Gregg Chadwick's "Elephant Song" at the Los Angeles Zoo's Beastly Ball 2023

Gregg Chadwick

Elephant Song

30"x24" oil on linen 2023

"Elephant Song" depicts an African Elephant in its natural environment.  The title refers to the low frequency method of elephant communication. Elephants sing using the same physical principles as humans - using their immense larynx to produce very low notes.

Pitched below the range of human hearing, these infrasounds can travel long distances and enable elephants to connect with other elephants in hearing range. 

"Elephant Song" will be featured in the upcoming Beastly Ball benefit for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. The event is held each Spring at the L.A. Zoo and this will be my third year participating. For 60 years, the nonprofit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) has funded exhibits, capital projects, field conservation efforts, education and community outreach programs, and more at the Los Angeles Zoo, an international leader in the preservation of wildlife and care of animals.

 The “best party in town” returns on June 3, with favorite L.A. eateries, special animal experiences, dazzling entertainment, an incredible silent auction, and more. It’s the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association’s largest and most important fundraiser of the year, bringing in critical support for our work on behalf of the Los Angeles Zoo and its efforts in wildlife conservation, public education, and creating innovative experiences to connect people with nature. 

The Beastly Ball's online silent auction features a range of wild items and experiences. Browse the offerings starting on May 19 and make bids when the auction opens on May 26, all from your phone, wherever you are.                         Pre-register now to receive updates.

Beastly Ball 2023

Saturday, June 3, 2023, 6 p.m. 

Hosted by Joel McHale 

Beastly Ball Honoree: Diann H. Kim

Betty White Conservation Hero Honoree: Tom LaBonge, posthumously

An unforgettable evening of adventure and philanthropy, benefiting the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association

Link to more information on the Beastly Ball at https://lazoo.org/plan-your-visit/special-experiences/beastly-ball/#auction

Beastly Ball 2023 - Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (LA Zoo)

Happy Earth Day 2023!

 

Gregg Chadwick
The Greatest Of Wanderers
54"x54" oil on linen 2021

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is held each April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. I remember the first Earth Day that was held when I was an elementary school student. That day - April 22, 1970 - resonated deeply with me and I continue to support environmental actions across the globe. Today, Earth Day now includes a wide range of events in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet.

I was honored that last week Omni Presenti featured my painting "The Greatest of Wanderers". Dale wrote that "This is truly one of my favorite pieces on our website as I have a personal love for elephants. L.A. artist Gregg Chadwick is a master at layering and mixing color as seen in this large 54×54 oil painting, creating a beautiful and ethereal background for this majestic animal." 

#endangeredspecies and #nature paintings in the #fragileearth series in our #onlinegallery #animalart #elephantlove #elephantart #environmentalist #savetheplanet 

#protectwildlife #HappyEarthDay #EarthDay

The Water Carrier's Dream

Gregg Chadwick
The Water Carrier's Dream
oil on linen 2017

The Water Carrier's Dream is part of an ongoing, globally inspired series of paintings that considers our place as humans in the larger natural world. The elephant is both a symbol of resilient strength and also, because of the ivory trade, has become a symbol of the possible extinction of numerous animal species. Water as well is a symbol of life. The bucket the woman carries is part of an effort to make clean water safer and more accessible from local, community owned water facilities in Tanzania. The train entering from the distance brings the painting into the present day.

RIP W.S. Merwin

Gregg Chadwick

The River Dreams

16"x11" oil on linen 2009

I learned tonight about the death of  W.S. Merwin. I had a chance to chat briefly with W.S. Merwin after his wonderful reading at the Hammer Museum on October 29, 2009. We spoke of elephants and mystery and nature. Inspiring memories.

The poems of W. S. Merwin’s mature career were often Delphic, haunted, and bleak. They seemed to have been delivered unto him, and he transcribed them by lightning flash. https://t.co/Z4biUog5VT

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 17, 2019

More on W.S. Merwin:
W.S. Merwin Profile
Paul Holdengraber In Conversation with W.S. Merwin
Poem for Merwin 

Killing elephants for kicks on NBC Sports Network?

by Gregg Chadwick

Gregg Chadwick
Calvino's Elephant
30"x40" oil on linen 2011
Private Collection, Arcata, California

"In fact, the elephant recognizes the language of his homeland, obeys orders, remembers what he learns, knows the passion of love and the ambition of glory, practices virtues “rare even among men,” such as probity, prudence and equity, and has a religious veneration for the sun, the moon, and the stars."

From “Man, the sky and the elephant” pp. 315-330 of The Uses of Literature by Italo Calvino, Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1986.



An Open Letter to the Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal 

Dear Stephen Burke,

As Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal you oversee the vast and important array of news, sports and entertainment networks that make NBCUniversal a leader in global media. In many ways the world looks to you and NBCUniversal for not just entertainment but inspiration. With this in mind, it comes as a visceral shock to me that in a recent episode of Under Wild Skies, a man with a weapon shot pointblank and brutally killed an African elephant on television on your NBC Sports Network. In agonizing detail your film crew documented the suffering animal's futile attempts to run free and its unfortunate demise at the hands of a human with a gun. Do the values of NBC really fall in line with this type of programming? The tracking, hunting, and killing of an endangered species does not fall under anyone's rational definition of entertainment or sport. In almost every country across the globe killing an elephant is illegal and would guarantee a lengthy prison sentence. With this in mind I request that NBC cancel Under Wild Skies and help protect threatened wildlife around the world by supporting responsible wildlife conservation in your programming.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this vital matter.

Sincerely,

Gregg Chadwick

Sign a petition calling for an end to Under Wild Skies at the link below.

Gregg Chadwick‏@greggchadwick

Killing elephants for kicks? @NBC please stop airing episodes of #NRA sponsored show promoting violence towards #animals. https://www.causes.com/nbc-cancel-under-wild-skies?ctm=issues-animals … …

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The River Dreams

Gregg Chadwick
The River Dreams
16"x11" oil on linen 2009

I am reading WS Merwin's recent book of poems - The Shadow of Sirius - and thinking deeply about the mystery of our place in the universe. I had a chance to chat briefly with WS Merwin after his wonderful reading at the Hammer Museum on October 29th. We spoke of elephants and mystery and nature. Inspiring stuff.

Professor Stephen Yenser is doing an amazing job with this series of poetry readings at the Hammer. And Mona Simpson's favorite writers series is also top notch. Tonight, YiyunLi, author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, will be reading.

More on WS Merwin:
WS Merwin Profile

More on the Hammer Museum:
Watch and Listen

More on elephants and why we must protect them:


Elephant Reflections - new from UC Press
Photographs by Karl Ammann and Text by Dale Peterson