59 of 365 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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] ...

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 ...

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 ...

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] ...

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 ...

joe the collector ...

over the span of my career, i've had the opportunity to be graced by the company and support of many - most of whom, i remember vividly ... from my first teachers - the sale of my first painting, to the present ...

support and entrepreneurs come in many varieties - but for this entry, i want to focus on financial support ...

one of the advantages to not being a major blue-chip artist is that i've had the opportunity to meet the people who made most purchases ... they come in many flavors:

- the fashion and decorator-driven buyer,

- the person interested in keeping up with the Jones's,

- those who have a rapport/repoire with a piece,

- those who support your school of thinking,

- those who have confidence in your abilities and goals,

- those that need a product to fulfill their own ambitions,

- the persons interested in proving they can own a piece of you,

plus any number of permutations of this list ...

BUT - once in a while you meet the person that has a passion for art, is open-minded, has the financial resources, and will go to any length to find what they're searching for in knowledge or objects ... those are the extremely rare breed of collector, and i've been fortunate enough to spend time with two such people - be affiliated with a few more by one degree of separation, and hear many tales about others ...

their stories are incredible, and i always feel that i'm sitting close to the fire that has kept the engines of art alive through difficult periods of art history - they knew their responsibility, and as 'keepers', took it seriously ... some have died and some are reaching an age where their activities are limited ... i'm grateful for the opportunities i've had to know them, but saddened by the prospects of what lie ahead ...

and i'm not sure why, over the past twenty years, the legacies of such greatness hasn't seeded a new generation of high-spirited collectors - unless it has something to do with diversification, lack of intent - focus, or disinterest ... it certainly isn't because of lack of money at high altitudes ...

what i know through my experience, and sources, is that the extinction of that unique breed is imminent ...

though i'm still affiliated with many that have the 'means', their attention is more directed toward the preservation of institutions that commemorate them than they are about the ideologies that created the institutions in the first place ...

or, it could have something to do with the aggressiveness of fund-raising organizations, tax advantages, or the idea being promoted that if you help an organization - your money has more out-reach into the community - branding and messaging - but it may just be another way of saying: promote generality rather than excellence - or, there are no frontiers - only territories to preserve ...

either way, as i see it, this culture of fear over the past decade has accelerated some pretty far reaching effects - and even though i'm doing okay through it, the dynamic has shifted toward fewer that exhibit the kind of passion and dedication i once experienced - toward a less informed and committed collector ...

p.s. the photograph: i knew a collector that acquired a Gauguin painting - from his Tahiti period - a nude in front of a house with blue shutters ... it wasn't enough to have the painting, the man wanted to experience the location where the painting was made so he made the trek, found the house, and acquired the shutters - in the true spirit of Dr. Barnes ...