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Archive for the ‘Favorite Things’ Category

Yawp

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , on October 31, 2008| Leave a Comment »

 Well, it’s here:  the final weekend before the Presidential election on Tuesday. I wait, like many, with a mix of eagerness to move ahead in a new direction and with the fear of having hopes crushed.  There’s a feeling that this may be a pivotal moment in our history, that this may be a decision that may indeed, unlike other such elections, affect our day to day lives for years to come.  It’s at times like this that I always come back to the words of Uncle Walt.

Walt Whitman was shaped and defined by his Americanism and the turbulent time in which he lived.  He spoke to the highest ideals that our nation embodies.  His words ring with a universal truth that seem as fresh today as they were over a century ago.  

This is a small bit from Song of Myself  from Leaves of Grass.  When I first read this (so many years ago) it resonated in my mind.  As I evolved into a painter I carried the sense of these few words with me and often when I look at some of my work, I can see those words in the work.  

 

 I too am not a bit tamed,

I too am untranslatable,

   I sound my barbaric yawp

     over the roofs of the world.

 

As always, thanks, Uncle Walt.

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Hooker

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , on October 30, 2008| 2 Comments »

I remember coming across an old John Lee Hooker album at a used record shop on Market Street in Corning, NY in the 1970’s.  It was a beaten piece of vinyl titled Folk Blues.  I was just a kid and had no idea who John Lee Hooker was but the album cover had a certain gritty, real feel to it and besides, it was only a buck.

It was from the early 50’s, scratched and worn,  and I remember the pops and crackles when I first put down the needle.  Didn’t sound hopeful but when his guitar and rhythm section kicked in on songs like Bad Boy and Rock House Boogie it was pure magic.  It was simple, direct and raw. The guitar sound was like downed power lines arcing in a storm.

I was hooked by Hooker.

To the casual listener, Hooker’s music could seem repetitive and narrowly focused but to me that was the genius of it.  His reexaminations of certain grooves revealed nuance and subtlety that could be easily lost in the distraction of an insanely hypnotic rhythm.

I view my work at times like Hooker’s music.  There is sometimes repetition of form, of compositional elements but that is by design.  Because I am working in a defined form it allows me to spend more creative effort on nuance– texture, color subtlety and quality of line.  The result is a piece that fits easily into the body of my work but has its own feel, its own life.  Its own groove.

As John Lee would say, boogie, chillen…

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What a Time It Is

Posted in Favorite Things, Influences, tagged , on October 9, 2008| Leave a Comment »

 What a world…

Stock markets crashing, bitter vitriol and the worst part of our American soul comes forward in ignorance and intolerance.  My blood pressure rises and I need to be reminded of the common bonds and ideals that trump hatred and anger and make us proud to call America our home.  Help me out, Uncle Walt…

 

America

 

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair'd in the adamant of Time.
           ---- Walt Whitman

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A Dark Planet

Posted in Favorite Things, tagged on October 2, 2008| 1 Comment »

Yesterday, I heard from writer David Terrenoire who writes a blog, A Dark Planet, the only one that I read on a regular basis.  It’s smart, irreverent with a hard edge,  and timely and I encourage anyone, especially those with any fondness at all for noir fiction or film to check it out.  I often find myself laughing out loud (sorry, no emoticons here.)   How can you not like a guy who lists The Big Lebowski as his favorite film?   The Dude abides…

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