Dewey Square in Boston on October 15 On the topic of art and political activism (discussed in my earlier post here): Susana Viola Jacobson, consummate artist and critic, left the following response to that piece. Her thoughts were too good to not share. Very thoughtful piece. I wrestled with this divide for years and finally […]
Politics
- Art/Politics
- ...
Both/And
October 15 march and protest in Boston Aligning the work you do with the passions of your heart is not a given. My partner Dave worked for decades before he finally found a way to integrate his professional life with his personal desire to make the world a better place. (His organization, ReachScale, creates public/private […]
Leaving the Heavy Behind
The light in Canada Politics and art have been combined and comingled in the past, producing work that is powerful and provocative. Goya. Guernica. Beckmann. But that isn’t the case for me and my way of working. In fact mixing the two is a toxic brew. Over the last week I have had to conscientiously […]
- Philosophy
- ...
Weather Patterns
Skyline of the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake just after a cloudburst Yesterday I heard an interview with an American journalist on NPR. She has spent most of the last 8 years in Afghanistan reporting on the war. In the process she developed a deep affection for the country and its plight, so much so […]
The Word/Image Continuum
Being at home in a layered reality…The view through the rooms in Stephanie’s magical Rockport home I’ve confessed here before to the paradox at the core of my art making and blog writing persona: I don’t believe art can be parsed and analyzed in language the way other topics can be. But there are words […]
Obama Arts Update
I’m still tracking the Obama administration’s pending appointment of an art czar. Robin Pogrebin wrote an excellent overview in the New York Times two days ago that answered many of the questions I have been asking. Here’s the latest on Obama’s old buddy from Chicago who is currently coordinating arts issues for the White House: […]
Talkin’ Smart
Sharon Begley writes a column at Newsweek and can mince through a problem about as fast as anybody these days. Her mind is sharp, agile and very cool. The following excerpt is from her column in the February 14 issue and deals with the general failure of prognostication. I have been miffed by (you too?) […]
Smart Power
There’s a convergence happening. When I read about the state of the art market, the economy, social change, politics, the financial sector or just how to survive personally in this brave new world of 2009, the solutions are starting to have a common theme. What used to be compartmentalized and fragmented (bankers caring only about […]
Arts Funding, Policy and Politics
The politics of art. That isn’t my field, and yet it is. I listened to the back and forth about arts funding during the Stimulus Bill discussions with mixed emotions. Sometimes the arguments rang true, sometimes they didn’t. The fact is that OF COURSE we need to fund and support the arts. Those who think […]
An Infinite Succession of Presents
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Seven Deadly Sins So much has changed in the texture of our cultural consciousness over the last six months. The underbelly of our collective thinking has gone ventral, exposing itself rather nakedly to all the world. In just my last 24 hour random walk through the “elite” media (you gotta […]