Speed of Life

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

Born on 30 July: Emily Brontë (1818), the author of the classic novel, Wuthering Heights, and Kate Bush (1958), the composer of the pop song inspired by the novel.  pic.twitter.com/utirkvhk04 — Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957)  July 30, 2023 Emily Brontë by Patrick Branwell Brontë circa 1833 21 1/2 in. x 13 3/4 in. From the  National Portrait Gallery in London: This portrait "This painting, which was discovered at the same time as the famous group portrait of the Brontë Sisters (see NPG 1725), is apparently all that remains of a group portrait of the Brontës by Branwell Brontë of which it formed the right-hand part. The shape just visible to the left is almost certainly the shoulder and arm of Branwell Brontë, who also appears second from the right in the two other Brontë groups (NPG 1725, where he painted himself out, and the 'Gun Group'), his head forming the apex of a triangular composition. While the identification of the Brontë sisters in the surviving NPG group is ...

by Gregg Chadwick Review: The Gospel of The Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels  by Michael Hann and The Hold Steady  Craig Finn and The Hold Steady The Hold Steady, described by many as the world’s best bar band outside of E Street, releases a new book on July 25, 2023 that delves deeply into the stories behind the band and its loyal fans. The physical book is gorgeous. The story of the band and their passionate fans blazes across the volume from the first page to the last. Over two hundred expertly composed photographs capture The Hold Steady on stage and off with a proper smattering of confetti strewn floors.   The history of The Hold Steady is told through interviews with the band members and those who were there behind the scenes. From their Midwest roots to their adopted Brooklyn home, the members of The Hold Steady open up about the struggles and triumphs of creating, performing, and promoting their music. Lead singer and lyricist Craig Finn opens the...

Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, “Because of You,” his first #1 hit. Tony, because of you we have your songs in our heart forever. ❤ pic.twitter.com/hsOqtSdTNg — Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) July 21, 2023 From the New York Times  : Tony Bennett, Champion of the Great American Songbook, Is Dead at 96 From his initial success as a jazzy crooner through his generation-spanning duets, his career was remarkable for both its longevity and its consistency.   More on Tony at -   https://greggchadwick.blogspot.com/2011/12/the-ghost-in-human-machine-tony.html 

Ana González Mozo, researcher in the Museum’s Technical Documentation Section and Almudena Sánchez Martín, restorer at the Museo del Prado, comments the technical study and the restoration process of the Copy of La Gioconda. From the Prado : "A member of Leonardo’s studio produced the Prado panel and that the copy and original were produced at the same time and in parallel. With regard to who the artist might be, the pictorial handling is not comparable to the style of pupils or collaborators such as Boltraffio, Marco d’Oggiono or Ambrogio di Predis, who have a defined artistic personality. However, it is possible to locate this work stylistically in a Milanese context, close to Salaï or perhaps to Francesco Melzi, Leonardo’s most trusted pupils, heirs of his work and the painters who had direct access to his landscape drawings. The high quality of the materials used for the Madrid panel suggest that it was an important commission. In addition, up to now all known copies of La Gio...

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing" 💭 Camille Pissarro was born #OnThisDay in 1830🍃 📷 Lordship Lane Station, Dulwich, 1871 #InOurCollection pic.twitter.com/alJQKmqRaK — The Courtauld (@TheCourtauld) July 10, 2023

Post by @greggchadwick View on Threads

  Happy Pride Month! On June 26, 2015 Marriage Equality became the law of the land. With hundreds of others I celebrated on the Supreme Court steps because the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, making marriage equality legal, granting due process and equal protection to hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples. Later that glorious day, I chatted with President Obama’s official photographer Pete Souza in front of the White House which was lit up in rainbow colors in celebration of the LGBTQ community. While we watched, the Presidential Marine Corps unit arrived. Onboard was President Obama returning from his moving speech at the memorial service for the church folks who were gunned down by a young white supremacist in South Carolina. President Obama sang "Amazing Grace" that day. Arrivals and departures… Gregg Chadwick Arrivals and Departures (June 26, 2015)  48”x36” oil on linen #art   #contemporaryart   #HappyPride   #Pride...

Live at Ullevi Gothenburg 06/26/2023

by Gregg Chadwick Cypresses  Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)  June 1889 Oil on canvas 36 3/4 x 29 1/8 in. (93.4 x 74 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York “To give an idea of Provence it’s vital to do a few more canvases of cypresses and mountains. … It took me all the time to observe the character of the pines, cypresses, &c. In the pure air here, the lines which don’t change and which one finds again at every step.” Vincent Van Gogh to Theo Van Gogh ,  Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 4 January 1890  836 “Van Gogh’s Cypresses” is the perfect exhibition for this moment in time. In our pixel soaked, AI drenched, climate change endangered world we are in need of a sojourn to physical reality and a soulful engagement with the natural world. This exhibition at the Met in New York brings together Van Gogh's paintings, drawings, and illustrated letters that engage the theme of cypress trees. Many of the artworks are fragile and light se...

Music video for The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte by Sparks, from the new album of the same title.  Starring Cate Blanchett

Juneteenth as a federal holiday is meant to breathe new life into the very essence of America. To make sure all Americans feel the power of this day and the progress we can make for our country. Earlier this week, I felt that power at the White House. pic.twitter.com/Ogo6SBvZBA — President Biden (@POTUS) June 17, 2023 Six Art-Filled Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth in New York City https://t.co/9gF54bqlr0 via @hyperallergic — Gregg Chadwick 🇺🇦 🟧 (@greggchadwick) June 17, 2023

From the Guardian : "Astrud Gilberto, whose dreamy interpretation of The Girl from Ipanema became the most popular version of the song, has died aged 83. Paul Ricci, a collaborator with Gilberto, confirmed the news on social media, writing that he had been asked to announce it by Gilberto’s son Marcelo. “She was an important part of ALL that is Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy,” he added. Born in 1940 in the Brazilian state of Bahia and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Astrud Weinert married musician João Gilberto in 1959. In 1963, she accompanied him on a trip to New York where he would record with jazz artist Stan Getz and fellow Brazilian bossa nova star Antônio Carlos Jobim. The session’s producer wanted an English-language singer to help The Girl from Ipanema cross over to a US audience, and Astrud – who had no previous recording experience – was the only person who could speak it." Gregg Chadwick City of Desires (Rio de Janeiro) 72"x...