Speed of Life

Gregg Chadwick Stilled Life (Akihabara) 30"x22" monotype on paper 2011 TOWN OF CATS (Excerpt from 1Q84) by Haruki Murakami At Koenji Station, Tengo boarded the Chuo Line inbound rapid-service train. The car was empty. He had nothing planned that day. Wherever he went and whatever he did (or didn’t do) was entirely up to him. It was ten o’clock on a windless summer morning, and the sun was beating down. The train passed Shinjuku, Yotsuya, Ochanomizu, and arrived at Tokyo Central Station, the end of the line. Everyone got off, and Tengo followed suit. Then he sat on a bench and gave some thought to where he should go. “I can go anywhere I decide to,” he told himself. “It looks as if it’s going to be a hot day. I could go to the seashore.” He raised his head and studied the platform guide... Continue reading in The New Yorker at: Excerpt from Haruki Murakami's Upcoming Novel 1Q84 Above: The Cover for Haruki Murakami's New Novel 1Q84: 1. Jacket 2. Binding...

by Gregg Chadwick In his first work of fiction,  The Wandering Falcon , Jamil Ahmad depicts a world caught between timeless paths of migration and geo-political modernity. Ahmad knits together a series of short stories that cover the life arc of one young man, Tor Baz - the wandering falcon of the title, as he journeys from infancy to manhood. Inspired by his time as a civil service worker in the tribal areas of Pakistan, Ahmad writes of a world governed by clan and custom. During his time as a powerful emissary of the Pakistani government under the tribal region's frontier governing system, Jamil Ahmad simultaneously served as politician, police chief, judge, jury and executioner. Bits of this personal history are woven within the stories, including hints of Jamil's wife's German heritage. Environmentalist and activist Helga Ahmad was instrumental in encouraging her husband Jamil to move from  halting first attempts at poetry to richly crafted stories of people, p...

Gregg Chadwick The Diasporist (Portrait of RB Kitaj) 30"x22" monotype on paper 2011 The work of RB Kitaj continues to inspire and humble me in my artistic quest. His fervent questioning in print and paint acts as a beacon. He is greatly missed. R. B. Kitaj (1932-2007) talks about the profound influence of Cézanne on his work. The architect MJ Long on her friendship with RB Kitaj. More at: The Paris Review on RB Kitaj

by Gregg Chadwick Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando) Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake (Ohashi Atake no Yudachi) (#58 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo) Sheet: 14 3/16" x 9 1/8" woodblock print 9th month of 1857 Brooklyn Museum Photo Courtesy The Brooklyn Museum Japanese fiction is a great love of mine. My taste ranges widely from the postmodern antics of Murakami, to the quiet intellectualism of Endo, to the luminous spaces of Kawabata, and to the pent up rage of Mishima. In a culture which traditionally values quietly getting along even when catastrophe strikes, fiction allows a space for readers to wail with those who hurt and lash out at those who would oppress. Japanese novels of mystery and horror provide such a space to ponder the darker recesses of humanity. Mystery writer Keigo Higashino, originally from Osaka and now resident in Tokyo, is currently one of the best selling authors in Japan. Reading "The Devotion of Suspect X" provides un...

Take a video tour through Gilbert 'Magu' Lujan's Hollywood and Vine Metro station. I am heartened to see the appreciation that Magu is receiving after his death. It seems that Los Angeles does remember its own. More at: Appreciation: Gilbert 'Magu' Lujan's Hollywood and Vine Metro station

Gregg Chadwick Chicanismo (for Gilbert "Magu" Lujan) 22"x30" monotype on paper 2011 With great sadness, the city of Los Angeles mourns the passing of the trail breaking artist Gilbert "Magu" Lujan. Please read Peter Clothier's heartfelt words on the Huffington Post: Followers of the contemporary art scene -- and indeed Chicano art enthusiasts everywhere -- will want to hear of this opportunity to come to the support of one of its most important pioneers and practitioners. Gilbert "Magu" Lujan is currently in a life-and-death battle with cancer, and is caught up in the pernicious web of our national health care nightmare. Friends and family are staging a series of fund-raising events in August to help with medical costs and the preservation of Magu's legacy. Please continue at Gilbert "Magu" Lujan: A Benefit

Gregg Chadwick Brecht's Song 30"x22" monotype on paper 2011 In memory of Amy Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse Back to Black BBC One Sessions Singer Amy Winehouse died today in London at 27. Her struggles with addiction were well documented. But against all odds her voice broke through the pain and called to us to live our lives with soul. She will be greatly missed. Photo Getty Images

Norman Rockwell The Problem We All Live With 36” x 58” oil on canvas 1963 Collection The Norman Rockwell Museum (Currently on loan to the White House through October 2011) Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges visited the White House on July 15, 2011 to view Norman Rockwell's 1963 painting, The Problem We All Live With , which depicts Ruby as a young girl on her way to first grade after the school board mandated the desegregation of two New Orleans schools in 1960. Six year old Ruby Bridges was escorted by Federal Marshals to New Orleans' William Frantz Public School as its first African American student, ushering in the integration of the local public school system. President Barack Obama, Ruby Bridges, and representatives of the Norman Rockwell Museum view Rockwell’s "The Problem We All Live With,” hanging in a West Wing hallway near the Oval Office, July 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Norman Rockwell's The Problem We All Live With will...

A nice video from Winona State University documenting my large, commissioned painting from 1999 - Cartographer's Dream.

Gregg Chadwick Calvino's Elephant 30"x40" oil on linen 2011 "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. Pliny the Elder identified the elephant as the animal spiritually “closest to man.” The phrase “Maximum est elephas proximumque humanis sensibus” opens Pliny’s Historia Naturalis , Book VIII. In turn this inspired the brilliant Italian writer, Italo Calvino, in his introductory essay to Pliny’s Historia Naturalis . And I am again reading WS Merwin's recent book of poems - The Shadow of Sirius - and thinking deeply about the mystery of our place in the ...

Gregg Chadwick Setsuko's Room 30"x40" oil on canvas 2011

Jasper Johns Flag 42 1/4" x 60 5/8" Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on plywood 1954-55 (dated on reverse 1954) Gift of Philip Johnson in honor of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Museum of Modern Art, New York © 2011 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY "In its stilled lucidity lurk half-readable stories: the small-fry stuff of yesterday's papers, or important events? Do they add up to some secret meaning? There is the sense of many lives, many narratives hidden beneath the common identity of Americans. This painting, this artwork, is like a great American novel. It captures in its monumental ghostly depths the intricate truths every simple facade conceals. Who are Americans? What are they like? The truth lies deeper than the stars and stripes." - Jonathan Jones (The Guardian) More at: The truth beneath Jasper Johns' stars and stripes

Gregg Chadwick Rauch Licht (Smoke Light) 30"x22" monotype on paper 2011

Gregg Chadwick Deutsch Traum (German Dream) 30"x22" monotype on paper 2011

Gregg Chadwick Stadtgeflüster (City Whispers) 22"x30" monotype on paper 2011

Gregg Chadwick Der Himmel Draußen (The Sky Outside) 30"x22" monotype on paper 2011 Peter Falk has died at 83 leaving us with a rich legacy of film and television work as well as a body of carefully crafted prints and drawings . As fate would have it, I am currently working on a series of artworks inspired by my experiences in the city of Berlin. Painters, writers, and filmmakers from Max Beckmann to Christopher Isherwood to Wim Wenders have created visions of the city that still guide us across Berlin's potent memoryscape. Peter Falk also left his mark on this city of memory in Wender's Wings of Desire . Peter Falk in Wim Wender's Classic Film Wings of Desire Look Closely: Are There Angels Hiding in the Ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church? photo by Gregg Chadwick (Berlin 2010) Peter Falk Girl With Ponytail Peter Falk With Artist's Model More on Berlin, Peter Falk and Wings of Desire at: City of Cinephilia Peter Falk in Wim Wender...

Gregg Chadwick Along the Arno 22"x30" monotype on paper 2011

Gregg Chadwick Alexander Gardner's Cracked Glass - (Abraham Lincoln 1865) 16"x11" oil on linen 2011 Gregg Chadwick shares this moving portrait of a beneficent-looking Lincoln entitled Alexander Gardner’s Cracked Glass - (Abraham Lincoln 1865). Oil on linen, 2011. See the full issue at: Dr. Hurley's Snake-Oil Cure Contributors Page

Takashi Murakami Summer Google Doodle for June 21, 2011 (Summer Solstice) Today - June 21st - is the longest day of the year. For this Summer Solstice, Google has commissioned Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, to create an icon for the day to be posted on Google's search page. More on Murakami at: #newday_GEISAI

Vincent Van Gogh Portrait of Theo Van Gogh Oil on Pasteboard, 19 X 14 cm 1887 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam courtesy Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam The Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands has announced that a small portrait by Van Gogh from their study collection is in fact a portrait of Vincent's brother - Theo Van Gogh. The painting has been recently restored and will go on view this week at the museum in Amsterdam. Portraits of Theo and Vincent by Van Gogh Much more at: Explore the Van Gogh Museum Using the Google Art Project Van Gogh Museum Website

I'd like to wish a Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I was heartened to read President Obama's letter to fathers this morning. I have posted it below: Good morning, I grew up without a father around. I was lucky enough to be raised by a wonderful mother who, like so many heroic single mothers, never allowed my father's absence to be an excuse for me to slack off or not always do my best. But I often wonder what it would have been like if my father had a greater presence in my life. So as a father of two young girls, I've tried hard to be a good dad. I haven't always been perfect – there have been times when work kept me away from my family too often, and most of the parenting duties fell to Michelle. I know many other fathers face similar challenges. Whether you're a military dad returning from deployment or a father doing his best to make ends meet for his family in a tough economy, being a parent isn't easy. That's why my Adm...

Filmed at Hard Rock Calling June 28, 2009, Hyde Park, London, UK. Thank you Clarence for the gift of your music ...

I'm listening to Clarence Clemons playing with Gary US Bonds as I mourn the Big Man's passing. Great solo by Clarence Clemons on Gary US Bonds' amazing version of Steve Van Zandt's Daddy's Come Home. This video was shot in Japan and adds a personally bittersweet tinge to an already emotional song. More at: Backstreets on Clarence Clemons Clarence Clemons, Springsteen’s Soulful Sideman, Dies at 69

Gregg Chadwick A Gion Rain 22"x30" monotype on paper 2011 I came home from a memorial service for a great artist and a great friend, Sylvia Moss, on Sunday night. In times of loss and uncertainty, I tend to turn to the arts - books, music, film, theater and museums - for solace. But when an artist is severely ill or dies I find that I have to create. I have been in my studio for the past few weeks creating monotypes. A monotype is a singular impression made from an image which has been drawn or painted on to a printing plate. My monotype process is technically straightforward but pushes my artistic subconscious in both image and mark. When I painted "A Gion Rain" onto a copper plate, thoughts of Sylvia fell like rain across my mind. Sylvia Moss died in Zurich, Switzerland on May 9, 2011. Sylvia had long suffered from the challenges of multiple sclerosis. Sylvia Moss grew up in Piedmont, California and then moved east to a beckoning New York City to pursue...

"They made that change uptown and the Big Man joined the band." - Bruce Springsteen 10th Avenue Freeze Out My thoughts go out to Clarence Clemons, known for his work on the saxophone in Bruce Springteen's E Street Band. Clarence suffered a stroke yesterday and the initial prognosis was grim. After two brain surgeries last night, Clemons condition seems to be improving. The Springsteen fansite BackStreets reports: "The latest out of Florida has Clarence Clemons in better condition than anyone expected, a close friend tells Backstreets: "Yesterday, it did not look good at all. Today... miracles are happening. His vital signs are improving. He's responsive. His eyes are welling up when we're talking to him. He was paralyzed on his left side, but now he's squeezing with his left hand. This is the best news we've heard since [the stroke] happened — it's nothing short of miraculous. The next five days will still be critical. But he's a f...

by Gregg Chadwick Paul Revere 1734-1818 The Boston Massacre (The Bloody Massacre) 9 7/8" x 8 1/2" Engraving, hand colored 1770 Boston Museum of Fine Arts "We live in an age where, on every level, it is considered a sin to be wrong. From advertisers to kids on the playground to the world of corporate PR to politicians, the all-too-common wisdom is to defend the indefensible. That's what Palin is doing and that is what her renfields on Wikipedia are doing, and that's sad, because as anyone remotely successful in Silicon Valley can tell you, without owning our mistakes we cannot learn from them and without learning, we cannot win." - Curt Hopkins in Read, Write, Web I love to read history. Scores of books line my studio walls and the past is never far from my thoughts. Museums have been a favorite haunt of mine since childhood. Peering through glass at ambered papers and tattered journals never fails to remind me of the great divide between what happen...

by Gregg Chadwick Rollin Pickford Spring Crescendo 22"x30" watercolor on paper Courtesy Melissa Pickford "All of those paintings I did, every one of them had something wrong with it. I guess that's why I kept painting." -Rollin Pickford Tonight the Carmel Art Association Gallery is hosting an exhibition of the watercolors of Rollin Pickford. Pickford's paintings make use of myriad techniques to approximate the play of light on land, sea, and sky. For eighty years Pickford limned the California scene as rolling hills and stands of trees vanished beneath strip malls and subdivisions. In Pickford's paintings, one can feel the sweep of an Asian brush across wet paper as pools of color shift and coalesce into light and atmosphere. The works seem to hang in a state of flux - their beauty poignantly balanced between a fixed moment and the passage of time. Rollin Pickford died in 2010 at 98. This rich exhibition was curated in his memory by his d...