tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78390545437839411012024-03-13T04:06:06.897-06:00Art Is The Proper Task Of LifeRoboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-22844379222720540792023-12-10T07:38:00.006-07:002023-12-11T03:58:12.894-07:00ROME<p><span style="color: #cccccc;"> Yes it's been a long time since my last post. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I would say that, up until about a month ago, my reason for not writing was that I was so busy with the house renovation. And my reason for not writing in the last month is really just that I have slipped into what you might call a 'hard time'. I won't spend a lot of time talking about having a hard time because no one wants to read about that, but I think the following should suffice: During our first 14 months or so here we were in non-stop trouble-shooting mode, whether it was paperwork or getting Kodiak settled in to his new school or learning Swedish or finding a house to buy or renovating that house. During all that time I was so focused on the task at hand, whatever it was, that I had very little time to really <i>feel</i> what it was like to leave my 'home culture' and jump headlong into this new one. My alienation from my feelings during that time was only exacerbated by a lifelong difficulty I have in identifying and experiencing emotions, even in the best of times. So, when the house renovation finally slowed down and Kodiak showed himself to be adjusting much better in his second year to being here, it was finally time for me to <i>feel</i> just how big a thing we've done, and just how hard it's been. If you liken a person who is able to healthily vent emotion consistently to a pressure vessel which maintains its equilibrium by venting pressure from time to time, I might be similarly likened to a pressure vessel with a faulty pressure relief valve, so that when the pressure is finally released, it's a bit more sudden and intense. Anyway, learning to recognize, experience, and regulate my emotions is an important piece of my lifelong psychological journey, and even though it's not always a fun journey, it's my journey! So there!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, now that that's out of the way, I think my next challenge will be to streamline and focus what might otherwise be a freewheeling and sprawlingly wide-ranging post. After all, a lot happens when the signposts in life are spaced far apart.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I can see that it's been so long since my last post that we were not even finished renovating the house yet. Here's a great picture from back in the beginning of the renovation, taken by our good friend Krister:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fOz9wP55GzcRk8WEUqlRIfaAfan3m_0HkKE5b9DM9wkFm8AnyuhoGqRhTlXlo7XOBAzaOu4kjkAy-ZBbX8HQsFOvNNumCR2gATIu_6QJKzPR8DOgmrd2rV2gj3Vq_wksHmhbdVc06zuC-rdYIcRAigpgPiG4jjB-3XaTtKPsH7V8puntsXpSj4YIMmg/s2048/KKT_1008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fOz9wP55GzcRk8WEUqlRIfaAfan3m_0HkKE5b9DM9wkFm8AnyuhoGqRhTlXlo7XOBAzaOu4kjkAy-ZBbX8HQsFOvNNumCR2gATIu_6QJKzPR8DOgmrd2rV2gj3Vq_wksHmhbdVc06zuC-rdYIcRAigpgPiG4jjB-3XaTtKPsH7V8puntsXpSj4YIMmg/s320/KKT_1008.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">While a renovation like this is never <i>really</i> done, we did get the house finished enough to live in, and we moved in at the end of August, meaning we've been here for a little over three months now. The house is sweet and cozy and is supporting our family well. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnMJ93ZWcW0rES_qw6gBy049NVHMwHWKkvWVS2XGafg7UtFoxvsuJSjAvAsSFYK_S_44Hiqcj090PcC2TPbwUhIOhYythwrS1dsKUf-stto_tioksYa1D8hluCNTJW3AGEWnfM7npgSSzdSlyUFIM2uWGB8fdsSQQIo4sqSZ6WZnBr1JBextbkUJyS3E/s4032/IMG_2806.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnMJ93ZWcW0rES_qw6gBy049NVHMwHWKkvWVS2XGafg7UtFoxvsuJSjAvAsSFYK_S_44Hiqcj090PcC2TPbwUhIOhYythwrS1dsKUf-stto_tioksYa1D8hluCNTJW3AGEWnfM7npgSSzdSlyUFIM2uWGB8fdsSQQIo4sqSZ6WZnBr1JBextbkUJyS3E/s320/IMG_2806.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkro55nzgX3i7xMP3Wtv_uhBPRd7gk1aucnNZIHTU3LDIidTxhuOEIEM3Cm47e-gNRpU-rDIzFZ35y8moDVEL_0-9eIGLFVW3ZAo8YpKgkG1qk2T60Ml5mCkO4xJTYKq5Xse6d4DNF7-ePq0bo6KAxSO_Ew6yW5MlHx9cQ1TCsAjoSLICODI8S_JaaDQ/s4032/IMG_2931.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkro55nzgX3i7xMP3Wtv_uhBPRd7gk1aucnNZIHTU3LDIidTxhuOEIEM3Cm47e-gNRpU-rDIzFZ35y8moDVEL_0-9eIGLFVW3ZAo8YpKgkG1qk2T60Ml5mCkO4xJTYKq5Xse6d4DNF7-ePq0bo6KAxSO_Ew6yW5MlHx9cQ1TCsAjoSLICODI8S_JaaDQ/s320/IMG_2931.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Now that the house is basically finished, we are shifting our attention to the main workshop. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKN6HjFq6cScV7CYOsqSfmWc25QkaGLz4COq9mL5h-GG4pI2o0zkzicCYKVS9hz3wm5WP3dyjVRLca8ewgvIf3X_e0nzNwgnpTvpqdrjoROUZh8m_ziMhjH-mAAGsv28V5jqtao3O6wEec0glOIOMr7UBP2nihiu7S-txrzuLmJKEDpazJulPbpX_-s6o/s4032/IMG_2897.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKN6HjFq6cScV7CYOsqSfmWc25QkaGLz4COq9mL5h-GG4pI2o0zkzicCYKVS9hz3wm5WP3dyjVRLca8ewgvIf3X_e0nzNwgnpTvpqdrjoROUZh8m_ziMhjH-mAAGsv28V5jqtao3O6wEec0glOIOMr7UBP2nihiu7S-txrzuLmJKEDpazJulPbpX_-s6o/s320/IMG_2897.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This is how the workshop looked a few weeks ago... </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzC9KmADO9h69bTl2AnFafpFtH0lOvbv8VeEm7k2txmpkibk9S6gpB3GwwIYu_2JwxbCUWzZs0x8IvKxoktet5qmVRgmDrsa3dX4ivdSM-z-kytFi6EQV7pS9D-VvW3zR81g7vUnypB0JJ1dG6ba9VNnbwTe23vghuXqjzCl6vcDxEOqJMWLDsZqUxkM/s4032/IMG_3897.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzC9KmADO9h69bTl2AnFafpFtH0lOvbv8VeEm7k2txmpkibk9S6gpB3GwwIYu_2JwxbCUWzZs0x8IvKxoktet5qmVRgmDrsa3dX4ivdSM-z-kytFi6EQV7pS9D-VvW3zR81g7vUnypB0JJ1dG6ba9VNnbwTe23vghuXqjzCl6vcDxEOqJMWLDsZqUxkM/s320/IMG_3897.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">...and here's how it looked last week...</span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlh7iTKVvLANA_vgKfsSvBLw43nEbOe3zXD3vWGZl9s6cyFVUkBHjBSi1x7uNVtzgHdVS1HQ7yBd-idRG0ICtpehruoQjsGiFp125YD4G834BUwsFDT0nsZiNlAMqUoKJf4XUWNaosDfVKoO08RhSUxV0pA_j3dmQJtzWmgBnHCgsCeZXkDikIvlerhbo/s4032/IMG_4166.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlh7iTKVvLANA_vgKfsSvBLw43nEbOe3zXD3vWGZl9s6cyFVUkBHjBSi1x7uNVtzgHdVS1HQ7yBd-idRG0ICtpehruoQjsGiFp125YD4G834BUwsFDT0nsZiNlAMqUoKJf4XUWNaosDfVKoO08RhSUxV0pA_j3dmQJtzWmgBnHCgsCeZXkDikIvlerhbo/s320/IMG_4166.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... and here's how it looks now. The first big job we are taking on is opening up the space by removing the low ceiling, much like what we did in the house. As of right now, I have stripped about 1/3 of the ceiling down to the rafter beams. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">When the rest of the ceiling is stripped, we will cut out the rafters and insulate the interior of the roof, thereby gaining a much taller space. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">You might remember from the last post that we have three buildings; the house, the main workshop, and the <i>other</i> building. The other building is the one in the middle, and will end up serving various purposes, such as guest apartment, wood shop, Christina's and my 'fine arts' studios (like painting and sculpture), and maybe even one day a gallery or café. The following photo shows one of the upstairs spaces that I cleared out and will one day soon serve as my painting and sculpture studio. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKjhx_tlzldlsqsw9dvaWS6RDf_MpmzjGroamDlYRoAPW10rmwuOjLyRqQs9_GaKCqj7MBABLaxk1aHsgCUzul1E9K7mGq6BNtOBTSB-rgvkq-r8Vm64t3TOx_WSDkQothssvZ_rmX25H-3u-SxJCaWwodgY4L8NRwYPrLFTqrDkIZF7C_ZrDNBIopO0/s4032/IMG_2987.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKjhx_tlzldlsqsw9dvaWS6RDf_MpmzjGroamDlYRoAPW10rmwuOjLyRqQs9_GaKCqj7MBABLaxk1aHsgCUzul1E9K7mGq6BNtOBTSB-rgvkq-r8Vm64t3TOx_WSDkQothssvZ_rmX25H-3u-SxJCaWwodgY4L8NRwYPrLFTqrDkIZF7C_ZrDNBIopO0/s320/IMG_2987.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm really quite excited about that, as it will be the first proper (meaning: large enough) studio I've ever had. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And here's one last shot of our sweet courtyard, between the three buildings, back when it wasn't covered in snow!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpmUc4yvQbUCi1rk-rnpkMsai-BoeO04RboayNDrgDPJeazDrDJOQY42Nz7SjiFrX0Aj7o7TXXEtr1kl6NaPO6bboizq3XXYgcfIkizw_Res7N10E-K8gY9rCCtXFP8Ro35f2-ruQY3t1nbV_4njFVrWMndc_CBV7GAV6ERSSxU7-dnb8znlHIs84Ocw/s4032/IMG_2929.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpmUc4yvQbUCi1rk-rnpkMsai-BoeO04RboayNDrgDPJeazDrDJOQY42Nz7SjiFrX0Aj7o7TXXEtr1kl6NaPO6bboizq3XXYgcfIkizw_Res7N10E-K8gY9rCCtXFP8Ro35f2-ruQY3t1nbV_4njFVrWMndc_CBV7GAV6ERSSxU7-dnb8znlHIs84Ocw/s320/IMG_2929.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, on to other news (and here's where it could get a little sprawling, but I'll try to keep it tight!)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">A few months ago I retrofitted three bicycles - one for each of us - with electric bike kits. Here is Kodiak letting us know how he feels about his new e-bike!</span></p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSz866WPVo_MFQWpKYkKVA8G2HdQ30A0_u9lqRzuXlceNRa08Apvm_pG8VON3MOw8d7nBRqKVyIIEkNgMy7ndXO01ia23jy3L1QzjjzN_tz9T6ylhT82AbjBonNk2a0tnk0baFbcYwFyFcOLU1zNXPutj9czpnuvYMc48IMMxMu_4uKHMielsJcPG0do/s4032/IMG_2918.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSz866WPVo_MFQWpKYkKVA8G2HdQ30A0_u9lqRzuXlceNRa08Apvm_pG8VON3MOw8d7nBRqKVyIIEkNgMy7ndXO01ia23jy3L1QzjjzN_tz9T6ylhT82AbjBonNk2a0tnk0baFbcYwFyFcOLU1zNXPutj9czpnuvYMc48IMMxMu_4uKHMielsJcPG0do/s320/IMG_2918.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">E-bikes are really pretty amazing; they've revolutionized our transport around here, and are especially helpful now that we live a little further out in the country. We can get to Lund in about 25 minutes. Although, to be honest, we haven't been using them much lately because it's too cold and icy now.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZFp2sJLx-VAXipHdkAX3RRERgV-iYENjQMk4bX_0eAo6YUxrbzBKQnD6kJcjsVRC7RJWRq6Z9-ysQdVrDg54L073lRMOLHSfvIQBxn4VLTaYJODt1RstgXloxOcUQV33P7xryKPhKrdRv5GLghjObPdVOrGSOFoJgUEc0BQ9M-U_caHFvWbIvXPcusQ/s4032/IMG_3520.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZFp2sJLx-VAXipHdkAX3RRERgV-iYENjQMk4bX_0eAo6YUxrbzBKQnD6kJcjsVRC7RJWRq6Z9-ysQdVrDg54L073lRMOLHSfvIQBxn4VLTaYJODt1RstgXloxOcUQV33P7xryKPhKrdRv5GLghjObPdVOrGSOFoJgUEc0BQ9M-U_caHFvWbIvXPcusQ/s320/IMG_3520.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">A few days before Halloween, Lund hosted the annual "Run For Your Lives", which is a zombie-themed mini-marathon through the city. Basically, runners have to get from start to finish without getting tagged by a zombie. Three tags and you're out. I played a zombie. I think I was born to play a zombie. It was really fun. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MqHH5vvIbp0U94KjwwlboTRdVu7TsFUuxLo46IN7RFDhSMNTeq4A4eTLBiU-RQibpzUfg7g_adbdO8gH53iXXVoV2z_hfIZrXXlJMaxQPg7qgGfJ0RdyvDDs4k9g8a5KnxhgkwOuMKU7BVzPArOK9AybrcqbDCye98xGeFWipJND5QdQHhQboCFRMyw/s3024/IMG_3701.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2231" data-original-width="3024" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MqHH5vvIbp0U94KjwwlboTRdVu7TsFUuxLo46IN7RFDhSMNTeq4A4eTLBiU-RQibpzUfg7g_adbdO8gH53iXXVoV2z_hfIZrXXlJMaxQPg7qgGfJ0RdyvDDs4k9g8a5KnxhgkwOuMKU7BVzPArOK9AybrcqbDCye98xGeFWipJND5QdQHhQboCFRMyw/s320/IMG_3701.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Kodiak and I visited Stockholm a few weeks ago, where we visited with friends, went to a museum which featured some funhouse mirrors...</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZFZ3T7s1VIwKLePhI1V3Vv-_PULy2-kMXDC77UbEippGQeu-Xphsmz6T2sqvxEmPMmLGkqDJk9f8jx-eTRiZwIwUkkTO-6Ju9WEJrDm7R23kdBVDavaaywOsyiO4Q742YxlUgpxxRkJbEuIOmDT4T3yvFnoBYHNrKZ364jZ1vYCoVzyG5Z3hbNDy69I/s4032/IMG_3649.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZFZ3T7s1VIwKLePhI1V3Vv-_PULy2-kMXDC77UbEippGQeu-Xphsmz6T2sqvxEmPMmLGkqDJk9f8jx-eTRiZwIwUkkTO-6Ju9WEJrDm7R23kdBVDavaaywOsyiO4Q742YxlUgpxxRkJbEuIOmDT4T3yvFnoBYHNrKZ364jZ1vYCoVzyG5Z3hbNDy69I/s320/IMG_3649.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... and saw this fantastic sculpture, the Orpheus Group, by Carl Milles.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm having a bit of a love affair. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">With Rome.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I just got back a few days ago from 4 days there with my fellow expat friend Scott. We decided to go... just because we could. For me it was mostly about the sculpture. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/endagiskogen/" target="_blank">Scott is a talented photographer</a> and for him I think it was mostly about the opportunities for photography... and the beer!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Rome is sort of the anti-Sweden. Rome (and maybe the rest of Italy too??) has visual density, public art around every corner (most of it from antiquity), and tons of style. It's also well appointed with museums, antique stores, used book stores, and sprawling outdoor markets. Sweden has none of that. At one point during our trip, while strolling through Piazza Navona, I thought to myself "Sweden has no style."</span><span style="color: #01ffff;">*</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> My internal reaction to that simple statement was one of surprisingly strong emotion, which signalled to me that my observations about the differences between Rome and Sweden tap into larger questions about how well I 'jive' with Sweden. I know from chatting with Scott that he feels at home in the order and simplicity of Scandinavia, but I'm not feeling that right now. It occurs to me that it might not be a coincidence that Italy is a place which you might characterize as 'demonstrative' or 'emotional', and in the same loose way Sweden could roughly be referred to as 'withdrawn' and 'intellectual.' I am bored of withdrawn and intellectual, and I'm fucking bored of <a href="https://hejsweden.com/en/jantelagen-law-of-jante-how-to-be-swedish/" target="_blank">jantelagen</a>, the informal Swedish rule which discourages standing out from the crowd or touting your own uniqueness. But, whatever. For now we are here... and as I've said before it is our job and our duty to give this experience our very best shot; to try as hard as we can to make it as good as it can possibly be. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And... Rome (and Florence and Barcelona) is just a short plane ride away.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #01ffff;">*</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> This statement is obviously not true. Swedes do have a style, even if it's a bit homogeneous and unadventurous. IKEA is a good example. The more important part here is my reaction.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, get ready for a bunch of pictures...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">My current favorite sculptor is Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the undisputed superstar of the Italian Baroque. Our four days in Rome were loosely structured as a tour of Bernini highlights.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWplk84SMWjO2x9zxNAdiaRbL7F-lTZkMrV3WjTtxAGZLuwsNJDwSvZhzkF6B7mNXkNWK7xcrYFGqY64EF2J-GvSgM0qoDAv1VMSOeK7ZNx9pNQcaGOcTg6GmoHYOEdhD38IRKSHYhetvpBnZkjLb_R74T9sQ26i3gNqRlc1RTS_CDE-7ZRAfZXjE88jE/s5514/DSCF1349.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5514" data-original-width="3676" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWplk84SMWjO2x9zxNAdiaRbL7F-lTZkMrV3WjTtxAGZLuwsNJDwSvZhzkF6B7mNXkNWK7xcrYFGqY64EF2J-GvSgM0qoDAv1VMSOeK7ZNx9pNQcaGOcTg6GmoHYOEdhD38IRKSHYhetvpBnZkjLb_R74T9sQ26i3gNqRlc1RTS_CDE-7ZRAfZXjE88jE/s320/DSCF1349.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This is probably my favorite Bernini sculpture, called The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. It depicts the moment Saint Teresa receives the awesomeness of Jesus, as symbolized by the little angel about to stab her with an arrow. The sculpture is considered scandalous by some because Santa Teresa's religious ecstasy looks just a little bit too much like sexual ecstasy. That's probably why I like it so much. Bernini apparently had a 'healthy' sexual appetite, so it's not a stretch, in my mind anyway, to imagine that he might have been intentionally riding that fine line between different 'types' of ecstasy. The sculpture is tucked into the side of a smallish church which was right in our neighborhood of our hotel. I went there at least three times. (Picture by Scott. In fact, so many of the following pictures were taken by Scott that I'm just going to use a red asterisk, like this </span><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">*</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> , to denote them in the future)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRJZvAfVdtT_lP9mUtQASGVqqi747ZH1xFg7OJaCsNjkDOg7ErLlgak_briFhO7ts_P2vGsM62wcVT_PsKsqel9IORfrFU2MJTBocFGW0QQL0wuNJ-jEof_xkVnf-2UbUXz8W2bWr0kGXAqTI-Ro6s-YG8J9zkaWdlhDQvJ-bIIqloaC5DZsgLvjIxCo/s2984/IMG_4090.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2513" data-original-width="2984" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRJZvAfVdtT_lP9mUtQASGVqqi747ZH1xFg7OJaCsNjkDOg7ErLlgak_briFhO7ts_P2vGsM62wcVT_PsKsqel9IORfrFU2MJTBocFGW0QQL0wuNJ-jEof_xkVnf-2UbUXz8W2bWr0kGXAqTI-Ro6s-YG8J9zkaWdlhDQvJ-bIIqloaC5DZsgLvjIxCo/s320/IMG_4090.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This photo is a little out of order in my narrative, but... later in the trip I spent an afternoon perusing some spectacular antique shops, where I saw this marble replica of Santa Teresa's face. Of course I had to ask the price, but... at 6500 Euros, I had to pass!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZ_Wccl21EEW0ui9gF-l-9_7v4j3g-c3EV9pD-Q7vrelZylrOQtij2CyTfvoGDYH1j3sOsJjzeGGLL_u2ATf_7tp3TiMdn_RRVc9F1JfCAxsIAgp5qLm_qfFz3D0IFj_ctlrKTuLfCSXmPQ6ffnIGwK7DQcQizhn-mL9kY7sVl2lY7NSav3c3zdEO11s/s4032/IMG_3915.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZ_Wccl21EEW0ui9gF-l-9_7v4j3g-c3EV9pD-Q7vrelZylrOQtij2CyTfvoGDYH1j3sOsJjzeGGLL_u2ATf_7tp3TiMdn_RRVc9F1JfCAxsIAgp5qLm_qfFz3D0IFj_ctlrKTuLfCSXmPQ6ffnIGwK7DQcQizhn-mL9kY7sVl2lY7NSav3c3zdEO11s/s320/IMG_3915.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The church in our neighborhood also had this 'replica' of a saint, lying... apparently dead... underneath one of the sculptures. Not a common sight in Sweden. Actually, not a common sight anywhere I've travelled!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MkNB9BlBMv1MtP2wyoYZkMvxo-_ipRssoQnDcxa9tl3e1f7B-lpi-zOwRQ0jERLX6sE8dAFnul7tjXnR2x2TypVXxxthuVjGkvIzAgamUhwdZ28llaodiyOqTkBmTf5MFbgx9fls8SEDpjLhyphenhyphenhgqOs_82f_b-MK022DTZ5NE2UjQyY5AxE0TmIGVAMY/s6240/DSCF1386.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MkNB9BlBMv1MtP2wyoYZkMvxo-_ipRssoQnDcxa9tl3e1f7B-lpi-zOwRQ0jERLX6sE8dAFnul7tjXnR2x2TypVXxxthuVjGkvIzAgamUhwdZ28llaodiyOqTkBmTf5MFbgx9fls8SEDpjLhyphenhyphenhgqOs_82f_b-MK022DTZ5NE2UjQyY5AxE0TmIGVAMY/s320/DSCF1386.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Later on day one we found these open-air used book sellers. I appreciated that you could buy all kinds of books here, from art history to pornography to philosophy. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIF2kww-0BG08yV_bQw2vRon0BTkDD7CNtbCtp4SjAiMsi1x72qH86CpxuqXQs-lCGrV7FVW5kwtuyPJqAISxxiQFBcUC-OyjBEoI6c-jIgRA3TphX-vw9-zCJJ4YE6fnsUo3Gg3orhAEi1mreb_jRasDtSwOEqPBrsDVEBrzEXLhtUlYX_UUwkDfe5cc/s4032/IMG_3546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIF2kww-0BG08yV_bQw2vRon0BTkDD7CNtbCtp4SjAiMsi1x72qH86CpxuqXQs-lCGrV7FVW5kwtuyPJqAISxxiQFBcUC-OyjBEoI6c-jIgRA3TphX-vw9-zCJJ4YE6fnsUo3Gg3orhAEi1mreb_jRasDtSwOEqPBrsDVEBrzEXLhtUlYX_UUwkDfe5cc/s320/IMG_3546.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">We had our first dinner on this square, or piazza. Rome is full of piazzas, and the piazzas are full of life. This one had a good bookstore called Fahrenheit 451 books. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyt1pccWOyT0ofsldiq-CzG-vp_wkuNhnWWTwJLyh3iMkFwDwtN_U5e4fBibHwyJE-x9XsOTg7jD8urYJmyMzTa0pQ-0Uv39NBta8dI44-r7EL1I3Fh9Uptf0XDGO6rkyYmcm6CGZhY7AnHJWFJIT6Q3nNmnJychFTZnrJWdoHflahiSXAivS5E6Xgv2w/s5901/DSCF1441.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5901" data-original-width="3934" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyt1pccWOyT0ofsldiq-CzG-vp_wkuNhnWWTwJLyh3iMkFwDwtN_U5e4fBibHwyJE-x9XsOTg7jD8urYJmyMzTa0pQ-0Uv39NBta8dI44-r7EL1I3Fh9Uptf0XDGO6rkyYmcm6CGZhY7AnHJWFJIT6Q3nNmnJychFTZnrJWdoHflahiSXAivS5E6Xgv2w/s320/DSCF1441.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">On the second day we went to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleria_Borghese" target="_blank">Galleria Borghese</a>, an art gallery in the former private home of a rich Catholic cardinal. The place is full of amazing art, such as 'Apollo and Daphne,' by Bernini, above. In this sculpture, Daphne is escaping Apollo's amorous advances by turning herself into a laurel tree. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzZGyfpiAhnCJJZJJhbWOBAkmt1Ns_851gZJLcRrkbXZNYj4tbuVZ31RzUtQrXYfl72hzWS-Mxt_V63L_HH6275hNSdARHk3NdSObqxeIixPSBNmN5ILOvbDEvYmNnslMJQa2f40UKwWsQuT2_1tro9fA6RYgj_RPI8QayzIH0Y3nhGJkDok_LGoi0wc/s6240/DSCF1398.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6240" data-original-width="4160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzZGyfpiAhnCJJZJJhbWOBAkmt1Ns_851gZJLcRrkbXZNYj4tbuVZ31RzUtQrXYfl72hzWS-Mxt_V63L_HH6275hNSdARHk3NdSObqxeIixPSBNmN5ILOvbDEvYmNnslMJQa2f40UKwWsQuT2_1tro9fA6RYgj_RPI8QayzIH0Y3nhGJkDok_LGoi0wc/s320/DSCF1398.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Detail of 'The Rape of Proserpina,' also by Bernini, also at the Galleria Borghese, photo also by Scott </span><span style="color: red;">*</span><span style="color: #cccccc;">.</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh4fgobh2iTlFOXxQozNhtQq4Br3TMjkRIXJ6KvAt3fxtBIl0-cXPXzCMTokdLeXJ6vbL1ibYNo8uYHjrqrgZmVzDcLvJZ4LcxqjWoFhjO5IS1T5uw58LnKozlSSU3TaOmngAfaTR7AXBuF2n_SVWpfznEmWluRBx02F2d7hvZeYCchoPvg3u3sk5n-A/s6240/DSCF1502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh4fgobh2iTlFOXxQozNhtQq4Br3TMjkRIXJ6KvAt3fxtBIl0-cXPXzCMTokdLeXJ6vbL1ibYNo8uYHjrqrgZmVzDcLvJZ4LcxqjWoFhjO5IS1T5uw58LnKozlSSU3TaOmngAfaTR7AXBuF2n_SVWpfznEmWluRBx02F2d7hvZeYCchoPvg3u3sk5n-A/s320/DSCF1502.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Cardinal Borghese was also a collector of Caravaggio paintings, and there were four in this room (three in this picture). If you've been reading this blog for a while you might remember that I'm a Caravaggio fan, and it was amazing to see them in person. Sometimes I can't believe that these treasures of art history, these one-of-a-kind objects, which are pictured in so many books and are so historically important, are just there... sitting there... in a room. If you were sneaky you could probably just touch one of them. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnR2X_GOV14V-amg6MncFMYX2S2wX_oUCEpCI3fJdH2RK9YZp3gT-8aHkrkLnzWGh1EiPBm-A3v4VuhYQqsSuPxSh10rtuLwHTLb-EGG64veOUGV3Ar18BFwPEUMT3_1CjoFhU0j4yOptP7eLgFG5V4-McEZfqIht-CfJYAyILiFXPO7Mi2rYs9wy67T0/s6240/DSCF1494.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnR2X_GOV14V-amg6MncFMYX2S2wX_oUCEpCI3fJdH2RK9YZp3gT-8aHkrkLnzWGh1EiPBm-A3v4VuhYQqsSuPxSh10rtuLwHTLb-EGG64veOUGV3Ar18BFwPEUMT3_1CjoFhU0j4yOptP7eLgFG5V4-McEZfqIht-CfJYAyILiFXPO7Mi2rYs9wy67T0/s320/DSCF1494.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Last pic from the Galleria Borghese. An amazing little drawing by... I can't remember. But it was great. Most of the time when Scott was taking a picture of me, I wasn't aware of it. I guess there might be more pictures of me in this post than usual, because he took some good ones. Like this one. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmO0-Pv4jtaTkqdHd0jIKDH8b_0_W3D364lfi7dSZMijyNH9O6mlThECReXkAVoGTSL0sQV1ESObjQdqkxeRPMOUDi6OYH4xY95S9f2bPM2yhJJoDfJIlvthGi76lPt0RdRg7GgHaY_IU9e2QJiZMNyexdZZ8VcCJPlivenD4425IkK07nWGlYkhNn1QM/s6240/DSCF1364.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmO0-Pv4jtaTkqdHd0jIKDH8b_0_W3D364lfi7dSZMijyNH9O6mlThECReXkAVoGTSL0sQV1ESObjQdqkxeRPMOUDi6OYH4xY95S9f2bPM2yhJJoDfJIlvthGi76lPt0RdRg7GgHaY_IU9e2QJiZMNyexdZZ8VcCJPlivenD4425IkK07nWGlYkhNn1QM/s320/DSCF1364.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">We wandered into another church and saw these sculptures of women, kind of in a side room. As if they weren't that important. But the women were so beautiful. At least I thought so. Sad... and beautiful. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjb6k0nU4OWwUwVsqB_YaNymyq-IzH66IGrYvHcS618_0TUwmsHOFHfRLLRgxq6YLf0XxgQt58C2YW1LL9Q-wUN8Cpl_6k_Q2lQMF_ZopTL5drz1kYBo53-g4DdODSVFqgoxD1ifIuV0H9wiNjn7CR_zOEzpBoFCvGiKMQLH1GqllRejLd3KXwZe6sWc/s5362/DSCF1374.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5362" data-original-width="3575" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjb6k0nU4OWwUwVsqB_YaNymyq-IzH66IGrYvHcS618_0TUwmsHOFHfRLLRgxq6YLf0XxgQt58C2YW1LL9Q-wUN8Cpl_6k_Q2lQMF_ZopTL5drz1kYBo53-g4DdODSVFqgoxD1ifIuV0H9wiNjn7CR_zOEzpBoFCvGiKMQLH1GqllRejLd3KXwZe6sWc/s320/DSCF1374.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In the same church there was this quite strange modern bronze sculpture of an angel. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTus4Fy7ph4HDnfsFjVg-mHOiwBBrd-qNAa2kqp8SJptnW9pvEHoyDWDpfOjxu6DCPtmh6rsOL3lyh7zS2DxoCwd1Flj842_YkeTpqF2sIG4bH4U9ENwN4hCLV0x1LBYMj61RMvvY2ehWxitGh93qH_SWOvfwnzB2W-ITVbAOw-IUPmy8mO3tYerESd0/s4032/IMG_4081.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTus4Fy7ph4HDnfsFjVg-mHOiwBBrd-qNAa2kqp8SJptnW9pvEHoyDWDpfOjxu6DCPtmh6rsOL3lyh7zS2DxoCwd1Flj842_YkeTpqF2sIG4bH4U9ENwN4hCLV0x1LBYMj61RMvvY2ehWxitGh93qH_SWOvfwnzB2W-ITVbAOw-IUPmy8mO3tYerESd0/s320/IMG_4081.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The river Tiber, looking back at the Vatican.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSyZC2LbfeayVQTD0D-Qc9NdoinX3Pp4B5BMTsI7Y_4xFmJiCzJme1QK59yAHsZNHbG4DWkm8LU-4NjFs5huLTCSJjJV7UekrIItjQgfsDC3Zdg_UWLzmqejLjG2p3d2ThrQiQOWnooBLrrvbgkztvRXVSjHcRCYeDSFKNgz31N5Q-Ft8b38hahEprIg/s4032/IMG_3994.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSyZC2LbfeayVQTD0D-Qc9NdoinX3Pp4B5BMTsI7Y_4xFmJiCzJme1QK59yAHsZNHbG4DWkm8LU-4NjFs5huLTCSJjJV7UekrIItjQgfsDC3Zdg_UWLzmqejLjG2p3d2ThrQiQOWnooBLrrvbgkztvRXVSjHcRCYeDSFKNgz31N5Q-Ft8b38hahEprIg/s320/IMG_3994.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">That evening we just wandered around some more, ending up at Piazza Navona, a huge piazza with quite a few sculptures by... you guessed it. Bernini.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The next day we went to the Vatican, which is....</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuVyCUwP7gzstFJMND3sMJhNmttIZOjMNReUxdR-QzEUBaRJZU9zTyPVTLRzPO1wcSLL7KP5ISko4oYdVLheG21hPbhDkVFtVgne5A_2C2eF9PPCXrWPSgQeeeUJARVHLD5KewglI3Y5DAk8rPAA526DumBqkUg0eASWhVRugVGDFP0kS-rBOoB-Wvik/s4032/IMG_3719.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuVyCUwP7gzstFJMND3sMJhNmttIZOjMNReUxdR-QzEUBaRJZU9zTyPVTLRzPO1wcSLL7KP5ISko4oYdVLheG21hPbhDkVFtVgne5A_2C2eF9PPCXrWPSgQeeeUJARVHLD5KewglI3Y5DAk8rPAA526DumBqkUg0eASWhVRugVGDFP0kS-rBOoB-Wvik/s320/IMG_3719.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Flippin' enormous. Over the top. Gigantic. Pictures can't do it justice. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfClbpPnoccVdD2WL4JnfhBwsjaNWoxtBl_T7f_05BrKl4zYPsq9ZQRg-typ9pEqzxnklrkv1SyYlOKWlgwUMTGrw3ZEpRvE_3t69DeS1b2mYbiRGr2GL9mOQRdmHJ8s11hbI0Vm6g1b5UDgfVwMWt_uBsaqYMR-1cl75jVWTT1d0Eo084Sqc__R-F94E/s6240/DSCF1589.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6240" data-original-width="4160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfClbpPnoccVdD2WL4JnfhBwsjaNWoxtBl_T7f_05BrKl4zYPsq9ZQRg-typ9pEqzxnklrkv1SyYlOKWlgwUMTGrw3ZEpRvE_3t69DeS1b2mYbiRGr2GL9mOQRdmHJ8s11hbI0Vm6g1b5UDgfVwMWt_uBsaqYMR-1cl75jVWTT1d0Eo084Sqc__R-F94E/s320/DSCF1589.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The first thing I wanted to see in St Peter's Basilica, the main church of the Vatican, was this funerary sculpture by Bernini... </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jgadf6efYZMG30lIGfjjq9Qj1iYfQpL_7toXtCrkaaukDDTZn_KmxXZfAIDkybcl-Iik68G5n1LMkiQpjn5v84SZS1mcQnv24bu5cOg_0XuoojP0G1KEDEP1vMy3FFPIr-Uk1wNbdZFQ8h1P0w1E10LE71deMQ6Z010v2oxgutUGKOKJH-13sw_9Rls/s6240/DSCF1603.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jgadf6efYZMG30lIGfjjq9Qj1iYfQpL_7toXtCrkaaukDDTZn_KmxXZfAIDkybcl-Iik68G5n1LMkiQpjn5v84SZS1mcQnv24bu5cOg_0XuoojP0G1KEDEP1vMy3FFPIr-Uk1wNbdZFQ8h1P0w1E10LE71deMQ6Z010v2oxgutUGKOKJH-13sw_9Rls/s320/DSCF1603.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Check out the bronze skeleton with wings, holding an hourglass, trying to emerge from the red marble drapery. Amazing. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">St. Peter's Basilica is topped by a huge dome, which you can ascend by a series of internal stairways...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqXSaFia9hGc_tjr6kd8VHLyOgmakuT3nl8kTbbvHS8idvlrpNqp58xH83bcJF8FwiAev1VWnnNrnwnpevpCmqZ9PMwNTYzYsJBtg1Pb17Sd5KoUrYinIw7VJHQB4Xnpdg8pWl09gX2GacBdaqkQXwqaTULeuVabBS9BF2SjG81XN1qs9SwfHqsW8dpQ/s4032/IMG_3740.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqXSaFia9hGc_tjr6kd8VHLyOgmakuT3nl8kTbbvHS8idvlrpNqp58xH83bcJF8FwiAev1VWnnNrnwnpevpCmqZ9PMwNTYzYsJBtg1Pb17Sd5KoUrYinIw7VJHQB4Xnpdg8pWl09gX2GacBdaqkQXwqaTULeuVabBS9BF2SjG81XN1qs9SwfHqsW8dpQ/s320/IMG_3740.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">As you near the top of the dome's curvature, the walls of the stairways mimic the dome's shape...</span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBgEZ_XY40TK_f_MiYT15dPn7XeWBHR2mBmb31MQu-IsBs7uKlhaYNAIvw3vpsbasAjIHC30Cl2PU5NdXWmXDA3ATdtd0QT_2AHgKg-7mn5kSwB5t_da8eQJ7hKEl2ap8XSL2qejBSdMsNCKw9ZsXRdeE1UaodyRGh9R3H5Dn6bpnII9aQZSPb_eoKjc/s5552/DSCF1631.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3701" data-original-width="5552" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBgEZ_XY40TK_f_MiYT15dPn7XeWBHR2mBmb31MQu-IsBs7uKlhaYNAIvw3vpsbasAjIHC30Cl2PU5NdXWmXDA3ATdtd0QT_2AHgKg-7mn5kSwB5t_da8eQJ7hKEl2ap8XSL2qejBSdMsNCKw9ZsXRdeE1UaodyRGh9R3H5Dn6bpnII9aQZSPb_eoKjc/s320/DSCF1631.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This is the view from the top, looking down on the Piazza di San Pietro, which was also designed by Bernini. Yes, he was also an architect. And a painter. And a theatrical production designer. Jeez! </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAMVt2sTIBGhMdaca4TWIs2UwgajQU6OzBKRIytZ6ogPsX6M3CYN-dmPcC6qeFPfRl-gLu8I88l7edNEKJMUVh6gkbSPD9sfGPAsrsi-lpCS0AnhVAYBJCnn8xSOBlqKlr108_KDLTSmafRfkx4i1KMjHAZILnYpY5BI49nylfiAm_zKmCcFXz46TAZk/s4032/IMG_4045.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAMVt2sTIBGhMdaca4TWIs2UwgajQU6OzBKRIytZ6ogPsX6M3CYN-dmPcC6qeFPfRl-gLu8I88l7edNEKJMUVh6gkbSPD9sfGPAsrsi-lpCS0AnhVAYBJCnn8xSOBlqKlr108_KDLTSmafRfkx4i1KMjHAZILnYpY5BI49nylfiAm_zKmCcFXz46TAZk/s320/IMG_4045.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Scott and me, up on top of Rome.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">On the third evening, Scott went to take some pictures, such as...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDqM62sGqB_R36abKiA5D5udAISj2hxz_DNXYedxkSNQe0e33eaWbveJQNoK-k-SWN-mwhaC2wBFDEWqXgwR721FyZuvRLsosK5pM274oJ9G5L9JRzQVni_34ChwRscoXX0r6ykSKZjgiblsrvuD7qkzsoX1LbNNOzuEXn3EVmnVhceK9Lh6s80YZPxY/s5796/DSCF1829-Enhanced-NR-Edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3770" data-original-width="5796" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDqM62sGqB_R36abKiA5D5udAISj2hxz_DNXYedxkSNQe0e33eaWbveJQNoK-k-SWN-mwhaC2wBFDEWqXgwR721FyZuvRLsosK5pM274oJ9G5L9JRzQVni_34ChwRscoXX0r6ykSKZjgiblsrvuD7qkzsoX1LbNNOzuEXn3EVmnVhceK9Lh6s80YZPxY/s320/DSCF1829-Enhanced-NR-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... this one of the Tiber, looking back at the Vatican. That's the dome we climbed. That's a damn good picture, right? </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Meanwhile I perused some world-class art and antique shops...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp7f8hW2-SMKFuIkoCYig45FDajFxnN2KmhTzdHYhB1pDrOEhaJiexuu4Lt-Wo7aOYZhpdn8H3qTiVYU8GMNhJZNO3kTvGqf4VtE6UFLfCMCEQ3Du_QUxXhSZW0a_txBKXhwvXFOefvnhIsyzsikgFTgtRfNwEpGzH-HcdqbBSCI1K4UQSAkrdMwX-1U/s4032/IMG_4088.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp7f8hW2-SMKFuIkoCYig45FDajFxnN2KmhTzdHYhB1pDrOEhaJiexuu4Lt-Wo7aOYZhpdn8H3qTiVYU8GMNhJZNO3kTvGqf4VtE6UFLfCMCEQ3Du_QUxXhSZW0a_txBKXhwvXFOefvnhIsyzsikgFTgtRfNwEpGzH-HcdqbBSCI1K4UQSAkrdMwX-1U/s320/IMG_4088.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66-_5cO-yCJatAmEoQT2LY0OVv1hOrVtt-4stC7rzwBkts7FllqAq0N8iZrzGgTcaLwhBk4jzA06pivIksxUFoRFMrIF8W4jcfa3QIxLmwuKYf4gvWFRmiSYKmnEmz0El_WZuCcMBEpL6k8YO4TkJPp649z6obQ0Cvv-q1RXfmy6KCEdKK3FN9L7ZTAg/s4032/IMG_4101.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66-_5cO-yCJatAmEoQT2LY0OVv1hOrVtt-4stC7rzwBkts7FllqAq0N8iZrzGgTcaLwhBk4jzA06pivIksxUFoRFMrIF8W4jcfa3QIxLmwuKYf4gvWFRmiSYKmnEmz0El_WZuCcMBEpL6k8YO4TkJPp649z6obQ0Cvv-q1RXfmy6KCEdKK3FN9L7ZTAg/s320/IMG_4101.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0eMYOGUlUW1AZN45lI6KFHkePX0nXkoJu3R4vA3Gcs5fRWYBtGvPfOGzdIHL7IztLdSJKSVwzuI1VqIKzbk1KOov9znuSHI9Hu2s1K7SidyJLSgJbCURqssRsC0H_REH5VTtDK645J4RxzuhwBpgV7cfNlAuenPsSTKFxIohtRUgwTp0dTOw-0s1Xfw/s4032/IMG_4187.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0eMYOGUlUW1AZN45lI6KFHkePX0nXkoJu3R4vA3Gcs5fRWYBtGvPfOGzdIHL7IztLdSJKSVwzuI1VqIKzbk1KOov9znuSHI9Hu2s1K7SidyJLSgJbCURqssRsC0H_REH5VTtDK645J4RxzuhwBpgV7cfNlAuenPsSTKFxIohtRUgwTp0dTOw-0s1Xfw/s320/IMG_4187.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I was hoping to find something I would fall in love with, <i>and</i> that I could afford, and I hit the jackpot when I found this print. It's an engraving from 1895 of a painting by Emile Levy called The Death of Orpheus. In 'the old days,' before photography, sometimes prints would be made of famous paintings so that ordinary (not rich) people could have the artwork in their homes, or a facsimile thereof, anyway. The action in this image is incredible... a sleeping Orpheus is about to be murdered and dismembered by a bacchanalian gang of eleven dressed and undressed women. Now I need to find a beautiful frame for it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NjqVfD2l8jHvhb8B34icXMS9wiWR04nO4pHxB6ZhrhSMPIH-h3Eph8G8hsfKxCrqGgYnGVWkjff1egz68LpNrh3pd_TfKycMCW97IDDQtgiQSPqsRAIsSv44IQkPguZ-NlCMClo7n8F5XBPSZC6PbSS17YC5Pod05KsC_uzomxAclnmI2-V8KJsnpZE/s4032/IMG_4014.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NjqVfD2l8jHvhb8B34icXMS9wiWR04nO4pHxB6ZhrhSMPIH-h3Eph8G8hsfKxCrqGgYnGVWkjff1egz68LpNrh3pd_TfKycMCW97IDDQtgiQSPqsRAIsSv44IQkPguZ-NlCMClo7n8F5XBPSZC6PbSS17YC5Pod05KsC_uzomxAclnmI2-V8KJsnpZE/s320/IMG_4014.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Later that night we wandered through quaint neighborhoods...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DOfF1sZCHyutmdbaMqucjr1zlTjHhx-SM9P-Aib45HjVmBLMsB_T1vtqihAmsTc0wfWxBM6c0cUIaFLMlgnK6rqUjEc0sNFTeI3khu_UgYamAEydmiLZZHrowDTmxr4CFfT_-eTJK-CvjkgNQhtmH4kzgZ666X4dCfYH8VK-fQ6VweQ8lbBB1vnBxeo/s4032/IMG_4007.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DOfF1sZCHyutmdbaMqucjr1zlTjHhx-SM9P-Aib45HjVmBLMsB_T1vtqihAmsTc0wfWxBM6c0cUIaFLMlgnK6rqUjEc0sNFTeI3khu_UgYamAEydmiLZZHrowDTmxr4CFfT_-eTJK-CvjkgNQhtmH4kzgZ666X4dCfYH8VK-fQ6VweQ8lbBB1vnBxeo/s320/IMG_4007.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... popped in and out of more churches...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMaR-Y-xOq0fDfhlJbu_7hU-azfdEjV2J0Z9xaqQbbXXkkBLn2PkS8HQHrNYSLBA-BJFTFwSWZ1Ga91udMi6qxK9WZmWXZiDDSD8B2c8VcqsszHidOv1s0iMuOJp4Wk01ZR2a-CmEOBL1QnX4j_cPuzPUpcgDskhWBwlymztTeCxF58oveGU8hkvi_VE/s4032/IMG_4019.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMaR-Y-xOq0fDfhlJbu_7hU-azfdEjV2J0Z9xaqQbbXXkkBLn2PkS8HQHrNYSLBA-BJFTFwSWZ1Ga91udMi6qxK9WZmWXZiDDSD8B2c8VcqsszHidOv1s0iMuOJp4Wk01ZR2a-CmEOBL1QnX4j_cPuzPUpcgDskhWBwlymztTeCxF58oveGU8hkvi_VE/s320/IMG_4019.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">and had dinner at a lively little beer place in an area called Trastevere.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">On our last day, we wandered more...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XdOkJzhwFLImnVdy51jD0MVNNs73sCLLK_m66lbkcTN6ohoRpp3lqV-frsa0IW3luUdan9Ib5Rbvezq5T8ryVYwY92wcYZlfCe44N1uiM23tgSHRbndkxFOn3PGFmKMvjDffoPe2I0aOhfVMdcodrjqKA4h3mAYkO-hnzp3b0V7GYxlf4RQphnD84Rc/s4032/IMG_3985.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XdOkJzhwFLImnVdy51jD0MVNNs73sCLLK_m66lbkcTN6ohoRpp3lqV-frsa0IW3luUdan9Ib5Rbvezq5T8ryVYwY92wcYZlfCe44N1uiM23tgSHRbndkxFOn3PGFmKMvjDffoPe2I0aOhfVMdcodrjqKA4h3mAYkO-hnzp3b0V7GYxlf4RQphnD84Rc/s320/IMG_3985.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... past more sculpture (there really is sculpture everywhere)...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD05zrif0qP1YEhivuWDw6DXHmRWto6f-Pi5DOkKXbo4B1ieUpjFCGefp5OB5inM7QGXQt9dBT1EQhoe9wd3QNBL0owIGQUdy11EXtkF93NGVHQdG7vVwg1QujBca6Bm8euPn0NutXmsqkiTu7mzTdVMxQcx83QqSH4OYT-48D8IT6Zf3e7m7BmWQdK3c/s4032/IMG_3979.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD05zrif0qP1YEhivuWDw6DXHmRWto6f-Pi5DOkKXbo4B1ieUpjFCGefp5OB5inM7QGXQt9dBT1EQhoe9wd3QNBL0owIGQUdy11EXtkF93NGVHQdG7vVwg1QujBca6Bm8euPn0NutXmsqkiTu7mzTdVMxQcx83QqSH4OYT-48D8IT6Zf3e7m7BmWQdK3c/s320/IMG_3979.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tHl_0O8oMqIGjzheSXcOFrQvG_sQJjIPl6AAnx2fKq2PGxdANssw0yvL6Mum4UJEbzrAxTIbpU4rmq0u0Gp1qWV-nBdbNiK82uvB6djz9g57t0t3ReYinvaw1Bjo4ZOMT64xY0ln5Hcm8OG2j_Y0PxevQfe1OAqmUK2NkgiDCXBa28sgJ4ZS1_mOB20/s4032/IMG_4141.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7tHl_0O8oMqIGjzheSXcOFrQvG_sQJjIPl6AAnx2fKq2PGxdANssw0yvL6Mum4UJEbzrAxTIbpU4rmq0u0Gp1qWV-nBdbNiK82uvB6djz9g57t0t3ReYinvaw1Bjo4ZOMT64xY0ln5Hcm8OG2j_Y0PxevQfe1OAqmUK2NkgiDCXBa28sgJ4ZS1_mOB20/s320/IMG_4141.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... and ended up at the church where Bernini is buried. As I walked towards the tomb, a church worker pulled a red velvet rope right across my path, blocking me from getting any closer than this!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFh-h7_YvTQE7OhwpNpe5rb9bdG3zvJFVNwhi06NEQOa3u4c3BJEypLsSoQVmGN3O_eUduFWOEd1MhdeEU5MqpGzzgZ_bBScyepdcfvVJQJq9O3_SnqQz9mtB8mXbHeCim5dYh2kMkaeCNny4KRvObNne9wFoZrGnuP6RFW6Yprp7j6Oh8WxQ0T-6GGRI/s4032/IMG_4117%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFh-h7_YvTQE7OhwpNpe5rb9bdG3zvJFVNwhi06NEQOa3u4c3BJEypLsSoQVmGN3O_eUduFWOEd1MhdeEU5MqpGzzgZ_bBScyepdcfvVJQJq9O3_SnqQz9mtB8mXbHeCim5dYh2kMkaeCNny4KRvObNne9wFoZrGnuP6RFW6Yprp7j6Oh8WxQ0T-6GGRI/s320/IMG_4117%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Had I been 2 minutes earlier I could've walked right up to it. Oh well. A fitting end to an amazing trip.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PIZFsr8WHU5gUBEaw9nZvMjbE49M6aB73SMbu2ruUa24aCSNkaOg6NRfRAA_OTgmuRDjbx1-talEsYOC7Yth0aYoPcU_xAgBvngw_mXIDOeuDgLN1DAm2U3G3dIYZOgaV4581AISXJLgM02nI2blqGbMbHa63CZsr8ds1pvbCEOBFYG8EYKaNxalvZU/s4032/IMG_3833.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PIZFsr8WHU5gUBEaw9nZvMjbE49M6aB73SMbu2ruUa24aCSNkaOg6NRfRAA_OTgmuRDjbx1-talEsYOC7Yth0aYoPcU_xAgBvngw_mXIDOeuDgLN1DAm2U3G3dIYZOgaV4581AISXJLgM02nI2blqGbMbHa63CZsr8ds1pvbCEOBFYG8EYKaNxalvZU/s320/IMG_3833.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In this last picture I'm showing off the Italian ibuprofen that kept me going day after day. Old injuries flare up when you walk an average of 25 km per day! Yes, we walked 100 km in four days, an average of about 6 hours a day. </span><span style="color: red;">*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; text-align: left;">OK, done with Rome.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Our days and weeks here are still pretty well taken up by working on our homestead, but I have managed to do a little art here and there. </span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycZZEoYa1y_Paz-IjibVkoQ29vPUouKBV7ned5sQ30TSzP0rVuwxhhUFP6_nIjcwAPvpqto__xNbhFoX2muddZ0xiPnmz604bY94rd44FSvpxsC8WbXIlTaNFCey3upLjkNpnMFLwJ5fWyocGFcakL84oKLKlEmREOJIr8eLX0YQXMARA18zwJYmkpTU/s4032/IMG_3882.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycZZEoYa1y_Paz-IjibVkoQ29vPUouKBV7ned5sQ30TSzP0rVuwxhhUFP6_nIjcwAPvpqto__xNbhFoX2muddZ0xiPnmz604bY94rd44FSvpxsC8WbXIlTaNFCey3upLjkNpnMFLwJ5fWyocGFcakL84oKLKlEmREOJIr8eLX0YQXMARA18zwJYmkpTU/s320/IMG_3882.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I find the part of a tree where the trunk splits into two to be a very inspiring shape, for its similarity to the human body...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxWyfiGIvaOcmSTMUXfQPztjsuKLSh0BuO0U-aDnzGIAaO7jimT7kAgjXZX7n-HiBYkcCD3E6LrkNBgTp3Sihkz5kQwmKVd_GBIYRaLBLj3LzEZ7SruqQFLYhvpBEIFp3xQtkbxTu7ySLovPCZCebdoqJq03LhNLU5Mc5C3kQEVZPpuxbJ39R_yGZofQ/s4032/IMG_3870%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxWyfiGIvaOcmSTMUXfQPztjsuKLSh0BuO0U-aDnzGIAaO7jimT7kAgjXZX7n-HiBYkcCD3E6LrkNBgTp3Sihkz5kQwmKVd_GBIYRaLBLj3LzEZ7SruqQFLYhvpBEIFp3xQtkbxTu7ySLovPCZCebdoqJq03LhNLU5Mc5C3kQEVZPpuxbJ39R_yGZofQ/s320/IMG_3870%202.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... so I've been doing some wood carving along those lines.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Y2h7MCNpUA0-Y_j8iqhJr_VJhlsu_PEspo1Tn7HB6SryRtatCJJpILlCrsXKqLV7BOgp5UCGv3b2TtJ5fvThJpeo_OgEHS4p5If4NdtEAk10Liqp1sRT1S3mcUh3dy0VMLOeRLCSXcY1NcjQ8fl6dncsqRN-jY_-P-YpAssuX8QoJ_lHJJkPZF8f4Rc/s2310/Trollhattan%20Konsthall%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="2310" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Y2h7MCNpUA0-Y_j8iqhJr_VJhlsu_PEspo1Tn7HB6SryRtatCJJpILlCrsXKqLV7BOgp5UCGv3b2TtJ5fvThJpeo_OgEHS4p5If4NdtEAk10Liqp1sRT1S3mcUh3dy0VMLOeRLCSXcY1NcjQ8fl6dncsqRN-jY_-P-YpAssuX8QoJ_lHJJkPZF8f4Rc/s320/Trollhattan%20Konsthall%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I took the idea a little farther in an application I made to an artist residency in February. This is the concept image. I'll update as to whether I'm accepted. The residency is in another part of Sweden, and I fear my proposal might be a little too... 'corporeal,' shall we say, and not theoretical and conceptual enough. But I think it's great, and I hope to make it happen! I've also been sculpting in clay with an eye towards casting another bronze, but the clay sculpture is not finished enough to show here. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">If you made it this far, congratulations! It's the end!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have in mind another post, about a super mundane and pedestrian topic which is nevertheless quite close to my heart. We shall see if I can post that one sometime soon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I hope this finds you all well,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Hugs,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Christian</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And... Thank you Scott for letting me use your great pictures!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><br /></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-25744394818607562412023-07-29T01:33:00.004-06:002023-07-29T23:52:11.351-06:00The Bad, the Good, and the Un-Sexy<p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">I'm obviously long overdue writing this blog post.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">I've thought quite a lot about how to structure the post, and I've decided to give you, my faithful readers, the bad news first... followed by the good news.</span></p><p><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: georgia;">THE BAD NEWS</span></p><p><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: georgia;">Section 1. The Soft Bad News</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">I am in a stage where I am finding many things about Sweden annoying. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">I read an article not so long ago which claimed that the lives of Swedish people are highly compartmentalized, which is to say: Work is for working, the grocery store is for shopping, the bar is for drinking (and maybe being friendly), and Tinder is for flirting, and when in Sweden you should not try to mix any of those. Really, the article said all this! I think it offers a pretty good explanation for why no one looks at anyone else in Sweden; you wouldn't look at someone on the street, because being friendly happens in bars, or worse yet, you wouldn't want a friendly smile to be confused for flirting, because that happens on Tinder. (Note: I seem to remember that friendly smiles between strangers are pretty common in many other cultures, but they are basically non-existent here. I'm currently in danger of forgetting what friendly smiles between strangers feel like, and probably also forgetting how to perform them.)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Some people thrive on the written word, others thrive on listening to music. I thrive on visual culture, and Sweden is pretty lacking in that department, at least out in public. It's visually dull here. The buildings are generally pretty boring, there is very little public sculpture, there is no graffiti and almost no advertising, and the advertising is bland and thoroughly impersonal and de-sexualized. Think "stark Nordic", and then mentally compare that to "lush and baroque Italian", or "seedy and gritty New York" to get an idea what I'm talking about. It's also annoyingly clean and tidy here. I found amazing free stuff on the streets while living in Los Angeles and Barcelona, but there's nothing out of place in Sweden.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Speaking of the de-sexualization of the public sphere, a friend recently told me a little story about a local blacksmith we know, an older guy called Torbjörn. He recounted: "I went into Torbjörn's lunchroom, and... he's got a topless calendar on the wall! You don't have that kind of thing in Sweden anymore, for years now, but he doesn't give a fuck! He's old school!" The way he told the story, it sounded like the old blacksmith had a Nazi flag on the wall. I imagine that this de-sexualizing of the public sphere comes out of the progressive impulse to make sure no one feels objectified, and that seems very reasonable. But does it make me an old-fashioned asshole to say that the result feels sterile and boring? Compared to Los Angeles or Barcelona or Rome, Sweden is a very un-sexy place. It also makes me suspect that paintings of nude angry women might not be such hot sellers here. I guess I'll have to show them in Germany or Denmark!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">No place is perfect, and I know from previous experience with the well-established stages of expat adaptation that I will eventually arrive at a place of perspective and acceptance regarding these annoyances. I also know that in the bigger picture these are minor complaints.</span></p><p><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: georgia;">Section 2. The Hard Bad News</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">You might recall from my last post, several months ago, that I spent a few weeks in Las Vegas delivering two sculptures for a festival called Transfix. Transfix was supposed to run for 14 months (sending us handsome paychecks each month), but six weeks after opening its doors the festival ceased operations. Apparently large Burning Man art wasn't the huge draw that the organizers were hoping it would be; the public just wasn't walking through the doors. There was allegedly also some financial mismanagement of the startup funds.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">And then, instead of honoring their basic responsibility (and contractual obligation) to cover the costs of returning the art to the artists, the festival simply declared bankruptcy. Christina and I, like 30 or 40 other participating artists, were left high and dry and were never paid a cent. Our sculptures are currently stuck in Vegas and we're not sure how to get them home, but it'll likely cost us thousands of dollars. So our most significant projected source of income has quickly become a huge liability, throwing us into some real financial instability.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">This "big art" thing isn't working as well as it used to.</span></p><p><span style="color: #fce5cd; font-family: georgia;">THE GOOD NEWS</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">There is, thank god, also some good news.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Again, no place is perfect, and Sweden, for all its shortcomings, is a fundamentally sane and solid place. Especially for raising a kid... and especially compared to the US. I can recognize that. And, as I write this in late July, much of the Northern hemisphere is baking in temperatures around 30 - 40 C (95 - 105 F), but here in Sweden it's cool and rainy pretty much every day. I think there will be worse places than Sweden for getting through the coming climate apocalypse!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Kodiak stabilized considerably over the second semester of sixth grade and is now doing normal things like hanging out with other kids after school and staying home alone. In fact there's been a huge and sudden increase in independence, which has been great and feels very healthy. He even took his first flights alone recently, visiting his grandmother and his uncle Cles (my mother and brother) in Greece for two weeks. It seems he had a great time, and it's nice that we are so close to them. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">And we are slowly starting to make a few friends.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">But the biggest news of all, really, is that we bought a house in Sweden!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Considering how much we like our home right next to a workshop, situated rurally about 15 minutes from a small, politically liberal city with a four-letter name in the Southwest of the country (I'm describing our home in Taos), we decided to buy another one of those! Yes, it's true... our new home has a workshop and is in the fields just outside liberal, little Lund, in the southwest of Sweden. We are calling it The Farm.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">The property consists of a home, built around 1850, and two additional workshop buildings, arranged in a "U" shape around a central courtyard, all sitting on about 1 acre of land. We have a really big yard full of trees, including quite a few productive fruit trees. It is surrounded by farmland, and... since there are almost no property-line fences in Sweden, it feels very expansive and open. The fundamentals of the property (good-sized home and workshops, nice piece of land, close to Lund) were all just right. However, the home itself felt old-fashioned and cramped, so we have embarked on an ambitious remodel. (Christina and I can't seem to stop building homes!) We are under a deadline of August 31 to get out of our rental in Lund, so we have been working furiously on the house to get it ready. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">A few photos:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EFvwJdcfmhesGGou-qA6vIrGgTRGCFDT4ljWgNFIU8PLSRmLCGyfK98UCDvQNlpJQzxx-242QBCPH_mUAijWWm4ht0NgpeDW6s2XQL_xEZJVV3cJgXVWM0WzGxt_YwSxVcnqTQs1KLymB5fOyyH3ME_E8Dtmq5oxR3ujWv-tepWw3crj7zs7gfde2cA/s2995/P'Shop%20Map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2995" data-original-width="2454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EFvwJdcfmhesGGou-qA6vIrGgTRGCFDT4ljWgNFIU8PLSRmLCGyfK98UCDvQNlpJQzxx-242QBCPH_mUAijWWm4ht0NgpeDW6s2XQL_xEZJVV3cJgXVWM0WzGxt_YwSxVcnqTQs1KLymB5fOyyH3ME_E8Dtmq5oxR3ujWv-tepWw3crj7zs7gfde2cA/s320/P'Shop%20Map.jpg" width="262" /></span></a></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">This aerial view is pretty self-explanatory, and shows how close we are to an active train track. I thought that the trains would bother me but I've quickly come to actually like the sound of them passing by. They make me feel like we are "connected" to the bigger world out there.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwy9ojZMOKamq4WkLE4Zotrd8__nVy3MRosqfvDJ-rPHoSfwXIiBtU8R966On9RQ5EObNQXXSg3DO4O8bp-xlQ29iVJUO-9qiczvcqOARvgBPEp8FzBB-fHaFnIz7Z_piszihPUAVHzqKISkhOTGuTJ4MOCTy7UAkXg1dWlsoLbvsQs-YodGyOtzWXFU/s4032/IMG_2553.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPwy9ojZMOKamq4WkLE4Zotrd8__nVy3MRosqfvDJ-rPHoSfwXIiBtU8R966On9RQ5EObNQXXSg3DO4O8bp-xlQ29iVJUO-9qiczvcqOARvgBPEp8FzBB-fHaFnIz7Z_piszihPUAVHzqKISkhOTGuTJ4MOCTy7UAkXg1dWlsoLbvsQs-YodGyOtzWXFU/s320/IMG_2553.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">A view of the courtyard as you enter through the driveway. House on the right, workshops in front and to the left.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuFCdXE2vJrlL1SXSzzX0F9e3D7Cvk4melFm2MUXf3DbxHcG87wK2FnToM5wXIBhivuwJHUzEa5U-vUGwcDWgtzGD5sUvrv4UbCOR_THX-NljlEUnt_0JwDCxk5YpEhx6vNWP9-kEJBVE5-W8IfNQfTlTsO_WPDhBG83ld87kRQct2qetqIKihsO7h_E/s4032/IMG_2554.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuFCdXE2vJrlL1SXSzzX0F9e3D7Cvk4melFm2MUXf3DbxHcG87wK2FnToM5wXIBhivuwJHUzEa5U-vUGwcDWgtzGD5sUvrv4UbCOR_THX-NljlEUnt_0JwDCxk5YpEhx6vNWP9-kEJBVE5-W8IfNQfTlTsO_WPDhBG83ld87kRQct2qetqIKihsO7h_E/s320/IMG_2554.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">After entering the driveway, turn to the right and this is the outside of the house.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">What follows now is a few pairs of photos; in each pair the first photo shows the house as it was when we first saw it, and the second photo <i>is taken from the same spot</i> and shows the house as it is today. Mind you, it's still under construction.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTI9bPLWRrKQ4fhqJPmoJoBM5l4ynIUWVC4fVR5JkwjrKCjY0xrOmXrskOZyXaUciN3FbCkzTPAI_ADyUa5Uxdk7HA7tOxV1IcAs2xGR0VtK2bcK03s_qx_pNpBROUexGayexKczMc76gER0yXE5_xbJXU6cwZJcPudd8ujr2N8lFP2vd9_Gk2dA1FY7s/s1290/17316253.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1290" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTI9bPLWRrKQ4fhqJPmoJoBM5l4ynIUWVC4fVR5JkwjrKCjY0xrOmXrskOZyXaUciN3FbCkzTPAI_ADyUa5Uxdk7HA7tOxV1IcAs2xGR0VtK2bcK03s_qx_pNpBROUexGayexKczMc76gER0yXE5_xbJXU6cwZJcPudd8ujr2N8lFP2vd9_Gk2dA1FY7s/s320/17316253.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">View from the living room. The two doors on the far wall are the bathroom (at left) and the <i>old</i> kitchen (at right). At the far right you see a window and doorway... these used to lead to a sunroom (which was sort of stuck onto the side of the house).</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19WZ65v5FMGUqjjbYUzIoDMFsgZAFu9xpgJgNxreSk2dL13CZY6BfHXLjU1fGFwoOAqXzCgK0SUMxXxJCf8mthqBIKxrri_jVlG_rXEi83XNaLfKb-pWxQLaIvZlQopK24Wr5zhPdA1-FJIcuAAGg-ZsnC_RPPJF6m_qJqMaoF9eqlGeKPpEDolCKONs/s4032/IMG_2555.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19WZ65v5FMGUqjjbYUzIoDMFsgZAFu9xpgJgNxreSk2dL13CZY6BfHXLjU1fGFwoOAqXzCgK0SUMxXxJCf8mthqBIKxrri_jVlG_rXEi83XNaLfKb-pWxQLaIvZlQopK24Wr5zhPdA1-FJIcuAAGg-ZsnC_RPPJF6m_qJqMaoF9eqlGeKPpEDolCKONs/s320/IMG_2555.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Same view, more or less. The door at left still goes to the bathroom, but the bathroom has been totally re-done. The door on the right used to lead to the old kitchen but now leads to Christina's studio. And we totally blew out the wall which used to lead to the sunroom and that is now the new kitchen.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFb21QKkxfxwNA94vo6xrrVuC_Um26Aud3xBmbam4Wmbut1ozfVDLkkhLe_gk0qPbPxlK8zK2w9TAYRkwMhigJ_gEZ-tyQWsmIKAacBxhmtBlV0KjD4ltm6bw3SukZ1Ok9e9sD0xiTRdtz-4P5vFDwNwCzNnvipNrDxu5v2dkqAn1MzQhFH6oySehyhg/s1290/17316259.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1290" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyFb21QKkxfxwNA94vo6xrrVuC_Um26Aud3xBmbam4Wmbut1ozfVDLkkhLe_gk0qPbPxlK8zK2w9TAYRkwMhigJ_gEZ-tyQWsmIKAacBxhmtBlV0KjD4ltm6bw3SukZ1Ok9e9sD0xiTRdtz-4P5vFDwNwCzNnvipNrDxu5v2dkqAn1MzQhFH6oySehyhg/s320/17316259.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Looking through the door into what used to be the sunroom.</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60O1EAGzFoDnfMYXBLjzor7QcA9G73NJqh4B-l3V8UhaK7IoT8nn7h4E9vZUfAZdYG29WabK1jnZFIRZ5rIWg4QGWCSrHpM3P4VaDVZXU530u2kWsASO0vRJTn5qauKSQj7EK1nkKjyw3FuApb_zxua0rZzvMEXtBMH1Ih2Md-TpwXncUce8RdIN8x_4/s3861/IMG_2556.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2579" data-original-width="3861" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60O1EAGzFoDnfMYXBLjzor7QcA9G73NJqh4B-l3V8UhaK7IoT8nn7h4E9vZUfAZdYG29WabK1jnZFIRZ5rIWg4QGWCSrHpM3P4VaDVZXU530u2kWsASO0vRJTn5qauKSQj7EK1nkKjyw3FuApb_zxua0rZzvMEXtBMH1Ih2Md-TpwXncUce8RdIN8x_4/s320/IMG_2556.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Same view. The wall which contained those two windows and doorway is now gone, and that room will now be the kitchen. In the kitchen and bathroom, we removed the old floors <i>down to the dirt</i> to facilitate installing new plumbing and floor heating, then poured new concrete. You can see we also used a steel I-beam to support the two wooden ceiling beams, as the wall which used to support them is no longer there.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL9otvO5O8tBaxZB6cWn0z3Vx5O8bDDMzixMo5uo2-mUcB8HLnUiaRbx1lxdnPFqNToS7rNfKwEjQf6-goTUGq_er5SX03-a2ejDdmi1ClMtJhkDlEMbQf65LW_HCgS-8wnWChb3gWPVEWNded9XWzIhwBHnwHhOq0pGotA6B7qxJHLcs2_nvwsSLszk/s1290/17316267.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1290" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL9otvO5O8tBaxZB6cWn0z3Vx5O8bDDMzixMo5uo2-mUcB8HLnUiaRbx1lxdnPFqNToS7rNfKwEjQf6-goTUGq_er5SX03-a2ejDdmi1ClMtJhkDlEMbQf65LW_HCgS-8wnWChb3gWPVEWNded9XWzIhwBHnwHhOq0pGotA6B7qxJHLcs2_nvwsSLszk/s320/17316267.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">View from the living room looking back towards the master bedroom (which is the doorway at the far wall, below the staircase)</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjTdkW927dFZvtbEj3wl9GcYHHNOmbujYUlhINcX1cpqaV0vuQayvs0Bne9iGHaIKiK53-AElcXZ6qzpvbKMKQOAnjsaAgHsBBOssGUtwqSHJaY-k5Gk_zf3OIFf2CJXt5sLnFtY5CXhWNzNgaDvZtK2YuJlR-fIS1k-t3RGQ55_S0JCfLAWYfcIIBHg/s4032/IMG_2557.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjTdkW927dFZvtbEj3wl9GcYHHNOmbujYUlhINcX1cpqaV0vuQayvs0Bne9iGHaIKiK53-AElcXZ6qzpvbKMKQOAnjsaAgHsBBOssGUtwqSHJaY-k5Gk_zf3OIFf2CJXt5sLnFtY5CXhWNzNgaDvZtK2YuJlR-fIS1k-t3RGQ55_S0JCfLAWYfcIIBHg/s320/IMG_2557.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Same view. This picture shows a lot of what we've done... the wall which divided the living room (with the oversized square opening) is now gone. Much of the first-floor ceiling is also now gone, changing the living room from a cramped low-ceilinged room into a large double-height space. We also pulled the 1980's cladding off the main beams, exposing the original 1850's wood, and stained them dark. The new floor will be going in soon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAjN9jlKlLrcmIupz958jJW8V5hipO8wQTNv9cwvJkn-UBbl0qCFEQObjW0xmRW7JM9MO6nakNTIHnlESI41ITExFr0KshidEVmwECPP7HAjC99lbdOUxik99LLbSaR0068TbiXJhtXj0eILYWpHh0Vgre3XJwNtqGxGc1GY9g2c0ef92V8wOXiQxj44/s1290/17316285.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1290" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAjN9jlKlLrcmIupz958jJW8V5hipO8wQTNv9cwvJkn-UBbl0qCFEQObjW0xmRW7JM9MO6nakNTIHnlESI41ITExFr0KshidEVmwECPP7HAjC99lbdOUxik99LLbSaR0068TbiXJhtXj0eILYWpHh0Vgre3XJwNtqGxGc1GY9g2c0ef92V8wOXiQxj44/s320/17316285.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">There used to be a full and proper upstairs...</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpl7S8-lQriTv5260opAWozLmHDe44AaTxJ5F3Yksw6yj6vwcHtQwpxaWirC5x7o-hBWSy10_CQzuaNfAnhZHTNUcLl69-iEbHNccnuujXG8HP3rx46CEympjjOiYwwdOI6lT2sF_pY8u-CTT9ppCxkUy9sfprUu0mCu8MfHPktmfuUPozlkFA8aGD6lI/s4032/IMG_2561.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpl7S8-lQriTv5260opAWozLmHDe44AaTxJ5F3Yksw6yj6vwcHtQwpxaWirC5x7o-hBWSy10_CQzuaNfAnhZHTNUcLl69-iEbHNccnuujXG8HP3rx46CEympjjOiYwwdOI6lT2sF_pY8u-CTT9ppCxkUy9sfprUu0mCu8MfHPktmfuUPozlkFA8aGD6lI/s320/IMG_2561.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">... but as I mentioned we removed much of the floor to make a full-height living room. Note the same two windows in the photos. The bottom photo is somewhat dominated by a wood bridge I just built today to allow traversing over the open space, but this bridge is temporary, and will be replaced by a more elegant steel version at some point in the future.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpHvA7tpJZvi1sbj52aJqIbk9lkVNLsoHghW5ptanLvvdH4Ac3N5RlbREsTwSAwPLMmoKec923e0ZvtAs5jBQE2Y0_Sp36QO1D2F-pWNamOeG_sSqC2mWuGEKxA5Qr3nT91j62GPZTmM8wOt4735i7311modpQmorVMIKO0hdIS0AwnlfibccutwtRhw/s4032/IMG_2562.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpHvA7tpJZvi1sbj52aJqIbk9lkVNLsoHghW5ptanLvvdH4Ac3N5RlbREsTwSAwPLMmoKec923e0ZvtAs5jBQE2Y0_Sp36QO1D2F-pWNamOeG_sSqC2mWuGEKxA5Qr3nT91j62GPZTmM8wOt4735i7311modpQmorVMIKO0hdIS0AwnlfibccutwtRhw/s320/IMG_2562.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Last photo from the interior. This one has no counterpart from before. Here you can get a sense of the living room and the height we gained by removing the ceiling. The red line shows where we cut the floor.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">As I mentioned earlier, we will be living in this house by the end of August, and it promises to look quite different (better) by then. I will post more pictures soon, as we get closer to finishing it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: georgia;">________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">When you write a blog but you go <i>this long</i> without posting, unfortunately not every amazing thing you do is going to get the full reportage it deserves. In the last few months...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">• Christina and Kodiak and I went back to Portugal to finish the installation of The Flybrary, joined by friends Cedar Goebel and Brian Malley. The trip was a success.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">• Several of Christina's oldest and best friends from the States visited us here in Lund for about 3 weeks. We did a lot of group bicycling - cycling as a gang around Copenhagen was a real highlight!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">• I went to Denmark with Scott, my friend and fellow American expatriate living in Lund, to see Rammstein in concert (just before their singer hit the international front pages for all the wrong reasons!) The show was great.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">• I finally cast my first bronze sculpture, which I found highly enjoyable and inspiring. Thanks to Clara and Ricky down at KKV for helping make that happen! Here she is:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sOytYfO-uuPEE2PK_rrDAi04_h7Xtaee_cqHMinW-m84f8P515uNfpmsH36wkMDNwaDETmsp2JDLeqtUACHLjnmb4xzwuF-rS_Lv7NEExlM924y9C-CxuaTyrv8YE3mehFybQ7ED4H4qO0_wQt3oQmruw9LAt4oyGYJnNDqv9IGaU_XBLN0UP0mZ4cE/s2690/IMG_1586.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2690" data-original-width="2687" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sOytYfO-uuPEE2PK_rrDAi04_h7Xtaee_cqHMinW-m84f8P515uNfpmsH36wkMDNwaDETmsp2JDLeqtUACHLjnmb4xzwuF-rS_Lv7NEExlM924y9C-CxuaTyrv8YE3mehFybQ7ED4H4qO0_wQt3oQmruw9LAt4oyGYJnNDqv9IGaU_XBLN0UP0mZ4cE/s320/IMG_1586.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Note that I had only one week to prepare the wax positive, which means that in that week I had to sculpt the clay original, make a two part silicone mold with plaster mother-mold, cast the wax positive, and do extensive cleanup on the wax. All of which is to say that I anticipate my next bronze effort to come out better, as I'll have more time. You can click <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CrylB1dMBSL/" target="_blank">HERE</a> for more photos and info about it (that's an Instagram link so it might not work if you don't have an account...)</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">I intend to do more bronze work in the future.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">OK, that's it for now.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Wish us luck retrieving our sculptures from Las Vegas! Not sure how that's going to happen, exactly... but hopefully I'll tell you in the next blog post!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: georgia;">Cheers from Sweden</span></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-56836644576373835252023-03-19T22:01:00.005-06:002023-03-20T08:55:41.164-06:00Rant<span style="color: #cccccc;">Ok this is one of those times when a lot has been happening but I haven’t been too good at blogging about it. This post will divided into a general update about our crazy lives followed by some ruminations about oil painting. I’m guessing that more people are interested in our jet-set international lifestyle than my thoughts about brush strokes and paint thickness, so I’ll write the jet set stuff first. <br /><br />
Fitting. I’m on a plane right now. <br /><br />
You probably remember that we moved to Sweden. Wow, what a big and crazy thing to do. I think it’s good that whenever we humans embark on some ambitious new undertaking, we usually don’t fully understand the complexities and difficulties we will encounter along the way. I think if we had a really clear view of it, we might simply not try half of what we try. So I applaud our ignorance; I am grateful for it.
To be honest, I think I have willfully cultivated this state of ignorance. Because the alternative is worry and anxiety. There will be time to freak out about situation X and situation Y when they engulf you, so why worry about them now? Stay focused on the present, and give it everything you’ve got. And stay positive, for Christ’s sake. Because the alternative to positivity is a bummer. That’s how I get through things like moving across the ocean with a 12-year old. <br /><br />
So, yes… we moved to Sweden. There’s a rich irony in the fact that we moved mostly for Kodiak - for his education and his future, and yet, of the three members of our little family, his transition has been the hardest. But then, what did we expect from yanking a 12-year old out of his established friend-group (and 12 years old, for those of you who can’t remember, is just when friend-groups start to become the most important thing in the world) and bringing him to a new and foreign place? It does bring some minor consolation to hear that his old pals back in Taos are actually also having hard times, in one way or another. Not because we want them to have hard times (which we don’t, because they’re all lovely, wonderful kids), but because it normalizes for us the fact that being a 12-year old is tough, whether you’re in Lund or Taos or Timbuktu. We must continually remind ourselves that he is learning skills now which will serve him the rest of his life, even though he might not appreciate that until years from now.<br />
Life in Lund continues. Christina drives to KKV (the artist’s collective workshop in Malmö) with some frequency and makes beautiful things out of metal. When I can, I spend hours in my little art studio, tucked into a corner of our ostentatious rented mansion in Lund. Yes, I’ve been painting. I’ve also purchased clay and I have every intention of sculpting too, soon. In fact I intend to carry out my threat, soon, to cast a sculpture in bronze. </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Swedish winters are gray. Unrelentingly gray. When the unrelenting grayness relents briefly, and the sun shines unexpectedly for an hour or a day, you want to run outside and stand in it. Or ride a bicycle. Or something like that.<br />
The brightest light in Sweden, so far, has been the friends we have made. Scott and his family, from Texas… Thanks you guys, it's so good to know you. And Krister and Ylva and your two boys, our real Swedish friends… we love you guys. <br /><br />
I said I was on a plane, and so far… I am still on that plane. <br />
Since way before we left for Sweden, Christina and I have been in communication with a new art festival called Transfix which is starting up soon in the US about their intention to lease from us two sculptures, Hand of Man and Capsule, for long-term exhibition. Transfix will be a new kind of festival. They have leased something like 30 interactive 'Burning Man style' sculptures from various artists and will set up these sculptures in one place, in one city, for 3 months. Then they'll transport all those sculptures to another city and show them there for 3 months. And then another city, and then another. Think of it as a condensed Burning Man experience, without the fucking dust, accessible to city-dwellers. <br /><br />
The first city to be graced by Transfix and its cohort of spectacular artwork is Las Vegas, Nevada. And that's where I'm headed right now in this aluminum marvel of aeronautical engineering. After Vegas the show will move to Los Angeles, then New York, and finally Miami. If it's a smashing success it may go on longer, and might even hop the pond over to Europe. <br /><br />
Mind you, I am not flying from Sweden to Las Vegas right now. No, I have been in Taos for about 3 weeks preparing those two sculptures for long-term exhibition. The Hand of Man needed a bit of freshening up, while Capsule got a whole new hydraulic system, allowing its three hands to open and close mechanically, rather than through the use of burning wood. (The new hydraulic arrangement means Capsule will never burn with wood again, so those of you who saw Capsule’s fiery debut in Seco back in ‘22 witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime art event!)<br /><br />
In some sense, this has all been a buildup to bring me to talking about the most interesting thing that’s happened to me recently, which was my three weeks in Taos. The time was interesting, not in and of itself, exactly, but because of its context, its situation within the larger flow of having moved to Sweden. In other words, being in Taos for three weeks told me hell of a lot about what it means to have moved to Sweden, and also a hell of a lot about what we left behind in Taos. And it’s also given me some fresh data for a good old compare-and-contrast between the two places. <br /><br />
Basically, to put it succinctly, the life we built in Taos was lovely. The friends, the workshop, the home, the place… all of it was (and still is) wonderful. <br /><br />
And the task of building a new life, with new friends and a new home and a new workshop in a new country with a new culture… it’s fucking hard. Add a 12-year old into the mix, and it’s really fucking hard. <br /><br />
When I look at a snapshot of our life one year ago, in Taos, and compare it to our life now in Lund, in many ways things were better in Taos. <br /><br />
But America has an edge. There’s an edge of violence and anger here. And I think it’s born out of the economic disparity, the poverty, the desperation, and the political rancor. In the last two days someone lunged at my car in a mock attack, someone else flipped me the bird on the street for no reason (he was flipping everyone the bird), and I couldn’t cross the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge because someone had jumped to his death hours earlier (in front of his family, no less!) And that's just two days in Taos... not counting the mass shootings and other horrible things that happen across the US all the time. That shit just doesn’t happen in Sweden! <br /><br />
Democrats can’t seem to manage cities and Republicans are banning books and criminalizing being female. Taos is a beautiful bubble but America is a mess. History shows us that empires often decline after about 200 years. <br /><br />
And so, yes… when I look at a snapshot of our life one year ago, in Taos, and compare it to our life now in Lund, in many ways things were better in Taos. But that is the wrong way to look at it. It's an unfair comparison. Transitions like this take time. If Lund is tough and things aren’t coming together in 2 years, then we’ll reassess. But I really don’t think it’s gonna go that way. Because things are already coming together, and Christina and I are a pair of badass fucking powerhouses, and we make shit happen. We're hunting for a house to buy and might be closing in on one. And Kodiak is coming along. He’ll get there. The only tragedy here would be if we gave up on Sweden after NOT having tried our hardest. To quote my eloquent friend Jimmy, “Don’t be a bitch. Don’t tap out.”
Word, Jimmy. <br /><br />
Before I leave the topic of Taos, I want to give a big thank-you to Matt and Richard for taking such good care of me in Taos. Everyone should be lucky enough to have friends like Matt and Richard. <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br />
OK do you want to read about art and painting and A.I. and brushstrokes?<br /><br />
I have a bit of a pet peeve about loose brushwork. Perhaps you know the kind of brushwork I'm talking about; you see it in paintings by <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=john+singer+sargent+paintings&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Sargent</a> and <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sorolla+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Sorolla</a> and many others. <br /><br />
I've been thinking about this a lot, trying to figure out why it bothers me, and I've finally realized that my negative reaction has two components. First off, I just don't like loosely painted artwork. <i>But I don't usually hate it either; it is just a preference of taste</i>. More importantly, though, I resent the fact that loose brushwork is so consistently presented as the right way to paint. Recently I came across yet another painting channel on Youtube featuring a video on the importance of this approach. I believe it was called "Why you can't paint loosely, Yet!" The implication is obvious; learn to paint loosely and you'll finally be painting correctly. And yet, no one ever bothers to explain WHY this approach is so revered. <br /><br />
Since no one else seems to want to explain this preference, I will propose two possible rationales. And then, my second rationale will quickly mature into some broader, more universal observations about the nature of painting, taking us finally to yet a third possible explanation.<br /><br />
Rationale number one goes like this: If you can reduce the complexity of a scene by capturing it with fewer and looser brush strokes, you can theoretically finish a painting much faster. And if you can make one painting faster, you can make a lot of paintings faster, and you can theoretically make a lot more paintings, and maybe even sell more. This is undoubtedly good for the painter. I propose that whether the paintings are really better or not is a question of taste.<br /><br />
Rationale number two goes like this: Painting will never fully and faithfully capture all the details of reality; it will always be a somewhat imprecise approximation. So then, why not make a virtue out of that imprecision? Why not treat it as a strength, rather than a weakness? Why not see how far you can push that imprecision while still making the scene recognizable? And somewhere along the line, some painter or another realized that, by playing with brush strokes (or color choices, or some other technical variable), he or she could make some judgment or interpretation of the reality they were capturing; in other words the painting could become subjective or interpretive. <br /><br />
And here we get to the meat of the discussion. Before the advent of photography, painters mostly aspired to simply capture reality accurately. They were record keepers, documentarians. But once technology produced a little machine that could make accurate images of the world (the camera), painters needed to carve out new territory for themselves to remain relevant. This actually made the world of painting much more varied and interesting. No longer bound by the slavish imperative to reproduce reality, painting suddenly became a way for artists to say something, in many cases something personal and idiosyncratic. And loose, impressionistic brushwork is one way to do that. But for god's sake, it's not the only way! And in my personal opinion, it's not even the most interesting way. <br /><br />
Because you see, there are many many artists who clearly couldn't give a shit about the Youtube doctrine that looser equals better, and they are, in my opinion, doing much more interesting work than the loose school. Painters like <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=salvador+dali+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Salvador Dalí</a>, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=paul+cadmus+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Paul Cadmus</a>, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=michael+bergt+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Michael Bergt</a>, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=alex+grey+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Alex Grey</a>, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=gottfried+helnwein+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Gottfried Helnwein</a>, <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hieronymus+bosch+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Hieronymus Bosch</a>, and <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=alessandro+sicioldr+paintings&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Alessandro Sicioldr</a>, to name just a few. These painters, and the thousands of others like them, have chosen a substantively different approach to saying something personal, idiosyncratic, and interpretive with their images. <i>They have chosen to paint images of specific narratives which are meaningful to them, but fall outside the realm of consensus reality (this approach is sometimes called 'magical realism'). And because they are trying to convey something specific, tight and concise brushwork serves the purpose better. And the purpose is communication.<br /></i><br />
It occurs to me as I write this that the tension between loose and tight brushwork can also be thought of, like so many other things, as a tension between emotion and intellect. I read somewhere that the real value in Jackson Pollock's paintings (which are, pictorially speaking, total garbage if you ask me) is in the fact that they are a record of action and emotion. When you see all those violently thrown splashes of paint, you are seeing the result of - and perhaps imagining the action of - a man in the throes of passion, the passion of throwing paint. This is why they are called 'Action Paintings.' <br /><br />
Insofar as any of the painters I mentioned two paragraphs ago are capturing emotion they are doing it in a totally different way. They are capturing a scene of emotion (or whatever other aspect of humanity intrigues them), as if in a freeze-frame, and then painting that image accurately. The process is fundamentally intellectual. <br /><br />
Now just for fun, let's go back to the question that started this rant: WHY is loose and expressionistic brushwork presented on Youtube and other popular culture media as the right way to paint? I propose this answer: Since the advent of photography (and artificial intelligence image generators such as Midjourney and Dall-E have only intensified this pressure), painters have needed to make images which are fundamentally personal and interpretive in order to remain relevant. And while loose brushwork and magical realism (which depends on having a unique outlook) are both avenues to achieving this, it’s a lot easier to teach people how to handle paint in a video or a book than it is to teach them how to have an opinion, or teach them to have something to say. <br /><br />- End of rant. <br />- I'm not on the plane anymore.</span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">- I got my motorcycle legal in Sweden and I'm looking forward to riding it.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">- I tested out of my Swedish course, as expected.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">- I'll probably write another blog post soon about my time in Las Vegas. What a weird place this is.<br /><br />
Here are some paintings I've recently made.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdYVd5tMkUN-K8xJk2_m5USjJnHggrpcVUf0od4jfMzqK5WzXaOxiNmDfQmttalVjJWzST-HMM_nqIhAXqAsvTfnbFlC_CjBA0Oz440S__Uf09-vemrF3lpTPDgik68MQPlEangkSnSt_BkQVL86SmhpMGGRJ0hreT8rIn8eM6uZ1SVITPdTKa_xo/s3506/Finished%3F.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3506" data-original-width="2719" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdYVd5tMkUN-K8xJk2_m5USjJnHggrpcVUf0od4jfMzqK5WzXaOxiNmDfQmttalVjJWzST-HMM_nqIhAXqAsvTfnbFlC_CjBA0Oz440S__Uf09-vemrF3lpTPDgik68MQPlEangkSnSt_BkQVL86SmhpMGGRJ0hreT8rIn8eM6uZ1SVITPdTKa_xo/s320/Finished%3F.jpg" width="248" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0oX68QQXHh8j71ktWBpvqVCTac8VGYAPoN1DM6iR-qsrKUDsgmtlty01bn8u573QA7clXBM1pDELBIMG0_Z_aoyMkwage0Rc4Fj2_pAautS1mP-iCfFQf2_RZEr65sXFZEb0BXObIfN8VjnlPJ41S_pyiBvWEgG1JaNpxqCzevJkrHho6FqoiTze/s3009/IMG_0557.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3005" data-original-width="3009" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0oX68QQXHh8j71ktWBpvqVCTac8VGYAPoN1DM6iR-qsrKUDsgmtlty01bn8u573QA7clXBM1pDELBIMG0_Z_aoyMkwage0Rc4Fj2_pAautS1mP-iCfFQf2_RZEr65sXFZEb0BXObIfN8VjnlPJ41S_pyiBvWEgG1JaNpxqCzevJkrHho6FqoiTze/s320/IMG_0557.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm feeling a little more experimental with the painting these days... willing to paint with less worry about making everything a masterpiece. Trying to find ways and styles that work for me.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Until next time,</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Adios</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />
</div></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-54643142192775158542022-12-19T04:05:00.006-07:002022-12-19T09:44:13.252-07:00A Well Thought-Out Place<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I've decided that one of the overarching characteristics of Swedish society... one of the 'by-words', if you will, is 'well thought-out.'</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">When it snows, the town of Lund sends out a fleet of miniature tractors which clear the snow from the sidewalks and salt them. Not the street, mind you... the sidewalks. Well thought-out.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8D9gzDrrZvnh3TyVHM6Kjy8eeEAdSMKpy5H5RwqG7WvD2rcqUDcnQ8Vq2C4L_9DadNW2FwPzon_hTakzpExTSkeW0v0IkVQiQUe_peWFY-crQpOi4jLHq9e7K8C38oRvSRMOhg6isF82-vOKXd10mX0FP-vPDx5tJh0DwvK8gqfGUCvc_85yCpsDP/s4032/IMG_9823.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8D9gzDrrZvnh3TyVHM6Kjy8eeEAdSMKpy5H5RwqG7WvD2rcqUDcnQ8Vq2C4L_9DadNW2FwPzon_hTakzpExTSkeW0v0IkVQiQUe_peWFY-crQpOi4jLHq9e7K8C38oRvSRMOhg6isF82-vOKXd10mX0FP-vPDx5tJh0DwvK8gqfGUCvc_85yCpsDP/s320/IMG_9823.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Kodiak and Griselda on a freshly cleared and salted sidewalk</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">As I've mentioned before, pedestrians and bicyclists have the right of way at crosswalks in town, and there are a lot of crosswalks. In order to compel drivers to slow down before the crosswalk, most of these crossings have a slight little <i>ramp</i> in the road... analogous to a speed bump... and it is paved in brick which transmits a different and 'chunkier' feel to the driver. Well thought-out.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJq5L-sKP5rxuOk3QhQ8AFoDuCN8eHS98YUMgEwOzTH4QzmqQcaYAFSkxYoMMhFbIbjOZDih76UJT-WnBPFEokCgTHhEvie3dl1kKKNByYnse5fpVTd2cq_o0apv6WNeAHvw09YcKV1FBRumI6lfzxzOCFJcHW6z3xzEklsVD3lxf5lz1_UxaQKjA7/s3551/IMG_9824%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2602" data-original-width="3551" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJq5L-sKP5rxuOk3QhQ8AFoDuCN8eHS98YUMgEwOzTH4QzmqQcaYAFSkxYoMMhFbIbjOZDih76UJT-WnBPFEokCgTHhEvie3dl1kKKNByYnse5fpVTd2cq_o0apv6WNeAHvw09YcKV1FBRumI6lfzxzOCFJcHW6z3xzEklsVD3lxf5lz1_UxaQKjA7/s320/IMG_9824%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">(I personally see a philosophical correlation between the high importance placed on the rights of pedestrians and cyclists and the democratic/socialist orientation of the country.)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">On a recent visit to the police station, to get Kodiak's National ID Card, we found these orange tags. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZt8b3Ny0r4Zqa0pCBAbzzIbxZSKeC8s6dl2Y7V-gCp9bor3Z89WENLuwVNRks7Gr-b-itOWZS0bx-R9LW1N40WUh553YCGYAJHZESepGsgUHGrbM0cqLJPYkPNQNJrzMGkM2eh7CzO42mFcHk5thpWn9OQloteFjpcythXjRAufez2-uPexgFdWs/s4032/IMG_9826.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZt8b3Ny0r4Zqa0pCBAbzzIbxZSKeC8s6dl2Y7V-gCp9bor3Z89WENLuwVNRks7Gr-b-itOWZS0bx-R9LW1N40WUh553YCGYAJHZESepGsgUHGrbM0cqLJPYkPNQNJrzMGkM2eh7CzO42mFcHk5thpWn9OQloteFjpcythXjRAufez2-uPexgFdWs/s320/IMG_9826.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">If you hit a wild animal on the road, but suspect you have not killed it, you are supposed to place one of these orange tags around a tree near the site of the collision. Then you go and report the incident to the police, who in turn send out a team of specially trained hunters and tracker dogs to kill the animal. And the point of all this is... to reduce unnecessary suffering of the injured animal. Well thought-out.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I mentioned all of this to our Swedish friend Krister. He, having spent his whole life here, acknowledged my observation, but also made the point that it can all feel a bit TOO well thought-out sometimes. A bit too regimented. I can easily see his point. For instance, Kodiak has a drone, which we used to fly at our property in Taos from time to time... getting beautiful views of the gorge. Here in Sweden, you need to register every drone with the government and mark it with the name of the operator. And there are various classes of drones, some of which require training to operate. I'm actually not certain whether our drone would require training or not, but I <i>am</i> pretty sure Kodiak is considered too young to be an operator here. The upshot of all this is that, until we jump through the various required hoops, we cannot legally fly the drone here. Also... no flying in town and no flying at night. Lots of rules. It's a far cry from the lawless cowboy town we moved from. It's easy for me to see, from a bigger perspective, how these assorted rules would make for a better and more humane society for everyone to live in. And... as an American who is used to being able to do <i>what</i> I feel like doing, <i>when</i> I feel like doing it, it can be a bit challenging. But it's a tradeoff we are willing to make. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Kodiak has been to the emergency room twice now, both times with not-too-serious injuries that resolved themselves. But these episoded have been our first exposure to the healthcare system here, and I can report that, although it can be quite slow, the care is pretty top notch. Kodiak has had an MRI, an x-ray, and follow-up appointments with orthopedic and eye specialists. And all of that has been free. And prescription medicines are free for kids up to age 18. No real complaints yet. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Change of topic.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In the world of house-building, a builder (what we call in the US a 'contractor') can either...</span></p><span style="color: #cccccc;">A) Build a house for a client, in which case the cost of the building is pre-paid by the client and there is essentially no risk for the builder, or...</span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">B) Build a house 'on spec', in which case the house is built <i>by the builder, with his (or her) money</i>, and only once it is finished is it put on the market to be sold. In this scenario there is considerable risk for the builder because there is no guarantee it will sell, or will sell at a good price. (Although the housing market is usually thought of as a good bet)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Most of the artwork that I have made over my career has been made in a context similar to mode A above. Whether it was for festivals or the special-effects industry, most of the work I've made has been commissioned, which is to say it has been approved and paid for before it was built. My risk has always been low. As I toiled away, working on these big sculptures, I knew the work would be shown and I knew I would be paid.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Many artists (I'm tempted to say 'most artists' but I guess I'm not really sure, so...) Many artists work in mode B. They labor in their studios making paintings or sculptures or photographs or music, powered only by their own belief in what they are doing... and when the artworks are done they put them up for sale, either through galleries or websites or social media. As they make the work they hope it will sell but they don't really know. (I suppose that if you get 'connected' with a gallery that believes in your work there is some sense of assurance, but even then there are no guarantees.)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I think a few factors have coalesced for me and are slowly forcing me from mode A into mode B, and it's scary. The factors at play are the gradual closing of opportunities to fund big sculpture, our moving across the ocean and away from our traditional sources of funding, and my burgeoning interest in making a kind of work that is better suited to smaller and more traditional pieces. So it is, in a way, like starting over... because I am not connected with a gallery and I am not known as a painter or traditional sculptor. And yet, when I consult the list I've recently made (for myself) of ideas I've had for new works over the last few months, they are all paintings or small sculptures. There is really no need to close any doors, though. If a large-sculpture commission comes my way and I can make it work in terms of time and workshop space, etc, then of course I would move forward. But it's feeling less and less like that's where my passion lies. And yes, moving into uncharted territory is scary.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">But I do have that list. The one I mentioned earlier, the list of painting and sculpture ideas. And I have begun to paint again. And play with a new medium, oil pastels. And I'm set up to start working on a new small sculpture which I hope to cast in bronze at the KKV foundry. And, I had a bit of a 'clarity moment' a few weeks ago... something along the lines of "Well, you're an artist. It's what you chose to be. And the job of an artist is to make art. So do your job... make art!"</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I think I'm basically on the right track. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKg3F0tszEzZlBmsgkjEZvkW8-5f6C1FVe4ht0Ddsr-bevSgjMX9usVtSjfGRs7m5fht2dE4nVsHqukJAJc6f0b91rQVN2RTS7T8D9tc4TQJC8z-2ke9MGU2yttIKZCdRLHcNPNJA1gmbGlyRmTiQBshZaRNXuS_4ZgsblBHHQzUGp93AbIYPoXLtC/s3224/Dead%20Bird%20Painting.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2621" data-original-width="3224" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKg3F0tszEzZlBmsgkjEZvkW8-5f6C1FVe4ht0Ddsr-bevSgjMX9usVtSjfGRs7m5fht2dE4nVsHqukJAJc6f0b91rQVN2RTS7T8D9tc4TQJC8z-2ke9MGU2yttIKZCdRLHcNPNJA1gmbGlyRmTiQBshZaRNXuS_4ZgsblBHHQzUGp93AbIYPoXLtC/s320/Dead%20Bird%20Painting.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Small oil painting, recent</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8x_-DaU8URw43juDwtOwfr5zfFaP8Q_NxHiHuaHN3xMt8ERllbHoz-Ux-9kYcQvuGTEyJ6pkHdB8kFht-Q06uQW6ZskAIPB5l0xbkEW8tEpr5FZOX2kuRjq5JBQduQMQ8oz99nA865nstHV5rNcA4witcbooeD-zvK8UF9fCbBVeKOzPy0VkH_ut/s4032/IMG_9669.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8x_-DaU8URw43juDwtOwfr5zfFaP8Q_NxHiHuaHN3xMt8ERllbHoz-Ux-9kYcQvuGTEyJ6pkHdB8kFht-Q06uQW6ZskAIPB5l0xbkEW8tEpr5FZOX2kuRjq5JBQduQMQ8oz99nA865nstHV5rNcA4witcbooeD-zvK8UF9fCbBVeKOzPy0VkH_ut/s320/IMG_9669.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Oil pastel 'drawing'. Oil pastels are like drawing with paint... </span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______________________</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And I got into the state-sponsored (free) Swedish language course, so I'm now learning Swedish. Ironically, I won't be in the class for long because it's designed only to bring students up to a basic functional level, not true fluency, and because of my self-study and proficiency for languages I am close to testing out of it.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And Christina and I are looking at houses in the countryside just outside of Lund, hoping to find something we can afford to buy. In which case, we'd be living the bicontinental dream! A house in the US and a house in Sweden! Dreamy! (Well, let's see if we can really pull that off before we all get too excited...)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And for all you motorcyclists out there reading this, my bike did not pass the initial Swedish inspection. I have to do some work to it before I can re-test. And... I thought I'd be bravely riding here all year-round, because cold weather can be dealt with with the use of proper clothing. What I didn't count on is perpetually slick / snowy / icy roads. (See the first two photos in this post, above.)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Well, as Porky Pig says... That's All Folks!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-16489856502691867012022-11-07T14:57:00.019-07:002022-11-08T00:48:18.526-07:00Finally here?<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I think it's time to write a new blog post.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Should I talk about STUFF? (As in: our weird attachment to possessions)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Should it be a travelogue? I've done a hell of a lot of traveling lately.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Should I share my continuing observations about Sweden?</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Yes. I'll do all of that.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Stuff</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Stuff. Possessions. Belongings. Way back in the <a href="http://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2022/08/getting-out.html" target="_blank">beginning of July</a>, Christina and I packed a 20-foot container full of the best of our stuff... to be sent to Sweden. We worked out the timing of our air travel so that we would arrive within a few days of our stuff. After all, we didn't want to be away from our stuff for too long. And then our container was delayed, so... we didn't have our stuff. So we had to buy more stuff to try to fill up our house with stuff (which is exactly what we didn't want to have to do - it's the reason we sent over a container). But we didn't want to buy <i>too much</i> stuff, because we had more stuff coming in the container. Finally, our container full of stuff arrived. We were so excited because we missed our stuff. As we unloaded it, it was suddenly clear that we had brought a LOT of stuff. Actually, we thought, it was kind of nice to live without so much stuff, wasn't it? And in the following days, as we unpacked all that stuff, we thought: Why did we even bring this stuff? It was an overwhelming amount of stuff and a lot of it seemed like crap!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Now, a few months on, it's actually nice to have all our stuff. It makes this place feel a little more like home. I'm pretty sure we squandered that very brief opportunity to live the minimalist lives of ascetics.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The comedian George Carlin famously said that homes were just covers for our stuff, and I think he was right. People accumulate a lot of stuff. We sure have.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Travelogue</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">During the pandemic I went for two years without getting on an airplane, but I've been making up for it lately. In September I was in Taos for two weeks, then back home to Lund for a bit. Then Christina and I went to England for a week, then back here for a bit. Then a week in Portugal, then back here for a bit. Then a week in Gotland, then back here for... hopefully more than a bit. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I already talked about my trip to Taos, which was unexpectedly fun.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Then, England. Christina and I joined our friends Cedar, Brian, and Terril...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFl4TYdciuDh9DgghCSZBuVMOcN-VDYY3baQN6sMlkqIGyMDRZViC3OOmgp6eMrLemgpci2Qs6Kx3q45LQKS2pUJ6zZcrIqqtb_IPwaQ-coAjm-8ir60HJT-quvvaq9dglBNoKZ5KWVJOZ2nuQnYvlnvhu_acKMS2UMOKJWQd3d6fGqP9UPnIeIrtn/s1379/IMG_8466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1379" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFl4TYdciuDh9DgghCSZBuVMOcN-VDYY3baQN6sMlkqIGyMDRZViC3OOmgp6eMrLemgpci2Qs6Kx3q45LQKS2pUJ6zZcrIqqtb_IPwaQ-coAjm-8ir60HJT-quvvaq9dglBNoKZ5KWVJOZ2nuQnYvlnvhu_acKMS2UMOKJWQd3d6fGqP9UPnIeIrtn/s320/IMG_8466.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... back in Chatsworth to take down the Flybrary. I got to drive a van for a week on the left (wrong!) side of the road, which was fun. We had a chance to go through the Chatsworth House (castle, palace, royal residence, whatever...) one more time, which was totally worth it. That place is amazing. Just look at this bedroom....</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rFQEYLzzQZDcFTl6gUE3WSrxZs7WgeQd9MFdJXfpnP9KT4otNEhqW3us8GAHUmmAuG7fBLv34SCkuj8UHoJwppjTf7XHfB5SxIwnMwXFub4r858Vr5uw1Vk6u0fwtgNiycbZ9QGF2L2alVlgbNcgj_xYKyPNQOdsFDP74YvY5SvIVr1ZFkEc90F0/s4032/IMG_8486.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rFQEYLzzQZDcFTl6gUE3WSrxZs7WgeQd9MFdJXfpnP9KT4otNEhqW3us8GAHUmmAuG7fBLv34SCkuj8UHoJwppjTf7XHfB5SxIwnMwXFub4r858Vr5uw1Vk6u0fwtgNiycbZ9QGF2L2alVlgbNcgj_xYKyPNQOdsFDP74YvY5SvIVr1ZFkEc90F0/s320/IMG_8486.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="color: #cccccc; text-align: left;">We even had a free day to explore Manchester (I have to say I was disappointed that Manchester was not one big shrine to Joy Division!)</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">A week later we all found ourselves in Portugal, where we re-built the Flybrary on the property of its proud new owner. Yes, that's right, a 30-year old tech entrepreneur purchased Christina's sculpture and we installed it for him at his ranch south of Lisbon. </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedRyvlq15QAXtB95U81J4rfp0uF4NjqcemwLvwgYDC6A_ok4lgSUcwmTQmPqUzJeqhWjjl0N9QVhtDBHQbYmgwrBcy2K8YGQQCShbcBouDbay-KWl_JMicLqPxxlEREPlAMQ0LE-F6SyFJ7iyWAOxXPBnqnhyhIj12-qY0UkObOy7N5O8J2Kjpmsh/s4032/IMG_8700.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedRyvlq15QAXtB95U81J4rfp0uF4NjqcemwLvwgYDC6A_ok4lgSUcwmTQmPqUzJeqhWjjl0N9QVhtDBHQbYmgwrBcy2K8YGQQCShbcBouDbay-KWl_JMicLqPxxlEREPlAMQ0LE-F6SyFJ7iyWAOxXPBnqnhyhIj12-qY0UkObOy7N5O8J2Kjpmsh/s320/IMG_8700.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK799kcG39pZemhYRjjGHdWzvZ5Nzln7OMbUNWfkOmx23i62hSs11nyl27LFDVKe_QoZ_p8vg_5eoDv_L6wEs6in3k23mLgl8CjukPocyqcuS3Xv3xmvE-EuQ8GNBea9D2zxPCe6D9GMDNI70XnZY8pMuxSzg_g80x1tIuK5Ncrnb1XdhVC-P34a6/s2914/Forkie%20composite.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2694" data-original-width="2914" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK799kcG39pZemhYRjjGHdWzvZ5Nzln7OMbUNWfkOmx23i62hSs11nyl27LFDVKe_QoZ_p8vg_5eoDv_L6wEs6in3k23mLgl8CjukPocyqcuS3Xv3xmvE-EuQ8GNBea9D2zxPCe6D9GMDNI70XnZY8pMuxSzg_g80x1tIuK5Ncrnb1XdhVC-P34a6/s320/Forkie%20composite.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I got to drive the forklifts, which I enjoy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It rained a lot while we were there and the mud proved to be an incredible adversary. So much so, in fact, that the crane required to put up the bird truss (which is the top part of the sculpture) could not come onto the property. So in a sense the mud won. The sculpture is incomplete and we need to return in the spring to finish it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR17JTbcc7YjSlrNjnklgs0WCgrYAxR0Wraex_4lufSDANZtxlXu7KDDhYoUzCtfaESjfbYzI16gtGiF4loCgUZmO1ndVKmL91mK49g31AA6f-TkFPfeyGoxueKIN96WICFt09ahfZBvNVX8cuqJLZbe5PTzlqv9UBZ7P0ZgQRu70-82UtK7kHVRZ/s1776/FAC492F6-A608-4014-8F89-C6472A35FBCB-7962-00000151CD50F8FA.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1776" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR17JTbcc7YjSlrNjnklgs0WCgrYAxR0Wraex_4lufSDANZtxlXu7KDDhYoUzCtfaESjfbYzI16gtGiF4loCgUZmO1ndVKmL91mK49g31AA6f-TkFPfeyGoxueKIN96WICFt09ahfZBvNVX8cuqJLZbe5PTzlqv9UBZ7P0ZgQRu70-82UtK7kHVRZ/s320/FAC492F6-A608-4014-8F89-C6472A35FBCB-7962-00000151CD50F8FA.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There was an interesting cast of characters assembled at the ranch during our stay, including other artists, videographers, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_nomad" target="_blank">digital nomads</a>. (I think if I were a young person today, I'd be pretty tempted by the digital nomad lifestyle.) Once we'd finally washed off the mud we all assembled for a group photo.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Then we had a day to check out Lisbon, which is a charming and picturesque city.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtL2DcXyAKTQpsasle0v2uBZetPT35EsopvO7HCik0YToWj1mfNMuf79_gAB0ALJo89POtSWxUvid47HSQwSLH730n0O2KfiIGwB_Aufx47PBD9bZQZNOxn8D3F2mdyRFNFPffVe5pNhB1CEwp4FsZIl0qBJT4UN5YgnPuosrtJjaL0SAU40VO7nx/s4032/IMG_8822.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtL2DcXyAKTQpsasle0v2uBZetPT35EsopvO7HCik0YToWj1mfNMuf79_gAB0ALJo89POtSWxUvid47HSQwSLH730n0O2KfiIGwB_Aufx47PBD9bZQZNOxn8D3F2mdyRFNFPffVe5pNhB1CEwp4FsZIl0qBJT4UN5YgnPuosrtJjaL0SAU40VO7nx/s320/IMG_8822.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP892W-RhP8qO8ot0crjYEBlam0tUT97Ax8mm5Gmeo9IwiOTN3C2UoCO6KZG3_G7u0rD-y7eODZAQKgXxSgWvWDc2lYuaNdM5bzqo0Mt1HvukVDSIQdOlVp8-ZpqaIWSHuR5SCuUUpovsh6ItVjZ3k54kHHJ4boAbhJzZlR9Z42a-53LgqIQAacFsh/s5896/IMG_8823.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3788" data-original-width="5896" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP892W-RhP8qO8ot0crjYEBlam0tUT97Ax8mm5Gmeo9IwiOTN3C2UoCO6KZG3_G7u0rD-y7eODZAQKgXxSgWvWDc2lYuaNdM5bzqo0Mt1HvukVDSIQdOlVp8-ZpqaIWSHuR5SCuUUpovsh6ItVjZ3k54kHHJ4boAbhJzZlR9Z42a-53LgqIQAacFsh/s320/IMG_8823.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPF92wEZvnk8_JUU2KPdPojVftlrzqaj9HuNHR9iIcqYDL3rvakcF7ygPvpvs5Eyro-WTbhhRrNzCQn0I4V7OlLWtl4tYGlGpHZZr5TeNuxAvPGCMR9okSui7_AP4PM3F_abV_SutKs2eg0wnkp9uOZZzPFuH9e21OHV6EOYiEPz36MKZu40NSZeSu/s4032/IMG_8771.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPF92wEZvnk8_JUU2KPdPojVftlrzqaj9HuNHR9iIcqYDL3rvakcF7ygPvpvs5Eyro-WTbhhRrNzCQn0I4V7OlLWtl4tYGlGpHZZr5TeNuxAvPGCMR9okSui7_AP4PM3F_abV_SutKs2eg0wnkp9uOZZzPFuH9e21OHV6EOYiEPz36MKZu40NSZeSu/s320/IMG_8771.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">After saying goodbye to our pals, and spending a few days back at home in Lund, Christina and Kodiak and my mother and I went for a week-long vacation to the Swedish island of Gotland. Gotland is the largest island in the Baltic and has had an interesting history full of battles and bloodshed. It has changed hands many times in the last 1000 years, mostly between the Swedes, Danes, and Russians. Even now there is a large Swedish military presence on Gotland, as the general belief seems to be that Russia still poses a threat there. Gotland even had its own civil war... Gotlanders against Gotlanders! And it's really not THAT big. </span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnd3I-tOMsu6ng_M5KI8_rZ5mXlrSyJqXHo52kKa_dylvJoDDAXHAzntn8DyjBtIw57toV9TUhQ1E_D7YfoNCSivY95kdaDI2XgtuZ1Fn6lFpvMbcMLsdKJTUTou_h0T-8iStVsLlKFTPL6xkeHB5I_pbcD9B7BJIh0xOaJFAdWi0flGeQYMm1U16D/s4032/IMG_8972.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnd3I-tOMsu6ng_M5KI8_rZ5mXlrSyJqXHo52kKa_dylvJoDDAXHAzntn8DyjBtIw57toV9TUhQ1E_D7YfoNCSivY95kdaDI2XgtuZ1Fn6lFpvMbcMLsdKJTUTou_h0T-8iStVsLlKFTPL6xkeHB5I_pbcD9B7BJIh0xOaJFAdWi0flGeQYMm1U16D/s320/IMG_8972.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RMuGE2YfUrTTTdVJR8zQx6Pr_Hm08KdqX_ursfWZ_sMt1627djS4sGlb47QCSnSZ5wyWFg6gnYzium_ymg8B7UFJYLKmiuxCOp7W_op_GwYNvmlI19K7YZumPjrQ15F1Sl7GER5srxgg40oqT_mhQEqHcDRSj-MsuqXyhwCgt4j3fT1Fnr_ygDbi/s4032/IMG_8905.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RMuGE2YfUrTTTdVJR8zQx6Pr_Hm08KdqX_ursfWZ_sMt1627djS4sGlb47QCSnSZ5wyWFg6gnYzium_ymg8B7UFJYLKmiuxCOp7W_op_GwYNvmlI19K7YZumPjrQ15F1Sl7GER5srxgg40oqT_mhQEqHcDRSj-MsuqXyhwCgt4j3fT1Fnr_ygDbi/s320/IMG_8905.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4anGAYoggCeWtGyjEXvOJn0F9jbc1fL7p1DcNfWZAYs8M_Y5Abs5xuOo2laMjpy9l1rhLjHyl-DiI8Jtc11GqDhuMqJ61GidjVsHAO96BaMaEg2T637uxUiBIvR3l279tt0lbY66F_Lf2NMLeddYWxTCeqvzL3qTEFjVB4qOm54n8WWB1I54xCpH/s4032/IMG_9056.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4anGAYoggCeWtGyjEXvOJn0F9jbc1fL7p1DcNfWZAYs8M_Y5Abs5xuOo2laMjpy9l1rhLjHyl-DiI8Jtc11GqDhuMqJ61GidjVsHAO96BaMaEg2T637uxUiBIvR3l279tt0lbY66F_Lf2NMLeddYWxTCeqvzL3qTEFjVB4qOm54n8WWB1I54xCpH/s320/IMG_9056.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ7aFVxpJX8Nj-x3PXz4fTihJVZWDyKtZBN5-znH4JKcpGXsjZxys6_Hbjsl1mf2rX_SI2zgh-2ZxG6iEutjP84n7N53_DDp2Ms5SYaTObLyzmM9si2ULO3lGBnW9b3XPTo7AhyM708_a9_vJOwfLQA4pPmpW8Iqh-rxIUCh9VAR1pXhTyXatHmeH/s4032/IMG_9127.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ7aFVxpJX8Nj-x3PXz4fTihJVZWDyKtZBN5-znH4JKcpGXsjZxys6_Hbjsl1mf2rX_SI2zgh-2ZxG6iEutjP84n7N53_DDp2Ms5SYaTObLyzmM9si2ULO3lGBnW9b3XPTo7AhyM708_a9_vJOwfLQA4pPmpW8Iqh-rxIUCh9VAR1pXhTyXatHmeH/s320/IMG_9127.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzK51LcmwHqnlvWcRCyDvUlzqekLCdxxc4Wr9L4v16fMsCRCJl3vA_MwaLOPHRJ0fqPEYteeeD_x1K47bT5qYeagUOpIj1Z4_2V-QoQnVsKEyZLDvOBxiWY4lv9SaCwQFT_ljv9V88NtRkt3NxZAaybVr9MMk1bKspCtmzIP-VBWnyAf5QOAUC6E4x/s3650/IMG_9178.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3650" data-original-width="2858" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzK51LcmwHqnlvWcRCyDvUlzqekLCdxxc4Wr9L4v16fMsCRCJl3vA_MwaLOPHRJ0fqPEYteeeD_x1K47bT5qYeagUOpIj1Z4_2V-QoQnVsKEyZLDvOBxiWY4lv9SaCwQFT_ljv9V88NtRkt3NxZAaybVr9MMk1bKspCtmzIP-VBWnyAf5QOAUC6E4x/s320/IMG_9178.JPG" width="251" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaP6612lwUyWruR62VqZrGq0MrrbtHS0p4TsIR6ErNRJOdJuiSJjmsg7mfMYmLL8dPUqCA6s1dQ8eFJ4MMLQC32Gf-6uZhq12NWH7eo4-qWDmK9Lj93C5OOkgCv3yK0H-X_Pr9FZdTRbwTbR6V4sp6YEHHpwkaYv51GX2jgFQxlrsd9Ct-gQymXZJN/s4032/IMG_8875.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaP6612lwUyWruR62VqZrGq0MrrbtHS0p4TsIR6ErNRJOdJuiSJjmsg7mfMYmLL8dPUqCA6s1dQ8eFJ4MMLQC32Gf-6uZhq12NWH7eo4-qWDmK9Lj93C5OOkgCv3yK0H-X_Pr9FZdTRbwTbR6V4sp6YEHHpwkaYv51GX2jgFQxlrsd9Ct-gQymXZJN/s320/IMG_8875.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Gotland is well-endowed with wild and beautiful nature, which reminded us a bit of New Mexico. </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">At the northern tip of Gotland is another, much smaller, island called Fårö. Fårö is interesting for being even more wild and remote.</span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8kKiw2z1kW-c4BOD58_oGElREa_gjzAVBsfHJLsTe2bqEkRkjdIR86MtqIkQ9HyJDYGPXG_HvFg8zyGBFd17ZqRz_i1jacCjIPafYZVl8H4u4Jf1OSbXt3bAFTnjPZWPXyFqQ0460wgKUV913curJsHkF8ASMSEExwVfDP8o_rNPoO_PPR2NKEXk/s2801/IMG_8920.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1879" data-original-width="2801" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8kKiw2z1kW-c4BOD58_oGElREa_gjzAVBsfHJLsTe2bqEkRkjdIR86MtqIkQ9HyJDYGPXG_HvFg8zyGBFd17ZqRz_i1jacCjIPafYZVl8H4u4Jf1OSbXt3bAFTnjPZWPXyFqQ0460wgKUV913curJsHkF8ASMSEExwVfDP8o_rNPoO_PPR2NKEXk/s320/IMG_8920.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">An old building on Fårö</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYp-yLiHnS3Q-TeoGpxdxzffCirTOcXEFK0NLHDn18M34iSTe8r2a7jF_8rlvnoqGaCId5C8DpNd15_rF6JCuDOXcoairLG83VTExrvZhUveLa70MZ8TZaVbpsMOgnDu5uYQA0xW21dDlYgL_lWtgFmFzhdd6mABFdvEYtCy0LJZNo-geYwkWEs4Mn/s4032/IMG_8924.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYp-yLiHnS3Q-TeoGpxdxzffCirTOcXEFK0NLHDn18M34iSTe8r2a7jF_8rlvnoqGaCId5C8DpNd15_rF6JCuDOXcoairLG83VTExrvZhUveLa70MZ8TZaVbpsMOgnDu5uYQA0xW21dDlYgL_lWtgFmFzhdd6mABFdvEYtCy0LJZNo-geYwkWEs4Mn/s320/IMG_8924.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And a few of Fårö's Rauks. A Rauk is a limestone tower left standing after the softer stone around it has eroded away. That one in the foreground is over 30 feet tall. Gotland and Fårö have lots of them.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Fårö was also a very important place for the Swedish film maker Ingmar Bergman. He shot seven films there, bought a house there where he lived at the end of his life, and died there. We visited the Ingmar Bergman museum on the island. I've never seen any of his films, but I have now set my sights on one called Persona. The Swedish 200 crown banknote features Rauks on one side and Bergman on the other.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Bsue1IcEhjhCFRV34L0F7hPJwWJ6UikWUwwbY-NBzLY533Mi6Zk-uudlaAfNbTySCMAYFwK_Pl2zLPUqcTaTur_TMANhnHqNdZB9wqCvCM-a48yJyiw1R6bX7qVGApTvVk7T6s0k50jfLpHXSvzR9eCp9w9kJCGeC3Ye1NdP3ixZ5nj1XTwhrN1v/s1000/200-swedish-kronor-ingmar-bergman-obverse-2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="1000" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Bsue1IcEhjhCFRV34L0F7hPJwWJ6UikWUwwbY-NBzLY533Mi6Zk-uudlaAfNbTySCMAYFwK_Pl2zLPUqcTaTur_TMANhnHqNdZB9wqCvCM-a48yJyiw1R6bX7qVGApTvVk7T6s0k50jfLpHXSvzR9eCp9w9kJCGeC3Ye1NdP3ixZ5nj1XTwhrN1v/s320/200-swedish-kronor-ingmar-bergman-obverse-2.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAB_CsSJ7WWw1DkBrvpm4KMmBJKKSEyjQQxJAD7Om-tm1OBkKm9oA1wE6QSSdqrUB8tvy1JZZCltIID3W9H2P7l4S-Cde6LzNcq_Nar5rjCqV5ah9PGdAWT4d20X0NEH9hlcnGxiVbKqYsJzXRQ--rKLz3Sf8mGUDhUpv8rHV_W5zXHDJJSpD-ZDe/s1000/200-swedish-kronor-ingmar-bergman-reverse-2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="1000" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAB_CsSJ7WWw1DkBrvpm4KMmBJKKSEyjQQxJAD7Om-tm1OBkKm9oA1wE6QSSdqrUB8tvy1JZZCltIID3W9H2P7l4S-Cde6LzNcq_Nar5rjCqV5ah9PGdAWT4d20X0NEH9hlcnGxiVbKqYsJzXRQ--rKLz3Sf8mGUDhUpv8rHV_W5zXHDJJSpD-ZDe/s320/200-swedish-kronor-ingmar-bergman-reverse-2.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">And now we're back. It's nice to not have to go anywhere for a while. I have a sculpture showing at a festival in Chile in a few weeks, but I'm not going. It's nice to not have to go. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">But... it's Face Forward, a very finicky sculpture. What could possibly go wrong?</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_______</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Et cetera</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I continue to be intrigued but ultimately baffled by the Swedish aversion to looking at other people. The teenage daughter of an American couple we know here jokingly put it this way: "Must not make eye contact!"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I've noticed that young children here are actually quite keen on making eye contact, as you would expect. (A particularly memorable incident involved a little girl who was riding her bicycle in a daring and confident way, and when she noticed me looking at her and smiling, she totally loved it. She kept looking back at me to be sure I was still watching her show off. This was only one of several similar episodes.) So when do kids stop wanting to be engaged with others in this way? And why? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I guess the bottom line is that I think this tendency to be insular and disengaged with other people is sort of... sad. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I continue to generate new theories about this insular reluctance to engaging with others, but they are just theories. I've come up with quite a few by now, but I have no idea which ones are valid and which aren't. My newest theory is: when people look at each other, they are looking for... something. Some connection, some engagement, some excitement, some satisfaction of curiosity. Maybe people here are so perfectly satisfied with their lives... their perfect jobs and perfect partners and perfect homes that they aren't looking for <i>anything. </i>To me, that sounds like a shutting-down of curiosity, a shrinking of the horizons... but what do I know? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Just another theory.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Sweden is, when compared with many other places (such as, for example, New York City, or Japan, or India, or Spain, or Mexico, or Italy), a visually austere place. It's not visually rich. It's not dense. It's sparse. It's plain. Could the lack of interesting things to look at in the man-made environment somehow be linked to the aversion that people have to looking at each other? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I find it fascinating that Northern and Southern Europe line up so perfectly well at opposite ends of the spectrum on <i>so many</i> parameters. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXXg4Vv7Zlr31Nt0MyPwjZz9XvpZIo2HbPFH661fDceLJUEm09qi1S20fFUebbPdOoP3gvYYIa7fzoYdkozpKRoCHL8fSYX28qvZdM-PinKUvbDr0qzRm1t6TidUA4WpNWkqHq6mCtB4qyPO1XzUVmPSjjvyeVYpGVTv7bXI4RVzCvPyK64t4Rw2k/s4962/All%20Graphs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3308" data-original-width="4962" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXXg4Vv7Zlr31Nt0MyPwjZz9XvpZIo2HbPFH661fDceLJUEm09qi1S20fFUebbPdOoP3gvYYIa7fzoYdkozpKRoCHL8fSYX28qvZdM-PinKUvbDr0qzRm1t6TidUA4WpNWkqHq6mCtB4qyPO1XzUVmPSjjvyeVYpGVTv7bXI4RVzCvPyK64t4Rw2k/s320/All%20Graphs.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This is totally unscientific and a gross generalization, but I do think I'm on to something here...</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have quite a few other brewing thoughts and observations about being in Sweden, mostly centered around the kinds of sacrifices one is expected to make in service to living in a place in which the good of the many supercedes the liberties of the individual, and how - as an American - that can be a hard pill to swallow. But these are half-baked ideas which need time to mature, hopefully in time for a future blog post. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It's not very sexy to write about, but... Kodiak continues to have a hard time adjusting to being here. Christina and I are both struggling in our own ways as well. We miss our friends and our shop and Taos. </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Moving is a big fucking disruption. There's a lot to juggle. It's hard, and don't let anyone convince you otherwise. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It's that time of year, again, to submit ideas to Burning Man. And I think I'm going to do it, again.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Why, you ask, would I do such a thing? Why would I put so much work into a proposal which will likely be rejected, given Burning Man's recent track record of rejecting my ideas as well as their reluctance to fund overseas projects because of high costs?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Well, two reasons I guess.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">One, there just aren't that many opportunities to fund big sculpture that I know about. Burning Man offers a nice opportunity to artists to help make an idea into a reality, <i>and</i> put it in front of lots of eyes. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And two, I believe in my idea. I want to build it. My idea this year is a little bit of a throwback to earlier themes and techniques (incorporating kinetic mechanisms for the first time in a while), but also an embracing of new ideas. I think it would be an awesome sculpture. So... fuck it, why not apply?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In any case, it's always a good idea to work on fleshing out your ideas, and these proposals force me to draw and think and sometimes sculpt. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I've been working on my motorcycle - preparing it for inspection by the Swedish traffic authorities - and riding it a bit as the weather allows. Fun.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And in about 2 weeks I have a meeting to assess my current Swedish language skills, which is the first step in enrolling in free, state-sponsored Swedish classes. Fun? I don't know about that. But I am excited, actually. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Hej då</span></div><div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-90685825027635409862022-09-28T04:16:00.002-06:002022-11-07T15:08:47.116-07:00From One Side of this Small Planet to the Other...<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have just returned to Lund from a 2-week journey back to Taos. The reasons for my trip were work-related; I exhibited two large sculptures at <a href="https://paseoproject.org/" target="_blank">The PASEO</a> (Taos's own interactive street art festival run by our good friend <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jmattthomas/" target="_blank">J. Matt Thomas</a>), <i>and</i> I did maintenance and modifications on two more sculptures which will travel to other festivals in the near future (more on that later).</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Traveling one-third of the way around the world (8-hour time difference) for such a short time is quite an experience. For one thing, jet-lag is real. And it's even more real when you are immediately moving big metal things around with heavy equipment upon arrival. I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">For another thing, that 8-hour time difference, in my case, represents the gulf between small-town New Mexico... </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweEtNqqv5Cx08kbwqh5EwQrUjzE7ixictwc-G_rPn1OgldtR3ho1MdqLnhCUV_rP9NBTIMcCw5_V7UlT4UdPqN4JGjq2vI2odgq6mOu-lBHCP4LZFrWXpyobKh312YWn54iD49rqNOZREiAnZL5lqx87QYObFeGHWcACCpgsWH7pQh8qqdpIEU8Vq/s4032/IMG_8171.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweEtNqqv5Cx08kbwqh5EwQrUjzE7ixictwc-G_rPn1OgldtR3ho1MdqLnhCUV_rP9NBTIMcCw5_V7UlT4UdPqN4JGjq2vI2odgq6mOu-lBHCP4LZFrWXpyobKh312YWn54iD49rqNOZREiAnZL5lqx87QYObFeGHWcACCpgsWH7pQh8qqdpIEU8Vq/s320/IMG_8171.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">and urban Sweden...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdBct8vJ98VqNfZ4mOCbEnAIungScroBfwtZ8EbI1lYOC7ABcDw8Vwu4eKoZcmSZ3wsHyznOAih5S9LjH07YmdIsGHjqjGPYkvT1QHX4T44XX84zE739rm_0-dzGXA3hJYSZCJ1xGbEwJfIyl21PBQN0plvo7fnrF_GmNycTzmYopo0T-J5sRuC2Z/s4032/IMG_7516.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdBct8vJ98VqNfZ4mOCbEnAIungScroBfwtZ8EbI1lYOC7ABcDw8Vwu4eKoZcmSZ3wsHyznOAih5S9LjH07YmdIsGHjqjGPYkvT1QHX4T44XX84zE739rm_0-dzGXA3hJYSZCJ1xGbEwJfIyl21PBQN0plvo7fnrF_GmNycTzmYopo0T-J5sRuC2Z/s320/IMG_7516.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">and bouncing around so quickly offers a good opportunity to see some differences between the places. I will circle back around to that later as well, because what's more interesting is...</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">My trip back to Taos was unexpectedly fun. To be perfectly honest I was not much looking forward to it. I anticipated it being a lot of work (which it definitely was), but I also worried that it would feel like 'a step backwards,' when I really would prefer to focus my energy on being here in Lund... on looking forward. Well, these worries were largely unfounded. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I listened to an episode of the podcast <a href="https://hiddenbrain.org/" target="_blank">Hidden Brain</a> which discussed some of the ways in which our perceptions of <i>ourselves</i> are often wrong. One example used in the podcast was a story of a guy who referred to himself as an asocial loner, and yet who was often the social life of the party, and I couldn't help wonder as I listened if there was not perhaps some similarity there to me. I often also think of myself as someone for whom social ties are not all that important, and so as I anticipated my return to Taos I gave very little thought to what it might be like to see all the people I know there. And yet, reconnecting with the wonderful community there was probably the highlight for me. I felt well taken care of genuinely missed. And I'll tell you this: if you want to feel appreciated, just do the following: tell everyone in your community that you are moving away, and then actually move away, and then with little warning come back 6 weeks later. Ideally, if possible, make this surprise return visit during a cultural event in which you are featured. It will work every time, I promise!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">While there in Taos I got the chance to attend my old figure-drawing group one night, and they actually threw a little low-key party in my honor. I gave a little impromptu speech talking about what a great group it is, and when I said that I missed everyone, a few people interrupted with "We miss you!" Aww.. it brought a tear to my eye! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY00CwuNmQS2m153tCDBnNiqtLuMzLyqV35DtNehYXQDXDJgGWV8cuwEhOHmKQvLuFL_8Qwwk-MEQyTq5h58iGba7mpAxfs-9JgHe_qaQD8bJgXNcu9onoo6OO6JyKlWNm6McHmycbKN4rn6WHYSG95yYlvc8yp7KToU87a6BMPLrqvPgDsQ6kHj2K/s2352/IMG_3941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="2352" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY00CwuNmQS2m153tCDBnNiqtLuMzLyqV35DtNehYXQDXDJgGWV8cuwEhOHmKQvLuFL_8Qwwk-MEQyTq5h58iGba7mpAxfs-9JgHe_qaQD8bJgXNcu9onoo6OO6JyKlWNm6McHmycbKN4rn6WHYSG95yYlvc8yp7KToU87a6BMPLrqvPgDsQ6kHj2K/s320/IMG_3941.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p>Group photo from the evening</span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYZS9qNRnSzazGMlsGSS1KTsyySrGePfOQbOPZfdrtfsi90oXeW8evkWoW2LQI0nObNTL72jYt4dzLUBt8cU9o0GwnjynUGmwCvb9kSAm-mMZ9gFdac7UD_TvynAusWpJKX-udhbphwf12QcI8lPKPCA2_EBRZ84JmfidcOZokMWaaDRJlGSrS9uh/s4032/IMG_8236.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYZS9qNRnSzazGMlsGSS1KTsyySrGePfOQbOPZfdrtfsi90oXeW8evkWoW2LQI0nObNTL72jYt4dzLUBt8cU9o0GwnjynUGmwCvb9kSAm-mMZ9gFdac7UD_TvynAusWpJKX-udhbphwf12QcI8lPKPCA2_EBRZ84JmfidcOZokMWaaDRJlGSrS9uh/s320/IMG_8236.jpeg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUsYKeKXT_eueg-0oSUYy19ftfxd4fy_7-6ucEao7QXzjZ5A5QBlxYdQC193Ooy9p4Y5Xcw08GNUEorVtVFGU6iZCYp-e8kizyHV-wsFT9BN7r5Uz5-s9LF5NFr1iXpJtf-5-KbCGZETu8gOp4_JQ382ooj_E9a7Ej36JXT2FVDXfNbPvwV6qzmET/s1442/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-28%20at%2011.38.43%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="1134" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBUsYKeKXT_eueg-0oSUYy19ftfxd4fy_7-6ucEao7QXzjZ5A5QBlxYdQC193Ooy9p4Y5Xcw08GNUEorVtVFGU6iZCYp-e8kizyHV-wsFT9BN7r5Uz5-s9LF5NFr1iXpJtf-5-KbCGZETu8gOp4_JQ382ooj_E9a7Ej36JXT2FVDXfNbPvwV6qzmET/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-28%20at%2011.38.43%20AM.jpeg" width="252" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U9kWCjftEAFM4Un5uHo9QfQCa61209zNntD4qxDRQ7m39xoB2aQAmRKosLhHfJdOQZjjy4Tt3rJjAJTp9crF8KRBJVsjAsWHXwxuis90zoEL8z3nhejk2ztO6zrNIFlr6V8nVejrvKOvUalPAPO18tp16bu6tcWxge8I7WDcwQllyjwTKRysVJA6/s1940/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-28%20at%2011.38.58%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1444" data-original-width="1940" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9U9kWCjftEAFM4Un5uHo9QfQCa61209zNntD4qxDRQ7m39xoB2aQAmRKosLhHfJdOQZjjy4Tt3rJjAJTp9crF8KRBJVsjAsWHXwxuis90zoEL8z3nhejk2ztO6zrNIFlr6V8nVejrvKOvUalPAPO18tp16bu6tcWxge8I7WDcwQllyjwTKRysVJA6/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-28%20at%2011.38.58%20AM.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And a few of my drawings from that night. I was afraid I would have "lost it" after not having drawn for so long, but they're not too bad. I have finally found a figure drawing group in Malmö which I'll attend one of these days.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">As far as making my time in Taos really nice, special thanks go to our neighbors Todd and Marlena, and our pals Matt and Richard who hosted me in their dreamy little guest house.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The PASEO itself was tons of fun. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCzK0cFbT-bWxfdfup4rmYMIw6FjpXdvhvSFta3TAPp9qHjiHJmOjQg4qQZfhNdRD4HHQl3JUZ6wN16x_EHyka5QPwN277XsXoDz2SwOp_qNhmYEX9zaacnt_pFp__CdDhDdn5088qOtcComs5nAMqkQbCWBG2vSYRdFctBYUJwsGhKElym8o9MIE/s4032/IMG_8143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCzK0cFbT-bWxfdfup4rmYMIw6FjpXdvhvSFta3TAPp9qHjiHJmOjQg4qQZfhNdRD4HHQl3JUZ6wN16x_EHyka5QPwN277XsXoDz2SwOp_qNhmYEX9zaacnt_pFp__CdDhDdn5088qOtcComs5nAMqkQbCWBG2vSYRdFctBYUJwsGhKElym8o9MIE/s320/IMG_8143.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I showed Face Forward...</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XsapmnABkjzTrudOeE77MwEj1kc5cweTVFsXynD2Gy6zMG2bWrHRqFESxiDDConu1Eri8tmPszrD_ChPw54V7wy3FRgBzwUAoSNESl2DI6UER8d4kC58ooQkOd8V63Tb1rT7MMD6XlO_MyaAgpTjsnWRZTgaTca3l6tGaIsE1rhddC52ArI9pXUx/s4032/IMG_8150.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XsapmnABkjzTrudOeE77MwEj1kc5cweTVFsXynD2Gy6zMG2bWrHRqFESxiDDConu1Eri8tmPszrD_ChPw54V7wy3FRgBzwUAoSNESl2DI6UER8d4kC58ooQkOd8V63Tb1rT7MMD6XlO_MyaAgpTjsnWRZTgaTca3l6tGaIsE1rhddC52ArI9pXUx/s320/IMG_8150.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>... and Garraplata (or, translated: SilverClaw, or just: The Lobster), which presided over two nights of some pretty rockin' Silent Disco!</span></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">So what about those previously mentioned differences between rural New Mexico and urban Lund, Sweden, which I mentioned before and which I claim to have such insights about? Well, most of them are pretty obvious, to be honest. New Mexico is more wild; Sweden is more organized. New Mexico is poorer, and you can see it in the people who have fallen through the cracks (the gaping crevasses) of the social fabric, as well as in the crazy cars and dilapidated buildings. People talk about the social safety net here in Sweden and apparently they're not all lying; the evidence of a generally elevated standard of living is all around you. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I think that if you are looking for it, you can see subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the two places which reflect the two underlying systems - free-market capitalism versus democratic socialism - upon which they are built. A friend of a friend called Europe "more humane" and I think that's one good way to put it. There are so many places in America (and Taos is one of them) where if you don't have a car, you are fucked. Public transportation is often rudimentary and inefficient, or simply nonexistent. Airports and other transportation hubs are laid out so as to be easy for those who have cars, and really inconvenient for those who don't. In America if you can't buy good health insurance you get a lower level of care. If you can't pay for a good education, you'll get a bad one instead. We all know that capitalism is a survival-of-the-fittest type system, but what I find interesting in America is that the structure of the place almost seems to punish those who are already struggling. Here in our neck of the woods, or at least in the Copenhagen - Malmö - Lund corridor, the public transportation is so good that you don't need a car, the health care and education are high-quality and free to all, and people in the public service sector actually seem to want to help you. Democratic socialism. You get the idea. (I have been told, however, that Sweden currently has the 2nd-highest <span style="font-style: italic;">rate</span> of increasing socioeconomic disparity in the world, second only to North Korea. I guess it's hard to keep capitalism down.)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">People in Sweden are, in general, more beautiful and quite a bit taller. At 6 feet I feel reasonably tall in the US. At 6 feet I feel decidedly average here in Sweden. I would guess that 50% of Scandinavian men and perhaps 5% of Scandinavian women are taller than me. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">But for the moment, the most interesting and baffling difference for me is the disparity in eye contact. I mentioned this in my last post but I am compelled to revisit it briefly because, after my visit to Taos, I see with renewed clarity the starkness of the difference. In Taos (and I think this is largely true for America... isn't it?), people look at each other. People look at each other on the street, in the supermarket, even while driving. People don't look at each other here nearly as much. It's weird. There is something broadly socio-psychological going on here, and I don't yet know what it is. At this point my only theory is a bit murky, having something to do with 'security' of social standing. Something like: in America, people are constantly trying to figure out how they measure up to everyone else, or where they fit in the social/economic/sexual hierarchy of things, while in Sweden, because conditions are more broadly egalitarian, there is less anxiety about individual standing - more of a sense of security - and so there is less need to visually check oneself against others. Have I cracked the problem, here? I don't really know... I think there must be more to it than that. It feels like there's a lack of <i>curiosity</i> about other people here. Why aren't people more curious about each other here? </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There is, however, an exception. I have, on exactly three occasions, had sustained eye contact with pedestrians when I was either on a bicycle or in our car. This suggests a different theory, which is that people might actually be curious, but simply don't want to risk eye contact when there's a chance of it developing into something else... such as perhaps a conversation (Oh, the horror!). One person being in a vehicle presumably guards against this terrifying possibility. I was part of a conversation recently in which it was suggested that Swedes are pretty hard to perturb or offend, unless you try to sit next to one of them on a bus, or try to actually talk to one of them. So perhaps this 'eye contact problem' is just another iteration of the famous 'Scandinavian coldness.' But if this is the case, I then wonder... "Well why are they so cold, so insular?"</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There is something deep in the culture here that I'm going to have to keep investigating...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">For some years now I have consistently identified Jonathan Glazer's 2000 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_Beast" target="_blank">Sexy Beast</a> as my favorite film of all time, and yet I've always had a hard time explaining why exactly I liked it so much. I knew it had something to do with a certain identification I felt with the main character, played by Ray Winstone. Sexy Beast now has some competition for the top spot in the form of Pablo Larraín's 2021 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_(film)" target="_blank">Spencer</a>, a highly speculative and somewhat surreal interpretation of three days in the life of Princess Diana. I watched the film three times (!) during my Taos trip, and am looking forward to seeing it again. Even though I've always felt a weird connection with Diana based on our near-identical birthdays and the fact that I sustained the most devastating injury of my life (shattering my calcaneus (heel bone)) on the day she died, my appreciation for the movie has little to do with her. I am entranced by the movie for two reasons. Firstly, Kristen Stewart in the title role is fucking amazing. Entrancing. Mesmerizing. And gorgeous. A huge percentage of the movie is just tight closeups on her, and she just carries the whole fucking movie in those closeups. I can't take my eyes off her. Secondly, there are elements of the protagonist's arc which parallel that of the protagonist's arc in Sexy Beast, and which thereby finally shed some light on why I identify with Ray Winstone's character, and which furthermore must have some relevance to my life, personally. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Specifically, each character is struggling for a kind of freedom from stricture, a freedom to live the kind of life that they choose for themselves, rather than a kind of life that others are trying to make for them. If we work from the assumption that seemingly unexplained outpourings of emotion are important keys to our inner lives, and if we furthermore examine the fact that the first time I read the following lyrics for Warduna’s epic song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnkTuHP9q3o&ab_channel=wardruna" target="_blank">Helvegen</a>"...</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">"You will be free from the bonds that bind you<br />You are free from the bonds that bound you" </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... I immediately started crying, I think it’s safe to say that there is something deeply meaningful for me in the concept of freedom and self-determination. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Well I've been yammering on for so long about films and emotional reactions that I can’t quite remember whether or not you asked me to take a self indulgent detour into self-analysis. But there you have it. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Now, back to Sweden. Almost 5 years ago, in my post of October 17th, 2017, I posted the following slide: </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswC3MJ6WEf1Z3Jhp_AzsViDP0Z86ClrrQQzsBSA88RauiCvCJWOmdmNf8l3b9XBPmx8JsglW5U4E4GssVayRTrX6ROp0TCQJRGvFF-kjNDEsOaqVrtV_rphl9t_OWnUPSZe-rxYEoQ-MjTH-KjMyj2eJAjn3qHg-pApiNq90WgaGVGvPd0zbQnwUE/s721/worktheworld%20slide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="721" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswC3MJ6WEf1Z3Jhp_AzsViDP0Z86ClrrQQzsBSA88RauiCvCJWOmdmNf8l3b9XBPmx8JsglW5U4E4GssVayRTrX6ROp0TCQJRGvFF-kjNDEsOaqVrtV_rphl9t_OWnUPSZe-rxYEoQ-MjTH-KjMyj2eJAjn3qHg-pApiNq90WgaGVGvPd0zbQnwUE/s320/worktheworld%20slide.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">...and I post it now, again, because as a family we are, again, at the irritability phase. Specifically, Kodiak is at the irritability phase. And to some degree, Kodiak being in that phase brings us into that phase as well.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Moving a family across the world into a new culture sounds like an awesome and romantic thing to do, and of course it is. But it's also a move into a place where you have no friends, you don't know how things work and it's therefor hard to get things done, and you likely don't speak the language (which is true for Kodiak and me). When the initial euphoria wears off, these impediments become real factors. The slide above normalizes this process, and reminds us that it is just one step on a path. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">We are getting close to making some art again. Christina has been accepted at <a href="https://kkvmm.se/" target="_blank">KKV</a>, the community-run art workshop in Malmö, and I will likely be accepted soon as well. Our individual art studios are all set up here in the house. Now all we need is some time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Speaking of art, while in Taos I struck a deal with our good friend <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sashavomdorp/" target="_blank">Sasha Vom Dorp</a> in which we got two large prints of his beautiful photographs to put up in our new house. Christina and I each chose an image (and boy was that difficult), and in exchange Sasha will get some of our artwork. Thanks Sasha, your work is so beautiful!</span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Vi ses!</span></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-72285370487512154972022-08-31T03:16:00.002-06:002022-08-31T05:25:15.741-06:00What the hell are they doing over there?<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">"So what the hell are they doing over there?" I can hear you asking, my faithful reader.<br />"What is it like to land in a different country? How are they spending their days? In what ways is Sweden different from the US? Or from Taos?" Even though I'm on the other side of the world, I can clearly hear you wondering. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Or maybe that's just me, trying to make sense of all this change.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Well, I have answers.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I can start by saying that IT'S A LOT. As in: THERE'S A LOT TO DO.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">In no particular order, our days are consumed by:</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Getting Kodiak to school, and back (although he's just on the cusp of riding his bike there and back by himself.. which is a big step!!)<br />• Walking Griselda, or doing whatever it takes to exhaust her inexhaustible energy<br />• Finding bicycles (we got through that already)<br />• Managing the arrival of the container (still not here, arriving Friday, lots of paperwork)<br />• Trying to learn the road signs here so we can drive legally<br />• Dealing with the paperwork associated with moving here, which differs for me than for Christina, but involves:<br />-Getting the residency permit card (me)<br />-Trying to get a personal number, which you need for pretty much everything (me)<br />-Getting Kodiak registered so he can get health insurance, etc.<br />-Trying to register our business here<br />-Insuring our house, and car (car: see below)<br />And while doing all of the above, we are also of course trying to...<br />• Explore this place we now live in<br />• Do fun things with Kodiak in the afternoons and on weekends<br />• Make art (or at least make plans for making art)<br />• And learn Swedish. It is perhaps not too surprising that I am not yet finding a ton of time to practice my Swedish.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">We bought a car last week... a VW Up! (The exclamation point is not my editorializing, it's part of the vehicle name)</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzKi9T5q2819rTuEZu0smcpO_zzW3queOt3BnWy14ADCpvOAINQi6fL0eyoe2_s0A7tYG6Y7ibXLiIloc5wTv5AtOLo1LeDbzuTjH7eheasbHnP5DgaCwiSJaR4u6kYHG1vGLc2wqyqgMWL0QkbUa5ljUH6f_yEoX34ImqFK0APSmHTkD4agdKX9h/s4032/IMG_7738.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzKi9T5q2819rTuEZu0smcpO_zzW3queOt3BnWy14ADCpvOAINQi6fL0eyoe2_s0A7tYG6Y7ibXLiIloc5wTv5AtOLo1LeDbzuTjH7eheasbHnP5DgaCwiSJaR4u6kYHG1vGLc2wqyqgMWL0QkbUa5ljUH6f_yEoX34ImqFK0APSmHTkD4agdKX9h/s320/IMG_7738.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">One interesting thing is that buying and registering a car is quite a bit easier here than in the states. Here in Sweden (and this was true in Spain as well) you do NOT have to visit a government office of any kind to buy a car, and you do not have to show anyone your driver's license. Everything is done by mail. We do not yet have our Swedish driver's licenses, but this was no impediment to buying the car. With the exception of a VW diesel bug that we had a few years ago, this is certainly the smallest car we've ever owned. But... it does get between 42 and 60 mpg.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Way back in 2016, when we moved to Barcelona, I wrote that visiting a town's thrift stores and book stores (especially <i>used</i> book stores) was one of the ways that I got to know the place. Well, Lund and Malmö have some pretty good thrift stores. The best thing I've yet to find, by far, is this taxidermy Peregrine Falcon... (at least I think it's a Peregrine Falcon...)</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQagC9I9yWAGWWKnhoGED-wxGjjpgSKuRq0Yap3mABpVuBx6D-cgGdvgEhvdhpUzWpX1jjPV6SB3SNRXoR7GCUt85xceSlcSrFp4OfEOrToF1tqoPmEd_bYkRY_8CDq7IkEjFYg58lCphwTXyjY3dW9h3exM-cLkGTc31fIvydbPCezI4kN1NS-oq/s4032/IMG_7713.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQagC9I9yWAGWWKnhoGED-wxGjjpgSKuRq0Yap3mABpVuBx6D-cgGdvgEhvdhpUzWpX1jjPV6SB3SNRXoR7GCUt85xceSlcSrFp4OfEOrToF1tqoPmEd_bYkRY_8CDq7IkEjFYg58lCphwTXyjY3dW9h3exM-cLkGTc31fIvydbPCezI4kN1NS-oq/s320/IMG_7713.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I haven't really found any amazing used book stores here yet, which is slightly surprising considering it's a university town. But I have not, by any means, exhausted the search.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I think it's a natural human instinct to want to compare things... or compare places, in this case... and I find myself often comparing life here in Lund to life back in Taos. But I think it's important that I be careful in the way that I construct my comparisons so that they are meaningful. What I mean to say is this: when one considers, for instance, the fact that Lund has quite a few public-access, outdoor workout facilities...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQQdcAqGFrYAmpYSWpYlBkthPhNf7BhZoUzmlZPIo5u-JV3coZVJVp9GnTfv51Lcur9-8MmjhG8F17sbX1FAJ8tqDcWA3eIhKgX4KppwRynCaEAT-pacVMyx_Uy1AtzLIybEwiROFC9i-7DumGyQCkq-tpZt4J5MlZSx4ojiFs64hCkOsHmTL6SIg/s4032/IMG_7817.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQQdcAqGFrYAmpYSWpYlBkthPhNf7BhZoUzmlZPIo5u-JV3coZVJVp9GnTfv51Lcur9-8MmjhG8F17sbX1FAJ8tqDcWA3eIhKgX4KppwRynCaEAT-pacVMyx_Uy1AtzLIybEwiROFC9i-7DumGyQCkq-tpZt4J5MlZSx4ojiFs64hCkOsHmTL6SIg/s320/IMG_7817.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="text-align: center;">... it is tempting to jump to the conclusion that "Sweden just takes better care of its citizens than America." But is this really a comparison between Sweden and America? Or between rural and urban? Taos is a tiny town which I would call more rural than urban (and a poor little town, at that) and Lund is a city (albeit a small one.) By population Lund is 15 times larger than Taos, and considerably wealthier. So a more fair question would be: How well does a wealthy little American town of ~90,000 take care of </span><i style="text-align: left;">its</i><span style="text-align: left;"> populace? Does that town have public access workout facilities? I don't have the data to answer this specific question, but the point is that one must be careful to construct comparisons fairly... to compare apples to apples... if one wants meaningful results.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">So I'm still working on making those meaningful observations. A few things I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty are: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Services seem to work better here. Civil servants are very efficient and relatively nice. Mail from government agencies comes really fast. People working in stores are nice and helpful, and attend to you fairly quickly.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• People seem less angry and fearful here. People of all different races are jumbled together in work spaces and in public spaces, and it's not uncommon to see people of different races walking and talking together. I'm sure that also happens in some parts of America, but there are a lot of places where it doesn't. Anyway it's refreshing to see. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• The roads are WAY better. Traffic in the cities is significantly more complicated to navigate because of the large number of bicyclists everywhere, and you must therefore drive more slowly, but things seem to run smoothly nonetheless. There are roundabouts (traffic circles) everywhere and they work well to keep traffic moving. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• People don't make eye contact on the streets here very much. I have some theories about why this might be, ranging from "it's just cultural" to "people are more self-absorbed here" (and smart phones certainly contribute to that) to "perhaps eye contact is really just about sex and people have now outsourced hooking up to apps, so no one needs to look at anyone else anymore".</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">A last observation I'll make about our arrival in Sweden is that, for whatever set of reasons, it has felt suspiciously smooth. What I mean, specifically, is that it feels to me almost like we've moved to some more northerly, better-functioning part of the US. I've joked with Christina that I think we may have actually moved to Minnesota. I have felt very little "culture shock", certainly MUCH less than when we moved to Barcelona. I attribute this to several factors: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Everyone here speaks English.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Sweden is, in general, not VERY different looking than America. It is useful here to think of Barcelona, with its narrow streets, gothic architecture, and generalized 'visual density', as a contrast.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• We've lived in Europe before, and so it's not so new to me anymore. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It's exciting to feel you're in a brand-new place that feels really different from home, and so in a way I miss the culture shock. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I joined the public library (which is quite good) here in Lund in my first week. It's one of the few things you can actually do here without a personal number. I immediately checked out a few books... one on learning Swedish, another on understanding contemporary art, and another on J. C. Leyendecker. I was already vaguely aware of Leyendecker, but the book was a revelation. I have now added him to my list of favorite artists, and... more importantly... he shot to the top spot in my list of painters I would like to emulate (at least in terms of his style).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5hZ71G4R996rRPmwBcX83y-ak5jeoFJtR-jmJVixXhfz54c_qgkhwtw4BI7dRUZsPGUfw7SzrY6SwzI-nKHP0Cswb0Pa4tNJLMN6H4kiiKos1-dfnLiMZxYVv2DoDIlvz2fGOL23tpic73RCi4mlK4lXYl-vLq10cx74MC3_0bbeCRsJRdSfqX4e/s8276/Leyendecker%20Faces.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3042" data-original-width="8276" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5hZ71G4R996rRPmwBcX83y-ak5jeoFJtR-jmJVixXhfz54c_qgkhwtw4BI7dRUZsPGUfw7SzrY6SwzI-nKHP0Cswb0Pa4tNJLMN6H4kiiKos1-dfnLiMZxYVv2DoDIlvz2fGOL23tpic73RCi4mlK4lXYl-vLq10cx74MC3_0bbeCRsJRdSfqX4e/w400-h148/Leyendecker%20Faces.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcV4h0eM2R3g8M4eZ5j-mfbub0nSNXIwHx2qDpdHLl2qI_Q4qBf6wLMhSGtToQNlh0y8jfsRNxqfE0cCCGlSdGVPzdfEl8IKoA_NEJVHUQKgcIVLf6BT1qKS-WTtRmvV5QlQ4BhSDCWa9rd-Oz2Gz_28TqYyCxl4OpwKY_NzEfCmKoqDcNEsx6KEr/s10770/Leyendecker%20Hands.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3377" data-original-width="10770" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcV4h0eM2R3g8M4eZ5j-mfbub0nSNXIwHx2qDpdHLl2qI_Q4qBf6wLMhSGtToQNlh0y8jfsRNxqfE0cCCGlSdGVPzdfEl8IKoA_NEJVHUQKgcIVLf6BT1qKS-WTtRmvV5QlQ4BhSDCWa9rd-Oz2Gz_28TqYyCxl4OpwKY_NzEfCmKoqDcNEsx6KEr/w400-h125/Leyendecker%20Hands.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">These are good examples of why I love his style- it is crisp, bold, and high-contrast... a very "illustration"-style. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Amusingly, as a gay man he fits right in with all my other favorites... Bacon, Caravaggio, Cadmus, and McQueen. One thing I find quite entertaining is that he managed to surreptitiously insert homoerotic imagery into his work in a time when it was not at all acceptable...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI51uqou55JUUcUpar-9z5EGkF4MKu0kM87SUteGzAVvR52NQhm4cU64JTj8R2R4A3rDFUAgal8V-Z-wH80v1GER4E3gCURGzjdyTjuGkFu01urklCgWoGPlwV_fZ5oNk8uLpj37yQO2NdgD65t7wpQtM-jt4G2DhqliDTxFHTXa6TfY5sPVnfi6EC/s1186/Leyendecker%20Ivory%20Soap.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI51uqou55JUUcUpar-9z5EGkF4MKu0kM87SUteGzAVvR52NQhm4cU64JTj8R2R4A3rDFUAgal8V-Z-wH80v1GER4E3gCURGzjdyTjuGkFu01urklCgWoGPlwV_fZ5oNk8uLpj37yQO2NdgD65t7wpQtM-jt4G2DhqliDTxFHTXa6TfY5sPVnfi6EC/s320/Leyendecker%20Ivory%20Soap.jpeg" width="216" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">Observe the barely concealed erection... in a national advertisement!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">... and he did this while working at the very highest levels of the American advertising industry! That takes some daring!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">He was a direct predecessor to, and inspiration for Norman Rockwell, who borrowed his style and became even more famous, despite being less talented (I'm sure some will disagree but to me it's obvious!)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Am I guilty of talking about painting, and how I'd like to paint, more than I actually paint? If you read this blog, you know that I am, and it's a fact about which I am embarrassed and which I intend to rectify. I now have my own painting studio in this home we've newly rented in Lund, and our container is finally arriving on Friday(!!!) so I will have no more excuses to get back to it. My first few dips back into painting will simply be copies of some of Leyendecker's faces and hands.</span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Until next time... Hejdå</span></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-51668051325286430192022-08-11T12:17:00.002-06:002022-08-11T12:17:47.007-06:00Getting Out<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I suppose that, by necessity, this post will largely take the form of reportage. So much has happened that, in order to maintain some sense of continuity, I'd better just tell you the story. If I'm able to sneak in some opinions, anecdotes, or asides, well then so much the better.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I last left you, my reader, with the news that we were moving to Sweden. So much has transpired since then that, as I write to you now, I am writing from our newly rented home in the small town of Lund, in Southern Sweden. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The last few months in Taos were a whirlwind. So much work. Too much work.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Christina and I, despite having gotten married in Sweden in 2017, had always wanted to have another ceremony... in Taos. So on the blustery and rainy day of June 25th, in front of about 12 good friends, we tied the knot... again!</span></p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4avpx768lwaDu3Q1aunwEGdtQpzmccOMF_5uX7ieJ3_-d6bcnsx7B7K06JI_kFzA1O54dCEXUUsZfWQrJifYIuuD-JQqZ-DudE70LaqyBjSAd3LgfulTFraloQi4WzlpL2gdDiLf435MUUoSnSCfoyq6oxzbZZ_NpOC-XBOded5QyEK5yKH3ARoN4/s2016/IMG_6827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="2016" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4avpx768lwaDu3Q1aunwEGdtQpzmccOMF_5uX7ieJ3_-d6bcnsx7B7K06JI_kFzA1O54dCEXUUsZfWQrJifYIuuD-JQqZ-DudE70LaqyBjSAd3LgfulTFraloQi4WzlpL2gdDiLf435MUUoSnSCfoyq6oxzbZZ_NpOC-XBOded5QyEK5yKH3ARoN4/s320/IMG_6827.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGV9Ejgw-D6Ml-ga-V65cLO7oj208lUaGuV6utGgHGNMrnUvspBGLjvEDExFRd7nLDISS5HKH77PAxfV4fCi_KbQWwxCshQVN-vbrKqoNj73ShyZ_XruBjNbeOjYwhnDKgeIjDvbObbJDU8Uf9u-8a1qg4Okut42PnDoWCe-6DgyZbsCzaO6MyzpWx/s2016/IMG_6835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1134" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGV9Ejgw-D6Ml-ga-V65cLO7oj208lUaGuV6utGgHGNMrnUvspBGLjvEDExFRd7nLDISS5HKH77PAxfV4fCi_KbQWwxCshQVN-vbrKqoNj73ShyZ_XruBjNbeOjYwhnDKgeIjDvbObbJDU8Uf9u-8a1qg4Okut42PnDoWCe-6DgyZbsCzaO6MyzpWx/s320/IMG_6835.JPG" width="180" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">We then followed that with a going-away party at our pal Steve McFarland's Revolt Gallery, where we took this lovely group shot...</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLp2D18fSlmkrHqccx5YWtMyr3eVAmywmz1BJ8OC9trhKZ5cNsw82yQ8tCeShor_wk1SpSANWMLbaVy2qAfUpW2wofjITghsMlIpPRKdXTxXg8q2QVP5OyDydR8zUTmfmkgXLf9yb7ga5VDCTWyqKDWFBirJ4ON_m7Zxl8jrkwYlky9QMA_hR65iG/s5434/spectacularfarewell_01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3623" data-original-width="5434" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLp2D18fSlmkrHqccx5YWtMyr3eVAmywmz1BJ8OC9trhKZ5cNsw82yQ8tCeShor_wk1SpSANWMLbaVy2qAfUpW2wofjITghsMlIpPRKdXTxXg8q2QVP5OyDydR8zUTmfmkgXLf9yb7ga5VDCTWyqKDWFBirJ4ON_m7Zxl8jrkwYlky9QMA_hR65iG/s320/spectacularfarewell_01.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The subsequent week was consumed by the job of preparing for our container shipment. Knowing that we would be given only 3 hours free-of-charge to load the container, I spent several weeks mocking up the load in our workshop.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSpJfauAI6LcDEEGE617tpy2Qw1lEtOUiLUNVetjBPUSo4xlsDOp-VeabpDFcas0N4YC3EniD_gFy8J4qoi02F8VNII-uGlzqoaxJkjgVeYwiNca32VS3EFwzdteUbYY86crANL0xJbJv4l7XYMARS3VAmqdbNAZKyWR_RtCjl6EQPEpEsI0cypLq/s1440/2C26D30D-D40D-4D70-9F2C-C9337BB32BB6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1440" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSpJfauAI6LcDEEGE617tpy2Qw1lEtOUiLUNVetjBPUSo4xlsDOp-VeabpDFcas0N4YC3EniD_gFy8J4qoi02F8VNII-uGlzqoaxJkjgVeYwiNca32VS3EFwzdteUbYY86crANL0xJbJv4l7XYMARS3VAmqdbNAZKyWR_RtCjl6EQPEpEsI0cypLq/s320/2C26D30D-D40D-4D70-9F2C-C9337BB32BB6.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">You can see the 'island' of stuff in the middle of the floor... which is the load waiting to go into the container.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">This turned out to be time well-spent, as the load went flawlessly. We stuffed that container full, to the ceiling and to the doors. I like to say that we put the best 25% of our stuff in there. The load included a small mill, a small lathe, quite a bit of Christina's blacksmithing equipment, hundreds of pounds of books, 2 motorcycles and a moped, a piano, 30 or so pieces of artwork, all my painting equipment, 3 mannequins, 2 sewing machines, furniture, beds, bicycles, clothing and kitchen equipment. Et cetera. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkY_qvIhzaUPayzzTmzktLCPfuXNd5jawZ77yuyr9Kf1R0sombDqeHLMhkJWaf1rVcDmAjkr3AjZxCCOV87cv5c0lVtdE3ywdPS7q-k4Io6-qxEHKCzebkQzom3FiKM0PExVgWtS2O9vWRE9-06NDzqVhvj7e_z6sdREYGYV2ih3rEu3zJqZj0URh_/s1024/c5cf99ef-1e91-4465-bc47-3dd34d3d502b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkY_qvIhzaUPayzzTmzktLCPfuXNd5jawZ77yuyr9Kf1R0sombDqeHLMhkJWaf1rVcDmAjkr3AjZxCCOV87cv5c0lVtdE3ywdPS7q-k4Io6-qxEHKCzebkQzom3FiKM0PExVgWtS2O9vWRE9-06NDzqVhvj7e_z6sdREYGYV2ih3rEu3zJqZj0URh_/s320/c5cf99ef-1e91-4465-bc47-3dd34d3d502b.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2Bea6vy7vWCpz3ySH1vxud28K-b9luW2GEnBlAKzVymo9_DEFBGgdje3xGpn8anr8Bj1O3cIBjdlmAcSVHc7Zz_igXns65Eq1vfKeT3EwdmnKtXSAcS8ZwoqZy8TSseOdcCmvmKSm7M3b9tzOaF3N7_sZmFNNIXVXa2D4l9Q8a32r3Uh6hNusXET/s4032/IMG_6911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2Bea6vy7vWCpz3ySH1vxud28K-b9luW2GEnBlAKzVymo9_DEFBGgdje3xGpn8anr8Bj1O3cIBjdlmAcSVHc7Zz_igXns65Eq1vfKeT3EwdmnKtXSAcS8ZwoqZy8TSseOdcCmvmKSm7M3b9tzOaF3N7_sZmFNNIXVXa2D4l9Q8a32r3Uh6hNusXET/s320/IMG_6911.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOrVvJcCs5lT21fndyGkzqvNIkjK5FmalxY_u1h4Cl2hYZVpVgl1SAvpWhlV5-FLPpu74scpVJQxxNr6ocBDV8ozxS2qfqqiRIxiDMX3RwnU9Cdkrql3t7M14nYPBN0SrA2Zmvp18EiG1v8ivwbMma6l4ixi8LuW4Wm15T7Ou7IMaXDP_wXGNaVtW/s4032/Loading%20the%20Sweden%20container.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOrVvJcCs5lT21fndyGkzqvNIkjK5FmalxY_u1h4Cl2hYZVpVgl1SAvpWhlV5-FLPpu74scpVJQxxNr6ocBDV8ozxS2qfqqiRIxiDMX3RwnU9Cdkrql3t7M14nYPBN0SrA2Zmvp18EiG1v8ivwbMma6l4ixi8LuW4Wm15T7Ou7IMaXDP_wXGNaVtW/s320/Loading%20the%20Sweden%20container.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The original estimate for the arrival of the container at our home in Lund was the 8th of August, and to a large degree we built our travel plans around that date. As it happens, that date has been pushed back by at least 3 weeks, which has precipitated a few difficulties. More on that later.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">After we sent the container off, we entered into a somewhat strange 3-4 week period. It felt strange because, even though we'd made this big ceremonial 'GoodBye' to Taos, we were actually still there, engaged every day in the hard labor of cleaning and organizing our land, preparing our home for rental, and selling off big items like tools and vehicles. It was during this time that I also installed Fledgling (with help from friends Cedar Goebel, Josh Cunningham, and Shiloh Gossner) in its 'forever home' at Revolt Gallery.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUncnDhquQutcZWPNC6mrfab1laGMfoRTXKnA8Y5I2lpyH5EW1lWzUfL5wFVeYyfUhKhcWdw0qMA8qyvRVTIZOnrDOR489mC1lJLsPCkBHJeRYya8YJYzoT8N4WJHVKsD-aWmIr6vJBsmGt0Y_wHqPlxxmmmkJUwTsdErYkATQUPksrKeRXyiKUgl/s4032/IMG_7227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUncnDhquQutcZWPNC6mrfab1laGMfoRTXKnA8Y5I2lpyH5EW1lWzUfL5wFVeYyfUhKhcWdw0qMA8qyvRVTIZOnrDOR489mC1lJLsPCkBHJeRYya8YJYzoT8N4WJHVKsD-aWmIr6vJBsmGt0Y_wHqPlxxmmmkJUwTsdErYkATQUPksrKeRXyiKUgl/s320/IMG_7227.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79t1n5xp3yWrdMc2u0KJSajev3hXdILw3-2O5s2FBzPY_KDfmdcsEQGyeEZqKoIGpewFEooqisA5MXDXr2SPoBlwCc7DeCbbO8_d04tTGHdVXWzNeKFWiY1mTNnnLFbxePo1nzDubLJgySuaunKO8u6ABwSRpHrM-QWudiRtPetd2thFf1Gk_3D7L/s1440/DF0ACAC5-AEEF-4888-89D0-F71B4BE83443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79t1n5xp3yWrdMc2u0KJSajev3hXdILw3-2O5s2FBzPY_KDfmdcsEQGyeEZqKoIGpewFEooqisA5MXDXr2SPoBlwCc7DeCbbO8_d04tTGHdVXWzNeKFWiY1mTNnnLFbxePo1nzDubLJgySuaunKO8u6ABwSRpHrM-QWudiRtPetd2thFf1Gk_3D7L/s320/DF0ACAC5-AEEF-4888-89D0-F71B4BE83443.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Then, finally, it was time to leave. Christina and Kodiak departed on July 22nd, landing first at a hotel in Lund and then taking occupancy of the house around the beginning of August. The house was literally empty upon their arrival (save for the fridge, stove, and laundry machines) so their first few days were occupied with the task of finding some basic furniture and light fixtures. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Meanwhile I stayed in Taos an additional week, wrapping up the last things, and then set out for the East Coast in a rental car with our dog Griselda. Most US-based airlines no longer fly dogs in cargo (allegedly because of... the pandemic!) and Griselda is too big to fly in the cabin, <i>and</i> I had been wanting to visit my brother Trevor and his family at their new digs in New Hampshire. So off we went on a 4 day drive across the country. After spending 4 lovely days with Trevor in the rather idyllic little town of Portsmouth...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqh8-InvV0FlbL7LqslDfB1bDdWQEYVqQpGhB-8hmBAU8YQ2kRswps-Rvwtt5DaqKWLJVc6dmgNEzfWh1DtEdpeB-lIezC_DogEC5l9lXn9iOZaOyAp1slbBOcxuoXT4wc_k2BKyj3sdpaiv_9PkoUAzSQtLGbxmeJMs3M5P_RU-6wZ_TYTPQupHF/s4032/IMG_7437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfqh8-InvV0FlbL7LqslDfB1bDdWQEYVqQpGhB-8hmBAU8YQ2kRswps-Rvwtt5DaqKWLJVc6dmgNEzfWh1DtEdpeB-lIezC_DogEC5l9lXn9iOZaOyAp1slbBOcxuoXT4wc_k2BKyj3sdpaiv_9PkoUAzSQtLGbxmeJMs3M5P_RU-6wZ_TYTPQupHF/s320/IMG_7437.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel1ccEWmDZRn6uyPnrg90eCEVAW9xJpWwoZO3x9Fu89ZinHgTNUhYNIvF9Qj4mHN-GAeMlGnifWYGkVoMFEIZNcSjfNDeABcFvtEkGXIwgEmSD1IyWi77zjwMmS8cwnI72jOCT2dbikq928rr4lHbJuex8-MmY55PFQigZfP-71hV-bZR9k3tPNCZ/s4032/4D83A1AB-E7DD-461F-BC0B-A30FAE3960E8IMG_3630.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel1ccEWmDZRn6uyPnrg90eCEVAW9xJpWwoZO3x9Fu89ZinHgTNUhYNIvF9Qj4mHN-GAeMlGnifWYGkVoMFEIZNcSjfNDeABcFvtEkGXIwgEmSD1IyWi77zjwMmS8cwnI72jOCT2dbikq928rr4lHbJuex8-MmY55PFQigZfP-71hV-bZR9k3tPNCZ/s320/4D83A1AB-E7DD-461F-BC0B-A30FAE3960E8IMG_3630.JPEG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cxBD36owKmbwcBfSK15uOLE9cWYKA7_UFNZI8IkG5a0QoCXdT8KaXrG7GvgKy_SWd4cNv0ksYz52qjylDBg56svC1Nlv8kf-wQc3BgFwS4Zr_wILzu__CFoHrEziryaav4LnzbQV_mz4wkHkNLk42dsl1i-1BtIeAklITAq4O1Ojuec_0I8Bnwy7/s4032/01F233C2-2649-4669-A9BA-A1D5C31753E0IMG_5490%202.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cxBD36owKmbwcBfSK15uOLE9cWYKA7_UFNZI8IkG5a0QoCXdT8KaXrG7GvgKy_SWd4cNv0ksYz52qjylDBg56svC1Nlv8kf-wQc3BgFwS4Zr_wILzu__CFoHrEziryaav4LnzbQV_mz4wkHkNLk42dsl1i-1BtIeAklITAq4O1Ojuec_0I8Bnwy7/s320/01F233C2-2649-4669-A9BA-A1D5C31753E0IMG_5490%202.JPEG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">we were finally off on our big adventure. Luckily SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) still flies dogs in cargo, so on the grey and rainy morning of August 5th Griselda and I landed in Copenhagen, where we were met by Christina and Kodiak. Griselda went wild when she saw them!</span></span></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I mentioned a few minutes ago that the delay of our shipping container has caused some problems, and what I mean is this: Christina and I put quite a lot of thought into exactly what to pack, and one of the guiding principles in that process was that we did not want to have to buy - in Sweden - a bunch of stuff that we already owned. Why buy mattresses (which are expensive), or kitchen stuff, or a dining room table, or bicycles, when we already own it all? So we were quite careful to time the arrival of the container with our arrival. But the fact that it's quite late (apparently caused by congestion at US ports, a result of... the pandemic!) has meant that we <i>have needed</i> to buy exactly those things, again. After all, we need to sleep and eat and get around.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The other problem it has caused is a little less concrete. The last few months in Taos were marked by a non-stop sense of purpose and focus. There was never a lack of tasks to accomplish, all in service of the larger goal. Now, having arrived in Sweden with nothing to unpack, no art supplies, no tools or motorcycles to keep us busy, we are in somewhat of a 'holding pattern.' This dramatic change of pace felt quite strange to me for a day or two. But then again, if I'm totally honest about it, it has been nice to have nothing particularly pressing to do most of the time, other than explore and discover this new place we are in. Things have been so busy, so intense, for so long that I never felt I had the breathing room to write a blog post... until now. I'm even going to get back to studying the Swedish language pretty soon. This week or two actually feels a bit like a real summer vacation and it's nice to enjoy the downtime with Kodiak before he starts at his new school next week.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I suppose I'll wrap things up with a few early observations about this place, and how it compares to America. My overarching theory of America is that it is fundamentally broken because it was built on the wrong principles of capitalism, racism (and sexism and homophobia), and guns. Having spent the overwhelming majority of my first 52 years in that place, I think the filter through which I'll be looking at Sweden is something like: "In what ways does this place, which purports to prioritize people over profits and the collective over the individual, and which furthermore has no history of slavery, differ from America? And is life actually better here?"</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">To be honest, I can't give a real answer yet. I've only been here 6 days, and I still feel like a tourist. In fact I imagine I will continue to feel like a tourist for the next year or more. That being said, there are a few things that are already apparent. Wealth seems to be more evenly spread around; I have seen almost no signs of either very rich people or very poor people. And people of different races seem to get along more smoothly. I've noticed this especially in Malmö, the larger city to the southwest of Lund. Pedestrians have an inviolable right-of-way, followed closely in the hierarchy by bicyclists. Cars will stop for you, without fail. Also, the police are more integrated here and their role appears to be closer to the old-fashioned idea of "serve and protect," as opposed to whatever it is they're doing in America now. (For the record, I don't believe the police are completely to blame for their current role in American society; I think economic inequality [poverty] mixed with racism and guns makes their job quite difficult, and dangerous.) </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Malmö, despite having a bad reputation, seems like a very cool city. Christina and I both envision ourselves spending a lot of time there. KKV, the collective artist's workshop where Christina and I will likely be working quite a lot in the next few years, is located in Malmö. The city also has an <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ribersborgs+Hundrastplats/@55.6058676,12.9750577,573m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4653a40263630da1:0xf6cc93bc26d859b7!8m2!3d55.6058676!4d12.9772464" target="_blank">off-leash dog park</a> which borders the North Sea... and therefor has a 'dog beach'... and which measures approximately 60 acres (!). This feels like something one would be hard-pressed to find in the US, and needless to say, Griselda loves it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLzoPweLAzvAPfnqsiJluUOgkzuhfHNRaybMEVcV9QNsDqWeepruyAE0rygVMppSF2oHGcjnXwJSBSA3o-JC784XRx6gKGedeN-sSbgNQ_YtYQQoecHv-qga3ArEVqp4XkN0j7ZsMWYlp9FiUbBKHZZ4PU29tNWUFoPNht49DRRChiC_UaVpPx-d6/s4032/IMG_7591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLzoPweLAzvAPfnqsiJluUOgkzuhfHNRaybMEVcV9QNsDqWeepruyAE0rygVMppSF2oHGcjnXwJSBSA3o-JC784XRx6gKGedeN-sSbgNQ_YtYQQoecHv-qga3ArEVqp4XkN0j7ZsMWYlp9FiUbBKHZZ4PU29tNWUFoPNht49DRRChiC_UaVpPx-d6/s320/IMG_7591.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">Griselda and one of her many new friends running on the Dog Beach!</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Our home in Lund is lovely, although rather large for our purposes (not complaining!) and also still quite empty. It has a luxuriously large yard complete with apple trees and a tree house. Our goal, if we can manage it, is to stay here in this house no more than 2 years (or maybe less) and purchase a home or rural property in that time. It's ambitious, but property is more affordable here than in most parts of the US, so we shall see.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwo0eG0fH4U8cRpXt4FCw120FbNeR1ywsarB0kE1RcnjHA68VB7xH21lIJygAuLQzUG3AFIJaaYEEYJ64OoXPXkHpvI5GVTBP9PqNpGerEmrKboJ2EviTH58l2zBt-bbARYuza2y4mCM-WSrZppAraMkPa0-fNRPJ5D0Ui9QMb0fQNEHViBA2Xc_no/s4032/IMG_7609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwo0eG0fH4U8cRpXt4FCw120FbNeR1ywsarB0kE1RcnjHA68VB7xH21lIJygAuLQzUG3AFIJaaYEEYJ64OoXPXkHpvI5GVTBP9PqNpGerEmrKboJ2EviTH58l2zBt-bbARYuza2y4mCM-WSrZppAraMkPa0-fNRPJ5D0Ui9QMb0fQNEHViBA2Xc_no/s320/IMG_7609.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: x-small;">Our yard, just now!</span></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I feel that this post was necessarily superficial, as there was a lot to cover. I imagine that in the coming posts I'll go into more detail and offer deeper observation about what life is like here, and how it differs from the good old US of A. I hope to also talk more about the bicycle culture here, and maybe even get back to talking about art-making!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Cheers</span></p><p><br /></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-18852270773641211562022-05-30T10:29:00.001-06:002022-05-30T18:00:57.335-06:00Why I Have To Keep Trying To Paint- An interesting conversation I had with Christina about Black Lives Matter versus Blue Lives Matter. <div><br /></div><div>- The new Alex Garland movie MEN, which I just saw... and can't stop thinking about and want to see again.</div><div><br /></div><div>- Nihilism, and the antidote to it. </div><div><br /></div><div>- My difficulties finding a good pair of shoes, and my gripes with the shoe industry in general. </div><div><br /></div><div>- My theory about the aesthetic and structural organization of things, what I’ll call the “Nails and Spice Theory.” </div><div><br /></div><div>- The work I've been doing on <a href="https://www.christianristow.com/thefledgling" target="_blank">Fledgling</a> in preparation for it's sale and permanent placement.</div><div><br /></div><div>These widely disparate topics are just some of the subjects I’ve considered blogging about recently. But I’m not going to write about any of them today. Instead I will return to an old topic - creativity, originality, and art production, but I’ll write about it in a new way… by going in-depth into a single particular piece of art that I’ve been wanting to make for a while, but have so far failed to complete. </div><div><br /></div><div>But first, a very brief digression onto the question: why would someone write a blog? Why do I write a blog? In short, I think the answer is that I’m trying to have a conversation. I guess it might be a strange SORT of conversation… but then again, I have picked up friends and acquaintances from many different places and many different times, and this is one way that I can communicate with all of them (you). But doesn't it seem, in this conversation, that I do all the talking? Well that’s one of the points that I want to make: I love it when my posts prompt people to write me back and start a different, perhaps more traditional, sort of conversation. So, thanks everyone who writes back, I appreciate it! </div><div><br /></div><div>I think I am also, however, having a conversation with myself. And probably another conversation with my future self. And possibly yet another conversation with future Kodiak. I imagine it might be quite interesting for him to read this when he’s a little older. But then… Who knows! Maybe he’ll just roll his eyes! Anyway, it’s nice to have a record of these years as they fly past. I hope you enjoy reading them.</div><div><br /></div><div>So… On to the topic at hand. </div><div><br /></div><div>About four or five years ago while living in Berlin, an image flashed into my head. For me, this image was so strong, so personal, and so richly full of meaning* that I knew I wanted to bring it into reality. But then I thought… “I am a sculptor, and this is just an image.“ So I tried to figure out how to make this as a sculpture - possibly as a low relief sculpture - but I just kept coming back to the realization that it would work best as an image. So, I decided to learn to paint. </div><div><br /></div><div>And thus commenced a period of a few years in which I taught myself to oil paint. But, as anyone who reads this blog closely knows (and I think there might be at least one or two of you!), oil painting has proven to be quite the challenge for me. Not because I’m terrible at it… because frankly I don’t think I’m terrible at it… </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDGyZDZjOkXzl-i7Lz-YCBKG72fLKGRtwMNTJE_327GxDujpJ5RPLPlCjNEKk5RdH-DHcotXDaE42rnUi-KogF_CxN6kjSFCiD4pO2A6rBdxbQA1paQX-zZsz69l9q5SNsBWoExo0QyfKAK83hEnQynTm3fpUitn8YAO8MVr8662WP1a7zsy_NOI-/s3934/Basically%20Finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3934" data-original-width="2442" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDGyZDZjOkXzl-i7Lz-YCBKG72fLKGRtwMNTJE_327GxDujpJ5RPLPlCjNEKk5RdH-DHcotXDaE42rnUi-KogF_CxN6kjSFCiD4pO2A6rBdxbQA1paQX-zZsz69l9q5SNsBWoExo0QyfKAK83hEnQynTm3fpUitn8YAO8MVr8662WP1a7zsy_NOI-/s320/Basically%20Finished.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">An example of me not sucking at painting. But... you see those light spots in the dark background near the bottom, and the reflection above and to the right of her head? Keep reading below to discover what those are and why they are a problem...</div><div><br /></div><div>... but for other harder to pin down reasons that have something to do with perfectionism, and some legitimate technical challenges which are shown in the above image and which I'll fully explain in a moment. And so in the period of two years or so in which I was painting actively, I turned out a miserably small number of paintings. About five. </div><div><br /></div><div>The image that flashed into my head in Berlin cannot be counted among those five. I actually built a masonite “canvas“ for the image, I penciled the image, and I began to paint it. But my progress was so painful, so slow, and so beset by technical problems, that I did not get very far. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsWHlw9E4HxLet0eX4aUozxz0Dgb71nlfW0QA9l2zKaVj4HGfdUoNWPHKB_r_GfeQ1Ogi8JeTkw-EsoDeSxp6Q3RWSz9bF5xwOdYtx2lyC5GwLkBhOeSJAbV3xTpcGqrOCPkPlTohGbH89Ad57motPeta5qwrH27GxtY_guS-VKfwi_dimYTnAfG6/s2104/IMG_62338535A1CD-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2104" data-original-width="1242" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsWHlw9E4HxLet0eX4aUozxz0Dgb71nlfW0QA9l2zKaVj4HGfdUoNWPHKB_r_GfeQ1Ogi8JeTkw-EsoDeSxp6Q3RWSz9bF5xwOdYtx2lyC5GwLkBhOeSJAbV3xTpcGqrOCPkPlTohGbH89Ad57motPeta5qwrH27GxtY_guS-VKfwi_dimYTnAfG6/s320/IMG_62338535A1CD-1.jpeg" width="189" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is about as far as I got with it.</div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I have not given up on the image. I would like one day to bring it into reality, but I can't help wondering whether oil paint is necessarily the best medium in which to accomplish the task.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes I find myself thinking: "Isn't the idea, the concept, the most important part? Have I not therefore <i>already</i> done the biggest part of the work?" Well, YES. And NO. Anyone can have an idea. We've all met those people who are all ideas, and no execution. And so this is one of the punchlines - the thesis statements - the conclusions that I've come to. A work of art (or any endeavor really) is <u>idea</u> and <u>execution</u>. And only when both are good can the work be considered successful, or impactful. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am fairly proficient at Adobe Photoshop, the image editing software. My methodology for making a painting involves the creation of a Photoshop mockup, which I then print and which I then paint. Here is the Photoshop mockup for the "Berlin image" which started it all...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4I8t3scspYy5-lhCqj3tWnfZNt8ztuvuBhbQjhvgbTju1f5li6uPnGAy3MkfDqo1q5diyqqv8BGtG99buABxFZ20Cb5SXmhCj7bBEb0kKgWsf3Hh2ug2_63qlyD1nquJ6Tu3PRdvscuCI-sjcqR8oF5wnnXCpqGUVfaSdJDjOPAiyZN1T-ccAWQih/s5327/for%20laminating%20(final).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5327" data-original-width="2791" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4I8t3scspYy5-lhCqj3tWnfZNt8ztuvuBhbQjhvgbTju1f5li6uPnGAy3MkfDqo1q5diyqqv8BGtG99buABxFZ20Cb5SXmhCj7bBEb0kKgWsf3Hh2ug2_63qlyD1nquJ6Tu3PRdvscuCI-sjcqR8oF5wnnXCpqGUVfaSdJDjOPAiyZN1T-ccAWQih/w210-h400/for%20laminating%20(final).jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is what you might call a 'Photo-Illustration' and many people choose photo-illustration as their artistic medium. This particular Photoshop mockup is not refined enough to be considered a presentable artwork (there is no coherence to the shadows, many of the edges are rough, etc... all things I intended to fix at the painting stage) but it raises the possibility that, with a bit more time spent in Photoshop, it could be made presentable and then printed. And then that print, rather than the painting I'd always imagined, would be the artwork.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But would that be good enough?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I guess the answer depends on who you're talking to. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A professional photo-illustrator would probably say "Yes, of course! It looks like a finished artwork to me." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An oil painter would say "No that's just a print."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What might a member of the public say.. someone who is relatively unconcerned about art technique? Such a person would probably focus more on the subject matter - the imagery - and therefore in this case the idea <i>would</i> be the most important thing, and the work <i>could</i> be considered impactful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But, what would <u>I</u> say? I guess this is the important question that I must answer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And what I would say, I suppose, is: "Hmm... I think it would've been better as an oil painting." And, further: a photo-illustration is by definition a sort of collage of images, and each of those images was made by a camera, <span style="font-style: italic;">not </span>by a hand holding a brush or a pencil. And in my personal hierarchical ranking of originality, there is no surpassing a hand-made piece of art. Because, in the making of it, the artist unconsciously put something of <i>himself</i>, of his psychology, into it. And in the process, it becomes something that <i>could only be made by that one person. </i>If you don't believe me, look at the work of Bacon, or Ingres, or Currin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, it seems, I have to keep trying.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Well just get on with it! Just keep painting! What's the big deal?" I hear you saying... I hear my few painter friends saying... I hear myself saying. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the moment, I can't. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have no more studio - I converted my studio back into a living space. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My head isn't in it right now - I am deep into the move to Sweden and all that that entails. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And what about those mysterious "technical challenges" I referred to earlier? I had a major problem with my paint drying in a really terrible way, which I finally attributed to the extreme dryness here in Taos. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_dsuZVvchsILS6mIbZgKDJN8TzljNsJb5WcU96LNEzRgPQpqWnaHJ11-RTEtBR-kX0AEfJGkST1SBvjHOZXip4EgK8yEW7oSVn4v_K-rFwc-kf06F_UHiwsMuETDg9X-4aufXuhO7uQtsu2ld4hRVSjQVcl1aTGeuUtMw4xiGQCk4LzIbCwquH9B/s1548/Orange%20Peel%20Paint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="1548" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_dsuZVvchsILS6mIbZgKDJN8TzljNsJb5WcU96LNEzRgPQpqWnaHJ11-RTEtBR-kX0AEfJGkST1SBvjHOZXip4EgK8yEW7oSVn4v_K-rFwc-kf06F_UHiwsMuETDg9X-4aufXuhO7uQtsu2ld4hRVSjQVcl1aTGeuUtMw4xiGQCk4LzIbCwquH9B/w400-h115/Orange%20Peel%20Paint.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In these three images, you can see what I am talking about. Whenever the paint went on even remotely thickly, the top surface dried almost immediately while the paint underneath was still wet, causing this crinkly "orange-peel" effect which catches the light in a totally unacceptable way. These light-catching areas can be seen in the finished painting near the top of this post.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I communicated with the paint manufacturer but he said he'd never seen that before and was of no help. The next time I really try painting will be in Sweden. There is better humidity there, and I will try a different brand of paint. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But beyond the lack of a studio and the problems with paint, the biggest impediment is in my head. I just have to get over it and get back to painting. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Because you see, here's the thing: I have ideas. I have ideas for images. But like I said earlier, an idea is not enough. An artwork is an idea, <u>and</u> execution. And so it's quite frustrating to have these ideas, but not be able to execute them. When we get to Sweden, I'm going to have to start painting again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">OK, enough. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I probably lost all but a few of you. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Until next time, when I promise to be less self-indulgent and more focused on actual events, real things that are happening. And there's plenty of those.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cheers</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">* As to the meaning of the image: that's not really the topic of the post. And don't you think that I would be doing YOU a disservice if I explained what I thought it meant? Don't you think it's more interesting to let you come up with your own interpretation? In any case, I can think of three distinct meanings for the image, one of which is the most important to me, but all of which are valid. And I'm sure there are others.</div><br /><div><br /></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-88420207413131410262022-05-16T11:46:00.013-06:002022-05-16T15:55:31.781-06:00Big Things Happening<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Sometimes a long interval passes between my blog posts because life seems to be moving slowly - not much seems to be happening.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">This has <u>not</u> been one of those times.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The long interval, this time, is due to the fact that so much is happening... so fast... that it's hard to find time to write, and it's hard to know what to pick out to write about.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The biggest news, really, is that Christina and Kodiak and I are moving to Sweden this summer! More on that in a moment.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Two posts ago, in my <a href="http://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2021/12/how-many-topics-can-i-reasonably-cram.html" target="_blank">entry</a> of December 4th, 2021, I discussed the fact that I had been commissioned by someone I know here in Taos to build a new sculpture. That sculpture is now finished and installed. The client wanted a sculpture to bring attention to his ambitious and well-developed solar electric installation, and so 'Electra' was born. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJ4vhLhtnY9ZhR6rI1rKtNmmszoTZ3VbBZnAPQbLSzqkBuaUgWW9m-3cpz4la3FZfU_EXIVPCNxQmIz3p8lXTx4KlaqLbZpWx1l70pgUrqPU7A2ugocUw-8uiVUUEOld973h_FQWZ4mJFWVnmxmyXiJ-CDFisH-XXhKEgdyaAmWIrnamF-lg6OAu_/s4000/IMG_4721.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJ4vhLhtnY9ZhR6rI1rKtNmmszoTZ3VbBZnAPQbLSzqkBuaUgWW9m-3cpz4la3FZfU_EXIVPCNxQmIz3p8lXTx4KlaqLbZpWx1l70pgUrqPU7A2ugocUw-8uiVUUEOld973h_FQWZ4mJFWVnmxmyXiJ-CDFisH-XXhKEgdyaAmWIrnamF-lg6OAu_/s320/IMG_4721.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquene4jIpUdk8cqGrIv9Ur-RkvMraXVav_Ms41Guk0VE8HZHIgkZZTDDLCPb9b8sYr-KAfmgE3e5ABMWxq9yT7tUiTscPuXU9wyWXwFc9mzKLNgC6K5x9ChT9PBHUuaGGvfUP85YvVDktpwoTIe9qpFddGTTYg6sEriT5yTOXDKAt4QTbTOaGvsHL/s4000/IMG_4723.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgquene4jIpUdk8cqGrIv9Ur-RkvMraXVav_Ms41Guk0VE8HZHIgkZZTDDLCPb9b8sYr-KAfmgE3e5ABMWxq9yT7tUiTscPuXU9wyWXwFc9mzKLNgC6K5x9ChT9PBHUuaGGvfUP85YvVDktpwoTIe9qpFddGTTYg6sEriT5yTOXDKAt4QTbTOaGvsHL/s320/IMG_4723.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEy54ihk7ul0--ZgEmpGTOCP2l6ZSeZUQMxBw_knXXMKG1GzKXacWZ2pGHmusKpR9KiuF8BSVFXaZifyNYCKD7lmUuP2SPaq5fv5f97nPZ0UZqcvr4h2pjHvAbFbAmRqLSSfz5UlspysHLf1WHV3o2zt5qHCz4jlozHyrc4DXIk8h4Eyo6Ro6fwo9/s4000/IMG_4774.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEy54ihk7ul0--ZgEmpGTOCP2l6ZSeZUQMxBw_knXXMKG1GzKXacWZ2pGHmusKpR9KiuF8BSVFXaZifyNYCKD7lmUuP2SPaq5fv5f97nPZ0UZqcvr4h2pjHvAbFbAmRqLSSfz5UlspysHLf1WHV3o2zt5qHCz4jlozHyrc4DXIk8h4Eyo6Ro6fwo9/s320/IMG_4774.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu61MHvbhYLvNzW0MnB1DYc65WZSxYLB4zzigYxgJ760nJPK5KFKStq7TvZSmyxWanG4ia9rv7l7gkWs6vTbvEY3lz4qNa7XqpX9cgHUlHqAEFcgRqITC7mjjcGnMzXuJPz6iS2n_1OsXWgabW201s1951JCEr2zxjAUFsMjGnxLQA-eJShaeQbrTE/s4000/IMG_4780.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu61MHvbhYLvNzW0MnB1DYc65WZSxYLB4zzigYxgJ760nJPK5KFKStq7TvZSmyxWanG4ia9rv7l7gkWs6vTbvEY3lz4qNa7XqpX9cgHUlHqAEFcgRqITC7mjjcGnMzXuJPz6iS2n_1OsXWgabW201s1951JCEr2zxjAUFsMjGnxLQA-eJShaeQbrTE/s320/IMG_4780.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Electra is an emissary from the future, letting us know that we'd better shift our energy technologies over to sustainable sources before it's too late.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Other than her base (which is carbon steel), she is fabricated entirely from stainless steel, so her surface should require little maintenance and she should look like that more-or-less forever.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVUYuKA37PHddcwQbM-T7Bp8vwdOJq-pPewjArbKsOdrF-jzm0KsZAAIeKb21wgtmHds2enAaVuUbfBXwqplq5HUM8DOPBB9NMipQ_9p1d-bs2SFHT0fwtj5isH72EOEYYd7vwAi2N_JKeCe0ww77mVuIl5nDiZDZmSfIUTbbidCkt7eZyy9jhaVt/s11932/Progression-Electra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3502" data-original-width="11932" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVUYuKA37PHddcwQbM-T7Bp8vwdOJq-pPewjArbKsOdrF-jzm0KsZAAIeKb21wgtmHds2enAaVuUbfBXwqplq5HUM8DOPBB9NMipQ_9p1d-bs2SFHT0fwtj5isH72EOEYYd7vwAi2N_JKeCe0ww77mVuIl5nDiZDZmSfIUTbbidCkt7eZyy9jhaVt/w400-h118/Progression-Electra.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And here is Electra taking her rightful place at the evolutionary end of the progression I showed back in December.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">So, we are moving to Sweden.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Well, I should qualify that and say that we are <i>almost certainly </i>moving to Sweden this summer. A grotesque enlargement of Putin's vanity war, or some other unforeseen complication might still derail our plan, but that feels pretty unlikely. I would put the likelihood of us really moving at about 98% and climbing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The news has been leaking out, so some of you reading this may already know it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There are multiple reasons for this move. In roughly descending order of importance, they are:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Secure a better education and a better future for Kodiak. This really is the undisputed #1 reason for the move. New Mexico is 49th out of the 50 states in quality of education, and we feel Kodiak deserves more. We also want him to have the opportunity to become a 'World Citizen' in a way that he never could if we stay in Taos.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Move to a place with a less divisive political climate, and less Republicans. I hate the conservative agenda in this country, I hate the fact that that agenda is driven by fear and hatred of dark-skinned people and women, I hate the effects of unchecked free-market capitalism, and I hate climate-change denialism. I could go on and on. Sweden does not suffer from these idiotic problems. Christina feels the same way. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• A change of career opportunities for Christina and me. Who knows, really, how our careers will go in Sweden, but it's well-known that there is an entirely different level of respect for the arts in Europe than here in the US. Serious artists over there can get government assistance, there are collective workshops (places like <a href="https://www.bbk-berlin.de" target="_blank">BBK</a> in Berlin, where I built With Open Arms, and <a href="https://kkv.nu/" target="_blank">KKV</a> in Sweden), and probably lots of other good resources for artists. We are jumping in a little blind but we are willing to roll the dice.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• We will be in a place where we can grow old and face inevitable health problems without going bankrupt, without enriching 'Health' Insurance executives with everything that should be Kodiak's inheritance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• We will be closer to Christina's parents in Stockholm, and to my brother Cles and my mother, who both live in Greece. (One regrettable downside is that we will be farther from my dad and brother. But hell, now they will have a reason to visit Sweden!)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• We will be a short train ride or flight away from the rest of Europe... places like Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Venice... </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• We will radically increase our opportunities for exposure to arts and culture.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• We will be near a beach and an airport, things which are very far from Taos.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The timing of our move is incredibly complicated to pin down, as it depends on variables such as my application for a residency permit in Sweden, our ability to secure a spot in a school for Kodiak, our ability to secure an apartment or house to live in, and some possible job opportunities which <i>might</i> keep me working here in Taos into the fall. In any case it seems Christina and Kodiak will likely move over there in July, with me either coming at the same time or following some weeks later.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And for the record, we are NOT selling our ranch here in Taos. If things don't work out for whatever reason, we can always come back. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">These last 6 weeks have been some of the craziest times for my career that I can remember.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In a nutshell, I have had a quite unprecedented flood of opportunities, most of which have promised to deliver big paychecks, and most of which have evaporated almost as quickly as they had appeared for one reason or another. And through it all, one or two good ones have actually stuck.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It's really been strange. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• One job - a new sculpture build - promised to pay almost 3 times more than I had ever made on a previous sculpture build. The pay would have been so good that it would have made sense for me to stay here in Taos through the fall in order to build it, throwing a huge wrench into the Sweden plans. Then the job was suddenly postponed... perhaps indefinitely.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• A festival job disappeared because the guy I was working with threw a temper tantrum when I asked him to verify that I would have the right kind of forklift available at the site. That was a guy (well-known to some of my artist contemporaries) with whom I was possibly going to do other work in the future, and I feel like I dodged a bullet when he revealed himself to be a narcissist and a jerk.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Yet another festival job disappeared when, over the course of a week, my contact couldn't be bothered to answer my emails and texts... until I told him I had run out of time to organize my logistics. Upon receiving that text, he responded immediately accusing me of being impatient! (I could expand this into a whole blog post... who are these self-absorbed people and how do they get these jobs? And why are we, as artists, so often forced to deal with them?)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• An old friend from LA called me with less than a week warning asking me to come to LA to help work on some droids for a new Star Wars thing. That actually sounded like a lot of fun but I just couldn't fit it into my schedule.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• A new 'traveling festival' is talking to Christina and me about leasing a few of our big sculptures to go "on the road." This could be a nice sort of 'passive income' for us... but I can't tell if they are really serious or not. They know we are moving to Sweden and that time is of the essence. We shall see...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• I just sold <a href="https://www.christianristow.com/thefledgling" target="_blank">Fledgling</a> to a local gallery owner and friend here in Taos. This means that, along with Electra, Taos will have two of my sculptures on permanent display, now that we are leaving!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">• And now, in the last few days, I am talking to someone about a new sculpture build for display at an event in the United Arab Emirates at the end of the year. Just like that first job in this list, this one now threatens to upend the Sweden plans, because if it were to really happen, it would make the most sense for me to stay here through the fall and build it. I wonder what will happen?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">One must have a high tolerance for uncertainty to work in the arts. It has been quite a roller-coaster as these jobs have appeared, promised to pay big dollars, and then disappeared. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Meanwhile, with the awareness that our big relocation is coming fast, Christina and I have been busy like never before. Not only are we selling vehicles and all manner of other stuff as well as cleaning up our land, we are also packing in the trips to see people and places we might not see for a while. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In April, Kodiak and I spent a wonderful 5 days in San Francisco with my dad. It was a chance for Kodiak and my dad to get to know one another, as well as for me to show Kodiak the city of my youth. We dined with my dad at great restaurants every night, and I gave Kodiak a first class tour of the city. Among other things, we met up with my old friend Sabrina Merlo for a tour of Sean Orlando's cool new <a href="https://seaportartstudios.com/" target="_blank">Seaport Studios</a>, went to the DeYoung museum (where I was amazed to see Thomas Hart Benton's 'Susannah and the Elders'!), rode the ferris wheel right next to the museum, went to Baker Beach, the crooked street, Coit Tower, North Beach and Chinatown, SoMa and Haight Street. I took him over the Golden Gate Bridge to Stinson Beach where we spent a sweet afternoon with my old high school pal Vasco Agnoli and his family. We even climbed to the top of Fort Point for great views of the Golden Gate and the Pacific Ocean. What a great city that is.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPhIkZMIp6x8q0AGA5wmcjYQuw2UF3nv7Q0WErogJ4ptozOApmgZ6AeT3IwwrXrdbtbrPRKsQao2LLxENAff1mo15FdWanpx6tTePq4yoc1Ll6i8-HHy3eBRy_SNS775iwAme7YzkOFmSHEvNHMoae8O8nGs-7oI8WGhmWh7lOFr6Ol0l9R33X106/s3387/IMG_5541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2231" data-original-width="3387" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPhIkZMIp6x8q0AGA5wmcjYQuw2UF3nv7Q0WErogJ4ptozOApmgZ6AeT3IwwrXrdbtbrPRKsQao2LLxENAff1mo15FdWanpx6tTePq4yoc1Ll6i8-HHy3eBRy_SNS775iwAme7YzkOFmSHEvNHMoae8O8nGs-7oI8WGhmWh7lOFr6Ol0l9R33X106/s320/IMG_5541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cLRMI0IiGQ9OOrvo5NYxhzjEMR__XcfQZ7nxTaWUPxdoIRWaJMJUFwqlItuCmwXlpU5XAb9YEC1OnJjGuHbUDMIgQq6VCCMJm_f3IwmEFptHQl0By0z-uKbw2lw21NvGDAwvxcgdm__Ezcsq04o4bhIhw2wL8kW9gchfMc_YA_n6g8PtMg4hx2mc/s4032/IMG_5594.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cLRMI0IiGQ9OOrvo5NYxhzjEMR__XcfQZ7nxTaWUPxdoIRWaJMJUFwqlItuCmwXlpU5XAb9YEC1OnJjGuHbUDMIgQq6VCCMJm_f3IwmEFptHQl0By0z-uKbw2lw21NvGDAwvxcgdm__Ezcsq04o4bhIhw2wL8kW9gchfMc_YA_n6g8PtMg4hx2mc/s320/IMG_5594.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNY9KESnu3kUp-morbS2TPvHFjiXG0MPCQWuRtCiow_hujg4px94uJdjx-daPGDwaUC83gvRh-8-rIiHKbYu1v10gp8PdWfJHh_XZH90LuatvQFo6Tzg_Sp_IvhTG4ha-qrfulXp9CIlLUGzZp4tgw5uVL5Yvezm4AJWA8j502rQ8-LLkPQ15FZY8c/s3088/IMG_5628.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="3088" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNY9KESnu3kUp-morbS2TPvHFjiXG0MPCQWuRtCiow_hujg4px94uJdjx-daPGDwaUC83gvRh-8-rIiHKbYu1v10gp8PdWfJHh_XZH90LuatvQFo6Tzg_Sp_IvhTG4ha-qrfulXp9CIlLUGzZp4tgw5uVL5Yvezm4AJWA8j502rQ8-LLkPQ15FZY8c/s320/IMG_5628.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVQZo7stm9LSI9rGyUiYcR65EgXuc9UiU1Fg4FNpawGtANVYPIsLjnybQ5LXd4l4GRhiaGQEMz1yiUR4Fzsh-fmzWUALxllX4BVZs_nHaaC0rtFqLsjxmQmH54pALABuJTc6YdPGB2ogeqJYqaLXlASRqsjfw1QqCYsGxRqYCfx00JpKAh4bsVkz1/s4032/IMG_5722.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVQZo7stm9LSI9rGyUiYcR65EgXuc9UiU1Fg4FNpawGtANVYPIsLjnybQ5LXd4l4GRhiaGQEMz1yiUR4Fzsh-fmzWUALxllX4BVZs_nHaaC0rtFqLsjxmQmH54pALABuJTc6YdPGB2ogeqJYqaLXlASRqsjfw1QqCYsGxRqYCfx00JpKAh4bsVkz1/s320/IMG_5722.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM96PayFKQgxq5RDdd3Pb3Ny6aKyCQ3SXJOuLP70pV1Y_ylOkfycUF2sZlJOX3Ym20xTVTz-DiSJtvoRvcUHNLR1237pbict_ldp_D-jHt94d2omV_ir6fJEV-3TdZUCEO797M5vJFEmBYZ9P3t0ABWd29wtRVfhKbibu_fHVpugZeFa4cfIlAAPz/s4032/IMG_9166.JPEG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM96PayFKQgxq5RDdd3Pb3Ny6aKyCQ3SXJOuLP70pV1Y_ylOkfycUF2sZlJOX3Ym20xTVTz-DiSJtvoRvcUHNLR1237pbict_ldp_D-jHt94d2omV_ir6fJEV-3TdZUCEO797M5vJFEmBYZ9P3t0ABWd29wtRVfhKbibu_fHVpugZeFa4cfIlAAPz/s320/IMG_9166.JPEG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYn5TH0SHuVSYpta5MFMn7KlNkKzWkO9pO603vJ9bV_WDvAYDFVHVQeMHd684nkTrN3nRaYZfCaCXWqCwGeb8QWuFxdrTrT93DSfXPLQvdICyiWKhVQwKMETG0OuJRDzlhwvVH8_y0uI_WCCHzfPkuVWTr_lnu9Yt004hgSKwPmlX8swZcwc30U4e/s2939/IMG_5761.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2013" data-original-width="2939" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYn5TH0SHuVSYpta5MFMn7KlNkKzWkO9pO603vJ9bV_WDvAYDFVHVQeMHd684nkTrN3nRaYZfCaCXWqCwGeb8QWuFxdrTrT93DSfXPLQvdICyiWKhVQwKMETG0OuJRDzlhwvVH8_y0uI_WCCHzfPkuVWTr_lnu9Yt004hgSKwPmlX8swZcwc30U4e/s320/IMG_5761.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And just this last weekend, the Vanagon triumphantly returned to take us (along with Kodiak's good friend Marcelo) to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaco_Canyon" target="_blank">Chaco Canyon</a>, home of Anasazi and their impressive architectural triumph, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_Bonito" target="_blank">Pueblo Bonito</a>. This trip really arose out of Christina's desire to show Kodiak the best of New Mexico before we leave (she also took him to White Sands and the Carlsbad Caverns a few months ago), but I was also thrilled to go. In fact, I did a school report about Pueblo Bonito when I was about Kodiak's age, so it was actually quite special for me to walk through that place. Much to my surprise, they actually let you walk around the site! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesYVxg7hTV97l--ikaAQtpfgW8er9bI6yslwDuUsbH6dlCMyFbA_mgdifNLKFzZ3ijI3s4-WeyGpCFLPKetxVvrW4Xfhv0ebPSLYb_80BIBXvSgdE7iXlalJJ1IKL-PSCp6LG-810mbZ3I9whE63lgJ4ts5Jd4XoemV0Zlk_1AnrkmYmwb6t1FI58/s4032/IMG_6247.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesYVxg7hTV97l--ikaAQtpfgW8er9bI6yslwDuUsbH6dlCMyFbA_mgdifNLKFzZ3ijI3s4-WeyGpCFLPKetxVvrW4Xfhv0ebPSLYb_80BIBXvSgdE7iXlalJJ1IKL-PSCp6LG-810mbZ3I9whE63lgJ4ts5Jd4XoemV0Zlk_1AnrkmYmwb6t1FI58/s320/IMG_6247.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTTnpRQKUFw-jixp1epdoAX7zLUqRbpKVpQ3lJZQcb4Jk42jUjRFVrEl5o3RKfgdOqYzmC-3TioUHtlIEvBKTuif_Uzeh5GxfK0P5w0pw98JFPHhSC3nP6MsKz3SEkrynP1BtZU9V2PxaQ3_78xtd0qLlZIUCTtFEJUisn7NDpHQqyvQDqmx-ABQD/s4032/IMG_8085.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTTnpRQKUFw-jixp1epdoAX7zLUqRbpKVpQ3lJZQcb4Jk42jUjRFVrEl5o3RKfgdOqYzmC-3TioUHtlIEvBKTuif_Uzeh5GxfK0P5w0pw98JFPHhSC3nP6MsKz3SEkrynP1BtZU9V2PxaQ3_78xtd0qLlZIUCTtFEJUisn7NDpHQqyvQDqmx-ABQD/s320/IMG_8085.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_fbzQNa3ia51kb2YfviJmXjo4NZtJMGWKoGFdb4yRvX8ztaQwOm1UpxCC2_pp2t3MEt-eguI3p1DoZsMxvPgo6rmNEhSJNMYX6gYziaPD5YJyMJp8E0CNuBEhKLVAsuSVagzMTJtUwuNzbh_TAKcDMF1GpFmxU_yBZzEs2qSV8JcIpX0b9w94NSK/s4032/IMG_6255.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_fbzQNa3ia51kb2YfviJmXjo4NZtJMGWKoGFdb4yRvX8ztaQwOm1UpxCC2_pp2t3MEt-eguI3p1DoZsMxvPgo6rmNEhSJNMYX6gYziaPD5YJyMJp8E0CNuBEhKLVAsuSVagzMTJtUwuNzbh_TAKcDMF1GpFmxU_yBZzEs2qSV8JcIpX0b9w94NSK/s320/IMG_6255.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfys8LLH9s9eT-dONq-MQUIFT8G7Hc7EDqYSKzeRY-mH48JFIZzDoEozIlqpQ1QnYDFXgP6CZE3Wrt6bWxNUln2My2Iis5kizDqRo64Ui8upJuKGYdWi0eo1cjU90NjWTGKGBipW3n1aN8aGvnWI3kxXezk62IK5TVhrBEXCCI_bUM_hHwViw7Wghe/s4032/IMG_6267.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfys8LLH9s9eT-dONq-MQUIFT8G7Hc7EDqYSKzeRY-mH48JFIZzDoEozIlqpQ1QnYDFXgP6CZE3Wrt6bWxNUln2My2Iis5kizDqRo64Ui8upJuKGYdWi0eo1cjU90NjWTGKGBipW3n1aN8aGvnWI3kxXezk62IK5TVhrBEXCCI_bUM_hHwViw7Wghe/s320/IMG_6267.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgJMyF3CCRQLvnJ0VkYA6paxyu8ZTDkEuARi2SObLcEpdQ9kSKld6mY64B1MZf2_0irQ-NPlb2ZnwnSplgKq-Lpd7Y6eW95f-3U-ALKNL3uCS77C4tUtk-141n8h6BegauTnsDpYL2Vd-Ns4DU837s4Jj6SCzjsuDnbhza6YTSQgbLLsc7vE_2yIr/s5394/IMG_6288.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5394" data-original-width="3964" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgJMyF3CCRQLvnJ0VkYA6paxyu8ZTDkEuARi2SObLcEpdQ9kSKld6mY64B1MZf2_0irQ-NPlb2ZnwnSplgKq-Lpd7Y6eW95f-3U-ALKNL3uCS77C4tUtk-141n8h6BegauTnsDpYL2Vd-Ns4DU837s4Jj6SCzjsuDnbhza6YTSQgbLLsc7vE_2yIr/s320/IMG_6288.JPG" width="235" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TW0QL6xRLkTCYWlIBF6vFKkuXX4LVclK6RGzwreaYLN-bv4fovvmIKO_9UEGET7W-3qPYXzjnAEbBxfGDnq6g2YgHLKXnkL0WFjgxezQmup3KLm-EbQYik6WRM_Fspd3qu2SvocXMrGHT3tszhFoHV0TUGFeVcJfHts-yhop0gVHaj8oIpJT4pIP/s6322/IMG_6294.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3870" data-original-width="6322" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TW0QL6xRLkTCYWlIBF6vFKkuXX4LVclK6RGzwreaYLN-bv4fovvmIKO_9UEGET7W-3qPYXzjnAEbBxfGDnq6g2YgHLKXnkL0WFjgxezQmup3KLm-EbQYik6WRM_Fspd3qu2SvocXMrGHT3tszhFoHV0TUGFeVcJfHts-yhop0gVHaj8oIpJT4pIP/s320/IMG_6294.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvLVpHM5f6b39H2xhyE1yAM6MM2i_y6co4A2swkWgj-aLkCHCjE1AgjKCktHyf8ypRYY8XHDiO9fcJ5WaZ_MW6EQh0HgrnT0PArW-Dkqxw-x_lBL84cmgRJcTDSO1nHfBmrTL6lKoGMFk9P5RPG8pFJNudz8RRFAqNLLKUpy1h9mYVvV2TNXGoVNL/s3088/IMG_6239.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="3088" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvLVpHM5f6b39H2xhyE1yAM6MM2i_y6co4A2swkWgj-aLkCHCjE1AgjKCktHyf8ypRYY8XHDiO9fcJ5WaZ_MW6EQh0HgrnT0PArW-Dkqxw-x_lBL84cmgRJcTDSO1nHfBmrTL6lKoGMFk9P5RPG8pFJNudz8RRFAqNLLKUpy1h9mYVvV2TNXGoVNL/s320/IMG_6239.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">So I guess that's it for now. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">As you can see, big changes are afoot! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Stay tuned...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-74760100121798494052022-03-31T21:55:00.001-06:002022-03-31T22:16:20.298-06:00The Way Forward<div class="separator"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Ok well it’s been a while. So much is happening all the time and sometimes it’s hard to pick out the ‘blog-worthy’ stuff to write about. But I have to remember that what feels normal and routine to me might not seem normal and routine to everyone. </span></span></div><div class="separator"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I’ll get the bad news out of the way first, and that is that Burning Man decided to reject my application for funding a new sculpture… AGAIN! </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Burning Man places sculptures in specific locations around the ‘city,’ and the most prestigious placement, arguably, is a location called ‘The Keyhole.’ It’s very central, very high visibility. Christina was awarded the Keyhole placement in 2009 for her sculpture “<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/194428908889044797/" target="_blank">The Heron Project</a>.” The reason I bring this up is that, pretty much every year that I apply for funding, I gradually convince myself - while waiting for their response - that my proposal is so good that not only are they going to fund it, but they’re going to honor me with the Keyhole! And then… they reject it. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">The upshots of this brief discussion are A) that I apparently always like my own proposals so much that I think they merit fantastic placement (and I suppose this sort of self-confidence is probably a good thing) and B) my own assessment of my own ideas must be <i>really</i> out of step with the assessment of the Burning Man granting committee. (In fact when I look at some of what they fund instead of my proposals, I am often baffled.)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Oh well, fuck it. I have other shit going on. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Actually, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I would have been able to accept the grant - and build the sculpture - even if I had gotten the 'thumbs-up' from them. The next few months look like they're going to be <i>very </i>busy for me and Christina, with both paying work and non-paying work. In this context, it was probably even a blessing that I did not get funded by them, as building something for Burning Man is always a huge time commitment coupled with a loss of money. Still, it would have been nice to know that they liked my proposal in the same way that I do. Whatevs.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">(For the record, my proposal was a sculpture of a woman on a shark. It was kind of the inverse of my proposal in 2019, in the sense that it was another interaction between man and nature (another sea creature, in fact), but this time it was positive and forward-looking. In fact it was called "The Way Forward." A text description and pictures will follow at the end of this post.)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Moving on.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">In my last post, way back in December, I stated that I was about to start building a new sculpture as a private commission. My creative energies have been pretty focussed for these last few months on building that piece, and it's been a lot of fun. I have certain reasons for not wanting to 'unveil' this new sculpture, even here on the blog, until it is really done, so that means that the best you're going to get for now is this teaser picture...</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw147S7qlewl4ZpdNolXuWExQlt8gjUYq6KMWMgQuRTtv6xNWPEUInqkMcJF9fK5tHrH8TaUHeHigwNLAd6jld9rMQzyksmSPbsZaRPLwntkm8OyuvBZa-uok9ytiWmW7gbG8n9yt5axgASv8IVXaz_SxPlE-CKUzVYt11SXMXs8AdQKXa9dijcHB/s4032/IMG_5145.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixw147S7qlewl4ZpdNolXuWExQlt8gjUYq6KMWMgQuRTtv6xNWPEUInqkMcJF9fK5tHrH8TaUHeHigwNLAd6jld9rMQzyksmSPbsZaRPLwntkm8OyuvBZa-uok9ytiWmW7gbG8n9yt5axgASv8IVXaz_SxPlE-CKUzVYt11SXMXs8AdQKXa9dijcHB/s320/IMG_5145.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I must say that I've really enjoyed building this piece, not least because I decided at the beginning to fabricate it entirely out of stainless steel. I love working with stainless steel! (Whenever one works with regular steel, a decision has to be made about how to 'finish' the surface to keep it from rusting to bits. In other words, one must ask oneself... should I paint this sculpture, or oil it every 6 months, or seal it in some other way, or let it rust? Stainless presents no such conundrum. Weld it up and call it done.)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Anyway, the official install date for this sculpture is May 5th, so I should be posting some pictures of the whole thing around that time.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Christina and Kodiak and I just returned from a 2-week trip to England and Sweden. (It was my first time on a plane since October 2019!) We travelled to England in order to install Christina's sculpture The Flybrary on the grounds of the <a href="https://www.chatsworth.org/" target="_blank">Chatsworth House</a>. The Chatsworth House is a stately mansion built in the 1600's which has been home to the long succession of Dukes of Devonshire. In fact, the current Duke of Devonshire lives there now! Burning Man arranged with the Chatsworth House to bring over about 10 large sculptures, and Christina's beautiful piece was one of the ones chosen. In fact, her piece is basically the star of the show; it has the very best placement (right in front of the house!) and is getting tons of great press. In fact, if you click the link above you will see a great picture on the Chatsworth House's homepage... which I will also immortalize here:</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypEpVX0cAiB5bYUsdSHPyBml5d1urp8O5P2jUf0m1jiiWZn_w7BVqT_IQ0z3JcfNSdXMZtL5CkP6xNNprIgGxS6kF3rAg0RzvyrLJALw7y3uhgqq6YVKS0wLVF9mZMHSP9N2FhgKWuCnlG6ff3ULkL24HoO8hrkdcZ2jOyQZQzNLSIqxrj-MF3rD6/s2878/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%208.39.54%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1668" data-original-width="2878" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiypEpVX0cAiB5bYUsdSHPyBml5d1urp8O5P2jUf0m1jiiWZn_w7BVqT_IQ0z3JcfNSdXMZtL5CkP6xNNprIgGxS6kF3rAg0RzvyrLJALw7y3uhgqq6YVKS0wLVF9mZMHSP9N2FhgKWuCnlG6ff3ULkL24HoO8hrkdcZ2jOyQZQzNLSIqxrj-MF3rD6/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%208.39.54%20PM.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">We were treated really well while in England; they put us up in a cute little stone cottage and fed us way too much food. We also got the chance to tour the home and see it's truly spectacular art collection. It's like a museum (and I love museums.)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I will now take you on a little photographic tour of our European adventure!</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6vTgAyet8oV36sZywUVSGjXQhLYzXJcB_7o1q_6DWg7hz3jt8Sl6YBgetUotkhQdSnqgpR8051-Bzhw329KnbgSIL9sjQJyyAf_P9kw1KaCQPUYbGljtPIZlOXJY3TeGMgggLzT_3YDRbDb4xMJlAYtbQqYiA_dYUHpBpoVxPVmQHixgwwQIDTGc/s4032/IMG_4826.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6vTgAyet8oV36sZywUVSGjXQhLYzXJcB_7o1q_6DWg7hz3jt8Sl6YBgetUotkhQdSnqgpR8051-Bzhw329KnbgSIL9sjQJyyAf_P9kw1KaCQPUYbGljtPIZlOXJY3TeGMgggLzT_3YDRbDb4xMJlAYtbQqYiA_dYUHpBpoVxPVmQHixgwwQIDTGc/s320/IMG_4826.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">A view of the house, with the partially completed Flybrary in the foreground, as well as the river Derwent.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs6zf8Cansff5SzLOU6xf7oR6RCoUThR8oVvslS49RQf2AyxfJ-nT5bzPSKjyZlBtCpmNiTclzCSKc9tqtxnzNdXUs2qmJWLDZ2eEwwfy1M8RW6heBNfueoNPoPu8Pphveo5_sVBcheH3PQiFSdfHvoRTp6yiJoY7m4_QCuPUX9juXj0nj-pru3aM/s4032/IMG_4856.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVs6zf8Cansff5SzLOU6xf7oR6RCoUThR8oVvslS49RQf2AyxfJ-nT5bzPSKjyZlBtCpmNiTclzCSKc9tqtxnzNdXUs2qmJWLDZ2eEwwfy1M8RW6heBNfueoNPoPu8Pphveo5_sVBcheH3PQiFSdfHvoRTp6yiJoY7m4_QCuPUX9juXj0nj-pru3aM/s320/IMG_4856.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Another view of the house, with a very handsome young gentleman in the foreground. Kodiak did so well, and had such a good time on this trip. All the grownups fell in love with him!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLjH_YXoDLlFYKorZrm_GzHnMfBvRIHiMjSo9cjVE25ZzY_0fnp99VQmN9_IfxnpdYU7RC6YYJCl4X3yjEEVJaH54bD_Z_e2MbsE-TF0gCmq1u0hFNTimRIj3S9dyqeua_aBIL4lE-RKI98yvZs2FW_PGGtLOu1DsxJTV64KMo-w3-7k-o4mS12_X/s4032/IMG_4741.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLjH_YXoDLlFYKorZrm_GzHnMfBvRIHiMjSo9cjVE25ZzY_0fnp99VQmN9_IfxnpdYU7RC6YYJCl4X3yjEEVJaH54bD_Z_e2MbsE-TF0gCmq1u0hFNTimRIj3S9dyqeua_aBIL4lE-RKI98yvZs2FW_PGGtLOu1DsxJTV64KMo-w3-7k-o4mS12_X/s320/IMG_4741.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This is the first room you see in the house. The room is colossal, all the walls and ceiling are covered in Renaissance-style paintings, and every nook has a sculpture.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFxWbNUpP0WHapN0KQ5ZiL7u9hi2sfcAPg2arMhnT8K4pwJR42uDDELfASd9zH6sm_xovVxVxQ5qb_U5uj6lrcNqThY2VvecLElUCkArmaj_aVLAy8O7af4AQKoeV_DRlx-aVxbMTXuGuKXRJbKhaxsKFuebyVDUVbq98VsHwdz82NZyCPUEQlVFn/s4032/IMG_4734.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFxWbNUpP0WHapN0KQ5ZiL7u9hi2sfcAPg2arMhnT8K4pwJR42uDDELfASd9zH6sm_xovVxVxQ5qb_U5uj6lrcNqThY2VvecLElUCkArmaj_aVLAy8O7af4AQKoeV_DRlx-aVxbMTXuGuKXRJbKhaxsKFuebyVDUVbq98VsHwdz82NZyCPUEQlVFn/s320/IMG_4734.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This is an approximately life-sized sculpture of Saint Bartholomew, who was skinned alive, by my old favorite Damien Hirst. He is shown holding his skin on one arm, and the scissors used to remove his skin in the other hand. It is cast in silver, then gold-plated!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1Yp_9PrWF02vwSX9Na6KyJ8NfBc589KMnjghU1R2xmJY9ePJLCs11GK2-lMK3pZlZ8W9oLKKTosjh8k6vTrOH27Tojm3Xixdv85Cv-Ja5mqVyx6EhHwj5gC1jyCOhyYDl6dbPwkpDvqS8vp_klx0HwFVgt_-iAn6M9WArPJVCuwGNVYgGIgw4o1R/s4032/IMG_4743.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1Yp_9PrWF02vwSX9Na6KyJ8NfBc589KMnjghU1R2xmJY9ePJLCs11GK2-lMK3pZlZ8W9oLKKTosjh8k6vTrOH27Tojm3Xixdv85Cv-Ja5mqVyx6EhHwj5gC1jyCOhyYDl6dbPwkpDvqS8vp_klx0HwFVgt_-iAn6M9WArPJVCuwGNVYgGIgw4o1R/s320/IMG_4743.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQpNJMZy024El1oEwMZVHVskuLGYatLKJgk_hsQ7acgJS4kn4tNwU5aYqPXmADAiBkqtKB7ANflRCz1wFOi_I0M9R91CNfERZc83BuCvzbHoorP6QiJ_3JKoNbzOnSEW90FYuewn71HzZtupUnyAoivc4hEMz9WK9o1xJCWDyHNbFzmoygT8-RwZS/s3927/IMG_4877.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3927" data-original-width="2941" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQpNJMZy024El1oEwMZVHVskuLGYatLKJgk_hsQ7acgJS4kn4tNwU5aYqPXmADAiBkqtKB7ANflRCz1wFOi_I0M9R91CNfERZc83BuCvzbHoorP6QiJ_3JKoNbzOnSEW90FYuewn71HzZtupUnyAoivc4hEMz9WK9o1xJCWDyHNbFzmoygT8-RwZS/s320/IMG_4877.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">These are paintings of the current Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the occupants of the house, by Stephen Conroy. They might seem unremarkable, at first glance, but they were actually my favorite paintings in the house, on purely stylistic grounds. They feature <i>just the right amount</i> of stylizing / idealization. I would like to paint like that.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPBYsI-Tv_T83ixrIVC-JJyqN3cFqtzhTfORfCXR0HSCfcUV9OJ1DgcAV3ik4T-NiABB4ziKRz3pAlRSadt3zaXRD-v1x4MntGq1nW9EFLp8r2JLcr_-TwD28sR_WTJK_hN6Iu2jSLDEvm8yhHsz73hYqDqc46QyjLexjHtMRCrX9tm8AnqtQwa8T/s4032/IMG_4749.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPBYsI-Tv_T83ixrIVC-JJyqN3cFqtzhTfORfCXR0HSCfcUV9OJ1DgcAV3ik4T-NiABB4ziKRz3pAlRSadt3zaXRD-v1x4MntGq1nW9EFLp8r2JLcr_-TwD28sR_WTJK_hN6Iu2jSLDEvm8yhHsz73hYqDqc46QyjLexjHtMRCrX9tm8AnqtQwa8T/s320/IMG_4749.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Some contemporary sculpture by... I don't know who. The swirly, curvy things are made from bent wood, and I thought they were quite beautiful.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJs38gsZZhAp57vF5WnZ4bpXj2vpXBZzYRi9UXHmqXUrzVxT-GkgV5qNEOyY7tDj2TtVIyU35p5wSP61ntyXf_WhCqMULwIOMjZ0G4BqFWNhf1bmZ1G2FAK2E3QF-0hvu1pNtral-GMM3SJUwXa_u8ReQze0zCECrSu50CbFpkON-w45C8IFxB3JLv/s4032/IMG_4755.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJs38gsZZhAp57vF5WnZ4bpXj2vpXBZzYRi9UXHmqXUrzVxT-GkgV5qNEOyY7tDj2TtVIyU35p5wSP61ntyXf_WhCqMULwIOMjZ0G4BqFWNhf1bmZ1G2FAK2E3QF-0hvu1pNtral-GMM3SJUwXa_u8ReQze0zCECrSu50CbFpkON-w45C8IFxB3JLv/s320/IMG_4755.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">A wooden bench, which I also found gorgeous.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLdkJ8a9LYPiLAFsNtq9YmFXzrxt-z0wDPxtVXhRm4fW8WR5rmN5TO2hsIEztwXD8zg7mMSPzE83sV8rfzZ_latl4pnGhae2RXYqIW5hwf1s0qY31wpm75boGGLVn6DlDrN4wnlynQMFi38SJTqkb5Ztwj5_Md-TZq8-UJyIao4TKS5D05NkKUGdV/s4032/IMG_4764.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLdkJ8a9LYPiLAFsNtq9YmFXzrxt-z0wDPxtVXhRm4fW8WR5rmN5TO2hsIEztwXD8zg7mMSPzE83sV8rfzZ_latl4pnGhae2RXYqIW5hwf1s0qY31wpm75boGGLVn6DlDrN4wnlynQMFi38SJTqkb5Ztwj5_Md-TZq8-UJyIao4TKS5D05NkKUGdV/s320/IMG_4764.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">One of two original Rembrandt paintings in the house. This just gives you an idea of the quality of this collection. (We were told a funny story... Apparently many years ago there were three Rembrandts in the house. At some point one of the dukes died, and some pretty hefty 'death taxes' were due. The government came in and took one of the Rembrandt paintings as payment - they chose the one which was assessed to be the most valuable. Then, some years later, the painting was proved to be by one of Rembrandt's disciples, not him!)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8CSDKWdtD5bLHUjl_3_tjb1OHd8MHGysn8NXlaKGPNI7dRjIuwiWH67GnisYhdf-LxgBkg2LYAeZhkawWTG6C4-wpJhwpYetiE9dTlooJX6RQgm4AiF5yQXzKfNXevbsI3rWvXB8B8-AMlqVsnWyT3qKev5MChk13ZShP7cmEDj0GTcw0NFFqgx3o/s4032/IMG_4773.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8CSDKWdtD5bLHUjl_3_tjb1OHd8MHGysn8NXlaKGPNI7dRjIuwiWH67GnisYhdf-LxgBkg2LYAeZhkawWTG6C4-wpJhwpYetiE9dTlooJX6RQgm4AiF5yQXzKfNXevbsI3rWvXB8B8-AMlqVsnWyT3qKev5MChk13ZShP7cmEDj0GTcw0NFFqgx3o/s320/IMG_4773.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There was an entire long room full of Lucien Freud paintings - probably 20 or 25 of them. Wow. This one, featuring his nude girlfriend and his mother, was perhaps the most intriguing!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4IudU14hyvUEV_iLifxDEVce94QOB0Y5a8oH_5ysN5XwMPzWyHHUALGWfnnLsKkBvb6MBK981OWmHjr6LXclpdvOvggYNbPmEQbwkbucbQfbeJ6Cq9YhrvJ4dp-D4NBlQuC3SWfZspn8qpo0_7-aNpw07i7qFhYivxbpfmlcqXh_4dB46Wx1b9mk/s4032/IMG_4778.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4IudU14hyvUEV_iLifxDEVce94QOB0Y5a8oH_5ysN5XwMPzWyHHUALGWfnnLsKkBvb6MBK981OWmHjr6LXclpdvOvggYNbPmEQbwkbucbQfbeJ6Cq9YhrvJ4dp-D4NBlQuC3SWfZspn8qpo0_7-aNpw07i7qFhYivxbpfmlcqXh_4dB46Wx1b9mk/s320/IMG_4778.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And a HUGE John Singer Sergeant. This painting is about 9 feet tall... or 3 meters. Again, wow.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho15YYvaXrXAlMK80kHIkV5tBnmf468NZ8SjgrkwISflyP_THLkM39cOCnCv87qYa4bTrebVskQzgV7vSU1TQQbTJN8zrHWnvCNWdyPhV5pDUz1ofDuLezeFnRRvyeRXqUWf4QqxIziw-plv2p2B8C7QJgvXWE8FSYhAHig37ed3YZfEAAuDpJlbw0/s3216/IMG_4787.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2484" data-original-width="3216" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho15YYvaXrXAlMK80kHIkV5tBnmf468NZ8SjgrkwISflyP_THLkM39cOCnCv87qYa4bTrebVskQzgV7vSU1TQQbTJN8zrHWnvCNWdyPhV5pDUz1ofDuLezeFnRRvyeRXqUWf4QqxIziw-plv2p2B8C7QJgvXWE8FSYhAHig37ed3YZfEAAuDpJlbw0/s320/IMG_4787.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The last room on the tour was a large hall full of marble sculpture. This one was perhaps my favorite.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtxU8UryqBozB86lIahEKksarIvVm6hiCDfteblQCgo8mP9N2RgMUl2zMsYZSda1lvkXHSTlnTvbMoLBy6b7md6NvZDYmbu6xp9p2FzpD2Qu7wJWQqFBeJcu4Kgw4FHHQiGBCXSxm_eIah8YVBq5DtLlA-OpGDZN3e-KDRtmpxGg3DYQkDx1be1Cu/s4032/IMG_4791.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDtxU8UryqBozB86lIahEKksarIvVm6hiCDfteblQCgo8mP9N2RgMUl2zMsYZSda1lvkXHSTlnTvbMoLBy6b7md6NvZDYmbu6xp9p2FzpD2Qu7wJWQqFBeJcu4Kgw4FHHQiGBCXSxm_eIah8YVBq5DtLlA-OpGDZN3e-KDRtmpxGg3DYQkDx1be1Cu/s320/IMG_4791.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Also not bad.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3n_2imTAzJh4eRnPLcthn9kr5mNh9qois53t3Cc379W6zOriSL82lqHATPLG-8fWdAhivrn0cSE0RHHgIN7UR6OgBzoUx4m5Vem6_OAqq6UnQ6t3D4yb0E1P0rsTAU64O6GKKp05F7G5v82snhW5Z6yTr-HzbAupbVdxcN9M88BL-RfeV_QJ25k-/s4032/IMG_4900.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3n_2imTAzJh4eRnPLcthn9kr5mNh9qois53t3Cc379W6zOriSL82lqHATPLG-8fWdAhivrn0cSE0RHHgIN7UR6OgBzoUx4m5Vem6_OAqq6UnQ6t3D4yb0E1P0rsTAU64O6GKKp05F7G5v82snhW5Z6yTr-HzbAupbVdxcN9M88BL-RfeV_QJ25k-/s320/IMG_4900.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Marble bust of... who knows! But wow, she is gorgeous. I took a lot of pictures of this one.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKTh0p7oDTfO1X_wL6dBFuGEJfvDVTNLLNRQwkEqMd8w4Nywfxf8L7qfSa0H7MAA-6rMiNoFRMKKfcHn1hlWM4QH99Ruf-49mbpsoNjjtGu5NK2St7D6oY2sq6Z9kUOImFE76PyUgOwwu5lyslRjdYSWE3CG_RLDvFN6Olk5h9gqc0TDkNeaX1Ubv/s4032/IMG_4907.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKTh0p7oDTfO1X_wL6dBFuGEJfvDVTNLLNRQwkEqMd8w4Nywfxf8L7qfSa0H7MAA-6rMiNoFRMKKfcHn1hlWM4QH99Ruf-49mbpsoNjjtGu5NK2St7D6oY2sq6Z9kUOImFE76PyUgOwwu5lyslRjdYSWE3CG_RLDvFN6Olk5h9gqc0TDkNeaX1Ubv/s320/IMG_4907.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I had to squeeze behind this sculpture, close to the wall, to get a good shot of this lady's marble butt. Butt it was worth it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMhNIZBIhn6RcV6Nn0YQhHqHb24CHmLsZz1lWAojOwVWHH85rNNuURAc_lKg9ykb_MhOEO5rZ7RtK5xGBGayKR3-QdmqxW2LPOgV97WOfnq0tZq3srL-XnAp64EtE4ahgju3jU_XR1F2DypgeukdIsF3ucduuhHWm79Xfiur8OV_gAyUngQRkYNtO/s4032/IMG_4914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMhNIZBIhn6RcV6Nn0YQhHqHb24CHmLsZz1lWAojOwVWHH85rNNuURAc_lKg9ykb_MhOEO5rZ7RtK5xGBGayKR3-QdmqxW2LPOgV97WOfnq0tZq3srL-XnAp64EtE4ahgju3jU_XR1F2DypgeukdIsF3ucduuhHWm79Xfiur8OV_gAyUngQRkYNtO/s320/IMG_4914.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">After touring the house, we toured the gardens, which were vast. This guy cracked me up.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDEgPay-4wn83oy7XL0plubcUM-tfdYssUKyxjhCzoW-Ou6RkPQk2qOIDhBb31qGwzM-qaSorl5jPfUBHkwddSu11N8_RgULsuStKrdNpsYspdZoIhiILPsiXR_iqbgJYFB-l0Sxaz_RJk52Oa3NGp8DrqMKBA3CgBuvKQMsHqIoCxtUWCLCiC-pq/s4032/IMG_4931.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDEgPay-4wn83oy7XL0plubcUM-tfdYssUKyxjhCzoW-Ou6RkPQk2qOIDhBb31qGwzM-qaSorl5jPfUBHkwddSu11N8_RgULsuStKrdNpsYspdZoIhiILPsiXR_iqbgJYFB-l0Sxaz_RJk52Oa3NGp8DrqMKBA3CgBuvKQMsHqIoCxtUWCLCiC-pq/s320/IMG_4931.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I dragged our group into a far corner of the grounds to see this sculpture, behind me, by my old friend Rachel Feinstein.</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdhtFnn8imbiI-7uWH5c0TekjYB8HIuQTuTZcKBLrovnSjXXxSC17r_qFB7V5s03u3WvZh3F8EB6WcNqpuDUaqjH_RvUWzv7FHmRS9kaANjkzYTOpY4ogHE7Sk7a4oOdJtWDu6S12fOaQtZUlWPie7QwXnEwqFOOjY2iK0U1BgZ74pT-Dss3NDhqU/s4032/IMG_4941.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdhtFnn8imbiI-7uWH5c0TekjYB8HIuQTuTZcKBLrovnSjXXxSC17r_qFB7V5s03u3WvZh3F8EB6WcNqpuDUaqjH_RvUWzv7FHmRS9kaANjkzYTOpY4ogHE7Sk7a4oOdJtWDu6S12fOaQtZUlWPie7QwXnEwqFOOjY2iK0U1BgZ74pT-Dss3NDhqU/s320/IMG_4941.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I guess that when you are a duke, and you have a 200 acre garden, you can have some pretty weird trees. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Dq89oYG-TG-KBk02WsvLcwC8s4DzZWnj6QwaT140iCA2Su89496fcardEAPiNribxZivazA7tukszySXrh6bri46wZP5GWqbCJFD6ZV0Y7HX35se1M72lR7_3CvtOTl08wVOVHo0ANp_Jz284mPmPJchiSTxxJ3lLLRniw1KGEmDR5Wv0xtvpigj/s3769/IMG_4951.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2163" data-original-width="3769" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Dq89oYG-TG-KBk02WsvLcwC8s4DzZWnj6QwaT140iCA2Su89496fcardEAPiNribxZivazA7tukszySXrh6bri46wZP5GWqbCJFD6ZV0Y7HX35se1M72lR7_3CvtOTl08wVOVHo0ANp_Jz284mPmPJchiSTxxJ3lLLRniw1KGEmDR5Wv0xtvpigj/s320/IMG_4951.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Here's our crew! From left to right... Me, Christina, Brian Malley from Canada, good old friend Cedar, Cedar's girlfriend Heather, Kodiak, and Terril Scott from Berlin.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBoFrQ0ZmZQodBKTTDOoGLseIEmYFxpotJOByNol0CsxMnvQdwAmsGa3bGVckbFi9jfpaZEHYpJzym0FpgJCfgQO4D2rPjo9Fe2bUz3ATfqC-5CMRQ3ZJpiqx1FYdEkb_twbVh1bhzDGsD_f_ImRXyskIxMT93u4LweEb5MxPTdkoLegD5jF_4P7U/s3606/IMG_4965.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2542" data-original-width="3606" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBoFrQ0ZmZQodBKTTDOoGLseIEmYFxpotJOByNol0CsxMnvQdwAmsGa3bGVckbFi9jfpaZEHYpJzym0FpgJCfgQO4D2rPjo9Fe2bUz3ATfqC-5CMRQ3ZJpiqx1FYdEkb_twbVh1bhzDGsD_f_ImRXyskIxMT93u4LweEb5MxPTdkoLegD5jF_4P7U/s320/IMG_4965.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">After leaving the Chatsworth House, Christina and Kodiak and I went down to London for a day and connected with my cousin Eduardo. He is originally from Brazil, as is my dad, but has lived in London for 8 or 9 years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxYY0kX3HMdkm-wUIU8oDIVvC8XxVzFX2ANAXm40bGbjRRqAPeYyp6De6HyuVoZ2kWnCqFpAyECqDrpxoJRRVfozL1kn_bIQFAup8YUlBBs5u8dmVyy5qY44d0_4F361zKWZqbEne8ZMqKsxB20LzUbkb9xZrcdrOkgQghD64-_PdT7S_TceSUzXk/s4032/IMG_5091.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxYY0kX3HMdkm-wUIU8oDIVvC8XxVzFX2ANAXm40bGbjRRqAPeYyp6De6HyuVoZ2kWnCqFpAyECqDrpxoJRRVfozL1kn_bIQFAup8YUlBBs5u8dmVyy5qY44d0_4F361zKWZqbEne8ZMqKsxB20LzUbkb9xZrcdrOkgQghD64-_PdT7S_TceSUzXk/s320/IMG_5091.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Upon arriving in Sweden we went straight to the house where we were staying, which was on the island of Rindö. The house is owned by some friends of ours who have deep roots both in Taos and Sweden. You have to take a ferry to get there.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8hJxWVWE0Gj_UVKq8u1Glmr3hnrW9LoM6HilLbyrm3HY-KXvJvwFrdZaJls1UTcJs1VYj7oKi8BKY6CecgCkC3bYp6x-dvr--hCPoRG98-Ye15cSRXq2Mf97urLyXSaRD918nvQL2QVRUguY8Z6CpPKvgRvCiauwlXSWSEKXhh55lIgXMhoIGLEj/s11650/IMG_4989.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3704" data-original-width="11650" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8hJxWVWE0Gj_UVKq8u1Glmr3hnrW9LoM6HilLbyrm3HY-KXvJvwFrdZaJls1UTcJs1VYj7oKi8BKY6CecgCkC3bYp6x-dvr--hCPoRG98-Ye15cSRXq2Mf97urLyXSaRD918nvQL2QVRUguY8Z6CpPKvgRvCiauwlXSWSEKXhh55lIgXMhoIGLEj/s320/IMG_4989.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The landscape in Sweden is quite beautiful, and the water is never far away.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAITBVDdA5LZgJHBdQKU3FfR7wtQM2X0nVyMRyK0HkQnw62FTLKlZ7PyNCM9SXaWAkyfmVcqizvpd_FyGRt31Sz140MZ3HoYKkplkUTD36L5bACfePxc-yVev_Wlepdgis1t5ltVFX3oEfSt7fmSrg5Vgd53u6opklGU3XUj8-DmsO_SYmzQIyIBs6/s4032/IMG_5067.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAITBVDdA5LZgJHBdQKU3FfR7wtQM2X0nVyMRyK0HkQnw62FTLKlZ7PyNCM9SXaWAkyfmVcqizvpd_FyGRt31Sz140MZ3HoYKkplkUTD36L5bACfePxc-yVev_Wlepdgis1t5ltVFX3oEfSt7fmSrg5Vgd53u6opklGU3XUj8-DmsO_SYmzQIyIBs6/s320/IMG_5067.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Here is another photo from the ferry, taken from within the electric car we rented. It was our first real experience with an electric car; the car was cool, but recharging it was a pain because the car did not come with a charger. Instead we were forced to use the charging stations scattered around the city, which was quite difficult.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEVVVPoLl1gHxgoMbAHH8qwXSSmuGs-fTeuGvWp9GwL2Eu1bXEzYIJoTcydvv-3Qdv1FmAooBg5JL_sV0-UUMrEorAO9lSCroBsToKb05Ief5AgefZHGEHcirOkSzTFkcY7FOow0FA4hludyiODRkRbYcwht0RKTmoZJTRxQWHwrseqK5YrJ20O05/s4032/IMG_5068.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEVVVPoLl1gHxgoMbAHH8qwXSSmuGs-fTeuGvWp9GwL2Eu1bXEzYIJoTcydvv-3Qdv1FmAooBg5JL_sV0-UUMrEorAO9lSCroBsToKb05Ief5AgefZHGEHcirOkSzTFkcY7FOow0FA4hludyiODRkRbYcwht0RKTmoZJTRxQWHwrseqK5YrJ20O05/s320/IMG_5068.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLQiSLH72qOqm7IVXS8mtXwGsMCOBv_y94rlvng_cj4M3n8CE35ZigITO-UpEQp7Z5KVYLvxd4n08y5I0sHJ8C3LgoBQpHefLyL17LD95w4WLI28pnbhNiEYODTtAgqU7ctis3o8Vvn09XKeAeMEiT7ftre-QuWYeVAXYJ6YVCIaLsBzpDuRwa71V/s4032/IMG_5105.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLQiSLH72qOqm7IVXS8mtXwGsMCOBv_y94rlvng_cj4M3n8CE35ZigITO-UpEQp7Z5KVYLvxd4n08y5I0sHJ8C3LgoBQpHefLyL17LD95w4WLI28pnbhNiEYODTtAgqU7ctis3o8Vvn09XKeAeMEiT7ftre-QuWYeVAXYJ6YVCIaLsBzpDuRwa71V/s320/IMG_5105.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Sweden features large selections of both delicious pastries and power tools!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJReDsxdebDdVDBuqSVnyjZKwER_CZCfSMb9mlh8n6PwvPBZFMX_be3q0-LyaGyB7bOYuL34QgS1H0ZpLrfiwvN4DryPxQ5ct_ix0sb2H_IM5J9grxL-PxVXuHbSOb-vMdGge0_8uT_VTKHVzD8zIwkJbTo8ClaZZ9EYFBxIIS__jsF6IAwT5sf8mQ/s4032/IMG_5109.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJReDsxdebDdVDBuqSVnyjZKwER_CZCfSMb9mlh8n6PwvPBZFMX_be3q0-LyaGyB7bOYuL34QgS1H0ZpLrfiwvN4DryPxQ5ct_ix0sb2H_IM5J9grxL-PxVXuHbSOb-vMdGge0_8uT_VTKHVzD8zIwkJbTo8ClaZZ9EYFBxIIS__jsF6IAwT5sf8mQ/s320/IMG_5109.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I tend to judge cities, or European ones at least, in part based on the quality and volume of their public sculpture. And extra points are awarded for female nudes. Barcelona leads the pack in this regard, at least as far as I have seen. Stockholm doesn't measure up quite as well, but there are a few gems, including this one near the old town center.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I know that I usually round out my blog posts with some philosophical ponderings (and once in a while the ponderings wholly comprise the post). I have to say that with everything going on these days, I haven't been pondering all that much... other than to say that I sometimes find myself thinking about compassion. The ability to really identify with someone else, and feel what they are feeling, seems to me to be such a critical and important factor in the world, and sort of a differentiating factor between people. For instance, would Putin really have invaded Ukraine if he was a truly compassionate person? Would his soldiers be killing innocent women and children if they were truly compassionate people? I guess most soldiers aren't particularly compassionate. But I think the world would be a better place if more people conducted themselves with more awareness of how things are for other people.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">And also, being in England (and close to Manchester at that) got me enthusiastic... again... for like the 100th time... about my old favorite band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Division" target="_blank">Joy Division</a>. What a great band they were, and what a tragic story. I find that I am always interested in people who do really extreme things in life... people like Ian Curtis and Ted Bundy. I will never be one of those people... but I find them fascinating. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">While at the Chatsworth House we were really close to Macclesfield, and I really tried to get over there to see the last house that Ian Curtis lived in, but I had no car and so it wasn't possible. Oh well, another time.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, as promised, I will now show some images and text from my most recent proposal for Burning Man.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Proposal text:</span></div><div><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">The Way Forward is a mid-action snapshot of an impossible scene. An ocean wave bursts from the ground, and at the cresting top of this wave is a shark, on the verge of breaking free from the water. Just forward of the shark's dorsal fin sits a woman. She is leaning forward, looking intently ahead, right arm outstretched in front of her, finger pointed decisively forward. The wave and the shark are crafted from steel; the woman from aluminum. The scale is such that the woman is about 1.25 times larger than a real human. This piece is a synthesis of several threads - aesthetic, personal, and philosophical - that came together for me in an unconscious process. The male and female, or Apollonian and Dionysian, as presented originally by Nietzsche and elaborated by Paglia, achieve a dynamic fusion in this piece. Also, a tremendously productive year of therapy brought me finally in touch with my wounded and suppressed female side, hidden since childhood. The woman on the shark IS my female side, showing the strength and focus needed to manifest, to demand to be seen. But I believe the most important, universal, and accessible meaning of the piece can be found in its depiction of the female principle uniting with the power of the natural world to show a path forward through dark times. The male principle can be rapacious and has done much damage. It will be the female principle in all of us that gets us back on track. Power and longevity of the shark, vision of the female, direction, focus, The Way Forward.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsUpMOC2c3FJ0-NsJyXff1mQubQgeftYtfzXQb-IQodLNWECH5zaZgzZiBAyQznkN1daInx5fLKsw4S6UYRiL2-_MWDE9zh4it7cR7M6Ze2t43ilmA3SS9vy7V_jp6o2SOsjlkYFumCNztRRNBAy1Koz9s0Srg5QrXNi7-ZiNYMjxfQk0hlohiMCi/s3782/TheWayForwardImage1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2847" data-original-width="3782" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCsUpMOC2c3FJ0-NsJyXff1mQubQgeftYtfzXQb-IQodLNWECH5zaZgzZiBAyQznkN1daInx5fLKsw4S6UYRiL2-_MWDE9zh4it7cR7M6Ze2t43ilmA3SS9vy7V_jp6o2SOsjlkYFumCNztRRNBAy1Koz9s0Srg5QrXNi7-ZiNYMjxfQk0hlohiMCi/s320/TheWayForwardImage1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFVqAyhUOAVK1ugUyqXaKLz55b8Vp5RDe6XMdkJLqp06mqX8fcV9LDn4ZSLM_qRl-qFQ_JYBvMNgG6iytHa9F2r5zF_DlgUyrfe46aIJj8rjwzI3XGej3UJciVk20Jc3xeBtafi3ul3p3aKN5ezCXj9N86G9bV8lbzSqpKtwyGsx40QnSSDb4m81H/s3878/TheWayForwardImage2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2878" data-original-width="3878" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFVqAyhUOAVK1ugUyqXaKLz55b8Vp5RDe6XMdkJLqp06mqX8fcV9LDn4ZSLM_qRl-qFQ_JYBvMNgG6iytHa9F2r5zF_DlgUyrfe46aIJj8rjwzI3XGej3UJciVk20Jc3xeBtafi3ul3p3aKN5ezCXj9N86G9bV8lbzSqpKtwyGsx40QnSSDb4m81H/s320/TheWayForwardImage2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, thanks for reading.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Bye!</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-88093512899820065272021-12-04T16:29:00.001-07:002021-12-04T16:29:36.890-07:00How Many Topics Can I Reasonably Cram Into One Blog Post?<span style="color: #cccccc;">After publishing my last post, I realized there was one more thing I wanted to write on the topic of politics. A while ago I read a book called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. It's a good book, primarily about the struggle to be artistically productive. But of all the points made in the book, the one that stuck with me the most was about politics, not art. In a very short chapter called "Resistance and Fundamentalism," Pressfield draws a distinction between the Artist and the Fundamentalist. The essence of it (or at least what I have taken away from it) is that the Artist (the Progressive) believes that a better world is always yet to come, and this it is the responsibility of humans to work towards that world, while the Fundamentalist (the Conservative) believes that the best version of the world has already passed, and we have now fallen, and the way forward is really to go back... to that lost world of the past when things were better. It's such a simple, yet powerful, way to see this divide between types of Humans. I think about it all the time. The short chapter I'm referring to has a lot more to say... in only 3.5 pages. You can read it for free <a href="https://aimeeknight.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/the-war-of-art_fastpencil_pbo.pdf" target="_blank">HERE</a>... you'll find the chapter starting on page 45.</span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">______________________________________________</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have lost a few friends over the years, not to death, but to something a little harder to figure out. These (former) friends I'm referring to have been primarily male. For the most part, these people have just stopped talking to me... dropped me, so to speak... and in the absence of any explanation, that has been confusing. But one or two people over the years have taken the time to "break up with me," or to explain the problem. Although the explanations were muddled, they expressed in one way or another the sentiment that I am not a "good friend." Which is to say, I don't know how to 'do' friendship correctly. I’m going out on a little bit of a limb here, but I speculate that the ones who just went quiet may have had similar complaints to the few who actually explained themselves to me. I’ve also gotten in trouble with my family from time to time for similar reasons; for not being attentive or not communicating as much as I should.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">The thing is, I just don’t really need very much in the way of the normal aspects of friendship, like seeing people regularly, keeping up with friendly emails and stuff like that… the kinds of things that I think are called “friendship maintenance.“ In my mind, I'm still on the same good terms with friends, even if I don't talk to them for a year. And so because I don’t really need those things so much, I get a little confused by people who do. And more specifically, I get confused by people who need those things from me. I’m old enough now, and smart enough, to realize that many people do need these things… so sometimes I try to play along and be 'normal'. But I’m not very good at it. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I guess another thing that stuck in my head, and which pertains to this topic, is something I read a long time ago which made the following simplified argument: People can put their energy towards their work, their family, or their friends. Generally speaking, or so the argument goes, people can only really put energy towards two out of those three. The third invariably suffers. For me, the passage of years has shown clearly that work and family are where I put my attention. And that feels normal to me. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I am not autistic, but there are times when I hear or read descriptions of the <i>social impairment</i> that most autistics experience, and it feels very familiar. From what I have read, the language of emotion and interpersonal connection feels like a foreign one to them… one that they simply cannot understand. And there are times, admittedly in a very superficial kind of way, that I experience the same thing. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">In closing, to those of you for whom I could not provide the kind of friendship that you needed, sorry. And good for you for realizing it, and moving on. And to those of you who stick with me, thanks! It's nice to know you!</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">______________________________________________</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have a personal theory about the metric system versus the imperial (inch) system. I cannot help but see in these two systems the vestiges of what I believe were the disparate political cultures under which these two systems of measurement arose. The imperial system, originated in Britain, is arcane, difficult to memorize, and… when you get into some of the deeper and more esoteric corners of it… bordering on the nonsensical. The divisions of the inch, into 16ths, 32nds, and 64ths, are fundamentally ridiculous. The imperial system for measuring thicknesses of metal sheets is particularly stupid. My theory is that these systems were originally devised, perhaps in an unconscious way, with the intention (or at least the corollary benefit) of stratifying society into those who could understand the system, and those who could not. The metric system, on the other hand, could not be more straightforward. Because it is a base-10 system, it is extremely easy to understand. Not only does pretty much everybody in the world except the United States use the metric system… but so do the American military and NASA and a variety of US-based manufacturing concerns. My theory goes on, then, to postulate that this system arose partly out of a desire to have a common approach that everybody could understand… across all levels of society. I primarily use the Imperial system, because I live here in the US and all my tools are calibrated in inches, but after having lived in Europe for a bit, I can say that I prefer using the metric system.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">(I find it funny that, when you get into the precision measurements required for machining, the inch is divided into 1000ths... or a base-10 system, a practical nod to the inherent sensibility of that approach. AND... the inch is internationally DEFINED as 2.54 centimeters!)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138;">______________________________________________</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I am excited to report that I recently got a private commission to build a sculpture for a gentleman that I know here in Taos. For the last year or so, as the pandemic ate away at the core of Christina‘s and my business model, I have been nursing along two cherished sculpture ideas. As I mentioned in my last post, I proposed one of those ideas for Burning Man this year... and I’m not prepared to talk about that one just yet… because I’m superstitious that way! But the other one that I’ve wanted to build, which is a standing female robot character which pays homage in some ways to the big red robot which now stands at Meow Wolf, and also to the sitting Buddha figure of With Open Arms, but which is an evolution from both of those, it’s something that I will now get to build. I have to say, I’m very excited! </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">One really fun result of this commission is that I have finally been able to purchase a tool that I’ve wanted for a long time… well, at least since I used one back at BBK in Berlin. The tool is called a plate bending roll. I built basically the entire body of With Open Arms with a really incredible plate bending roll in Berlin, and I’ve just purchased a similar one, although much smaller, to build this new figure. I’m really excited about it! </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoISEkeFJCfYnTPs6c94-miB1abhoikbE9SCdFD7nV8kadlUQT78qQlPwg2TIxOa2i3O02yDwrflpmq_O6W0snR43vZvwx7iibvR7rwHUVNG20_XpWD0sPz35bUwnXgbt0TNRESBuJwUU/s2048/Metallkraft+Roller+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoISEkeFJCfYnTPs6c94-miB1abhoikbE9SCdFD7nV8kadlUQT78qQlPwg2TIxOa2i3O02yDwrflpmq_O6W0snR43vZvwx7iibvR7rwHUVNG20_XpWD0sPz35bUwnXgbt0TNRESBuJwUU/w300-h400/Metallkraft+Roller+1.jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Here I am standing next to the roller I used in Berlin. It really was my favorite tool at BBK.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKtbb8rKpfAuVBg0Jsz2LHlk2SjtTxEmLEWXCFY0Wa8of8OZFtKmY14ijSk-tyimm9SssuWEhoqm0oHE2aH2ISSpxHMhM_Z0-tHkh6LLE-owg8iI-vO64ao8spkcDZfBEbp7Vd7KWueU/s1544/Americor+Plate+Roll.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1544" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKtbb8rKpfAuVBg0Jsz2LHlk2SjtTxEmLEWXCFY0Wa8of8OZFtKmY14ijSk-tyimm9SssuWEhoqm0oHE2aH2ISSpxHMhM_Z0-tHkh6LLE-owg8iI-vO64ao8spkcDZfBEbp7Vd7KWueU/w320-h241/Americor+Plate+Roll.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And here's a low-res photo of the one that I just bought. I have just noticed that the cabinetry at the left end of each machine is almost identical, and I'm wondering if there is some crossover between the European company (Metallkraft) and the American one (Americor). A google search showed nothing conclusive.</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><span style="color: #e69138;">______________________________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">It occurred to me the other day that if I were to pick out the most memorable of my machines and sculptures, and arrange them chronologically, it would be a linear progression not only in time but also along the axis which starts at machine and ends at human, and also along the access which begins at male and ends at female. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSiUc46zps5HsF1Mx6bpfsjITAVzPEWy51K_hJBEij2pCyBE9LSPcTG-_33ACbMGGwLK8ZboKfdmU30o98v2SBO3zjtz_GKpI12aRXxz9AAR-8EMR1hkvSStyznhBUnLTHLvPYlyGBK8/s3063/Progression.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="3063" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSiUc46zps5HsF1Mx6bpfsjITAVzPEWy51K_hJBEij2pCyBE9LSPcTG-_33ACbMGGwLK8ZboKfdmU30o98v2SBO3zjtz_GKpI12aRXxz9AAR-8EMR1hkvSStyznhBUnLTHLvPYlyGBK8/w640-h214/Progression.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The private commission I'm about to start building will sit very nicely at the right end of this continuum. Being able to see this progression in my head, and chart it, has actually already given me a general idea for yet another sculpture which could come after these that I am building now. Again… Exciting!</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="color: #e69138;">______________________________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have been re-visiting my love for the late fashion designer, Alexander McQueen. One aspect I'm looking at with fresh eyes right now is: <b><i>why</i></b> do I like him so much?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Way back in my <a href="http://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2020/11/" target="_blank">blog post of November 11, 2020</a>, I stated that I had arrived at a theory which explained and tied together various elements of my psychological landscape. Amusingly, even though I'd written about the discovery as kind of a "teaser," no one asked for elaboration. This just goes to show that either A) no one reads my blog, B) people do read it but don't care about the theory, or C) people were desperately curious for elaboration but somehow knew that, had they asked, I would have politely declined to answer... about which they would have been correct! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Anyway, the theory - which was new at the time - is now a firm part of my self-concept. And, it does shed light on my appreciation for McQueen. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">But perhaps this blog post is now sufficiently long, and has bounced randomly between topics enough, that I don't now need to go into McQueen. Let it suffice to say that I consider him an artist of the first magnitude, the highest level, and that, although I would never presume to put myself on the same level as a genius like mcQueen, I see a lot of commonalities between McQueen and myself - psychologically and artistically. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Maybe I'll write about him again soon.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">If you made it this far, well... thanks for reading.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Love to all of you,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Christian</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-90095246661956954662021-11-20T15:27:00.003-07:002021-11-21T12:55:09.290-07:00Value Systems<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Quasi stream-of-consciousness philosophical / social / political musings and a brief update on art output. </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><u><span style="color: #ffa400;">Quasi stream-of-consciousness philosophical / social / political musings</span></u></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Christina and I had an interesting conversation the other day which centered on the idea of different value systems. The kind of behavior that Person 1 thinks should, and would naturally cause Person 2 to shrink in guilt and shame, might in fact make Person 2 glow with pride because these two people subscribe to totally different value systems. The behavior of, for instance, a CEO of a pharmaceutical company implicated in the opioid epidemic makes for an extreme but therefore highly illustrative example. (Person 1 thinks "how can that CEO even sleep at night!?" while the CEO (Person 2) thinks "Fuck yeah, I made it to the top! The good life!") I guess this gets to the core of different political systems as well. A person who leans towards <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcAQB3oPzt0&ab_channel=act.tv" target="_blank">Democratic Socialism</a>… or the idea that everyone should have a reasonably equal quality of life and that those who can't manage that quality of life on their own should have ample access to a robust social safety net… has a very different value system than a person who believes that all of life is one big competition, and the point of it is to win… or to have a better life than everyone else around you. So, I’m not really saying anything new here, but Free Market Capitalism and Democratic Socialism arise out of very different value systems… And I’m speaking about value systems in the human sense, or the moral sense. (I think it's worth noting that people living under Scandinavian-style Democratic Socialism are MUCH <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKuRiigagkU&ab_channel=TheNation" target="_blank">happier</a> than those living under Free Market Capitalism). And going back to an old theme of mine, I just can’t help but wonder how much of this is rooted in psychology. It just wouldn’t surprise me if most of it arises out of formative life experience. For instance… and this is obviously a simplification… a person who grows up in poverty or in other kinds of challenging circumstances might gravitate towards a "Winner Take All" worldview, becoming a venture capitalist or something of the sort, and never sparing a second thought for those less fortunate than him. "Social Justice" might be a fundamentally meaningless term to a person like that. On the other hand a person raised to believe that everyone is equal and has a fair right to the good life… (and it might even be necessary for the functionality of my example that this theoretical person might himself or herself have been raised in comparative comfort)… such a person would understand the term and concept of "social justice" as an integral part of the way the world should be, and would fight to make that world real. It's fascinating to think of all these adult actors on the world stage (by which I mean pretty much every grownup) just directly acting out the unexamined consequences of their childhoods, and unconsciously shaping the world.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">This might feel like a jump… the thematic link might seem tenuous… but I can’t help thinking about the comparative prevalence of religion between a place such as Scandinavia and another place such as the United States, or for that matter some parts of South America or Africa. In Scandinavia, religion is a mere formality. Almost no one actually believes in it… it’s just a ritualized vestige of the way that culture has evolved over the last thousand years. Whereas in the United States or South America or Africa, religion is quite prevalent.… and not just as a formality. People really believe. Now what is the difference between these two places? In Scandinavia, the government and the concomitant social safety net is highly developed. Peoples' basic needs are met by the society in which they live. So therefore, they do not need the supportive myth of a God who will make this life bearable, and then give them an even better life after they die. But in places like the US, South America, Africa, and others, there is no social safety net. People must struggle and fight just to have a decent life, and the government, gutted as it is by years of unchecked capitalism and/or mismanagement, is almost wholly incapable of taking care of its people. So religion plays an incredibly important role in the lives of these people… steeping them in the message that someone does actually give a shit about them (even if that caring someone is an imaginary bearded patriarch up in the sky), and that their lives will finally be better after death. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Nietzsche would be appalled. Or maybe I’m wrong about that…maybe he would just have a good laugh. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">(I believe that there is an incredible hubris underpinning the idea that our human consciousnesses must persist after death. Consciousness seems to me to clearly be a product of biology (after all, my consciousness apparently did not exist <i>before</i> my biology grew up to support it [reincarnation enthusiasts might disagree!]), so why would we believe that consciousness would persist after the supporting biology fails? It's as if we humans are so impressed with ourselves that the idea of our consciousness dying when we do is just offensive! Again, hubris. Do animals go to heaven? The same heaven? Or a separate one?)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">If you think about it, the progress towards Democratic Socialism and the progress towards a post-racist society have a lot in common. Both Democratic Socialism and race-blindness are obviously the more morally defensible positions, and progress towards these goals is obviously something worth fighting for. And yet the fights for these worthwhile goals both proceed haltingly at best because of the powerful vested interests which stand to lose their time-honored positions of advantage. After hundreds of years on top, there are signs that Whitey might be starting to lose it, and He doesn’t like it so he’s fighting back. In my opinion this is the core appeal of Trump and other fascists and aspiring fascists like him: “Make America (or Italy or Germany or Spain or Hungary) Great Again!” (for those of us who have traditionally been the privileged class).</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think the race situation in this country is poisoned by the legacy of slavery… poisoned in a 1000 year kind of way. Black people are forever angry about that inexcusable and horrendous history; white people are terrified of that righteous anger and the result of that fear is institutionalized and structural racism designed to keep Black people from getting a foot up; and this just adds more fuel to the fire of black anger. It’s hard to see how that situation can resolve itself. On the other hand it's really </span><i>not</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> too hard to see these forces ripping the country apart.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: inherit;"><u>A brief update on art output</u></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">I came across an interesting bit of research last week. It's easy to find online summaries of the research article - one is <a href="https://www.talenthouse.com/articles/how-to-be-creative-hot-streak" target="_blank">here</a> - but the basic idea is this: A researcher wanted to understand if there was any discernible or predictable pattern underlying the idea of a "hot streak," or a period of prolific and/or successful professional / artistic output. An example of a hot streak would be the four years that Jackson Pollock spent making his "<a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=jackson+pollock+drip+painting&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">drip paintings</a>." Pollock's hot streak was so hot, in fact, that most people don't know he did anything else, but he only produced that type of work for four years. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">So the researcher (Dashun Yang) used artificial intelligence to comb through the careers of more than 26,000 artists, film directors, and scientists (it's already interesting, right?) to look for hot streak patterns. The resulting discovery was that hot streaks are almost invariably preceded by periods of meandering experimentation with diverse ideas or styles. This preceding period is referred to in the study as "exploration." The study continues by noting that the periods of exploration naturally give way to periods of "exploitation" in which the artist, film director, or scientist in question narrows in on one element that has emerged from the exploration as the <i>one idea</i> that he or she feels strongly enough about to pursue. This <i>one idea</i> is then exploited through deep focus and dedication, and the result is... a hot streak. Again, think back to Jackson Pollock whose four years of drip paintings were preceded by many years of meandering through a variety of more traditional approaches.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">I can only surmise that I am in a period of exploration. I have historically, in my life, been the type of person to always finish what I start. But lately I have been more likely to begin a project, only to lose interest or focus before finishing. I'm not too proud of this; it's not a pattern I admire in others. None of these projects are officially abandoned, they are just "on hold" until I get back to them. And I usually do get back to them. But perhaps, as I mentioned, this is what exploration looks like. (Of course, I could just be "losing it," and finding comfort in the results of this fancy study I've stumbled upon!) However I do have a sense that something new might be around the corner. I've proven (to myself) that I can oil paint and draw the human figure; I've proven that I can sculpt in clay, that I can make and modify clothing, that I can metal fabricate and design mechanisms and work in hydraulics and other forms of power transmission. I've shown that I can dream up big projects, manage them to completion, and then move them around the world to where they are wanted. I can do all these things, and yet... I don't know which of them I actually care about enough to pursue deeply. I keep thinking there might be a synthesis of these disparate threads... a project or direction that could tie all these things together into something new and interesting, something I'd feel really invested in. But I'm not sure what it is yet and I guess I need to keep exploring.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">(The elephant in the room <i>might</i> be tying the first half of this blog post together with the second half. Maybe it's time to envision some socially relevant art. I find that I am <i>more interested</i> in introspective, self-analytical art, and I often experience socially relevant art as preachy and self-righteous. But who knows. Maybe... just maybe...)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile, there are two large sculptural projects that I've been nursing along for quite some time... projects I actually DO care about, even though they are pretty much straightforward metal work... about which I am cautiously hopeful. If the cards line up, it seems I might be able to build them between now and Fall 2022. So that is good news! One is a large female robot figure, and the other is... I can't talk about it because I've submitted it as a proposal for funding by Burning Man and I don't want to jinx it! Suffice to say that it is, in some sense, the "optimistic" obverse of ENDGAME. In any case, it would be cool if I got to build them both. What a turnaround from the last few years that would be!</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Oh, and I submitted, for the first time, one of my paintings for consideration in a gallery show. Unfortunately it's sort of a COVID era show - online only. But the theme of the show is Emotions and I submitted a painting that fits pretty well...</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXqNyuWKENMNGDSfzhTZRprabd0gGBk_r-tIkwMrA5geOO5UNNrDrGZVUsaFCfxUsdpoU-4bMcXJ_Z8acVaC1BK8WfIF4yRE9kQGRws5LnW61PUjHJp0bwOuwWN_5uVdwm4__tbsTIqw/s2048/Sierra+Screaming.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2043" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXqNyuWKENMNGDSfzhTZRprabd0gGBk_r-tIkwMrA5geOO5UNNrDrGZVUsaFCfxUsdpoU-4bMcXJ_Z8acVaC1BK8WfIF4yRE9kQGRws5LnW61PUjHJp0bwOuwWN_5uVdwm4__tbsTIqw/s320/Sierra+Screaming.jpg" width="319" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>...so I'm cautiously optimistic.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I mentioned earlier that I count clay sculpture among my skills... <i>and</i> I feel I should post at least one picture of something I haven't posted before, so here is an (unfinished) sculpture I have been working on intermittently:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC_aK_sbdKod9D1bMKw7saNUC0uTbJd_6FN3lXpvI1Ib7IH2HN2uWjI-E2cbTQ0N-4q6t6M-5N9nFe_AiSbV_fDkMykc0RO2reneHHwJOGmuM2uNOi4x4qXzefZ1SoVe4roCNRk2_ZV4/s2048/Clay+Sculpture.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJC_aK_sbdKod9D1bMKw7saNUC0uTbJd_6FN3lXpvI1Ib7IH2HN2uWjI-E2cbTQ0N-4q6t6M-5N9nFe_AiSbV_fDkMykc0RO2reneHHwJOGmuM2uNOi4x4qXzefZ1SoVe4roCNRk2_ZV4/s320/Clay+Sculpture.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">It's fun. I enjoy it. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Some positive feedback, with regard to not only the sculpture but the paintings and other stuff as well, would be probably be nice. But for that, I would have to A) finish the damn work, and B) get out from under my rock and show some people. There is no real community here in Taos, in the sense of artists gathering together to work, help each other, and create opportunities. We found that kind of community in Berlin, and it was great. Maybe it's just a feature of cities. Maybe just European cities?</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Living in Taos is like non-stop pioneering. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">(I could go on and on... once I start writing I just think of more and more things to write. But this might be enough for now.)</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Cheers</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-3207315344333580472021-08-07T10:31:00.003-06:002021-08-08T22:23:08.870-06:00He Who Does More, Fails More<p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">In the last post, I said I'd hoped I would be able to feature some beach photos...</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">So here they are!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZj_EX0mMsrO3EGfzbItliUbLx0WIsaID-pKVzOe9Z0uh7ifg9spM_Ut6fstVfZLPbuRF8t__zudChzRjtg60o0KGIZmnZbO9aFWJzdNXg6TePv91QeKSo7AZsRLuvZLPSepvOcXE7yA/s1568/bigstock-Cabo-San-Lucas-86346758-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1568" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZj_EX0mMsrO3EGfzbItliUbLx0WIsaID-pKVzOe9Z0uh7ifg9spM_Ut6fstVfZLPbuRF8t__zudChzRjtg60o0KGIZmnZbO9aFWJzdNXg6TePv91QeKSo7AZsRLuvZLPSepvOcXE7yA/w320-h240/bigstock-Cabo-San-Lucas-86346758-1.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZJzI-3zhMnXVGFgEWVi_odhMQ_15gK_M69X4uiIwS1JyckQKOjS-iEX9LNNMMMiUqCy81jNF576hhrRgy5TeVydPwj8lMEETzUpOlG3W3oWTMBABYCySoeqnSlkKSSbeUW67c7cjF_4/s650/things-to-do-in-baja-california-sur-balandra-beach-la-paz-mexico.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZJzI-3zhMnXVGFgEWVi_odhMQ_15gK_M69X4uiIwS1JyckQKOjS-iEX9LNNMMMiUqCy81jNF576hhrRgy5TeVydPwj8lMEETzUpOlG3W3oWTMBABYCySoeqnSlkKSSbeUW67c7cjF_4/s320/things-to-do-in-baja-california-sur-balandra-beach-la-paz-mexico.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Except, these aren't my pictures... they're just downloaded from the GoogleNet!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">At the time of my last post, I had just returned from Denver with a new (used) engine. I was able to install that successfully, and... after a few more mechanical hiccups, we were finally ready to go! (For any mechanical geeks reading this, you might be interested in a forum thread I started called "<a href="https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=757433&highlight=" target="_blank">A Few Neat Things I Did on My Vanagon Build</a>")</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">As if getting the Van ready to leave wasn't hard enough, choosing a destination felt like an exercise in navigating the beginning of the apocalypse. Originally we thought we'd go to mainland Mexico... the Oaxaca area, but then that seemed too far and one has to drive through some somewhat dangerous areas to get there. Then we decided on Baja California, which is closer and safer... but they "closed" Baja a few days before our departure due to a COVID flare-up. Then we set our sights on Idaho / Montana / Wyoming... but it turned out that whole area was on fire and choking with unbreathable air. Finally we decided to go north through Colorado and then make our way west towards the Oregon coast. Although much of Oregon was also on fire, the coast looked pretty clear (!).</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">We finally set off on a Wednesday morning. The van was humming along and we had a real feeling of freedom to finally be going somewhere!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QlFmKCpvDwnyB3ZiszuAWOqr7Xjtz21Qqt2yV2epJftA6FrZz6EVx2Gy71ixUWfuWqb7mw_pT3JwJUPhWA571R7dpZYEPgr6IIdXDUOjyi513hPKlcNRUEuz5l6mL4gALltYq5mK7Po/s2048/IMG_5402.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QlFmKCpvDwnyB3ZiszuAWOqr7Xjtz21Qqt2yV2epJftA6FrZz6EVx2Gy71ixUWfuWqb7mw_pT3JwJUPhWA571R7dpZYEPgr6IIdXDUOjyi513hPKlcNRUEuz5l6mL4gALltYq5mK7Po/s320/IMG_5402.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGFwIBxs5XYNaSTyS8XKviBCQhNKXsU7SuDrK2ajQZmnTXXPq7-zh37qpb1raj1UnsjiU0d-fc5P2zgcKlO9LxzTWwyzW38XdjPFTUYmZ1V3q17QYJNT-PJkWfXfaMYbBnQqPgVKIVlQ/s2048/IMG_5406.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGFwIBxs5XYNaSTyS8XKviBCQhNKXsU7SuDrK2ajQZmnTXXPq7-zh37qpb1raj1UnsjiU0d-fc5P2zgcKlO9LxzTWwyzW38XdjPFTUYmZ1V3q17QYJNT-PJkWfXfaMYbBnQqPgVKIVlQ/s320/IMG_5406.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">We stopped at a preserved 1800's town museum in Fairplay, Colorado...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQEpkj45huMqwUlBM0gQ887OFJLNmm6Na4eHCzEkWJ12Fh6vndW99K93uauEdNtSIr8ccY7hD3ulqoedT9XZFEXxaTZsu6DLcrWe5iUkr-zFmaslMgZq7GVuNuVRn7q1UnPlmqpeLgEs/s2048/IMG_2454.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQEpkj45huMqwUlBM0gQ887OFJLNmm6Na4eHCzEkWJ12Fh6vndW99K93uauEdNtSIr8ccY7hD3ulqoedT9XZFEXxaTZsu6DLcrWe5iUkr-zFmaslMgZq7GVuNuVRn7q1UnPlmqpeLgEs/s320/IMG_2454.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">(hearse)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloP2Jq6txjhvHfhGAjxSZrD_0flLtSRNSyC7gDEPEbMQ-R9FW0iIRytSQPWveKQ9jSiIygQUOFp6oZiVX_8jhNuahyFvIwN4UkWKyqkpvxcrz5yB75FPZ61ISvht8HPbG8aAmDNOwlHQ/s2048/IMG_5408.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloP2Jq6txjhvHfhGAjxSZrD_0flLtSRNSyC7gDEPEbMQ-R9FW0iIRytSQPWveKQ9jSiIygQUOFp6oZiVX_8jhNuahyFvIwN4UkWKyqkpvxcrz5yB75FPZ61ISvht8HPbG8aAmDNOwlHQ/s320/IMG_5408.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">... had dinner in Breckenridge, Colorado (van in background)...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkeR9fEEo6jL6pughDY3X8iVj3q_Mvsuf4kFbXwCCo2GSD1bLVCy8XY_wesQmnoKm0YFJN6AIJHGIZ2qpsX2xlXzmRB9M1hwajoETD-NnBPEwduZqlBqs8yRUcfQh9AF6kpyxHspvEN0/s2048/IMG_2466.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkeR9fEEo6jL6pughDY3X8iVj3q_Mvsuf4kFbXwCCo2GSD1bLVCy8XY_wesQmnoKm0YFJN6AIJHGIZ2qpsX2xlXzmRB9M1hwajoETD-NnBPEwduZqlBqs8yRUcfQh9AF6kpyxHspvEN0/s320/IMG_2466.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">... and then settled in...</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_0ZqwyIuw468BPP3-D7l0shJAFueUaYEzE_5jg-7Hf6JPMRQS4H5iKnN_R70eOldWotmCWFpVmbt1BcY8q2MMmuJtJVmSAIqvphiFCXU3TwkeGygBXKqlY8OXm5aynqzHioLDnbwtNc/s2048/IMG_5409.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_0ZqwyIuw468BPP3-D7l0shJAFueUaYEzE_5jg-7Hf6JPMRQS4H5iKnN_R70eOldWotmCWFpVmbt1BcY8q2MMmuJtJVmSAIqvphiFCXU3TwkeGygBXKqlY8OXm5aynqzHioLDnbwtNc/s320/IMG_5409.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">... for our first night of camping.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">I realized later that something strange happened on that first night...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">At dinner, Christina said "The van is running great, you must be proud!" </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">To which I replied "Yes, it's pretty cool. I feel confident about pretty much every part of the van... except maybe for the transmission."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Christina: "Why?"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Me: "Well, the transmission is really the only part I didn't look into thoroughly. As an automatic transmission, it's just sort of a mystery box. You just sort of hope everything is OK in there."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">(When I got the van I was told "The engine is toast. Everything else was working fine." AND... most Vanagon people... and the internet... will tell you that the original VW automatic transmission is very robust and dependable. For these reasons, as well as a lack of time, I assumed the transmission would be OK.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Well... as soon as we got into the van after dinner on that first night, the transmission acted weird. It did not misbehave for long, and I assumed it was a one-time glitch. I shouldn't have said anything about it at dinner!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">The next morning it was fine again, but by mid-morning it was slipping again, and by early afternoon it was dead. DEAD. No Reverse, no top gear, and the low gears were fading fast. We limped the van along the side of the road for about 10 miles at 15mph to a campground. </span></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfAoyk52CGHKkVp-nG2RCx-TJrjKuky9SEJHy3wOgsTtuKQp2H59gVEoiraIMml76sYrlLENrjZagE5HfaFPEVoc5YWR6ADfV8a1dXvZ1T0sSwoqx_urA0blYCPFG77ewP9T0QkdtaZY/s2048/IMG_2493.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfAoyk52CGHKkVp-nG2RCx-TJrjKuky9SEJHy3wOgsTtuKQp2H59gVEoiraIMml76sYrlLENrjZagE5HfaFPEVoc5YWR6ADfV8a1dXvZ1T0sSwoqx_urA0blYCPFG77ewP9T0QkdtaZY/s320/IMG_2493.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">There was a beautiful river just past those trees, and it wasn't a bad place to be stuck for a day and a half. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Christina and Kodiak really wanted to see the coast, so my first plan was to locate another transmission locally and install it there in the campground... to keep the adventure going. But I couldn't find one, and the more I thought about it the crazier it seemed. We were only about 260 miles from home and so we called in some favors from my mom and my friend-with-a-truck, and two long days later we were home.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwj218DSPnNUgxHOOjB5eSm1P1Ie7xxfkJY06Z77bKRtRktmAXMRAqZS17Sx5F2vGDIYx71CfFUEmIVb5XZUkvpQvhzazUjJxr2Uy4TgHp8XkzcGNoIXXVMQEeYyU4eXbR-TW3Fl0yJo/s2048/IMG_2498+2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwj218DSPnNUgxHOOjB5eSm1P1Ie7xxfkJY06Z77bKRtRktmAXMRAqZS17Sx5F2vGDIYx71CfFUEmIVb5XZUkvpQvhzazUjJxr2Uy4TgHp8XkzcGNoIXXVMQEeYyU4eXbR-TW3Fl0yJo/s320/IMG_2498+2.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">What an ordeal.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">When I was living in Germany a friend told me a German saying... a German proverb perhaps... which says "Wer macht mehr, scheitert mehr." This means "He who does more, fails more." This saying really stuck with me, even after these several years, in part because I feel that it really applies to me and my life, and in part because I'm never really sure if I understand it completely. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Statistically speaking, of course it's true. If you never try anything, you will never fail; and conversely, if you do things and try things all the time, you will fail at some percentage of them. Failure is part of the game, and just as it cannot be avoided completely, nor should it be feared or viewed as defeat. One way in which I've sometimes thought about this proverb is that a frequent incidence of failure is proof that one is doing things, trying things, and should be viewed in a positive light. The wording of the proverb is ambiguous enough that I think you could construe an opposing interpretation - something along the lines of "you will fail less if you rein in the breadth of your endeavor and focus on your specialty" - but I don't think that is the true meaning of it. Or at least that is not the meaning I choose to focus on. I failed in my efforts to take my family on a vacation to the coast, but we had a hell of an experience along the way. And I know a hell of a lot more about Vanagon mechanics than I used to.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Luck. I don't really believe in it. I think you make your own luck by being diligent, thorough, prepared, and ambitious. And beyond that, things just happen. The world is meaningless and random, and fundamentally beyond our control. People like to put stories on things, to find meaning, because I think it creates the illusion of control. If the world makes sense, and things happen for a reason, and Karma is real, then we can see patterns and predict occurrences, and this gives the feeling of being in control. But I believe that's all bullshit. It's the same with religion. Giving people the illusion of meaning is one of the main purposes of religion, because to live with a real awareness of the meaninglessness of existence is scary. It offends our deep human need for meaning and control and predictability... which we grasp for, I believe, because deep down we know the dark truth that we can never have those things.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">You know how when you are doing something cool - something like skipping stones on a still pond - and you're getting good at it - you want someone else to see it? Having someone else see it validates it, gives it meaning, makes it real. I think this is another one of the impulses behind religion. There's a very basic human desire to be seen, to be validated, and if you believe in God then there is always someone to see you and validate you, even when no other human is around. The alternative is that no one saw the cool thing, or the good deed, that you just did... and that it's only for you, for you to know... and maybe it doesn't actually mean anything, and I think that's scary for some people. No one wants to be alone. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">But enough with God, let's get back to luck. Even though I don't believe in luck, even though I believe that the best you can do to fight off the chaos and the entropy which is constantly trying to engulf you is to be prepared and rigorous, I sometimes imagine that the Buddha hand which I affixed to the front of my big crane truck helps ward off bad luck. It's ridiculous, and I know it... and I sometimes think it anyway. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0H8KLUZ7iT-gumHEyJUar-ImvWoRAiOhvIsQV2NBu9KrC8NRz_2Vi0a_tQrmfk0pqqC5Bg0a0oJF60LZskIuT96mHN4kfBlXp-1eid5oIXTnykIgJJYF6BTi8fLNd1N-83J4Pcu0WiA/s2048/IMG_2551.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1626" data-original-width="2048" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0H8KLUZ7iT-gumHEyJUar-ImvWoRAiOhvIsQV2NBu9KrC8NRz_2Vi0a_tQrmfk0pqqC5Bg0a0oJF60LZskIuT96mHN4kfBlXp-1eid5oIXTnykIgJJYF6BTi8fLNd1N-83J4Pcu0WiA/s320/IMG_2551.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">And so when we were getting ready to set off on our big adventure in the Vanagon - you remember the Vanagon with the secretly flawed transmission - I decided that I should probably bring some good luck with me. I had a rabbit's foot that I'd saved from an actual rabbit that our dog killed a few years ago, and rabbit's feet are <a href="http://omgfacts.com/the-creepy-reason-why-a-rabbits-foot-is-so-lucky/" target="_blank">supposed to be good luck</a>, so I made it into a key chain and attached it to the VW key. And I also grabbed a small carved wooden hand called a <a href="https://www.jewelryfashiontips.com/what-is-a-figa/" target="_blank">Figa</a>, a good luck charm in Brazil, and hung it from the mirror. Well of course these primitive talismans did not bring me any luck with the Van! They did not prevent the transmission from failing. Of course I know better. The world is random, the transmission broke because of physics (and probably because it was old), and the rabbit foot and the Figa had nothing to do with it. Or wait... maybe they <i>did</i> ward off the bad luck! After all, no one got injured, the van didn't get wrecked or stolen! Yes, of course, the good luck amulets worked! Wait, no... the universe is governed by chance and by physics! Well, one thing is for sure... I'm removing that rabbit foot and Figa from the van! Now I just need to find some <i>better</i> good luck charms!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">I disassembled the transmission and found several failed components. I'm working on finding replacements. Wish me good luck!</span></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-14209569568857399382021-07-13T10:11:00.011-06:002021-07-13T11:46:26.582-06:00Vanagons (and drawings of Naked Ladies!)<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">My birthday was about a week ago, and Christina threw me a surprise party. (A very effective surprise party, I might add. I had no idea what was going on until she removed my blindfold, after having driven me to our favorite local restaurant, and I found myself at a table with about 12 of my best friends here in Taos. I was slightly flustered for the first 20 minutes or so… because if anything Covid has only intensified my hermit-like tendencies and it was a bit intense to suddenly be in the presence of so many people, gathered for <i>me</i>, but I eased into it and ended up having a great time.) </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM5U2jiPHPmSSFVWARMnfG7JJGMoYrNrAA8BScBbalntBiVZPXwOaqUndjAhyphenhyphentdXsYTjDwcN5SYZ2Z3rziVYlLoYRM0TPo5Dpgx1GtJ1UoEpRgRnklO1yxwf216aGKq3HOXZF4dRkElU/s2048/IMG_2349.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM5U2jiPHPmSSFVWARMnfG7JJGMoYrNrAA8BScBbalntBiVZPXwOaqUndjAhyphenhyphentdXsYTjDwcN5SYZ2Z3rziVYlLoYRM0TPo5Dpgx1GtJ1UoEpRgRnklO1yxwf216aGKq3HOXZF4dRkElU/s320/IMG_2349.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Anyway, my point is that several people gave me a good-natured hard time that evening for not having blogged lately. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Now I think it would not make for a tremendously interesting blog post to write about why I haven’t been writing blog posts lately, but it’s a point of entry… And so I'll ponder it briefly. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">For one thing, I’m just so damn busy. More on that in a moment. But the other noteworthy aspect of it, I suppose, is that I have not really been doing much art lately, and I think I’ve inadvertently fallen into a trap that I did not even know I had laid for myself, which is that I think I’ve begun to feel like my art practice is the only thing worth blogging about. If I look back at my blog from 10 years ago, making art was only a small part of the content. But I guess recently I’ve begun to act like it’s the only valid topic. And I think that's wrong. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">The truth is that I still make art every Thursday night, when I go to my live model drawing group. Thank Jeez for that group. Since we started up the group again, post Covid, I have been the assistant to the woman who runs the group. But in reality, as far as keeping things going during the actual class, I am running the group. And I find that very enjoyable. The other thing I really enjoy about the group is that I have seen myself get better at drawing, even to the point of perhaps developing something like a personal style. To see oneself get better at something over time is really gratifying, especially something you enjoy and want to get better at. Here are a few of my recent drawings… </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRv_mjoCOz2uGvLFI5SSPqeeboK0kNfCwX8n9oZWgJO6Hf0setWMyy_zKkkxOjmVp9hN064MVTROAfduCp3J8aIODZfULv5NesT-n4gTH4uhijWKXy-MEqlIitXSqRjnQspqKEnjxG0s/s2048/IMG_2111.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1562" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRv_mjoCOz2uGvLFI5SSPqeeboK0kNfCwX8n9oZWgJO6Hf0setWMyy_zKkkxOjmVp9hN064MVTROAfduCp3J8aIODZfULv5NesT-n4gTH4uhijWKXy-MEqlIitXSqRjnQspqKEnjxG0s/s320/IMG_2111.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJm2xSHPOG7lhK-2WAV63Cu4-bhAtzyZXPSmVyE-94Co9NNJPYj_8zXF4kfSDpSMwt-b9WLzQHfbliQilOtLG8F-9oDT-LtH8dOqGz7AQikLoi7xsiKr7xpXyU5UX9u7tCxRvuJ3eIvk/s2048/IMG_2115.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1486" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPJm2xSHPOG7lhK-2WAV63Cu4-bhAtzyZXPSmVyE-94Co9NNJPYj_8zXF4kfSDpSMwt-b9WLzQHfbliQilOtLG8F-9oDT-LtH8dOqGz7AQikLoi7xsiKr7xpXyU5UX9u7tCxRvuJ3eIvk/s320/IMG_2115.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnfHChwJZIobwMsGYg4R5kv4gQNDmP6NcAY8RjQmZ0JiioWBqwQQItBINlgQg4XYbaI0gt5-ZcWb3GzLPp__JGGIYIzqT4teDDA3yMbWou3oz0S13AXSj2Q_328zEY4GcKYx-tyXt_Ik/s2048/IMG_2116.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1529" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnfHChwJZIobwMsGYg4R5kv4gQNDmP6NcAY8RjQmZ0JiioWBqwQQItBINlgQg4XYbaI0gt5-ZcWb3GzLPp__JGGIYIzqT4teDDA3yMbWou3oz0S13AXSj2Q_328zEY4GcKYx-tyXt_Ik/s320/IMG_2116.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoWaYWVcd5iG0wnT4bvJpw0CKVc0pbQyiWz9hetrsH65wJSVTQF5dSvL1Qof4kQfmyhYEE-Bfqlac_spMxJq3A64Ww_Nbl0yXg_snsdz5hbwjoy82aQS4Ikjc9-9nlFbf8oEGjbIO9sY/s2048/IMG_2235.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimoWaYWVcd5iG0wnT4bvJpw0CKVc0pbQyiWz9hetrsH65wJSVTQF5dSvL1Qof4kQfmyhYEE-Bfqlac_spMxJq3A64Ww_Nbl0yXg_snsdz5hbwjoy82aQS4Ikjc9-9nlFbf8oEGjbIO9sY/s320/IMG_2235.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TYjxWDZDF4PtQy3CjmPrpkw_6i57h27UOVmu0NvjJxjpv9-AcfliPzae9ywcAIBQufje1op99EUoq1FpEkyFcoZW3k0Gz1Ca8wP3JRwIJCvWHQSVqg7vbInpR2ORPpZdjFod-LrUhFE/s2048/IMG_2324.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1834" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TYjxWDZDF4PtQy3CjmPrpkw_6i57h27UOVmu0NvjJxjpv9-AcfliPzae9ywcAIBQufje1op99EUoq1FpEkyFcoZW3k0Gz1Ca8wP3JRwIJCvWHQSVqg7vbInpR2ORPpZdjFod-LrUhFE/s320/IMG_2324.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yUe_aIyCwjaxtH-9VXNrqMqkSgf9J-WFA4wg0YlIh-xcb_aio1beKzmH5Po9_DU1HbP3Az64h1XG0svB0Jn_0uxWe4-p3p5sh1KsotR1J_yw3l5YwnJguXFngMdLETkK3RDEmpk6QnM/s2048/IMG_2327.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1269" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yUe_aIyCwjaxtH-9VXNrqMqkSgf9J-WFA4wg0YlIh-xcb_aio1beKzmH5Po9_DU1HbP3Az64h1XG0svB0Jn_0uxWe4-p3p5sh1KsotR1J_yw3l5YwnJguXFngMdLETkK3RDEmpk6QnM/s320/IMG_2327.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPY_pI4fMKL6HbOrhZBspyz5Jq6yk-giKU7QYUu-11fMGQw9Kl3o7RvlQEaFXWkiywhidFjoGogt1nqs4LM-fOo-9PzFEBG2OWwWWbquJbl9LNwrgu71xpYihY1Y27XyctLGHcwfodKdE/s2048/IMG_2329.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPY_pI4fMKL6HbOrhZBspyz5Jq6yk-giKU7QYUu-11fMGQw9Kl3o7RvlQEaFXWkiywhidFjoGogt1nqs4LM-fOo-9PzFEBG2OWwWWbquJbl9LNwrgu71xpYihY1Y27XyctLGHcwfodKdE/s320/IMG_2329.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">The other thing that’s been going on, and chewing up all my time, is something that really needs to be told like a story. So here’s the story: </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">As far back as the 1950s, Volkswagen manufactured the iconic VW bus (technically known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_2" target="_blank">Type 2</a>). They sent a certain proportion of these buses directly from the manufacturing facility to another German company called Westfalia. Westfalia outfitted these buses with a camping package, which consisted of a fold down bed, a tiny little kitchen, a bunch of cabinets, and a roof which popped up revealing a second bed. In 1980 they modernized the design of the vehicle, and for the American market they called it the Vanagon (technically know as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_2_(T3)" target="_blank">Type 3</a>). Again, a certain number of these were sent directly to Westfalia and outfitted with an even more modern camping package. In 1992 they revamped the vehicle again, this time dubbing it the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Transporter_(T4)" target="_blank">Eurovan</a>, and again… some number of them were turned into campers by Westfalia. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">In my opinion, the Westfalia Vanagon, produced from 1980 to 1991, is by far the coolest version. I’ve always loved them. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wTaAen33tWMRk5UD2PjqkfyT_CCMeR6bHSPVj3vCj_ked57MwaNIEUPem9kRdcPiEqMOmlv2BLASE1dMDEqs-CqDqRj6cGMVD1q4K39c1mVNLepxz9vurXh_CG0yTY_risrD-Oi7vzo/s1024/patrick-van-pic-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6wTaAen33tWMRk5UD2PjqkfyT_CCMeR6bHSPVj3vCj_ked57MwaNIEUPem9kRdcPiEqMOmlv2BLASE1dMDEqs-CqDqRj6cGMVD1q4K39c1mVNLepxz9vurXh_CG0yTY_risrD-Oi7vzo/s320/patrick-van-pic-1.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">(Not my van, photo courtesy of the GoogleWeb)</span></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Back in 2012 or 2013 I fulfilled a dream and got one. I had a friend do some work on that van prior to taking it to a festival at which I was showing a sculpture, and just before departing on that trip, the engine (that he had worked on) started making some truly horrible noises. I called a second mechanic for his opinion, and after listening to it, that guy said “I don’t know what that is, but it’s bad.“ I did not have time to figure it out before going to this festival, so I had to rent an RV at great expense, at the last minute. Upon returning, I was financially forced to sell that Vanagon. Over the years I often regretted it, saying to myself… and sometimes to Christina, "we never should’ve sold that Vanagon." (It turned out that my friend, the mechanic... who was the same fellow who carelessly caused my Ant sculpture to fall down at Maker Faire in 2015, had carelessly forgotten to tighten some important bolts in the engine-to-transmission interface. These bolts came loose and made a huge racket, although no real damage was done. But I didn't learn any of that until it was too late... until I'd sold the van.) </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Fast forward to earlier this summer, sometime in late May. We were trying to figure out what kind of fun thing we could do over the summer as a family, and after ruling out international travel, we hit up on the idea of taking some kind of road trip. Again, I said “we never should’ve sold that Vanagon.“ “Well, hell… Let’s see if we can find another one,“ Christina said. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Now one of the things that you have to understand about these vehicles is that they have become cult vehicles… very collectible. My theory about the reasoning behind this development is that they fill a niche in the market that no other vehicle really fills. They are small, economical to operate, have their own little kitchen, and can sleep four people. Plus, they’re great looking! What all of this means is that they have become absurdly expensive. So when Christina and I went online to see about finding another one we were rudely surprised. Even crappy Vanagons start at about $15,000.… and that’s just a bit out of our price range. But then I remembered... a friend of ours who used to live just a few miles away had a Vanagon before he died. So that night I texted his widow, who is still a good friend of ours, and asked about the van. A few days later, it was mine... and for a fraction of the cost of all those other ones we had seen online. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">The catch is that it was in pretty rough shape. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjDfi0IRrD0KMLNhC0obcmTLXvdwV0ioWwpN-gOmNgkVkg5xADhQEBJf4KMa_taP94OrJNoSWyadcOFnlr7o27gtTH0ab_r0CDmYIDu2oQzvPWSEXJgYw-biGtYDl3SM0nVG9J9qwWVQ/s2048/IMG_2020.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjDfi0IRrD0KMLNhC0obcmTLXvdwV0ioWwpN-gOmNgkVkg5xADhQEBJf4KMa_taP94OrJNoSWyadcOFnlr7o27gtTH0ab_r0CDmYIDu2oQzvPWSEXJgYw-biGtYDl3SM0nVG9J9qwWVQ/s320/IMG_2020.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">The engine was dead, and the interior needed a hell of a lot of work. So thus commenced about a month of work… (well I hoped it would be about a month) in which we revived this old van. Another thing to understand about these vans is that, although the vehicle itself is unique and much loved, the original VW engine was not a particularly good one. One very common solution is to swap a modern Subaru engine in there, in place of the original VW. So instead of replacing the blown VW engine with another crappy VW engine, I decided to go the Subaru route. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">I am friendly with the best mechanic in this town, and I had a hunch that he probably had a Subaru engine sitting around. So I asked him, and sure enough he said “Yep, got one sitting on the shelf.“ </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8l5_Cg_uwhtiMB44wlZThEeoRXC_f8tFDDJP2NFGHrTQwYI6KvaE7evU31jWH185JxoO4l7WX3Ho7m7RyedMyN2IX8Wmkgpf10g3j6bGArkyFms0nZBHpik5Su1CbUqZv3u-4kMFQ3F0/s2048/IMG_2057.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8l5_Cg_uwhtiMB44wlZThEeoRXC_f8tFDDJP2NFGHrTQwYI6KvaE7evU31jWH185JxoO4l7WX3Ho7m7RyedMyN2IX8Wmkgpf10g3j6bGArkyFms0nZBHpik5Su1CbUqZv3u-4kMFQ3F0/s320/IMG_2057.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">I bought that from him, and over the course of this last month I installed it, building my own engine mounts, exhaust system, accelerator linkages, transmission oil cooler, roof rack, etc. About a week ago, I turned the key for the first time and… The engine started! Success! Except… about a minute later the engine started making a pretty bad ticking noise. The noise got worse, and three days later I definitively established that the engine was fatally flawed. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOI-OrtC7ii5GtRJn588X6eeg5cT5LaOwpG-0WqtMZ7oIne-gJR9StIJII5G-2X4gSz6WaHYT9l3y6HvXu_Ffw5Y7ZLnkGiM2XpH9vzFsjb04P1wiTGBxuqnkO3LmbWyq1jiitRoJ0IVo/s2048/IMG_2334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOI-OrtC7ii5GtRJn588X6eeg5cT5LaOwpG-0WqtMZ7oIne-gJR9StIJII5G-2X4gSz6WaHYT9l3y6HvXu_Ffw5Y7ZLnkGiM2XpH9vzFsjb04P1wiTGBxuqnkO3LmbWyq1jiitRoJ0IVo/s320/IMG_2334.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">In this photo we see: In the upper left - the dead engine, stripped of its peripherals. In the upper middle, hanging from the red strap - the transmission. In the foreground - all the peripherals which have been stripped off the engine, waiting to be transplanted to the replacement.</span></div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Our original plan was to set off on our road trip down to Baja California sometime in the middle of this week… or in other words… right about now. But as it stands, the van does not even have an engine in it, and there’s still quite a lot of other things that need doing. So it is safe to say that we are delayed from our original schedule. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">As I write this now, I have just returned from a 13 hour driving adventure, going up to Denver to get a new (used) engine (and some new (used) wheels) and returning… All in one day. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">So, with that, I will wrap this up and go get my hands dirty. We are hoping to leave on this trip in under a week, so I have a hell of a lot of work to do! I mentioned in the beginning of this post that I was really busy these days… almost too busy to blog... and this van is the reason why. In fact, the first pass of this post was dictated into my phone using voice-to-text as a time saving measure. If you noticed any subtle changes in my writing style, that's probably the reason why. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">So, like I said… off to work. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">Hopefully the next post will have beach pictures. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">(OK, one last thing I want to throw in here. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rammstein" target="_blank">Rammstein</a> are just phenomenal. My favorite band over the last 6 or 7 years. Some of their very best songs pull off this trick of combining heavy metal guitar and drums with truly beautiful melodies with fucked up, disturbing lyrics. The melodies keep you humming the songs to yourself, but the lyrics are what keep you thinking about them, over and over... sometimes wondering "Why would they write something like that?" The songs "Spring" and "Dalai Lama" are the ones I'm talking about. Do not seek out these songs (or at least don't read the English lyric translations) if you are easily unbalanced. I can't get enough.) </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: arial;">OK, bye now</span></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-7356546284074344772021-04-06T10:37:00.000-06:002021-04-06T10:37:06.626-06:00Painting, Prada, and Flowers<p> <span style="color: #cccccc;">Wow, it's been 9 weeks or so since I posted.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">That's a long time for me and this blog.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Let me start by saying that I was recently interviewed for a podcast called 'Art Robot Death.' I believe it is actually a pretty good interview. You can find it <a href="https://anchor.fm/artrobotdeath/episodes/Art-Robot-Death-Interviews-Christian-Ristow-eraet0" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I finally finished the interpretation of Ingres' Jupiter and Thetis, the painting I call 'Juniper and Cletus.' (Or should it be 'Juniper and Themis'? 'Themis' is closer to 'Thetis,' but Themis is a sort of arcane name here in the US, plus it's my brother's name and I'm definitely not trying to implicate him in this painting. 'Cletus,' on the other hand, is an almost comically redneck name and very American. I can't decide which is better.)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Here's the painting: </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVX6atHjIjVVvc4p-t4kGnh9E_uz1PZzxBthtBEHeXQLlOKSX5brzzITg3nAshU50b1fexvIjqbEhcFRnPxFXwbsfn1KFNdT6t1z5tt-pqvTKax-HesZ6xL_ihyphenhyphenz_42_j8ZZ341iKqnqQ/s2048/forIG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVX6atHjIjVVvc4p-t4kGnh9E_uz1PZzxBthtBEHeXQLlOKSX5brzzITg3nAshU50b1fexvIjqbEhcFRnPxFXwbsfn1KFNdT6t1z5tt-pqvTKax-HesZ6xL_ihyphenhyphenz_42_j8ZZ341iKqnqQ/w252-h320/forIG.jpg" width="252" /></span></a></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm pleased with it. Her face could've turned out better, but after coming and going from this painting for over a year, boy-oh-boy was I done. So I called it done.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I've started another painting, which is sort of an important one in the extremely short 'history' of my painting career. The reason I say this is that this painting, the one I've just begun, is the image which appeared to me - as if in a vision - back in Berlin and it's the image that caused me to consider beginning to paint in the first place. I've been working on the image in photoshop, off and on, for a few years now. I finally got the image to a point that I liked, AND my skills are now barely sufficient to pull it off, so I decided to go for it. I will update the blog some time soon with some images.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I am personally having a hard time with a certain aspect of the gradual end of the COVID era, and that is the prospect of being social again. During COVID it has been perfectly acceptable to be a hermit, and I have frankly enjoyed that. I'm probably not alone in these sentiments. Avoiding social gatherings is not the answer either, though; introverts like me need to push through the discomfort. So please keep inviting Christina and me to stuff, you few who do. (That's pretty good.... "you few who do")</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I find that I am having an increased interest in the psychology of clothing. Way back in May, 2018, I wrote a <a href="https://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2018/05/time-time-time-look-whats-become-of-me.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> that touched on this; I wrote that clothing was a filter which acted to sift through the people we encounter and only let through those who could understand, or were not intimidated by the fashion filter. I believe that my current interest has been spurred by the fact that I am currently strongly drawn to a certain type of outerwear, which has a certain quality to it; namely that it is constructed of fabric which maintains a certain rigidity and does not wrinkle easily. Here are three examples:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-aw1sSboVUbxwENhSXbtSB27X0bFKc8U9d5QUgaYJMouy6ytpuCojrXFB-373jpO0ZaIjgpHra616JEfqCYFzRHIe6t_XWxZpifB395-mMon-acOIZNPr6qPC0j7HOEyB1mexBx19Lk/s2048/IMG_1553.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-aw1sSboVUbxwENhSXbtSB27X0bFKc8U9d5QUgaYJMouy6ytpuCojrXFB-373jpO0ZaIjgpHra616JEfqCYFzRHIe6t_XWxZpifB395-mMon-acOIZNPr6qPC0j7HOEyB1mexBx19Lk/s320/IMG_1553.jpeg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBAekud_nZqDa-tO0JgPOwFO36oDFAiYk1BcaOeEKCl21qX54EBbngEDjd2dD5ZoBpx4Txvyq7GI2qyje2iCOIzwcrdnh97WO2s33JhALnvse8YawPBp1nuMHjNWD-KNg1pN5PGfikZ0/s2048/IMG_1554.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBAekud_nZqDa-tO0JgPOwFO36oDFAiYk1BcaOeEKCl21qX54EBbngEDjd2dD5ZoBpx4Txvyq7GI2qyje2iCOIzwcrdnh97WO2s33JhALnvse8YawPBp1nuMHjNWD-KNg1pN5PGfikZ0/s320/IMG_1554.jpeg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxdCqe2lFLVTt5U31zTSYHmK8nqcGf2lZ-5t7HFd1SLgiwJVDPHX4PxKI68-yWjdXrll_a4wdH4wbGJ3PMsUL84OVYAbtRMYtLeUVWz9NuqiWPpcjiEgZT_mqTqKJtLfWNl8RsVIxgWc/s1397/AmandaGormanPrada2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1397" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxdCqe2lFLVTt5U31zTSYHmK8nqcGf2lZ-5t7HFd1SLgiwJVDPHX4PxKI68-yWjdXrll_a4wdH4wbGJ3PMsUL84OVYAbtRMYtLeUVWz9NuqiWPpcjiEgZT_mqTqKJtLfWNl8RsVIxgWc/w220-h400/AmandaGormanPrada2.webp" width="220" /></span></a></div><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I don't know much about the first two examples other than to say they are images from a book called 'The Sartorialist - Closer' by Scott Schuman. The third example is an image of Amanda Gorman at Biden's inauguration, wearing a Prada coat. I have come to the belief that Prada has a sensitivity for fabrics which act this way. (I'm currently coveting a particular Prada coat which I can't really afford, but I'm selling shit on eBay). </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">This may all seem trivial to you, my reader, and it probably is. But I bring it up because I am curious about what it says about me and my psychology. I think the simplicity and rigidity of this type of clothing feels like a sort of 'armor' for me. (A few years ago, for a time, I was seriously considering building myself a suit of armor.) But rarely does something mean only one thing; I believe there are also other ways in which this type of garment reflects something I see in myself, or want to see in myself. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I believe this is a rich and fascinating field of inquiry. Stop to think, just for a minute, about what your clothing says to the world about you. How does your clothing change from day to day, and over longer periods of time? What are the different social messages being sent by the guy in shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian shirt; or the guy in the business suit; or the guy in the ripped black jeans, the leather jacket and boots, and the nose ring? In any case, I've recently purchased a college textbook called "The Social Psychology of Dress" (with chapters such as 'The Origins and Functions of Dress," "Dress and Impression Formation," and "Dress and Social Groups") which promises to dive deeply into these questions of fashion and psychology. I'm very interested to read it.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I was recently commissioned to build a shade structure for Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. The request stipulated that the shade structure would be situated just next to Becoming Human, and would tie together with the sculpture somehow. I came up with an idea, but Christina had a much better idea, so I'm building that. It will be the flower patch from which the big guy picked his flower. So... I've been back in the shop doing metal fabrication for the last few weeks. Pictures to come.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">That's it for now.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Keep being creative, everybody. </span></p><p><br /></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-88084877935422226522021-01-31T00:55:00.021-07:002021-02-02T14:11:56.119-07:00Fuck the Orthodoxy!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">If you decide to try to teach yourself to oil paint, you're going to do a lot of reading and watching Youtube videos, and in the course of this self-education you're going to come to realize that there is an orthodoxy to the whole thing; a few ways that things are 'supposed to be done.'</span><p></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">A few of these 'rules,' for example, are:</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Start by painting the large forms, and when the large forms of color and value are in place, then you can get smaller and more detailed.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">• It's a mistake to 'draw with paint'; the correct approach is to 'paint with paint.' What this means, I think, is that you're supposed to put down large volumes of paint and visually describe your subject with big marks of color and value, as opposed to lines or small meticulously made marks. You're supposed to use the liquid qualities of paint, which are fundamentally different from the 'dry' qualities of pencils and charcoal.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">• Brushwork should be loose and expressive, in the style of John Singer Sargent. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">A few weeks ago I had a kind of an epic fail in the painting studio, and in retrospect I think the real reason is that I was trying to get in line with the orthodoxy. But it didn't work for me. After a lot of frustration I decided to forget these rules and just start putting paint on the canvas. This worked much better for me. This is the result:</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiws2pX7m07vxqGP21opkBGuauWCntKdw8RZA7Eni_2X7VZ_6T3Js_YxetXx_r6wxWiwTnbgxaBb5HQrFkfXLu3UydFSEHw3NKWGa_l62CdcAl4pnu51b7Ff4ExMnclzNd_0FE2ha1eXPU/s2048/Basically+Finished+and+corrected.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1271" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiws2pX7m07vxqGP21opkBGuauWCntKdw8RZA7Eni_2X7VZ_6T3Js_YxetXx_r6wxWiwTnbgxaBb5HQrFkfXLu3UydFSEHw3NKWGa_l62CdcAl4pnu51b7Ff4ExMnclzNd_0FE2ha1eXPU/w249-h400/Basically+Finished+and+corrected.jpg" width="249" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Despite the fact that I have heard, from various sources, that "Painting should be something you enjoy," I often find it excruciatingly difficult. I crash against my own limitations... physical, emotional, psychological... all the time. But I'm painting because I have images in my head that I want to get out. These images deserve to be materialized. And so I am working on a craft, the craft of painting, in order to make these images real.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">(It has occurred to me that I could do this with photography mixed with photoshop... the craft which is known as 'photo illustration.' I enjoy photo illustration, and I do a certain amount of it in service of the images I want to paint, but... at the end of the day all you really have is a print. A print is not an 'art object' in the same way that a painting is. And that is important to me. In addition to making art I also collect art and there is no replacement for the magic of holding in your hands an object that was <i>made by the artist.</i> That is important.)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">So at this point I'm sort of in a "The ends justify the means" phase. I want a certain result and I do what it takes to get that result, which in my case means that I do very careful drawings and I rather meticulously match values and colors to my source images. It's slow and quite 'anal.' I don't put down big expressive slabs of paint; in fact I tend to draw with paint. Oh well. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">What follows is a gross oversimplification, but bear with me. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Let's posit the painting style of photo-realism as one extreme. It is a style in which neither the content of the painting nor the technique of the painting deviates from objective visual reality. The subject is just a real scene, and the brush strokes are tight and unobtrusive, unnoticeable. From this extreme, a painter may deviate in one of two ways, either by distorting the content (towards surrealism or other distortions of reality), OR by distorting the technique of the painting (towards looser and looser brush strokes, or graphical abstraction). </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">If we plot "Distortion of Content" along one axis, and "Distortion of Technique" along the other axis, we can get a graph that looks like this:</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NbCvx_Pxh8H1pC8J_WfxvJW0yUTPvwAJjqfjQBx1siUeoue2ZByARxRLa1vF8C_85CsEMr8ZDXq51K38FtNTpW4B4JU8xWwXO0UWwr3FviC_OB0wosniFBvpsoI8rrn1OZBeRTnfs4w/s2019/Artists+Graph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1883" data-original-width="2019" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NbCvx_Pxh8H1pC8J_WfxvJW0yUTPvwAJjqfjQBx1siUeoue2ZByARxRLa1vF8C_85CsEMr8ZDXq51K38FtNTpW4B4JU8xWwXO0UWwr3FviC_OB0wosniFBvpsoI8rrn1OZBeRTnfs4w/w400-h373/Artists+Graph.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In theory, every painter who ever painted could be plotted somewhere on this graph. For some of them, it's quite difficult to evaluate them... and this is at best a very imprecise and subjective 'science.'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Here are some artists that come to mind, plotted on the graph (again, these are my estimations and they are approximate)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nwy7svHf6MHfzSU6gkuaBcPhhWcUn9cBRM_yAxwVWvupaln5H-z9o6Sgk2yS4317QkEh8QgG3Haie_R1hqgKFyC-DBu-KQQ29ehyphenhyphenfCpvLmKoYN7t4gme_bz3Hh2XwldOjQpDW5sTua4/s2019/Artists+Graph+no+blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1883" data-original-width="2019" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nwy7svHf6MHfzSU6gkuaBcPhhWcUn9cBRM_yAxwVWvupaln5H-z9o6Sgk2yS4317QkEh8QgG3Haie_R1hqgKFyC-DBu-KQQ29ehyphenhyphenfCpvLmKoYN7t4gme_bz3Hh2XwldOjQpDW5sTua4/s320/Artists+Graph+no+blue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Now it so happens that I have a preference for paintings which display a medium-level distortion of content and a low-level distortion of technique... such as seen in the blue zone:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LICqUqLKb44f38TbyTk7zC-6hKR1DtggfpMu6G3qA0X5CUpD2ECAgvLo6Jv_7vV42zyLKAPZIHESNtRH_zF1-l-zo2hzTYBwlMHkxXOELqQRJzvlksilIeqznenKNy7PU2tTw-5LogQ/s2019/Graph+with+zone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1883" data-original-width="2019" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LICqUqLKb44f38TbyTk7zC-6hKR1DtggfpMu6G3qA0X5CUpD2ECAgvLo6Jv_7vV42zyLKAPZIHESNtRH_zF1-l-zo2hzTYBwlMHkxXOELqQRJzvlksilIeqznenKNy7PU2tTw-5LogQ/s320/Graph+with+zone.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">(Mind you, there are artists within the blue zone that I <i>don't like</i>, as well as artists outside the blue zone that I <i>do like</i>. This mainly comes down to subject matter. For instance I don't like Botero (too precious and cute) but I do like Bacon and Basquiat (because their paintings are tortured and dark and have so much energy.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">So the logical question that arises from all this is: If I like the tight and controlled paintings of Gottfried Helnwein, Paul Cadmus, and Mati Klarwein, and if I want to produce paintings like these, then should I be bothered at all about 'loose and expressive brushwork'? No, I don't think so. Helnwein and Cadmus and Klarwein certainly never gave a fuck about how Youtube told them to paint. Fuck the orthodoxy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And anyway, every time I find painting difficult, I just remember the wise words of the very talented Jeff Cochran, "You are not supposed to enjoy painting. It's a battle/war/work."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">____________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Total change of topic. </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I've met a fair number of famous people over the years, and it's occurred to me to write some of those stories down. Some people will find this tacky, or think: "what is he trying to prove with these stories?" I don't think I'm trying to prove anything; mostly I just want to catalogue these stories before I forget them. Some of the stories are good.</span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Most of these took place while I was living in NYC and LA.<br /></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Leonard Cohen and shook his hand and told him how much his music always meant to me, at Coachella in 2009. I discussed this meeting <a href="https://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2018/01/greece.html" target="_blank">previously</a> on this blog.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I also briefly met Perry Farrell at Coachella.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met the amazing J.G. Thirlwell (Foetus) after a show in Los Angeles, some time around 2004. My brother Trevor is kinda friends with Thirlwell.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Michael Gira of the SWANS briefly in San Francisco after a concert in 2015. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Marilyn Manson in LA some time around 2003 or so, at one of those beautiful downtown theaters. I saw him sitting a few seats away from where I was, and worked up the courage to go talk to him. As I approached, his bodyguards tried to block me but he waved them off. I told him about my robot performances and gave him a business card. He was nice and actually sort of enthusiastic about the robots. I'm sure I complimented him about his music, which I liked a lot then, and still mostly do.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">On different occasions I met two members of the band Einstürzende Neubauten; Blixa Bargeld in LA, and N.U. Unruh in Amsterdam. I have always liked this band, but both of these guys were genuine assholes, and these meetings had a definite negative impact on my tendency to listen to them.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Jon Favreau when working on the effects for Zathura. He noticed a picture of an ultrasound of Kodiak, in utero, that I had at my desk and we talked briefly about having children.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Steven Spielberg while working on A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and then had a slightly longer chat with him a few years later working on War of the Worlds.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I also met Jude Law on A.I. Artificial Intelligence and gave him a Robochrist Industries t-shirt. Haha, I bet he treasures that!</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Robin Williams while working on Bicentennial Man.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Alfred Molina and Tobey Maguire while working on Spider-Man 2. I was one of the puppeteers of Dock Ock's tentacles so I was around Alfred a lot, and I got to puppeteer one of the claws grabbing Tobey around the throat during the deli scene.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I also met James Franco on Spider-Man 2. James Franco and I had a friend in common, a talented and handsome young fellow named Ben Neidhardt who had just recently died of a heroin overdose, so Franco and I talked for a few minutes about Ben.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I recognized Cillian Murphy in an airport a few years ago and, as respectfully as I could, complimented him on his work. He was nice. Christina and I were watching Peaky Blinders at the time.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I rode an elevator with Petra Nemcova once and, although I did not really meet her, I smiled at her and she smiled back! I knew exactly who she was, and I was in love!</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I met Larry Page (I think it was him, or maybe it was Sergey Brin...) at Burning Man in 1999 or so. Those are the guys who started Google. Larry (or Sergey?) liked my robots.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Gibby Haynes came over to my warehouse in the South-of-Market area of San Francisco in 1996 or so, because he was an old friend of my then-housemate Flynn Mauthe. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">A few years later I briefly met Johnny Depp at Wacko in LA and I mentioned to him that I'd met Gibby, because they are pals.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I am an acquaintance of the great painter John Currin and his talented wife Rachel because Rachel and I were close friends in college.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I worked pretty closely with Mark Pauline for a few years in the 1990's and we are still friends.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BbrMgr0DQ3v/" target="_blank">met</a> Stelarc while we were living in Berlin a few years ago. We chatted for a bit; he knew who I was which was cool.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Julia Roberts spends time in Taos, and a mutual friend brought her and her family over to our home for a visit a few years ago. I got along pretty well with her husband; she was reserved with me but very open with Christina.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm saving some of the better stories for last...</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">One day at some point around 2000 or so I was living at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brewery_Art_Colony" target="_blank">the Brewery</a> in LA, working on my robots outside my workshop when this sort of hippie-looking guy came over and started chatting with me about them. He was familiar with SRL and wanted to talk about the 'underground' art scene in San Francisco. After a few minutes he explained that his son was working on a commercial in another building nearby, and asked if he could bring his son over to meet me and see the robots. "Of course," I said. A few minutes later he and his son, Leonardo DiCaprio, came over to my shop and we talked for 10 or 15 minutes. I'm pretty sure I complimented Leonardo on his work; I've always liked him as an actor.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">For the second half of my time attending college at Columbia in NYC I lived in a fraternity house called Delta Phi. We were just about as un-fraternity-like as you could get, we were all just into art and drugs. We used to have a lot of parties there, often featuring large tanks of nitrous oxide. Around this time my brother Trevor, who also lived there, was dating a girl (with an amazing birth-name which I won't divulge for reasons of privacy) who was very friendly with Uma Thurman. Through this connection I met Uma and over the course of a certain few weeks I became somewhat friendly with her and even a bit flirtatious. One evening we were having a party at the house, and, as an older 'brother' in the frat I had early access to the nitrous tank, before the party started. A few of us were doing nitrous 'hits' in the basement but finally everyone said "OK we need to save some! Let's go upstairs." They all left the basement but I hung back to do 'just one more!' I took one more nitrous hit, and... woke up a short time later on the floor. My glasses were a few feet away, broken, and I had a profusely bleeding gash over my right eye. I had fallen, from standing position, flat on my face (!) and my glasses had broken from the impact and given me that nasty cut. I gathered myself and decided I should probably go to the hospital to get a few stitches; St. Lukes Hospital was a block away. As I was leaving the house, Uma was arriving for the party. I explained the situation and she said "Well I'll just come with you." So she walked with me to the emergency room and sat there with me... for 2 hours! I was never seen by a doctor because gunshot wounds and other more serious patients kept arriving. Eventually we decided to just go to the Love's pharmacy on Broadway and buy some butterfly bandages, which she applied to my cut. We finally returned to the party, now in full swing, and she wanted to come up to my room. When I opened the door to my room... with Uma Thurman at my side... my girlfriend was there! Well, short introductions were made... and I never really saw Uma again, other than in passing here and there. The scar above my right eye, which she patched up, is faded but still there. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">In this timeframe I also briefly met Ethan Hawke and Gary Oldman; they were hanging around Columbia a lot for a little while.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">During that time I also sort of knew Jann Wenner because I had dated his niece. One time Hunter S. Thompson came to speak at Columbia and Jann was up on stage too, because they were friends. During the Q&A I raised my hand to ask a question and there must have been something good or funny about my question because Hunter, sort of inexplicably, suggested that I come join them on-stage! Hunter had a cast on his right arm at the time, and so did I... so there I was sitting on the stage between Hunter Thompson (both of us with casts on our arms) and Jann Wenner. I had to whisper to Jann that we already knew each other; he did not remember me. The whole talk was organized by some of the older Delta Phi brothers and so after the talk, a few of us went back to the green room with Jann and Hunter and got to drink beers and hang out a bit with him. I clearly remember my old pal Chris Metz deep in conversation with Hunter. I wish I had a picture of me up on stage with those guys.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: red;">EDIT</span><span style="color: #cccccc;">: After reading this, Chris Metz (mentioned above) put me in touch with photographer <a href="https://steveeichner.com/" target="_blank">Steve Eichner</a>, who did actually snap some photos that night.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLy6wgKipMgYg3G8HhsvE2MSYqOb9p1jVGIHK8FGtc5UkQvs2J3p2bMQ1mcmD8C38k54R7NIzlsiItWunXNrf3-zAMqUgoRGBb_FjZ6n4iOnOHAjD8gpgqWbhBEHjk2zmacTlUvDarlUQ/s2048/Hunter+Thompson+and+Chris+Metz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1353" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLy6wgKipMgYg3G8HhsvE2MSYqOb9p1jVGIHK8FGtc5UkQvs2J3p2bMQ1mcmD8C38k54R7NIzlsiItWunXNrf3-zAMqUgoRGBb_FjZ6n4iOnOHAjD8gpgqWbhBEHjk2zmacTlUvDarlUQ/s320/Hunter+Thompson+and+Chris+Metz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here we see Hunter walking with Chris, and...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG091sblZ_y5p7M6QBQEttojv-59OBEQjHIywVXD2p-1SVHk1CeSnJG-KKANsXC1CQme43XWKvbuSxDpSAK_B6OYBUdXBewf7HQUgNGlIodWCj4qbQv3XyUbqj8Rc7Ho6Dp8Lp0NLoYoU/s1652/Hunter+Thompson%252C+A.S.%252C+T.R.%252C+Me.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1652" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG091sblZ_y5p7M6QBQEttojv-59OBEQjHIywVXD2p-1SVHk1CeSnJG-KKANsXC1CQme43XWKvbuSxDpSAK_B6OYBUdXBewf7HQUgNGlIodWCj4qbQv3XyUbqj8Rc7Ho6Dp8Lp0NLoYoU/s320/Hunter+Thompson%252C+A.S.%252C+T.R.%252C+Me.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm not sure who the woman on the left is, but starting with Hunter and going back to the right, we have Hunter himself, Adam Schneider (who was one of the organizers), my brother Trevor, and... barely visible behind him, in glasses... me. Fun to see these old pics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Both photos courtesy of Steve Eichner</div></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">____________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Although it's been a little hard to find time to paint in the last week, I am still painting. I've decided to go back to the first painting- the one I couldn't finish - the reinterpretation of Ingres' Jupiter and Thetis. I'm finishing it, and improving the figures. But it will not be the masterpiece I'd hoped, in large part because it is now a mish-mash of styles... my timid and uptight style from last year mixed with the slightly looser, more confident, and higher-contrast style of now. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">And when I'm done with that one, I'll start on the next one. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm already working on the photo-illustration. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">____________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">For those of you who knew him, I am sorry to say that </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Sprocket,</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">my dog of 15 years, has died.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">He was a good dog.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I used to think that one of the functions of having pets was to give children a bit of practice at dealing with death. I wasn't exactly wrong, but what I didn't get right was that adults need practice dealing with death too. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It's not easy. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEgId8T4o5zvzORRfmwxt3BbD5vavKNuMtpt7QF1I95oEWZrtqlChEuiUi3j-li1lZFU2WTjEH6vmqkU2VvqGX_s1jv2iTF4C2RWaUMuMtbP4jzVfClKQhq_bJUBTVb_7LE1YC8dPcCI/s800/sprocketandmebyriver.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEgId8T4o5zvzORRfmwxt3BbD5vavKNuMtpt7QF1I95oEWZrtqlChEuiUi3j-li1lZFU2WTjEH6vmqkU2VvqGX_s1jv2iTF4C2RWaUMuMtbP4jzVfClKQhq_bJUBTVb_7LE1YC8dPcCI/s320/sprocketandmebyriver.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTznH4-lR8GzsefPZP5JTR9CGT2UsYDTE5W3c36Oym-CncCoznwspv0FsfY-Z__S8TRR9Owvq6OY8IW5FQxyVuG7iLpNACT8jLetXBwbtMQ5sjNjnVIWVGF-OoG7KIOeIl77CVqKqG9Tk/s2048/IMG_0164.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTznH4-lR8GzsefPZP5JTR9CGT2UsYDTE5W3c36Oym-CncCoznwspv0FsfY-Z__S8TRR9Owvq6OY8IW5FQxyVuG7iLpNACT8jLetXBwbtMQ5sjNjnVIWVGF-OoG7KIOeIl77CVqKqG9Tk/s320/IMG_0164.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVR8Qev94LlngHsm8YVESf6CIVRgSx9_B5dUyzQnb_x7aw_NipZMxGc_agIygJUNkqAWx6pnt3Q_cfekEcMqKaP90I3t-J2vZiyWzl61CmDkIAjPtdnaelS2PR-n8tMltSviQw_axht4/s2048/IMG_0450.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVR8Qev94LlngHsm8YVESf6CIVRgSx9_B5dUyzQnb_x7aw_NipZMxGc_agIygJUNkqAWx6pnt3Q_cfekEcMqKaP90I3t-J2vZiyWzl61CmDkIAjPtdnaelS2PR-n8tMltSviQw_axht4/s320/IMG_0450.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-24016705013491383372020-11-19T23:19:00.003-07:002020-11-20T09:08:33.003-07:00Now go paint!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">An early draft of this blog post started with "This is going to be a short post." Ha ha, no such luck! This is a long post, and it's idiosyncratic and personal and it also gets political. So if that's not your thing, well... you've been warned.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I haven't blogged in a long time. In some ways, not so much has happened. And yet in other - perhaps more subtle - ways, so much is happening all the time.</span></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have been doing a 'spring cleaning' kind of thing throughout the summer and fall - cleaning out my shipping containers, reorganizing them, and moving them around the land into better configurations.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Christina and I are building her a new studio (for the 'clean' arts - drawing, painting, sewing). It's almost done. I'm jealous. It's going to be a nice studio.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I converted the K-Shack (<a href="http://robotaos.blogspot.com/2006/07/well-faithful-readers-i-promised-you.html" target="_blank">our guest shack, the oldest building on this land</a>) into a temporary painting studio for myself. It's not ideal, but it's not bad. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTalTomiaJAMr88xzKeZ3rFTDZmfGflOC59O1qJ2JOYCUwSKmxyqwu4NzMe80hf3umerUOZ-sFI5djTL9wRzbvN7bM-_nBWjF9cmw7GETscJtHJzyMfa7cbdEESWW043p1oq-G0QIRKLU/s2048/KShack2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTalTomiaJAMr88xzKeZ3rFTDZmfGflOC59O1qJ2JOYCUwSKmxyqwu4NzMe80hf3umerUOZ-sFI5djTL9wRzbvN7bM-_nBWjF9cmw7GETscJtHJzyMfa7cbdEESWW043p1oq-G0QIRKLU/w400-h300/KShack2020.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I started painting again. It is difficult to find <i>time</i> to paint, but I'm working on that as well... I made a schedule!</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Many years ago, I thought to myself "you know, I should be a painter. They have it easy... just painting images and putting them on walls. No giant machinery, no underground performances, no broken diesel engines. But.. what the hell would I paint?" I had some pretty stupid ideas back then about what I might paint. Luckily, I recognized these ideas as stupid and did not pursue it.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">But then, three years ago, in Europe, cracked open by the culture in which we were immersed, a culture of sculpture, of painting and of <i>the human body</i>, I started to realize I actually had something to say. I dreamed up paintings. And then more paintings. Painting, as an idea... the 'idea of painting,' seemed to offer a more direct and immediate outlet for personal messages than any other medium I'd yet engaged with. And suddenly there were personal messages that felt worth expressing.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">About a year ago, I switched therapists. It was a great move; I was stuck in a rut with my previous one. In this last year I've made incredible progress with my new therapist; I keep setting up targets and knocking them down. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I am now close to, or have perhaps even <i>already</i> arrived at a unifying theory which finally ties together and makes sense of my long fascination with powerful / beautiful / fierce / angry women, my fascination with expressions of extreme emotion, and my uneasy relationship with my own emotional landscape. This has been a revelation. (And like any really good theory, this one suddenly gives new context to disparate bits of data which previously seemed random and disconnected; my interests in Francis Bacon, Alexander McQueen, and Wonder Woman have a new and clear meaning. Camille Paglia's ideas as set forth in <i>Sexual Personae </i>not only fit nicely with the theory, but also helped form it.)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows that I place a great importance on <i>mystery</i> when it comes to the generation of new art ideas; I believe (or have believed) that true inspiration comes from the subconscious miasma. Consequently, part of me is afraid that, now that I have a better understanding of the psychological currents which drive me to want to paint, my will to paint may diminish. If the act of painting is tantamount to self-discovery and self-analysis, but the discovery and analysis has already been done through therapy, reading, and introspection, well then... why paint? On the other hand, these new layers of self-awareness have arrived contemporaneously with an <i>increased</i> desire to paint. So this fear is probably unjustified; it is probably just another excuse not to paint (and Jeez knows I've gone through plenty of those!). And in any case, just because one mystery has been solved, who is to say that there are not more mysteries around the corner?</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Interestingly, I feel generally less comfortable these days discussing art which features the nude body than I did a few years ago. I think this is probably because I no longer reside in a culturally rich place where the nude is normalized by ubiquity and shameless celebration. Well, whatever... I'll push through that and say that I have a newfound appreciation of the work of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_Sturges" target="_blank">Jock Sturges</a> and <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/gerhard-riebicke/" target="_blank">Gerhard Riebicke</a>. A few weeks ago, in order to facilitate the paintings I'm currently working on (on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays!), I took some photographs of one of the models from our weekly drawing group. I was looking for some pretty specific poses and attitudes, and this got me looking at more nude photography by other artists. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Jock Sturges walks a fine line, in my opinion. His photographs are some of the <i>very few</i> out there that are not completely ruled by the male gaze... and yet... he is photographing beautiful young women in the buff. A fine line, indeed. He sees his own work as the antithesis of 'pin-up' style photography, in which the identity of the subject is made subservient to the effect she produces in the viewer (typically some sort of sexual fantasy). He believes that his own work instead prioritizes the identity... the <i>reality...</i> of the subject. It is as if his work is saying: "Look, these women (and men) are <i>real</i> people. <i>And</i>, they are sexy. In fact, if you (the viewer) are <i>able to handle</i> the fact that you are looking at real people with real identities <i>separate</i> from your fantasy of who you want them to be, you might just have a richer experience than you would otherwise looking at more traditional nude photography." Since discovering the work of Sturges, I find most 'normal' nude photography quite boring, overrun as it is by the ubiquitous solipsism of the male gaze.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have an idea to create a scientific (or quasi-scientific) ranking system, a <i>scale</i>, if you will, through which images of women (in popular culture; advertising, art, photography, etc.) could be evaluated on a handful of criteria, each of which could be assigned a number value from 1 to 10 along a continuum from something like 'submissive' to 'assertive.' The various criteria would be something like 'posture,' 'gaze,' 'head angle,' etc. As an example, an image in which the woman's posture was the traditional pin-up 'arched back, ass out, boobs out' would be ranked relatively low on that scale, while a neutral posture or a more typically male posture featuring hands-on-hips and forward shoulders would rank with a higher number. As with any other similar evaluation scale, the numbers would then be averaged to yield an overall number, which would rank the image according to its... its what? What would the scale reveal? What would it be called? The Ristow Assertiveness Scale? The male-gaze-o-meter? The Submissiveness and Assertiveness Scale in Imagery of Women in Popular Culture? (The SASIWoPoC) Haha, maybe I've got to work on that.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Jock Sturges's images would rank quite high on the scale.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Speaking of ranking scales, I am always interested in the psychology of politics. Basically I am interested in what makes conservative people the way they are (because it feels like a mystery to me.) In a way, the driving question is "Why would someone vote for Trump?" My belief is that there are a variety of personal characteristics which would cause someone to vote for a character like him. (And yes, I know the election is over!)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">First, wealth. The rich have a good reason to vote for Trump, because he believes in low taxes for the wealthy, as well as the right of the wealthy to use loopholes in order to pay even less (if we are to judge by his behaviors) and so these people therefore have a genuine self-interest in seeing him in office (assuming they are not altruists, heaven forbid!)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Second, racists and misogynists and xenophobes in general. People like to see their own values reflected in their political representatives, so anyone possessed of these distasteful attitudes will gravitate towards Trump because he too expresses these attitudes. </span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">Third, authoritarian personality types. To me, this is far and away the most interesting group of people because with this category we are venturing into psychology. There was a <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201702/childrearing-beliefs-were-best-predictor-trump-support" target="_blank">fascinating poll</a> conducted in 2015 which sought to predict who would vote for Trump in the 2016 election. Many questions were asked (gender, race, income, etc.) but the four questions which predicted with the <i style="font-weight: bold;">most</i> accuracy whether or not people intended to vote for him were: When it comes to raising a child, is it more important for that child to be 1) respectful or independent? 2) obedient or self-reliant? 3) well-behaved or considerate? 4) well-mannered or curious? With a high degree of accuracy, it was found that respondents who chose the first option to these four questions were the ones who were planning on casting a vote for Trump. And guess what? In earlier research these four questions were found to correspond highly with the authoritarian personality type.<br />This personality type was first clinically identified in the aftermath of World War II in an effort to understand the behavior of Germans and Italians and others during that time. Early indicators of this personality type were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Authoritarian_Personality#Methodology" target="_blank">excessively complicated</a> but were later simplified and <a href="https://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/a-personality-test-for-tyrants-the-f-scale-and-the-authoritarian-personality" target="_blank">experimentally proven</a> to include:<br /><b>Authoritarian submission</b>: a high degree of submissiveness to authorities perceived to be legitimate.<br /><b>Authoritarian aggression</b>: a general aggressiveness directed at deviants, outgroups, and those designated to be targets by established authorities.<br /><b>Conventionalism</b>: a high degree of adherence to traditions and social norms that are seen as endorsed by society and the established authorities. This includes a belief that adherence to these norms should be mandated across a society.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I think of this as the 'strong father complex.' The root causes of this personality type are apparently unknown, but they've got to be somewhere on the nature <-> nurture continuum. If you find this topic interesting, I highly recommend clicking on any of the links in the paragraph above. It's really interesting stuff.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">My list is not meant to be exhaustive. I think there are plenty of other subgroups who might vote for Trump, such as those who prefer small government and the oft-cited 'economically disadvantaged whites.' (I personally believe that the reliance on this last group by the press is a cop-out because I think that being an economically disadvantage white would <i>not be enough</i> in itself; I think you'd have to be a member of that subgroup <i>and</i> <i>also</i> be either a xenophobe or an authoritarian type to want to vote for Trump. I simply don't believe that a well-educated, open-minded, poor white person would vote for him.)</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The real travesty here is that, this time around, 71 million Americans voted for him. It's hard to fathom. Well, whatever. He lost. Thank god.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">______________________________</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, back to painting. I've started listening to another painting teacher on YouTube while I paint, a sort of funny guy whose channel is called Paint Coach. I'm not sure about everything he has to say, but a lot of his info is quite good. One thing he advises is to share your work as much as possible. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I know I was quite secretive about my 'first' painting, the one which I've had such a hard time finishing, but without further ado... here it is, as it sits today:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOt_spXn8UL87bDJaF2PdlRICMLmnkAHaN2xvpHjy2IsPxcUcdHWY1OqJ2awK-i9iWwYbpQrsfraf4c0Y4yhi2jJNIjXw9Eavm51G64MySIgHDFdb3_iqiaZMwOVplInQMPqIVNSuUhg/s2048/IMG-0237.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1693" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOt_spXn8UL87bDJaF2PdlRICMLmnkAHaN2xvpHjy2IsPxcUcdHWY1OqJ2awK-i9iWwYbpQrsfraf4c0Y4yhi2jJNIjXw9Eavm51G64MySIgHDFdb3_iqiaZMwOVplInQMPqIVNSuUhg/w331-h400/IMG-0237.jpg" width="331" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">It's a reinterpretation of Ingres' famous painting, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_and_Thetis" target="_blank">Jupiter and Thetis</a>, in which I have reversed the genders of the protagonists. I fell into many traps with this painting, the most serious of which (and the one that has so far blocked me from finishing it) is the '<a href="https://skinnyartist.com/the-paralysis-of-perfectionism/" target="_blank">perfectionist trap</a>.' When the painting wasn't coming out as perfectly as I wanted, I got frustrated and stopped painting. I made plenty of other more technical errors as well. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I decided recently to get over the perfectionism problem and just start fucking painting again. To that end, I photographed one of the models from my (currently paused) weekly drawing group and just painted a picture.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBlkr5HwJpMCm5GfvhGPpje1icfm0w3IjBkOEbHfrK4M56MqvPb9BU6Z6vkPAQRXqRKOT0-_eloCj148empLMDjhqQt5qgV5f9yn5VYHLPZPfMptdmpYIXozurPvXhvHfpQgzpsv6lp8/s2048/IMG-0240.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBlkr5HwJpMCm5GfvhGPpje1icfm0w3IjBkOEbHfrK4M56MqvPb9BU6Z6vkPAQRXqRKOT0-_eloCj148empLMDjhqQt5qgV5f9yn5VYHLPZPfMptdmpYIXozurPvXhvHfpQgzpsv6lp8/w400-h400/IMG-0240.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I finished that painting today, and to be honest this is the first 'real' painting I've completed. I feel pretty good about it. Also, it was quite a good exercise and I feel much better now about returning to the first painting and finishing that one. I may do that next... or I might do another painting or two before that. We shall see.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">There's a GREAT new video about Capsule... well at least I like it. If you want to see Christina and me in action, click <a href="https://youtu.be/Ph1H0X-gUPA" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">I hope you are hanging in there during this pandemic, and maybe even finding some silver linings.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, thanks... bye!</span></p><p><br /></p>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-36417493872371992632020-08-11T15:52:00.003-06:002020-08-11T16:46:46.242-06:00Post-Capsule Roundup<p><span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, as I mentioned in my most recent post about Capsule, it was hard to find time to blog during the build. But that does not mean that things were not happening... things that I wanted to write about.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">This post will be a wide-ranging catch-all for all that 'other stuff' that was going on during the Capsule build.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">First I'd like to discuss the 673-page book that I'm trying to get through, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Personae" target="_blank">Sexual Personae</a> by Camille Paglia. You may have heard of it; it's a famous book that caused a bit of a stir in the early 1990's when it was finally published after 9 years of rejections.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">The web is full of synopses and summaries of this book (one of which is easily found at the link above) so I'm not going to bother with too much of that. It will suffice for this discussion to say that it's an exhaustive history of Western art in which Paglia makes the case that history's greatest art comes out of the tension and conflict between the Dionysian impulse (which is nature, disorder, liquid, and female) and the Apollonian impulse (which is rigid, linear, ordered, and male). Furthermore, the parade of art history's greatest hits always manifests as one of a number of 'sexual personae,' or characters which are defined by their sexuality, their relationship to the other gender, or their relationship to the concept of 'gender' itself. She also makes the claim that most great art, and indeed western civilization itself, was created almost entirely by men, motivated by their never-ending Apollonian drive to escape the engulfing power of the Dionysian female, symbolized by the mother and the vagina... a claim which won her the enmity of a generation of feminists.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">It is gratifying and downright exciting to read a book which aligns with many of your own basic opinions but goes much further. Like me, Paglia apparently regards abstract art as irrelevant; it's not even mentioned. Her focus on the Apollonian and Dionysian is something I discussed, by way of Nietzsche, in <a href="https://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2019/07/scattered.html" target="_blank">an earlier blog post</a>, but she goes further and deeper. The female character that I find endlessly compelling in art, the strong and focused type that I have identified with Wonder Woman, is discussed at length. And her expressed intent of exposing the eroticism latent in great art is something I both agree with and applaud.</span></p><p><span style="color: #cccccc;">But Jesus, it's a challenging book to read. Her writing style is difficult and dense, sometimes to the point of impenetrability. Every sentence is laden with references, sometimes to points she's previously made but other times to cultural touchstones which I occasionally have to look up. If I'm tired, I can't read the book at all because I don't understand what the hell she is saying. Most of the time the passage in question makes sense when I approach it again, well rested, but not always. Sometimes I listen to a section of the audio-book version but that is never enough; I must also then read that section in the book. I routinely read entire sections twice: the first time is to get the sense of it and the second time is to underline the important parts. I was so tired of trying to find good pencils for underlining that I just made a pencil holder on the spine of the book.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEith5CcCnP9WR-D31rlxxHhp4dAeBsbOevfbnmVZMHM3xR1LaYuFsPB0JvULHXXkLIHl4MJ9coPnwWSFh8kQ3NzYBYSiLcKvukF2cyIS4MvZeXFeYVzFOrbvVPoGLK9wf1T-L4rxJiQcFo/s2048/Sexual+Personae.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEith5CcCnP9WR-D31rlxxHhp4dAeBsbOevfbnmVZMHM3xR1LaYuFsPB0JvULHXXkLIHl4MJ9coPnwWSFh8kQ3NzYBYSiLcKvukF2cyIS4MvZeXFeYVzFOrbvVPoGLK9wf1T-L4rxJiQcFo/w410-h410/Sexual+Personae.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">As a working artist I am treating the book as a 'how-to' book, not in the sense of how to make art, but rather how to make art that is meaningful. It's also raised a lot of questions for me, though, and I am considering writing a letter to Ms. Paglia with these questions. My main question is whether she believes that artists 'engineer' their artworks to incorporate specific elements of the Dionysian or the Apollonian in order to either make a statement or try to achieve success or fit in with the flow of art history in some way, or if on the other hand they are functioning as unknowing mediums who are unconsciously transmitting the zeitgeist through their works... and what is the role of personal psychology in informing artistic output, and is personal psychology really just the same thing as channeling the zeitgeist? Paglia almost never mentions psychology or biographical details; she only discusses the art itself and the way it fits into this longer-arc flow of ideas that she is illuminating, but she doesn't get into <i>why</i> an individual artist might have made the work in that way... and that is interesting to me. </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">For instance, this small sculpture that I made a few years ago</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKcqB9gWQ1nIgorgmIoekjeFaMfK3hBqf-bAG2ikPlOYr0RRt08YHki4zd3da0hsaykMbxjtytqqSGYS0Kw83sm5Uhzcx9zs5yZTFyaHN63FiZw1QpxIy8OVH2uP98y31-g2tL-qiGdU/s2048/Barbiesaurus.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIKcqB9gWQ1nIgorgmIoekjeFaMfK3hBqf-bAG2ikPlOYr0RRt08YHki4zd3da0hsaykMbxjtytqqSGYS0Kw83sm5Uhzcx9zs5yZTFyaHN63FiZw1QpxIy8OVH2uP98y31-g2tL-qiGdU/w410-h307/Barbiesaurus.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br />has newly revealed layers of meaning when viewed from the Apollonian / Dionysian framework, and yet I was largely blind to these meanings until reading Paglia's book. In fact the entire idea for this sculpture came out of my head fully formed, with little conscious intervention, and so I feel it's really a product of my unconscious psychology. It was not 'engineered' to 'say something' about the Apollonian or the Dionysian, or to 'say something' about my psychology, and yet it does. At this point I feel that Sexual Personae has a bit of a blind spot insofar as it does not delve into the motivation of the artists, but maybe Ms. Paglia felt that the task of exposing these long-arc trends in art history was enough of a feat, and that artist psychology was another topic entirely, and too 'squishy' anyway. </span><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">If I write her with these questions, and she answers, I'll let you know.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">If anyone else has read this book and wants to discuss, please let me know.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">New topic: The Elusiveness of Unstructured Thought</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">On page 222/223 of Sexual Personae, Paglia writes: "Rationalists have their place, but their limited assumptions and methods must be kept out of the arts. Interpretation of poem, dream, or person requires intuition and divination, not science."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">This statement is typical of her staccato declarative style, and if I took everything she wrote as an inviolable directive, I would have to pack it all up and find another career. Because, I would say, I am a rationalist about 97% of the time. This is of course a huge strength when it comes to designing machines and effectively managing the construction of ambitious projects from start to finish. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">But what about the mystical, magical moments when an idea for an artwork is <u>born</u>? That is not the time for rationalism. In those moments something else is required: loose, allusive, non-linear thought patterns. Inspiration. Dreams. Daydreams.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I find it difficult, if not impossible, to control these modes of thought. But I'd like to get better at it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I rarely remember my dreams, but I find that dreams can be a tremendous resource. I find it so cool that, once in a while, a dream can feature <i>some thing</i> that does not exist in real life. I think many people undervalue the fact that when they have dreamed about some <i>thing</i> that doesn't really exist, such as a machine or a piece of art or an animal or whatever, they have <i>invented</i> that thing. If the dream invention is original and interesting, and the dreamer takes the time to make it (or a facsimile of it... whatever makes sense in the context) then a real invention is born. Christina has better access to her dreams than I do and occasionally makes use of this creativity methodology, something that makes me vaguely envious.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">The last time I really slipped into an unstructured sort of daydream state (that I can remember, anyway) was a few months ago, sitting in the passenger seat as Christina and I drove to our friends Matt and Richard's house for dinner. In those few moments an idea for a new mechanical sculpture came to me, as if out of nowhere, and I've spent many hours since then applying my rationalist faculties to figuring out how to actualize it. It is a sculpture that I think would work best on a large scale, but, lacking a budget or a destination, I've begun building it on a small scale. The smaller version currently in progress is a working prototype of the theoretical larger version, but it will also be a stand-alone sculpture in itself. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_F8kEm9PtvjbLvqfqwTGdrHuSv53qzdNkcN0s3jy9Gq9iJH7KcpdmfI3gDRK37MzezZEQtJBIQPowMlaQWOeHiR1EEezsCEKQZfeS2sDMFOY2X8kBRF4gfrCEey9bocW9uR2uTPXxcE/s2048/BGR+detail.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_F8kEm9PtvjbLvqfqwTGdrHuSv53qzdNkcN0s3jy9Gq9iJH7KcpdmfI3gDRK37MzezZEQtJBIQPowMlaQWOeHiR1EEezsCEKQZfeS2sDMFOY2X8kBRF4gfrCEey9bocW9uR2uTPXxcE/w410-h307/BGR+detail.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Detail image of new sculpture prototype</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">(As I stated, the birth of this idea came in a moment of unstructured daydreaming, and I've put the rational mind to work since then in service to that one moment. I have also, under the influence of some of the ideas in Sexual Personae, attempted to understand the <i>meaning</i> of the idea behind the sculpture, or in other words I've tried to subject that moment to a rationalist framework in order to parse it. But I think that impulse can be a bit of a trap. If you decide to alter the piece to conform with certain <i>ideas</i>, then you run the risk of no longer being true to that unstructured moment, that bit of unconscious flow, that bit of zeitgeist flowing through you or unconscious psychology piercing the veil. You have to protect your ideas, and treat them as if they are fragile.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Anyway, just as I wish I could remember my dreams more consistently, I also wish I could better control the transitions between conscious rational thought and unstructured daydreaming. I can tell you that there are many aspects of modern life that are <i>not good</i> for the encouragement of daydreaming. Parenting is in general not good for it. Stress and being busy are not good. Computers and phones are <i>not good! </i>Put down the damn phone and let yourself think! Meditation probably <i>is </i>good, but I cannot manage to do it, and that is not for lack of trying.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Does everyone know what a bookplate is? Basically it's a label affixed to the inside of a book, near the beginning, to indicate ownership of the book, and it's typically embellished with a graphic design that says something about the owner. It can be a nice way to tie together a book collection. Click <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookplate" target="_blank">here</a> if you want to know more about them. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I have a lot of books, and I have a penchant for buying art books, especially when they are so cheap online these days. So I decided to design a bookplate. I wanted the design to express my interest in art, my belief that the female nude is most noble subject of art, and the idea that one comes to know oneself through art practice. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeSHYECKFWrqrwTglVEQXQyOVlnA_cj8RzgCf6mjWJKsV7KFftwEriTpzthWRj3g9cW04wkA0sjXoptCokqwD2S_ZjH_6AvcgmU_tCvMnPXiqXY0AkuXMmOMMHV2hKlT5Zo72AdEhog0/s2048/ExLibrisRistow+Master%253F.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1598" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeSHYECKFWrqrwTglVEQXQyOVlnA_cj8RzgCf6mjWJKsV7KFftwEriTpzthWRj3g9cW04wkA0sjXoptCokqwD2S_ZjH_6AvcgmU_tCvMnPXiqXY0AkuXMmOMMHV2hKlT5Zo72AdEhog0/w319-h410/ExLibrisRistow+Master%253F.jpg" width="319" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Eating crickets is good for you, and it's also good for the environment. They're almost all protein, very little fat, and they have a much lower impact on the environment than conventional forms of meat. I have started to add them to my smoothies. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBC1cY9c4rAXT_wTXMCxLJl18ECjliqd2GmT0RDy7V0rjjiRlCFUtzzsLrASeNv9rmdB4Q2Mo8tL1cTEhgPoy_PJVWKmhjEUIWbV6UnSCzrVcnoCRkApmEfmIP1lafYfl0yzqDG-uZwiA/s2048/Cricket+Smoothie.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1904" data-original-width="2048" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBC1cY9c4rAXT_wTXMCxLJl18ECjliqd2GmT0RDy7V0rjjiRlCFUtzzsLrASeNv9rmdB4Q2Mo8tL1cTEhgPoy_PJVWKmhjEUIWbV6UnSCzrVcnoCRkApmEfmIP1lafYfl0yzqDG-uZwiA/w410-h381/Cricket+Smoothie.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">You can buy crickets as human food online, which I've done... but they are small and by the time they get to you, all their legs have fallen off. The big guys in the photo above were hand-caught by Kodiak right outside the house. If we could get a lot of these big, intact crickets then I would cook them up with butter and garlic, which is also good. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">_________________________</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Lastly, Christina and I recently watched <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cook,_the_Thief,_His_Wife_%26_Her_Lover" target="_blank">The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover</a>, the 1989 Peter Greenaway film. The last time I watched that movie I was 19 or 20 years old and I found it really disturbing. Watching it 30 years later, I saw it as much more of a parable of the age-old war between the classes and the rapaciousness of the ruling class, and it was much less disturbing in the visceral sense; in fact I thought that it could have gone further (in terms of Georgina's revenge on Albert). My immediate reaction after watching it was how distasteful it was, overall, as a movie. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">But I can't stop thinking about it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Thanks,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Bye</span></div>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-82645692372541046802020-08-08T17:32:00.011-06:002020-08-09T10:29:09.577-06:00Capsule<div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">It has been such a long interval since my last blog post that I simply have <i>too much</i> to write about.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">I will dedicate this post to the single topic of Capsule, the new sculpture by Christina and me, which we just installed in Arroyo Seco last week, and then I'll write another post soon on various other ancillary topics.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">About a week ago I tried to start this post by writing something like "Christina and I are just a few days away from finishing Capsule, and boy oh boy has it been hard to find time to write." But... haha... that was as far as I got!</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Now, a week later, we <i>are</i> finished with Capsule and I do finally have some time.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">We had a really incredible social media and internet team backing us up on this, so there is lots of info and pictures online at the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/capsuletaos/" target="_blank">Capsule Instagram page</a> and also at the <a href="https://www.capsuletaos.com/" target="_blank">Capsule website</a>.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">What I'll try to give here is more of a 'backstage' experience of it.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">There were a lot of 'firsts' in this sculpture.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">This was the first sculpture Christina and I have built for our local community.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">This was the first time we'd built something so fast... on such a short timeline.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">And, perhaps most significantly, it was the first time Christina and I had ever worked collaboratively on a piece.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Because of the extremely tight timeline, the idea for the piece came together very fast. So fast, in fact, that when we were able to actually look at the finished sculpture for the first time, a few days ago, we were both genuinely surprised by what we'd built. We both stood back with our mouths half-open and said... "Huh. Interesting." This is also a result of the fact that we build with a very 'old-fashioned' methodology - all 2D drawings and cardboard models - and so we did not have the option to pre-visualize it on a computer.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNZ8QuFURArK1VKYa-ZHLpkeXrWIYzBGB9sshr02AfEvuje05Wg1-NGfuara6qpJcPZwxHEm8NPxGiOOAHEDoR-f7n_CiS3MAHBVzds0Z1LcHW9-maLgnAjfn2rOKp7VAoS4EyE_wmwA/s2048/Welding+on+the+Lathe.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNZ8QuFURArK1VKYa-ZHLpkeXrWIYzBGB9sshr02AfEvuje05Wg1-NGfuara6qpJcPZwxHEm8NPxGiOOAHEDoR-f7n_CiS3MAHBVzds0Z1LcHW9-maLgnAjfn2rOKp7VAoS4EyE_wmwA/w308-h410/Welding+on+the+Lathe.jpg" width="308" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td center="" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Using the lathe as a concentric welding fixture<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5xoCOJNhCqxPZtKup7PV6im4W59sz2_NWbP3bL86GzWDuW73TmlrzoBtypb0kA1On0q2R8ZFEkkIO_Ir6FcEj4KX3eW01JRZBd4ESjdX2UuQN6pie8_0M1y_KY0zN0o5XVHUWPN7uNw/s2048/Christ+Welding.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5xoCOJNhCqxPZtKup7PV6im4W59sz2_NWbP3bL86GzWDuW73TmlrzoBtypb0kA1On0q2R8ZFEkkIO_Ir6FcEj4KX3eW01JRZBd4ESjdX2UuQN6pie8_0M1y_KY0zN0o5XVHUWPN7uNw/w307-h410/Christ+Welding.jpg" title="Christina welding inside the sphere" width="307" /></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Christina welding inside the sphere</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtF8ww6JhrbtdbDJhVlPONOVAeI5rie2xqy4C7W2dHFNWvsHxkCcag2qC_XnGGogiIdZ3mMVnSAJ8OsMaN14XB2ozNqwWXf0dO92ja-Ys-7i8f3OAuL67kznBv-_lGvp4tTFjqeriiVbU/s2048/3+hanging+hands.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtF8ww6JhrbtdbDJhVlPONOVAeI5rie2xqy4C7W2dHFNWvsHxkCcag2qC_XnGGogiIdZ3mMVnSAJ8OsMaN14XB2ozNqwWXf0dO92ja-Ys-7i8f3OAuL67kznBv-_lGvp4tTFjqeriiVbU/w410-h307/3+hanging+hands.jpg" width="410" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><div style="text-align: center;">Doing the finish patina on the hands... as they hang on the forklift</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />The sculpture has two modes: open and closed. It will stay in its closed position for the next few months while it accepts paper notes from visitors. And then, sometime in the fall or winter, we will load it full of firewood and burn all those notes and wood and the burning of all that fuel will cause it to open. This will be the first time the general community gets a chance to see it in the open position, but we did to a test-burn a few nights ago in order to verify the function of the piece, (it mostly worked) and so we have already seen it open. <br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtpreq71_dBoGLIc9TJ8wXWS5d-w-A94AnSBXjQS-CodNNn361-Yc6ik4Vg8RBonHj22Dk8yUCXqVzkgd5ArPO3l9qU5osOhpOM-RHIkR16FU1obndUgy-yoyzV9otMXa8srwWHGUAZI/s2048/Capsule+Closed.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1750" data-original-width="2048" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtpreq71_dBoGLIc9TJ8wXWS5d-w-A94AnSBXjQS-CodNNn361-Yc6ik4Vg8RBonHj22Dk8yUCXqVzkgd5ArPO3l9qU5osOhpOM-RHIkR16FU1obndUgy-yoyzV9otMXa8srwWHGUAZI/w410-h350/Capsule+Closed.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Capsule Closed<br /><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPzGacaEiiIUej4zxpEcpRXtQC_H7JdO-JwDh-e3ntu3iRuKydjJ_lt9wa6PzQ0T2OG-y9GJq_Xq3znhh7h3sAef3FRxJlwZFg_HkgKRDwUU8aqwKgDgwKlxz4BSEWSVxNuKyxOXJSaA/s2048/Capsule+Open+1.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1699" data-original-width="2048" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPzGacaEiiIUej4zxpEcpRXtQC_H7JdO-JwDh-e3ntu3iRuKydjJ_lt9wa6PzQ0T2OG-y9GJq_Xq3znhh7h3sAef3FRxJlwZFg_HkgKRDwUU8aqwKgDgwKlxz4BSEWSVxNuKyxOXJSaA/w410-h340/Capsule+Open+1.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Capsule Open</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I must say that I was surprised to see how different the piece looks in its two modes, and how much I like it in the open mode. In the open position the sculpture reminded me of what is probably my favorite abstract sculpture, Spomenik #4. Spomeniks are a group of brutalist non-figurative concrete war monuments in the former Yugoslavia, and although I am no lover of abstract art, the power and appeal of these sculptures is undeniable. </div></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2HHw_9HPG5V4AAc5vN0aQe9txPUlV0FmRAmtOHthoJ85IQpzOXtfK7HOPxhyki47kmGEtMjD2EMvoSW17jF_xuyCJap-2sl1O4xoh-zYFV5A9obP8xHT4d4_HuKxmOwFesYvmAnya9M/s2048/Spomenik.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2HHw_9HPG5V4AAc5vN0aQe9txPUlV0FmRAmtOHthoJ85IQpzOXtfK7HOPxhyki47kmGEtMjD2EMvoSW17jF_xuyCJap-2sl1O4xoh-zYFV5A9obP8xHT4d4_HuKxmOwFesYvmAnya9M/w410-h307/Spomenik.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Spomenik #4 (as titled by photographer Jan Kempenaers) featured on the cover of his great book</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br />Capsule is not technically abstract, as it loosely depicts a fragile globe protected by three hands, but it's probably as close to abstract as I've ever gotten, personally. The unexpected resemblance that I personally perceive between Capsule and Spomenik 4 is a relief, and a point of pride.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">It probably should come as no surprise that both Christina and I, being people who have built lots of art which includes ambitious large sculpture, are control freaks. We both have strong visions and we both usually feel committed to seeing those visions actualized... as we see them. Naturally, this makes for some challenges when trying to work together for the first time. I would say that, overall, we did well in this department, and we could do better. As for the interesting question of whether the piece itself is <i>better</i> as a result of its having been the product of two artistic visions smashed into one, or if on the other hand a single unadulterated vision would in general produce a better result... I'm probably not the right one to make that judgment. I do think Christina brought elements to the sculpture that I never would have considered, and vice versa. So I suspect that yes, the piece benefitted. It's like a metaphor for parenting, or for a relationship.</span></div></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQupUdH5JOsiSd88OhNLDrjxfvWrSXWCDCMVEqx7Ai1c3vrDXueA972O4NiFTu960GRIZ9sJxv_8ENnb3BYEsQ3W5a_csQeGwbVhPNxWjC74VZvpciyJ7TL3qJLcyCooj5hclvCjJpq8Y/s2048/Capsule+Artists.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQupUdH5JOsiSd88OhNLDrjxfvWrSXWCDCMVEqx7Ai1c3vrDXueA972O4NiFTu960GRIZ9sJxv_8ENnb3BYEsQ3W5a_csQeGwbVhPNxWjC74VZvpciyJ7TL3qJLcyCooj5hclvCjJpq8Y/w300-h400/Capsule+Artists.jpg" title="Capsule Artists" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Capsule Artists</span></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">We will work with our partners (THANKS CeCe and Matt!!) to determine the right date for the burning reveal of Capsule. It will likely be in the fall or winter and the date will be broadcast all over the Capsule networks, so stay tuned.</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">As I said at the beginning of this post, I have so much to write about. Capsule was a big part of it, but look for another blog post, hopefully in just a few days, in which I will catch us up on all the other stuff going on, such as </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Camille Paglia</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">The elusiveness of unstructured thought</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">My new sculpture prototype</span></div>
<div><span style="color: #cccccc;">My bookplate, and </span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Crickets</span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cccccc;">Hasta pronto</span></div>
Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-27483985500292697272020-06-18T22:41:00.002-06:002020-06-20T09:22:04.418-06:00Look Out!! Or in...<span style="color: #cccccc;">A few days ago while reading the introduction to a book called "Legendary Artists and the Clothes They Wore" I came across the line "The job of artists is to critique culture, unload their psyches into their work, and make edifying masterpieces the rest of us can revere."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The line feels like a bit of a throwaway... an obligatory expository step on the way to the real meat of the book, but... I couldn't get it out of my head.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The sentence describes three things that artists are supposed to do. The third thing in the list, "mak[ing] edifying masterpieces the rest of us can revere," is really just a catch-all description meant to encompass any work of art which is worthy of our attention. The first two items on the list, however, are what caught my interest.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">1) Critique culture.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">2) Unload their psyches into their work.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I believe that this is a major distinction which divides the subject matter of art into two subsets: Looking outward and looking inward.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">An artwork which critiques culture sets its sights on the world around us. The artist points their gaze outward, away from (him/her)self, and seeks to make a commentary on the society or culture that we all live in. Often this takes the form of some sort of evaluation, or illumination of something the artist feels needs to be examined more closely, and as such this type of art is often part of a cultural dialogue around issues like social change and justice. Artists whose work typically functions in this way include Banksy, Ai Wei Wei, Alice Walker, Taos artist <a href="https://www.nikeshabreeze.com/" target="_blank">Nikesha Breeze</a>, and my old friend <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OolMuzD98_s" target="_blank">Chris Dacre</a>, among many others. It's also true that every work of art, even those which seek exclusively to critique culture, bears the stamp of its maker, and is therefore personal to some degree.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">An artwork which functions primarily as an unloading of the artist's psyche is an artwork that looks inward. This sort of work typically takes topics like emotion, romance, and mortality as its subject matter. These topics might be collected under a subject heading such as 'the fundamental experience of being human,' and might further be classified with terms such as 'psychology' and 'biography.' Artists working in this mode include Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon, Chuck Close, Tim Hawkinson, and Anton Solomoukha. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">These are broad distinctions, and I don't think they encompass <i>all </i>art. For one thing, painting before the advent of photography often functioned simply as a document of noteworthy people and events and this type of painting doesn't really fit into either of the above categories. Also, abstract art (which I usually think of as 'art about art,' and which I generally dislike) also defies these definitions.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">And then there are the artists who transcend this distinction, either by crossing over, back and forth, between the two points of view or by defining some interzone between them. This work, I think, has the potential of being particularly powerful. A few artists that come to mind who have managed this feat are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul McCarthy, the amazing Marina Abramowic, and perhaps even Ingres. I count these artists as some of my favorites. Incidentally, I believe that film is very well suited to handle this sort of multi-focus crossover; after all, visual art is typically one image while a single film comprises thousands.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">My favorite psychology author is the late <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Miller_(psychologist)" target="_blank">Alice Miller</a>. Her lifelong focus was child abuse and neglect, and the ways in which the effects of these traumas linger (often unseen) into adulthood. In her book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Untouched-Key-Childhood-Creativity-Destructiveness/dp/0385267649" target="_blank">The Untouched Key</a>" she traces the effects of childhood trauma in public figures such as artists Chaim Soutine and Pablo Picasso, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and dictators Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin, showing how abuse and neglect they experienced in their early lives led either to great art or horrible cruelty (depending on critical factors which she does identify). According to her formulations, the work of Soutine and Picasso crossed over between the realms of the inner and the outer, even though the artists themselves were to some degree unaware of the psychological forces at play in their own art. *See below for a bit more about Alice Miller.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">But, back to the dichotomy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm guessing that, among the segment of the population which actually gives a shit about art, most people have a preference between art that looks inward and that which looks outward. I do. I prefer to see the psyche of the artist; I prefer work that looks inward.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">It's not a strong preference; by no means will I 'write off' art that critiques culture. Some of it is amazing, and amazingly powerful. Banksy routinely makes me chuckle and sometimes makes me think about just how fucked up this world is... in ways that are funnier and more insightful than just reading the news does.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">But whereas art that critiques culture is by its very nature 'timely,' dealing with issues that need to be addressed <i>now</i>, inward-looking art is, I believe, more 'timeless.' Questions of what it means to feel love and pain, joy and suffering and loss and death... these are questions which are for everyone, across all time.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">So I will take Francis Bacon over Ai Wei Wei any day. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG-TeFZdZVBj2qS6xcgUkzy8pODBUfbr4PStBmRsFdz3MbneEtcXHQGFc1ivrOS3q0Etw0Rai-jsuDWqwNPquO5whfIg1bOK_aFl_M2NnjSEzVwGyYkbm_Ox30Zb6NC3jz195rDYOqqo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-06-02+at+11.46.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="738" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuG-TeFZdZVBj2qS6xcgUkzy8pODBUfbr4PStBmRsFdz3MbneEtcXHQGFc1ivrOS3q0Etw0Rai-jsuDWqwNPquO5whfIg1bOK_aFl_M2NnjSEzVwGyYkbm_Ox30Zb6NC3jz195rDYOqqo/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-06-02+at+11.46.31+PM.png" width="298" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">It must be because I am still trying to understand my own psyche, and I look to other artists for insight and guidance. I trust the sincerity of their curiosity... about themselves. That must be why artist biographies are my favorite genre of books.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Maybe one day I will 'figure myself out,' and maybe I will, at that point, mature into someone who gravitates more to the culturally critical variety of art. It seems like a reasonable possibility. Maybe.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I consider 'music biography,' or books that trace the careers of musicians, to be a genre which is very closely related to 'artist biography.' Among the few books that I've <i>actually finished</i> in the last few years are biographies of Leonardo DaVinci and Francis Bacon, as well as books about Leonard Cohen and Joy Division. In order for me to finish one of these music books, though, it needs to be well written and it needs to be about a musician (or group) that I actually like. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I recently received in the mail a newly published book about The Sisters of Mercy, a band I like a lot because... you know, I was a teenage goth. And goddamn, is it well written, because... you know, it was written by my brother, Trevor Ristow. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I've only had the book for about 36 hours and I'm more than half-way through it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I have to say... I am really proud of him. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">He self-funded the publishing and was therefore only able to print 200 copies, which sold out immediately. But there is hopefully a second printing coming soon. Click <a href="https://www.gkwfilmworks.com/sisters" target="_blank">here</a> for more info.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Nice work, Trev!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">*A bit more about Alice Miller: Her most famous book is The Drama of the Gifted Child. It's amazing; I've read it twice. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The logical conclusion of Miller's views is that the history of art and the history of the world is a document, a legacy, of the childhood treatment experienced by history's main actors. It's a fascinating theory which makes a lot of sense. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">She contends, in The Untouched Key, that Hitler and Stalin were products of neglectful, abusive, and traumatic childhoods, and that, as adults, they turned the terror they had endured as children back onto the world. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">These insights bring a sense of urgency and importance to the upcoming book by Trump's niece, psychologist Mary L. Trump. Ms. Trump's family history apparently describes "a nightmare of traumas and destructive relationships" and promises to “explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric”. I couldn't have said it better myself. Sounds like an important book. Read more about it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/16/mary-trump-book-too-much-never-enough-trauma-neglect-abuse-family-details" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-58171095791030999202020-06-08T09:52:00.002-06:002020-06-08T14:47:17.963-06:00Bullet Points<span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm calling this post "Bullet Points" because I'm going to try to write leaner, sharper, less indulgently, and perhaps over a wider range of topics.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">• • Plus, I like bullet points. • •</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• Way back at the beginning of the pandemic, I wrote that I was really enjoying it because we had so much more time. That was wishful thinking. I tried to make myself believe it,.. and yes, we were driving less.. but having your 9-year-old suddenly at home all the time <i>does not</i> create more time. Parents will understand this. Non-parents... maybe not.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• Christina has handled the home-schooling, and I've been handling the fishing. Kodiak is a fishing maniac, and he's really good at it too. We go down to the Rio Grande a few times a week, and in the time since we started fishing he has caught 24 fish while I have caught 4. We eat a lot of trout. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• I was recently reading about Rainer Maria Rilke and apparently he suffered an artistic crisis which caused him to take a whole decade to finish a certain book. This made me feel more OK about my little artistic crisis. I'm trying to be a little less hard on myself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• Christina and I recently got a commission to build a new sculpture for the little town of Arroyo Seco, just north of Taos. It's gratifying to get a cool new job like that, during this pandemic/lockdown/COVIDcrisis. We have to bang out the sculpture in about 6 weeks, and... we are working together... <i>actually collaborating</i>... for the first time ever! The sculpture is called Capsule and you can keep up with it <a href="https://www.instagram.com/capsuletaos/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Capsule-Taos-103050861438781" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• 2019 was a bit of a tough year for Christina and me, as a couple. 2020 is shaping up to be a lot better. It's not something I write about so much on my blog, but Christina is an amazing woman and I am lucky to have her in my life. I love you, Sporrong!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• I've written before on this blog about the psychological component of the divide between right and left, and I continue to be fascinated by it. In my last post I said I had an observation to make about politics, and it's this: Conservatives seem to need certainties, while progressives seem to be more comfortable with uncertainties. Trump and his supporters seize on any new possible treatment for COVID19, declaring it the 'wonder-cure' before the scientific results are even in. Remember Hydroxychloroquine? Liberals seem OK with actually waiting until there is a proven therapy, understanding that these things take time. Conservatives are drawn to religion in part, I think, because it offers a story that answers the difficult questions, while liberals understand that these questions might just not be answerable... and they are OK with that. And it's cross-cultural; conservative westerners hold onto Christianity, conservative middle-easterners flock to Islam, and conservative Jews are pretty into Judaism. Trump blames China for COVID, while conservative Iran blames the USA and Israel. How does this help anything? I'll tell you how it helps: it helps them feel better, having someone to blame. My guess is that it's related to the enlarged amygdala in the conservative brain and the interrelated way in which their worldview is oriented around fear. Life is disorderly, but the conservative impulse is to stamp out the disorder with 'law and order,' stamp out the fear with certainty. Conservatives need certainty. It's comedy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• I've mentioned before that I collect original paintings from the 1970's cartoon series Wicked Wanda, but those are just one part of a modest art collection that I add to when I can. I just acquired this quartet of drawings from Allison Reimold.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5i8jutCr1KyZXDehQkb1ygI3pDlg5W7QIFTeWpfhIsQtg42l9LmaYMK0K29XcICcc7ilWQzZEavQBp3iNurmY82P8VNIVhiQiFZFtw2Hj2RX8M7K29Iw_dXkqUqjtchBuNDOFVcswrBs/s1600/Reimoldall4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1511" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5i8jutCr1KyZXDehQkb1ygI3pDlg5W7QIFTeWpfhIsQtg42l9LmaYMK0K29XcICcc7ilWQzZEavQBp3iNurmY82P8VNIVhiQiFZFtw2Hj2RX8M7K29Iw_dXkqUqjtchBuNDOFVcswrBs/s320/Reimoldall4.jpg" width="302" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• I've recently come up with a new idea for a large-scale mechanical sculpture, and it's quite interesting to note how inspired I feel by the challenge of building complicated big machines. I'm already beginning to work on a small prototype of it... you know, in my spare time!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• As part of the process of working on Capsule, Christina and I have busted out the clay to work out some of the forms, and that has inspired me to work on another clay sculpture... another portrait / bust. I <i>also</i> picked up some really sculpturally-interesting tree-parts the last time I was at the lumber yard, which are inspiring me to build another human-scale piece like Big Mother. Sometimes it seems like the biggest challenge for me is <i>WHERE</i> to focus the creative energy... big sculptures, or small prototypes, or human-scale tree-sculptures, or paintings, or clay portraits? Hell, I'm a frickin' Renaissance-man. Or at least I would be if I had the time. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">• For now... Capsule. Stay tuned. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Spring time in Taos is motorcycle season.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfhyphenhypheng-uWlIyfECZJ3d4Coh6f-JmVWCxeUysEmiwnqhFXi-gegMhF-uKtFKC09nFzf7W8vCwxv2sh3j6UeSwHv7SaHQF63JQy2IWj0NrOS10GNH7HgEo-lUT_IYuqNX2h7JgbeJRZZ2K0/s1600/MotoFamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1443" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfhyphenhypheng-uWlIyfECZJ3d4Coh6f-JmVWCxeUysEmiwnqhFXi-gegMhF-uKtFKC09nFzf7W8vCwxv2sh3j6UeSwHv7SaHQF63JQy2IWj0NrOS10GNH7HgEo-lUT_IYuqNX2h7JgbeJRZZ2K0/s400/MotoFamily.jpg" width="360" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">And it's beautiful.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5WBxIoaJb-nTKaI6oEZ7NaUVjQFyZPvQDXo-AVaiBgZO-2zlBPOzLJxWPYcNNiZ4YR4vcpV3XELNtDQ4LgSlEol1Grns3294yAetnYVfrOdQeE8JbspSYL3o8vsh6DxVm7gD88gOJSM/s1600/IMG-8820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1600" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5WBxIoaJb-nTKaI6oEZ7NaUVjQFyZPvQDXo-AVaiBgZO-2zlBPOzLJxWPYcNNiZ4YR4vcpV3XELNtDQ4LgSlEol1Grns3294yAetnYVfrOdQeE8JbspSYL3o8vsh6DxVm7gD88gOJSM/s400/IMG-8820.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-9660482057937146292020-05-07T13:21:00.000-06:002020-05-07T13:27:26.177-06:00Going Lee Bontecou<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">At </span><a href="https://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2019/04/wonder-woman.html" target="_blank"><span class="s2" style="color: orange; font-kerning: none;">some point, in the not-so-distant past</span></a><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">, I tried to sum up the various categories of subject matter that I typically cover with my blog. In short, it's art and art-making; travel and adventure; psychology and self-analysis; politics; and occasionally some other stuff.</span></span><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This post looks like it will a bit of all of the above... maybe with the exception of travel and adventure. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(*EDIT* When I started this post, with the above sentence, I <i>thought</i> this blog would touch more on art-making and a little bit on politics (and I do have some things to say about those topics - in another post), but now it seems like this one is mostly self-analysis. If you don't like psychology and vulnerability, or if you're tired of me whining self-indulgently about my art career (!), skip it.)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've been mulling over this post in my head for quite a while now - its birth has been slow and painful - and a thesis statement has slowly formed. It goes something like this: </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It turns out that the art-career advice that I managed to put together in my recent post entitled '<a href="http://artisthepropertaskoflife.blogspot.com/2020/01/ok-first-off-i-would-like-to-point-out.html" target="_blank"><span class="s2">Just Keep Doing Your Thing, Man!</span></a>', inspired by the situation of my musician friend 'Frederic,' was, unbeknownst to me, actually advice that I need to be giving to myself; and furthermore it's advice that I am apparently not very good at following.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In my last post I spoke briefly about trying to get my painting as close to finished as possible in time to apply for an open call at the Harwood Museum. I put a lot of work into it leading up to the deadline date, photographed it, and then set it aside for a while to focus on some other things. One of those other things was the controller for a mechanical sculpture that I also submitted to the Harwood. It felt good to get the controller done, as it meant that the sculpture, which I built in 2016 for Meow Wolf, was finally really finished. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A few weeks later I learned that the Harwood decided not to select either the painting or the sculpture.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The sad part of this, the micro-tragedy, is that I let this rejection totally derail me. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had intended to take a hiatus from the painting for only a few weeks, but after being rejected from the show I had no desire to get back to it and its been six weeks now that I haven't painted.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The natural inclination of the human mind is to look for a reason. But when your painting (or sculpture or album or film or...) is rejected, no reason is typically given. So you wonder, and you start making stuff up. "Oh, the Harwood is too conservative for my stuff," you tell yourself. Or "they couldn't take the risk on something unfinished." Or "they were only looking for artists with proven histories in galleries." Or "They can't handle full frontal nudity." Any of these might be true, but you just don't know. The one reason you don't want to believe is "my work just isn't good enough," but of course that is the reason that actually haunts you. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Around this time last year my proposal for Burning Man was rejected.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A few months later I submitted two proposals for Electric Daisy Carnival; both were rejected.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No one ever gives you a reason. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">In 2004 I saw a show at the NY MOMA by an artist called </span><a href="https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bontecou-lee/life-and-legacy/#biography_header" target="_blank"><span class="s2" style="color: orange;">Lee Bontecou</span></a><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">. I like her work, but what REALLY got to me was her story. I've never forgotten it. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In the 1950's and 1960's she was very involved in the NYC art scene, frequently showing her work publicly. In 1970 she staged a show that was poorly received and her response was to leave her gallery and retreat from public view for several decades, <i>but to </i></span><span class="s3" style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration-line: underline;"><i>still keep working</i></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><i>. </i>For years and years she produced work on her own, listening to only one critical voice - her own. She was 're-discovered' in the early 2000's and her big retrospective was mounted at various major museums across the country, including the MOMA in 2004.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Her story lives in me like a myth. In fact I may have even mythologized (distorted) certain elements of it over the years, as I frequently think back on her story of bravery and independence.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since I was a child I have been making things, making art.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1988 I learned to weld.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">In the early 1990's I discovered 'robot theater' through my association with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_Research_Laboratories" target="_blank"><span class="s2" style="color: orange;">SRL</span></a><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the late 1990's I branched out by doing my own robot theater shows in LA. Notability and publicity came easily, especially after I began working with Coachella. Shock value and mechanical violence are attention-grabbing; the external validation was abundant. This continued through to about 2005.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">In that year I met Christina and moved to Taos, and although I didn't quite see it yet, a new artistic phase was just around the corner. In 2008 that phase began with the </span><a href="https://www.christianristow.com/the-hand-of-man-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Hand of Man</span></a><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">, my first big interactive mechanical sculpture. Several more were born over the following decade. Large scale and mechanical violence are attention-grabbing; the external validation flowed. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #c1c1c1;">But the real meaning of all this work was elusive. Those robots and robotic sculptures... if they revealed anything about their maker, it was precisely through their mechanical shielding of anything personal. </span><span class="s2" style="color: orange;"><a href="https://www.christianristow.com/becoming-human" target="_blank">Becoming Human</a></span><span style="color: #c1c1c1;"> might have been the closest I ever got. In 2018, while living in Berlin, the idea of painting first occurred to me... as a medium through which I might be able to say something a little more personal. But I didn't know how to paint then, and even though I'm much better at it now, it does not come naturally. The idea of picking up the paint brush again, after six weeks, seems daunting, fraught with self-doubt. In contrast, the idea of welding or machining or designing something mechanical seems so easy; I could do it in my sleep. Christina calls mechanical design my 'Super Power.' But can I say anything meaningful with that medium? This is one of the questions I currently grapple with. Or maybe, the fact that painting feels so foreign to me is precisely the reason I should stick with it. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I feel like I need to 'Go Lee Bontecou' for ten years, and figure it all out. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My proposals for big sculptures are all falling flat. I think they are too personal, too narrative, and in some cases too 'challenging,' (too dark?). The cosmos is telling me to shift gears. The subject matter that feels relevant to me is apparently not well-suited to the 22-year-old MDMA-powered party world of festivals. But... perfect subject matter for painting. Or... for forging some new kind of artwork... some melding of my super-power with the more deeply personal content I'm trying to channel through painting. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(I sometimes think about those people who trained for years for careers which then went obsolete as the world, and technology, changed around them. Adapt or die.)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As I was advised recently, I will have to cognitively adjust to a reduction in external validation.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I can imagine what it would be like to 'inhabit' that person who just didn't listen to anyone else, who just pursued his own vision... almost in a vacuum. But it seems I am not that person, not just yet.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have some courage.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Just keep doing your thing, man.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Go Lee Bontecou.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have actually been doing a little art-making. 20 years ago a friend asked me to custom-build for her a headdress featuring two Barbie Dolls mechanically... 'interacting.' The project turned out to be really fun - small scale, mechanically challenging - on the scale of animatronics, and irreverant (to put it politely.) Over the years I've made a further small number of similar sculptures. I've recently put a little time here and there into finishing another... but they are so spectacularly NSFW that I can't show them here.... or anywhere, really. But they're fun, and they satisfy my drive to create, in those temporal interstices. </span></span></div>
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Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-59379080848646321942020-03-26T09:56:00.001-06:002020-05-04T10:52:33.454-06:00Welcome to the Pandemic<span style="color: #cccccc;">This is my first blog post from the COVID-19 pandemic.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm sure it won't be my last.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I had two exciting engagements for my big sculptures scheduled for this summer, and both of them got cancelled on Monday of this week. I wasn't exactly surprised, but... disappointed nonetheless. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">All things considered, this is a small price to pay in these extraordinary times; many people are suffering much more than we are. But still, a bit of a bummer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">One gig involved installing <a href="https://www.christianristow.com/with-open-arms-2" target="_blank">With Open Arms</a> in San Jose, California, in front of the San Jose Art Museum for the entire summer. This would have been a prestigious location and I was looking forward to it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The other gig was a week-long exhibition of <a href="https://www.christianristow.com/the-hand-of-man-1" target="_blank">Hand of Man</a> and <a href="https://www.christianristow.com/thefledgling" target="_blank">Fledgling</a> in Rijeka, Croatia, in connection with that city's status as a European Cultural Capital for 2020. That show was going to facilitate a 2-month long stay for Christina, Kodiak, and me in Europe this summer, a trip which also seems indefinitely 'on hold.'</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Both shows are technically 'not cancelled, just postponed to some unknown time in the future,' but I can imagine that this status could shift to 'cancelled' quite easily, depending on how things go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Both of these engagements have been in the works for over a year. And now, in one day, both are cancelled or indefinitely postponed. It's just one example, my little example, of how quickly and drastically things are changing these days. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">But it turns out that Taos, New Mexico... the sweet little town I call home... is not such a bad place to be in a time like this. And living outside of town, on a few open acres of land, with no real job (to lose) and no mortgages also has its advantages. This time of 'lockdown,' of radically reduced travel and social interaction, does not really feel very different from regular everyday life for us. The biggest differences are that we are driving MUCH less, and that school has been cancelled for the next few weeks (and I think it will remain closed for longer than that) and so Kodiak is at home with us all day, every day. This brings some challenges, but also plenty of blessings. It's great to have the opportunity to spend more time with him and I know he enjoys the time with us. He has always expressed a wish to be home-schooled, and now that Christina is playing teacher (with daily lessons in reading and math, sent from his school by email) he is finally getting that wish. Plus, he gets to see what sort of work Christina and I do on a daily basis. It's a nice time of family integration. And when he is not learning, he has a trampoline to jump on, acres of land to explore, a workshop to tinker in, and animals to play with (and feed!). All of this, only a few miles from a politically progressive small town blessed with good weather, good people, and surrounded by abundant nature. Increasingly, I have a hard time imagining myself living anywhere else in America. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Speaking of daily work, since we have been in lockdown (it's only been a week so far) we have gone crazy with home-improvement projects. In fact I almost feel more busy now than I did before this country got slammed by COVID-19 ten days ago. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">We have begun a moderately ambitious project to build a roof over our deck.... </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I built a loft-bed for Kodiak...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"> and we totally reconfigured his room...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">And we reconfigured our living room. I'm getting some long-delayed sewing projects done. Next up we will repair and improve our ranch gate... </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">the gateway to our land. Check out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huginn_and_Muninn" target="_blank">Huginn and Muninn</a>, perched on the gate! (You can barely see it in this picture, but the gate is tied to the Subjugator to keep it from falling over)</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">And after that... more projects. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">In fact, so far I am really enjoying this shut-down of society as we know it. It is suddenly acceptable to be completely asocial. It is perfectly OK, actually it is strongly advised, to just stay home and get shit done. I know that some people feel adversely affected by the sudden removal of all social interaction, it seems some folks are actually having a very hard time with this aspect, but I guess I'm not one of them. I am lucky to have my amazing little family here, and so far we are having a sweet time, socially isolated on our little piece of dirt. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">About 2 weeks ago I had to step away from my painting to focus on other projects, but for several weeks leading up to that time I was totally 'in the zone.' I was painting every day and making great progress. At this point I am really still working on my first 'real' painting, but I'm about 90% done and can't wait to get back to it. I'm pretty sure I will post a picture of it here when it is finished. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The closest thing to a serious and recognized art museum in Taos is called The Harwood, and for the first time in 17 years the Harwood recently put out an open call for submissions from local artists for a group show of Taos art. Christina and I both applied. I submitted a kinetic sculpture of a robotic hand as well as my painting, unfortunately in an unfinished state (but with a promise to finish it soon.) Fingers crossed; it would be fun to have my first painting accepted into a museum show. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Back when we lived in Berlin I observed that looking at art seemed to have a calming effect on me. I don't feel hugely effected by this coronavirus crisis... but I think it is a background stress factor for me, as it must be for anyone else who is paying attention. In fact, part of the reason I can surmise that it is a stressor is that I have an increased desire to look at art. If the Met were open right now, and within reach, I would be spending the day there (wearing a mask and gloves.. or whatever... you get the idea.) Art, for me anyway, sends a message of historical continuity, the persistence of human endeavor, the enduring effort to be creative and make beauty. I feel like these are good things to remember, in these times.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The last TV series we watched around here was Fleabag... which comes with my <i>very highest </i>recommendation... and now we are watching something called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_(TV_series)" target="_blank">Outlander</a>. Outlander is sometimes pretty cheesy... occasionally having the feeling of a romance novel, but it is anchored by a really stellar performance by its lead actress. In fact I think the strong female characters at the centers of these two shows are what really recommend them. My cup of tea, anyway. (I'm considering painting portraits of the protagonists... Too cheesy? Maybe.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">If you are reading this, it means I count you as a friend... and I sincerely hope that you are finding a way to get through these unprecedented times without too much hardship.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">A lot of people are going to face some tough decisions, but I think there are real opportunities for a re-structuring of priorities and lifestyle choices which could, in the end, prove to be positive... providing we all actually survive. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Be safe. Survive. Be productive.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">In that order.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Well, that's what I think.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Cheers</span></div>
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Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7839054543783941101.post-11367480619439292142020-01-30T10:39:00.000-07:002020-01-30T14:24:13.938-07:00Just keep doing your thing, man!<span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, first off I would like to point out that the last post provoked a pretty interesting conversation in the comments section. If you found the last post intriguing, have a look at the comments.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">But now, on to other topics.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I recently had a conversation with a friend about a guy we both know, a common friend of ours. Let's call this third person (the subject of the conversation) Frederic. Frederic is a musician, and has achieved a certain level of success, having released several albums and played live shows and tours all over the world. However, as revealed in this recent conversation, Frederic is frustrated that his success seems to be peaking, or topping out, and he has not yet achieved 'recognizable household name status'; he's not a superstar.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">But this is where the conversation got interesting. Frederic is what I would call an 'artist with integrity.' He is trying to do something which is personally meaningful to him, and which also has a politically engaged dimension, and is in fact succeeding quite well at this, at least in my opinion. But this effort, guided as it is by a strong and highly personal internal compass, puts him </span></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">almost by definition </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">into a bit of a niche.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I think that artistic work which manages to 'hit the jackpot' of widespread cultural acceptance gets there for a variety of interconnected reasons (such as timing, artistic skill, promotional visibility, etc.), and I think that luck (or chance) also plays a role in the process, but the point of this sentence is that I think it's frequently true that work needs to have an element of non-specificity, of universality in order to 'make it big.' (Just think of those vague and generic lyrics in your favorite tune by U2 or Justin Bieber!) This, then, is the corollary question: "Is widespread cultural acceptance (hitting it big) fundamentally incompatible with a strongly held, highly personal vision, especially when there are elements of that vision that are 'challenging' in some way?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I think the answer to that question is probably "No these things are not <i>fundamentally incompatible</i>, but they are not <i>frequently</i> seen together and when they are, chance has played a role." One way that chance can influence this process is that something in the artistic work might happen to coincide with something current in the zeitgeist, which is always evolving. Artists can of course intentionally try to 'ride' something they see in the zeitgeist, which can be seen actually as an attempt to engineer a sort of universality; after all anything floating through the zeitgeist is by definition universal, at least for the moment.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">In a sense this idea of 'hitting it big' hinges on the fantasy of the 'one big thing'; the hit album or hit song or hit sculpture or painting... the one thing that everyone notices and makes you suddenly famous.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">But... there is another way.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">And that other way is....</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Just keep working. Stay true to yourself. Continue to evolve. And just keep making the work.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">And then, slowly, over the years, you gain a different kind of fame... a kind of esteem among your peers. And this sort of renown can often be achieved even when the work is challenging.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">The world is full of great examples of people who embody this approach, but the one who came to mind as I was having this conversation was JG Thirlwell, better known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JG_Thirlwell" target="_blank">Foetus</a>. He came to mind not only because he is one of my favorite musicians but also simply because he IS a musician, and we were talking about musicians, and he provides a potent embodiment of the the 'just keep working' model, a potent counterpoint to the 'one-hit-wonder'.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">JG Thirlwell is not exactly a household name in the world today; in fact he's somehow managed to stay comparatively obscure. But the guy is really a musical genius, and his prolificness (I checked... it's a real word) leaves most of the rest of us in the dust; just glance at his impressive </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JG_Thirlwell_discography" target="_blank">discography</a><span style="color: #cccccc;">. And here's the thing: his work has always been challenging, and therefore niche. A quote from his Wikipedia page: "</span><span style="color: #999999;">Recurring lyrical themes include destruction, persecution, anxiety, abuse, incest, masochism, angst, self-destruction, self-abuse, lust, prejudice, murder, failure and machismo, often expressed using American colloquialism and black humour.</span></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">" Yet, somehow, he has transcended the self-ghettoizing consequences of this sort of lyrical output to become, over a career of 40 years, highly respected and sought-after by other professionals not only from the music industry but from other parts of the entertainment industry as well. And how did he manage this? Well my theory is that it's because he is fiercely original, hard-working, and therefore prolific. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">It's really about persistence, and staying true to your self and your vision. If you just keep doing your thing, the world will eventually catch up to you. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, not everyone can be the next Taylor Swift, but would you really want to be? Sure, the piles of cash sound fun, but I can only imagine that one sacrifices a lot of freedom for a life like that. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Just keep working. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">(For a taste of two different, not overly 'challenging' sides of Foetus, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34lQ_3AfUAk" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mikhqVC7Zz4" target="_blank">here</a>. And believe me, if those tickle your fancy, there is SO MUCH more to discover.) </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">OK, change of topic. I've been painting for days, maybe even weeks. I finally got into the swing of it. It's slow work. Painting crumpled fabric is especially slow. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I keep discovering new painters I like. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">I'm currently rather enthralled by <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mati+klarwein&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Mati Klarwein</a>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">I've even developed a real respect for <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=alex+grey+artist&iax=images&ia=images" target="_blank">Alex Grey</a>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">With both of these guys the subject matter is a little hit-and-miss for me, but I love the precision and the highly personal vision that they both espouse. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">I continue to be fascinated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Auguste-Dominique_Ingres" target="_blank">Ingres</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio" target="_blank">Caravaggio</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Last week Kodiak and I checked out the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Henson" target="_blank">Jim Henson</a> <a href="https://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/albuquerque-museum/exhibitions/jim-henson-imagination-unlimited" target="_blank">exhibit</a> at the Albuquerque Museum.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">It was a great show. What an inspiring guy. The Jim Henson Creature Shop was the first place to hire me when I moved to LA to get into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animatronics" target="_blank">Animatronics</a>, and although Jim was dead by that time I did meet his son Brian. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">One thought that I had when seeing the work on display was... "I know how to do all this stuff, to build these sophisticated puppets, and it's an unusual and versatile skill, and it's a bit of a shame that I don't do more with it.... I should build some puppets, and... Have a puppet show!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Head mechanism I built for some puppet or another, incorporating eye mechanisms and multi-axis ears.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Doctor Octopus's upper two claws from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_2" target="_blank">Spiderman 2</a>, which I built and puppeteered on set.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Build puppets and have a puppet show? Hmm... we'll see about that. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Anyway the Henson's exhibit was a good show.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">(And how's this for a tie-in... click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9NoGxVRqXY" target="_blank">here</a> for Foetus doing a cover version of Elton John's 'Rocket Man' with lyrics re-worked as 'Puppet Dude,' a tribute to Jim Henson!)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">And lastly, a few people picked up on my brief discussion of the Datsun 240Z from several posts ago, and asked if I would in fact write a whole post about that car. Well I really don't think I will do that; there is so much already on the internet about that car and I would mostly just be regurgitating info that's already out there. Suffice to say that I have owned two of them and I love them. They're very fun to drive. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Check out this <a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-240z-124/" target="_blank">recent auction</a> of a totally original 1971 240Z that sold for.... $310,000! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Holy guacamole! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">I'll leave you with this, the 240Z from Mad Max: Fury Road... You had to have a sharp eye to catch this car in the film... it's barely in there, but I saw it immediately.
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<span style="color: #cccccc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0hX3BU1AcplIAOIPH7X5vZRetmtk17-IPuPrXlw6KrBqEQ8tOHg-0CARTRtu2kPXcTZ00U0YfJq-67HbsKK2FOzuOi8eY_dHyIwf-povbF7YU7gTJlrcwQJ4_Nw4tJRRtpLSSMOFirA/s1600/MadMax240Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0hX3BU1AcplIAOIPH7X5vZRetmtk17-IPuPrXlw6KrBqEQ8tOHg-0CARTRtu2kPXcTZ00U0YfJq-67HbsKK2FOzuOi8eY_dHyIwf-povbF7YU7gTJlrcwQJ4_Nw4tJRRtpLSSMOFirA/s400/MadMax240Z.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Adios, muchachos y muchachas</span>Roboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392382083664062747noreply@blogger.com1