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Archive for January, 2014

Red Rubber Ball

Posted in Music, Video, tagged , , , , , on January 12, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers-The Hidden Simple I wasn’t going to write anything today but there is a song that has been stuck in my head since hearing it the other day.  It’s one of those songs from the past that fades from memory but once it is reintroduced, becomes ever-present, at least for a short time.  And that’s where I am with Red Rubber Ball, a song made popular all the way back in 1966 by a short-lived band, The Cyrkle.  Their other hit was also a song with a catchy chorus, Turn Down Day.

This was never one of my favorites, at least consciously.  But it was so ingrained that the chorus just falls out once the song begins and, as I said, remains there for some time.  I found myself humming it this morning as I wandered through the woods to my studio at 6:30.  And there was no red rubber ball in the sky.

An interesting aside for this song is that Paul Simon co-wrote it with Bruce Woodley of  The Seekers, who also recorded it in 1966.  It has also been recorded by Neil Diamond and many others but the version that most folks remember, at least for short periods, is from The Cyrkle.  Here they are performing the song on a variety show in 1966, complete with keen matching outfits and a nifty set.  Enjoy and have a great Sunday.

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The Pebble

Posted in Biographical, Early Paintings, Influences, tagged , on January 10, 2014| 3 Comments »

GC Myers-1993 PieceI was looking through some old work, pieces that came from my earliest forays into painting about twenty years ago when I was just beginning to experiment.  I came across this particular piece and stopped as I always do when I am meandering through the old work and this painting appears before me.  It is one of my earliest efforts,  done in late 1993.  It is rough and doesn’t exactly represent where my work has went in the meantime.  I was hesitant in  showing it here but felt that there was something important in it for me.

This  painting, copied in part from another artist’s watercolor,  was done with old air brush paints on very cheap watercolor paper.  As I said, it’s rough and not a piece for which I hold a lot of pride. Nor is it a piece that shows any level of mastery.   Certainly not a piece that I  want many people to see if they are not already familiar with my work from the decades beyond this.  You seldom want to show something that displays a weakness but sometimes there is something of value that goes beyond the surface.

But for me there is something about this piece that propelled me forward, something that gave me some sort of insight into where I might want to go with this whole thing.  I equate it to walking along and suddenly stumbling for what seems no reason.  You stop and look down to see what made you trip and there is nothing but a tiny pebble.  Insignificant in every way.  Certainly nothing that would make you stop at any other time.  But this time it has somehow caused you to loose your balance.  So you stop and stand there, looking down at this pebble.  In the moment, you  begin to see other things that you had never taken notice of before and the path you had been walking before the pebble waylaid you is forgotten.

And that’s what this painting was and is for me– a pebble.  On it’s own it is very little.  Insignificant in every way.  But for me it that thing that tripped me and made me stop to take  notice of a new path.  There were small inklings– the curves of the landscape and the blocking of the colors, for example– in this this piece that sparked thoughts and further explorations that, in turn, pushed me even more as I went forward.

In a very long chain of mostly fortunate reactions, this was the catalyst.  So while I may not hold this painting in high esteem (nor would I expect anyone  to do so) this old work has real meaning for me.

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David Plowden and a Vanishing America

Posted in Architecture, Favorite Things, Photography, tagged , , on January 9, 2014| 2 Comments »

David Plowden - The American BarnI recently picked up a book from photographer David Plowden, The American Barn.  It is filled with beautiful duotone images of the grand old barns from the  heart of America, structures that are vanishing from our landscape as the family farm fades away.  The images are nostalgic but not sentimental, with a bit of melancholy in the air.  I’ve always been drawn to the beauty of the barn and often amazed at the scale of some of these structures.  They represent a level of personal industriousness and vision that I can barely imagine today.

David Plowden- HeartlandPlowden has  made documenting the vanishing parts of America  his life’s work, producing 20 books covering all aspects of the the American experience of the last century.  His books have covered the steamboats of the Great Lakes, the great and not-so-great bridges of this country, the railroads and both the small town experience and the grit of the industrial landscape.

The cover of one of  his more recent books, Heartland, has an image that speaks to my own personal vision of the landscape so its no surprise that I find his work engaging.  Looking at his photos brings on a great feeling of déjá vu, as though I have seen and walked in many of these places, at least in spirit.  They are often spaces that are filled with space and emptiness but still have the air of occupancy about them.

Ghosts, perhaps.

You can see more of David Plowden’s work at his self-titled  site.  It’s it definitely worth a look.  If you want a quick overview of his work, do s simple Google Images search using his name.

David Plowden- Abandoned Barn, Barns County, NDDavid Plowden-- Sherman Township, Calhoun Cty, IA 2004

 

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Outlier’s Heart

Posted in Painting, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , on January 7, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Outlier's HeartI guess the weather that has swept across the middle of the country to settle here has made its way into my work.  I’ve never used snow much as an element in my work.  Oh, there were a few pieces here and there over the years.  They were often simple pieces that were in shades of  blue.  I never really considered using the white of the snow as a critical element.  Maybe because it would create a question of rational plausibility when the Red Tree would appear in these snowy landscape with its blazing foliage, as it most certainly would.

And does here.

The title of this new piece, an 8″ by 24″ canvas, is  Outlier’s Heart, to directly confront this issue of  whether a disparate element would adversely effect the feel of a piece.  For me, it didn’t make a difference and the Red Tree seemed right at home in the scene and in my mind as I took it in.  What bothered me was that I had even worried about plausibility while composing this.  I have always prided myself on not adhering to rules and here I was, suddenly boxing myself in with questions of that I usually  quickly discard.  I think it’s important to stay out of these boxes of conformity and this has been a good reminder.

That aside, I like this work with the use of the snow as the main element.  The contrast between the coolness of the white of the snow and the blues of the sky against the warmth of the Red Tree create a nice tension that makes the piece feel much less cold and forbidding.  I think this is right for this piece because I didn’t see it as being about just merely representing coldness.  I see this as being about the search for beauty.  I don’t think I will explain any more than that at the moment.  I will just let the piece speak for itself  for now.

As it should always….

 

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Gymnopédie

Posted in Favorite Things, Music, Video, tagged , , , on January 5, 2014| 3 Comments »

Hiroshige -Clear Winter Morning at KameyamaIt just feels like one of these Sunday mornings.  It’s clear and crisp, the colors of the sky outside my studio looking very much like something from a Hiroshige print.  Quiet outside.  Hardly a rustling through the forest as I made my way to the studio this morning.  In my head, I begin to hear those simple quiet notes from the first of  the Gymnopédies, that elegant group of quiet and moody music from composer Erik Satie.

Hearing this music always slows me down, makes me breath.  Ponder  things, both big and little.

But despite all my pondering, don’t ask me the meaning behind the word gymnopédie.  My little bit of research turns up no clear consensus on the meaning from any number of sources.  It could mean almost anything actually.  And maybe that is why Satie chose it– it sounds likes so much more but is vaporous and edgeless.

It fits the music.

Here’s a snip of Gymnopédie #1 to start your first Sunday of 2014.  I think it is interesting that the maker of this video chose images of the universe to illustrate this music.  Big things.   I think an image of a snow flake falling gently against a slatey sky would fit as well. Small things.

Have a good day.

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The Regionalists

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , , , , , , on January 4, 2014| 2 Comments »

John Steuart Curry-- "Tragic Prelude" Mural depicting John Brown in Kansas

John Steuart Curry– “Tragic Prelude” Mural depicting John Brown in Kansas

One of my favorite genres of art is that of  American Regionalism.  You can lump painters like Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton  and  John Steuart Curry together as some of the  better known names in this group.  I am not particularly fond of the use of the word regionalist which seems to hint at some sort of narrow provincialism, a label that Eastern critics tried to pin on this Midwest-based movement of the 1930’s and 40’s.  But these painters and others who have been branded as Regionalists were not sentimental or naive.

In fact they espoused views that were often more aligned with progressive and socialist ideals.  Many of these artists were looking to make their work more accessible to the working class, something that they felt was lacking in the more elitist Modernist work of the time and simply used the landscape and people around them as the vehicle to convey these ideals.  This gave the work an inclusive populist quality that is especially appealing to me.  I like that their work is often simple to approach yet reveals so much more upon deeper inspection.

I have written about some of the more well known Regionalists such as Wood and Benton, as well as some of the lesser known names such as Alexander Hogue and Paul Sample but hope to shed some light in future posts on some of the more obscure names in this genre.

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New Year’s Day

Posted in Music, Video, tagged , , , , , , on January 1, 2014| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- "Observers" 2013

GC Myers- “Observers” 2013

Well, it’s New Year’s Day  2014.

I normally wax somewhat philosophically about the challenge and potential of the coming year and about the lesson of the past twelve months.  But this year I don’t feel the urge or need to do so.  Maybe I’m just tired or maybe its that I am ready for whatever this year holds in store and am satisfied with what I have done over the last year.

Whatever the case, I wish each of you great happiness and peace over the next year along with the strength and wisdom to overcome whatever challenges you might face.

While I said I wouldn’t look back at the last year, I never said I wouldn’t look back 30 years.  Here’s a promo video from the studio of U2 performing New Year’s Day which was released in January of 1983 as  a single from  their War album.   The years have stripped away much of the song’s original association with Lech Walesa and the Solidarity labor movement  taking place at that time in Poland.  Most younger listeners probably don’t have an much more than an inkling of what this even was but that’s okay– the song is still great and appropriate for today.  Plus there’s the bonus of seeing Bono and the boys looking so 1980’s.

Anyway, enjoy and have a happy New Year.

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