"Without Getting Killed or Caught" - (Guy and Suzanna Lark, Townes Van Zandt.) A Love Story.

 

A wonderful film about American singer-songwriters Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and their love of the same woman, Suzane Clark. It is also the story of the early years of the Independent Music scene in the 1970's. And probably one of the greatest love stories ever told.

The film encompasses the impact these two men, and one remarkable woman, had on the shift of mainstream country music and it's shift from Nashville to Austin. It's a uniquely American story, told by the people involved, through film and also the words of those involved. 

"Sons and Lovers" - (1960) Trevor Howard, Wendy Hiller, Dean Stockwell

 

Use this link. https://youtu.be/qVtPAVtucjY?si=ZwAwNceh19ZGKa3Q

Written in 1912 by D.H. Lawrence,  "Sons and Lovers" was controversial when first published. It explores the conflict which exists between the relationships of mothers and sons. One clings, while the other seeks a new love of its own.

I remember vaguely the controversy the film elicited when it was released in 1960. I recall discussions between my parents and their friends about it, though I had no idea what they were talking about. As a teenager I tried to read it, but I was too young to really understand the book to its full extent.

The film has never been remade. I don't think it ever will be. It could never, in my mind, equal the stark reality created here. And though our views of morality and desire have changed drastically in the 65 years since its release, there are still some truths which are eternal. The film is as relevant now as it was then.

Trevor Howard and Dean Stockwell are riveting in their performances as father and son, and both are equalled by their counterparts, Wendy Hiller as the mother, and Mary Ure, as the married woman with whom Dean Stockwell has an affair, and Heather Sears as the girl he once loved.

"New York Stories" - (1988)

This film is composed of 3 separate vignettes by 3 of the greatest directors of our time. I first saw it in 1990 when it was on the shelf at a local library in Maryland, where I was living at the time. I have not seen it anywhere since then; certainly never on television, cable or otherwise. This copy turned up at a used book store in South Charlotte, and for the princely sum of $4 I took it home.

The first of the vignettes is called “Life lessons” and stars Nick Nolte; before the infamous mug shot; as a crazed and passionate artist named Lionel Dobie. He feeds off of his assistants in a never ending cycle of narcissism. As an important exhibition nears he finds himself unable to paint as he battles for the affections of his assistant Paulette; played by Roseanna Arquette; with whom he is besotted. Complicating matters is her relationship with Steve Buscemi, who plays a scheming performance artist. The relationship between Nolte and Arquette forms the core of the story, until she leaves and he continues the cycle with his next assistant. This film was directed by Martin Scorsese.

“Life without Zoe” is directed by Francis Coppola. It is the story of a young named Zoe; played by Heather McComb; a  girl left to raise herself while her parents travel the world. When they come home she is the one with the routine; the de-facto parent. Her parents are worldly and successful in their separate careers, but it is Zoey who is really the only thing that holds them together. In the end you have to wonder if they need her more than she needs them. There is also a sub plot in which she helps to return a piece of stolen jewelry which was given to her father to its rightful owner; an Arab Prince. This film shows a side of Manhattan that still exists today; the world of money and privilege to which we would all love to belong; or maybe not.

Woody Allen’s offering is “Oedipus Wrecks” starring Mr. Allen, as Sheldon, and Julie Kavner, as a psychic named Treva , before Marge Simpson; and with Mia Farrow as his fiancée; before the sordid allegations. Mr. Allen basically plays himself as a neurotic man. When his deceased mother won't leave him alone he complains to his shrink. When he gets engaged to Mia Farrow his mother takes to the skies above the city to enlist the publics help in stopping her son from ruining his life. When he sees a psychic to try and deal with his mother, he finds that he like her, and soon finds himself in a relationship with a woman who not only understands him, but also becomes friends with his mother. And though his mother may approve of the girl, how does that affect his perspective of the relationship? This is the type of Grade A comedy and wit you expect of Mr. Allen. Just scratch past the surface and I believe there is more than a bit of auto-biography going on here.

This is a wonderfully creative effort by 3 great directors who normally create feature length films. For established professional like these three, working within a limited time frame can sometimes be a liberating thing.

Synchronicity -

I have nothing to say today; a very unusual occurrence to be sure. Most days I have something to say; although whether or not what I do say is worthwhile, or not, is for others to judge. The fact remains that I usually have something to say; just not today.

The only thing interesting to relate here is that this Norman Rockwell painting graced the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on July 19, 1930. That’s 84 years ago today. I wasn't looking for synchronicity; it found me. 

I always loved Norman Rockwell, his illustrations graced the covers of the Boy Scout magazines I got when I was younger. His pictures always told a story beyond what you saw. For instance, when I look at this one I see more than an old man fishing.

I see contentedness in his posture; the way his hands are laid across his stomach, and the way the pipe is securely held between his teeth while he slumbers. I also see the loyalty and love of his dog, who is gazing expectantly at the water, waiting for the fish to break surface so that he can bark and wake the old man. The two are a team; where one goes, the other follows faithfully. Ah, if only life were filled with such trust.

Salvador Dali on "What's My Line" - 1957

No one would ever associate Salvador Dali with television, but between the late 1950's and the mid 1960's he was a frequent, and amusing, guest on several of the leading shows of the time. Above is his appearance on the show "What's My Line" from 1957. He had also recently done "What's My Line." It is amazing how comfortable he appears in front of the camera, as opposed to a small gallery showing.

The interview on the Merv Griffin Show, below, was done on December 30, 1965. Merv is actually the one who seems out of place, appearing not to know what to ask of the great artist. But Dali's wit and humor combine to save the day.  Sharp eyes will notice that Andy Warhol is also on the show, sitting on the couch next to Arthur Treacher. You have to wonder what they could possibly have spoken about during the commercials!

You Tube is a veritable playground for me. Through it I have been able to garner the sights and sounds of all the shows and performers I enjoyed as a kid. I must confess to having missed both of these broadcasts, but the mere fact that Salvador Dali was ever on television to begin with has been a real revelation to me. I don't know why; after all, this is the man who gave us a new and interesting way of looking at art. It's not too much of a leap to suppose that he thought of television as another form of expressing his art; and of course, plugging his book. 

"Grandma Moses" by Herself (1948)

I must confess to having been entirely ignorant on the subject of Grandma Moses until I found this old treasure in the “stacks” at the Mooresville Town Library. I had heard the name , but for some reason I have always associated it with being a slave narrative, of which I have read several. So, I just never got around to it until last week.

Imagine my surprise to find out that Grandma Moses was an elderly white woman who began to paint landscapes at the age of 80! Born in New York State in 1860, she recalls the Civil War, and her family’s move to Virginia after the war had ended. Her father worked at several different trades, including farming, and the author recalls all the hardships, and rewards, of that bygone era.

Candid in every respect, the manuscript was actually pieced together from several different interviews and magazine articles written by the author over the course of several decades. There is nothing written here which was not proof read by Grandma Moses, and her family, before its release.

What you get is an unpretentious look at a woman who worked hard for many years, raising 5 of the 10 children born to her. The other 5 died. The book serves as a window into a time when you didn’t name your kid right away; you first waited to see if it lived. With her nimble mind, and capable husband, the two forged out a living in Chicago, Upstate New York and even Virginia, which was her first love. Most of her paintings are evocations of life in her beloved Shenandoah Valley.

A very quick read, with full color illustrations of some her best known paintings, this book will introduce you to a unique American woman. That she was unafraid to completely change the course of her life at such a late age, and have such great impact upon the art scene; so far removed from the life she had lived; should serve as an inspiration to us all that it is possible to live your dream. You have only to discover what that dream is…

"In the Garden" - Pixels and Impressionist Art

Just because the picture didn't come out right doesn't mean it's wrong. Claude Monet's "Artist Garden at Giverny" comes to mind when I look at this photo. Now, I'm no Monet, and I certainly can't do this with a brush - but for an accident it's not that bad...


Here is a link to good ol' Wikipedia's article on Monet. There is a gallery at the bottom which highlights almost all of his work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet

Toots Hibbert and Willie Nelson

Toots Hibbert, of Toots and the Maytals fame, is one of the fathers of reggae music as we know it today. A few years back he did a couple of album cuts with Willie Nelson, including this classic "Still is Still Moving to Me." This collaboration proved, once again, that music has no boundaries. It transcends cultures and renders useless the political lines which divide us.

When I was traveling in Greece during the late 1970's the government lifted it's restrictions on many Western artists, including The Beatles, who had not made a record in almost 10 years! You may wonder, as I did at the time, what is this fear of music? The answer is simple.

Music is one of the most powerful, and effective, means of communication. They can outlaw everything under the sun, but nothing can still the music in your own heart.

The Mint Museum

The Mint Museum here in Charlotte is having a Coco Chanel exhibit, so Sue and I thought we'd take a look at it. This is one of the emblematic Chanel Number 5 bottles manufactured between 1940 and 1955.

These dresses are part of a larger exhibit showcasing the various modes of dress from about 1900 through the years immediatley following World War One. Pre-Coco is not an inapt description of them in their definition of the modern woman just emerging in the 1920's. And the difference when you walk into the Chanel portion of the exhibit is astounding.

Not just a perfume designer, Coco Chanel was known for her clothing styles, men's included. The collection was dimly lit, and photographs were prohibited with a flash, so this photo does not do the collection all the praise which it is due. It is a wonderful collection, encompassing the years between the two World Wars, and then on from the mid 1950's when Chanel re-opened, to the heady years of the 1970's and beyond. She has achieved a certain sense of immortality through her creation of clothing as an art. This suit alone shows the difference in her perception of women as equals in the world of business, as well as academia, than anything which pre-dated it.

This early 18th Century tureen, at least I think that is what it is, is my idea of Early American grace. If I could, I would own, and use, this piece on a daily basis. It's simply that beautiful.

The collection at the Mint Museum is very varied for a museum of such small size. Here's a beautiful wine pot from the Song Dynasty in China. It's hard to believe that these things were formed by human hands now long gone. How wonderful it would be to go back and see it being used by the original owners. The Eastern and Western Cultures have so much in common. Their needs are largely the same, but the Eastern Cultures advanced so much more quickly in the area of art than their European counterparts. At the same time that this wine pot was in use in China, the Vikings were drinking from gourds and crude tin steins.

But now we come to my favorite piece of the entire day. The Turtle. This is an 1856 piece from my home town of Brooklyn New York. How odd that I should find it here in Charlotte. If there was ever a piece of ceramic that appealed to me more than this one does, I don't remember it.

There were plenty of paintings to look at, but with the flash not allowed, and the lighting so dim, it was hard to get any pictures worth printing here. But the entire Museum, as well as the Coco Chanel exhibit, was a real treat to see.

The Ancient Art Of Sawgrass

This drawing is titled "The Basket Lady Sketch" by Randy Leibowitz Dean. It hangs in our kitchen. The woman in the sketch represents the Gullah people, who, descended from African slaves, and live on the outer islands of Georgia and South Carolina. They practice the art of sawgrass weaving, producing highly coveted baskets of all shapes and sizes. The art form is ancient, first being done to make baskets for the sifting of grain, and then for the storage of that same grain. With time came competition, with villages competing with one another to produce the finest baskets. Then slavery came and almost obliterated this art form, which fortunately was handed down for generations.

And the passing of the torch continues, with the yougsters of the area obtaining their licenses to sell in public, like this young man who was posted at the entrance to the Aquarium in Charleston the other day, busy weaving sawgrass into roses. There are also market places where specific strawgrass artists sell their own unique baskets and other forms of strawgrass art. It's amazing to watch them weave with such expertise, changing them from simple blades of grass into useful, and also beautiful, objects.

These roses will never wilt, or fade away. And having seen them made makes them all the more special. Historically, the Gullah are the remains of an African tribe which settled near Savannah, Georgia. They located themselves by the Ogeechee River, which gave birth to the name "Geechee", which is usually a derogatory term employed by others when referring to the Gullahs. Of all the African tribes affected by slavery, the Gullah have been the foremost in retaining their cultural roots. Even their language is based on their African heritage, with many words adopted during the "Middle Passage", lending an influence of Jamaican and Creole, along with Bahamian dialects thrown in, giving the language a musical, lilting sound. Along with the arts and crafts that have been passed down, Gullah stories, food and folk beliefs still make up this unusual community, which spans the coast from Georgia to North Carolina.

"Banksy - Wall and Piece" by Banksy

Of all the books I have seen on graffiti this is the most unusual. Even the copyright, or lack of a proper one, is unusual. In the authors opening statement, he asserts that, "The people who truly deface our neighbourhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff. They expect to be able to shout their message in your face from every available surface but you're never allowed to shout back. Well, they started the fight and the wall is the weapon of choice to hit them back." This statement sets the tone for the book, which is a beautifully printed 200 and some page collection of some of the most politically, and socially, provocative graffiti which I have ever seen.

Banksy is an internationally known, and anonymous, graffiti artist, painter, writer and filmmaker. This book is a collection of some of his favorite, and most provocative works.

Most of the book is comprised of his work in London, but it also branches out to other countries as well. Isreal, the Palestinian Territories, Paris and even California are all represented here. But this is not the usual type of graffiti that marks gang turf. This stuff is sociological in it's nature, reflecting the concerns, political as well as economic, of the people who live in these countries. Some of the work is truly art.

The beautiful vistas painted on the seperation wall in Bethlehem are breathtakingly real. It appears almost as if you could walk through the wall to the other side. You can taste the freedom of movement intended by the artist.

The British graffiti is also very different than our own brand here in America. Much of it is comprised of "stencil" art, prodding the officials with satirical artwork, exposing the fallacies of the system. One of my favorites involves the sign posted in the water of the lake at St. James Park in London. The sign, complete with the symbol for a Radiation Hazard, simply appeared overnight. The Metropolitan Police actually posted a guard at the site to assure passers-by that it was not a threat.

From road signs depicting "Flying Pigs Crossing", to stencils of children holding helium filled balloons in order to float over the Seperation Wall, this book kicks, and prods, the reader into thinking. And thinking is what good art is all about. Isn't it?

"Impressionism" by Karin H. Grimme

This is a wonderful book. Beginning with Frederic Bazilles' "Family Reunion" and ending with Frederico Zandomeneghi's "Place d'Anvers in Paris", this book offers up 40 of the greatest Impressionists of all time. That's Georges Seurat's "The Bathers at Asnieres" (detail) on the cover.

The book is arranged alphabetically and the pages alternate with a narrative facing each reproduction. In this way you can enjoy the paintings on your own and then explore what the narratives say. This format allows you to gain some new insights as well as to reinforce the things you already know. It's kind of like a paperback museum.

My preference in art has long run to the Impressionists, so when this one popped up in the Mooresville Library today I was more than happy to take it home. With a forecast of up to 6" of snow this evening I thought I might gather some warmth from the works of these masters.

When I look at the "Boats on the Seine (near Asnieres)" by Renoir the sunshine of a French summers day warms me. The same is true of DeNittis' "Flirt", I can feel the heat of the Parisian streets in the summer. I wander through the "Artist's Garden at Vetheuil" courtesy of Claude Monet and his mastery of light.

I can't pronounce most of the names of these paintings. My tongue gets twisted and I clam up. But my love of them goes beyond the spoken. The use of light and color draw me in more than any other works of art.

The pleasure of these paintings comes from something very simple and innocent. The desire to rest the eyes and soul, drinking in the beauty of a summers day would be explanation enough, but it goes beyond that. It is like sitting in the sun and gathering warmth - deep inside - where I'll really need it on a winters eve when the snow is piling up outside the window as I write.

"graffiti NEW YORK" by Eric Felisbret

I have never really understood graffiti. Having been born when graffiti was considered vandalism and a crime it has been hard for me to see it as a legitimate, albeit often interesting, form of art.

TV has also done a good job of painting graffiti (excuse the pun) as the expression of urban gang turf wars. Reading this book has taken me beyond that shallow perception.

In "graffiti NEW YORK" the author introduces us to the artists and their motivations for creating these modern urban murals. He has also observed and participated in the Graffiti movement for over 30 years. He is recognized as an authority on the form and context of the art.

Loaded with page after page of New Yorks best Graffiti, Mr. Felisbret, formerly of the DEAL and CIA graffiti groups, offers insight into the whys, hows and meanings of the various forms that adorn everything from subway cars to the sides of buildings and even bridges.

What statements are these artists trying to make? Are they really artists? And how do the police view these off beat modern troubadours of urban art? The book is informative and filled with the colors of urban living. And though I generally don't like it, I will never look at graffiti in the same benign way again.