Redtree Times

Shadow of a Stranger– At Principle Gallery, Alexandria

The gods, likening themselves to all kinds of strangers, go in various disguises from city to city, observing the wrongdoing and the righteousness of men.

–Homer, The Odyssey

This is a new piece that is at the Principle Gallery for their annual Small Works show. It’s called Shadow of a Stranger. Though I say it’s new it’s actually a year or more old. It’s been sitting behind me here in the studio, always looking over my shoulder, for all that time.

I always personally liked this piece but just didn’t want to show it for some reason. Maybe it was that it has a roughness, an expressionistic feel in its blacks and grays that feels somewhat counter to the color of my more typical work. Or maybe it was that idea of the stranger–the outsider, the alien, the exile– seemed too close to the bone for me. That certainly has been a recurring theme in my work and my life. 

I don’t really know. Don’t even know why I am showing it here now. Maybe it’s just an excuse to play a favorite song, Wayfaring Stranger.  It’s usually performed in a traditional folk/Americana manner. I’ve played such versions from Johnny Cash, Doc Watson and Neko Case here and all were exceptional. But here’s one from the late Eva Cassidy that is far more jazz inspired than most renditions of this song, including another traditional version of it she herself recorded. It’s a different interpretation but its soulfulness keeps its core feel and meaning intact. Good stuff…