Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Blind Willie Johnson’

The New Revelator

Posted in Music, Painting, Recent Paintings, Video, tagged , , , , , on September 5, 2013| 2 Comments »

GC Myers-The New Revelator smI usually take a small group of new work with me for the Gallery Talk I give each September at the Principle Gallery, which takes place this Saturday at the Alexandria gallery.  It’s nice to have a few new pieces to illustrate some of the points I am trying to make during the talk.  This is one of the new paintings that will be going with me, The New Revelator, a 16″ by 34″ piece on paper.

I’ve been finishing this piece over the last few days and it has underwent a dramatic transformation during the last stages, one that took it from a piece that was struggling to find its identity to one that has what I feel is a powerful presence.  When I look at it I see the bands in the field that run towards the center as being not only a crop but as a representation of some sort of communal knowledge or power that runs through our world, unseen.  The Red Tree stands at the center, joining this gathering knowledge with the greater power of the universe  that I see represented here by the open horizon behind it.  There is an ethereal quality in the descending hills, one that gives a feeling of movement through time especially when coupled with the breaking sky.  The Red Tree is the new revelator here, exposing the hidden powers of the universe to those who want to see.

That might seem a bit of a stretch for some, as far as what they see in this painting.  Again, I remind you that this is only what I see here, what this painting holds for me in an emotional sense.  You might see it as simply a landscape with interesting forms and colors.  That is good enough.  Or you may not like it all which, too, is okay.  Whatever the case, the painting stands as it  now, hopefully revealing something for you.

The New Revelator will be at the Principle Gallery this Saturday.  My Gallery Talk there starts at 1 PM and I will be in the gallery before and after if you would like to stop in and say hello.

For now, here’s an interesting version of the great old Blind Willie Johnson song, John the Revelator, from Nick Cave, who always seems to have a unique take on most things.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Soul of a Man

Posted in Music, Photography, Video, tagged , , , , , , on April 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

Frank Hurley- Endurance in the Antarctic- Ghost Ship 1915I came across these photos from the great Frank Hurley when he was part of the fabled Shackleton Expedition (Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1917) that tried to cross Antarctica but was trapped  en route in a huge moving ice floe that ultimately crushed and sank their ship, the Endurance.  They  drifted for months and months on ice floes and were in lifeboats in the frigid sea for several days until finally making landfall, nearly 500 days since their voyage began.  This photo shows the Endurance as it is held in the clutches of the Antarctic ice at night.  It’s ghostly image really caught my eye and made me wonder how the members of the expedition might have felt, trapped in a most inhospitable place so far from anyone without any form of communication as you watch your only means of escape slowly be crushed.  

What makes man push to those extremes?

Frank Hurley- Endurance in the Antarctic Night 1915Part of me admires them mightily and makes me wonder if I have ever possessed anything near that drive.  It certainly doesn’t feel like it as I live my relatively safe and comfortable life.  In fact, most of us spend our lives striving to avoid ever being put in harm’s way.  But what drives these others?

I certainly don’t know.  As I said, their exploits fascinate me.  Their actions, which on the surface seem foolhardy for even being considered, take on heroic perspective over time and I suppose that explains my admiration.  I think we all like an epic, almost mythic,  journey.  But I still find myself wishing that I could really get a sense of what they truly felt as they stood in cold silence of the Antarctic night and looked at the frozen bones of their ship.

Perhaps that is just part of the soul of a man.  Here’s a great version of the old Blind Willie Johnson song, Soul of a Man, from David Lindley and Harry Manx.  Great playing on this cut.

Frank Hurley Endurance in the ice 1915 

 

 

Read Full Post »