More changes coming…
I watched the PBS documentary about the artist Emile Norman tonight… and I was so impressed I’m hard-pressed for words at the moment.
I was so pleased to see how this artist and his partner Brooks Clement made a life together in Big Sur during a time in American history when minorities were often treated deplorably. And clearly, being gay was one of the worst minorities one could be. They defied the prevailing winds and somehow between the two of them they managed to create an artistic dream there in those marvelous hills overlooking the ocean.
Before seeing this documentary I had heard of Emile Norman— somewhere, but I wasn’t sure from where. Maybe it’s just that I had tread some of the same ground, anywhere from the Masonic Temple in San Francisco to the Big Sur beaches and mountains. Or maybe it was Carmel, or who knows? I know I had heard of him, but as usual after learning more I came to know how tremendously much I did NOT know.
As an artist-in-training, as I generally consider myself, I so connected with one particular aspect of the story of Emile Norman that seemed worth pondering on my own to a greater extent. This was the seemingly endless inspiration Emile derived from his natural surroundings, whether in Big Sur or in Africa or in Italy or wherever. But specifically, I found myself thinking about my own regular sorties out into the natural world here in northern California. I, too, have seen so many inspiring moments. I’ve seen so many materials in nature that draw me in with their magical properties and structural complexities… with their magnificent simplicity too. And yet it’s only been stones that I’ve picked up (and maybe a few shells) from some particular moments on these outlying adventures. It crossed my mind just tonight how in the field of visual art I’ve kept far too limited of a palate. These materials are all around me and, just as Emile saw them this way, their properties carry their powers of beauty and inspiration in a broad spectrum of applications whether kept in their original state or not. Their properties remain whether they are in the sawdust, or in the crushed glass, or in the brilliant varieties of wood and other materials that surround us every day.
I found it exciting and inspiring to think about that. The powers of these ingredients are such a significant component, and I cannot deny that I feel as though they are illuminated to me at this very moment in a renewed way.
And as one who persistently ignores the television since it so often sucks so freakin’ massively, I found once again something spectacular on PBS. Once again it really was enriching. And obviously, I felt it was worth tapping out a few lines about that. 
Hope you get a chance to check out the artwork of Emile Norman, and I hope you have the luxury of taking time to dig into this artist’s life a little deeper than usual.
Hopefully Brooks found Emile “a spot in the art department” in heaven.
Stephen Wiltshire was mute when he was diagnosed with severe autism at the age of three. He began communicating through his drawings after being sent to Queensmill School in London, and with the support of his special-needs teachers, gradually learned to speak.
It was during those school years that they discovered Stephen’s special talent, when he drew the ornate Albert Hall following a class field trip — without the aid of a photograph. Wiltshire has the uncanny ability to draw and paint detailed landscapes and cityscapes entirely from memory.
Another tremendous Mental Health Break from Andrew Sullivan:
Another Cloud Reel… from Delrious on Vimeo.
Significant exhibition of Robert Frank photography opening at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Tuesday. See here for the Daily Beast article where the word came my way.
Please view this amazing art performance first…
According to comments on YouTube, in Russian this Ukrainian artist wrote “You are always nearby” (such as, in our hearts) at the end.
I was treated to this by taking a look at Andrew Sullivan’s Blog, The Daily Dish on Thursday. And while viewing it I found myself both captivated by the transitions and use of positive and negative space in drawing, and also touched by this perspective on the true costs borne by armed conflict. In a week when we saw the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee it seems quite appropriate to acknowledge the tears in the eyes of those who have known these losses. And while Laura and Euna have been spared the worst that conflicts generate, there are countless others who remain subject to a complete dearth of such hopes. And there are countless others who have endured the pernicious consequences throughout history of what megalomaniacs in parliamentary chambers and regal palaces alike have wrought upon those who always seemingly owned the least materially, but who share a common humanity with ALL BUT those megalomaniacs.
In this coming month it is being reported that we citizens of the U.S. will be the target of a massive campaign both for and against healthcare reform so that whatever opportunities there may be to sway the tide during the August recess of Congress will be fully exploited. Many, many millions of dollars will be spent on these attempts to sway the argument one way or the other; many millions that will not be spent on healing those who need healing, and spent by the same “civilized society” that somehow concludes that it’s better to spend $1 trillion bombing and firing weapons upon another society than it is to spend that $1 trillion on education, healthcare, and infrastructure improvements around the world instead.
My hope for this blog post is for anyone who reads it to consider the concept of common humanity, not just with those of similar tribal colors as yours or with similar material wealth as yours, but with the red blood that we share around the world. My hope with this post is that an alternative perspective is considered to the barrage of propaganda that is pointed at you right now, just waiting in the wings for its chance to find its way into your field of perception. Consider how the identities of those who fund the propaganda will most likely be concealed as the names of foundations and political action committees. (For some good examples see here.) Please consider the source; and consider the source of the source. The veils will be thick, and the truth will be well-hidden. And please consider your own ideology and its source as you listen to what others have to say both for and against this reform.
I once heard a biblical scholar describe a concept that I often think of, and it seems appropriate to mention now. He said when God asked Cain about Abel’s whereabouts and Cain’s reply was “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, how the scholar believed the message was intended to be interpreted— especially considering the characters these brothers represented— was fairly simple. He said that God’s message was that if you truly ARE your brother’s keeper, YOU are the crown of creation.
I believe it is our common humanity that will impel us to help an injured person on the street if we come upon one. I also believe it is denying our common humanity for us to ignore that injured person on the street. So it’s my hope, through some miracle of common humanity, that we as a people can find a way to impart our grand knowledge and expertise in the health sciences HERE in THE UNITED STATES to those who always seemingly have owned the least materially, but who share a common humanity with ALL BUT the baneful megalomaniacs whose burdens of conquest their families have borne for centuries.
Wishful thinking, I know, that our generation could somehow be different from centuries of past generations. But I still do pray for that. And I firmly believe that our “civilized society” will become more civilized if this change in our moral fabric is embraced.
That’s where I stand folks. I stand for a far more civilized society than we see in our nation today.
Let this affirmation be our ringing cry. It will give us the courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
—Martin Luther King, Atlanta, August 16, 1967 Source
I’m clearly obliged to make a comment or two on the wonders of visual art; how it can give our eyes a fun ride sometimes for no particular reason at all, and how sometimes it can provide us with so much more than just fun as well. But for now, I want to take a few moments to engage the fun side of how our eyes and brains correspond to interpret what we see. And so this video below, I must admit, while I like it as much for the music as any of the images (it’s a toe-tapper, I gotta say), the visuals are pretty neat and are definitely playing tricks on the eyes.
If you’re a little dazzled and dizzy from that video it means you must have really given it a go. So thanks for giving it a chance. Now the next one has a friendly face giving a little guidance through the optical illusions. And frankly, I just found these examples to be pretty neat. I love the comment that ”A wonderful brain interprets something different than it actually is. But it doesn’t mean it’s made a mistake. It took the information it had, and it did its best job.” Sounds familiar in so many ways. This one is pretty short, so to get the best effect please be sure to pop it open to the full screen. (If you’re not familiar with YouTube clips, you can expand the screen visual by clicking the little television screen-shaped box in the bottom right of the screen. After it’s opened, any time you can click the “X” in the bottom right of the large screen to reduce it back down if you’d like.)
In art history, and in French, we call this Trompe l’oeil: literally translated as “trick the eye”. (Hear it pronounced in French here.) And it’s a technique that’s been used for centuries by artists to dazzle the viewers of their images. Now that we have so many tricks and special effects in film we are probably a little less impressed these days when the concept of optical illusion is brought up. But it’s a pugnacious little evasion of our senses, and generations of humans have enjoyed the magic that’s no less startling now when the eye is “tricked” than it was hundreds of years ago. The artist’s comedy is easy to sense in these oldies but goodies.
Escaping Criticism, 1874, by Pere Borrell del Caso
And this one:
Marquetry from the choir-stalls of Fra Giovanni da Verona, 1494-1499
Image copyrights here.
And some great contemporary photographs of a tented building in Paris can be seen here showing some of the funny scenes such images bring to the streets. So, clearly this is a part of the history of art that I find quite intriguing and it seemed appropriate for my own first commentary on visual art in this journal. I love letting my eyes ride the waves of light radiating from works of visual art. I love how our brain tries to interpret some of the things we see but yet may not be able to register for us what is really there. It suggests ever so clearly how mystery and wonder continue to surround our visual field. It’s the fun part of art and art history, for sure. And I hope it never stops keeping me dazzled as much as ever. So if you’re up for one last ride, please let this video below fully load, then open up the full screen and enjoy some of the images this YouTube poster put together for our eyes’ pleasure. It runs about nine minutes, and it’s a feast. Thanks for hanging out… and enjoy!
And lastly, if you’ve gone this far with this post on the visual treats, keep your eyes pealed for a new post for you lovers of art, visual magic, and science focused on the topic of Benoit Mandelbrot’s theories and book The Fractal Geometry of Nature. This subject is really amazing!