Michelle Obama's Letter to Parents Concerning the Events in Arizona

Photo by Greg Bryan
Christina Green’s parents, Roxanna and John, and her brother, Dallas, at her funeral service.


Dear parents,

Like so many Americans all across the country, Barack and I were shocked and heartbroken by the horrific act of violence committed in Arizona this past weekend. Yesterday, we had the chance to attend a memorial service and meet with some of the families of those who lost their lives, and both of us were deeply moved by their strength and resilience in the face of such unspeakable tragedy.

As parents, an event like this hits home especially hard. It makes our hearts ache for those who lost loved ones. It makes us want to hug our own families a little tighter. And it makes us think about what an event like this says about the world we live in – and the world in which our children will grow up.

In the days and weeks ahead, as we struggle with these issues ourselves, many of us will find that our children are struggling with them as well. The questions my daughters have asked are the same ones that many of your children will have – and they don’t lend themselves to easy answers. But they will provide an opportunity for us as parents to teach some valuable lessons – about the character of our country, about the values we hold dear, and about finding hope at a time when it seems far away.
We can teach our children that here in America, we embrace each other, and support each other, in times of crisis. And we can help them do that in their own small way – whether it’s by sending a letter, or saying a prayer, or just keeping the victims and their families in their thoughts.

We can teach them the value of tolerance – the practice of assuming the best, rather than the worst, about those around us. We can teach them to give others the benefit of the doubt, particularly those with whom they disagree.
We can also teach our children about the tremendous sacrifices made by the men and women who serve our country and by their families. We can explain to them that although we might not always agree with those who represent us, anyone who enters public life does so because they love their country and want to serve it.
Christina Green felt that call. She was just nine years old when she lost her life. But she was at that store that day because she was passionate about serving others. She had just been elected to her school’s student council, and she wanted to meet her Congresswoman and learn more about politics and public life.

And that’s something else we can do for our children – we can tell them about Christina and about how much she wanted to give back. We can tell them about John Roll, a judge with a reputation for fairness; about Dorothy Morris, a devoted wife to her husband, her high school sweetheart, to whom she’d been married for 55 years; about Phyllis Schneck, a great-grandmother who sewed aprons for church fundraisers; about Dorwan Stoddard, a retired construction worker who helped neighbors down on their luck; and about Gabe Zimmerman, who did community outreach for Congresswoman Giffords, working tirelessly to help folks who were struggling, and was engaged to be married next year. We can tell them about the brave men and women who risked their lives that day to save others. And we can work together to honor their legacy by following their example – by embracing our fellow citizens; by standing up for what we believe is right; and by doing our part, however we can, to serve our communities and our country.

Sincerely,
Michelle Obama

More at:
open-letter-parents-following-tragedy-tucson



Photo Courtesy The Whitehouse

An Arizona Elegy

Gregg Chadwick
Las Piedras del Cielo
16"x20" oil on linen 2010

"I call on Americans to observe a moment of silence to honor the innocent victims of the senseless tragedy in Tucson, Ariz., including those still fighting for their lives. It will be a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection, keeping the victims and their families closely at heart."
- President Barack Obama

Sometimes a still wind is more powerful than a gale. Sometimes silence is more powerful than taunts. Sometimes peace is more powerful than battle.

I present this simple image of a figure at the Canyon's edge in Arizona as my moment of silence today as I mourn the victims of Saturday's violence in Arizona.

For those who perished I stop in silence. I give thanks for the lives they led and the people they touched.

- U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63.

- Gabe Zimmerman, 30, Giffords' director of community outreach.

- Dorwin Stoddard, 76, a pastor at Mountain Ave. Church of Christ.

- Christina Greene, 9, a student at Mesa Verde Elementary.

- Dorthy Murray, 76.

- Phyllis Scheck, 79.

And for those who were wounded I stop in silence. My thoughts go out to Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other wounded as they struggle for life.

President Obama's Response to Today's Senseless Attack in Arizona

President Obama speaks from the White House on the shootings in Arizona and on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Full transcript below:

THE PRESIDENT: As many of you are aware, earlier today a number of people were shot in Tucson, Arizona, including several who were meeting at a supermarket with their congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. We are still assembling all the facts, but we know that Representative Giffords was one of the victims. She is currently at a hospital in the area, and she is battling for her life.
We also know that at least five people lost their lives in this tragedy. Among them were a federal judge, John Roll, who has served America’s legal system for almost 40 years; and a young girl who was barely nine years old.
I’ve spoken to Arizona governor Jan Brewer and offered the full resources of the federal government. A suspect is currently in custody, but we don’t yet know what provoked this unspeakable act. A comprehensive investigation is currently underway, and at my direction, Director Bob Mueller is en route to Arizona to help coordinate these efforts. I’ve also spoken to the Democratic and Republican leaders in the House.
Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine. She is not only an extraordinary public servant, but she is also somebody who is warm and caring. She is well liked by her colleagues and well liked by her constituents. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is a Navy captain and one of America’s valiant astronauts.
It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does -- listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors. That is the essence of what our democracy is all about. That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country.
What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers. Those who have been injured, we are rooting for them. And I know Gabby is as tough as they come, and I am hopeful that she’s going to pull through.
Obviously our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain. We are going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to get through this. But in the meantime, I think all of us need to make sure that we’re offering our thoughts and prayers to those concerned.
Thank you.

Live Art Webcast: Sol LeWitt Installation at L.A. Louver Gallery

A new exhibit of Sol LeWitt's artwork is currently being installed at the L.A. Louver Gallery in Venice, California. The opening reception is on January 20, 2010. For those interested in artistic process the gallery is streaming a live video of four L.A. artists, working with Gabriel Hurier from the Sol LeWitt estate, as they create the work onsite.

Streaming Webcast of Sol LeWitt Wall Drawings installation in progress

Taking Flight: Thoughts on the Art of Hayao Miyazaki on His 70th Birthday

by Gregg Chadwick


Celluloid Dreams at the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan

I woke up from a dream this morning that seemed to have been pulled from a Hayao Miyazaki film. In my dream a tender sapling reached towards the light as it sprouted from my wrist. Above, russet clouds moved in a cerulean sky. I look to my dreams as openings rather than fortunes. Yet, since I recently returned from Tokyo, I should remember that in Japan the first dreams of the New Year, hatsu-yume 初夢, traditionally provide markers for the dreamer's upcoming year.


Hayao Miyazaki
Sketch for Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)
pencil and watercolor on paper 2001
(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)


The vision and mystery of Hayao Miyazaki's work will surely provide inspiration for me throughout 2011. In December, I was fortunate to visit the Ghibli Museum which was created to feature the art and films of Hayao Miyazaki and also the breadth of animation done by Studio Ghibli since its founding in 1985 by filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Flight plays an important role in many of Miyazaki's films and it is fitting that both the film company, Studio Ghibli, and the Ghibli Museum were named after an Italian airplane first produced before World War II: the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli. The word ghibli in Italian refers to the hot dry winds that blow across the Sahara desert.


Caproni Ca.309 "Ghibli" In North Africa during WWII

Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5, 1941 just months before Pearl Harbor and the brutal battles in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. As a small child growing up in greater Tokyo, Miyazaki drew scenes of aircraft and aviation most likely inspired by his father's family business which built airplane parts for Japanese Zero fighter planes and also in the later years of the war, by his remembrances of the waves of Allied bombers which firebombed much of Tokyo into smoldering ruins.


Still from Grave of the Fireflies ((Hotaru no Haka)) 1988
Created by Studio Ghibli. Directed by Isao Takahata.

Much of Miyazaki's mature work reflects his distaste for heedless violence and warmongering. Miyazaki also deeply cares about the environment and the place of natural beauty in a heavily industrialized Japan. Thirdly, many of Miyazaki's films feature a strong, brave, and resourceful main female character. I have been traveling to Japan since I was a kid in the 1970's and I am pleased to see that Miyazaki's vision for life in Japan seems to be bearing fruit. On his 70th birthday, I would like to give thanks to Hayao Miyazaki for his talent, vision, and deep concern for humanity. Bravo!




Hayao Miyazaki at 22
(Courtesy NTV)


Hayao Miyazaki
Sketch for Porco Rosso (Kurenai no buta)
pencil and watercolor on paper 1992
(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)


Hayao Miyazaki
Sketch for My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro)
pencil and watercolor on paper 1988
(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)



Miyazaki Discusses Hand Drawn Animation and Inspiration at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2008


Japanese Television Documentary on Miyazaki

Much more at:
Studio Ghibli Website
Studio Ghibli Latest News from Nausicaa.net
Studio Ghibli Information Site (In French and excellent!)

Happy New Year From Tokyo!

Words a Cell Can’t Hold: Honoring Liu Xiaobo

Liu Xiaobo's Portrait at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway
Credit: Odd Andersen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

"Today, the values of democracy, open society, respect for human rights, and equality are becoming recognized all over the world as universal values. To my mind there is an intimate connection between democratic values, such as transparency, the rule of law and freedom of information, and the fundamental values of human goodness."
- The Dalai Lama (from his Facebook page December 10, 2010)

Liu Xiaobo, poet and literary critic, today received in absentia the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Chinese authorities forbade Liu from traveling to the award ceremony and harshly criticized the selection of Liu Xiaobo. Liu is currently incarcerated as a political prisoner in China where he is serving an 11-year prison term for "inciting subversion of state power" because he was involved in the creation of a manifesto known as Charter 08 calling for democratic reform in China.

On stage in Oslo, a large scale photo of Liu Xiaobo smiled down upon the audience of dignitaries, politicians, human rights workers and concerned world citizens. An empty chair marked Liu's place. Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee said,"We regret that the laureate is not present. He is in isolation in a prison in northern China. Nor can the laureate's wife, Liu Xia, or his closest relatives be with us. This fact alone shows that the award was necessary and appropriate. We congratulate Liu Xiaobo with this year's peace prize."






President Obama, who received the Nobel prize last year, said via a statement: "Liu reminds us that human dignity also depends upon the advance of democracy, open society, and the rule of law. The values he espouses are universal, his struggle is peaceful, and he should be released as soon as possible."

During the ceremony, the Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann read from Liu's writing: "I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future free China. For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme."



Gregg Chadwick
Under the Lapis Sky
76cm x 54cm monotype on paper 2010

In honor of the event, the New York Times published Liu's poem
Words a Cell Can’t Hold.:


Words a Cell Can’t Hold

By LIU XIAOBO
Translated by Jeffrey Yang from the Chinese
Published: December 8, 2010

from “Experiencing Death”

I had imagined being there beneath sunlight
with the procession of martyrs
using just the one thin bone
to uphold a true conviction
And yet, the heavenly void
will not plate the sacrificed in gold
A pack of wolves well-fed full of corpses
celebrate in the warm noon air
aflood with joy

Faraway place
I’ve exiled my life to
this place without sun
to flee the era of Christ’s birth
I cannot face the blinding vision on the cross
From a wisp of smoke to a little heap of ash
I’ve drained the drink of the martyrs, sense spring’s
about to break into the brocade-brilliance of myriad flowers

Deep in the night, empty road
I’m biking home
I stop at a cigarette stand
A car follows me, crashes over my bicycle
some enormous brutes seize me
I’m handcuffed eyes covered mouth gagged
thrown into a prison van heading nowhere

A blink, a trembling instant passes
to a flash of awareness: I’m still alive
On Central Television News
my name’s changed to “arrested black hand”
though those nameless white bones of the dead
still stand in the forgetting
I lift up high up the self-invented lie
tell everyone how I’ve experienced death
so that “black hand” becomes a hero’s medal of honor

Even if I know
death’s a mysterious unknown
being alive, there’s no way to experience death
and once dead
cannot experience death again
yet I’m still
hovering within death
a hovering in drowning
Countless nights behind iron-barred windows
and the graves beneath starlight
have exposed my nightmares
online exhibition to mark the continuing injustices
Besides a lie
I own nothing



More at:
Nobel Peace Center Website
At Peace Prize Ceremony, Winner’s Chair Stays Empty


Liu Xiaobo
Credit: Independent Chinese PEN Centre


Also today to mark Human Rights Day 10 December 2010, Arts Showcase for Iran has created an online exhibition to draw renewed attention to the blatant disregard for human rights in Ahmadinejad's corrupt regime. The exhibit can be found at:
Speak 4 Iran

The Rose of Time

Gregg Chadwick
76cm x 61cm oil on linen 2010
Currently on exhibit at Manifesta Maastricht, the Netherlands


A Bowl of Roses
by Rainer Maria Rilke


You saw angry ones flare, saw two boys
clump themselves together into a something
that was pure hate, thrashing in the dirt
like an animal set upon by bees;
actors, piled up exaggerators,
careening horses crashed to the ground,
their gaze thrown away, baring their teeth
as if the skull peeled itself out through the mouth.
But now you know how these things are forgotten:
for here before you stands a bowl full of roses,
which is unforgettable and filled up
with ultimate instances
of being and bowing down,
of offering themselves, of being unable to give, of standing there
almost as part of us: ultimates for us too.
Noiseless life, opening without end,
filling space without taking any away
from the space the other things in it diminish,
almost without an outline, like something omitted,
and pure inwardness, with so much curious softness,
shining into itself, right up to the rim:
is anything as known to us as this?
And this: that a feeling arises
because petals are being touched by petals?
And this: that one opens itself, like a lid,
and beneath lies nothing but eyelids,
all closed, as if tenfold sleep
had to dampen down an inner power to see.
And, above all, this: that through the petals
light has to pass. Slowly they filter out from a
thousand skies the drop of darkness
in whose fiery glow the jumbled bundle
of stamens becomes aroused and rears up.
And what activity, look, in the roses:
gestures with angles of deflection so small
one wouldn't see them if not for
infinite space where their rays can diverge.
See this white one, blissfully opened,
standing among its huge spreading petals
like a Venus standing in her shell;
and how this one, the blushing one, turns,
as if confused, toward the cooler one,
and how the cooler one, impassive, draws back,
and the cold one stands tightly wrapped in itself
among these opened ones, that shed everything.
And what they shed, how it can be
at once light and heavy. a cloak. a burden,
a wing, and a mask, it all depends,
and how they shed it: as before a lover.
Is there anything they can't be: wasn't this yellow one
that lies here hollow and open the rind
of a fruit of which the same yellow,
more intense, more orange-red, was the juice?
And this one, could opening have been too much for it,
because, exposed to air, its nameless pink
has picked up the bitter aftertaste of lilac?
And isn't this batiste one a dress, with
the chemise still inside it, still soft
and breath-warm, both flung off together
in morning shade at the bathing pool in the woods?
And this one here, opalescent porcelain,
fragile, a shallow china cup
filled with little lighted butterflies,
and this one, containing nothing but itself.
And aren't they all doing the same: only containing themselves,
if to contain oneself means: to transform the world outside
and wind and rain and patience of spring
and guilt and restlessness and disguised fate
and darkness of earth at evening
all the way to the errancy, flight, and coming on of clouds
all the way to the vague influence of the distant stars
into a handful of inwardness.
Now it lies free of cares in the open roses.

Rilke, Rainer Maria. "A Bowl of Roses." Translated by Galway Kinell & Hannah Liebman. American Poetry Review 1999 28(3):61.

Neil Young (Jimmy Fallon) and Bruce Springsteen Cover Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair"

Late Night Ridiculousness on the Day that Springsteen Releases " The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story"
Enjoy!


And my personal favorite:
Because the Night w/ Stevie, Roy, Bruce and the Roots


Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen on Late Night - Full Show

December 3-5, 2010 at Esalen: Gregg Chadwick and Phil Cousineau on Stoking the Creative Fires

Gregg Chadwick
Jordaan Window
25cmx25cm oil on wood 2010

Coming up on December 3-5, 2010, I am honored to lead a workshop on creativity with writer Phil Cousineau entitled Stoking the Creative Fires: Nine Ways to Rekindle Passion and Imagination

Phil Cousineau's book "Stoking the Creative Fires" is an impassioned volume on creativity that combines myth, story and personal pilgrimages in a primer on the creative life. My painting "Fire Dream" graces the cover.
We will use this book as a stepping off point for the upcoming workshop on creativity. It will be a rich journey through myth and art at Esalen. Sign up here: Reserve this workshop
We hope to see you there!




The Esalen Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 1962 by Stanford alums Michael Murphy and Richard Price as an alternative educational center devoted to the exploration of what Aldous Huxley called the "human potential." This world of unrealized human capacities that lies beyond the imagination has brought to Esalen a steady influx of philosophers, psychologists, artists, and religious thinkers.




Phil Cousineau at Esalen

Allan Hunt Badiner explains the history of Esalen:
"Esalen takes its name from the Native American tribe, the Esselen, that once lived there. Sitting on a former ceremonial ground, the Esalen property was the site of frequent cross-tribal peace gatherings. Esselen cosmology described Big Sur as a “weaving” center for human culture and drew representatives from tribes, near and far. Today, Esalen draws 10,000 people a year from around the world to participate in a wildly diverse menu of workshops. It brought former Russian President Boris Yeltsin to the West, popularized Rolfing and Gestalt, and nurtured books like The Tao of Physics and The Dancing Wu Li Masters. Esalen created a context for understanding psychedelics, established the healing power of massage, and championed wisdom of the body. Visitors often mention that the land itself and spectacular coastline setting feels almost sacred." Allan's words are not surprising, given the retreat’s lineage of powerful teachers such as Abraham Maslow, Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, Fritz Perls, Allen Ginsberg, Ida Rolf, Joan Baez, Boris Yeltsin, Philip Glass, Gregory Bateson, Buckminster Fuller and countless others who have visited and taught at Esalen in an effort to discuss, debate and develop revolutionary ideas, transformative practices, and innovative art forms.


Sunset at the Esalen Institute

More at:
Phil Cousineau
Gregg Chadwick
Stoking the Creative Fires
"Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion" by Jeffrey J. Kripal
Esalen at the Edge. From Zen and hot tubs to glasnost, the famed Big Sur retreat has changed our minds, bodies, and ways of looking at the world.
- by past workshop participant Allan Hunt Badiner

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Freed from House Arrest

photo courtesy European Pressphoto Agency
Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters after being freed today

Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been freed from house arrest today in Burma.
Much more to follow.
Details at:
Burmese Dissident Is Freed After Long Detention


Gregg Chadwick
The Road to Mandalay
40"x30" oil on linen 2007
Currently at Julie Nester Gallery

Polish Composer Henryk Gorecki Dies At Age 76

Gorecki Symphony No. 3 "Sorrowful Songs" - Lento e Largo
(Soprano: Isabel Bayrakdaraian, Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod.
Taken from "HOLOCAUST - A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz". For one of the first times since liberation, permission was granted for music to be heard in Auschwitz.)

"I think that people are moved by the simplicity — which does not mean simple-mindedness — and the prayerful intensity of the music. Quite extraordinary. The Symphony No. 3 touched people in a way that few pieces do, now or ever."
- Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author, former dj on WNYC in New York who played an early, Polish recording of the symphony for American audiences.

"I will be extremely happy if some people 100 years from now would listen to some of my music. It's not a question of being famous and popular. It's a question of what you did and how you did it."
Henryck Gorecki on NPR in 1995

I painted today, as I often do, with the Polish composer Henryk Gorecki's haunting 3rd Symphony playing through my headphones. Satisfied with my progress for the day, I stopped, only to find that Gorecki had died today in Poland. I am grateful for the music that Gorecki has left us but mourn both his passing and the loss of future music that had yet to be finished.

Boosey & Hawkes, Gorecki's music publishing firm, noted that Gorecki left an unfinished Symphony No.4, commissioned jointly by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Southbank Centre along with The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association: Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director, and the ZaterdagMatinee, Dutch radio's classical music concert series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.



Dachau
60"x49" oil on linen 1987
painting by Gregg Chadwick

Much more at:
Henryk Gorecki, Composer Of 'Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs,' Dies At Age 76
Boosey & Hawkes: Henryk Mikolaj Górecki dies in Katowice, aged 76

On Veterans Day

By Gregg Chadwick


Winslow Homer
The Veteran in a New Field
24 1/8" x 38 1/8" oil on canvas 1865
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Veterans Day is more than just a day off. Instead it is a time to reflect on duty, honor, service, and life. Winslow Homer's The Veteran in a New Field portrays a Union veteran of the American Civil War back at work on the farm. But the painting is not instantly celebratory. There are no angels and there is no parade. Instead a psychic weight seems to be guiding the veteran's scythe as it cuts the stand of grain, much like the volleys of shot and shell mowed down troops, on both sides of that brutal war.

There is hope though in the warm, life giving color of the wheat, a Northern crop, and the cerulean sky. All wars must eventually come to an end. Uniforms are cast off. Homer paints the ex-soldier's jacket and canteen tossed onto the newly cut field. Life does go on.

The soldier will inevitably struggle to find his place in the mundane world of civilian work. And the civilian world struggles to understand these warriors bereft of armor and weapons plopped back into society. Wounds need time and care to heal.

Art can help bridge this gap.

Stories need to be told.

Today, at the National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago and on HBO in the film Wartorn 1861-2010, veterans of our current wars have been given a chance to tell their stories. Please see below for more details.

On this Veterans Day I want to thank my father Robert Chadwick for his service in the United States Marine Corps, my father in law Ralph Heilemann for his service in the United States Navy, my sister-in-law Heidi Bavlnka for her service in the United States Army, my uncle Jake Desch for his service in the United States Airforce, my cousin Michael Lowther for his service in the United States Marine Corps, my friend Paul Patchem for his service in the United States Navy, and my buddy Mark Stephens for his service in the United States Navy.

Opening today at the National Veteran's Art Museum in Chicago, Illinois is the exhibit Intrusive Thoughts: An exhibition of work by Veterans of the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Global War on Terror.



The museum website describes the theme of the show:

"Intrusive thoughts are unwelcome involuntary thoughts, images, or unpleasant ideas that may become obsessions are upsetting or distressing, and can be difficult to manage or eliminate.
Although they are commonly unseen, there are silent signs of our current occupations in our local communities, households, and memories. This show will feature work by veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror that will bring these signs from the shadows to the forefront and give these traumas a voice in the political and cultural discussion of today."

The exhibition includes artwork by Jeremy Stainthorp Berggren, Erica Slone, Combat Paper Project, Peter Sullivan, Jacob Flom, Jon Turner, Ash Kyrie, Chris Vongsawat, Leonard Shelton, Joyce Wagner, and Warrior Writers Project.

Opens Tonight, November 11, 2010
7PM Artist Talks/Presentation
5-8 PM | National Veterans Art Museum 1801 S. Indiana Ave. 3rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60616

Screenshot from HBO Films Documentary Wartorn 1861-2010

And tonight on HBO, the documentary Wartorn 1861-2010 The film examines what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the Civil War, through two World Wars and Vietnam, and recent cases from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Using a technique often used by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, soldiers stories are told through letters and journals as well as photographs, combat footage, and interviews with veterans and family members of soldiers with PTSD. Also included are insightful conversations between James Gandolfini and top U.S. military personnel, enlisted men in Iraq, and medical experts working at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Directed By: Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent

Producers: Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill and Ellen Goosenberg Kent

Executive Producers: James Gandolfini and Sheila Nevins

Co-Producer Lori Shinseki

Co-Producer Archival Segments Caroline Waterlow

Edited by Geof Bartz A.C.E., Andrew Morreale and Jay Sterrenberg

Co-Executive Producer Alexandra Ryan

Associate Producers Trixie Flynn and Thomas Richardson

Supervising Producer Sara Bernstein

Wartorn 1861-2010 premieres on Veteran’s Day 2010 – Thursday, November 11 at 9/8c, on HBO.

>

More at:
Buglers, Veterans And The Lonely Yet Comforting Sound Of Taps
National Veterans Art Museum
Veterans Day Frequently Asked Questions

James Elkins: A Gaze, a Glance, an Epiphany

Dieric Bouts
Weeping Madonna (detail)
15 1/4" x 11 7/8" c. 1480-1500
The Art Institute of Chicago

James Elkins is now writing for the Huffington Post on art, especially the process of looking at art. His latest post entitled "How Long Does it Take To Look at a Painting?" is a must read. We are bombarded by visual images each day to the point where we are numb to their effect. How can we regain the ability to interact with great paintings and sculptures? James Elkins suggests that a simple solution is at hand: slow down, stop and gaze into a work of art. Don't have the time? Wander over to the nearest gallery or museum on your lunch hour.

James Elkins writes beautifully about Dieric Bouts Weeping Madonna from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The video artist Bill Viola was also moved by the Dieric Bouts painting when his father was dying:

"For the first time in my life I realised I was using a piece of art rather than just appreciating it. Maybe it should have been in a church - where people share silent communion - but it happened in an art gallery. That is not what I was taught in art school"

Read the entire piece and join the dialogue at:
James Elkins on Huffington: "How Long Does it Take To Look at a Painting?"
More on Bill Viola at:
Bill Viola: The Passions

Giving Away the Farm: The Folly in Privatizing UCLA’s Anderson School of Management

By Gregg Chadwick



"The university was controlled by and had to fight for intellectual purity against the Church, then it had to fight against the crown, and now it's against the corporation."
Gordon Davies, Director of Virginia's Council of Higher Education 2002

Since the University of California System was founded in 1868, generations of Californians have built the UC System into the world renowned institution that it is today through their taxes, gifts, and hard work. The UCLA Anderson School of Management proposes to take a program, buildings, and facilities built with public tax dollars and student tuition and without public, student or governmental oversight turn public property into a private entity. This move would abandon the University of California Charter, give away the equity of generations of Californians, load students with ever increasing tuition bills, effectively deny the Californian middle class access to a school built by Californians for the Californian public, reduce academic freedom at UCLA, create proprietary research owned by corporations not by Californians, and would loosen the floodgates of privatization that could lead to the dismantling of the entire University of California system.



Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902)
Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California
183 x 305 cm oil on canvas 1868
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington, D.C.

I. Abandoning the University of California Charter

In considering UCLA’s Anderson School of Management’s rush to privatization, UCLA’s Chancellor Gene Block and the UC Regents must take into account the California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 which created a system for postsecondary education that defined specific roles for the University of California, the California State University system, and the California Community Colleges system. UC Regents President Clark Kerr stated at that time that the goal was to “foster excellence and guarantee educational access for all.” Signed into law by Governor Brown on April 27, 1960, the University of California Charter’s underlying principles were clear:

1. Higher education needed to be available to all regardless of means.
2. Academic opportunity should be available to all proficient students
3. Each of the three systems would strive for excellence in serving the California public. The UC schools, including UC Berkeley and UCLA, were to be supported as top tier research universities.


Welders/California Taxpayers at Bay Area Kaiser Shipyards During World War II

II. Giving Away the Equity of Generations of Californians

Since the University of California was founded in 1868, generations of Californians have built the UC System into the world renowned institution that it is today through their taxes, gifts, and hard work. The Anderson School proposes to take a program, buildings, and facilities built with public tax dollars and student tuition and effectively deny access to all but the independently wealthy. The Anderson privatization plan abandons the public mission of the UC system, steals the contributions of generations of Californians and will effectively deny future students, especially from the middle class, the opportunity to attend a public University built and paid for by their ancestors.

In an editorial from September 2010, the Los Angeles Times agrees, stating that the Anderson School gets the best of the situation after privatization and “would still benefit from its association with UCLA, a great university whose international prestige was built up by California taxpayers willing to invest in first-rate education and research.”


SANTA MONICA EVENING OUTLOOK
1970's Mural from UCLA'S Ackerman Union (now lost or hidden?)

III. Students Will Pay the Price With Ever-Rising Tuition Bills

In a cynical bid to raise professor and administrator salaries at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, students will immediately make up the difference with tuition increases. The UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management Proposal for Financial Self Sufficiency Response to Questions and Comments from the Academic Senate (http://www.senate.ucla.edu/documents/ASMFinancialSelfSufficiency_Proposal.pdf) reports that currently the state of California, through UC General Funds, provides $17.9 million in yearly funding out of a total budget of $90.5 million.

The plan if UCLA Anderson opts out of public funding is for tuition, which currently costs $41,000 a year for California residents, to rise to match that of private business schools such as Wharton and Stanford. Tuition for Stanford is currently at $53,118. Current and future California resident students would be faced at least with an immediate $12,000 yearly tuition increase to cover the loss of UC funding.

Surely, potential business students want to control their own finances, too. But as the leaders in the drive to privatize America’s professional schools know well - tuition is a more reliable source of revenue than state or private funding. The Los Angeles Times agrees and states, “If private donations fall short, it will be students who make up the difference in the form of ever-rising tuition bills.”


IV. The Middle Class Will Be Hit Especially Hard If Anderson Goes Private

“In most excellent schools, there are scholarship funds available, and I think universities are very responsive to students in need. However, as education gets more privatized, it becomes less affordable. The people who get squeezed are not the poor, because there are funding sources that target them specifically. And obviously the well to do have the means to send their kids to college. I do think privatization hurts the middle class.”
-Hasan Pirkul, University of Texas at Dallas, Biz/ed, March/April 2005
http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/archives/marapr05/p24-29.pdf

The middle class in California is caught in a bind when it comes to education. In the current climate of reduced lending, it can be difficult if not impossible to gather loans to help family members attain their academic goals. Many middle class families find that their combined salaries put their daughters and sons out of reach for grants and financial aid. In this economic downturn it is egregious for the Anderson School to flippantly discuss $12,000 per year tuition hikes because of their privatization dreams.

“At private colleges and universities there is a donut hole for the middle-class family with more than one student in college … They earn too much money to qualify for full financial aid; their family assets suggest that they can contribute to their child's education at a certain level that rarely takes into account the cost of having several children in college simultaneously. The formulation of need packages also tends to examine assets along with income and sometimes distorts that level of liquid assets available to families for contributions to their children's education. The very wealthy and the very poor benefit from the financial aid arrangements at these private schools more than the family whose gross income may reach $100,000, but who also have two children in private colleges. Second, most excellent private colleges and universities simply do not have the financial assets to adopt the Ivy League's admission and financial aid policies. They are not able to provide the discount rates that the wealthier schools can afford. Consequently, the cost burdens for families and students who attend these superb schools that have less wealth will, in fact, be greater.”

Jonathan R. Cole
John Mitchell Mason Professor of the University at Columbia University
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-r-cole/misconceptions-about-the_b_779444.html

V. Academic Freedom versus Black Box Pedagogy:
The Cautionary Tale of the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration

“But black-box pedagogy at the University of Virginia calls into question the very idea of a public university.”
David L. Kirp of the University of California at Berkeley and Patrick S. Roberts of Virginia Tech, Mr. Jefferson’s University Breaks Up, The Public Interest, Summer 2002
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080710_20021485mrjeffersonsuniversitybreaksupdavidlkirp.pdf

The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville is often cited as a model for Anderson’s privatization plan. David L. Kirp of the University of California at Berkeley and Patrick S. Roberts of Virginia Tech wrote a measured critique entitled Mr. Jefferson’s University Breaks Up published in The Public Interest during the summer of 2002.

Kirp and Roberts came to the conclusion that the Darden School’s privatization reduced academic freedom and led to situations “when Darden offers classes developed for a specific firm and uses proprietary teaching material, it erases the line between the academy, where norms of openness prevail, and the property-minded corporate environment. Such secrecy is expected at a place like Hamburger University, McDonald's corporate-training headquarters, where the courses are valuable property and every effort is made to keep out spies from Wendy's or Burger King.”

VI. Research or Money?
Another Cautionary Tale From the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration

Kirp and Roberts also came to the conclusion that the Darden School’s privatization reduced the quality and quantity of faculty research:

“In its eagerness to enter the top ranks of business schools, Darden has made the pursuit of money its main activity. In doing so, it has de-emphasized research, for which there is no immediate market payoff. Faculty energy that elsewhere would be devoted to scholarship is expended on topics dictated by the needs of executive education.”

Kirp and Roberts also concluded that, “Though Darden faculty write many of the case studies used in business school classes throughout the country, they publish in leading academic journals far less than their counterparts at Stanford or Chicago. That worries those who see the creation, not just the transmission, of knowledge as vital at a great university. The school recognizes the problem. As Joseph Harder, who came to Darden from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, points out, it's important "to become known for our intellectual capital."

What is more alarming is that an instructor may not be allowed to use the case he has developed for, say, Price Waterhouse Coopers or Citibank in an M.B.A. class, since many executive courses draw on proprietary material.”
David L. Kirp of the University of California at Berkeley and Patrick S. Roberts of Virginia Tech, Mr. Jefferson’s University Breaks Up, The Public Interest /Summer 2002
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080710_20021485mrjeffersonsuniversitybreaksupdavidlkirp.pdf


Kareem Abdul Jabbar at Chancellor Block's Inauguration

VII. What About Public Service?
Many students pursue professional school degrees as a path to public service. Ralph Bunche is a shining example for UCLA. President Obama began his professional life as a public interest attorney. Many government and nonprofit posts demand instruction from business, medical or law schools. Such students are not exceptions to the rule; they make up much of the University of California and reflect the makeup of our entire state. UC administrators should not have to be reminded that the pursuit of idealistic but low-paying work represents the fulfillment of UC's stated mission of teaching, research and public service.


VIII. There Is No Turning Back: Loosening the Floodgates of Privatization Could Dismantle the Entire UC System

The Los Angeles Times reminds us that “other professional schools within the UC system have been floating the idea for years, and if Anderson's proposal is accepted, it almost certainly will set off a wave of similar plans. The model that funds these schools will be the standard that prevails at private schools across the nation; there will be relatively little incentive to rein in costs.”

I agree with the Los Angeles Times that privatizing Anderson would open the floodgates and lead to the destruction of the University of California. Mark G. Yudof, the Regents of the University of California, the Governor of California, the State Legislature, and the citizens of California “must consider much more than the reasonable aspirations of a well-regarded business school.”

In March 2010, the UC Board of Regents rejected a proposal that would have allowed professional schools to set fees at rates similar to private universities. UC policy requires tuition to be no higher than comparable public schools. The Anderson proposal seems like a backdoor plan to circumvent UC policy that could set a dangerous precedent of restructuring other professional programs.

We must remember that no action is taken in isolation and that if the Anderson goes private that there is no going back:
“The future mission of the University of California is at stake, and their decision must arise not from case-by-case proposals but from a well-articulated vision of what that mission will be. Some very limited privatization might be necessary, but under what limits? And what of a possible return to a public mission in the future? When the state's economy reawakens, Californians should not find that some of their most valuable gems were given away while they were sleeping.”

Inauguration of Chancellor Block at Royce Hall UCLA

IX. For the Future of California the Rush to Privatize Anderson Must be Halted by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, UC President Mark G. Yudof and the Regents of the University of California

The UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management Proposal for Financial Self Sufficiency Response to Questions and Comments from the Academic Senate (http://www.senate.ucla.edu/documents/ASMFinancialSelfSufficiency_Proposal.pdf) makes clear that if the decision is made to allow Anderson to go private that there is no turning back. Any change to this agreement would have to be “with mutual agreement of UCLA and UCLA Anderson.” And “In the event of disagreement” UCLA and UCLA Anderson would have to “agree on a mutually satisfactory mechanism for resolution.” In other words, call in the high priced lawyers. If the Anderson School is allowed to go private there will be no legal reason for any of the other professional schools within the entire UC System to remain public.

These could include the top ranked public Medical Schools at UCSF, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego. Dental schools at UCLA and UC San Francisco are at risk. The Nursing Schools at UCLA, UCSF, UC Davis and UC Irvine could be lost to privatization. The Public Health programs at UC Berkeley and UCLA would be at risk as well as the Veterinary Medicine School at UC Davis and the Optometry School at UC Berkeley. Public law schools at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and the Hastings School of Law could demand to become private. The vast engineering and computer science programs throughout the University of California System are already positioning themselves to become private. These schools could include:

1.UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering, Computer Science Division
School of Information Management and Systems, International Computer Science Institute, and Department of Chemical Engineering
2.UC Davis’ College of Engineering, and Department of Computer Science
3. UC Irvine’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering,
Department of Electrical and Computer Science,
and Department of Information and Computer Science
4. UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Department of Computer Science
5. UC Merced’s School of Engineering
6. UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering, and
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
7. UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, and
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
8. UC Santa Barbara’s College of Engineering, and
Department of Computer Science
9. UC Santa Cruz’ Baskin School of Engineering,
Department of Computer Science, and
Department of Computer Engineering

A nightmare scenario can easily be envisioned where future generations realize that the gems of the University of California were given away for nothing only to watch helplessly as their tax dollars, cherished gifts, and sweat equity are again squandered, though this time in bitter and never ending battles over privatization in the courts. It is my firm belief that if the UCLA Anderson School of Management is allowed to privatize under the terms of their proposal, the entire University of California will be put at risk and a hasty decision could lead to the dismantling of one of California’s most glorious creations.

As made clear in November 2, 2010’s election, the California public does not want business executives running the government in Sacramento. In the same vein it does not serve the state of California’s collective interest to allow UCLA's Anderson School of Management to model itself solely after the corporate world and secede financially from UCLA. In essence, by allowing the UCLA Anderson School of Management to go private, California would be giving away a school built with the tax dollars, cherished gifts, and sweat equity of generations of Californians without any recompense.

From the vaults - Circa 1978 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Perform "The Promise"

From the vaults - Circa 1978 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform The Promise. The video was sparely shot in black and white. Bruce's voice is hoarse and guttural.
A definitive statement on broken promises and lost dreams.


Gregg Chadwick
Pegasus Night
38 cm in diameter oil on wood 2010
Currently on view at Manifesta Maastricht, the Netherlands

Hat Tip to Pitchfork.

The Sheltering Sky

Gregg Chadwick
The Sheltering Sky
218cm x 163cm
oil on linen 2010
Currently on exhibit at the Manifesta Maaastricht Gallery in Maastricht, the Netherlands


Rene Boitelle,views The Sheltering Sky at Manifesta Maastricht

I was honored to have Rene Boitelle, a restorer at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, speak about my work at the opening on October 25, 2010.

San Francisco Giants Win the World Series!

Gregg Chadwick at Manifesta Maastricht

Home From the Road Listening to Michael McDermott's "Carry Your Cross"

I am back after more than a month on the road. Fall in Santa Monica is crisp and reminds be of all the autumn days that have past in my life. Michael McDermott's new song "Carry Your Cross" seems to sonically embody my thoughts and dreams. Take a listen to a beautiful and haunting song.

More of Michael's poignant music at:
The Music of Michael McDermott

Vernissage in the Netherlands

My next solo show opens on September 25th at 5pm at ManifestaMaastricht in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands.

More info at:
ManifestaMaastricht
greggchadwick.com

Gleeful Rendition of Born to Run at the Emmy's

Jimmy Fallon leads the cast of Glee along With Tina Fey, Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Jorge Garcia (Hurley on Lost), Randy Jackson (American Idol) in a "Gleeful" rendition of Springsteen's "Born to Run" in the opening skit from last night's Emmy's.

The Real August Dream: August 28, 1963