happy halloween

As usually I am glued to the art table alone...

sometimes I read the dumb crap I write and wonder who wrote it.

regardless...

happy halloween and for all those dressed up and having fun...I say this--BAH

hoi polloi, oh boy

Germany has two swine flu vaccines--one for the Shepard and one for the sheep... if you get "the sheep jab" and start drooling like the smelly kid who used to sit in the back of your sixth grade class---don't email me for help..I told you not to take take and I am just a dumb artist, not a medical practitioner. Then again, If I let them shoot me up with that crap maybe my mind would slow down and I would be happy and take pet photos But for now I am happy painting art from my gut and ranting against the crap and lies they are trying to sell the sheep. Art is a hard game but living a lie is a harder game.

please read the article snippet below...



Critics are calling it a two-tier health system — one for the politically well connected, another for the hoi polloi. As Germany launched its mass-vaccination program against the H1N1 flu virus on Monday, the government found itself fending off accusations of favoritism because it was offering one vaccine believed to have fewer side effects to civil servants, politicians and soldiers, and another, potentially riskier vaccine to everyone else. The government had hoped that Germans would rush to health clinics to receive vaccinations against the rapidly spreading disease, but now rising anger over the different drugs may cause many people to shy away.

blinded by science

I sometimes wish I was a scientist. I am so in love with science and biology that I cant put it to words. The only reason I avoided science was that I cant do math (except for geometry.) I would almost rather have a microscope than an easel. As a child I saw microbes swimming under a microscope and it changed me to this day and in high school I scored a 97 on my bio regents but I failed every math class I ever took. I often think that art and poetry and music is like the "science of the soul" but art is "squishy" and subjective and science is quantifiable. Science is a mainline look into the mind of god and art is (generally) a lame attempt to look into god's soul. The soul and the mind are like the sun and the moon (very different orbs). I would like to know both--- but I cant. I know people who dont even know themselves (much less the world around them) and that is sadder than anything in this world. I am not even sure why people buy my art--that confuses me but if I sold a scientific solution or invention that solves an actual problem I would understand why people buy that--- Life is the heart and mind divided, summed up succinctly below by lyrics and (ahem) art...


When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began
The gods of love and reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of man

They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
The people were divided
Every soul a battlefield

[II. Apollo / Dionysus]

[Apollo: Bringer Of Wisdom]
'I bring truth and understanding
I bring wit and wisdom fair
Precious gifts beyond compare
We can build a world of wonder
I can make you all aware
I will find you food and shelter
Show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm
You can live in grace and comfort
In the world that you transform'

The people were delighted
Coming forth to claim their prize
They ran to build their cities
And converse among the wise
But one day the streets fell silent
Yet they knew not what was wrong
The urge to build these fine things
Seemed not to be so strong
The wise men were consulted
And the Bridge of Death was crossed
In quest of Dionysus
To find out what they had lost

[Dionysus: Bringer Of Love]
'I bring love to give you solace
In the darkness of the night
In the Heart's eternal light
You need only trust your feelings
Only love can steer you right
I bring laughter, I bring music
I bring joy and I bring tears
I will soothe your primal fears
Throw off those chains of reason
And your prison disappears'

The cities were abandoned
And the forests echoed song
They danced and lived as brothers
They knew love could not be wrong
Food and wine they had aplenty
And they slept beneath the stars
The people were contented
And the gods watched from afar
But the winter fell upon them
And it caught them unprepared
Bringing wolves and cold starvation
And the hearts of men despaired

[III. Armageddon: The Battle Of Heart and Mind]

The universe divided
As the heart and mind collided
With the people left unguided
For so many troubled years
In a cloud of doubts and fears
Their world was torn asunder into hollow
Hemispheres

Some fought themselves, some fought each other
Most just followed one another
Lost and aimless like their brothers
For their hearts were so unclear
And the truth could not appear
Their spirits were divided into blinded
Hemispheres

Some who did not fight
Brought tales of old to light
'My Rocinante sailed by night
On her final flight'
To the heart of Cygnus' fearsome force
We set our course
Spiralled through that timeless space
To this immortal place

[IV. Cygnus: Bringer Of Balance]

I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn
I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the city of Immortals
Marble white and purest gold...

I see the gods in battle rage on high...
Thunderbolts across the sky...
I cannot move, I cannot hide...
I feel a silent scream begin inside...

Then all at once the chaos ceased
A stillness fell, a sudden peace
The warriors felt my silent cry
And stayed their struggle, mystified

Apollo was atonished
Dionysus thought me mad
But they heard my story further
And they wondered, and were sad

Looking down from Olympus
On a world of doubt and fear
Its surface splintered
Into sorry Hemispheres

They sat a while in silence
Then they turned at last to me
'We will call you Cygnus
The god of Balance you shall be'

[V. The Sphere: A Kind Of Dream]

We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim
Let the truth of love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the heart and mind united in a single
Perfect
Sphere

I may need valium

I didnt like bush because if he didnt have a rich daddy he wasnt fit bag your groceries and figure out that the bread should not go under the 32 ounce jar of mayo--- I also cant stand this lady. She lives in marshmallow land and is so drunk on either pills or power that she left the earth about 15 years ago. Just watching her makes my blood pressure rise. People drunk on power make me ill in the old tummy. You are supposed to be for the down and out and the poor and you put bids in for bigger private jets and live a life so elite that the avg. slob couldnt match your carbon foot print if they gathered 300 of their slob friends together and kept their lights on 24/ 7 for 34 years. . I dont like to rant and I can swallow a lot of things but hypocrisy makes me wretch in a deep place. You cant get upset about things you cant control but I can damn sure point in the direction of what I smell as foul.

the scariest thing I have ever seen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNHeV-9dPCs&feature=player_embedded

If you inject your children with the poison vaccines I cant help you. Drink your fluoride and take pet photos. Demean yourself. I cant even comment on peoples idiocy anymore. Once we had Raphael and now we have modern art, pet photography and poison vaccines..go get your shots. Lucky my DNA doesnt have Q-U-I-T genes in it. My DNA is a gnomic spiral of "dont be stupid"

new work

I "souled" this today. I find it interesting that soul and sold are very closely related. My lost souls painting are very painful and personal and I never expected to sell a single one. I have probably sold ten of them to date. Sometimes I look at these pictures and think they make no sense and are way out of "scope" other times I think they are brilliant and I should paint more. Great art should have that feeling. It should be something you cannot put your finger on and that leave more questions than answers. Answers suck. Give me questions...

spider john

Ballad of spider john
By: willis a. ramsey
1974

spider john is my name friend
I'm in between freights and I sure would be obliged
If you'd share your company

I know this may sound strange to you
But if you wait till the song is sung and the story is told
You might come to understand
Oh, I'm old and bent and devil sent, runnin' out of time
When I long ago held a royal flush in my hand

Chorus:
Oh, I was a supermarket fool
I was a motor bank stool-pidgeon, robbin' my hometown
I thought I lost my blues, yes I thought I paid my dues
I thought I'd found a life to suit my style
But here I sit old spider john the robber-man
Long, tall, and handsome
Yes, old spider john with a loaded hand, takin' ransom

Then one day I met diamond lill
She was the sweetest thing, I declare
That the summer breeze had ever blown my way
But lilly she had no idea, of my illustrious occupation
She thought I was a saint, not a sinner, gone astray
But you see that the word got around and lilly left town
Never saw her again
Tossin' and turnin', 'causin' my heart to grieve

Chorus:
Oh, I was a supermarket fool
I was a motor bank stool-pidgeon, robbin' my hometown
I thought I lost my blues, yes I thought I paid my dues
I thought I'd found a life to suit my style
But here I sit old spider john the robber-man
Long, tall, and handsome
Yes, old spider john with a loaded hand, takin' ransom

That is all my story
It's been these thirty years since I took to the road
To find my precious jewel one
And if you see my lilly, won't you give her my regards
Tell her ole spider got tangled in the black web that he spun
You can tell her ole spider got tangled the black web that he spun

I like words

I like words when they fit together right. They create something beyond themselves. Jimmy buffet wrote these words in 1974 and I like em.

Squalls out on the gulf stream
Big storm's comin' soon
I passed out in my hammock
And God I slept 'til way past noon
Stood up and tried to focus
I hoped I wouldn't have to look far
I knew I could use a Bloody Mary
So I stumbled next door to the bar


And now I must confess, I could use some rest
I can't run at this pace very long
Yes it's quite insane, I think it hurts my brain
But it cleans me out and then I can go on

There's somethin' about this Sunday
It's a most peculiar gray
Strollin' down the avenue that's known as A1A
Feelin' tired, then I got inspired
I knew that it wouldn't last long
So all alone I walked back home
Sat on my beach and then I made up this song


And now I must confess, I could use some rest
I can't run at this pace very long
Yes it's quite insane, I think it hurts my brain
But then it cleans me out and then I can go on

Well the wind is blowin' harder now
Fifty knots or thereabouts
There's white caps on the ocean
And I'm watchin' for waterspouts
It's time to close the shutters
It's time to go inside
In a week I'll be in gay Paris
That's a mighty long airplane ride

And now I must confess, I could use some rest
I can't run at this pace very long
Yes it's quite insane, I think it hurts my brain
But it cleans me out and then I can go on

Yes it cleans me out and then I can go on

alex on capitalism

look at all the results of evil american capitalism:

the lightbulb, the aero-plane, the computer, the auto..the list goes on for miles

Artists are competitive animals. Show me an artist who isn't cut throat competitive and I will show you and artist who works in home depot. I paint for myself and not for mankind. I am just very honest about it,. When I was younger I worked for a lot of communist/socialist artists as assistant etc. it was funny how quickly they turned into nazi's once they were your boss. There was no kumbaya there, bubby. My nature does not allow me to be a hypocrite, I am hard wired against it. There is no "do as I say, not as I do" in alex land. When I had employees I would pay them to blow off the day and drink with me when I wasnt in the mood to paint. I come from the Ayn Rand school of thought about art and life. every song ever written and every great painting was painted by a guy or gal sitting in a room trying to better his or her OWN lot. I dont think the messiah bono from u2 has a lot of homeless people living in the extra houses on his property but he sure doesnt mind belting out tunes about such things. As neil peart once said---"I have no heart to lie."

Delivered my art to Raos last night it was a smash hit and now so is my head. There is no time to whine as I have to get back on horse and bang out more work for sunday deadlines. I need a vacation so bad I cant even remember what it is like to sit and do nothing in a strange city. There is no rest for me and there is scarcely a day off in the year. Today I will stumble for a red bull and a nypost limp myself into studio and paint a painting I dont want to paint or even know how to begin. Somehow I always "get em done" for warm sand and beaches my tired soul reaches...




"And now I must confess, I could use some rest
I can't run at this pace very long
Yes it's quite insane, I think it hurts my brain
But it cleans me out and then I can go on"

JB

Note to self:

tonight: deliver Raos painting

Friday: deliver lost souls to Harvest.

Saturday: Finish top secret painting for sunday deliv.

it seems to be a restaurant triple header for me this week. Not sure how that happened.

the best hooks for hanging art

http://www.ooks.com/

I only use ook hooks....they are the best and dont damage walls

swine flu

As of oct. 27th the prez has not given his daughters the flu jab. Obama said it wasnt available to them yet--you are prez, it is available. I cant stand hypocrisy on the left or the right. Get the sheep loaded up with their mercury shots and keep the ivory towers free and clean of such nonsense. Tell people they need to be healthier and chain smoke. I called bush on his bologna and I will do the same with this prez. Doctors take a hypocratic oath and politicians a hypocritic oath. I should focus more on art but art is hard work..ranting is easy and it makes you feel good..

I saw a guy hosing down the sidewalk in the pouring rain yesterday. There are are many mysteries in this world and I am okay with most of them. I dont understand astrophysics and I dont need to know what pills nancy pelosi is on. I can sit well with the mysteries of life. I do not understand why some people stop in doorways and look lost so you have to wait for them to untie the gordion knot of confusion in their own head. And then when you go to the cash machine the person in front of you is all done but they stand there all fogged and glazed waiting for things unknown. It is not a slot machine , coins will not roll out, you are done you have receipt--you can go now.

there are more things between heaven and hell than are dreamt of in your philosophy, horatio....

acclimation

If you follow the news media and you are a media junkie ( like myself) you start to notice trends. I am noticing a big trend towards convincing people not to eat meat. Today on CNN there is a big article about eating animals and how it is making us sick. I see articles like this regularly, now. I notice that eventually these articles lead up to something over time (usually over years) such as the total ban on eating meat, The adoption of the nanny state or the installation of state controlled thermostats into your home via smart grid technology (its already here.) The trick is to get you acclimated using the media gradually and over time so when the hammer is lowered it is barely noticed. This is acclimation. It is propaganda and on some levels and (dare I say it) psychological warfare on many levels. If you dont eat meat that is fine. The "state" telling me not to eat meat is not fine. Eventually we as humans will be given a number by the govt. this will be our "carbon footprint number" and just as in Norway peoples income is public knowledge---Your carbon footprint will be public knowledge. Carbon footprint is a bunch of nonsense anyways as it is just another way to keep people in control and tax people. I am a fan of meat and I will continue to be a meat eater regardless of what the nanny state tells me.

Mike Ditka - "If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn't have given us arms."

chimp funeral

This may be the best photo I have ever seen. A bunch of chimps have gathered to watch the funeral of one of their friends. No one can tell me chimps dont have souls and complex emotions. I am not an animal rights tree hugging type but we shoud use monkeys in lab tests, they are too smart. We should use really stupid people...maybe some frat boy types from new jersey--that is humor and this is a sad picture.

gardega on bonuses

Here is my view on bonuses for the big corporate CEOS. If they are going to give a CEO a bonus of say 10 million I have no problem with it. What they should do then is match the 10 million and put it in a fund and use that as a fund to prevent layoffs of the slobs making 50k a year. This way we have win/ win and everyone makes out.

letter from vincent to theo (23 years old)

Dear Theo,

Thanks for the letter I received this morning. There are hours and days and periods in life when God hides His countenance, as it were; but for those who love God those times, those sad times, are not wholly devoid of God, but as if they were full of prophecies for the future and full of voices from the past, “so far the Lord has led you,” “cherish the old faith again.”

If things you had not expected should happen to you, strengthen in yourself the sorrowing for God, and the voice, “Abba, Father.”

It was an autumn day when I stood on the steps before Mr. Provily's school, watching the carriage in which Pa and Mother were driving home. One could see the little yellow carriage far down the road - wet with rain and with spare trees on either side - running through the meadows.

The grey sky above it all was mirrored in the pools.

And about a fortnight later I was standing in the corner of the playground when someone came and told me that a man was there, asking for me; I knew who it was, and a moment later I fell on Father's neck. What I felt then, could not it have been “because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”? It was a moment in which we both felt we had a Father in heaven; for Father too looked upward, and in his heart there was a greater voice than mine, crying, “Abba, Father.”

(Try to send me the page from Michelet.)

[Written in the margin] Do you ever go to Communion? They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

Between that moment and the present there lie years of exile. - There is a phrase that accompanies us, and seems to grow up with us - sorrowful yet always rejoicing. There is the prayer for a mother for her children, a prayer which is very powerful, for the prayer of the righteous has great power:

Father, I pray unto Thee not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

There is the faithful hand of the father which blessed us when we left the parental home.

And then, boy, as I told you before, there is a strong craving for the day when He will no longer remember the sins of my youth. Who rejoices in grey hairs? As far as the east is from the west, so far I shall remove your transgressions from you [Ps. 103:12]. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Whoever doth not hate his own life cannot be a disciple of Christ [Luke. 14:20]. Once Pa sent me this:

Zucht tot heiliging
Wie zal voor immer en volkomen ons bevrijden
Van `t lichaam dezer daad gebogen onder `t juk…

[Translation of the whole poem]

CRAVING FOR SANCTITY
Who shall deliver me completely and forever
From the body of this deed; bowed down beneath the yoke,
How long shall I have to fight against myself
Before I can tear this heart away from the service of sin?
I had promised my God that He should be called my God,
That I should follow Him with undivided mind;
I was tried - and my oath was forgotten;
I was tempted - and my foot wavered.
No, not with my own strength shall I learn to conquer -
Confess your weakness, O my soul, and self-deceit, begone!
The Father shall fashion the child's heart;
The Master shall be the guiding spirit of the pupil.
Well then, father! Let Thy love make me capable;
My Master, take my hand, and show me Thy banner.
I stood alone - and fell; now we go together.
I broke down - Thou fightest for me and I am victorious.
Only now do I feel strong, now that I feel I am weak,
Powerless in myself, all-powerful in the Lord!
Let sin tempt, let angry passions churn,
Thou, God in me! strikest down all enemies.
I am sad, but it is a godly grief,
A cloud of night, but edged with the heavenly red of dawn;
I weep, O God! but with joy in my heart;
I bow my head, but, Father, onto thy lap.

Who rejoices in grey hairs? Who can look behind it, like Felix Holt did behind the word failure? Who is there to see when the first years of life, life of youth and adolescence, life of worldly enjoyment and vanity will perforce wither - and they shall, even as the blossom falls from the tree - and vigorous new life shoots up, the life of love unto Christ Who is importunate and of sorrowing that is unrepenting, unto God; how then in our close dependence on God, and in the unmistakable and keen sensation of it, we find more favour in His eyes, which are too pure to see evil, and He can and will entrust His Holy Spirit more safely to our weakness, His Holy Spirit, Which grants life, and urges us to do good works; who rejoices in grey hairs? Who is sorrowful yet always rejoicing, chastised but not slain, to die but lo! we live - oh, who rejoices in falling and rising again, long-suffering and meek? - who rejoices in the green wood of the straight pines and cedars, and ivy and holly and moss in winter? - Withered wood does give more heat, a bright fire and light, when it is kindled, than green wood. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear…”

Vader onder al mijn noden
Vader onder heil en straf…

[Literal translation of the whole poem.]

Father, in all my troubles
Father, in bliss and punishment
Father, even in the realm of the dead,
Father, even in the silent tomb
Whenever I may behold change
Thou, O God, standest firm forever.
My dust rests also on Thy faithful security
Slumbers in Thy home.
Therefore years, speed freely on
With your gladness and your grief
Whatever disaster I may bewail
God, my God changeth not.
When we sit in mournful darkness
Still that Eternal Light will keep
All its brilliance and all its glory
Worthy of all praise and poetry.
I know to Whom I entrust myself;
Though day and night may alternate,
I know the rock on which I build:
He Who awaits my salvation will not fail me.
Once in the evening of my life,
Tired of cares and struggling, I shall offer up
Unto Thee for every day granted me here
A loftier and purer song of praise.
Oh my soul, why art thou bowed down
Why art thou troubled within me?
Regain thy old faith
In the joy in the praise of the Most High.
Many a time hath He changed
Thy burden into happiness.
Put thy trust in Him, raise thine eyes to Heaven
For I shall glorify my God forever.

And above all love one another with a fervent love, for love shall cover a multitude of sins [sic. 1 Pet. 4:8].

Waar liefde woont gebiededt de Heer Zijn zegen
Daar woont Hij zelf
Daat wordt Zijn heil verkregen
En't leven tot in eeuwigheid.
[Where love dwells the Lord commands His blessing
There He lives Himself
There His Grace is won
And life eternal.]

Let us bear love one unto another that God may augment and strengthen our love, and gather love around us, and if there should be no human being that you can love enough, love the town in which you dwell, as you do, too - don't I love Paris and London, though I am a child of the pine woods and of the beach at Ramsgate? And seek to please the poor and to find favour in their eyes.

“Strengthen thine heart.” “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father.”

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” And this is life eternal: knowing God and Christ Whom He sent [John 17:3]. “There is no fear in love.” “In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you.”

“And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” It is better to fall into the hands of the Lord than into the hands of men.

Let Christ be the centre of your longing, Comforter of the disquieted mind. “Strengthen thine heart” also in this sense; eat thy bread in simplicity of heart; at least do this, I cannot do otherwise, God help me, if there be peril in doing it: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Eat your bread but live simply, and smoke your pipe, which I do myself whenever I can manage to go out once in a while. “And turn thy way unto the Lord, He will pave it.”

[Written in the margin] Do not be afraid to sing a hymn in the evening when you are out for a walk and nobody is about: “As pants the hart for cooling streams, when heated in the chase,” or, “Oh my soul, why art thou bowed down,” or, “Centre of our craving,” or, “I know to Whom I entrust myself.”

The years between twenty and thirty are full of perils of all kinds, full of great perils, ay, perils of sin and death, but also full of God's light and comfort; struggling, thou shalt prevail, and when the dangers are past, thou shalt recall them poignantly and say, It was a good time after all.

“Strengthen thy charity.” What, however, is this Charity Paul speaks of? And what are those wonderful words thou knowest also, 1 Cor. 13? This Charity is Life in Christ, this Charity is our Mother; all the good things of the earth belong to Her, for all is good if enjoyed with thankfulness, but She extends much further than those good things of the earth. To Her belongs the draught of water from a brook on a hike or from a fountain in the hot streets of London or Paris, to Her belong also “I shall make thy bed in sickness,” “as one whom his mother comforteth, so I will comfort you,” and to Her belongs: “Constancy unto death toward Christ, who giveth us the strength to do all.”

“There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

“Strengthen thy hope,” for there is much that is good in life; for the one who loves Christ the world is what it is, and all things seem to fall to his share. Certainly it is true that much joy lies behind us, and much that we formerly anticipated joyfully, and if perchance much joy lies before us, we have seen already: “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof.” And if it be true:

I've found a joy in sorrow, a secret balm for pain
A beautiful tomorrow of sunshine after rain
I've found a branch of healing near every bitter spring
A whispered promise stealing (from every?) broken string.

thus it is true that there is no joy without unhappiness. Sorrow is better than laughter, and it is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasts…for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better [Eccles. 7:2-3]. Even in mirth the heart is sad.

For myself, I will strive after the Love of Christ and after working for Him all my life; though it fail and though I fail, there will always remain that standing from afar and longing for the heights away from the misery here below. But I will seek Faith and Love, and go on beseeching the Spirit of God under all circumstances. For this is my vow unto the Lord, my … [illegible], my rock. If I am forsaken, I am forsaken, but He is faithful and loves with an eternal Love, and grants that the longing of our hearts be ever green.

[Written in the margin] Regards to Roos, Haanebeek, Tersteeg, Borchers, Carolien and Marie.

[Written at the top of the next page] Read in the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah: Is. 9, 11, 35, Is. 40, 42, 43, 44, 45:2 and the following verses 49,53, 55, 58, 61, 63, 65; Jer. 3, 17, 30, 31.

The Lord is thy keeper: He is thy shade upon thy right hand. In Him is deliverance from death, in Him is everlasting life. My boy, there will come days when we shall no longer believe because we heard It said, but when we shall know It and felt It and love It. Then we shall be moved, when we hear the name of God pronounced, yea, even as we are moved when we see our father again after having been away from home for a long time. And we shall all be brethren and sisters and children of the Shepherd, as if anew, and in many a sense.

Let us go on in life as long as our legs will carry us, and though the foot may get tired, and the tribulation great, and though the ear may hum with the noise of the world, which it has heard for so many years, and though the whole head be weary, and the going hard, let us go on in life, because our Father and our Mother say unto us, “Go on and don't look back”; and if we may do good along the way, let us not forbear; but still, God desires more our heart than our works. Pa and Mother say, Go on, and they love us - did not Pa say, My boy, you know very well I would give my last shirt for you. Let us go on as long as our legs will carry us, and thou shalt find that God giveth strength to the weary and fortifieth him that is weak, that God supporteth us; for there is greater love in the future, therefore we delight and have faith in the life that is to come.

An imaginary handshake, it is late already, à Dieu. Well, brother, this is the fruit of the pen and of the heart.

Your loving brother, Vincent

[Written in the margin] If you can manage it, please send Mother a carte de visite Nr. 669 l'enfant prodigue by Scheffer for her birthday.

I am happily looking forward to Christmas; two years ago we took a walk in the snow in the evening, do you remember? And saw the moon rise over the Marienhof? I also quite clearly remember the night, that same Christmastide, I drove from Bois-le-Duc to Helvoirt in a little open cart, it was terribly cold and the road was slippery; how beautiful Bois-le-Duc looked, the market square and the streets covered with snow and the dark houses with snow on the roofs. Brabant is ever Brabant, and one's native country is ever one's native country, and countries of exile are ever countries of exile. And viewed from the distant road to Bois-le-Duc, how pleasant Helvoirt looked that evening and the lights in the village and the steeple amidst the snow-covered poplars. But it is love that gives it all so much beauty and animation. And do you remember that trip to St. Michiel's Gestel.

“The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be on their head: and they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”

“A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”

“Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.”

“Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees.” “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

[Written at the top of the following page] There is no better nor surer way to follow through life than Love, above all for our Father: in His name we go on from one day to the next. But we can also bear love unto others. How often the memory of one already gone to my Father's house - where there are many mansions - has warmed me and made my heart glow with Love on my evening walks through the streets of London, and in the cabbage fields outside the town. And as often as I walk in the streets of London, the thought of Him and the Love of Him rise up in me.

When Lies came home at Christmas we had a pleasant meeting. She and Albertien came in Uncle Vincent's carriage from Breda. Pa, Cor and I went along the road to meet them, and when we saw the carriage in the distance I ran ahead of the other two. It was twilight, and the carriage was dark. Through the window one saw the road with the fields and a row of trees on either side. At the end of the road the church was dark against the sky. Behind the church lowered big dark evening clouds, but edged with silver. It was such an unexpected joy to see the little lass again - a much greater joy than I had anticipated.

Anna will be back in Welwyn by now, I suppose; when she leaves Welwyn, she will realize how much she has loved it. You know how in winter she used to be the first to get up and light the fire - she has been a blessing in the house. Her little room is so lovely - with the ivy about the window and the view of the garden and the big chestnuts around which swarms of swallows fly in summer - when the sun is setting behind the trees. And the rooks nest there, too. The “Mater Dolorosa” by Delaroche hung over her bed.

Do you happen to have kept that page from Michelet beginning, “Je vois d'ici une dame”? If you have, please copy it for me; I want it, but don't have the book any more.

Heeft de overhand op mij
O Mijn weerspannig overtreden…

[Translation of the whole poem]

Oh, if my waywardness
Prevail over me,
Be Thou the one to reconcile and purify me!
Most blessed is he whom Thou hast chosen,
Whom in the midst of the tumult of the earth
Thou bidst draw near and hear Thy holy voice,
Yea, dwell in Thy house.
Most blessed is he whose sins are forgiven,
Who is delivered from punishment forever,
Whose defiling iniquities
Are hidden from the holy eye of the Lord.
Most blessed is the man whom
God does not hold guilty in justice,
But who, with a devout and undissembling mind,
Nourishes no wicked deceit, only white righteousness.

How shall these things come to pass?

“Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?”

“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron…”

“I am…the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”

“Hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: …Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.”

“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”

“The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.”

“As one whom his Mother comforteth, so I will comfort you … saith the Lord. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of youth? … Thou shalt call me, My Father; and shalt not turn away from me.”

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved.” Redeem me, and I shall be redeemed.

For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee …All thy lovers have forgotten thee … I shall restore health unto thee, and take the plagues away from thee.

“The Lord hath appeared of old to me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” “As one whom his Mother comforteth, so I will comfort you, saith the Lord.” “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

"EARTH IS AN INSANE ASYLUM, TO WHICH THE OTHER PLANETS DEPORT THEIR LUNATICS." --Voltaire (Memnon the Philosopher).

the met

I forget who painted this but it is a great thing to behold.

golf

here is my thoughts on a president playing golf. If we are at war there is no golf. You cant drive around in a golf course while Americans are dying and laying life on the line.


Bad form.

my two cents.

the wisdom of the cynical

My cynicism is second only to Kurt Vonneguts. I have seen way too much and weathered too many art-storms. I do like a good laugh and a cold drink and that is probably why I haven't withered into bitterness. When Obama was running for president I saw all these people running around estatic and crying and covered in shirts and pins and I said to myself "it doesnt matter what you do, the outcome will be the same" I always cast a questioning eye to people when they get excited about something--especially politics...whether you are right or left I am not sure how you could think that a politician is going to bring hope and change. Maybe Santa can--but a Prez--no. where are all those people now? where are the pins and the banners? What we have is bush lite with some socialism sauce poured on top. There is no change. The bail out trillions all went to off-shore banks and the people who they stole it from get nothing--nada. Obama aint paying anyones mortgage. Because I am cynical I am not surprised by this--I expected as much. I appreciate hope but it isnt it better to have a face without egg on it?

Penn state shirt causes controversy

People have been complaining to Penn State about this shirt because some say it resembles a cross. There is one thing in life I dont understand--If you dont like something, dont buy it. If you dont like a TV show dont watch it, if you dont like a radio show, dont listen. I would never in my life try to get something banned because it doesnt agree with me. If I dont like something I dont buy it, I ignore it. I dont like modern art but it shouldnt be banned.

I want to make a tshirt that says "TOO DUMB TO THINK" or another one "Too much flouride has damaged my neurons" or this one "uhhhhh"

the camera eye

Grim-faced and forbidding,
Their faces closed tight,
An angular mass of new yorkers
Pacing in rhythm,
Race the oncoming night,
They chase through the streets of manhattan.
Headfirst humanity,
Pause at a light,
Then flow through the streets of the city.

They seem oblivious
To a soft spring rain,
Like an english rain
So light, yet endless
From a leaden sky.

The buildings are lost in the limitless rise.
My feet catch the pulse and the purposeful stride.

I feel the sense of possibilities,
I feel the wrench of hard realities.
The focus is sharp in the city.

Wide-angle watcher
On lifes ancient tales,
Steeped in the history of london.

Mist in the streets of westminster.
Wistful and weathered,
The pride still prevails,
Alive in the streets of the city.

Are they oblivious
To this quality?
A quality
Of light unique to
Every citys streets.

Pavements may teem with intense energy,
But the city is calm in this violent sea.

national arts club photos

National Arts Club

I was invited to the National Arts Club for a Jazz evening dinner and drinks tonight. It is black tie but I threw out my tux when I moved because I never use it...(ooops.) They told me to come in a suit or jacket anyways so I guess I will be there. I never cared for clothes--Clothes are something I own to get paint on--that is why I wear clothes to get paint on them and not on my skin.

Here is my priority list in life. (my Maslowes pyramid)


art

family

Love

Books

food

red wine

Nature

friends

material things and money.

New Work

Lost Souls--Night Sun


16 x 20 oil on Masonite

michelangelo

Here are some designs from the renaissance. I think the bottom is michelangelos design for the pavement of St. Peter--notice it is a gnomic spiral--the same pattern a pinecone or sunflower uses for growth. I think the top one is albrecht durer, the german..He also knew the secrets of sacred geometry.

amnesia

this is not a self portrait--someone asked me--no it is not.

I used to bartend in one of the best steakhouses in NYC. I became friends with some of the top doctors in NYC (especially heart doctors.) I served drinks to many a person from Europe and Canada who had come over to get the TOP medical help available to anyone. In all my years there I cant remember a single one of my upscale clients telling me they were going to france or switzerland or canada for a heart operation or cancer treatment. It seems to me that there is something to be said for free market capitalism, especially if your life depends on it. In england people are doing their own dental work and in Canada people wait months and months for a heart doctor. I have a sneaking suspicion that Lance armstrong wouldnt have survived if he was in the care of the socialized medical system of France.

cell phones cause cancer

After ten years of denial by both government and corporate entities (which are now the same thing) it has been determined that your cell phone causes brain cancer! Yeppy, I knew this would come about. (I am predicting hearing loss is one that will come out eventually as well.) But dont worry, the government promises the vaccines are safe they only screwed up with the cell phone info. Cell phones, thalidomide, saccharine, aspertame----the list goes on and and on...be good sheep and take your shots--big mother knows whats best for you--you can trust her. Keep playing that xbox and watching the tube. I recommend getting back to land lines and taking anything the gov. says with a big grain of salt.

on the easel

a song to paint to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu1XLK589RM

some songs are good to paint to and others distract you from the work..this is a fine song to paint to

Quantum Angel--homage to leonardo

18 x 24 oil on canvas

Quantum Angel--homage to leonardo

in progress...

18 x 24

oil on canvas

a 90 year old lady died in sweden shortly after getting her mercury/ flu shot vaccine.


I have a question... If you made it to 90 in this wretched world then why would you let them shoot ya up? I would roll the big dice on that one and have faith in my body and nature that I will survive even If I get the swine flu. At 90 you are on borrowed time, anyways---- nature is going to get you sooner or later so let it sneak up on ya like a thief. Why step in front of the bus of stupidity?--what about all those years you lived dont they add up to a thimbleful of wisdom?

RIP

Deaths due to vaccine emerging

Steve Watson

Friday, Oct 23, 2009

As European governments forge ahead with mass swine flu vaccination programs, reports out of Hungary and Sweden suggest that some people have died shortly after taking the H1N1 vaccine.

The Budapest Times is reporting that a 64-year-old woman has died just two days after receiving the H1N1 shot.

An autopsy has been scheduled to determine if there is a link between the vaccine and the death of the patient, who suffered from chronic, but mild, heart disease, according to the article.

So far just 4 people have died from swine flu in Hungary.

The country’s H1N1 vaccine is being supplied by local vaccine manufacturer Omninvest. The government there has ordered six million doses cover about 60% of Hungary’s population of 10 million.

Omnivest’s vaccines are egg grown and adjuvanted with aluminum phosphate. The company says that only one dose of their H1N1 vaccine is required. Though they have conducted limited trials with the H1N1 virus, their vaccine, is based on tests with the avian flu strain.

According to the Budapest Times report, Omnivest has threatened to sue over allegations that its swine flu vaccine may be dangerous. However, a leading advisor to the Health Ministry in Hungary, last week suggested that the vaccine is not suitable for small children and pregnant women, in spite of the fact that the shot is being offered to free of charge to those “at risk” groups.

goya video

I am posting some really choice videos if you have any weekend time. I am posting really good, tasty art videos..grab some wine and watch em.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0kjMSnX25U&feature=related

illuminated manuscripts

Great video to watch this weekend if you are bored.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17pzabDOxVs&feature=related

National arts club

I was invited to a black tie party at the national arts club on monday. I dont have black tie. I have a white suit. hmmm.

amazing photos

who know that such an evil nation that will put you in a box and take your organs just for speaking out could look so amazing.


http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/china_celebrates_60_years.html

sunset over the hudson

manadatory flu shots?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/23/new.york.flu.vaccine/index.html

Funny how the people "in the Know" health care workers and even docs are now rebelling against getting vaccinated with the soft kill bio weapon neuro- toxin (AKA swine flu vaccines.) In 1976 the flu shot they gave to people wasnt even the one that was approved (they switched it)...watch the 60 minutes episode on it--- hundreds maimed and killed and 4,000 people sued for neurological damage. Not only did the government lie to the people it used the names of dozens of celebrities as a PR campaign to get the population injected. The problem was none of the celebs actually got the shot and many spoke out against their name being used in the PR lie.

Read the spin in this article---The "shortage" of vaccines has diffused the situation so now health care workers dont have to get it....NO they sued your ass so they wouldnt have to take it and the bad PR of doctors and health care workers suing not to get the shot was a media story/ fire storm the GOV. had to put out ASAP.


The federal government had told states that, by the end of October, an estimated 120 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine would be readily available, according to Paterson and Daines. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have only about 27.7 million doses of the vaccine at month's end.


SO if the Gov cant come up with enough vaccines as promised (100 million doses short) how are they going to keep their word about health care etc---in short, they wont.

ALEX INC: "I do the research so you dont have to..."

I am not a conspiracy theorist--I am a researcher, and a good one at that.

alll those years ago...

Here is a great photo I found today. This is a much younger me in my east village days. I painted this crazy painting in the Park one day and it drew a crowd. Even the coppers liked it. There is a certain irony to this picture because the guy who took was a kid who went to my high school (a few years younger) and I ran into that day with his camera. I later found out he got himself into a fix with the law and drugs or something and was doing some serious time. The sad thing is he came from a great family with a lot of money and his dad was a doctor. I cant count how many kids I knew in life who threw their privileged lives down the tubes. It is a phenomena I will never understand--flushing your gifts down the toilet. I was always too busy trying to feed myself as an artist to get into any real trouble. The Work kept me real (for the most part) This still ranks as my favorite photo of me.

"I used to be crazy, Im still crazy--- but I used to be too. " alex said that.

met photo

I took this photo at The Met cant remember the artist. If you painted this today they would call you a kitsch artist.

self portrait of gericault

Here is a photo I took of Gericault at the met. He is the artist who painted the Raft Of The Medusa. He was a great genius. He was also delacroix's teacher I prefer Gericault to Delacroix. I love photographing paintings at the met.

on the desk--primeval

I took my skill saw and chunked off 6 inches and that has made all the difference.

advice to young artists (and old)

There is one thing I can say from the bottom of my heart and from everything I know about art. There is no excuse--ZERO excuse for not getting your work out and in front of people. I have known hundreds of artists who say either "I dont like to sell my work" "I dont like to show my work" "maybe next year" Bologna! Every artist wants his work to be admired and especially sold. There is no room for wallflowers! If you cower in a dark corner of fear then you are useless as an artist--go drive a milk truck. Get your work and name out into the light and face up! The more you get your name out the more other artists will bad mouth you and knock your work. That to me is glory. I had a friend tell me my art show was "unfocused" and scattered---- I put it together in six months worked myself into a near heart attack and hundreds of people came and yet someone who never sold a single painting and never had a show told me I was "unfocused." Always a bridesmaid never a bride, always a critic--never an artist. Live everyday like it is your last and put every ounce you have into your art--I dont care if you are broke, poor, sick, sad or tired. Grab your brush and paint yourself into a good head or at least express the pain you are in . There is no excuse for hiding and no excuse for bad mouthing others when you are not in the game yourself. Friends come and go and relationships come and go--art is your constant. Passion is like good soup--it keeps you healthy and young. Dont be an "artiste" poser--be an artist.


You turn my head
I spin my wheels
Running on empty
You know how that feels

I'm on a roll now
Or is it a slide?
Can't be too careful
With that dangerous pride
If I could only reach that dial inside
And turn it up

Face up...Face up or you can only back down
Face up...Hit the target or you better hit the ground
Face up...There's still time to turn the game around
Face up...Turn it up
Or turn that wild card down
Face up...Turn it up

Don't complain
Don't explain

transparency

I had some hope for obama in one aspect ( and it was a huge one) --he said he was going to make government transparent. He said bills would be posted online well ahead of time so the sheep can see them and read them and he also said he would get the lobbyists out of govt.

I had some hope!

It turns out it was all lies and rhetoric and "just words."

He rams bills through congress before even congress has them in hand to read. The whole online thing was just a lie, an empty promise. And He has more lobbyists on staff than any president. This is why I the American people are fed up on the left and right...empty lies, empty words.

Transparency that is far too opaque to see through...we do not have glass we have quartz.

Ad hominem--word of the day

I had a discussion not too long ago with a friend it got to be a bit back and forth. I make it a point to have all my facts and figures as I have a brain that likes to store and remember facts and figures ( I still remember the entire Julius Ceaser speech--- friends, romans, ... that I learned in 1987.) I find that when you corner someone with facts and they have none themselves they often resort to personal attacks. I once pointed out the contradictions of Barrack obama to an ex and she called me a racist. I find these kind of attacks ludicrous and a sign of people who cannot back up arguments with facts or figures...If you present facts to a person and they resort to an emotional attack on your character etc. this type of argument is called argumentum ad hominem. or simply ad hominem. I dont do ad hominem arguments and I have learned to listen and not argue as it gets you nowhere. A sly smile and a " I can see you you feel very strongly about that" is this best way to diffuse an argument because it brings a person back to their experience and as a rule they will deny feeling strongly about it. (This diffuses the situation) I learned this from studying NLP. (neuro linguistic programming)

A facts a fact from Gnome to Rome...Jack.

alex explains the meltdown

I am going to put this in laymen/ street terms so it is easy to understand for those who have watched too much TV and cant think anymore. In 1913 a group of sketchy, high powered bankers got together and slipped undercover on a southbound train to Jekyll island. This Cabal took every precaution to travel in secrecy and under assumed names because they had some devious plans drawn they did not want the media or the public sheep to know about. In jekyll island they agreed to take over the american monetary system by creating a bogus scam called the fed. reserve act. This was forced and bribed into congress while most of congress was on their Christmas break with dreams of sugar plums in their clouded little heads. The constitution says that only the treasury (aka government) can print money but as Huck finn was fond of saying "that aint no matter." The fed reserve act gave a bunch of private and corrupt bankers the power to control our money supply. Eventually they even managed to get rid of the gold standard which meant that every dollar was backed by gold, by removing that they were able to print money as they wished without that pesky gold backing it and this is whats called a FIAT currency. This means they control inflation by limiting or expanding the money supply (speeding up or slowing the printing presses)--- The great scam of our time. Fiat currnecies are about as reliable and safe as lindsey lohan driving home in hollywood at three AM in the rain after a night in "Da Clubs. " The gold that was supposed to back our dollars has never been audited and accounted for as it went out the back door years ago and the Fed itself has never been audited and they do their best to hide form the american sheeple that the dollar in your hand is just monopoly money. My gut says there is no gold left in fort knox and that the american dollar has the swine flu and probably will never recover. Was this by design? That is not for me to say, I am an artist, not an economist. The american people want to peek into the books of "The Temple" that is the fed but this will never happen. The fed reserve is no more fed than fed ex but the sheeple have TV and they are happy.

"Nothing really matters much, its doom alone that counts" bob dylan

hypocrisy in action

Shepard Fairey’s Piracy: Rank Hypocrisy in the Art Community

Ever wonder why ushers on Broadway become “Camera Nazis” whenever they spot a still camera or video camera in the house?

Ever wonder why you can’t just skip over those FBI warnings at the start of every DVD?

Ever wonder why “piracy” is always such a big issue for Hollywood when discussing our economic relationship with China?

It’s because writers, actors, directors and producers all live and die from royalties and residuals (payments for the repeated use of a copyright protected piece of intellectual property). I know most people don’t want to hear this, but being a writer, director or actor is usually not a great life. Until (or unless) you are lucky enough to make it big, it is fiscally challenging to say the least. So many actors who are not stars are lucky if they get one or two weeks’ worth of work in Hollywood per year. How does an actor survive on only two weeks’ pay? They don’t. But, one thing that helps them is they get paid for every subsequent use of the show they were on. Same with the writer and the other creative folks working on the show.

But, as you can imagine, if their work could be legally duplicated and distributed without any payment to them for their work, it would seriously disrupt the financial life of these artists. That is called copyright infringement, or piracy. The adherence to the fundamental belief that an artist’s work is protected, a writer’s words and stories are protected, and an actor’s image and performance is protected from duplication and piracy is fundamental to the economics of the artist’s business.

Enter Shepard Fairey.

Shepard Fairey is often referred to as a street artist. He made a name for himself by creating large posters and sticking them up by the thousands on public places. Others would call this vandalism, but I digress. He is heralded as the creator of the Obama “Hope” poster which is seen as a major influence in rallying devoted support to the Obama candidacy. The “Hope” poster conveyed in one image and in one word everything that the campaign wanted its most fervent allies to embrace, champion and (most importantly) to perpetuate to their friends who might not have been quite as fervent. The poster has been described as “the most efficacious American political illustration since ‘Uncle Sam Wants You.’” There is no denying its efficacy, even if its message doesn’t send a “thrill up your leg.” Only problem with it: It appears to be pirated.

I’m sure that this revelation has sent many of Fairey’s admirers into the same depression that George Harrison fans felt when it became clear that “My Sweet Lord” was just a rip-off of the Chiffons’ hit “He’s So Fine.” (Seriously, the fact that George Harrison may have ripped off another tune is one thing… but “He’s So Fine”???)

In February (a convenient two weeks after the inauguration), the AP announced a copyright infringement lawsuit against Fairey claiming that the image Fairey used was copyright protected intellectual property owned by the AP. Fairey’s response was two-fold: First, he claimed protection of his poster under the “Fair Use” guidelines of the copyright laws, and, second, it doesn’t really matter anyway because the AP is wrong; the image used as the basis for the poster was not the image AP claims ownership of, it was another photo. Any reasonable examination of the original AP-owned photo and Fairey’s poster would seem to favor the AP’s argument — and just this last Friday, Fairey not only admitted that the AP’s image was, in fact, the image he used, but he also admitted lying, submitting false images and destroying others during the discovery phase of the lawsuit. He still clings to his over-riding defense that his art and use of the photo is not piracy as it falls under the “Fair Use” guidelines.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t even play one on TV (although I think I would do a better job than some of those replacement actresses in the last season of “Boston Legal…” Geez!), so I am not here to argue about the “Fair Use” provisions in the copyright laws. But, I do suggest you read the provision and consider the issue for yourself.

OK, back to Hollywood and Broadway.

Those actors on stage during act one who see a red light in the house indicating a video camera is on them…. They will go right off stage and demand that the stage manager do something. The stage manager then tells the house manager, the house manager tells the usher, and THAT’s why you are being distracted by a seventy-year-old woman climbing over three rows of seats trying to wrestle a camcorder from an unsuspecting patron during “Phantom of the Opera.” It’s not because the red light is distracting them… it’s because they are protecting their performance and their image from being duplicated and distributed without their permission. It is their right. Just as it is the right of a professional photographer to protect their product from being copied, slightly altered and re-distributed without THEIR permission.

So imagine my surprise when I didn’t see one person from the Writers’ Guild or from SAG cheering on the AP. How could they not? The writer’s just endured an industry-crippling strike and the major issue was residual payments for use of their product on the Internet. Though Internet re-plays of “30 Rock” is not exactly the same as barely photo-shopping a photo and distributing it as art, but the core principal is the same: A work of art or entertainment must be protected from duplication or re-distribution or the entire copyright edifice will begin to crumble. Michael Moore was so thrilled with the WGA in their unwavering position on the webcasts, that he gushed to the LA Times:

“This is an historic moment for labor in this country, …To have the writers union stand up like we did, not give back a single thing and make them give — it was a really great moment to sit in there and listen to everything.”

So why are Moore and other left-leaning artists, writers and directors relatively silent on the Fairey issue? You would think that the protection of intellectual property is something they would champion.

The question answers itself. Fairey is an artist who uses his art for the right reasons. He helped get Obama elected. He made a great poster in support of same-sex marriage. He gave President Bush fangs and a trickle of blood down his chin in another poster. “So what if he broke copyright laws… his art is effective, he’s cool, and he thinks like us, we will look away.” I love the smell of cognitive dissonance in the morning.

Before you lefties start flaming the comments with claims that Fairey made no money off of the poster so there is no infringement… understand one thing: Whether Fairey made money or not, it doesn’t matter with regard to copyright laws. I can’t put on a production of “Wicked” at the local high school gym as long as I don’t charge any money for tickets. I can’t make copies of the DVD of “Titanic” and start handing them out for free on the street. You MUST know that, right?

And by the way, to suggest that Mr. Fairey has not benefitted from his association with the “Hope” poster is disingenuous at best. Mr. Fairey is currently enjoying the honor of having a special exhibition of his work at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. A hand-crafted collage version of the “Hope” poster is now in the Smithsonian. If you think that the sale of future Fairey works will not be influenced by this, you don’t understand market economics. Also, just because Fairey might not have made any direct income from the poster, does not mean that someone didn’t make any, most notably, the Obama campaign and transition teams.

In all of my searching for some sort of outcry over Fairey’s use of protected work for his poster, I did find an interesting trend. It seems that in the past, one of the champions of copyright protection with regard to these types of images and artwork has been none other than Shepard Fairey. You see, before “Hope” there was “Obey,” Fairey’s breakout poster in which he used a photo of wrestler Andre the Giant, modified the image, and affixed the word “Obey.” The iconic image was adapted recently by artist Baxter Orr. Orr gave Andre a SARS surgical mask and gave it the caption, “Protect Yourself.” What did “Fair-use Fairey” do? He sued Baxter Orr. Orr cries hypocrisy: “”It’s ridiculous for someone who built their empire on appropriating other people’s images,” he said. “Obey Giant has become like Tide and Coca-Cola.” Fairey’s gentlemanly response? He called Orr a “parasite.”

But this is only Fairey’s protection of his famous “Obey” icon, right? He doesn’t care what people do with his “Hope” poster… that was all done for free and to benefit the Obama campaign, right? Well…. It seems that many of the posters that got distributed to Obama supporters at events were found on eBay auctions (those damn capitalists) and Mr. Fairey was not amused. He demanded that eBay take down the auctions, his website called the people engaged in the sale as “greedy” and he subsequently opened up a page for the exclusive sale of signed “Hope” posters.

Any director, writer or actor interested in making long-term money in the entertainment industry should be calling Fairey what he is: A plagiarist. But they won’t. And they won’t protest for an end to the Afghan war even though casualties are mounting under President Obama’s watch. And they won’t claim President Obama is taking away their freedoms even though he extended President Bush’s declaration of national emergency this past September 10th (something the left continually criticized President Bush for).

One wonders what fault, if any, the left will find in this President or his loyal supporters like Fairey.

Alex did not write this I found it on internet! I am not a plagiarist and I am not a hypocrite

Albert Pinkham Ryder---dead bird

The previous post brought my brain back to this painting by the eccentric american artist albert pinkham ryder.

image of the day

The image here (the left one) is a photo of a famous fossil called "ida" It was thought to be a missing link etc etc and etc. it was later learned it is not a missing link to anything but it is one of the coolest images I ever saw. In my mind this scientific photo is as good as any piece of modern art I have ever seen ..The colors, the energy--- it is just beautiful. I would rather have this on my wall any day than some hacked out piece of abstract depressionism. I am going to paint my own version--I am compulsed to do so.


God is the greatest artist and Leonardo ran a close second.

I made fun of bush and I will damn sure make fun of obama. I have no sacred cows----I am a 100% dyed in the wool independent...trust no one. Until a president vows to protect the constitution as his main priority I have no hope.

this video is important so watch it.

http://www.examiner.com/x-6495-US-Intelligence-Examiner~y2009m7d10-CBS-60-Minutes-300-death-claims-from-1976-swine-flu-vaccine-only-one-death-from-flu

I actually care about the sheep herd. The fact that we are so dumbed down by TV and sports and chemicals hasn't lessened my desire to do my part to help people as best I can. I wonder how any logical human can watch this video and then decide that they want to trust the govt to inject them...Think winnie the pooh, think.

forest primeval

This painting is a lot of work--enjoyable work but lot of work.