violethour

Cherry Blossom Pink

In this hand I hold Movement

and in this hand I hold Evolution

Inside me I keep Perception

--

Can I get it done in time?  I don't know.  There's a whole lot of work to go.

And this here computer of mine is moving pretty slow.

 

Buddah in line at the Shibuya Train Station at 5:00 PM on Friday.

Reintroduced to the Wild Orangatang meets Me in the Forest

Let the Right One In

Do You Know Which Way is Up?

 

Add a new category…-

Larry Salzman, Dave Goldberg, Duane Allen and Leo Coronado on the Theramin - Soundtracks, Landscapes and Atmospheres
Charlie Visnic on the Modulating Synthesizer

Opening Monologue (Socialist Utopian History and Philiosophy) -  Random Guy that Walked in
Quiet Guy - His Friend

Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.

You are Closer than You Think.

To Changing the Way You See.

You are Closer than You Think.

Change the Way You See.

•

Your time is coming

•

 

I Fell into You

I Fell in You

•

So Much More

So Much More

 

 

what about the woman he shot (yeat, well, what about her?)

Why am I not shocked by this ...  http://www.theawl.com/2010/12/sarah-palin-the-tv-star-exposes-sarah-palin-the-fake-hunter  But knowledgeable hunters would have all recoiled in horror watching Palin immediately place her finger on the trigger of the

   

 

"hot

Savage 110 as it was handed to her. Keeping one's finger off the trigger until the very moment of the shot is the first lesson any responsible hunter ever learns.

But Palin's inexperience with guns is in no way more obvious than when she is handed the rifle and she asks, "Does it kick?" It was an exchange Brad Schlegel took note of, writing on Palin's Facebook wall, "'does the rifle kick' what kind of a question is that? Doesn't matter if it kicks or not you shoot it the same. That was a girly question momma griz."

Update ... As former Governor of the state, Palin should know that Alaska's policy is that "Upland and big game hunters are strongly recommended to wear Hunter Orange."

  What's in your Fridge?

 

The Good With the Bad

Is it in?

Or is it Out?

Maybe I just need some more wine.

or ...

(I'm not gonna tell you)

because well, that'd let my secret out

and we can't do that, now can we?

if you want some secrets,

try looking   here

in

THE SPACE IN BETWEEN

But this is not enough, is it ?

You want more than I can give.

and I can't give enough

no more than any mortal

being

could be expected to

 

I take the Good with the Bad

and the bad with the Good

and I mix it all up and sometimes the ratio is

more bad than good and other times

its the other way.  And just so you know, not

assuming here that you even really care or

whatever, but,

sometimes it

s just perfect

perfectly in equilibrium

shangri-la

nirvana

black rock city

On to the Temple then!

Let us all March together

to the Temple of Love

Let us all March Together

under Sun High Above

Dreaming each step

knowing that soon

the train's horn will

blow

 

 

Degenerates, Moderns and Everyone Else ... at the Violethour Thurs Dec 10

Hello Everyone:

IT'S SHOWTIME at THE VIOLETHOUR
THURSDAY  DECeMBER 10, 2009
DOORS  OPEN  AT  6PM
225 West Santa Fe Ave, Fullerton, 92832
714-441-1504

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MIKE'S MADE SANGRIA 
CANDACE is MAKING GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
ANDREW MARKS  STARTS  PLAYING PIANO AT 7PM.  GENERAL MAYHEM WILL LIKELY FOLLOW SOON AFTER
    and if that's not enough,
THE TEN SESSION (JAZZ JAM) FOLLOWS at 10PM WITH DAVE KURTZ AND MIKE SELFRIDGE AT THE  HELM

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AND THE ART .....

Candace and I were fortunate to be able to take advantage of her Flight Attendant benefits and make a quick trip to Munich last month.   That trip is the inspiration for the Art we've been creating this past month.  

1.

 



MUNICH:
The Travel itself was a mixture of laughter, folly, history, philosophy  ...  and the Back Street Boys.  Our daughter Micki is on tour with them.  So, in a span of 48 hours, we saw the Back Street Boys at the Zenith Cultural Hall, walked the Old City Centre and got some great ideas of where we could've gone if we had more time.  We had such a great time, I've put it all in an 80 page book called THIS IS US.  We'll have the book in the studio and we'll have selected images from the booked on display.  You can view the entire book by clicking here.

2.




Munich was not only the 'capital' of Jewish Germany, Munich was also the birthplace of the the Nazi Movement.  Hitler, who was an artist himself, despised Modern Art, and not so much because he felt it a 'Jewish Conspiracy'; but because he believed that Art should support and exalt the values of the Nation.   Modern Art all over the world was seen by many as elitist, self-serving, morally corrupt and simply incomprehensible.  Even today, many people who, if shown, the works that Hitler would deem 'degenerate' , would agree with him.  We universally associate the name 'Hitler' with 'Evil' and we do so without much thought or debate.  And we also universally ask ourselves,  "how could a nation allow such a Man to come to Power?"  and "how could a Nation allow such atrocities to occur under their very eyes, ears and noses?"     But universally, not many people know the Hitler before World War Two began.   Hitler manipulated peoples fears, focusing the light to further his own aims ... the States Aims.   Artists deemed 'degenerate' were removed from their teaching positions, not allowed to show their work; and,  in some cases, artists were banned from even making art.  Modern Art, which itself was a reflection of the ongoing social and scientific  evolution of the time was not embraced by many of the Power Elites across the globe, because Modern Art made people think.  And it was not to the advantage of every government to have its citizens thinking freely and independently of the Central Authority.  Hitler's actions (in respect to the Degenerates) may appear to have been bold and brazen; but I wonder how many governments, how many politicians, then and today, secretly admired (and still admire)  his actions.  Hitler's rise to power was not shocking.  Rather, it was admired by more than we now care to admit. Now, look at how we treat art and artists today, especially in these tough economic times.   Are we encouraging free thought and creativity?  Are we afraid of what we don't like or don't wish to see?  Do we secretly wish the State would ban certain topics and conversations and even people from our educational systems?   Perhaps, one way we can keep ourselves from repeating history, is to allow open and free examination of  history, how we interpret it, and what it means to us today, individually and collectively.

To this end, I offer my own
INTERPRETATIONS OF  DEGENERACY


3.





SELF INTROSPECTION

Following the trail of the Degenerates ultimately leads to Self Introspection.  How easy it is to comment on the Failings of Others, on the Ills of Society, on the Greed of those in power.  But at some point, such a journey always leads to Self.  to the Ego.  To the Id.  To the 'I'.  Such is a journey I have been on.  And journeys of self-introspection are not always pretty, nor happy  ... nor desired to be shared.    But if the artist is to be socially relevant and if the aim of said 'art' is to fan the flames of creative thought, tolerance  and free expression, then should the artist not be willing to risk the labels and sanctions  others might impose? 

And so, to compliment my  'Interpretations of Degeneracy',  I present the 'proof pages' of a book I will be sending to the Publisher next week.   Perhaps it will be called, 'FAILINGS, ILLS and GREED' , told through the eyes of my youngest daughter Holly on a trip into Los Angeles we took last year on December 23 ... a metaphor itself, as  Victoria Dailey would say.  "Their elders had looked to nature as inspiration and subject; these new artists (modernists) looked to the forces within nature."   Daily would go on to say that, "It has been suppose that modernism was a complete break with the past, but only in its outward manifestations was it different, for it still had the same messianic desire to teach the truth, to reveal the essence of nature and to heal through art." 

4.




THE AWAKENING OF M

"Artistic Photography requires both a clarity and a philosophy of vision combined with a thorough knowledge of the mechanics of the medium."   These words, written by Michael Dawson, but words that actually are intended to be spoken by Arthur Miller, art critic for the Los Angeles Times during the late 20's,  echo throughout my soul.  My teacher, Al Divito, of Fullerton College, himself a student of both Ansel Adams and Brett Weston, practiced these words,  and by practice, I mean Al printed only full frame.  Ed Weston himself did just this ... no retouching, no cropping, no enlarging ... all in pursuit of the search "to refine and expand the clarity of vision."  
So you can imagine my disappointment (in self) when Candace, made the comment a few days after my posting them, that the images of Melissa were boring.  I had to put aside the anger because there simply wasn't time, not today.  These images resonated with me.  Why hadn't they with Candace.  What was I missing?  Was it in fact my strict allegiance to the practice of full frame printing.  Was I so caught up in the dogma of the Gods, that I was not allowing myself to see, let alone evolve?  I went back to the series of image shot over a year ago during the summer of 2008.  And I cropped.  I enlarged. I dodged and burned and looked deep inside highlight and shadow.  And when Candace saw some of the prints, she commented favorably and when I told her they were the same ones she didn't like the day before,  she said, "Oh, I didn't recognize it."
And that's when it hit me, like an apple falling from a tree ...   it's not important where I came from,  of what lineage I can trace my artistic roots to; nor is it important where I shall be tomorrow, for what is important is now.  Here. And what it is I wish to say.
I want to say.  I am here to say.

--------------

So why not come by tomorrow and see what we are up to.

I must admit that my idea of a 'private club' sounded good on paper; but it's application has been a failure.  Not that failing is bad; failing certainly establishes the lower end of the bar.  The bar could probably drop a bit lower still, but we'll leave it where it is at for now.  What does this all mean?

Candace and I are still going to host events filled with music, art and conversation ... the experience will continue to be one of participation and immersion.
The events will still be considered 'private', however, we will not be setting up any kind of monthly membership fee.  We'll have Sangria, Coffee and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  You can bring in your favorite beverage and we'll pour it for you.   If you want to give us a donation, we'll happily and gratefully accept,  as will our musicians and poets and other performers.  And there'll be plenty of art to purchase,  all of which we can matt and frame for you -  and if you're so inclined,  we can photograph you,  sometime during the evening; or privately, personally.  This is History we are making.
And you can be a part of it.
The Modernist Movement within Los Angeles continues to evolve just as science and society evolve.

Come join us.

Tomorrow night.
Thursday, Dec 11
Doors open 6pm.
Music starts at 7pm.

Directions-more info ... click here

The Degenerates

Frank Dissent is Not Betrayal but rather, it's exact opposite

What then is the purpose of the Audience?

Politicians masquerading as pornographers masquerading as artists and philosophers and visionaries, who see below the surface into something much deeper, richer and so much purer.  The masks we wear are not masks at all.  We are what we project.   We are what we see.  We can pretend we are something else, something perhaps better,  perhaps morally justified,  but such things are really nothing more than the effects of the drugs we take ...  and the drugs are consumerism and materialism.  There is no longer a need to warn America of it's impending collapse; for the collapse has already occurred.  We just haven't pulled our heads out from the sand yet. It is not the Degenerates that you have to fear; rather, it is your definition of deviance that should scare you.  Hitler is not the enemy.  Hitler was and remains a projection of the people's fears.   Look around you.  Hitler exists today.  Seeking to Feed Fish to Fish.

 

(L)  When the Drugs wore off by M&C Magoski
(R)  Before Hitler Came to Power featuring the The Mulato by Emil Nolde

Is it fitting that the artwork we chose for this piece was by Emil Nolde?  Emil himself was a member of the Natzi Party and yet his work was branded Degenerate by the Party and over 1000 of his pieces was removed from circulation; and further, he was banned from producing any art. Art is not rhetoric. Your politics are your politics.  You must come to your own conclusions and face your own prejudices.  I cannot be responsible for your ethical conduct or your moral misconduct.  I can only hold my own leash.

(L) (Degenerate) Art is the Agreed Upon Victim by M&C Magoski
(R) Enlightened Thinkers are Degenerate by M&C Magoski

(L) Can I Help You by M&C Magoski
(R) Love Hurts, Lonely is a Man without Love by M&C Magoski

Talking People Through

Oh My Darling, Tell Me When

"We think of our culture as mature because it tolerates diversity, and we consider barbarians those members of our culture who do not. And that's that. Otherwise, it would be as if we decided, if there were still cannibals in some corner of the world, that we should go off and eat them, because that would teach them a lesson."
-Umberto Eco, Turning Back the Clock, p.245

And to that I respond

Choice is the difference between enlightenment and entertainment.  That we can 'choose'  how the words and actions of others effect and affect our own path through Life, clearly indicates where each of stands on the evolutionary ladder.

The Thorns Was Not My Idea

nor was it the reason the Song was written either ....

            We found this bit of 'grafitti' on a wall in Amsterdam, 

Modern culture gives way to historic rituals, so engraved in our psyches that I question the very notion of what purpose our ability to individually reason and arrive at unique conclusions.  We humans tend to think individually only when the collective thought of our culture cannot satisfy the natural need of acceptance.  Wordsmith's (like Eco) clearly conceal their own true selves within the beauty of their lavish and carefully constructed texts.  The philosopher that relies on Human sense for interpretation is in fact no philosopher at all; but rather, a partner with the economic and power elite that determine what the history of a culture will be.

Thus, I say to you,

Examine your own consciousness and then shoulder your own rsponsibilities.

Cuando Cuando Cuando

"Habla espanol?"

If you happen to be in our studio, and you hear this song playing, you must Samba (or at the least, attempt your best interpretive dance move that expresses your inner beings true feelings about this activity we call Life. 

• Candace and I are going to find this woman and do a photo shoot with her. 

You're the Lucky One!

Were we ever! Flying standby has it's benefits and its drawbacks. It's actually harder to fly domestically than it is to fly internationally, so lucky we were to catch a flight out of Orange County to Chicago on our journey to Munich to see the Back Street Boys.

Yes, economy is a bit wretched. But then we are in a metal tube. I really do enjoy watching people try and force their belongings into the overheads. I also find it quite interesting observing human behavior. I think people exhibit more patience while on a commercial airline flight than anywhere else in the world.

 

The Exit Door Seat

^{yes, I now realize that it's probably not a good idea to show  this picture
horizontally.  We were not diving to our demises here.}

Candace informs me that when sitting next to the emergency exit door of an Airbus 319, if there is an emergency and the cabin has to be evacuated, before any of that can happen, someone has to walk out onto the wing and attach a rope to that fixture you see in the lower left.  "Who does that?", I ask her.  "The passenger sitting closest to the door of course."

I realize that this passenger we are talking about is me. 

"No one said I'd have to walk out onto the wing when I was asked if I would help with evacuation. So if we have to ditch in the Atlantic, before anyone can get out of this door, I have to walk onto the wing and attach a rope to that thing out there.  And Why is it so far from the door?   What happens if I slip and fall off the wing into the water and drown?"

"We'd tell the guy in seat next to you to give it a try."

"I don't suppose a Flight Attendant would consider doing that?"

"Of course not, after a plane crashes, the Flight Attendant is the most important person on the plane."

"Not the pilot?"

"You think they're going to be able to help everyone get out of the aircraft?  If the Flight Attendants die, then everyone dies."I don't quite believe that logic because I think that if the plane ditches in the ocean, the passengers are going to find a way off that plane if the Flight Attendants cannot maintain order; in fact, I think you'd see quite the reversal from extreme politeness and cooperation to Lord of the Flies every Man for himself.  Life and Death situations bring out the beast in us.

Note the distance I'd have to walk to attach the
rope?  Are Airbus engineers sadists?  I don't even
get it ... why a rope? This is a Jet Airliner, not
a Sailing Ship

CHICAGO

When we arrive in Chicago, night has fallen. The view out the window, even if I have to scale the wing, is worth that effort.  To see our world from above is really something not to be taken for granted; and yet, how many of the windows are closed.  How many of the people down there have  stopped looking up.  With all of our scientific and technological marvels, we really still have the mentality of our ancestors, but economy is not the realm of philosophy.  It's too cramped.  If One should read philosophy at 31,000 feet, then a glass of fine wine with feet up in the air is in order.  Although, I'd point out that if Refugio was traveling with me, we'd be fine in Economy. We'd have drinks and we'd discuss the world.  Refugio would likely be buying everyone around us drinks (does anyone ever do this on the plane?) and he be yelling in his best Che Gueverra, "we only live once! Come on Man!  Let's celebrate Life!"  And we'd all raise our plastic glasses high.  "To the revolution!", he'd proclaim.  And of course, someone would say,  "Are you communists over there?   Are communists buying me drinks?"
"Communists?"  Refugio would look at me.  "I am not a communist", he would say,  "I believe in the revolution of the mind"  ... and the intensity in his face would increase a few notches,  "of the MIND!" 

But I am not traveling with Kuko (as those who know Refugio affectionately call him.  I am with Candace. 

FIRST CLASS

And if I am with Candace, that means I might get bumped into First Class.  Seriously, there is no finer way to travel than to travel First Class in a Boeing Triple 7 across the Atlantic. 

 

If I shared the the menu with you, would that just be too much?  Candace enjoyed her Duck
with a very nice Reisling to start and then switched (at my urging) to the French Burgundy.
She did this while watching a movie.

  I, on the other hand, left my video screen on the navigation mode so that I could track our progress across the Atlantic, and settled into what would become a three day relationship with Umberto Eco, the Italian Philosopher with the oversized ego and matching vocabulary to prove it. His words are, for the most part, poignant; however, he has a tendency to get lost in his own sentence structure.  I enjoy this immensely, and find the exercise very productive on the aircraft ... you see, I am somewhat restricted in my behaviors.  It is a precondition for being allowed to sit up here in First Class.  There is a Dress Code and there is an unspoken Code of tolerable behavior.  As much as I want to yell and scream at some of the atrocities that Eco commits to paper, I cannot.  I am afterall a guest of United Airlines.  So, with red ink in hand, I underline, I scratch and I scribble comments and notations all over his book.  I have half a mind to mail the book back to him.  I have another smaller percentage of mind to just go to Milan and find him and give him the book.  "Umberto" I would say, "Here is your book.  I have mad some comments for you.  Please read them and we will discuss over Barbera (yes, yes,  ... d'asti).  But if I am to find Umberto Eco, I must take Kuko with me.  Candace would not tolerate Eco's elitist attitudes for long.  She would call him on his 'shit' and we would liekly be kicked out of Italy before we had the opportunity to finish the wine.

I drink wine and eat well and then sleep.  When I awake we are an hour from Munich.  And I am 180 pages in Umberto.  I should note at this time that we have never been to Munich before and neither of us speaks German, but should that stop anyone from traveling?

 

Our Boeing 777 at Munich Airport

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yes, stay tuned for Part 2