Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Pattie Gonia - Won't Give Up (feat. Yo-Yo Ma and Quinn Christopherson)


From 
Out today! “Won’t Give Up” with and Quinn Christopherson (), a song reminding us not to give up on nature or each other.

Pattie Gonia, Yo-Yo Ma and Quinn Christopherson came together to write a song about not giving up on this planet and not giving up on each other. Climate justice and environmental justice are inextricably linked. How we treat this planet is how we treat each other. Produced by Grammy award-winning Producer Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Blake Mills, Andrew Bird) and with performances by players violinist Paul Cartwright (Kendrick Lamar, Bright Eyes, Olivia Rodrigo) and drummer James McAllister (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheerhan, Sufjan Stevens) – the new single was created as a climate movement anthem.
Follow Pattie Gonia: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pattiegonia/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@pattiegonia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pattiegonia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pattiegonia/
LYRICS We’ll I’m not I’m not gonna say goodbye I won’t see you on the other side Even when I feel tired I won’t stop You & I Made up of the same things Nature running in our veins Even when I feel tired I won’t stop trying I’ve seen the sun shine before all this gray Always find light still the breaking of day I won't give up for a minute Never giving up on you Never giving up on you Well we’re caught Caught up in the fire of time How do we stay strong, stay kind? We don’t have to say goodbye Don’t say goodbye I saw you burning Up in the night I’ll always keep searching Searching for light I won't give up for a minute Never giving up on you Never giving up on you I won’t give up for a minute Never giving up on you Never giving up on you I won’t give up for a minute Never giving up on you Never giving up on you VIDEO CREDITS A Wondercamp Production Directed by: Abdul Kassamali Executive Producer: Davis Goslin Producer: Katie Graham Assistant Producer: Ellen Bradley Production Supervising: Jenny Dugan Cinematographer: Greg Balkin First AC: Ethan Scoma Photographer: William Woodward Editors: Tim Kressin, Abdul Kassamali Color: Zachary Hetlage CREATIVE CREDITS Outfits/Dress by: Lisa Jiang Wig by: Drag Daddy Wigs Boots: Xtratuf SPECIAL THANKS Native Movement Our Common Nature Jose Alvarado Zion Jackson Ben Mandelkern Sophie Shackleton Liquid Adventures The Office Performing Arts and Film SONG CREDITS Songwriters: Pattie Gonia, Quinn Christopherson, Tyson Motsenbocker, Tyler Chester Produced by: Tyler Chester Recorded by: Tyler Chester Recording assistant: Aaron Feeny Mixed by: James Krausse Mastered by: James Krausse String arrangements: Paul Cartright Yo-Yo Ma’s cello arranged by: Hrishikesh Hirway and Jesse Lewis Yo-Yo Ma’s cello recording engineers: Téa Mottolese, Carl Talbot, Christopher Moretti Yo-Yo Ma’s cello mix engineer: Kyle Pyke Vocals: Pattie Gonia, Quinn Christopherson Cello: Yo-Yo Ma Synths, Pianos, Guitars, Programming, Bass: Tyler Chester Strings: Paul Cartwright Drums: James McAllister



Monday, November 13, 2023

Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight


This short documentary film explores artist Betye Saar’s process creating "Drifting Toward Twilight," a site-specific installation at The Huntington, and her recollections of her life and career. Learn more about the exhibition at Huntington.org Directed by Kyle Provencio Reingold Digital video, 16mm film, still photographs, archival video, animation, sound. Cover Art by YAYA Studio (@yaya_studio_)

Monday, October 16, 2023

Unity, Strength, Resistance: 1968 - 2023


On this day in 1968 during the 200-meter race at the Mexico City Olympics US Olympic Team member Tommie Smith won the Gold Medal and his teammate Dr. John Carlos placed third.  After receiving their medals on the podium and standing for the US National Anthem, they both raised their fists — creating an iconic moment of political activism. 

The athletes were protesting the abuse of human rights in apartheid-era South Africa while displaying a show of solidarity with the struggle for civil rights in the United States. Organized as part of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, Smith and Carlos wanted to bring visibility to the oppression faced by many across the globe. The clenched or raised fist has often been used as a sign to express unity, strength, and resistance. 55 years on, Dr. John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s iconic protest remains a powerful call for social justice. Their message still resonates today. Let’s keep the dream alive and work towards the change they dared us to imagine all those years ago.



Glenn Kaino and Tommie Smith
With my Fist Raised High

Artist Glenn Kaino has collaborated with Tommie Smith to create several works of art using his iconic fist, which has ignited and sparked change throughout the world


Friday, October 13, 2023

Bono and The Edge: Tiny Desk Concert


I was a bit busy in March, so I missed this wonderful Tiny Desk Concert.
Catching up now -

Robin Hilton | March 17, 2023 It's hard to overstate the kindness and good-natured humor Bono and The Edge brought to the Tiny Desk. When they first arrived at the NPR Music offices, Bono spoke on an imaginary phone, "The talent's here! The talent's coming through," poking fun at their own fame, while carrying The Edge's guitar. (The Edge called Bono the best roadie he's ever had.) The two never stopped beaming, like two overjoyed newcomers thrilled at the chance to play for someone. The performance was a preview of U2's new album, Songs Of Surrender, featuring stripped-down versions of songs from across the band's catalog. To help pull off several reimagined songs from the 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, Bono and The Edge invited a teen choir from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., to join them. During rehearsals, Bono told the students to think of "Beautiful Day" as the kind of "post-drinking" singalong you'd bellow with friends after leaving a bar. He then quickly realized none of them are old enough to drink, before feigning a heart attack. Traveling without bassist Adam Clayton or drummer Larry Mullen Jr., Bono and The Edge made the trip from Ireland to the States specifically for the Tiny Desk, arriving in D.C. after five days of rehearsals at Bono's New York apartment. When they settled in for the performance, they treated the office to four songs, including a deeply emotional version of "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," written for the late INXS singer Michael Hutchence, and a reworked version of "Walk On," which Bono said was inspired by and dedicated to the people of Ukraine. SET LIST "Beautiful Day" "In a Little While" "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" "Walk On" MUSICIANS Bono: vocals The Edge: guitar, vocals Duke Ellington School of the Arts Choir: Petra Munter, Ayan Yacob, Kirsten Holmes, Jayla Norwood, Dyor Taylor, Jaylyn Pickney, Jevon Skipper, Joshua Jennings, Jordan Freeman Patrick Lundy: choir director Special thanks to: Sandi Logan (principal/HOS), Isaac Daniel (assistant principal) TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Bob Boilen Director: Joshua Bryant Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin Series Producer: Bobby Carter Editor: Maia Stern Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Sofia Seidel, Michael Zamora Audio Assistant: Alex Drewenskus Production Assistant: Jill Britton Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Pilar Galván VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann #nprmusic #tinydesk #u2 #bono #theedge

Cassiel's Song - Nick Cave


For obvious reasons - I have always loved this! 

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau Carpet Interview at Ballet Premiere of Like Water for Chocolate


LRM Online's Gig Patta spoke with guests Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau on the red carpet at the premiere of The American Ballet Theater's Like Water for Chocolate. Nothing could be sweeter than the U.S. Premiere of Like Water for Chocolate for American Ballet Theatre’s Spring engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. This full-length ballet created by the brilliant choreographer Christopher Wheeldon brings the famous novel by Laura Esquivel to mouth-watering life. Reuniting the award-winning team of Wheeldon (fresh from his Tony Award victory for MJ: The Musical) with composer Joby Talbot, and Tony-winning costume designer Bob Crowley, you’ll journey into the captivating family saga where the central character’s emotions spill out through cooking to influence everyone around her in startling and dramatic ways. Like Water for Chocolate tells the story of Tita, a young Mexican woman whose restrictive upbringing prevents her from marrying until her mother dies. Overwhelmed by a sense of duty and family tradition, Tita’s only form of expression is through cooking, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she falls in love with her wealthy neighbor Pedro. Their forbidden passion has far-reaching—and devastating—consequences. With the superstar dancers of ABT translating the richly layered story, Center audiences will be the 1st in the country to experience this magical Mexican love story!

The Golden Hour - Venezia

 


Gregg Chadwick

The Golden Hour - Venezia

30"x24" oil on linen 2023


Do you cherish a city or place that takes your breath away? For me, Venice, Italy has been a world of wonder since I first visited. My oil on linen painting "The Golden Hour" was inspired by my time over the years in the magical city of Venice. Poised between sea and land, Venice is a place where light, shade, color, and reflection merge and recombine in a watery environment. In this mirrored world, past and present seem to coexist.History's shadows slide in and out of darkened alleys.

The color and light found in the artworks of the Venetian painters Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Tiepolo, seen up close in the city of their creation, have been revelatory for me.

Their works glow like light upon water. This effect of reflected, sparkling light bouncing off canals, is called gibigiane in Venetian dialect. The liquid nature of transparent oils glowing from within, as if light lived within the pigment, captures me. I continue to study and adapt Venetian painting techniques in my paintings.

See this painting and more in my studio at Art at the Airport on September 30, 2023 from 5-9pm.

Kindly RSVP in advance:

https://artattheairport.eventbrite.com

Art At The Airport is made possible by Art of Recovery, an initiative of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, santamonica.gov/arts/artofrecovery.

To learn about upcoming Art At The Airport events, visit: https://www.artattheairport.org/

Art at the Airport - September 30th!

Monday, August 14, 2023

His Name Was Bélizaire’: Rare Portrait of Enslaved Child Arrives at the Met





Jeremy K. Simien, an art collector from Baton Rouge, spent years trying to find “Bélizaire” after seeing an image of it online in 2013, following its restoration, that featured all four figures.



Bélizaire and the Frey Children (After and Before Restoration)
Attributed to Jacques Amans
(French artist Jacques Amans was a leading portraitist in New Orleans during the 1840s- 1850s)
Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection, New York 




Friday, August 11, 2023

Maui Strong

Wednesday, August 02, 2023

Congressman Eric Swalwell Exposes The Ridiculousness of the House GOP


MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas interviews Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell about the Donald Trump indictment, the conduct by the House GOP, and the Democratic Party agenda. 
Rep Eric Swalwell actively illustrates bravery and political courage outlined in fellow Rep Joe Neguse's new book -  Courage in The People's House: Nine Trailblazing Representatives Who Shaped America 
Support Congressman Swalwell: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mt83 Follow Congressman Swalwell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell

And This:


Monday, July 31, 2023

Good Trouble in The People’s House


by Gregg Chadwick


Review of Courage in The People's House: Nine Trailblazing Representatives Who Shaped America by Joe Neguse


Courage in The People's House: Nine Trailblazing Representatives Who Shaped America by Joe Neguse is the latest in a line of must-read books about the history of political thought and action in the United States. Joe Neguse, the first Black American elected to the House of Representatives from Colorado, tells the stories of nine folks who stepped up and served their communities and country as elected representatives in Congress. Neguse explains that “the People's House fulfills the founders' intent as the most democratic part of our federal government. And true to form, over the decades this system has worked to open up access to more of our citizens.”


Inspired by the courageous career of Representative John Lewis and filtered through Neguse’s reminiscences of John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage, Neguse’s Courage in The People's House provides inspiring stories of political and personal bravery. The profiles in Courage in The People's House reach across one hundred years of American history. Neguse begins with Joseph Rainey who was elected in 1870 as the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives and concludes with Barbara Jordan of Texas, elected in 1973, who was the first Southern Black American woman to serve in the House. Neguse explains that “the public servants profiled in this book…found the courage to speak truth to power, even when their political party, or own self-interest, made it far easier to go along with the prevailing view. 
Every American has the capacity to do the same.”


Neguse deftly tells the stories of nine groundbreaking Congressional Representatives:



Joseph Rainey

Joseph Rainey from South Carolina was the first Black person to serve in the United States House of Representative where he fought to pass laws that guaranteed equality for all in the United States. 

Neguse quotes Rainey as he spoke to his fellow Congressional Representatives: “Why is it that the colored members of Congress cannot enjoy the same immunities that are accorded to white members? Why cannot we stop at hotels here without meeting objection? Why cannot we go into restaurants without being insulted? We are here enacting laws for the country and casting votes upon important questions; we have been sent here by the suffrages of the people, and why cannot we enjoy the same benefits that are accorded to our white colleagues on this floor?.... Why this discrimination against us when we enter public conveyances or places of amusement? Why is a discrimination made against us in the churches; and why in the cemeteries when we go to pay that last debt of nature that brings us all upon a level?

Gentlemen, I say to you this discrimination must cease.”




Josiah Walls

Josiah Walls from Florida was the first African American elected to the U.S. Congress from the Sunshine State and the only Black Representative from Florida until the early 1990s. During the Civil War, Walls joined the Third Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops in time to fight during the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina in July 1863. Walls campaigned in Congress for universal education throughout the U.S. 

Neguse informs us that “In his first term in Congress, Walls pushed hard for education and the economic development of his state. He was a prolific legislator, introducing more than fifty bills as a member of Congress, many of them for improvements in Florida, and won a number of victories.

He proposed new mail routes that sped postal service, new customs houses, navigational improvements, lifesaving stations, telegraph lines, and a rail link to a port that would aid transportation to Cuba. And he received widespread praise in Florida's newspapers for his efforts.”




William B. Wilson

William B. Wilson from Pennsylvania was an immigrant from Scotland who worked as a child laborer in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and later became a labor leader and progressive politician. Wilson was elected to Congress and later served as the first Secretary of Labor from 1913 to 1921. 

Wilson’s inspiring words are as true today as they were in 1920s America: “The men who seek money are always doomed sooner or later; the men who seek power or fame are continually taking chances and running risks of disaster; but those who are actuated by a simple desire to serve are the ones who ultimately win. The paths of such men may be long and tedious. It may be necessary for them to go through sloughs of despond and to climb treacherous heights; but by keeping the one star in mind they ultimately win, and become an honor to their families, to their communities, and to their nation.”




Adolph Sabath

Adolph Sabath from Illinois was an immigrant from what is now the Czech Republic who became a tireless fighter for immigrant rights in the United States. Sabath served in the U.S. House from 1907 to 1952. Sabath’s celebration of immigrants in the U.S. is deeply inspiring – “Due to immigration, our country is the wonder of civilization. Its population is made up of all the peoples of the earth. We have all races, all religions, all nationalities. They have come to us from all quarters of the globe, and we have the best.”




Oscar Stanton De Priest 

Oscar Stanton De Priest from Illinois was the first African American to be elected to the House of Representatives in the 20th century. During his three terms, he was the only Black American serving in the House and had to battle against segregationist policies and racism within the U.S. Capitol Building. In a fervent speech before Congress he exclaimed, “The restaurant of the Capitol is run for the benefit of the American people, and every American, whether he be Black or White, Jew or Gentile, Protestant or Catholic, under our constitutional form of Government is entitled to equal opportunities. If we allow segregation and the denial of constitutional rights under the dome of the Capitol where in God's name will we get them?" 




Margaret Chase Smith 

Margaret Chase Smith from Maine was elected to the House and also the US Senate thus becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. 

In 1950, during McCarthy’s Red Scare, Margaret Chase Smith delivered in the Senate Chamber a stirring rebuke against McCarthyism in which she defended American citizens’ rights to criticize, to hold unpopular beliefs, and to protest: “The United States Senate has long enjoyed worldwide respect as the greatest deliberative body in the world. But recently that deliberative character has too often been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity . . . I do not like the way the Senate has been made a rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity."

Neguse deftly describes the moment as Smith concluded her speech – “She called for the body to remember American principles of free speech and fairness, she did not mince words. It was time, she stated plainly, for her party to disavow ‘t]he four horsemen of calumny- fear, ignorance, bigotry, and smear.’ The eyes of the reporters were transfixed on McCarthy, sitting a mere three feet away, as he turned pale and grim. He rapidly left the chamber as Smith finished her speech.”




Henry B. Gonzalez

Henry B. Gonzalez from Texas was the first Hispanic American ever elected to Congress from the Lone Star State. Neguse paints a vivid picture of Gonzalez’s road to the People’s House: “His parents were political exiles from Mexico and had hoped to return there, even after Henry was born in 1916, but they never did. An avid student of American history and the Constitution at an early age, he learned to speak English during the first grade in San Antonio and spent his days at the local library, reading history, literature, and classic texts in English. To eliminate his accent and improve his public speaking voice, he practiced with pebbles in his mouth in front of a mirror, after learning from his reading that the Greek orator Demosthenes had done the same. At home he read widely in Spanish, as well, devouring books brought home by his father, Leonides, who was editor of a Spanish-language daily newspaper.”

During the Vietnam War, Gonzalez was concerned that too much war making power had been given to the U.S. President: “If the president has unlimited foreign as well as domestic powers, what remains to prevent the development of a police state?

What remains to keep the government from assuming all power in the name of one man? The answer is that Congress must share the power. The president may not like this, but if we want this government to survive, that is the way it has to be. When the flexibility and suppleness of the Constitution are gone and power is no longer divided, the revolution will be over, and the king will be restored to his throne.”




Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm from New York was the first black woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional district for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. The powerful words of Shirley Chisholm exemplify courage:

“I ran for the presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate sheer will and refusal to accept the status quo.”

Fighting Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed.



Barbara Jordan
photo by Annie Leibovitz

Barbara Jordan from Texas was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern Black woman elected to the United States Congress.

 Jordan’s courageous speech during the Watergate hearings in 1974 still resonates today – “Earlier today, we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, 'We the people.' It is a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that 'We the people.' I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision I have finally been included in 'We, the people.' Today, I am an inquisitor. I believe hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that I feel right now. My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.”


Power concedes nothing without a struggle

Neguse concludes his book by encouraging Americans to get involved, to support democracy, and to vote in every election. - “As citizens, we each have a solemn responsibility to contribute to this magnificent experiment in self-governance.”

Neguse reminds us that one of Shirley Chisholm’s favorite maxims was proclaimed by Frederick Douglas when he said that, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

And John Lewis was always willing to get into Good Trouble when he was seeking positive change. 

Joe Neguse’s inspiring book Courage in The People's House: Nine Trailblazing Representatives Who Shaped America vividly opens up dusty copies of the Congressional Record and brings the stories of American changemakers to life. 


Highly Recommended!  



by Gregg Chadwick
14"x11" oil on wood 2023



Joe Neguse and his family and friends attend the swearing in ceremony at the U.S. House of Representatives. 
Courtesy of Joe Neguse




Joe Neguse's Official House Photo



* All photos, unless noted, courtesy of the Library of Congress.