T19:14:00.002-04:00

10' x 10' in progress ...

florals + aquarium ...

2010-06-02T18:55:00.003-04:00

four florals against aquarium ...

step #1 ...

2010-06-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

florals [process] ...

2010-05-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

prima vera process ...

2010-05-05T06:19:00.000-04:00

universe ...

2010-05-04T07:41:00.001-04:00

regatta ...

2010-05-03T22:40:00.001-04:00

life ...

2010-05-02T10:19:00.001-04:00

Logos ...

2010-05-01T06:14:00.000-04:00

5'h x 9'w, 2010

January thru May ...

My most productive period is between April and November when weather conditions in the northeastern U.S. are generally favorable for working outdoors. It provides me with an unrestrained freedom and inspiration from being engulfed by the lush beauty of a natural habitat ...

Last year, 2009, was particularly fruitful - having completed numerous large-scale commissions and ancillary projects that advanced my commitment and contribution to contemporary abstract painting ...

November usually begins a period of critical evaluation, analysis, and cataloging notes from the previous painting season. As the cycle of development spirals onward through life and career, aspects of progress and irrelevancies become apparent ...

With the intensity and regularity of last year’s production, aspects of my approach to painting became more clarified. I have an increased interest in:

veiling and glazing to achieve an amorphous environment of dynamic energy ...
simultaneous events and intermingled circumstance ...
depicting the essential components of nature ...
creativity, thought, and nature: the process of creation, evolution, cause and consequence ...
the initial impulse or synapse that propels an event ...
the relationships our species develops with the ever-changing scope and sequence of nature’s reality ...

Though these considerations have always been a vital part of my expression, lately, I’m articulating the visual dialect more accurrately and gaining mastery over techniques that facilitate the eloquence required to convey conceptual content ...

Three developments can be sited as pivotal turning points along this progression:

Views Of A Secret, a series of multi-layered translucent vellum ink drawings ...
Placid Blues, a large-scale study of water; its’ rhythms, reflections, and transparent depths ...
Flora, a large-scale landscape motif painted during seasonal changes over a seven month period ...

With all three projects, I was intently concerned about preserving the initial drawings, impulse, inspiration, and rhythms while adding the complexities of the concept’s morphology through development ...

Over the past thirty years, i’ve grappled with paradox - being simultaneously interested in maintaining continuity between the simplicity of essential ‘spirit’ in a thought or place while depicting more complex configurations through maturation ...

Logos began in January, at the height of research and evaluation, during a period of blizzard conditions; a time when the landscape is minimized by the neutrality of snow ...

Typically, an expressionistic drawing is applied to the blank surface as a method of imbuing the painting with the impulse of the idea while familiarizing myself with the physicality of the piece ...

In this case, I went through numerous stages of this process while glazing over previous drawings resulting in a complex network of lines and gestures that maintained the original ‘spirit’ of the piece and essence of the snow covered environment ...

Reduction to bare essentials allows discrimination toward additives - the nature of air, water, earth, flora ...

This approach rekindled my interest in the ancient ideas of logos - the spirit of place and genius loci, Aristotle, Philo, and Heraclitus, reason, and the principles of order amid the apparent chaos of nature ...

I began thinking about the notions of painting again; the wealth of information in its’ history, the Impressionist concept of painting light, the Abstract Expressionist attempt at harnessing energy and thought, Post Modern entropy, and the importance of landscape throughout ...

Logos is representative of more than a decade of living in a rural environment, participating in nature’s daily and seasonal changes while studying, painting, and learning in relative seclusion ...

logos, study ...

2010-04-30T23:19:00.002-04:00

drawing study ...

logos ...4-29 ...

2010-04-29T20:05:00.001-04:00

logos ...4-28 ...

2010-04-28T19:30:00.001-04:00

logos ...4-27 ...

2010-04-27T22:17:00.003-04:00

logos ...4-25 ...

2010-04-25T23:11:00.002-04:00

studio visit ... three ...

2010-04-24T23:51:00.000-04:00

Art Garb © Shoes + Aquarium, progress ...

Logos, progress ...

once in a lifetime ...

2010-04-23T12:37:00.009-04:00

1970 ...

I’ve been mixing down “Earth Song”; a haunting little two track melody i wrote ten years ago and later added sixteen tracks of guitar improv with Erik Cartwright ...

the composition is a three minute cycle that transforms seven times to make a twenty-one minute arrangement ...

we did eight takes of one channel each while only listening to the original melody ... individual ‘takes’ had portions of bliss, but playback of all eighteen produces a wonderfully cacophonous blend of creative energy and improvisational discourse - akin to Stravinsky and Hendrix tripping to the “Rite of Spring” ...

whatever it turned out to be - it was fun ...

i had just set up a music studio in the newly renovated barn in 2000; Erik was back from a national tour of tech’ing with the Allman Brothers Band - living up-river in Marshall’s Creek, and it would turn out to be one of the last times we would make music together before he hit the road again ... until fate reveals ...

Erik was two years older when i met him in a garage-band-type jam when i was seventeen - unknown to me at the time, he’d already achieved regional legendary status as a guitarist with major ‘chops’ - from Hendrix and Clapton, to Airplane and Jeff Beck ... all i knew is he had an ear, intuition, and hit notes that resonated to my soul ...

first time i saw him jam publicly was in ’69 with G.E.Smith - [another Stroudsburg musician who went on to Hall + Oates, SNL, and Dylan] at a free jam-fest doing some killer blues - without a bass player, mmm ...

we also shared some mutual O.C.D. behavior around our equipment - an elitism for vintage quality, reconfiguring electronics to maximize tone and volume, and an innate ability to play off each other in a jam - plenty of reason to form a band - so in 1970, we did ...

both of us had pretty much outgrown our respective ‘circuits’ by that time and were ready to spread our wings to go on the road - we were ripe for it - but the times, they were a changin’;

Nixon, Viet Nam, rednecks, and stuff that didn’t sound like rock n’ roll anymore ...

we had a renegade inclination toward loud jam-band music which was losing popularity - but managed to survive until it was time to decide to jump in all the way or wade along the edges ...

music and travel didn’t leave enough time for art so we said our existential goodbyes as i went off to college and Erik on to music ...

He did a stint at Berkley, played some well known Boston bands, then went on to Foghat ...

twenty years passed till we played again - it was like we never stopped ...

we both have a wide-ranging repertoire of improvisational skills that cross a lot of dialects - but more importantly in a jam, we share an intuition that i’ve never found in anyone else ...

others have said the same; and if it wasn’t for Erik, i doubt that i would have found the level of joy and appreciation of music ...

as we usually say;

“Take care man, we’ll do this again sometime” ...

1992 ...

1997 ...

homage ...

2010-04-22T06:39:00.008-04:00

Think of it as a birthday of a close, personal friend - one who has stuck by you every day of your life ... What can be done to show appreciation ...

I've included a mix version of "Earth Song" ... listen ...

and an excerpt from a piece by the poet Janice Johnston Howie ...

EARTH SONG

Relentless ... awesome,

trudging onward, an invincible monster,

vast and unseizable.

Almost mocking, but actually indifferent

for nothing we do impacts its trajectory at all.

On and on, with or without us,

throughout anything ... despite everything ...

la "machine infemale"

of which nothing can halt the serene and sinister momentum.

It orbits a cycle, then pausing, resolves ... comfortably,

with a defeatism that is not immediately, if ever, apparent.

And we, poor, deluded, pompous creatures,

with age and erosion, finally shrug in resignation,

somehow relieved by a return of the familiar,

profoundly grateful for a reprieve,

throw up our hands, raise our eyes to the heavens and sigh ...

"Ah well ... what can you do?"

as, dispassionately, the cycle mutates a little, and recurs.

Listen ... here it comes again ... on and on and round and round,

lost in the concentric circles of Dante's Hell,

the stupefying maze of Camus' Amsterdam canals,

where ring upon ring of muddy waters lurk below murky skies ...

till we have ... gratefully ... no clear idea of beginning nor end ...

as the familiar spirographs and distorts geometrically -

or takes fearful, quantum leaps into the unimaginable,

as illusions of 'control' and 'normality' recede ...

imperceptibly ...

as if they had ever been anything more than a dream.

partially inspired by the music of Earth Song

studio visit ... two ...

2010-04-21T22:55:00.007-04:00

peeling, scraping, and sanding ...

manicured lawn ...

pretty much a repeat of yesterday's activities except that i managed to dig into a few panels that needed to be scraped and sanded in preparation for another layer ...

finally was able to get a rough mix of "Earth Song" for tomorrow's Earth Day debut - still needs a lot of work, but you have to start somewhere ...

gessoed eight new panels, worked on "Logos", did some critical writing, and manicured the lawn - second time already this year - so strange ...

studio visit ... one ...

2010-04-20T22:26:00.009-04:00

white-washing "Logos" - gessoing new panels ...

mixing demo of "Earth Song" - developing "Chapel" models ...

mildly frustrating, but a beautiful spring day - didn't get much time outside and didn't really paint - spent the majority of the day jumping from one thing to another - kind of like a ceremonial dance before battle; - mixing color, cleaning brushes, planning maximum efficiency - gessoing new panels to paint on ...

i worked on "Logos", but it's at a point where i'm eliminating unnecessary elements and taking the surface back to white - still a lot of concern about textures, brush flow, and consistency of paint - but just white on white ...

in between i was pipe-lining potential projects with phone calls, emails, and promotional mailings ... thinking about publishing a book - what would i enjoy reading ...

the major challenges came while things were drying - trying to mix down eighteen tracks of material i recorded with Erik Cartwright ten years ago [formerly with Foghat, and a dear friend since we were teenagers] - i avoided the project because its such a menacing task - 16 of the 18 tracks are he and i improvising on guitars for more than twenty minutes and trying to reduce it to a seven minute piece is like trying to fit the Libraries of Alexandria into a backpack ...

to offset the frustration and gain some perspective, i dremmeled my way through styrofoam working on the "Chapel" prototypes, which i blogged about a while ago ...

so that was today, and tomorrow i get one step closer to painting the 15' x 7' piece ...

uneasy feelings ...

2010-04-19T22:38:00.003-04:00

Maybe its just the weather - or the accumulation of fragmented thoughts - or the residuals of seeing and hearing too much news and toxic displays of emotion during the health care reform debate - or maybe its the unfiltered microwave of cell phones carrying floods of pleas and cries of desperation or rage from the millions just trying to get through their day ...

or Russert's interview with Bill Clinton who says there are huge populations of people that have to walk five miles just to get a jug of clean water ...

I’m suspicious of blue skies and mild weather during seasonal transitions since 9/11 ...

Or maybe its just the dust of earth’s blood or hell settling to the ground after the eruptions in Iceland ...

or the escalation of what Thomas Moore calls ‘psychological modernism’ in “Care of the Soul”: an adjustment disorder - ‘an uncritical acceptance of values in the modern world’ ...

or shifting polarities - the inverse relationship between information and wisdom or prevailing axioms of indifference ...

What is that LHC Collider in the suburbs of Geneva doing these days ...?

truck art ...

2010-04-18T20:03:00.001-04:00

Check out this link: Pakistan's truck art ...

marble ...

2010-04-18T19:42:00.010-04:00

marble + art ...

The previous entry addressed gaps between intention and experience, engagement, detachment, plus active vs. passive perceptual experience ...

To further illustrate those ideas, i recognized points worth mentioning that parallel some difficulties with understanding abstraction ...

I’m not surprised that my work is often appreciated for different reasons than intended - a discrepancy caused by my emphasis on particular stages of the object's development ...

I mutilate my paintings ...

but i take great care to facilitate the inspired expressions, apply paint with methods that best articulate the ideas, and blend appropriate colors, materials, and images to maintain conceptual continuity ...

Then i proceed to aggressively obliterate everything that doesn’t seem essential to the original idea or inspiration by over-painting or eliminating it - not in an act of anger, but with an expressionistic impatience for irrelevance - only the best survives ...

I save the ‘good’ parts by applying a resist to preserve it ...

then continue to carefully add another painting over the top - peeling away the resist - analyzing the results, sanding and scraping the surface to blend elements, textures, and color ...

this process continues over and over until a unified balance is achieved between surface appearance, motivations, concept, and energy ...

Nature is my source of inspiration + improvisational expression is the idiom ...

Despite the brutality, force, and effort that goes into the production, i’m acutely aware of the fact that they are only thin veils of paint combined that bring the inspirations into the realm of reality ...

a delicate balance which i treat with utmost care and respect prior to final presentation; by smoothing, polishing, and waxing the object - and more recently applying a thick epoxy resin to entomb the content as though it were amber ...

Rather than recognizing the causality of creative and destructive forces in the development of a piece, viewers are more immediately drawn to its unique, mysterious, and appealing appearance - and that’s fine, except that it’s an object of art intending to communicate an idea:

what does it mean...
how was it made ...
what school of thought encouraged it ...

Unfortunately, pedestrian habits numb curiosity; pretty, ugly, acceptable, tolerant, interesting, shocking, etc, seem to be the most common filters of engagement ...

Does it really matter if the work addresses [among other ideas]; the causality of nature, expressionism as a modern language, and our perceptual capabilities among vast fields of information - that it never relies on the immediacy of earlier abstract expressionism and that conceptual clarity is no more of a singular issue than pluralism is duplicitous - that simultaneity and specific energy quantifies reality ...

probably not - but it’s there to be read for anyone with that predisposition ...

Though i understand the scheduling disruptions as a result of Iceland’s eruptions - there’s a beautifully creative process occurring as a result ...

The Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacial volcano ... its magma is melting and blending rock at temperatures with force we rarely witness - marble is being created ...

Marble is admired for its durability, patterns, and colors, but its recipes also deserve appreciation. Shifts in the earth’s crust - tectonic plates - cause the seepage of molten rock to combine with tremendous pressure which melts limestone into large crystals creating marble - mixing with clays and other minerals produces varieties of color while their cooling rates and pressure produce patterns ... it is a metamorphic substance created by distilling and fusing conglomerates - it is a whole greater than the sum of its parts - including the unseen forces of nature and aesthetic beauty ...

reverberations ...

2010-04-18T09:17:00.003-04:00

"The School of Athens", 1510, Raphael ... only 500 years ago ...

There’s often a gap between intention and experience -

especially with unconventional expressions like abstraction or conceptual art ...

It’s a language under continuous development and part of the creative challenge of advancing communication amid new and complex discoveries governing our realities ... [simple things like dark energy and matter occupying more than 90% of the known universe ...]

Gaps of understanding usually occur from lack of familiarity with subject material - on behalf of the artist and audience ...

In this age of highly specialized knowledge, that gap widens if there’s a reluctance from the audience to increase their scope and depth of experiencing new art and literacy of current events ...

An artist’s resistance to bridge communication gaps adds to the problem ...

There’s a limit to how many clues can be incorporated to make a work accessible without compromising the integrity of invention ... [similar to the building and safety requirements of architecture that limit the designer’s capacity to be innovative] ...

But there may also be a limit to the amount of ‘newness’ a human brain is willing to assimilate - which causes detachment rather than engagement in learning experiences ...

If communicating to the audience with conventional codes becomes the primary goal of the artist and inventor, then innovation is lost to commonality and art either becomes mediocre or mundane decoration ...

In the antiquities of Greece and Rome, statues and frescoes were a method of educating a larger population to deities, myths, and reason; to the heroics of victory and the horrors of defeat - to the virtues of ethics and the perils of vice - and as the artists’ knowledge increased with their familiarity of the subject, so did their contribution to innovation, style, and philosophy ...

And though we view this work today as traditional, thousands of years ago it was at the forefront of discovery ...

The continuity of art illustrating the advancements of philosophy and science remained unbroken to the twentieth century with a few interruptions imposed by dogma, war, and political repudiation ...

Today however, when broad public consensus rejects the inventions of perceptual development and new art in favor of nostalgia and traditional forms, the concern seems more like a cultural phenomenon than a regulatory or circumstantial abatement ...

Embracing the past suggests rejection of the future ... [uncertainty and fear cause insecurity - they raise doubt in our abilities - and doubt comes from a lack of knowledgeable options ...]

Education lies at the heart of the problem, and will probably be seen to cause more wide-spread civil disruption if trends continue ...

Class separation, as a result of economics, is inevitable but continuity of education is the bonding agent within a civilized society; not just the laws that govern, or the courtesies of civility, or the aspirations of ideals ... affordability is no excuse for acceptability in a world of libraries and information access ...

Education is the foundation for order, acceptance, and invention necessary for global competitiveness and survival - and the integration of new art in society has always been an accurate barometer of a culture’s ability to adapt to new frontiers ... the lack thereof, heralds deterioration ...

It is incumbent on the individual - as importantly as the protection of unalienable rights - to discriminate between our sources of influence and education - between those of value and those that can be detrimental - and to realize the urgency and absolute necessity to prescribe quality education as a basic tenant of freedom ...

Despite what the entertainment and advertising industries have taught us; work, reason, and faith are the only antidotes for the opiates of modernity and the destructive reverberations of misinformation ...

If we simply applied the same tenacity to all experience as we did to becoming computer literate, or learning how to read, write, drive, or speak - our abilities and appreciation of the world around us would probably increase proportionately ...

The excitement of comprehension, one of the four principles of learning [according to Euclid], is a bridge that immediate gratification has replaced ...

James Carroll, founder of the New Arts Program and one of my former professors, tried to instill in his students “that they are responsible for the libraries of history they were born into” ... it’s the primary attribute of citizenry and humanist philosophy traceable to the foundations of western civilization in Greece and beyond ...

In an effort to succeed, i took this challenge seriously and have made a life-long pursuit of learning ...

the benefits have always out-weighed the effort as the world takes on new meaning and levels of beauty with the completion of every book, curiosity fulfilled, and discovery ...

One of the biggest obstacles we face as a relatively young culture is discernment - making informed decisions as we move ahead - being able to distinguish between credible and unreliable information ...

but that quandary shouldn’t cause suspicion of difference; only wariness of evidence and here-say ...

For the vitality of discovery to sustain itself, shifting the paradigm from the stupors of entitlement to curiosity and ambition is requisite - qualities that have been undermined by luxury and expectation ...

Previous standards of literacy are no longer applicable to the growing demand for skill, intellect, and reason in the 21st century - we either meet the demand for developing human potential to accommodate today’s quotas or submit to the impertinence of inaction ...

Some luxuries of entitlement will need to be sacrificed to survive competitively and education will become the key to modifying this current malaise ...

In the words of my late father, “If you can think it, you can make it” - and if we have to think till our brains hurt, it sure beats working till our bodies collapse as our ancestors did ...

no. 45 ...

2010-04-14T13:36:00.002-04:00

red bud, pussy willow, forsythia, holly ...

2010-04-13T12:12:00.005-04:00

it was ten years ago that i planted twenty three, one foot tall bushes and seedlings along the berm in front of the studio ...

today they create an impenetrable thicket as high as twenty feet - vibrant, lush, and teeming with wildlife ...

amazing what time and the right conditions will produce ...

persnickety ...

2010-04-12T23:12:00.001-04:00

cool word but a terrible affliction ...

like being surrounded by a cloud of gnats - they distract from a nice walk, thought, or other pleasantry ...

for the sake of continuity, i’ll just run a few examples from a recent shopping trip ...

like getting paper change back from larger denominations; wrinkled, torn, and crumbled ...

is it so devalued that it doesn’t deserve a little respect or just too easy to come by that it doesn’t matter ...

i’ve been known to run an iron over badly manipulated bills so they set well in my wallet before going out ...

or in the fish department where the attendant claims she hates fish because of the way it smells and proceeds to throw fillets into a bag, un-flattened ...

and at $10 a pound, i would think that since its worth more than her hourly wage she’d treat the fish with the consideration she expects from her employer - not ...

or at an uncrowded check-out where the part-timer runs everything along the scanner into a crumpled, crushed heap as though the end of the world were imminent - and when i ask if they’re in a hurry and they say “no” - i wonder why they can’t go to the bakery or produce section to retrieve an uncrushed loaf of bread, pastry, or carefully chosen portabella mushroom they mutilated in their haste ... but its not their job and they’ll gladly deduct the damage from my bill ... the irredeemable, cavalier smirks come as a bonus ...

then there’s the parking lot riddled with abandoned shopping trollies - on a good weather day - some only a short distance from the trolley return - leaning against someone else’s well-cared-for car ... granted, some people are with toddlers that require securing as though they’re preparing for apollo missions or behavioral modification - but usually its just plain reckless abandonment ...

through it all, i don’t get upset - i just swish the gnats away with a nonchalant expression of disgust, but when asked - i’m honest - and the unwanted advice usually comes in the form of ‘chill out’ ...

or care less ...

but i guess that’s the point ...

echoes of silence ...

2010-04-10T23:40:00.015-04:00

echoes of silence, 36"H x 40"W, 2008-2010 ...

sometimes a painting names itself - deep color, reverberating, dark echoes, silence, stillness ...

something about this piece conjures memories of walking through back streets in medieval cities at night - parts of Seville or Barcelona - late at night - in the hours after music and before birds, with few people and even fewer vehicles - the serpentine of alleys fall silent as shadows come to life - faint footsteps, stiletto heals and flamenco boots, whispers, groans, a distant laugh or scream, scavengers, glowing embers of something smoking, ghostly aromas ...

that time of elixir when the past blends with modernity in silhouettes from yellow light of street lamps against hand-hewn stone, stains, and misted reflections - fading beyond retreat ...

when imaginings from a weary, half-dreaming brain become more real than the risks of wandering unknowns, alone ...

where mysteries of chiaroscuro were born from the thickness of history and faith is ever-present ...

oddly enough, a search on the title revealed another source of shared vision - an article by Steve Binderman:

“Echoes of Silence: A Phenomenological Study of the Creative Process” ...

how to look ...

2010-04-08T19:42:00.007-04:00

A recent comment reminded me: what I now take for granted didn’t always come easy - that is, to look at a piece of art and share the experience of the artists’ insights and efforts - to learn something from both ...

From an early age, Art has always been transporting - allowing me to live vicariously through the representations of the picture, satisfy my precocious curiosity, and raise questions leading to other inquiry; including the thrill of discovery - it was a way of un-puzzling mysteries ...

a way of utilizing that uniquely human characteristic of curiosity, deduction, and rational thinking ...

One of my first experiences with ‘great art’ was at the Philadelphia Art Museum. In and of itself, the experience left me awestruck; the classical architecture, magnitude, and the collections it housed. At ten years old I wanted to live there, and in subsequent years I probably earned partial residency status.

I came upon a piece that seemed gigantic at the time and totally captivated my attention: “Prometheus Bound” by Peter Paul Rubens. Nearly eight foot square - as big as some rooms of the house where I was raised. How did the artist paint it to look so real at that size? How did something so grotesque look so appealing, so sensuous and exciting? It made me think of similar feelings about paintings and sculpture of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Passions of Christ in our diocese. Who was Prometheus and why did he look so inhumanly masculine and why was the eagle attacking him? Why was it in partial darkness, where was it, and where was he bound? During the same visit I recognized other work that was either painted as darkly or had that lush and lavish appearance - but Prometheus stood out, and even at that age I knew I could only learn one thing at a time.

I’ve never been one to sit comfortably with questions so I began to ask teachers, and when that failed, went to the library - another favorite place to be. It turned out that Prometheus was a character of Greek Mythology and that he stole fire from Zeus who had him chained to a rock as punishment where a vulture would consume his liver every day - it would grow back - and the same would happen ad infinitum ...

Prometheus was apparently the cause of human suffering for mortals - whereas I thought it was Adam and Eve from stories in catechism - what made the Greek story different than the Catholic’s or Jews - those questions would have to wait. If the story was Greek in origin, why did the painting look as lush as Pennsylvania’s landscape. Everything I had seen of Greece looked more like the Jersey shore. Later I learned that Rubens was from the Netherlands and frequently traveled to Germany, Italy, and Spain - lived during a Baroque Period, and that artists often painted the surroundings they knew best. What I was finding from one painting is that every answered question leads to dozens more - an endless riddle of fascination with geography, history, literature, and people. My appreciation of cause and effect - and being human was elevated. I could write volumes on the impact of this painting and the trails of human history it left for discovery, but my point has been made.

Because of the complex trail of evidence left by a painting,I’ve learned to simplify my questions over the years when confronted by something new:

What word or series of words best describes my initial response? [What do I feel?]
When and where was the painting made? [Where is it from?]
What was going on when it was made? [What inspired it?]
Why did they choose the materials and approach? [What is it made of?]
What are the artists’ influences; personal and/or sociological? [What does he know?]
How does the piece relate to history - past and recent? [Why?]
What school of thought governs the painting?
How does it relate to my view of the world and which needs modification?
What does the paintings existence contribute to the world?
Does the artist deserve further consideration and inquiry of is their effort peripheral to my predisposition?
What have I learned by the experience?

As an example, lets look at the previous blog entry “no. 38” while applying these questions ...

The answers may look a little like this while beginning to form a thesis about the work:

what words ?... delicate/ frailty/ obscured/ mysterious/ predominantly white/ purity/ misty spots of color/ faint/ a little contradictory - busy and simple, scribbled but exact, spacious but dense/, uncertain but definite/ free/ liberating/ lyrical/ ...
where ?... rural Pennsylvania/ spring time/ northern hemisphere/ east coast of U.S./ near New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C./ NYC is the art capital of the world after WWII/ D.C. is the capital of the U.S./ Philadelphia has provincial history during Revolutionary period/ Native Americans occupied the area/ location of Civil War conflicts/ notable geography - Pocono mountains/ reputable industries/ academic surroundings - six universities in the area ...
what’s going on ?... blossoming of deciduous forests/ abundant farming region/ after a severe winter/ unseasonably warm spring/ political dramas surrounding U.S. Health Care reform/ public displays of discontent with government/ depressed economy/ the U.S. is at war with Iraq, Afghanistan, and troubled by stability in the Middle East with Iran and Israel/ there seems to be an unreasonable amount of fear about economy, jobs, health, and terrorism/ erratic and sometimes bigoted behavior among parts of the population/ beyond popular music, television, and movies there doesn’t seem to be much emphasis on culture or education/ the news media portrays its citizenry either as dumb and lazy or vicious and out of control/ ...
made of ?... translucent paper/ small scale/ ink/ sprays/ economical/ easy to produce quantity/ either for study, comparison, or commercial purposes/ interested in layering and obscuring previous ideas/ veils/ interested in drawing materials that are easy to apply/ capable of calligraphy, delicacy, and expression ...
influences ?... [available through google] - nature/ music/ abstraction/ dedicated/ serious/ informed and versatile in contemporary idioms/ politically aware/ jazz/ improvisation/ expressionism/ recent illness/ studio relocation/ reading physics and classical philosophy/ listening to Arvo Part, Elaini Kairindrou, Marilyn Crispell, Keith Jarrett/ frequents the Deerhead Inn jazz club/ spends a lot of time outdoors witnessing nature/ Lithuanian and Austrian ancestry ...
relationship ?... abstract, yes/ expressionistic - yes/ improvisational - yes/ similarities to other abstract expressionists and neo expressionists: Pollock, later work of De Kooning, Twombly, Polke/ differences: more deliberate, edited, combined/ intentional effort to combine selective areas and events ...

etcetera, etcetera, ... but you get the point - one thing leads to another and another - until every painting done by an artist [and i use the term cautiously], becomes a summation of previous works in a continuum ...

[P.S. So to comment on a prior comment - “I’m sure they would if they could” ...

It’s hard for me to imagine not having anything to say about art - and judging from what I see on other blogs and depreciating art copy, I believe most people are either ill-equipped to comment, don’t want to risk exposing themselves, or it’s too much of an effort to summon the will or reason - OR - maybe the art work isn’t deserving ...]

no. 38 ...

2010-04-07T21:15:00.002-04:00

logos ... 4-6 ...

2010-04-06T22:16:00.005-04:00

"Logos", 60"H x 96"W.

" ... surrounded as we are by all of this, we need to practice acceptance. Without disdain. But remembering that our own worth is measured by what we devote our energy to."

Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations", book 7, #3.

installation ...

2010-04-05T22:12:00.003-04:00

I'm working on a 7' x 15' painting entitled "Aquarium" for a corporate environment ...

until the piece is complete, i arranged a few 'teasers' to spark curiosity and interest ...

"Lightness of Being" is being debuted center stage - flanked by the Homeric Paintings and "Placid Blues" studies ...

infidelities of reference ...

2010-04-05T07:02:00.001-04:00

an essay on its way ...

easter sunday ...

2010-04-04T22:11:00.003-04:00

one of the most important holidays in the Hallmark calender ...

named after the German spring goddess, Eastre ...

the day commemorates the official arrival of spring with the resurrection of the easter bunny from its burrow as foretold by the ground hog only weeks earlier ...

the easter bunny’s emergence is no doubt a forced evacuation resulting from invasive under-growths of daffodil and tulip roots ...

after his transmutation, the easter bunny proceeds to lay hard-boiled, colorfully decorated eggs while dispersing his stash of chocolates before they melt in the warm spring air or reach their expiration date ...

holiday hams and red beets are more symbolic staples of the carnivorous savagery of some sects while marshmallow peeps and jelly beans represent political extremes ...

the holiday rarely goes unnoticed anymore as shopkeepers count on revenues from the devout ...

lightness of being ...

2010-04-03T09:15:00.007-04:00

The title describes the painting accurately ...

It began as a small group of works late last fall ...

The “Jupiter” pieces were inspired by an interest in the effect of planetary alignments and a motivation to continue to paint outside during the onset of winter’s frigid temperatures; allowing me a final foray with sweeping, lyrical gestures and unrestrained application of paint. The colors were deep, rich, and vibrant to contrast the start of December’s gloominess. The palette gradually shifted to dark, moody, and brooding tones, eventually taken to the depths of deep-space blues and black - not depressive or even melancholy; merely the solemn quiet of reflection and pre-dream transcendence induced by hibernation season ...

It was a transitional period of more than usual rest, reading, and meditation while nursing an on-going ailment and navigating an uncertain future ... my energy required delicacy and my sensibilities encouraged flexible acceptance ...

i became more cognizant of frailty and the tenuousness of things - all things ...

I thought about the novel by Milan Kundera; “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” - the struggle to find pattern and meaning in a seemingly random and circumstantial world governed by more vice than virtue - the foreboding momentum of nature’s forces - a book by physicist Frank Wilczek who explores unified theories and visions of nature in “The Lightness of Being” - and Andrew Light’s essays on environmental ethics ...

I’ve always been interested in applying thin layers of images until they achieved the appearance of something more substantial - an amalgamation of essential ingredients creating mass - from cerebral to tactile - and, as a result of the process - a historical account of events combined - an archeological assemblage ...

but the pieces are rarely read that way - they’re usually seen as a cacophonous, expressionistic collage; in the same way marble isn’t understood by its origins - only appreciated by the patterns it contains ...

lately, I’m more interested in the constituents of diaphanous and visceral matter with the goal of combining both techniques ...

“Lightness of Being” is a good example of how the alchemy continues ...

delaware ...

2010-04-02T23:21:00.009-04:00

I’ve loved living and working near the Delaware River over the past ten years - a dream since art student days ... Located midway between Philadelphia and the Pocono Mountains; close to the conveniences of urban areas and sufficiently rural to witness the rhythms of nature in a relatively well preserved environment ... [meaning; there's nothing man has built that nature can't re-claim quickly] ...

Up to this point in my career, I’ve been blessed with wonderful studio spaces; partly because of my familiarity with the area where I was raised and educated, access to opportunities and resources, and a reputation of dedication to art as a way of life ... [the other part has to do with the fact that I’m a good gamble in the business of mutual exploitation - my knowledge, experience, and work provides a relationship with dividends]

If there is one thing I’ve learned from living in Nature over the years; it is, that everything has a cycle while everything is in the process of achieving its essential substance ...

I sense my tenure here is complete - that I’ve learned what I needed to learn to carry me for the duration; in the same way a student matriculates through universities to solidify knowledge prior to making their contributions to other audiences. Ones’ alma mater remains their intellectual foundation and nourishment. Nature and solitude have been wonderful tutors.

It is possible the process could have been accelerated by different environments, but I doubt that I would have had the opportunity to witness the experiences as fully as my sensibilities require - my tendency is orbital observation and participation; savoring the depths and variety of experience - perhaps for too long, but probably just long enough ...

The Delaware River that flows near the studio is the largest natural body of water - a few hours north of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and west of the Atlantic Ocean; and like other rivers in the region, the result of glaciers cutting their way through an ancient geography - as it continues to erode through obstacles in its on-going evolution ...

I’ve found solace, dreams, and inspiration on its banks over the years, and more recently metaphor with my own flow, desires, and possible destiny ...

I’m growing weary of the density, entanglements, and obstacles of the region during this phase of my life - a region thick with traditions and dogma, seasons and schedules, and a resistance to change that only accompanies brief history and success. It is the nature of the area and all the intrinsic elements that sustain it - not a criticism of the invaluable lessons they teach ...

What I can object to is the attitude and lifestyles of some, who like myself, migrated to the suburbs; those who violate the covenant of ‘quiet enjoyment’ one expects from living amid nature. A species who escapes to the country for a free-for-all existence without regard for the dreams of others or the reverence nature deserves. Those are the things only attrition can change ...

Perhaps it’s because I recently turned fifty-eight, or that I’ve had a severe bout with Lymes Disease, or realizing that sustaining a studio of this magnitude may only provide diminishing returns, or recognizing the political and economic climate’s urgent need for re-adjustment ... Either way, my future is shorter than my past and there’s less time to avoid the callings of my soul, work, and inquiry; or to accept the unacceptable ...

At this point, I realize I’m a big, characteristic Pisces requiring less of the same and more difference in a pond with too many limitations ...

I long for unobstructed, fluid vistas where possibilities flow without restriction - these are the dreams and prayers cutting my path to the future - as the river flows to the sea ...

drawings + music video ...

2010-04-01T18:26:00.006-04:00

to listen + view, click: youtube link ...

a fulfilling project - at times tedious, but mostly informative ...

in the last days of February I discovered a drawing program for my Mac that provided the kind of tools that fit my process and interests; one that is capable of layering, editing, and utilizing a variety of calligraphic tools ...
i became totally disenchanted with the political rhetoric surrounding health care legislation, tea party dogma, bullying behavior, and a general disgust with our culture’s lack of ethics and the dichotomies of tolerance - i knew i wouldn’t have much to say, but wanted to fulfill my commitment to posting daily ...
i began to recognize a gradual shift in my work over the past year of intensive production - and with the painting “logos”, which began to culminate in February, i knew i had to plot and research to see where the changes were going ... drawings, like improvising music, get me there quicker ...
there are a lot of changes and challenges i’m facing with health, studio, and domestics that i wanted to play close to the vest - not to be secretive, but to not disempower the prayers by sending words out prematurely ...

the result was thirty-one layered drawings/paintings in as many days ...

they began with a reliance on old tricks but quickly evolved toward trying to locate a space in the picture plane to insert the elements of picture making that interest me most - namely; lyrical interplay between expressive notations, a language of inspired, repetitive shapes and counter-balanced oppositions, color field layering with erasures that reveal previous activity, and identifying the most essential ingredients ...

as i grew more satisfied with the results, the more they began to resemble the painting “logos” ...

sometimes it takes time to become co-ordinated between mediums [venues] when you find your voice ...

for a musician, it’s the same if you play solo, trio, or orchestra - you have to try to apply your voice to the accompanying structures, acoustics, and environments ... a lot of tricky balancing that requires confidence, skill, and self awareness without self consciousness ...

speaking of music - “nero’s melody” - a piece i’ve flirted with for years, and probably will continue to explore for years to come ...

i needed to create an environment to parody the notion; there were no violins when Rome burned - it didn’t happen in one afternoon - and Nero’s behavior or musical proclivity isn’t the subject of investigation ...

so why set out to complete the piece now - especially since it has little to do with the drawing series ...

the month of March - the Ides of March - soothsayers and pagan spring rituals - the political and social machinations of current events - the display of some of the most grotesque news as a media festival; the signage of social tipping points ....

the piece begins with a dream-like, circus riff - a Fellini-esque interplay, like a combination of ”Strawberry Fields” and “Benefit For Mr. Kite” with ocarina, accordion, pan flute, violin, classical guitar, and pizzicato strings - an unlikely ensemble, but suitable for a satirical cabaret ...

it progresses with more classical elements while introducing the melancholy melody and a few discordant tension points to offset the odd lament - later, transitions back to the sardonic atmosphere before bridging to a structural breakdown while restating the theme - it circuitously simplifies, mutates, and fades ...

i’m pleased by the efforts, grateful for learning, but a bit overwhelmed by the tasks ahead if i think beyond present circumstances ...

one thing for sure - every turn in the road brings new surprises - and it seems the road is turning again while providing evidence that what i studied and learned up to this point is only preparation for the next phase of life and work ...

and as Pope Julius asks of Michelangelo in Irving Stone’s “Agony and the Ecstasy” referring to the completion of the Sistine Chapel: “When will it end?” - to which Mich replies; “When I am finished” ...

mission accomplished ...

2010-03-31T07:07:00.005-04:00

no. 31 ...

thirty-one studies in as many days - now, the next step ...

no. 30 ...

2010-03-30T18:57:00.001-04:00

no. 29 ...

2010-03-29T18:30:00.002-04:00

no. 28 ...

2010-03-28T21:21:00.002-04:00

no. 27 ...

2010-03-27T22:28:00.002-04:00

no. 26 ...

2010-03-26T23:10:00.002-04:00

no. 25 ...

2010-03-25T05:58:00.000-04:00

no. 24 ...

2010-03-24T08:16:00.002-04:00

no. 23 ...

2010-03-23T16:19:00.002-04:00

no. 22 ...

2010-03-22T19:40:00.002-04:00

pirate radio and political foes ...

2010-03-22T07:16:00.001-04:00

i don’t pretend to be knowledgeable in the area of movie reviews, but took the time last night to watch a movie as a light-hearted escape from life’s recent heavies - if only to hear some classic rock and a generation celebrating its emergence ...

it was a fun film with all the camp and corniness usually associated with a 60’s music flick [ie., the monkees, yellow submarine, etc] with one exception - the vindictiveness and mean-spirited exploits of a few individuals from the ‘establishment’ ...

prejudicial judgement wasn’t amusing then, and it appeared even more distasteful now ...

coincidentally, my reason for indulging myself was to escape similar rhetoric televised from the floor of the American House Senate where vicious attacks were being launched against heath care reform by a right-wing political machine comprised of the same mean-spirited, self interested, tight-assed bureaucrats that were represented in the movie ...

in both instances, hope survived and the promise of change was kept alive - but not without damage ...

the consequence of ugliness is enduring - for a generation of idealistic romantics and the individuals who try to keep the dreams of equality, fairness, and hope for a better future alive ...

I’m afraid President Obama’s target was substantially increased by his leadership in defeating the stranglehold that corporate america has on the public, and by doing so will have to circumnavigate a tidal wave of vindictive behavior - this was supposed to be his Waterloo ...

yesterday’s vote in Washington was liberating and historic, and as House Speaker Palossi indicated; the health care reform legislation that was passed will spawn a new era in entrepreneurship in America ...

no. 21 ...

2010-03-21T15:49:00.001-04:00

no. 20 ...

2010-03-20T12:13:00.002-04:00

no. 19 ...

2010-03-19T22:37:00.002-04:00

no. 18 ...

2010-03-18T23:09:00.000-04:00

no. 17 ...

2010-03-17T21:50:00.004-04:00

The other day my friend Lally said some people are just wired differently - which is probably true and extremely benevolent of him ...

Unlike Michael, I haven't yet developed that level of virtue or tolerance regarding the media, popular culture, educational institutions, or politics ...

Unfortunately, I just think a lot of these naysayers about global warming, health care, and social reforms are just plain f'ing stupid - like the tea-party lady that grabbed the headlines yesterday by saying the dems are trying to trick the public by using ten dollar words like 'reconciliation' ...

give me a break - we're responsible for every word in that English dictionary - regardless of the number of syllables or her inability to pronounce it ...

The idiocy infuriates me - from the top down: whether its Vatican policies, political maneuvering, greed, corruption, disintegrating principles among bureaucracies or our educators that proliferate banality ...

Most of the time i can let it slide, but lately there seems to be a shock and awe surge of an unprecedented amount of stupidity every time I tune into the news, or pick up a magazine or newspaper - even the art reviews and essays seem to have withered to a readership of eighth graders that Bush so beneficently advocated by lowering the bar of educational standards ...

So when I hear someone say they're just wired differently, I also remember a Lally poem that states: 'we will no longer accept the unacceptable, or ignore the un-ignorable ...'

It really is time for a "Call to Intelligence" rather than embarrassment from accusations of elitism from the likes of Sarah Palin supporters ... After all, part of the American dream and responsibility of a human being was to strive to better ourselves through education that we might advance our culture - not to reduce everything to its lowest common denominator to benefit the unwilling ...

thanks for letting me share ...

no. 16 ...

2010-03-16T21:34:00.002-04:00

no. 15 ...

2010-03-15T23:12:00.001-04:00

specificity ...

2010-03-14T23:01:00.002-04:00

i heard someone say that privacy is a modern invention - and it probably is, given that survival once depended on close contact with communal living ...

but solitude was also more available in the past ...

today it’s hard to escape the encroachment of civilization or the social expectations of our relationship with it ...

the deeper i’m involved with my work, the more i understand what i need to achieve certain goals and ambitions - a constant state of flux, indeed ...

though i’ve made measurable advancements over the last decade, i’m noticing a lack of specificity regarding explanations of what i do; and the more specific the objectives become, the more i require clarification ...

as an example; nature, improvisation, and expressionism seem to be key components to the pursuit of painting i find aesthetically pleasing; but i’m beginning to see them more as generalities supported by categories of more precise interests ...

nature, for instance, not only includes the environmental conditions of the seasons accompanied by the sensory impact of weather, flora, and fauna - but is also relates to being engulfed by the abundance of something other than human interaction. Where i work, there’s a limited period when the amplitude of distractions are drowned by nature’s dominance; providing longer and more frequent periods of consistent energy, plus sustainable transcendence for suitable concentration - both seem to imply the need for more solitude or a more controlled environment ...

improvisation on the other hand, once represented an expressive freedom from traditional form and tone structures - and though it still does - today i’m less interested in the cacophony of ‘free’ expression than i am with a refined selection of notes occasionally augmented by flurries of apparent chaos or random elements ...

truth is, i’ve always been interested in music sounding the way the mind thinks; a blend of simultaneous events ...

for me, the notion of expressionism has evolved from the early tenants of Greenberg’s treatise and examples through art, literature, and music over the past century to a fundamental component of communication for modern culture ...

once again, it becomes the method by which the mind appropriates the realities of modernity - but it doesn’t represent the simultaneous interaction of data coherently ...

this is why i need to be more specific ...

unseen ...

2010-03-13T19:03:00.007-05:00

interesting how perception beyond normal ranges become classified under broad categories of intuition or paranormal; and in the case of the later, become scary because of accompanying myths ...

in the evolution of the species, walking upright must have looked a bit strange too ...

sometimes the simplest and most obvious explanations account for the most extraordinary events ...

gravity, for example, turned out to be a reasonably simple proposition that revolutionized life over the past three hundred years ...

what is it we are not seeing - between ourselves and the things we recognize - that accounts for all the activity that apparently goes on there ...

string theories, Castenada’s non-ordinary realities, auras, magnetic fields, energy flows, chi, solar winds ...

what accounts for the relative ease and speed of flight patterns of insects and birds while we exert so much dynamic thrust to oppose the same forces ...

it can’t all be gravity, unless opposition is the only course we investigate ...

in hindsight, most of history is riddled with examples of having to expend more force and resources than necessary to accomplish the task ...

i wonder if expedience is less effective without struggle ...

seeing, part 2 ...

2010-03-12T23:20:00.002-05:00

an excerpt from the sreenplay by Peter Viertel -

a fictionalized account of John Huston working on

the "African Queen" in a movie entitled "White Hunter, Black Heart" -

one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies ...

"Well, what do you think, John?

Not bad. But you're trying
to complicate it, Pete.

Things are always good
if they're left simple.

No, not always.

Always.

That's what creates truly
important art, is simplicity.

John, there are no rules to art.

There are hundreds of rules.
Hemingway understood that.

That's why he always reduced life
to its simplest terms.

Whether it's courage,
fear, impotence, death.

People's lives just unfold, and things just
happen to them one thing after another.

They were never bogged down
with that nonsense of subplot. . .

. . .that we sweated over in the past.

Stendhal understood that.
Flaubert. Tolstoy. Melville.

Simplicity is what made them great."

seeing ...

2010-03-11T19:05:00.005-05:00

necessity is the mother of invention ...

abstraction [as a branch of phenomenology with painting being a by-product], begins to prepare us for understanding perceptual subtleties and changes - in this case vision ...

abstraction prepares us to adapt and delineate between: image identification, scale changes, and object placement in space - the same way perception of perspective was modified between prehistoric and high renaissance art, or even from medieval through renaissance; as understanding of spatial relationships, phenomena, and natural laws governing that consciousness became assimilated into civilization of the period ...

i believe we’re in the continuing process of evolving our visual acuity to distinguish the elements of what we now refer to as our sixth sense - abstract painting, at its best, prepares us for that transition ...

part of the condition during primitive painting and our development of perceptual skills was our inability to understand and articulate the things between things we recognized ...

i believe the problem prevails - who can deny those fleeting moments of seeing things that aren’t really there, or were there - but we lack the acuity to focus upon them, doubt our recollection, then deny seeing them in the first place ...

i doubt there’s as much space as we think there is ...

particulates ...

2010-03-10T17:05:00.009-05:00

"One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken."

Leo Tolstoy

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."

Marcus Aurelius

apogee ...

2010-03-09T07:41:00.000-05:00

there are some days, that just waking up is a thrill - i'm referring to that rush of gratitude and clarity that comes from recognition of that first breath and light as we transition from dreamland to waking reality ... maybe its the onset of spring or the path of Mars or unseen forces, but days like these - this time of the year, initiate this response with more frequency ...

and it's so good ...

most things come as a pleasure - with appreciative indifference colored with a sense of well being - as a witness and just participant ...

i used to spend a lot of money and time chasing what now comes for free ...

but this ain't sainthood because i still have a hair-trigger bite when i feel cornered or played ...

thankfully, it doesn't happen as much as it used to - probably a combination of people recognizing the signs and my unwillingness to play ...

either way, i'm learning a lot about soul-management over the years -

and lucky to have the chance ...

looking glass ...

2010-03-08T22:18:00.005-05:00

"there's big money in cynicism - it's a career opportunity ..."

David Bowie

as night ...

2010-03-07T22:59:00.002-05:00

its always been about -

diving, dying, climbing, and falling;

not being good enough ...

or being far enough away to not care,

too busy to think,

or deep enough in love to forget ...

dream no. 6 ...

2010-03-06T23:50:00.003-05:00

"Never underestimate the power of early indoctrination".

Robert Hughes

links ...

2010-03-05T22:21:00.003-05:00

"All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together."

Jack Kerouac

images of what ?...

2010-03-04T18:48:00.000-05:00

wish i knew - bubbles from the subconscious i guess ...

so what's up with the little drawings/paintings that have begun to debut during the month of March ?... no titles, no descriptions; nothing ?...

I've had a few inquiries ...

for anyone that knows me - i bounce from project to project since most things require drying time or objectivity which only distance provides ...

if i take a cig or coffee break, its usually in my office or drafting room where i have my notebooks, resource materials, and computers - and during the break i either jot down some notes or doodle about preoccupations ...

as an exercise, i decided to post the results of day-long doodles throughout the month to see how the nonchalance appears in quantity - there's not much forethought or direction since i have enough of that kind of discipline and respect for the vocation in other projects ...

i was thinking of including these in a slide show or animation accompanied by a piece of music I've been laboring over called "Nero's Melody", we'll see ...

doodling while fiddling ...

moving forward ...

2010-03-03T19:17:00.004-05:00

little to say today except that things are moving forward on all fronts: the chapel designs, developing the foundation and resources, investigating studio options for a new season of painting production, art garb development, articles on modern art, scanning images for web page up-dates, commissions, gallery paintings, music composition, packing out-dated materials, meditation, reading, and daily administration ...

plus the smell of spring and change in the air ...

wunderland ...

2010-03-02T19:19:00.005-05:00

i admit, I'm still a bit of a late night news junkie - at one point, about twenty years ago, i either had to rid myself of the TV or do an Elvis on it ... I've improved with a reasonable amount of discipline and sometimes by simply turning the volume off and watching the people - particularly the politicians caught in the crossfire of partisanship - some of these guys give me the creeps in the same way as when i had long hair in the 60's and would wonder into the wrong place or the wrong town ... my antennae picks up the weirdness, and its been a great survival tool ...

so i look at some of these pasty skinned, paunchy, snake-eyed, smiling through their teeth politicians who probably haven't had to do a hard days labor their entire life - and wonder how it is that they've become the representatives for the majority of people in this country ...

i know the real answers, but i can crank up the cynicism - especially when i feel I'm being deceived - and i do, even without the sound ...

so far, I've had a lifetime of depreciating faith in these guys - most of whom i see as manipulative scoundrels and the rest as evil, self-centered and hypocritical bigots; and of course, it's the later I'm compelled to appraise ... because someone once said: "know thy enemy" ... [i know how the rest of the quote reads, so please forgive my indulgence] ...

history affords us hindsight, so it's easier to understand at a distance what happened during McCarthyism, the civil rights, woman's rights, hippies, and the peace movement, etc. - but being there and living through it was more than a bit confusing and scary at times, to say the least ...

so it makes me wonder what "IT" is right now, as i watch these caricatures of responsible government weave us into some web of futile misinformation - for instance, what would happen to the G.O.P.'s chance at elections if they lose the support of campaign contributions from affiliations with the health care industry - they've already been publicly accused of "being a wholly owned subsidiary" - without denial i might add - and if they prolong passage of the health care reform bill till mid-term elections, they at least have a fighting chance to capture some money and seats while riling up angry mobs in charades of opposition to reform ...

what depth of mean-spirited-ness are these shifty characters capable of if:

* at a time when millions of people are in desperate need of assistance as a result of the mismanaged collapsing of businesses and economic institutions they oppose benefits based on political principle rather than moral responsibility ...

* they deny the passing of legislation that will benefit millions without health care ...

* they undermine, beyond political tolerance, the office of president and his authority by antagonizing people to demand seeing his birth certificate and question his citizenship ...

[not to mention disparagingly accusing him of belonging to one of the world's most devout and respected religions with negative implication] ...

what i see from their behavior is cruelty, heartlessness, veiled bigotry, and disrespect - and my question is how would people like this behave if they were desperate our in control ? - probably to an extreme we haven't yet experienced in this escalation of power struggles ...

my guess is that they see things like homelessness, unemployed and unemployable, the sick with pre-existing conditions, the rising obesity levels, increasing heart disease and diabetes, increase in high school drop-outs, and poverty in general that effects millions - not as symptomatic of a society in deterioration resulting from decades of special interest favoritism - but rather, they see an expendable liability - that if removed from statistics, they'll be back into profit margins - and the best way to obliterate liability is to not endorse entitlement programs, health care, and the humanities while beefing up security forces and unreasonable laws to protect themselves from the rising dissension ... sound familiar - who's fascist now? - and did the confederacy ever go away? - and do you know the real meaning of confederate? who's really in charge of the death squads? - i wonder ...

so in lieu of having an all out, sustainable war - which is good for business, population control, party line patriotism, and moral re-centering; they probably figure more covert tactics need to be applied - some of which you can catch on the evening news - even without the sound ...

lions and lambs ...

2010-03-01T16:32:00.004-05:00

don't know where the expression came from; "in like a lion, out like a lamb", with reference to what are commonly called March winds here in the northeast - probably the same guy that said "April showers bring May flowers" - and i hope he's on Obama's environmental advisory board and prepared to make revisions about global weather maladjustments ...

anyway, since i was a kid I'd look forward to the 1st to see what Mom Nature would deliver - and more often than not, it brought cold howling winds out of the north - today was no exception - how does it do that, because it wasn't howling yesterday? Man, if i were pagan and less scientific, i could easily develop a mythology about this ensconced with gargoyles of Rush Limbaugh and other skeptics of climatology facts - but I'm not, so I'll just marvel in the synchronicity of it all ...

more on mammals: "only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn" [martin amis - you can tell he's from Europe, because here in America we have stampedes, tea-baggers, and government regulated pesticides] ...

andrew ...

2010-03-01T08:15:00.006-05:00

my son Andrew [by marriage not blood], turns twenty today ...

i use the 'blood' reference as a reason to justify our differences - because Lord knows, at twenty, i was everything my father expected me to be - yeah, right ...

he came to America from Paris with his mother when he was ten - leaving the only thing he knew up to that point; a culture that was more conducive to the subtleties and finery's of life, as European metropolitan existence is - a language, education, and social system that is unique even by European standards - and his friends, routines, and strains of his father's estrangement to join me and my family here in somewhat rural Pennsylvania ...

and though love flows with abundance from my family, and i live a relatively cultured life with his mother, it's still nothing similar to what is bred into his genetic code or even familiarity with urban living - it's still more like the wild west than Paris - even NYC, which has its own brand of urban aggressiveness and shallow history - all a bit intimidating and difficult to adjust to - but he embraced it with a 'can do' spirit that his mom instilled in him that i always admired ...

for me, at that time nearly fifty, i had no fathering skills - only vague, and often romanticized memories of growing up and management tools which were often viewed as overly assertive, even among my peers - but what i did have is the stability of my father's unwavering presence, direction, and support - and knowledge of what that generation of fathers did to prepare you for manhood ...

so you teach what you know ...

needless-to-say, my methodology was often met with resistance - which in my kingdom, moved from a dictatorship to democracy in a matter of months - quite an adjustment for all concerned - and a learning experience indeed ...

then we had 9/11, and him being French - he was alienated from peers as much as me being a hippie, musician, artist when i was growing up - only more so i suppose, because of the hypocrisies of the American dream of inclusion and the apparent 'zero tolerance' enforced by rednecks - you can always change your profession but not your blood ... fact is, i empathised and apologized and even thought about re-locating to my wife's origins of Scotland, but the task was greater than our will ...

anyway, we all managed through some horribly tough times; but my heart goes out to Andrew and so many like him of his generation and the challenges they have to adapt to ...

despite the difficulties of our union, i'm grateful for the enriching experiences - but i still go back to some of my father's advice; "if you work hard, long, and smart - things work out" ...

today, we still have disagreements as i expect we always will - and frankly, i'd be disappointed if we didn't - especially with him coming from such a rich heritage of debate ...

but i do realize how overwhelming life can be - i admire his victories but recognize that laurels make a bad foundation, and i understand the trials and disappointments ...

it's all a work in progress - the rest has to do with encouraging commitment, hard work, friendship, communication, spirituality, and dreams ...

a little love improves the journey ...

carpe diem and happiness everyday ...

59 of 365 ...

2010-02-28T07:50:00.003-05:00

as another month draws to a close, i guess i could best describe it as pivotal - along with a constant barrage of underlying affirmations of powerlessness ...

the month began with the residuals of Super Bowl - one of popular culture's barometers of sensibility; glitz, the thrill of mass hysteria, beer, junk food, scary movie adverts, quaint cuteness, gladiator brutality, aged rock stars, extravagance, blind patriotism, sophomoric humor, etc ...

is there any wonder why the popularity of the arts suffer ...

plus my personal disappointment with Brett Farve's heroic and painful loss ...

Janice [my wife], leaving home to be with her younger sister in Liverpool who was undergoing a radical cancer surgery - which turned out as good as we could hope for at the moment, but still wrought with concerns where all you could do is pray ...

[the 'c' word is one that scares me, and i avoid mentioning it when i can because the thought of it weakens me - i've seen it ravenously consume too many family and friends - and though treatments exist, it still remains the number one terrorist threat in the world - its power to insidiously destroy is only paralleled by cataclysmic events we can't control - but we can control funding and research as easily as wars] ...

the last time Janice was in Liverpool, she performed as the lead singer in a punk band called Night Visitors, and Collin the keyboardist, who lives in nearby Manchester was able to reunion after twenty six years while her flight home was delayed five days because of a blizzard in the USA ...

the powerlessness over discretionary policies enforced by the airline industry - seats left empty because they're classified 'revenue seats' in first class, despite medical emergencies that occur as a result of a passenger not receiving medications due to canceled flights ...

snow - and lots of it - and the paralyzing effect it has on the speed of business as we grow ever more dependent on systems that either seem antiquated, mismanaged, or recklessly attached to expectations of excellence - i think we live under a lot of false presumptions; that because we pay for a service, we'll receive it ... and when we don't, we're left unprepared: electricity, heat, telephone service, water, transportation, etc ... not to mention the hope that people would shed some self centered-ness during periods of shared duress - some of the same people that would text their support for Haiti won't let you temporarily borrow their unoccupied parking space in a blizzard - i guess you give what you can ...

then, another 'big one' - having to face the loss of my studio and the dreams attached to it because of economic conditions - and, for as close to my heart it is - i don't take it too personally; because there are countless doing much worse than me - whereas, i'm trying to preserve the luxury of supporting a few thousand square feet of studio space and the operational costs to sustain it, while there are many without decent health, food, or shelter ...

fact is, that over the past ten years, anticipated studio costs and expenses have quadrupled while productivity and income has only doubled - which under normal circumstances would leave me at a respectable advantage - but in a climate of aesthetic malaise and unregulated surcharges, utilities, and taxes - leaves me as [what Jack Nicholson said in Chinatown] - "the leper with the most fingers" ...

so unless i'm able to leverage my assets toward establishing a cooperative foundation, Harryn Studios may be facing corporate down-sizing ... but change is good - and if i can maintain the perspective of what would matter in a hundred years; it might only be the story of change i facilitated and the artwork that remains ... that's what really needs preserving ....

then there's this pesky little thing called Lymes disease that has me in a constant state of fatigue and headaches - funny; once i get wrapped up in my work, i hardly notice the symptoms which creates a false sense of security if i have a productive day - which leads me to think i'm okay and could avoid seeking treatment until it leaves me feeling and looking worse than before - and the good thing about being alone for the first few weeks of the month is that no one noticed - that changed, and i visited an infectious disease specialist who seemed much more literate than anyone else up to this point - i placed cautious confidence in him and trying to heed his direction, so we'll see ...

so jupiter has risen, there's a full moon in virgo, i turned 58 this week, Mother Earth is showing signs of aging, and today is today ...

change on a dime ...

2010-02-27T22:35:00.001-05:00

i dig those old adages; "life can change on the drop of a dime" - and though i don't always know their origins, i get the gist ... it could have something to do with a phone call, or reaching out - which in my case, it did ...

things don't often happen in my time - which will always cause undo - self generated stress and anxiety - but eventually, things have a way of working out ...

i've been trying to make headway on a long-term business strategy which includes my studio, living space, and archives ... some of the plans require investor input, and in this economy they become as rare as snowbirds in winter - but i remain persistent and optimistic which is more than half the battle, until my energies begin to wane ...

today, despite the weather and weekend, i got a morning visit from a reputable business person who presented viable options toward achieving some of those plans, and once again lends credence to 'life changing on a dime' ...

sometimes it has less to do with finding solutions than knowing options and hope exist ...

i often feel blessed - perhaps others wouldn't see it that way - but i've been lucky in life to do what i love - to do what i believe in ...

i never forget it - and never forget that others are not as fortunate ... but i also remember that there are those more fortunate that occasionally need reminding - besides, we all have something to contribute - and pooling together beats pulling apart ...

the breath of ...

2010-02-26T07:26:00.013-05:00

prayer flags + snow sags ... ideas + changes ...

i heard Boreas - [the north wind] - growl and chant all night long - with the same sustained perseverance as the Gyuto Monks' harmonic Freedom Chants - ebbing, drifting, and modulating without pause throughout the darkness ...

no wonder so many mythologies were born from nature in years gone by - before rational explanations and science demystified the events ...

fear often generates irrational behavior - but sometimes, in the case of pagan deities, fear coupled with imagination produced a heroic cast of images and stories - memories of humanity's childhood which become precious in their innocence - and poignant in their simplicity - "out of the mouths of babes" ...

today, because science is so attentive, and phenomena still exists along with resistance to change and acceptance - fear finds refuge in ambiguity and disinformation; usually seasoned with sufficient dubious evidence to prolong debate or sustain denial ... [post modern linguistics of appropriated truth; sounds like required reading for litigation attorneys] ...

i'm interested in allowing discoveries to remain marvelous while being cognizant of realities that govern them - kind of like re-mystifying science - and i believe that it's done by re-humanizing; or understanding and appreciating the simple human struggles that we all share in common while on our paths to doing whatever we do - i mean, the real mystery that doesn't seem to have any consensus is: the meaning of life thru death and beyond, and our consciousness of it - so it seems, that if we are to speak to what we know, then we need to focus on the events we participate in - the shared struggle and appreciation of qualities achieved and adversities survived ...

Jacob Bronowski, author of "The Ascent of Man", knew Albert Einstein - and described at one point, a story of Einstien's childhood - that he wondered 'what the world would look like if he rode on a beam of light' - a daydream that eventually revolutionized physics and the world after all the components of the abstraction were assembled - and its the word 'eventually' that becomes more interesting than the equation - what it took in time, study, sacrifice, navigating through the politics and prejudice of the day, the frustration, anger, delight, and the rewards of accomplishment and commitment - that's the real story of relativity ... and part of what popularized his idea, was not only the functionality of his theorems, but the collective consciousness of a world willing to implement the changes they implied ...

in a few centuries, the world came a long way from Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton ...

every day is riddled with the imaginings of billions of sentient beings - some never spoken, some are dismissed, and many surrendered to futility and resistance - but occasionally, with the persistence of a few - some of those ideas break through - and the process and stories of birthing ideas is something to be marveled ...

but i guess the same could be said for the astonishment that accompanies resistance to change and new ideas - yesterday's bipartisan summit in D.C. was a good example; especially when Obama asked one of his health care opponents if they would feel the same way about the legislation they were promoting if they only earned 40K ... the room fell silent - you could hear a politician breath ...

holding patterns ...

2010-02-25T19:12:00.005-05:00

it's imminent - or so say all forecasts - another wintry blast in the northeast ...

accumulations and severity seem to fluctuate with the hour's change - and personally, i don't think anyone really knows for sure - kind of like the office football pool; you increase your chance of winning by the amount of blocks you buy - maybe ...

fact is, after barely being dug out from the last mess, two weeks ago - we're going to have to go through the same unpleasantries again - its all very pretty, but the expense and inconvenience are getting a bit tiresome ...

the jet stream usually doesn't call attention to itself - but a few times throughout the year, i hear a distant, low resonating and steady howl - similar to a not too distant jet engine, with sustained winds of 30 m.p.h., gusting at 60 ... for some reason, i don't recall ever hearing it while living in cities - which might be a result of it echoing through the valleys and mountains - a little un-nerving, and certainly humbling and even a little scary, since i'm surrounded by a forest of old deciduous trees - many that just don't have the strength to resist the constant assault of unstoppable winds ... they often submit; leaning on power lines, house roofs, and almost anything else they can get their branches on - and sometimes they just lay down under duress in the most inconvenient places - even the deer look a little bewildered by it all as they navigate their routine paths, but deer usually look a little surprised by life in general - what a way to be ...

character[s] ...

2010-02-23T13:49:00.010-05:00

all this new technology stuff is great - helps to keep up with the speed of life i guess ...

but there's something about a black and white print photograph from 35 mm film [or larger format] that has so much more character than the digital images - just different ...

the whole process of lighting, exposing, and the alchemy in the darkroom adds a soul to the image that even color film seems to saturate ...

i notice the same in some of the old 'film noir' classics, which i sometimes watch without dialogue, but with my own choice of music - like some of the old Humphrey Bogart's with Mingus, etc. ...

the top two are a couple of favorites - Picasso and Lee Miller, and Giacometti with his newspapers ...

p.s. i may have to reconsider my studio attire since i usually see these guys in ties ...

one peseta, plus ...

2010-02-22T19:31:00.000-05:00

for as long as i can remember, I've been fascinated by the work of artisans and architects of antiquity - the monumental scale, resources, and knowledge required to accomplish their visions - a collaborative effort indeed - and you better get it right, because your life was probably on the line - now that's a commitment to life and art ...

similar projects are still undertaken, but probably not with the same expectation and understanding of longevity - except museums, palaces, places of worship, and landmark government buildings [but then again, look what happened to Baghdad - and was there really any reason to ruin the libraries ?] ...

the comparison between works of history and the present deliver interesting associations: Giotto's Arena Chapel commissioned by the Scrovegni Family, the Rothko Chapel developed by the de Menils' - the obelisk and sculpture at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA ...

beyond the earthworks of Robert Smithson, i don't see anything comparable to Stonehenge in the UK - except perhaps, some of Robert Irwin's and James Turrell's work - maybe ? - and that has troubled me since i was an undergrad, especially because of our increased astronomical acuity, access to heavy equipment, materials, etc. - and the fact that the earth is still where it always was, kind of ...

but i guess the question could be raised: why bother with the expense and effort when we could G.P.S. or Google our coordinates? - because it's less reverential, spiritual, or physical ...?

Things usually get made because they're a testament to what people or a culture believes in ...

rather than wait to be commissioned, I've been working pro bono on a project in bits and pieces since 1974 - thinking that i might be able to see it come to fruition one day - I'm at the model development stage and recently encountered a few prospects i might present it to ...

it's an outside chance, but so was Sagrada Familia when Gaudi pan-handled through Barcelona to keep his ideas alive ...

as always, in service to inspiration ...

i wonder ...

2010-02-21T23:49:00.004-05:00

she might be smarter than we think - though my instinct tells me otherwise - Sarah Palin and her band of vitriolic tea-baggers that is - a perfect example of what happened in the "dumbing of America" [referred to in previous post] ...

I'm not always good with spelling - some kind of letter dyslexia - so i always have a dictionary close at hand - [along with my art history, materials and techniques, and big book] ...

some words get assimilated into our vocabulary through media that colloquializes a word before we really know it ... [kind of like the White House party crashing couple] ...

'going rogue'; though it roles off the tongue easily, sounds a little scampish, and had a unique branding characteristic - is one of those words ...

so before i used it in yesterday's word play, i looked it up - the actual definition is much more revealing than i realized, so i thought i would share ...

rogue: –noun 1.a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.

Synonyms:

bad egg, bad news, black sheep, blackguard,charlatan, cheat, cheater, con artist, criminal, crook, defrauder, devil, fraud, heel, hooligan*, lowlife, mischief, miscreant, monstrosity, ne'er-do-well, outlaw, problem*, rapscallion, rascal,reprobate, scalawag, scamp, scoundrel, swindler, trickster, villain

i do enjoy when humor imitates truth ...

joe, [part two] ...

2010-02-20T23:31:00.003-05:00

for going 'rogue' ...

can't seem to loosen my bite on the previous entry - maybe its because a simple shift in thinking - or lack thereof - can have - and has had serious consequences in the development of the arts in this country - maybe the world - but I'm not sufficiently informed to comment about global affairs and my sources aren't as reliable as they could be ... but i have reasonable suspicions ...

i do however, know an extraordinary amount of highly talented writers, musicians, and artists who struggle to make ends meet - and I'm not talking about dilettantes looking for social or therapeutic networking opportunities to compensate for their latest identity crisis - I'm talking the real deal - people who sweat blood and sacrifice what they must in service to what they love and were drawn to the vocation with a commitment comparable to a spiritual calling ...

there's absolutely no reason, with the amount of disposable wealth in this country, why excellence and expertise like this should have to struggle and pander for survival ...

or, to put it in functional terms, we are the Research and Development Division of Cultural Consciousness - and if our jobs are ill-funded or move to redundancy, the "company" will lose product viability to sustain itself in a competitive, global marketplace - sound familiar ?

[face it, some of the pipe dreams of the "Whole Earth" culture are exactly what is trying to be resurrected for economic recovery and sustainable energy resources - all the impracticalities suddenly become necessary for future development - even urgent] ...

we've seen it time and again with hostile takeovers - where economists and lawyers adept at loop-holes assert their pretentiousness in areas they have no qualification [ie., music, entertainment, and energy industries, etc] and create some bastardization of a good idea so the numbers align with their profits - its snake-oil salesmanship to the nth degree - no wonder guys like Bernie Madoff succeed - our greed manifests them ...

once again, to a lesser degree, I've experienced this mean-spirited manipulation first hand from power-brokers that would go to any length to validate the chip on their shoulders - people that would rather insult and destroy you than consider another opinion - whatever the cost; since self-righteousness and victory are crucial assets for the Gordon Gekkos' of the world ... ["Wall Street" the movie] ... and because so many people are beholding to the scraps received from the tables of the entitled, their need to compensate for whatever hole in their soul is tolerated ... [the indiscretions of some of our political leadership is an easy example - we're only human, but its the spirit that concerns me most] ...

off point: i recall one endowed friend telling me he spent more on annual dues to a country club he doesn't attend than i do on my yearly mortgage - and another, more on suits in one year he didn't wear, than i did on a vehicle i had to finance - and both required significant discounts on paintings - but there are things you have to do to keep up appearances - including being grateful ...

I've often characterized a shift in consciousness occurring during the rise of Pop Art - a movement that in part, addressed the banalities of popular culture, but i doubt they expected the mundane aspects to be elevated to such a respectable status - they simply took advantage of it - and if you think about it, the avalanche of mediocrity has escalated ever since - with the exception of a few aberrations - [or as they like to say on Wall Street - "market fluctuations"] ...

i believe Pop Art made it possible to know less about art to appreciate it - and to reduce the depth of history associated with it - and it all happened at a time when the exploding middle class became the primary accelerant for big business - including the lowering of higher educational standards ...

a fragile period, when the corruptions of abundance were gradually undermining the values of high achievement and excellence and infiltrating a vast pool of resources - namely, the population of middle America - where the back alley opiates moved to nearly every home with televisions, newspapers, magazines and status quo routines advertised as the American dream - the luxuries of free time and diminishing ambitions, consumerism and wanna be's ...

a line was drawn, which subsequently eroded into chasm -

between 'the establishment' and 'the other' ...

the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' ...

the 'winners' and 'losers' ...

the 'left' and 'right' - and the 'right' and 'wrong' ...

so the games began - interpretations of inclusion, modified for exclusivity; common sense numbed by political correctness; herding of individuality through stereotyping by conglomerate agendas; and sanctification of hostility by a religious 'right' ...

Now we're at a point, after all the posturing and illusions of self assuredness are laid to rest -wondering where all the genius, spirit, and pioneering character has gone - what happened with the 'dumbing of America' and the 'taming of the shrewd' - and how do we, "get back" ?

It's going to take some healing time after being paralyzed and asphyxiated by modernity - but i've always believed its in the creative spirit of individuals who haven't had their chance - but i'll light that fuse later - for now, it's late ...