"Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki" in theaters Dec. 13 & 18, 2018

by Gregg Chadwick

"The single difference between films for children and films for adults is that in films for children, there is always the option to start again, to create a new beginning. In films for adults, there are no ways to change things." -Hayao Miyazaki*


Gkids is bringing a new documentary on Hayao Miyazaki to theaters in the United States this month and I have been thinking about how inspirational Miyazaki has been to artists all over the world. Pixar animator Enrico Casarosa said, "Miyazaki has this uncanny ability to add a childish sense of wonder to his stories. He’s able to make us feel like little kids again." 

Miyazaki is careful to steer his work towards child-like wonder and away from childishness. Instead, Miyazaki's films have three main themes:

1. A distaste for heedless violence and warmongering. 
2. Concern for the environment and a depiction of natural beauty as a counterweight to our increasingly industrialized world. 
3. Strong, brave, and resourceful main female characters. 


On the occasion of Miyazaki's film retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005, AO Scott wrote that after viewing Miyazaki's films "you may find your perception of your own world refreshed, as it might be by a similarly intensive immersion in the oeuvre of Ansel Adams, J. M. W. Turner or Monet. After a while, certain vistas - a rolling meadow dappled with flowers and shadowed by high cumulus clouds, a range of rocky foothills rising toward snow-capped peaks, the fading light at the edge of a forest - deserve to be called Miyazakian."

Hayao Miyazaki at 22

(Courtesy NTV)

Hayao Miyazaki's tenacious spirit, imagination, and work-ethic allowed him to rise from entry-level animator to the co-founder of his own company.
 Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki in theaters Dec. 13 & 18, 2018
Tickets: http://GKIDS.com/NeverEndingMan 

Hayao Miyazaki

Sketch for My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro)

pencil and watercolor on paper 1988

(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)

In December 2010, I was fortunate to visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan where I learned much about Miyazaki and his art.  Filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata founded their animation studio in 1985 and named it 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 

Sketches for Porco Rosso (Kurenai no buta)

pencil and watercolor on paper 1992

(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)

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.

Hayao Miyazaki

Sketch for Porco Rosso (Kurenai no buta)

pencil and watercolor on paper 1992

(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)

Hayao Miyazaki

Sketch for Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)

pencil and watercolor on paper 2001

(Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan)

Celluloid Dreams at the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Japan

photo by Gregg Chadwick

*(late December 2001, from a ceremony at "Spirited Away's" first European screening during the animation festival Nouvelles images du Japon where the French government bestowed on Miyazaki the title of 'Officier des Arts et des Lettres')

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

Robot From Castle in the Sky (Laputa) at Ghibli Museum

Springsteen On Broadway - Growin' Up with Intro

In IndieWire David Ehrlich writes:

"Springsteen isn’t singing about himself. He never was. On Broadway, he’s venerating his legend by dismantling his myth; he’s revealing how he became an icon in order to make us believe in myths of our own. In the grace of our hard work, and in the beauty of high school parking lots. To recognize the value of our dreams, and to appreciate the poetry of their aftertaste. At one point — without naming any names — Springsteen rails against the leaders of today, and reiterates that America is a place where tomorrow is always going to be worth fighting for. His songs might be sung in a nostalgic key, but now it’s easy to hear how the best of them point forward. Some magic tricks are even more impressive when you know how they’re done, and on Netflix you can watch this one over and over until you figure it out."

What would Christmas be without love?

Crying? Who's crying? ...

Bruce Springsteen "Goin' Back" Live at The Roxy, Oct. 18th, 1975

Goin' Back

Carole King

Lyrics: 

I think I'm goin' back
To the things I learned so well in my youth
I think I'm returning to those days
When I was young enough to know the truth
Now there are no games to only pass the time
No more electric trains, no more trees to climb
Thinking young and growing older is no sin
And I can play the game of life to win

I can recall a time
When I wasn't ashamed to reach out to a friend
Now I think
I've got a lot more than just my toys to lend
Now there's more to do
Than watch my sailboat glide
And every day can be
My magic carpet ride

A little bit of courage is all we lack
So catch me if you can, I'm goin' back

� 1966 Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc. (BMI), Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc. (BMI)

Lyrics courtesy of EMI Music Publishing.
For printed lyrics or sheet music, please visit www.halleonard.com or www.sheetmusicdirect.com.

Writer Credits: 

Words and Music by Gerry Goffin

Hope You are Having a Wonderful Holiday Season!

Love the animated holiday cards that the Met Museum has sent out  the past few years. Museums are such an important part of my life. In that spirit, I hope you will visit your local museum many times in the new year. In yesterday's Washington Post, Sebastian Smee wrote,"Here’s a holiday gift idea: Take someone you love to an art museum."

Please read more at - "The no-pressure holiday gift you won’t even have to wrap" .

Lessons from the Dreyfus Affair

by Gregg Chadwick

Mirka Knaster on her blog posted a provocative entry today with the title "Appreciate the art but despise the artist?"  I agree with Mirka and post my thoughts below as a follow up to her post.

Zola's open letter "J'Accuse...!" 13 January 1898

Mirka, you pose an important question. While an undergrad at UCLA, I had classes with the noted art historians Albert Boime and David Kunzel. Boime's "Social History of Modern Art" and Kunzel's study of the history of fashion have prompted me to consider the social structures that exist around an artwork. Pulling a painting out of its time and pinning it alone in a case like a rare butterfly often leads to a limited understanding of an artwork. Degas' moral failings are problematic and are important to consider in the broader understanding of the man and the artist. 

The comparison between Degas and Emile Zola concerning the anti-Semitic campaign against Captain Dreyfus is revealing. Zola's powerful "J'accuse" shows that the case against Dreyfus had no merit. Many of Zola's artistic friends backed his stand with Dreyfus including Monet, Pissarro, Mary Cassatt, and Signac. But Degas, Renoir and Cézanne stood with the anti- Dreyfus crowd. Zola drew a line and severed his life long friendship with Cézanne. As Alan Chase writes in a letter to the New York Times,"Cézanne's anti-Dreyfus position did not diminish Zola's admiration for his painting. It did, however, diminish Cézanne's stature as a man and a onetime friend."

I can still appreciate the art that Degas created but I am troubled by his prejudice. Thomas Micchelli on Hyperallergic writes on Degas that,"As we belatedly come to recognize that social progress is halting at best, and it becomes harder to flatter ourselves on our own enlightenment, it also becomes harder to relegate Degas’ inhumanity to an artifact of a time when racism and bigotry were more acceptable." 

Alfred Dreyfus in his room on Devil's Island in 1898,
stereograph by F. Hamel collection Fritz Lachmund

The anti-Semitism in Zola and Degas' time was horrid and based on the dangerous thought that Jewish French citizens were somehow un-French. Zola helped free Dreyfus from prison but the anti-Semitism in French society remained, and as Donald Morrison notes, contributed to the discharge of more than 75,000 French citizens and refugees to Nazi death camps during WWII.

In our current Trumpian age when anti-Semitism is on the rise, the Dreyfus Affair is more than a cautionary tale from the past. Instead, it is a dire warning that the demonization of others can lead to brutal crimes against humanity. 

I'll let Donald Morrison have the final word. In the Financial Times he wrote, "Therein lies the Dreyfus Affair’s true lesson. Too often these days, panicked governments are undermining citizens’ rights and freedoms in the name of battling crime or terrorism. But reading these accounts of France in a similarly anxious age reminds us that a nation once twisted itself in knots over the fate of an obscure Jewish captain – and ultimately chose justice. Thus Dreyfus, the unlikely hero, and France, the faltering beacon, have shown what is possible when people remain true to their values."

More at: Artistes-lAffaire-Dreyfus-1898-1908 and l'Affaire Dreyfus

It is a crime to exploit patriotism in the service of hatred.

— Emile Zola pic.twitter.com/jmYt63osHY

— Jeffrey Levin (@jilevin) February 10, 2019

Springsteen on Broadway | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Wonderful Interview by Michael Hainey with @springsteen! https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a25133821/bruce-springsteen-interview-netflix-broadway-2018/ via @Esquire #Art #Music #Soul #MentalHealth

Happy Holidays!

Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday weekend. Singulart has just posted a new feature "A Day with Gregg Chadwick". Link here -
https://blog.singulart.com/en/2018/11/26/a-day-with-gregg-chadwick/ Hope you enjoy it!

I also just took part in an amazing art and therapy collaboration entitled

The Perception Project which paired me with a trauma survivor.

I created the artwork and wrote the thoughts below for the project.

Gregg Chadwick

A Resilient Light

24"x18" oil on linen 2018

A Resilient Light (The Perception Project)

Chelsea’s life story inspired me to paint A Resilient Light. 

With her therapist present, we engaged in a rich discussion that outlined

the challenges she has overcome and the path she has laid out for her journey.

As Chelsea spoke, I pictured a long stairway with one end in the past

and the summit in the future. In my mind, I saw Chelsea at different stages

along this stairway.  Maybe hesitant steps at first.

Perhaps a tumble here or there.

But Chelsea is a survivor and she keeps climbing.

A warm, welcoming light illuminates this path forward

and seems to urge Chelsea on.

Later, in my studio I began to put layers of paint down.

The stairway came first and originally reached towards the top of

the linen canvas. A small figure vanishing into a fog of light looked fine

but did not carry the emotional weight of our conversation.

Instead, I flipped the vantage point so that we were in the future looking back

towards the past. In my mind, Chelsea’s resilient voice resonated,

which helped me create a strong, brave character moving across

the surface of the painting. This female figure appears in multiple stages

of the climb. Movement and energy abound.

She follows a resilient path. In the distance, a figure in red

watches over her and supports her.  A parent figure perhaps or a therapist.

I painted A Resilient Light in the hope that it will inspire Chelsea

and others as they courageously climb the stairs of life.

Transgender Rights: A Decades-long Struggle for Equality

On #TransDayOfRemembrance, we look back on the underreported role transwomen played in the #Stonewall riots of 1969, predated by a little-known uprising at a San Francisco cafeteria. #TDOR

Dave Eggers and Barack Obama - The Closing Session of the Obama Foundation Summit: Our Roots Matter

Dave Eggers Speaks with @BarackObama at the Obama Foundation Summit -LIVE https://youtu.be/rrRnvJNwydE  via @YouTube

Currently Listening To: H.E.R. - Could've Been (Official Video) ft. Bryson Tiller

Democrats find a new voice!

by Gregg Chadwick

For the first time in two years, I had a deeply restful sleep last night. After watching anti-union and anti-education Scott Walker fall to Tony Evers in Wisconsin and viewing Harley Rouda's lead over Russian stooge Dana Rohrabacher in CA  48, I felt hopeful. My painting The Future Is Woke no longer felt aspirational  - we did it! Retaking the House with a Blue Wave is the first step in restoring sanity in our nation.  After last night's powerful rebuke to the blowhard in the White House, it is clear as  Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey write in the Washington Post that Democrats found "a new voice, with a new generation of leaders emerging and a new playbook for winning." As Barack Obama put it: "Congratulations to everybody who showed up and participated in our democracy in record numbers yesterday. The change we need won’t come from one election alone – but it is a start. Last night, voters across the country started it."

Voters elected the U.S.'s first Muslim congresswomen, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota (left)
Jared Polis in Colorado defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Walker Stapleton to become the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S.(center)
Sharice Davids of Kansas and Debra Haaland of New Mexico, both Democrats, are the first Native American women elected to Congress. (right)
(photos by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images, Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images, Whitney Curtis AFP via NPR)

NPR reports that "record numbers of Native Americans, Muslim Americans and women, including many women of color, ran for office in 2018. A "rainbow wave" of LGBTQ candidates also sought office. And after the ballots were cast, all those groups notched notable firsts." As the father of a trans daughter, I am heartened that Massachusetts passed a transgender protection law that should inspire other states to do the same. And in Florida, Amendment 4 passed easily, restoring voting rights to 1.4 million ex-felons. 

Beto O'Rourke ran a hard fought campaign and was amazingly positive in defeat. Dare I say presidential? - "We just want to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. Everyone who made us feel hopeful, everyone who inspired us. Everyone who became the most amazing campaign we could have ever hoped to belong to. Grateful that we got to do this with you. We love you. Goodnight!"

All political races are important, including local school boards and state legislatures. Yesterday, Democrats flipped "seven state legislative chambers and 333 seats, adding 6 more trifectas (gov+both chambers), per DLCC." As Alex Seitz Wald noted on twitter: "Few ever pay attention to these races, but they’re important for redistributing and waves can be leveraged for major gains."

Tuesday's midterm elections ushered in a new era of diversity. Here’s a look at some of last night’s historic firsts: https://t.co/uZifMhp4kC pic.twitter.com/fbXz2lB5tD

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 7, 2018

Adding to the good news, with the Democratic take over of the House, Eddie Bernice Johnson, a congresswoman with a STEM background as a nurse is poised to wrest the House Science committee from climate change deniers. She promises to "Restore the credibility of the Science Committee as a place where science is respected and recognized."

Last night, at least 10 candidates with backgrounds in science won seats, bolstering the House’s new ranks of science advocates. 

There's something special about a country that can welcome and allow a Somali refugee to reach Congress without having to shed her identity. https://t.co/3BBcfau5Vu

— Elizabeth Tsurkov (@Elizrael) November 7, 2018

We Won the House now let's keep going! - - We Need All Hands on Deck in 2019

Over 100 women were elected last night! 👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿 #RepresenHer https://t.co/KYmWLS6FME

— Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) November 7, 2018

This is a wave. This is an historic wave. It's a wave that was built methodically by people who stood up their communities for 2 years to build it drop by drop. And I'm fucking proud of that, and I am more hopeful and excited for 2019 than I was for 2017.

— Ezra 🌊 Levin (@ezralevin) November 7, 2018

Thank You For Voting!

Hollywood producer @leedanielsent is voting because his family fought for his right to do so pic.twitter.com/ltIHp7X26J

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 6, 2018

Today we're voting FOR:
LGBTQ rights
immigrants' rights
disability rights
the right to privacy
voting rights
ending mass incarceration
reproductive freedom
net neutrality
police accountability
ending solitary confinement
legalizing marijuana
ending mandatory minimums
OUR. RIGHTS.

— ACLU 🗳 (@ACLU) November 6, 2018

Thank You for Visiting The Other Art Fairs!

by Gregg Chadwick

Still enjoying the buzz from The Other Art Fair in Santa Monica and The Other Art Fair in Chicago. What a month! Thank you to all my new collectors and art lovers. Such great conversations and incredible interest in my work. Hope to see you again soon. #RedDots #Art #ContemporaryArt Saatchi Art The Other Art Fair

"Land of Hope and Dreams" from Springsteen on Broadway

Gregg Chadwick
American River (for Greil Marcus)
24”x36” oil on linen 2016
Audis Husar Gallery, Beverly Hills

                

Bruce Springsteen has pre-released an album from his Springsteen on Broadway engagement.

His album announcement is accompanied by a first taste of his Broadway recording: an acoustic version of his train metaphor song "Land of Hope and Dreams." 
Lauren Onkey writes about the song on NPR Music:

"Land of Hope and Dreams" is the penultimate song of the Broadway show, an uplifting end to a night that features a lot of heartbreaking stories of characters — including Springsteen himself — who fall into isolation. Rooted in the gospel song "This Train" and The Impressions' 1965 gospel-soul hit "People Get Ready," "Land of Hope and Dreams" imagines a communal train where all are welcome — saints, sinners, whores, gamblers, thieves, lost souls, fools, kings, the brokenhearted — as it heads off to unknown future. It's classic Springsteen: grand, optimistic, spiritual and open-ended enough to be embraced by a big audience....
Springsteen has performed "Land of Hope and Dreams" often for benefit concerts and political rallies, including campaign stops for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. It seems no coincidence, then, that he's released it on the eve of the midterm elections, and into the teeth of a violent and divisive time in American life. It's an assertion that we're all in this together.

Please Watch and Then Vote! -> WILL HOGE - Gilded Walls (Official Music Video)

Jon Batiste - Don’t Stop (Official Video)

Parkland father Manuel Oliver is connecting with voters about the necessity of gun safety reforms through his art.

Parkland father Manuel Oliver is connecting with voters about the necessity of gun safety reforms through his art. pic.twitter.com/5Ri8SIpEhp

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 31, 2018

More at: 

Manuel Olivier Remembers His Murdered Son and Inspires Us to Fight Gun Violence

On November 6th, join these activists in making your mark.

On November 6th, join these activists in making your mark. #WhyDoYouVote pic.twitter.com/Cr5Eb93YvA

— Sierra Club (@SierraClub) October 15, 2018

Welcome to the Global Girls Alliance

Right now, more than 98 million adolescent girls around the world are not in school. We all have a responsibility to change that. On International Day of the Girl, the Obama Foundation launched the Global Girls Alliance—a program which seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and to transform their families, communities, and countries. Join the alliance—because the future of our world is only as bright as our girls. http://www.GlobalGirlsAlliance.org

Women Rising

Barbra Streisand - Don't Lie to Me (Official Video)

Watch Barbra speak truth to power!

Thank You!

by Gregg Chadwick

Thanks to all of you who came out to the #FabrikExpoArtFair this past weekend in Los Angeles and all who visited me @theotherartfair last weekend in Chicago. Honored by the deeply inspiring conversations and new homes for my artwork. 

See you again real soon! Next up The Other Art Fair in Santa Monica -  Please click here for free tickets and more info.


@thisisfabrik #ArtLife #art #painting#InstaArt

Thank You Taylor Swift!

View this post on Instagram

I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

VIP Private View for The Other Art Fair Los Angeles

I am pleased to invite you to the VIP Private View for The Other Art Fair Los Angeles which will be held on Thursday October 25, 2018 from 6pm - 10pm at Barker Hangar
3021 Airport Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Please visit this LINK before October 25th to RSVP for the Private View Guest List: 
http://la.theotherartfair.com/rsvp…

Please use my name Gregg Chadwick when prompted by the query “Who are you a guest of?”

Please note: VIP access allows re-entry to The Other Art Fair during the public opening hours from Friday October 26 - Sunday October 28.Parking is available at the venue.

Tickets for Saturday and Sunday can be reserved at this LINK:
http://la.theotherartfair.com/comp…
Please use the code GREGGC

I am excited to exhibit a series of new paintings and works on paper at The Other Art Fair Los Angeles
which runs from October 25 - 28, 2018. The art fair will be held
at The Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport.

Hope to see you there!

Gregg

More at: www.greggchadwick.com 

Gregg Chadwick

Skate Light

16”x20” oil on linen 2018 

For Leonard Cohen

by Gregg Chadwick

Gregg Chadwick
Tower of Song (Leonard Cohen)
6"x6" oil on panel 2018 

On a recent trip to Montreal, I traversed the city in search of Leonard Cohen. From the old harbor to Mount Royal, traces of the poet and singer can be found by those who know where to look. Leonard's music and poetry provide clues about his life in Montreal and also offer hope to a darkened world. I put the finishing touches on my latest painting of Leonard Cohen on September 21st - the anniversary of Leonard's birth.  - “Tower of Song (Leonard Cohen)” will be exhibited at The Other Art Fair in Chicago from September 28-30, 2018.

It's September 21st Again. Did You Remember?

Do you remember the
21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away

Cher - SOS

This is beautiful!

Superpod Of Common Dolphins In Monterey Bay

Scenes From the Border Crisis: Sketches by the Artist Molly Crabapple

Must Watch: Scenes From the Border Crisis: Sketches by the Artist Molly Crabapple – Rolling Stone