Showing posts with label chadwick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chadwick. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Happy Birthday Walt Whitman

 by Gregg Chadwick


Gregg Chadwick
The Wound-Dresser
(Walt Whitman, Washington D.C., US Civil War, 1865)

30” X 24” oil on linen 2011

"The eyes transcend the medium."-R.B. Morris (Poet, Musician, Songwriter)   



Walt Whitman's poetry is a continual source of inspiration for me. Whitman's life story is also deeply moving. In December 1862 Walt Whitman saw the name of his brother George, a Union soldier in the 51st New York Infantry, listed among the wounded from the battle of Fredericksburg. Whitman rushed from Brooklyn to the Washington D.C. area to search the hospitals and encampments for his brother. During this time Walt Whitman gave witness to the wounds of warfare by listening gently to the injured soldiers as they told their tales of battle.  Whitman often spent time with soldiers recovering from their injuries in the Patent Office Building (now home to the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum), which had been converted into a hospital for much of the Civil War. Walt Whitman's experiences in Washington deeply affected his life and work and informed the core of his writing. 

Robert Roper's Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and His Brothers in the Civil War is an indispensible account of Whitman's time in Washington during the war.  Roper's book examines the Civil War through the experiences of Walt Whitman and provides new findings on the care of wounded soldiers both on the battlefield and in large hospitals in the capital and its environs. Roper also focuses on Whitman's emotional relationships with the  wounded troops he nursed. Walt Whitman journeyed from New York to find his wounded brother George and in the process Walt became a brother to thousands of wounded comrades. Whitman's volunteer work as a nurse during the Civil War is a story that needs to be told in all mediums.



Video by Kenneth Chadwick


The Wound Dresser
by Walt Whitman


An old man bending I come among new faces,
Years looking backward resuming in answer to children,
Come tell us old man, as from young men and maidens that love me,
(Arous’d and angry, I’d thought to beat the alarum, and urge relentless war,
But soon my fingers fail’d me, my face droop’d and I resign’d myself,
To sit by the wounded and soothe them, or silently watch the dead;)
Years hence of these scenes, of these furious passions, these chances,
Of unsurpass’d heroes (was one side so brave? the other was equally brave;)
Now be witness again, paint the mightiest armies of earth,
Of those armies so rapid so wondrous what saw you to tell us?
What stays with you latest and deepest? of curious panics,
Of hard-fought engagements or sieges tremendous what deepest remains?

O maidens and young men I love and that love me,
What you ask of my days those the strangest and sudden your talking recalls,
Soldier alert I arrive after a long march cover’d with sweat and dust,
In the nick of time I come, plunge in the fight, loudly shout in the rush of successful charge,
Enter the captur’d works—yet lo, like a swift-running river they fade,
Pass and are gone they fade—I dwell not on soldiers’ perils or soldiers’ joys
(Both I remember well—many the hardships, few the joys, yet I was content).

But in silence, in dreams’ projections,
While the world of gain and appearance and mirth goes on,
So soon what is over forgotten, and waves wash the imprints off the sand,
With hinged knees returning I enter the doors (while for you up there,
Whoever you are, follow without noise and be of strong heart).

Bearing the bandages, water and sponge,
Straight and swift to my wounded I go,
Where they lie on the ground after the battle brought in,
Where their priceless blood reddens the grass, the ground,
Or to the rows of the hospital tent, or under the roof’d hospital,
To the long rows of cots up and down each side I return,
To each and all one after another I draw near, not one do I miss,
An attendant follows holding a tray, he carries a refuse pail,
Soon to be fill’d with clotted rags and blood, emptied, and fill’d again.

I onward go, I stop,
With hinged knees and steady hand to dress wounds,
I am firm with each, the pangs are sharp yet unavoidable,
One turns to me his appealing eyes—poor boy! I never knew you,
Yet I think I could not refuse this moment to die for you, if that would save you.

On, on I go, (open doors of time! open hospital doors!)
The crush’d head I dress (poor crazed hand tear not the bandage away),
The neck of the cavalry-man with the bullet through and through I examine,
Hard the breathing rattles, quite glazed already the eye, yet life struggles hard
(Come sweet death! be persuaded O beautiful death!
In mercy come quickly).

From the stump of the arm, the amputated hand,
I undo the clotted lint, remove the slough, wash off the matter and blood,
Back on his pillow the soldier bends with curv’d neck and side-falling head,
His eyes are closed, his face is pale, he dares not look on the bloody stump,
And has not yet look’d on it.

I dress a wound in the side, deep, deep,
But a day or two more, for see the frame all wasted and sinking,
And the yellow-blue countenance see.
I dress the perforated shoulder, the foot with the bullet-wound,
Cleanse the one with a gnawing and putrid gangrene, so sickening, so offensive,
While the attendant stands behind aside me holding the tray and pail.

I am faithful, I do not give out,
The fractur’d thigh, the knee, the wound in the abdomen,
These and more I dress with impassive hand (yet deep in my breast a fire, a burning flame).

Thus in silence in dreams’ projections,
Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals,
The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,
I sit by the restless all the dark night, some are so young,
Some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad,
(Many a soldier’s loving arms about this neck have cross’d and rested,
Many a soldier’s kiss dwells on these bearded lips).


Below is a rich description from Walt Whitman's Diaries that captures his experience as a nurse:

"DURING those three years in hospital, camp or field, I made over six hundred visits or tours, and went, as I estimate, counting all, among from eighty thousand to a hundred thousand of the wounded and sick, as sustainer of spirit and body in some degree, in time of need. These visits varied from an hour or two, to all day or night; for with dear or critical cases I generally watch’d all night. Sometimes I took up my quarters in the hospital, and slept or watch’d there several nights in succession. Those three years I consider the greatest privilege and satisfaction, (with all their feverish excitements and physical deprivations and lamentable sights) and, of course, the most profound lesson of my life. I can say that in my ministerings I comprehended all, whoever came in my way, northern or southern, and slighted none. It arous’d and brought out and decided undream’d-of depths of emotion. It has given me my most fervent views of the true ensemble and extent of the States. While I was with wounded and sick in thousands of cases from the New England States, and from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and from Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and all the Western States, I was with more or less from all the States, North and South, without exception. I was with many from the border States, especially from Maryland and Virginia, and found, during those lurid years 1862–63, far more Union southerners, especially Tennesseans, than is supposed. I was with many rebel officers and men among our wounded, and gave them always what I had, and tried to cheer them the same as any. I was among the army teamsters considerably, and, indeed, always found myself drawn to them. Among the black soldiers, wounded or sick, and in the contraband camps, I also took my way whenever in their neighborhood, and did what I could for them."


More on Walt Whitman during the Civil War at:
Whitman's Drum Taps and
Washington's Civil War Hospitals



More on RB Morris at:
RB Morris.com

Note: Post is a lightly updated version of my May 31, 2012 essay on Walt Whitman. 


Sunday, February 11, 2018

He Called Her "Lightning"












Gregg Chadwick
Lightning (Edith Desch)
36"x 24" oil on linen 2018




Jersey Memories - Grandma Desch


by Gregg Chadwick

When I was little and my dad was off in Vietnam during the war, we lived in a small, rented carriage house behind a big estate. On the way to school each morning we would walk by the train platform full of commuters waiting for their ride into the city. I knew my Grandpa Desch drove trains and I often wondered as we passed over the tracks on the bridge on Ridgewood Avenue whether he was in one of the engines down below. It's only thirty minutes by train from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to Penn Station in Manhattan. Yet, there seemed to be a world of difference between my town with its quiet gas-lamp lit streets and the bustling avenues in New York City. The train was the artery between those two worlds and I never forgot it. 





The kitchen in Garwood was where Grandma Desch would spread her warmth. 

In a similar fashion, the quiet evenings at the house where my dad's parents lived in Montclair were a world away from my mom's parents' boisterous home in Garwood. Being one of eleven children, my mom was thrown into a swirl of hugs, greetings, questions, and desires the minute we walked through the door of the Desch home. Small in size, but full of warmth, my grandparents' house was a neighborhood gathering place. A black and white TV was usually on in the living room with a ballgame playing or often on weekend afternoons a pulpy science fiction film. Grandpa would often hold court here on his days off from the railroad. I remember Grandpa mussing up my hair when we arrived in a warm hearted gesture that implied get comfortable and join the fun. I was considered shy as a kid in this environment, and with my Southern California accent, I wasn't quite a true Jersey kid either.  If the living room was Grandpa's domain, the kitchen in Garwood was where Grandma Desch would spread her warmth. Usually wearing an apron, Grandma's world extended from the stove, to the sink, to the screen door leading out to the second story porch. Her meals were hearty and reflecting our Irish/German roots ranged from corned beef and cabbage to sauerkraut and sausages. My favorite breakfast at her house was a plate of browned potatoes fried up in her cast iron pan. 


"What's your exit?"

I remember Grandma giggling one morning when I spread mustard on my bread instead of butter because of a billboard I saw along the New Jersey Turnpike that depicted buttered bread with such a mustardy yellow that I thought it had to be a French's condiment ad. The New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway run the length of the state and at first meeting folks from Jersey often ask,"What's your exit?" Grandma and Grandpa Desch lived off of Exit 136 in Garwood, New Jersey. When we drove there from Exit 148 in Glen Ridge we would often detour through Irvington to grab an Italian hotdog or sausage at Jimmy Buff's. 




Gregg Chadwick
Jersey Rain (Jimmy Buff's)
30"x 40" oil on linen 2016


There are a few classic New Jersey staples: pork roll sandwiches such as Taylor Ham, saltwater taffy at the Jersey shore, and Italian hot dogs at roadside restaurants up and down the state. But, it is the smell of Taylor Ham cooking on a griddle that always brings me back to Grandma's kitchen.


An accumulation of memories

After painting my grandfather in Jersey Central Engineer (Arthur Desch), I was asked by my Uncle Jake to paint a companion piece of Grandma Edith Desch. His wish to honor both of his parents with my paintings of them was of great interest to me. In artworks such as these two portraits, venturing back into my childhood memories is an essential part in crafting a painting. Sadly, my grandmother passed away in 1976 and time has faded even the photographs we have of her. I would have to dig deep and remember the woman that my grandfather nicknamed Lightning. Hearing my extended family's stories of their times with the Desch clan helped me settle upon an idea for my portrait of Grandma Desch. She needed to be in her kitchen and she would need to have a warmth of spirit. Her painting would be built from an accumulation of memories. 


 Gregg Chadwick (center), his brother Kent Chadwick, 
and a group of Desch cousins in Garwood, New Jersey 



Gregg Chadwick
Jersey Cantos
16"x 20" oil on linen 2016

















Thursday, September 15, 2016

Artspace Artist Spotlight on Gregg Chadwick


Gregg Chadwick
The Artist (Joseph Beuys)
Oil on Linen
24.00 x 30.00 in
61.0 x 76.2 cm
Unique Work
This work is signed, titled, and dated on verso.


Honored to have my art recognized by as a featured artist! Link here:


Below you will find a rarely featured video by the artist Joseph Beuys from 1982.


Saturday, March 16, 2013

Today: Santa Monica Airport ArtWalk - March 16, 2013

Explore open studios, watch artful demonstrations, enjoy live music, food trucks and family friendly activities.

Painting, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media will be represented and many artists will be selling work from their studios and offering refreshments. 




More than 60 local artists and performers will have their private studios and works on view.

The airport has developed over time into an arts incubator, and is home to a number of creative venues housed in converted airplane hangars.
ARENA 1 presents:
Decade of Dissent: Democracy in Action, 1965-1975an exhibition featuring protest posters that reveal the persuasive power of art to inspire ideals of democracy. 
www.arena1gallery.com



12:30pm
GUIDED TOUR 
with Carol Wells, founder of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, the largest repository of post–World War II historical posters in the nation.


Facebook
Website
unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Azure Hour


40" x 30" oil on linen 2012

I'm excited to announce that my work has been featured in today's Saatchi newsletter. Here is a link to share with all:
http://eepurl.com/sJ8y9

What a perfect time of the day...."The Azure Hour." Painting by Saatchi Online artist Gregg Chadwick (LA). Learn more about this wonderful piece and view Gregg's portfolio here: http://saatol.us/UHezq1


Happy Holidays !

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Study for The City Dreams

Study for The City Dreams by GreggChadwick
Study for The City Dreams
GreggChadwick 
12"x12" oil on linen 2012

Will be exhibited at the Sandra Lee Gallery in San Francisco, California during the upcoming Holiday Group Show which runs from December 4th through the 29th.

Opening Reception:

Saturday, Dec 8, 2012 from 4pm to 6pm

at the Sandra Lee Gallery
 251 Post Street, Suite 310
San Francisco, CA 94108
 415.291.8000
art@sandraleegallery.com

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

A Perfect Storm

by Gregg Chadwick

President Barack Obama comforts Donna Vanzant today in Brigatine, New Jersey
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
 


The Megastorm Sandy roared into the Atlantic Coast on Monday night.  A thousand mile wide swath of destruction marked its path. The storm raged from the Carolinas to New England,  dumped a massive freak snowfall on West Virginia and flooded much of coastal New Jersey and New York City. Hundreds of thousands lost electricity, buildings were washed away, homes burned to the ground, and many died. But it could have been so much worse. As the night of Sandy wore on, many of us were reminded of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the feeble efforts to save the city of New Orleans. I was on twitter most of the night, communicating via 140 character messages what we knew and how to reach help. People were scared, information was spotty and at times poisoned with fake news from a now disgraced  Republican campaign manager who cruelly spread dangerous rumors of trapped emergency personnel. But arching over the discord and disinformation was the understanding that President Obama, via the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and his own personal courage, had our backs. 



Belle Ville

Gregg Chadwick
Belle Ville
11"x11" oil on linen 2005
Private Collection Los Angeles




As Sandy raged, I thought of my painting, Belle Ville, inspired by images flooding through the media of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It struck me that this strong woman carrying her child away from the storm, could in many ways be seen as Michelle Obama. And I knew that the man who married this heroic woman would carry us as well. Today  President Obama inspected the damage that Sandy brought and determined the continuing course of action with the head of FEMA, Craig Fugate, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. President Obama spoke to the American public across from a damaged marina in Brigatine, New Jersey. Barack's words were purposeful, calming, and filled with effusive praise for those working hard to take care of the people of New Jersey, in particular Governor Christie. Those words will be noted. But what will be deeply remembered is President Obama's comforting embrace of Donna Vanzant - who lost her livelihood, the marina from which the President spoke, in the storm's wrath. 
Pablo Martinez Monsivais captured a stirring photograph of that moment. This is how Hurricane Sandy will be remembered. A simple image of one man helping another in need. The question is answered. We do take care of our own. 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Santa Monica Art Studios Holds 8th Anniversary Celebration This Weekend @ Santa Monica Airport



Gregg Chadwick
Occupy
40"x30" oil on linen 2012

I am pleased to invite you to the 8th Anniversary Celebration of the Santa Monica Art Studios at the Santa Monica Airport. Come by this weekend - Saturday, October 13th from 6-9PM and Sunday, October 14th from 1-5 PM for a sneak peek at my new work in Studio #15 and the other amazing artists in our 22,000 square foot art laboratory.

Gregg Chadwick
Studio #15
3026 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Thursday, October 04, 2012

PBS Blasts Romney's Snide Threat To Defund Public Broadcasting, Eliminate Big Bird and Fire Jim Lehrer

by Gregg Chadwick

Graphic by Txvoodoo


Last night's Presidential Debate revealed a new Romney style to the public: a smirking, manipulative and untruthful Mitt whose only strategy seemed to be lying baldfacedly about his policy ideas. Already, Romney has had to admit that he pushed misinformation in the debate to , the author of the brilliant new book - The New New Deal 

I agree with Paul Krugman and Tyler Green: Most of the commentary about last night's debate seems to be "theater criticism." MSNBC even pulled James Lipton on-screen, host of Inside The Actors Studio, to critique the debate as if it were simply a theatrical romp. Romney, admittedly. delivered his lines forcefully and often condescendingly, but his words were full of evasion, hesitation, mis-truth, and outright lies. Romney came across as an infomercial huckster. 

In contrast President Obama was calm, empathetic, often bemused, professorial, a bit wonky at times,  and presidential.    

The take away from the debate seems to be Romney's snide threat to defund PBS, eliminate Big Bird, and fire Jim Lehrer. Responding to Mitt's comments and public shock at the casual way Romney proposed to off a beloved children's icon, PBS released a statement this morning. (Full Text Below) 

Romney's comment is so revealing because it is one of the few times that Mitt has actually presented a target of his proposed budget cuts. Romney is extremely vague on policy details and usually fails to describe clearly the vast and unpopular cuts that his style of governing would necessitate. The PBS statement released today reveals that "The federal investment in public broadcasting equals about one one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget. Elimination of funding would have virtually no impact on the nation’s debt. Yet the loss to the American public would be devastating." 

There is no real fiscal argument to make for the elimination of PBS from the federal budget. Instead, it is the first volley in a proposed culture war that Romney's moneyed and bigoted right-wing backers want to wage against our increasingly open-minded and inclusive society. Most reactionary movements begin with huge doses of anti-intellectualism and a purge of educators, authors and artists. By threatening to kill off Big Bird, Romney unwittingly drew a line in the sand that he deftly attempted to sidestep during last night's debate. Romney and his anti 47% cronies are coming after all of us and they want to start with our children.

I'll let Samuel L. Jackson have the last word today: 

PBS Statement Regarding October 3 Presidential Debate
ARLINGTON, VA – October 4, 2012 – We are very disappointed that PBS became a political target in the Presidential debate last night. Governor Romney does not understand the value the American people place on public broadcasting and the outstanding return on investment the system delivers to our nation. We think it is important to set the record straight and let the facts speak for themselves.

The federal investment in public broadcasting equals about one one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget. Elimination of funding would have virtually no impact on the nation’s debt. Yet the loss to the American public would be devastating.

A national survey by the bipartisan research firms of Hart Research and American Viewpoint in 2011 found that over two-thirds of American voters (69%) oppose proposals to eliminate government funding of public broadcasting, with Americans across the political spectrum against such a cut.

As a stated supporter of education, Governor Romney should be a champion of public broadcasting, yet he is willing to wipe out services that reach the vast majority of Americans, including underserved audiences, such as children who cannot attend preschool and citizens living in rural areas.

For more than 40 years, Big Bird has embodied the public broadcasting mission – harnessing the power of media for the good of every citizen, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. Our system serves as a universally accessible resource for education, history, science, arts and civil discourse.

Over the course of a year, 91% of all U.S. television households tune in to their local PBS station. In fact, our service is watched by 81% of all children between the ages of 2-8.

Each day, the American public receives an enduring and daily return on investment that is heard, seen, read and experienced in public media broadcasts, apps, podcasts and online – all for the cost of about $1.35 per person per year.

Earlier in 2012, a Harris Interactive poll confirmed that Americans consider PBS the most trusted public institution and the second most valuable use of public funds, behind only national defense, for the 9th consecutive year.

A key thing to remember is that public television and radio stations are locally owned and community focused and they are experts in working efficiently to make limited resources produce results. In fact, for every $1.00 of federal funding invested, they raise an additional $6.00 on their own – a highly effective public-private partnership.

Numerous studies -- including one requested by Congress earlier this year -- have stated categorically that while the federal investment in public broadcasting is relatively modest, the absence of this critical seed money would cripple the system and bring its services to an end.

Learn more at: http://valuepbs.org/.
and at http://www.pbs.org/about/news/archive/2012/statement-presidential-debate/

About PBS
PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 123 million people through television and more than 21 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website,pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available atwww.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on TwitterFacebook or through our apps for mobile devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by following PBS Pressroom on Twitter.

CONTACT:

Anne Bentley, awbentley@pbs.org, 703-739-5021
Jan McNamara, jmcnamara@pbs.org, 703-739-5028