BE INSPIRED

Kids Draw the News is on-going feature in the New York Times where children illustrate current events! Look at these ideas! The 2 drawings here are for a story about a Manhole Cover Mystery. If you’ve got kids you should submit their drawings

Ben Raviv, 6, Israel

Caedmon, 8, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

BE INSPIRED

ART PROJECT powered by google

I found this very cool site. The project was put together for people who love art but can't afford  to travel the globe to see some of the great master pieces. This site will give you a virtual tour inside 17 museums  from around the world such as: Van Gogh Museum, MoMA ny, Palace of Versallies etc. Explore, discover, and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces.

www.googleartproject.com 

Art Express and Communicates Something

Artists, Glen Ligon and Janine Antoni showed slides of their work at a symposium at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, which had been interpreted by the critics mostly in political terms. They insisted, however, that their art be evaluated in aesthetic terms as well.

Can the artist expect to control the viewer’s interpretation of their work?

And if so, wouldn’t this be accomplished through a direct technique? If the designed outcome has failed then it would seem the artist has failed to convey clearly his idea or message.

“Can the artist expect to control 
the viewer’s interpretation 
of their work?”

I find it interesting when artists get sensitive after putting out work and the public and or critics have an opinion on it, especially when that opinion is negative. Why would the artist react so defensively if the majority of viewers walk away with, in the artist’s mind the wrong impression? If we are asked to interpret a particular piece of work then the artist must somehow help the viewer to at least glean the idea or impression they want their work to have.

I teach my acting students that the actor’s job is to communicate the playwright’s story…to effectively express the words and feelings of their character in the context of the imaginary circumstances. If the audience collectively walks away with an unintended understanding of the work than somehow the actor has failed and maybe the director as well. As a theatre artist and director, when I produce challenging or innovative work I count it a success if at least two-thirds of my audience understands the material. Without the intention to communicate something I would be producing art for arts sake or for my own self-indulgence…rather selfish and pointless.  

“As a theatre artist and director, 
when I produce challenging or innovative work 
I count it a success if at least two-thirds of my audience 
understands the material.”

Artists are communicators. We fail when our work doesn’t communicate the intended idea. There is something to be said about the intended audience too. Art that some call “high art” is intended for a narrow exclusive audience – one that is cultured and sophisticated in their tastes. In the eyes of the wrong viewers misinterpretations will abound in this category. 

“Artists are communicators”

Leave your thoughts. What do you think? 

THINGS

This post is in response to feeling a bit stagnat artistically. And with this state comes a bit of depression...I'm fighting back! The artistic life is a tortured one isn't it? But I feel it doesn't have to be. I hope my list inspires you to think, be thoughtful, and be thankful. Please leave a list of your own.

Things I Stand In Awe Of

Bright stars in the sky at night

The morning after a fresh rain

The delicacy of a butterfly’s wings

The vast variety of plants

Shade trees and fresh cut green grass

The wind on a sunny spring day

The seemingly endless variety of animal life

Leaves blowing in the wind

Watching others create

Watching blades of grass being pushed over by a strong wind

Things That Are Good

The smell of fresh paint on canvas

Creating something new

The sounds of an audience laughing

The feel of new clothes against my skin

Watermelon on a hot summer day

Influencing someone else's talent 

Candy that sticks to your mouth

Things That Trigger A Found Memory

Running through tall grass

Red balloons

1950s pennies

Eating cereal on Saturday morning

Walking on the beach at sunset

Watching 4^th Of July fireworks over the pier

Saltwater taffy at the county fair

Running with a new pair of tennis shoes

Riding a two-seated bike by the lake

Fishing with crickets

Riding bikes in the redwood forest

Good Actors Should Smell Good

Yi-Fu Tuan writes in, Pleasures of the Proximate Senses a fascinating discussion on the aesthetic of smell. His examples and descriptions on the sense of smell bring to mind some personal thoughts on the same subject. Tuan believes “smell, compared with sight and hearing, affects our emotions at a more deeply buried level”.

For actors this observation is helpful. Some years ago I hired an acting coach to help me with an audition piece I was preparing for on the east coast. I was having some difficulty connecting to the character. It was not "real" to me and therefore, as I played the role I felt "fake". He began to walk me through an acting exercise for "sense memory/emotion memory" (taken from Constantin Stanislavski, who us theatre folk commonly call the father of modern acting theory). He asked me to recall a memory that matched the emotion (not necessarily the situation) of the monologue I was playing. As I thought for a moment I began to recall my aunt’s wake. I was 10 years old at the time and this was my first wake. My acting coach asked me to describe the room – smells – sounds. As I did, I began to smell those carnation flowers that everyone seems to send for funerals (to this day that smell reminds me of death). As I described more details of the wake, tears began to well up in my eyes. A deep sadness and loss come from nowhere. This is strongly tied to smell for me, for the moment I began to recall the wake I began to smell flowers.

Tuan says, “ odor has this power to restore the past because… it is an encapsulated experience…”. The other senses cannot achieve this great and immediate of a response. 

Have you ever smelt a perfume or cologne that brought you back to a time and place – usually bundled with a heap of emotion? Some smells remind me of grandma. Others make me think of my childhood – the best times.

A HUMBLE LITTLE LIST OF DESIRES FOR THIS YEAR
(please leave me some of your own)

Say yes more

Create even when I don’t feel like it (the motion produces motivation)

Be more aware of the wonder of life (notice what others overlook)

Look up more (literally and metaphorically)

Sit on the floor more

Play like a child

Re-read books that have inspired me (*)

Make time to paint once a month

Be comfortable with silence

Listen more

Give more away

Down size my possessions

Buy less

Live simple

Think profoundly

Reach for the higher fruit (take risks/step out in faith)

Explore a new artistic discipline

Embrace pain as an impetus to create

Respond to God’s voice

* (crazy love, the accidental master piece, orbiting the giant hairball, the dream giver, the creative habit, writing in restaurants, blue like jazz, living by fiction) 

I'm back. It's been a while since my last post. What happened... busy with the holidays. But I have been thinking about what direction to take the blog this year - so stay tuned for some new things. If you have any ideas please message me (feedback is better than Christmas). And if you follow my other blog I will be posting very soon. I have valued your reading and blog comments. It's truly is an honor to have you stop by and give me a read when there is so many other things that could take your attention. I wish all my readers a late but great New Year!

My Christmas Music Playlist (buy today)

Oh, Starling: "Joy" and this year's Ep release "Noel"  I call it alternative folk. They take pride in their artful rearrangements. You won't be disappointed. Support this independent christian Husband and wife team ($5 Eps and a free song download here).

JJ Heller: "Wake Up The World". Laid back and chill folk. Of course JJ is gaining popularity in the christian music ranks. This little 6 song release is nice on the ears. (buy here)   

"Salvation Is Created" by Bifrost Arts. They say they are "a sacred music non-profit that exits to enrich the church and engage with beauty and truth". This is unique and beautiful haunting at times and serene. Many artists have collaborated on this project. (buy here) 

"This Warm December" by Brushfire Records. This is for us people who live in the west. It's a compilation of artists such as Jack Johnson. It will make you want to have a cup of joe in your favorite coffeehouse or stroll the winter beach in your warmest coat and scarf - what can I say, it's the only type of winter we get out here on the coast. At 7.99 it's a great buy for 12 songs. (buy here) 

3 Things I'm Into Right Now

1. Let's Colour our World Project

I came across this project last year sometime and was so inspired with the concept: Grey is out. Gloom is gone. It’s time to live our lives in colour.

The Let’s Colour Project is a worldwide initiative from Dulux, Dulux Valentine, Coral, Flexaand Marshall to transform grey spaces with colourful paint. A mission to spread colour all over the world.

They are working together with local communities across the globe, rolling up our sleeves to paint streets, houses, schools and squares.

It’s the beginning of a colour movement that everyone can join in. Follow the journey on theLet’s Colour Blog and sign up now to find out how you can be a part of it. 

2. Sculpture artist: Derick Melander www.derickmelander.com

3. The rumors are true Cirque Du Soleil is producing and touring a Michael Jackson based show. The word is we will see him on stage by way of the latest hologram technology. Unlike their Beatles show "Love"  and "Viva Elvis" Michael will be performing his own songs. learn more

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