Speed of Life

I am eager to share with you an interview I did with Artists 4 Freedom on my paintings for Iran. Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin, Here's the link. Please feel free to comment on the site. Artists 4 Freedom They are doing important work.

"Our private lives continuously intersect with the history of our time. Rarely was this more evident than in Tiananmen Square in 1989 when I saw a million students rise up in protest. My friend climbed atop our taxi and shouted, 'Democracy is not only for America! Democracy is not only for China! Democracy is for the whole world!'" -Huston Smith The images from around the world bear witness to a global reality. "We are not sheep", they cry from the streets of Tehran to the streets of Urumqi. In both Iran and China, the ruling forces have duped many of the poor, rural citizens of their country into acting as proxy agents for their power grab. In China especially in Tibet and the Uighur regions, much like the British did during the height of their empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, ethnic groups are set against each other to distract the people away from the real foe - the unjust government. The riots this week in China were bloody and many innocents died...

Revolution '09 موج سبز , originally uploaded by greggchadwick . Gregg Chadwick Revolution '09 موج سبز 48"x36" oil on linen 2009 (in progress - the revolution and the painting) An Iranian citizen writes from Tehran: (from Andrew Sullivan) "I remember September 11, 2001. I remember watching TV all day worried and sad. I remember holding candlelight vigils with my friends for the victims. Then George W. Bush went on to declare us as one of the “Axis of Evil.” I remember asking myself, “Why?” Not a single one of the terrorists was Iranian, and I wondered why he didn’t bother to make a distinction between the government and the people. In fact, in all of the Middle East I don’t think there is a more pro-American nation than Iran, but no one made such a distinction. Consequently, the Iranian people were viewed with an aura of suspicion in every airport and embassy around the world for the rest of the Bush administration." "But all of that unfounded ...

From Don Was: On June 24, Iranian Superstar Andy Madadian went into an LA recording studio with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and American record producers Don Was and John Shanks to record a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran. This version of the old Ben E. King classic is not for sale - it was not meant to be on the Billboard charts or even manufactured as a CD.....it's intended to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people...to give voice to the sentiment that all people of the world stand together....the handwritten Farsi sign in the video translates to "we are one". If you know someone in Iran - or someone who knows someone in Iran - please share this link: Stand by Me for Iran free mp3 Stand by Me for Iran Video Much more at: Andrew Sullivan at theAtlantic

Cue David Bowie's Heroes as you watch this video from Iran which was posted today. Amazing courage.