Speed of Life

The New York Times has a powerful mix of words and images in Janet Maslin's article on Jim Sheeler's new book Final Salute . Jim Sheeler's book is based on a 2006 Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles that he wrote for The Rocky Mountain News . I have posted a brief selection of quotes and photos below: "When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac. During the arrival of another Marine's casket at Denver International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as one of the most powerful in the process: "See the people in the windows? They'll sit right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home," he said. "They're going to remember being on that plane for the res...

Phil Cousineau Reading from Stoking the Creative Fires at Bird & Beckett Books , San Francisco Gregg Chadwick will be leading a weekend workshop at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California with author Phil Cousineau and poet/musician R.B. Morris on August 22-24, 2008 On the Bus: A Multimedia Performance Workshop—Mythmaking in the Movies, Music, Art, and Poetry "Together as a group, we will become modern mythmakers by creating and performing a new multimedia work over the course of the weekend. Our spark will be musician R. B. Morris's song, ‘On the Bus,' which will serve as a template for a one-act play. Writer Phil Cousineau will help to stoke the creative fire of the group by bringing the mythic dimension into the story; painter Gregg Chadwick will take the lead in helping us visualize the story and the set; and Morris will help us write and arrange the score. On Sunday morning we will stage and perform the piece together." RB Morris To reserve a space: On th...

Arlington West (Iraq Memorial) Santa Monica An old marine at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC scanned the reflective black wall for his buddy's name. "His name should be right here", he said to his wife as he pointed to a small gap between names."Check the book again." His wife calmly took his hand and said, "You have the wrong war. Your buddy died in another country at another time."

Masami Teraoka and Samuel Freeman Speaking at the Opening of Cloisters' Confessions at the Samuel Freeman Gallery on April 19, 2008. The painting behind: Masami Teraoka The Cloister/Venus and Pope's Bullfight 101"x300.5" oil on canvas with gold-leaf frame 2006-7 Masami Teraoka's powerful exhibition Cloisters' Confessions closes today at the Samuel Freeman Gallery in Santa Monica, California. During the show's run, I have slipped into the gallery frequently to witness the incredible mix of hope and horror in Masami's masterful paintings. "In Teraoka's new works, where the floating world of pleasure-seekers has been replaced by the Spanish Inquisition, sex is no longer about pleasure. Rather, it has become the theater in which political power plays are enacted before a voyeuristic populace seeking titillation from the sexual misdeeds of the mighty, and where religion and morality can become weapons against freedom. A recurring theme in these...

In the May 22nd issue, the New York Times reports that Virginia Commonwealth University has given a sweetheart deal to Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest tobacco company and a unit of Altria Group, which gives the tobacco company veto rights over publishing results of research sponsored by the company: “When universities sign contracts with these covenants, they are basically giving up their ethos, compromising their values as a university,” said Sheldon Krimsky, a professor at Tufts University who is an expert on corporate influence on medical research. “There should be no debate about having a sponsor with control over the publishing of results.” Stanton A. Glantz, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine who has lobbied for banning tobacco money on campuses, said, “University administrators who are desperate for money will basically do anything they have to for money.” More at: At VCU, Tobacco Money Is Kept Secret From four years ago in Tha...

Gregg Chadwick Whispers of the Moon 48"x36" oil on linen 2008

Francis Bacon Triptych 78"x58" oil and pastel on canvas 1976 "The picture surely treats of sexual love – that 'crime' as Baudelaire put it, in which one is fated to have an accomplice – and the suffering it frequently sets in motion...The themes of crime, guilt and punishment are all strongly represented in this magnificent work....From this stasis no outcome is possible, no purging of the turbulent passions, almost as if, in his deep seated masochism, the artist had chosen constant pain over catharsis" - Michael Peppiatt

Gary Ruddell Bocce Ball 52" x 50" oil on canvas Gary Ruddell is a great painter. His artwork continually surprises me and inspires new ideas in my own studio. If you are in Manhattan in the next few weeks make sure to stop by the Gallery Henoch to give some time to Gary's paintings. His paintings convey the mystery inherit in modern life - much like the poems and short stories of Raymond Carver. Ruddell's painted world slips in and out of focus in a silvery air. Gallery Henoch's Website

Lucian Freud Benefits Supervisor Sleeping 59" x 98.5"oil on canvas 1995 The London Evening Standard has a nice interview with Sue Tilley who posed for the painting - In the article Sue Tilley explained the genesis of the painting: "The first time the artist met her, in a Soho nightclub 20 years ago, he criticised her lipstick. "He said it had too many blue tones. The next time we met was over lunch at the River Café and I wore a different lipstick," she said. She knew she was effectively being interviewed for the role of artist's muse and was briefed on how to behave by their mutual friend, performance artist Leigh Bowery. "But I just did as I wanted as usual," said Ms Tilley, who grew up in Sussex Gardens and now lives in Mornington Crescent. "Soon after, Leigh called me up and said, 'Lucian wants you to start work next week' and he made me practise stripping off on my settee at home before I went to Lucian's house in Holland Par...

Robert Rauschenberg October 22, 1925 - May 12, 2008 As Seen by Chuck Close 140 x 112 cm color digital pigment print 1996 On the New York Times website, dancer and choreographer, Paul Taylor has written a moving farewell to Bob: "Robert Rauschenberg’s work and overall spirit as an artist and human being had an ENORMOUS impact on shaping my own direction and conviction as an artist. I am deeply indebted to his liberating approach in working with any-&-all materials including other people. The R.O.C.I. period equally demonstrated his love for mankind through our creations and showed that we ARE all in this together after all. He changed my life and blew my mind and I am a better person/artist for having been touched by him (literally even). You were the BEST sir and I say God Bless You Bob! Goodbye." Michael Kimmelman's farewell: Robert Rauschenberg, Titan of American Art, Is Dead at 82 Christopher Knight from the Los Angeles Times writes: Robert Rauschenberg, 82; influ...

Great to see that Saturday Night Live is relevant again. This clip gets my vote as the best political skit so far.

FERNAND LÉGER ÉTUDE POUR 'LA FEMME EN BLEU' 51"x38" oil on canvas 1912-13 Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 39,241,000 USD Fernand Léger's Étude pour 'La Femme en Bleu' sold this evening at Sotheby's in New York for $39,241,000. Painted shortly before the outbreak of World War I, Léger's painting is a masterful composition of blues and silvers. More at: Sotheby's Video

May the force be with you as you vote ...

On My Switch From Clinton to Obama By Joseph Andrew I have been inspired. Today I am announcing my support for Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States of America. I am changing my support from Senator Clinton to Senator Obama, and calling for my fellow Democrats across my home State of Indiana, and my fellow super delegates across the nation, to heal the rift in our Party and unite behind Barack Obama. The hardest decisions in life are not between good and bad or right and wrong, but between two goods or two rights. That is the decision Democrats face today. We have an embarrassment of riches, but as much as we may love our candidates and revel in the political process that has brought Presidential politics to places that have not seen it in a generation, we cannot let our family affair hurt America by helping John McCain. Here is my message, explained in this lengthy letter that I hope is perceived as a thoughtful analysis of how to save America from four more years o...

Frida Kahlo Viva la Vida 59 x 50.7 cm. oil on masonite 1954 Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City, Mexico. Coldplay's lead singer, Chris Martin, was inspired by the life and art of the Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, while recording Coldplay's latest album: Viva la Vida . Martin was struck by the appeal to life gouged into the watermelon in the foreground of Frida's Viva la Vida which he viewed on a visit to the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, Both Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera were involved in revolutionary politics in the Americas. Both artists felt it was their responsibility to point out and help change the injustices in society. But the band has used another painter's work to stand in for their inspiration. Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People graces the cover of Coldplay's new album. Though, the painting has been tagged by Frida, Chris, Banksy or perhaps Ricky Martin in white paint with the phrase "Long Live Life!" The undamage...

Gregg Chadwick Heiwa (for Masami Teraoka) 24"x24" oil on linen 2008

A wee bit of humor before the Pennsylvania primary.

Filmed at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ. 19-9-1978 A gray morning at the beach in L.A. I'm thinking of Danny Federici and the fragility of life. Sometimes you just have to crank up the music real loud and let the memories reverb around the room. At the 7 minute 35 second mark of this tape, Danny lets it all out. Warn your neighbors. Let the dog out. Pull a Spinal Tap and set the max at 11 and let the wake begin! Peace

Danny Federici January 23, 1950 - April 17th, 2008 "So we lose another friend... I have known Danny since he started playing at the Stone Pony back in the late 60s. He was always a crusty guy with a sarcastic sense of humor, so, of course, we got along just fine. I can recall many nights jamming on blues and rock & roll classics, then he and I,Garry, and whomever else was on stage would shift into some jazz standard or improvise on a chord progression. He was a much more advanced musician than most of us at the time, and he raised the bar for all of us. It was embarrassing to hear how good he already was and to listen to your own pitiful efforts. And, yes, for all you REAL early fans out there, Danny was the one who pushed the speaker cabinets over onto the chief of police who was behind the stage trying to cut the power on a Steel Mill concert. There were arrest warrants, so he always denied it, but I was back there and saw him get up and do it. No one was hurt, but it helped...

Gregg Chadwick In the Basin of Angels 36"x36" oil on linen (1987-1992) My City of Ruins - Bruce Springsteen There is a blood red circle On the cold dark ground And the rain is falling down The church door's thrown open I can hear the organ's song But the congregation's gone My city of ruins My city of ruins Now the sweet bells of mercy Drift through the evening trees Young men on the corner Like scattered leaves, The boarded up windows, The empty streets While my brother's down on his knees My city of ruins My city of ruins Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up! Now's there's tears on the pillow Darlin' where we slept And you took my heart when you left Without your sweet kiss My soul is lost, my friend Tell me how do I begin again? My city's in ruins My city's in ruins Now with these hands, With these hands, With these hands, I pray Lord With these hands, With these ...

King 36"x36" conte, charcoal, oil and wax on linen April 4, 2008

John Legend's rendition of U2's Pride In the Name of Love.

The New York Times on the making of Bjork's Wanderlust

Full text of Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech delivered on March 18, 2008 at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia. "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union." Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787. The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future ...

Colors 40"x30" oil on linen

As the violent Chinese crackdown in Tibet continues, the Dalai Lama says, ""Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some cultural genocide is taking place. There is some kind of discrimination: the Tibetans in their own land quite often are treated as second-class citizens." Lhadon is blogging from China on the protests in Tibet and the Chinese reaction. Important reading in the run up to the summer Olympics: beijingwideopen

A few things in the works: Coming out in May is Phil Cousineau's new book, Stoking the Creative Fires . My painting is illustrated on the cover and the book also contains two interviews with me about the creative process as well as two other paintings. Cousineau's Stoking the Creative Fires Inquiring Mind , a Berkeley based journal, will be using one of my paintings, A Balance of Shadows in their upcoming issue. I nquiring Mind An artist in Italy has created a project based on Raymond Carver's poem, The Painter and the Fish . If you go to the project website (link below), you'll see he includes my thoughts on Raymond Carver. “A SORT OF ARTISTIC EPIPHANY” Febbraio 15, 2008, 9:21 pm Archiviato in: Contorni | Tag: epifania, epiphany, Gregg Chadwick, Raymond Carver “While I’m working on an artwork I don’t just settle for the middle ground or main image. I work the edges and the spaces between. I am hoping to create works that breathe across the whole surface. I desire t...