People Have the Power - Forward in Wisconsin on June 5, 2012

Light On the Wisconsin State Capitol Building
photo by Gregg Chadwick

Yesterday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, President Bill Clinton brought his gravitas to the bitter struggle for control of the state's soul. Clinton noted that current Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker wants to divide and conquer the state for the benefit of the few while Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate in June 5th's special election, "wants to work together to solve problems" in a spirit of cooperation not conflict. Clinton continued by saying that everywhere he travels - both nationally and globally - “creative cooperation” between political sides brings prosperity. Walker and his cronies do not want to work across the aisle.

Clinton said,"You need a budget from the next governor that deals with whatever the realities are but where there is shared responsibility and shared sacrifice, not winner take all. If you believe in a state budget that preserves investments in education and jobs and you want somebody that has actually created jobs…the only way it works, show up and vote for Tom Barrett."

Tom Barrett writes,"Scott Walker came into the governor's office promising to create 250,000 jobs, and to bring us together.  Instead, he divided our state like never before and presided over a Wisconsin economy that last year lost more jobs than any state in the country.

He 'dropped the bomb,' as he said, and ended 50 years of labor peace and worker protections -- something he never said he'd do during the 2010 campaign.  I know, because I was there.  As governor, I will fight to restore collective bargaining rights, because it's the right thing to do, and it's necessary to heal Wisconsin.

And Gov. Walker gutted education, cut women's health, and diverted millions of dollars intended for Wisconsin victims of Wall Street foreclosure fraud to patch a hole in his budget.

In response to this unanticipated assault on Wisconsin values, the people united and fought back.  Hundreds of thousands made their voices heard at the Capitol.  The protests turned into a movement last summer, and two GOP state senators who rubberstamped Walker's agenda were recalled.

And nearly 1 million people from all across Wisconsin signed their name to trigger a recall election of Gov. Walker, hold him accountable, and restore our Wisconsin values.

We need to bring our state back.  Wisconsin needs a governor who is focused on jobs, not ideology; a leader committed to bringing our state together and healing political wounds, not pitting people against each other and catering to the special interests.

This is the governor I will be for the people of Wisconsin."

Also yesterday, a group of musicians including Jackson Browne, Tom Morello, and Tim Mcllrath inspired a crowd of thousands at a Get Out the Vote event in Madison, Wisconsin. Jackson Browne's moving renditions of Little Steven's "I Am a Patriot" and Florence Reece's "Which Side Are You On" rallied the people of Wisconsin.


Tom Morello, Jackson Browne, Tim McIIrath, Brother Ali singing Patti Smith's "People Have the Power in Madison, Wisconsin on June 1, 2012 for a "Get Out The Vote" rally.



Jackson Browne Sings Florence Reece's Classic 1931 "Which Side Are You On" in Madison, Wisconsin on June 1, 2012 as part of the "Get Out The Vote" rally.

Jackson Browne Sings Little Steven's "I am a Patriot" in Madison, Wisconsin on June 1, 2012 as part of the "Get Out The Vote" rally.

Tim McIlrath performs Neil Young's OHIO in Madison, Wisconsin on June 1, 2012 as part of the "Get Out The Vote" rally.

Tom Morello breaks the news about Scott Walker becoming an official target of the John Doe investigation to the delight of thousands of Tom Barrett for Governor supporters.

Action by the Overpass Light Brigade

Forward! - Wisconsin State Flag Over the Wisconsin State Capitol Building
photo by Gregg Chadwick

Wisconsin State Senate Candidate Lori Compas writes,"Since November, Scott Fitzgerald has continually underestimated this movement. He said we couldn't collect the signatures, but WE proved him wrong. He said that people from outside the district are running this campaign, but from Lomira to Fort Atkinson, WE have proven him wrong.  Now he claims that he has the support of the people in the 13th, and over the next 4 days WE have a chance to prove him wrong yet again.

Thank you to those who have already signed up to help in this important movement! For those who have not, please sign up for a shift to help get out the vote. We still cannot compete with his large out-of-state donors, but our ground came will take us from striking distance to victorious.

We have knocked on tens of thousands of doors and we have identified thousands of supporters. Now is the time to make sure they vote.

This race will be extremely close and any amount of time you have to give could mean the difference between Senator Scott Fitzgerald and FORMER Senator Scott Fitzgerald.

Thank you again for all of your support and thank you in advance for your help over the next 4 days."

Sign up to GOTV here!

On Wisconsin!

To my Wisconsin Friends and Family: On June 5th Please Vote for Tom Barrett for Governor and Lori Compas for State Senate!

Why I am running for Governor

We need to bring our state back. Wisconsin needs a governor who is focused on jobs, not ideology; a leader committed to bringing our state together and healing political wounds, not pitting people against each other and catering to the special interests. This is the governor I will be for the people of Wisconsin.
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• To the Wisconsinites who watched tonight's debate in Japan: Domo Arigato #widebate 1 day ago

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Happy Birthday Walt Whitman

Gregg Chadwick
The Wound-Dresser
(Walt Whitman, Washington D.C., US Civil War, 1865)
30” X 24” oil on linen 2011

"The eyes transcend the medium."

-R.B. Morris (Poet, Musician, Songwriter)   

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

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

Video by Kenneth Chadwick

The Wound Dresser
by Walt Whitman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


More on RB Morris at:
RB Morris.com

Notes on the Painting: A Balance of Shadows

We were not meant to survive. We were meant to live.

- W.S. Merwin

Gregg Chadwick

A Balance of Shadows

72”x96” oil on linen

A Balance of Shadows was begun in 2004 as a visual poem reflecting the tensions of our era. Today, May 24, 2012, I laid a thin transparent layer of lapis lazuli across a section of the sky. Sourced in Afghanistan, this precious stone, when ground into pigment, creates a radiant blue that has been considered auspicious in both east and west. The word depicted in Japanese script in the upper left section of the painting is satori.  The word satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for enlightenment or "understanding". In the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to the experience of kensho. Kensho when used in Zen traditions refers to "seeing into one's true nature." Ken means "seeing," sho means "nature" or "essence." Satori and kensho are commonly translated as enlightenment, a word that is also used to translate bodhi, prajna and buddhahood.

A series of interactions between this painting and viewers worldwide has taken place on the web. Poets, writers and artists from Brazil, to Hong Kong, to Greece, to the Netherlands have interacted with the painting in online dialogues. I have traveled widely in my quest to understand the international connections between east and west. These global interactions inflect my understanding of the painting and help me understand my need to create this work.

Throughout my life I have been compelled to create artworks that depict a world caught between color and elegy, between memory and dream. Inspired by the Buddhist practices of people across the globe, I have created images referencing Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Burma, The United States, India and China. These artworks seem to depict a world in which humanity struggles not just to survive, but to live. My paintings bring out questions.  What does it mean to honor the space between seeing and being? What is the place of beauty in the modern world? Where is the space for contemplation in contemporary life?

In reference to my paintings of monks inspired by Eastern Philosophy, the art writer Peter Clothier has said:

“They exist in an aura of light rather than on some earthly plane. They move through space like transient beings, absorbed in their own silent, meditative isolation. In this way, they seem to project some of the real values of their Buddhist faith: the inevitable passage of time that is at the root of so much human suffering, the illusory quality of what we take to be the real world and, most importantly, the promise of an escape from suffering into enlightenment.”

- Gregg Chadwick, May 2012

Seeing Deeply With Art Writer Peter Clothier at Gregg Chadwick's Studio on Thursday, May 24, 2012

Dear Friends,

I am honored to invite you to register for the next One Hour/One Painting Art Meditation Session which will be led by the distinguished art writer Peter Clothier at 6:30pm on May 24th, 2012 in my studio at the Santa Monica Airport. 

Peter has recently hosted One Hour/ One Painting sessions at the Diebenkorn: The Ocean Park Series exhibit at the Orange County Museum of Art and at the LA Louver Gallery. When describing Peter Clothier's sessions, I am often asked what to expect. In short, Peter will guide a small group of people through an exercise in 'concentrated looking' over the course of one hour's time. He will do this by taking us, as individuals in a group, on a visual and contemplative tour of my large, six by eight foot, painting A Balance of Shadows. We will experience color, shape, space and image in a concentrated yet calm and meditative manner using our eyes and minds. 

I see this as an 'exercise in learning how to see' or 'how to see more deeply' rather than an exercise in the making of an art piece. To clarify, we will not be making a painting of our own during this session. 

While I will be at the session, I am not leading this event. It is being organized and led by Peter; there is a $25 charge per person payable to Peter Clothier by check or credit card at the event but please reserve a space with Emily  (emilypersist86@gmail.com). I am honored that Peter has chosen to hold his event in my studio (but I do not receive any of the fees.)

 Please see the flier below for further details on the piece we will be viewing, location, time, and how to register.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me via email or my cell 

415 533 1165, Peter's assistant Emily at emilypersist86@gmail.com, or Peter Clothier at peterclothier@mac.com. 

This session will be discreetly videotaped for possible inclusion on the website of the Buddhist Journal, Tricycle. More on Tricycle at: http://www.tricycle.com/

I hope to see you at my studio on May 24, 2012.

Gregg

Peter Clothier's Bio:

Peter Clothier has a long and distinguished career as an an internationally-known art writer, novelist and poet. Peter avoids the jargon that obscures much current writing about art by using readily understood language that illuminates rather than obfuscates. Clothier seeks to achieve a harmony of mind, heart, and body in his work, and looks for this quality in the artists he writes about. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Artscene, ARTNews and other publications. Peter writes a daily weblog,The Buddha Diaries, and is a contributing blogger to The Huffington Post. He also hosts a monthly podcast entitled "The Art of Outrage," on ArtScene Visual Radio."
Peter Clothier's latest books are Persist and Mind Work.

                                    

Never Underestimate Your Opponent: Lori Compas Poised to Make History in Wisconsin Recall Election

by Gregg Chadwick


"Nice people can be strong. And happy people can be smart."

Lori Compas in the Wisconsin State Journal 

Lori Compas

As the June 5, 2012 recall elections creep closer in Wisconsin, important political realities are becoming evident. Governor Walker, his Wisconsin loves me bluster nevertheless, will most likely be recalled. 


And Scott Fitzgerald, one of Governor Walker's key supporters in the Wisconsin State Senate, is scared for his political future and could be on the road to political irrelevance. Shockingly, in the June 5 recall election race for Wisconsin's 13th District, Fitzgerald is afraid to debate his opponent Lori Compas. Not only is Fitzgerald scared of Compas, he revealed himself to be an out of touch and misogynist candidate by saying that he is sure that Lori Compas is a puppet for her svengali husband as well as unions and protest groups.
"I don't for one minute believe she is the organizing force behind this whole thing." Fitzgerald said in the Mothers Day Edition of the Wisconsin State Journal .

When told of Fitzgerald’s statement, Compas was stunned.

“That is pretty insulting, but it does seem in keeping with his general views on women,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to have a lot of respect for them. That’s OK; he can keep 
underestimating me.”


Compas said that if Fitzgerald really doubts she is a serious candidate, he should accept her invitation to debate. “I have challenged him to five debates,” she said. “If he thinks I can’t handle myself, he should come out and face me.”



Today she also released a video that pokes fun at Fitzgerald:





In the opinion of my Wisconsin friends and family, Lori Compas epitomizes the future of Wisconsin in her measured, inclusive, intelligent ideas. It seems that Fitzgerald has forgotten one of the most important axioms in politics: Never underestimate your opponent.


On June 5, 2012 expect a record turnout for the recall elections. And mark my words, this record crowd of voters young and old will be led by the women of Wisconsin.

More at:


Senate recall challenge by Compas is giving 'Fitz' fits

Huffpost on Fitzgerald's Mothers Day Gaffe

Mitt Romney vs. a young David Bowie?

by Gregg Chadwick




Must watch video from 1964 of a young David Bowie standing up for the rights of all. The recent news stories about Mitt Romney's extreme bullying and cruelty during his high school years comes to mind.:

"A high school classmate of presidential candidate Mitt Romney told ABC News today that he considers a particular prank the two pulled at Michigan’s Cranbrook School to be “assault and battery” and that he witnessed Romney hold the scissors to cut the hair of a student who was being physically pinned to the ground by several others.
'It’s a haunting memory.  I think it was for everybody that spoke up about it …  because when you see somebody who is simply different taken down that way and is terrified and you see that look in their eye you never forget it.  And that was what we all walked away with,' said Phillip Maxwell, who is now an attorney and still considers Romney an old friend."

Romney's actions show an almost pathological lack of empathy. We need empathy not cruelty in our President! We need a POTUS who accepts all persons equally!



Hat tip to Eric Kleefeld!

More at:
Once a Bully, Always a Bully

Happy 18th Birthday to My Wonderful Kid - Cassiel Chadwick!

The Existentialist (Portrait of Cassiel Chadwick)
30"x22" monotype on paper

Happy 18th Birthday to my University of California Berkeley bound Cassiel Chadwick!

Revealing the Unseen: The Provocative Art of Ramiro Gomez

by Gregg Chadwick

“Often these sectors of the labor force become invisible—we’re used to them attending our gardens, taking care of our kids, cleaning our homes and they almost become invisible.”      

-Lizette Guerra, archivist and librarian at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center 

"Happy Hills is my body of work documenting the predominantly hispanic workforce, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to present the beautiful images of the ideal Hollywood Hills homes."
- Ramiro Gomez

Ramiro Gomez Outside the Beverly Hills Hotel During an Artistic Intervention
from a video by Jorge Rivas

The artwork of the young Los Angeles based artist Ramiro Gomez reveals the unseen hands and faces of the often underpaid and under appreciated laborers who keep the more affluent areas of the Los Angeles basin manicured and green. Using the simple materials of cardboard and paint, Gomez creates labor portraits of the hispanic workers that work behind the scenes at posh hotels and trendy restaurants. With a utility blade, Gomez cuts out these almost Hockney like figures and then places them in public settings where his artistic subjects work.  These artistic interventions are witty, respectful, and deeply provocative. 

Ramiro Gomez
Leonardo Torres
11"x8.5" acrylic on LUXE interiors magazine 

 Ramiro Gomez also creates smaller works on paper that utilize pages from lifestyle magazines. These small scale interventions include figures of laborers that Gomez documents in acrylic paint. If you are in the Los Angeles area and driving through Beverly Hills, take note of the workers who often remain unnoticed. Ramiro Gomez' artwork is a powerful reminder to remain attentive.

Ramiro Gomez

Socorro folds the laundry

11"x8.5" acrylic on LUXE interiors magazine

Video by Jorge Rivas

Jorge Rivas in ColorLines notes that:

"A recent UCLA study found nearly 75% of child care workers and 35% of maids and housekeepers in Los Angeles County were paid at an hourly rate lower than the minimum wage. Many home health care workers (97%) and child care workers, maids, and housekeepers (87%) also reported being required to work when they were not on the clock - that is, they did not get paid for all of the work they did, according to a Research & Policy Brief from the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment."

More at:

Ramiro Gomez Website

Jorge Rivas on Ramiro Gomez in ColorLines

Maurice Sendak: An Artist In Love With the World and the Things That Go Bump in the Night

by Gregg Chadwick

“Dear Mr. Sendak,  How much does it cost to get to where the wild things are? If it is not expensive, my sister and I would like to spend the summer there.”

 -From a letter sent by an eight year old reader to Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak
 Where the Wild Things Are
Pen and ink and watercolor on paper  1963

Maurice Sendak was an artist in love with the world and with things that go bump in the night. Sendak looked deeply at the world around him. His vision included the visible nature of  our existence and the invisible, but no less real, world of dreams. Sendak's beautifully crafted artworks for his books began with simple pencil sketches that were then enlarged and fleshed out with pen and ink which was then layered with glowing watercolor washes. 

The finished paintings on paper reflect what Dave Eggers described in a Vanity Fair article on Sendak as the "unhinged and chiaroscuro subconscious of a child." Sendak's books and images appealed to readers of all ages. Sendak took the deep mysteries of life head-on and allowed us all to journey to where the wild things are.

 In an interview with Terry Gross in September 2011, Maurice Sendak reflected on his mortality and the transient nature of life in general:

"Yes. I'm not unhappy about becoming old. I'm not unhappy about what must be. It makes me cry only when I see my friends go before me and life is emptied. I don't believe in an afterlife, but I still fully expect to see my brother again. And it's like a dream life. I am reading a biography of Samuel Palmer, which is written by a woman in England. I can't remember her name. And it's sort of how I feel now, when he was just beginning to gain his strength as a creative man and beginning to see nature. But he believed in God, you see, and in heaven, and he believed in hell. Goodness gracious, that must have made life much easier. It's harder for us nonbelievers.

But, you know, there's something I'm finding out as I'm aging that I am in love with the world. And I look right now, as we speak together, out my window in my studio and I see my trees and my beautiful, beautiful maples that are hundreds of years old, they're beautiful. And you see I can see how beautiful they are. I can take time to see how beautiful they are. It is a blessing to get old. It is a blessing to find the time to do the things, to read the books, to listen to the music. You know, I don't think I'm rationalizing anything. I really don't. This is all inevitable and I have no control over it."

We are fortunate that Maurice Sendak's love for beauty and the mystery of existence forged a unique vision that led to his magical books and images. He will be greatly missed.

Maurice Sendak
Outside Over There
Pen and ink and watercolor on paper 1978

Portrait of Maurice Sendak by Annie Leibovitz 

More at:

Maurice Sendak, Author of Splendid Nightmares, Dies at 83

Sendak on Sendak Exhibition 

Terry Gross Interview With Maurice Sendak - September 2011