Speed of Life

Liu Xiaobo's Portrait at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway Credit: Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images "Today, the values of democracy, open society, respect for human rights, and equality are becoming recognized all over the world as universal values. To my mind there is an intimate connection between democratic values, such as transparency, the rule of law and freedom of information, and the fundamental values of human goodness." - The Dalai Lama (from his Facebook page December 10, 2010) Liu Xiaobo, poet and literary critic, today received in absentia the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Chinese authorities forbade Liu from traveling to the award ceremony and harshly criticized the selection of Liu Xiaobo. Liu is currently incarcerated as a political prisoner in China where he is serving an 11-year prison term for "inciting subversion of state power" because he was involved in the creation of a manifesto known as Charter 08 calling ...

Gregg Chadwick 76cm x 61cm oil on linen 2010 Currently on exhibit at Manifesta Maastricht, the Netherlands A Bowl of Roses by Rainer Maria Rilke You saw angry ones flare, saw two boys clump themselves together into a something that was pure hate, thrashing in the dirt like an animal set upon by bees; actors, piled up exaggerators, careening horses crashed to the ground, their gaze thrown away, baring their teeth as if the skull peeled itself out through the mouth. But now you know how these things are forgotten: for here before you stands a bowl full of roses, which is unforgettable and filled up with ultimate instances of being and bowing down, of offering themselves, of being unable to give, of standing there almost as part of us: ultimates for us too. Noiseless life, opening without end, filling space without taking any away from the space the other things in it diminish, almost without an outline, like something omitted, and pure inwardness, with so much curious softness, shining i...

Late Night Ridiculousness on the Day that Springsteen Releases " The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story" Enjoy! And my personal favorite: Because the Night w/ Stevie, Roy, Bruce and the Roots Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen on Late Night - Full Show

Gregg Chadwick Jordaan Window 25cmx25cm oil on wood 2010 Coming up on December 3-5, 2010, I am honored to lead a workshop on creativity with writer Phil Cousineau entitled Stoking the Creative Fires: Nine Ways to Rekindle Passion and Imagination Phil Cousineau's book "Stoking the Creative Fires" is an impassioned volume on creativity that combines myth, story and personal pilgrimages in a primer on the creative life. My painting "Fire Dream" graces the cover. We will use this book as a stepping off point for the upcoming workshop on creativity. It will be a rich journey through myth and art at Esalen. Sign up here: Reserve this workshop We hope to see you there! The Esalen Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 1962 by Stanford alums Michael Murphy and Richard Price as an alternative educational center devoted to the exploration of what Aldous Huxley called the "human potential." This world of unrealized human capacities that lies beyond t...

photo courtesy European Pressphoto Agency Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters after being freed today Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been freed from house arrest today in Burma. Much more to follow. Details at: Burmese Dissident Is Freed After Long Detention Gregg Chadwick The Road to Mandalay 40"x30" oil on linen 2007 Currently at Julie Nester Gallery

Gorecki Symphony No. 3 "Sorrowful Songs" - Lento e Largo (Soprano: Isabel Bayrakdaraian, Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod. Taken from "HOLOCAUST - A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz". For one of the first times since liberation, permission was granted for music to be heard in Auschwitz.) "I think that people are moved by the simplicity — which does not mean simple-mindedness — and the prayerful intensity of the music. Quite extraordinary. The Symphony No. 3 touched people in a way that few pieces do, now or ever." - Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author, former dj on WNYC in New York who played an early, Polish recording of the symphony for American audiences. "I will be extremely happy if some people 100 years from now would listen to some of my music. It's not a question of being famous and popular. It's a question of what you did and how you did it." Henryck Gorecki on NPR in 1995 I painted today, as I oft...

By Gregg Chadwick Winslow Homer The Veteran in a New Field 24 1/8" x 38 1/8" oil on canvas 1865 Metropolitan Museum of Art Veterans Day is more than just a day off. Instead it is a time to reflect on duty, honor, service, and life. Winslow Homer's The Veteran in a New Field portrays a Union veteran of the American Civil War back at work on the farm. But the painting is not instantly celebratory. There are no angels and there is no parade. Instead a psychic weight seems to be guiding the veteran's scythe as it cuts the stand of grain, much like the volleys of shot and shell mowed down troops, on both sides of that brutal war. There is hope though in the warm, life giving color of the wheat, a Northern crop, and the cerulean sky. All wars must eventually come to an end. Uniforms are cast off. Homer paints the ex-soldier's jacket and canteen tossed onto the newly cut field. Life does go on. The soldier will inevitably struggle to find his place in the mundane world ...

Dieric Bouts Weeping Madonna (detail) 15 1/4" x 11 7/8" c. 1480-1500 The Art Institute of Chicago James Elkins is now writing for the Huffington Post on art, especially the process of looking at art. His latest post entitled "How Long Does it Take To Look at a Painting?" is a must read. We are bombarded by visual images each day to the point where we are numb to their effect. How can we regain the ability to interact with great paintings and sculptures? James Elkins suggests that a simple solution is at hand: slow down, stop and gaze into a work of art. Don't have the time? Wander over to the nearest gallery or museum on your lunch hour. James Elkins writes beautifully about Dieric Bouts Weeping Madonna from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The video artist Bill Viola was also moved by the Dieric Bouts painting when his father was dying: "For the first time in my life I realised I was using a piece of art rather than just appreciating it....

By Gregg Chadwick "The university was controlled by and had to fight for intellectual purity against the Church, then it had to fight against the crown, and now it's against the corporation." Gordon Davies, Director of Virginia's Council of Higher Education 2002 Since the University of California System was founded in 1868, generations of Californians have built the UC System into the world renowned institution that it is today through their taxes, gifts, and hard work. The UCLA Anderson School of Management proposes to take a program, buildings, and facilities built with public tax dollars and student tuition and without public, student or governmental oversight turn public property into a private entity. This move would abandon the University of California Charter, give away the equity of generations of Californians, load students with ever increasing tuition bills, effectively deny the Californian middle class access to a school built by Californians for the Cali...

From the vaults - Circa 1978 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform The Promise . The video was sparely shot in black and white. Bruce's voice is hoarse and guttural. A definitive statement on broken promises and lost dreams. Gregg Chadwick Pegasus Night 38 cm in diameter oil on wood 2010 Currently on view at Manifesta Maastricht, the Netherlands Hat Tip to Pitchfork.

Gregg Chadwick The Sheltering Sky 218cm x 163cm oil on linen 2010 Currently on exhibit at the Manifesta Maaastricht Gallery in Maastricht, the Netherlands Rene Boitelle,views The Sheltering Sky at Manifesta Maastricht I was honored to have Rene Boitelle, a restorer at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, speak about my work at the opening on October 25, 2010.

I am back after more than a month on the road. Fall in Santa Monica is crisp and reminds be of all the autumn days that have past in my life. Michael McDermott's new song "Carry Your Cross" seems to sonically embody my thoughts and dreams. Take a listen to a beautiful and haunting song. More of Michael's poignant music at: The Music of Michael McDermott

My next solo show opens on September 25th at 5pm at ManifestaMaastricht in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. More info at: ManifestaMaastricht greggchadwick.com

Jimmy Fallon leads the cast of Glee along With Tina Fey, Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Jorge Garcia (Hurley on Lost), Randy Jackson (American Idol) in a "Gleeful" rendition of Springsteen's "Born to Run" in the opening skit from last night's Emmy's.

Sometimes music is the balm that soothes our pain. I am remembering my lost nephew Luke one year after his passing and sending musical empathy to my brother Kent Chadwick and his wife Cathy. Peace

By Gregg Chadwick "All men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion." - President Thomas Jefferson Let's Define Our Terms About the Proposed Islamic Center on Park Place I. Is the Proposed Islamic Center at Ground Zero? No, the new building will not be at the the former site of the World Trade Center and cannot be seen from Ground Zero. II. What is the Proposed Plan for the Building? The Park 51 Group has proposed a thirteen story building which will include: 1. Recreation spaces and fitness facilities (swimming pool, gym, basketball court) 2. 500-seat auditorium 3. Restaurant and Culinary School 4. Cultural amenities: Art exhibitions, Musical Performances 5. Education programs 6. Library, reading room and art studios 7. Childcare services 8. A prayer area ( On the thirteenth floor will be an Islamic prayer room which will be run be run separately from Park 51 but open to the New York Community) 9. September 11th mem...

photo by Richard Perry / New York Times Pictured in this New York Times photo from 2009 is my courageous family member Hannah Johnson tearing up as she applauds a New Jersey Senate committee vote on a bill to legalize gay marriage. The bill passed a committee vote but stalled in the Senate. The struggle continues in New Jersey and in California. (San Francisco, CA, August 16, 2010) — Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Proposition 8 proponents’ motion to stay U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision, which means that same-sex couples in California will not be able to marry while the case is on appeal. However, the Ninth Circuit put the appeal on a fast track and specifically directed that the Prop 8 proponents address "why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing” in their opening brief. ________________________________________ Statement on the from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell ”Every additional day that couples must...

In spite of its brevity, Daoud Hari's "The Translator" is an important book. Daoud's words courageously shed light on the horrors taking place in Darfur. On July 14, 2008 the International Criminal Court in the Hague charged Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, with ten counts of war crimes, three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The ICC Prosecution charges that President al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part" three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity. As I write this in August 2010, over two years after the publication of "The Translator", President al-Bashir has not been brought to justice and the situation in the Sudan has become increasingly untenable. After a brief cease fire in February 2010, the killings in Darfur continue. Daoud Hari remains exiled in the United States where his writing and speaking engagements continue to gather international sup...