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This Land Is Your Land

Posted in Current Events, History, Music, tagged , , , , , , on July 3, 2016| 2 Comments »

Woody Guthrie -This Machine Kills Fascists

Woody Guthrie -This Machine Kills Fascists

Since we’re in the midst of the Fourth of July weekend, I thought this Sunday’s musical selection should be something with a definite American flavor.   The song is This Land Is Your Land from the great Woody Guthrie.

You are no doubt familiar with this song, probably thinking of it as a cheery, upbeat song about the beauty and breadth of our democracy, sung often by smiling church and school choruses.  It’s become a kind of populist national anthem which is sort of ironic given its beginnings and the words of the song.  You see, there are verses that are seldom sung by the choruses and flag waving nationalists, verses that very much change the tone and meaning of the song.

Guthrie wrote the song in the late 1930’s in response to the immense popularity at that time of  the Kate Smith version of God Bless America, written by Irving Berlin.  Guthrie saw the world coming apart due to the nationalistic extremism that had spread through Europe, producing fascist leaders such as Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy and Franco in Spain.

The original intro to God Bless America had the lines: While the storm clouds gather far across the sea / Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free / Let us all be grateful that we’re far from there, / As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.  That phrase that we’re far from there was later changed to for a land so fair.  Guthrie saw it as a call to an isolated form of nationalism, one that cast a blind eye to the perils lurking abroad that were beginning to spread here as well as our own problems at home.  Problems like poverty and inequality.

Guthrie wanted to address these problems in his retort to Berlin’s song.  At first, Guthrie sarcastically called his song God Blessed America For Me before naming it This Land Is Your Land.

Below are the two verses in the original version of This Land Is Your Land that are always omitted from those cheery civic versions speak to the ills of this country as Guthrie saw them, most noticeably  the greed which led to the great chasm of inequality between the wealthy and the poor of this land.  He questioned how a land with so much wealth and beauty, one based on the equality of man, could tolerate the extreme poverty and injustice he saw in his travels across this land.

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me.
The sign was painted, said ‘Private Property.’
But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing.
This land was made for you and me.

One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple,
by the relief office I saw my people.
As they stood hungry,
I stood there wondering if God blessed America for me.

It’s an interesting song that speaks to this crazy time in the world as blind nationalism rises abroad and here in the USA.  Give a listen to this wonderful version of the song from Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and pay special attention to the words.  Have a great Sunday and a great 4th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ78uDio_ao

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Grandpa Stole My Baby

Posted in Current Events, Favorite Things, Music, Video, tagged , , , , , , on July 2, 2016| 4 Comments »

Mont Saint Michel-Jeremie Eloy-wanaiifilms-comI am really swamped in the studio getting work ready for my upcoming show at the West End Gallery.  Too much to d0 so I wasn’t going to write anything today except maybe mention the start this morning of this year’s Tour de France, one of the great spectacles of world sport.  This great bicycling event starts at Mont Saint Michel, an old abbey on a tidal island off the of coast Normandy, France.  As you can see in the photo above, it’s an amazing sight, one that always stirs some mysterious emotional response within me.

But since I am so busy I just want to share a video I stumbled across.  It’s from Moon Mullican, known as the King of the Hillbilly Piano Players in the 1940’s and 50’s and a huge influence on early rockers like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.  This is Grandpa Stole My Baby with a video that features an early film, most likely from the time around the turn of the 20th century, well over a hundred years old.  I could not find any attribution for the film but it has two dancers, one a seemingly older gent, who show some pretty nice dance moves that fits well with the song.  I couldn’t look away.

Give a listen and take a look for yourself.  Have a great day and weekend!

 

 

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Witnesses

Posted in Current Events, tagged , , , on June 20, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lebron Nike Witness Poster

Sometimes a sporting event transcends the game itself.  Ask the people of Cleveland.  BelieveLand

I know quite a few people from Cleveland and northeast Ohio, mainly through my longtime affiliation with the Kada Gallery in nearby Erie, PA.  Being a native of the area hasn’t always been an easy thing to own.  It has been the butt of jokes for years and years.  My own earliest memories of Cleveland were in driving through the area in the late 60’s and being overwhelmed by the incredible pollution spewing from the factories that once lined the shores of Lake Erie there that gave the sky this awful apocalyptic, yellow-brown color.  It looked nightmarish to me as a kid.  Thankfully, Cleveland now is nothing like that.

And for the sports fans of the region, it has been even worse for the last 52 years.  Their sports teams have went year after years mired in mediocrity, every so often getting close to winning it all only to be denied in heartbreaking fashion.  They even had their greatest hope, the native Lebron James, up and leave at one point, leaving them angry and betrayed.  It looked as though it might be another 50 years before they might see a sports championship return to northeast Ohio.

Today, I am really, really pleased for them because last night the Cleveland Cavaliers defied all odds in defeating the Golden State Warriors for the NBA Championship.

The cloud has been lifted.

I have followed Lebron James since first reading about him as a seventh grader with great promise.  The Next Big Thing.  They come along every year or two and seldom do they ever come close to the potential that has been granted them.  It turns out that it takes more than just great physical gifts to move into the rarefied air of  legends.  It takes maturity, intelligence, determination and oh so much more.  And these were evident in seeing Lebron in interviews even when he was 17 or 18.  He had the physique and face of a grown man and spoke in thoughtful, mature terms.  What was not to like about this guy?

But people find a way.  Lebron sometimes seems like a character out of a Shakespearean tragedy.  He is the king whose legitimacy and ambitions are always questioned. Things that start with good intentions are often turned against him.  His every word and action is parsed and dissected and the weight of history is always on his shoulders.  It’s more than a mere athlete is normally asked to bear and he bears it with steadfast determination.

When he returned home from his controversial, self-imposed exile in Miami, he put the region on his shoulders, a heavy responsibility that goes beyond the basketball court.  His foundation is mentoring hundreds and hundreds of at-risk each year and putting them through college through a partnership with the University of Akron.  He is acting as a sort of surrogate father to legions of kids who are not that unlike himself  when he was a kid.  He truly cares for his home and wears it proudly.

But the court is where his power arises.  I still don’t understand the hatred towards Lebron.  He is a physical marvel, a brilliant playmaker with court vision that is second to none and a determined competitor.  He has done things on a regular basis that seem inconceivable to most high level NBA players yet he is still denigrated and sniped at.

Well, the performance he treated us to in this last series was a thing out of legend. He did everything — and I mean everything– in taking down the reigning champs.  If someone can’t see the beauty of his game and the display of it he put on in this series, even if  they somehow find a reason to dislike him personally, there is something missing in that person.

Count me in as a witness to his greatness.

My friends in Cleveland, I am so, so happy for you.  It’s been a long time coming and your loyalty and belief has been rewarded by your native son and the great group of players– Kyrie Irving was magnificent!–around him.  I hope you’ll bask in it for some time to come.  Be proud, Cleveland.  Or is it really BelieveLand now?

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Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone…

Posted in Current Events, Music, tagged , , on June 19, 2016| 3 Comments »

Temptations Papa Was a Rolling StoneJust a short entry today for Father’s Day.  It probably seems like a questionable choice to select Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone from the mighty Temptations as the song for this Sunday.  It’s a song about an absent father and his son who is trying to discover who and what his father truly was.  Not deeply sentimental and definitely not warm and fuzzy.

But it’s a great, great song.  Plus, even when you know your parents intimately well there is always a question about their reality before you came along or when they are apart from you, in different contexts.  You think you know their whole story but you are often not quite sure that it is truly the whole story.

So, have a great Sunday.  If you can, celebrate the day with your father in some way.  And enjoy the soulful sounds of the Temptations.  This is the full version with the classic instrumental intro that you will no doubt recognize.

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Bearable Vastness

Posted in Current Events, Painting, Quote, Recent Paintings, tagged , , , , , , , on June 16, 2016| 4 Comments »

GC Myers- Bearable VastnessShe had studied the universe all her life, but had overlooked its clearest message: For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love. 
― Carl Sagan, Contact

****************

This year’s title for my annual solo show at the West End Gallery, which opens July 22, is Contact.  It has nothing to do with the famous Carl Sagan novel of the same name about our first encounter with an advanced alien life form, which was also made into a film with Jodie Foster.  But even though there is no real relationship between the Sagan story and this show, I did come across the quote above from the book that meshes very well with what I see as the theme of this show and much of my work in general:  how we cope with our role is as small and insignificant creatures in an endlessly vast and cold universe.

The painting above is from the show and is a 20″ by 30″ canvas titled Bearable Vastness.  I think, going back to the quote, that the Red Tree here has come to realize that the only thing that will bring it the peace of mind to accept its place as a tiny being in a vast universe of powerful forces beyond its comprehension is to work to achieve love in some way in its own time and place.

Put simply, love is the answer.

I know that in the current environment of terror, anger, hatred and outright stupidity that these words sound absolutely naive.

Maybe.

But I have never known of a time when anger and hatred and violence and ignorance have spawned anything but more of the same.  Never has a lasting peace risen from hatred and intolerance of others.  Nothing positive has ever been built on a foundation of hatred, anger and fear.  Only demagogues and dictators rise from that swamp.  For them, love is always replaced with fear and cynicism.

Maybe you still will call it naive.  So be it.  That’s your cross to bear.  As for me, while the universe is vast and uncaring I will always choose love as the way to somehow endure it.

It’s the only choice I could possibly make.

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Again… and Again and Again

Posted in Current Events, Opinion, tagged , on June 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Orlando Mass Shooting ScreenshotYet another mass killing right here in the the good US of A, this time in Orlando.  50 dead and another 53 wounded, many in critical condition.

It raises all kinds of emotions.  Sadness and sorrow for the families of the people killed and wounded.  Anger at the senselessness of it all.  Fear and dismay that this record for carnage will fall all too soon. Frustration that instead of finding unity and a coming together as a nation  in the wake of such an event we choose to become even more divided and vulnerable.

And simply numb because this happens again and again and again.

And this will  not end soon.  Not while we remain a country that can’t find common ground on which to build,  one that assails those who have a different point of view, one that refuses to compromise and sacrifice individually in any way for the betterment of the whole.

We have become a niched and insular country.  We can live our entire lives within our own little circle without overlapping our adjoining community or country in any way which is the antithesis to our development as a nation.  We were built on community and until we can find that form again in this modern society we will struggle and foster this continued insanity.

Again and again and again.

How do we do this?  I do not know.  But I do know that it is not something that we can overcome by through fear and rancor or by arming ourselves and building walls.  It requires vision and optimism and setting a common goal while setting aside greed and selfishness.

Is it possible?

I can only hope.  But it might be our only chance…

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Engage Nepal– Final Week!

Posted in Current Events, tagged , , , , on May 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Soarway Poster -Engage NepalI don’t want to take much of your time on this holiday but I do want to remind you that there is one week left  to donate (and, yes, possibly win!) to the Soarway Foundation and their efforts to assist Nepal in recovering from last year’s big earthquake.

Part of this also aids in helping Nepal  build up its preparedness for future earthquakes, which was the Soarway Foundation’s original mission.  You see, this organization was founded by Michael Kobold  ( watchmaker, filmmaker, author and explorer -check out his extraordinary life here) only weeks before the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit last April.  Nepal sits on two shifting tectonic plates and has been in the cross-hairs for a huge earthquake for many years.  And undoubtedly many more.

Scott DeLisi, from his years as the US Ambassador to Nepal, knew that the country was in extreme danger from such an event and did not have the resources to react  in time of need.  He signed on as the head of Soarway with the hope of reinforcing its weak disaster response infrastructure.  This is a country that only had 24 firetrucks to cover a huge area of extremely rugged land.

The Kathmandu Valley only had one firetruck serving it.  One of the first projects of the Soarway Foundation was an expedition delivering several firetrucks to Nepal.

That isn’t as easy as it sounds.  The trucks must be driven through high and rough Himalayan roads in order to find their home in Nepal.  It’s this same remote ruggedness that make any rescue and recovery there such a hard business.

But the mission for preparedness became one of recovery as the earthquake hit in late April of 2015.  The Soarway Foundation realized there was so much devastation that no one group could rebuild the hundreds of thousands of homes or the thousands of schools destroyed.  They understood that the most effective manner of bringing aid was in partnering with local groups who knew the terrain and the immediate needs of the local people.  This has led them to their partnerships with groups that battle human trafficking, that try to find family homes for the huge number of orphans and that try to rebuild permanent housing for the tens of thousands still living in tents.

You could win this painting valued at $5000!

You could win this painting valued at $5000!

There’s a huge need in Nepal and this is but a small step in helping that country.  I don’t have the resources to help in a very large way but I thought that maybe we could raise some much needed money through an event where many small donations could grow into something more.  So, using the only asset at my disposal, my work, I put up a larger painting so that those donating could possibly win by donating.  Plus, they get a signed poster and their donation is tax deductible.

Have a good Memorial Day and please consider reaching out and giving a hand to those who really need it.
https://www.crowdrise.com/artists-engaging-nepal
 

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Win This Painting! – Artists Engaging Nepal

Posted in Current Events, tagged , , on May 24, 2016| Leave a Comment »

GC Myers- Enraptured sm a

Help Nepal and Win This Painting!

This time it’s for real!  All the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted and the site is ready to go after a premature launch this past weekend.

I’m talking about the Soarway Foundation and the initial event in their Artists Engaging Nepal  campaign to raise funds that will provide vital assistance to the people of Nepal who are still struggling in the aftermath of last year’s devastating earthquakes.  There will be a number of events to follow involving online auctions, raffles and gallery galas that will feature artwork from artists in Nepal, Uganda and North America but  this is the first one out of the gate.

And I think it’s a pretty darn good way to kick things off.

We are giving away the piece of mine shown above, Enraptured, a 30″ by 40″ painting on canvas valued at $5000, to a donor who will be selected at the conclusion of this promotion, which ends June 6 at 11:59:59 AM EST.

A donation of $25 earns one (1) entry into the drawing for this painting, $50 earns two (2) entries and $100 earns five (5) chances to win.  And to give you a little more incentive to reach out, each donor of $25 or more will receive a signed commemorative poster like the one shown at the bottom.  To donate and enter, click here.

Please take a moment to consider helping the Soarway Foundation help the people of Nepal.  I outlined many of vital things they are doing in my earlier post and I can vouch that their mission, spearheaded by former US Ambassador to Nepal Scott DeLisi and his wife, Leija,  is one that is based on true compassion and love for the people of Nepal.  Anything you can spare will be of great help in this effort.

So, you have less than two weeks to act on this.  And you will most likely have a pretty good chance  of winning as the odds are based on the number of entries we receive.  And even if you can’t donate, please pass this on to your friends and family.  We want as much as exposure and awareness for this mission as we can muster.

You can get more info, donate and enter by clicking here.

 

Soarway Poster -Engage Nepal

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Engage Nepal

Posted in Current Events, Favorite Things, tagged , , , on May 21, 2016| 6 Comments »

Soarway Poster -Engage NepalIt’s been a year since massive earthquakes rocked the country of Nepal in April and May of 2015.  It brought extreme devastation to this peaceful and isolated nation high in the Himalayan Mountains, destroying huge numbers of homes, much of the infrastructure and leaving thousands of its citizens struggling to get by as the mountain tourism that sustained it ground to a halt.  The country’s isolated and rugged mountain location made all support efforts even more difficult than your typical disaster response.  It also made Nepal’s suffering easy to forget– out of sight, out of mind.

In the past year, very little has been done to restore Nepal and it’s misery continues.  Many of its citizens continue to live in tents, the same ones that sheltered them from the last harsh Himalayan winter.  Kids were especially hit hard.  There is a huge number of orphaned children who are at risk of being placed institutionally– which is not a pretty sight in the context of a poor nation such as Nepal.  Many. many schools were destroyed and have yet to be rebuilt or replaced, leaving these same children without a continuing education.

Human trafficking has reared its ugly head here as well.  Many young women in devastated areas are lured with the promise of high wages for domestic work outside the country.  Once there, they find themselves held captive, often as sexual slaves.  But many feel they have no other option as the tourism supported by expeditions to the mountains have been very, very slow in coming back leaving many in Nepal without incomes and in dire poverty.  It’s a terrible scenario to even consider.

I have become involved with the Soarway Foundation which was formed this past year by former US Ambassador to Nepal Scott DeLisi and his wife, Leija. Their goal is to raise awareness and funds that will get quickly into the hands of people and organizations that can have an immediate impact.

They are partnering with a number of local groups, one that is aiming to provide over a thousand transitional homes before this next winter as well as rebuild schools in the hardest hit areas.  They are working with Maiti Nepal, an organization founded and led by Anuradha Koirala, the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year, that actively fights against human trafficking in Nepal.  They are working with groups that aim to place orphaned children with extended families instead of the underwhelming institutional orphanages of Nepal.

This has become a labor of love for Scott and Leija.  It would have been easy for them to shift into an easy retirement after Scott’s lifetime of service with the foreign service, most recently as our ambassador to Nepal then Uganda.  But their empathy and concern for the people of Nepal who they came to love during their time there has made this a more than full-time effort for them as they try to help in any way possible.  They are going non-stop in trying to raise funds and schedule events to raise awareness of the need for help in Nepal and engage others in the battle.

They have an upcoming fundraiser in NYC  with Anuradha Koirala to raise funds for Maiti Nepal and have started organizing Wounded Heroes Treks which consists of wounded military vets visiting and climbing the Himalayan Mountains in an effort to kickstart the lagging economy. They also have organized artists from both Nepal and Uganda and here in the USA in an effort consisting of online auctions, gallery galas and the thing I am here today to put forward.

I am partnering with them on an effort called Engage Nepal.   It is a fundraising effort that will hopefully provide sufficient funds to make a difference in Nepal’s recovery.  I am asking you to visit their page at the fundraising site Crowdrise and donate today.  But for your efforts, we wish to reward you in some small way.  For every donation of $25 and above, you will receive a signed poster like the one shown at the top of this blog.  The painting used was chosen because the whorls in the sky remind me of the Buddhist prayer flags one might see throughout Nepal.

And there’s more: A donation enters you in a drawing to win the painting shown below, Enraptured.  It is a large painting, 30″ by 40″ on canvas whose intertwined trees represent for me the strength of combined efforts in weathering the storms of this world.  It is valued at $5000.  For a $25 donation you get one entry into the drawing + a poster, for $50 you get two entries+ a poster and for $100 you get five (5)  entries + a poster.

This effort was scheduled to kick off tomorrow but it has opened this morning so you can be one of the very first to check it out  now by clicking here.  This event with the drawing and poster is scheduled to end in approximately two weeks so please take a moment to look and act.  Give if you can and if not, please share this with your friends.  We are seeking to raise as much awareness as possible.  Thank you for taking the time to read this.

GC Myers-Enraptured - Engage Nepal

 

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Schedule for 2016

Posted in Current Events, tagged , , on April 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

DSCN1667 sm 2Here are the dates for my scheduled events for the upcoming year:

JUNE 3–   Opening reception for Part of the Pattern at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA .  This is my 17th solo show here and there will be a preview in the June issue of American Art Collector.

JULY 22–  Opening reception for Contact at the West End Gallery in Corning, NY.  This is my 14th solo show at the gallery wher I began my career.

AUGUST 6–  Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery in Corning.

SEPTEMBER 17–  Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria.  This marks the 14th consecutive year I have been doing gallery talks for both the Principle Gallery and the West End Gallery.  Always a good time with a few surprises thrown into the mix.

SEPTEMBER 23 & 23–  Two day Workshop, Puddle Splashing, at the in Penn Yan, NY, at the Arts Center of Yates County. This year’s workshop will take place at their Sunny Point studio, located on the shore of beautiful Keuka Lake.

OCTOBER 22–  Solo Show, not yet titled, at the Kada Gallery in Erie , PA. I’ve been showing at the Kada for 20 years and this is my 8th solo show there.

We are also still trying to put together an event at the Just Looking Gallery in San Luis Obispo, CA for late in the year. Stay tuned.  Hope to see you at one of these events this year!!

 

 

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