Magna Visium

According to Dewey: "There are transient and there are enduring elements in civilization. The enduring forces are not separate; they are functions of a multitude of passing incidents as the latter are organized into meanings that form minds. Art is the great force in effecting this consolidation. The individuals who have minds pass away, one by one. The works in which meanings have received objective expression endure."
What happens to the individuals without minds? It seems, sometimes, as though they also endure, like art.

Naval Aviation: an Operetta

A couple of announcements: First- I made a new Print-On-Demand book called "19-Handed Monster and Other Dumbass Operas- available from Blurb.com along with the book of sketchbook drawings I entitled "Amphiboly." I have priced both books at what it costs to print them, without a mark-up, simply because, for what they are (a vanity project, clear and simple,) they are hideously expensive; the paper back version of the painting book will probably cost you $35 bucks to order, ship and pay tax on- (yikes!) But, if you are family or friend- although I would love to give you all one for free- my budget is extremely tight, these days- so,......
And, second, I will be participating in the semi-annual Brewery ArtWalk- coming up April 5th and 6th. If you are on my mailing list you will be getting an announcement card in the next couple of weeks. If you aren't on my list, send me an email and I will make sure you get a wonderful announcement, suitable for framing (in a very small frame.)


Another news flash: I will be showing in a solo show at the San Luis Obispo Art Center in April and May- details to follow.



In my John Dewey reading today, I came across a passage that crystallized something for me:
"The difference between external and intrinsic operations runs through all the affairs of life. One student studies to pass and examination, to get a promotion. To another, the means, the activity of learning, is completely at one with what results from it. The consequence, the illumination, the learning, is at one with the results from it. Means and end coalesce,....
..., Being "good" for the sake of avoiding penalty, whether it be going to jail or going to hell, makes conduct unlovely.,.... A large part of popular revulsion against utilitarianism in moral theory is because of its exaggeration of sheer calculation."

A new idea came to me on my walk, this morning- what about evolving the Dumbass Opera paintings into a series of pieces that feature expressionist/absurdist imagery of naval aviation?

There Is No Perfect Beauty that Hath Not Some Strangeness in Its Proportion

I’ve always liked this sentiment. Along with “The beautiful is always strange,…” or, “We are in love with what disappears,….”

The Beautiful is often an accident. Certainly, in people, it is an accident of genetics and destiny. Beautiful is contextual and transitory. What is beautiful today will vanish tomorrow, be ravaged by the elements –(although, the elements, time in particular, have a great leveling effect on the nature of appearance- all things are beautiful in time.) The physics of this nature are, therefore, reciprocal?

I am not trying to get anywhere- except to this next moment- perhaps with a sense of satisfaction and some small degree of worthiness. I often wake in the middle of the night and feel grateful for the gift of my life- even as unsubstantial in the face of destiny as it might be. This is beautiful.

I don’t know where I’m going, although madness may be an optional destination. Merle Haggard tells a story about Bob Wills, who said “I never sweat songs out,…” This is the creative tactic I want for myself. John Dewey said, “Rigid predetermination of the end product, whether by artist or beholder leads to the turning out of a mechanical or academic product… “ so, an addition to my personal manifesto might read something like:

Make it quickly
Don’t allow it to take up too much room
Forget about chasing beauty

Of course this will, no doubt, incur the scorn and wrath of the purists, the academics and the artista fascists who may point out, and probably correctly, that these sentiments are merely rationalizations and justifications for excusing the lack of intensity, industry and talent. To some degree, they are correct.

I realize the inherent fascism of this statement, as well.

In the Kingdom of the Blind

John Dewey: "The conception that objects have fixed and unalterable values is precisely the prejuidice from which art emancipates us."

Our duty to each other is to re-present those moments of liberation, somehow, amongst the responsibilities of survival, social adhesion and the anxiety of careerism. If you can turn away from the wind of all this, even for a moment, and not give a fuck, one way or the other, whether anyone understands or even cares- that's the trick. I do think we all have an audience of a hundred, or so, some less, some more, that do get it- to my audience, wherever you are- thanks!

"What will will they think of my hat,
the Polish, in a hundred years?

What will they say about my poetry,
Who never touched my blood?

How do we measure the foam
That slips from the beer?

What does a fly do, imprisoned
in one of Petrarch's sonnets?"

-Pablo Neruda
Number Ten- the Book of Questions