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| Welcome to SKETCHES, Michael Gerrish's WhyART.com newsletter. I offer thoughts to stretch your mind and spur your actions to produce positives for you and those you touch. Author Daniel Pinkwater said, "I believe it is impossible to make sense of life in this world except through art." Artist Francis Bacon said, "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." This "talking head" sees truth in both statements; let's start making sense by exploring and expanding the mysteries which surround us! |
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An Artful Sense...of Wonder "The most precious element in life is wonder. Both love and power are based on wonder. When the wonder has gone out of a man he is dead." D.H. Lawrence "Anyone who can no longer pause to wonder is as good as dead.. his eyes are closed." Albert Einstein
Van Morrison equates wonder with a fiery vision whose panoramic survey easily encompasses art, philosophy, love, the changing seasons and the divine. That's a pretty inclusive list, and speaks to the appreciative nature of wondering. I see wondering as inquisitive, the natural outlook of explorers, toddlers...artists, too. When we wonder we metaphorically stretch disparate parts or wholes toward a connecting place of one understanding. Since that place is unrealized, we don't know if the elements will meet, or fit if they do; but we tug on anyway. Sometimes the tugs' results are remarkably gripping, offering insights and delights. Other times, the tugs maddeningly transform wholes into holes. Is it worth the effort? I wonder... Part Two... One warm summer day a decade or so ago, a few of us
spent the day in New York City at the Guinness
Fleadh Fest. After a day of "Celtic" music ranging from
Richard Thompson to The Neville Brothers(!), the evening closed with a 3
hour concert by Van Morrison.
We danced, we sang, we laughed...we held tight. Wonderfully sublime. Van
turns 60 very soon, and is currently touring the US. If you are near where
he is playing,
go see him. Dancing is optional, but encouraged. "Ray didn't talk about it, he just did it. That's why you don't find art magazines lying around quoting the art philosophy of Ray Johnson". Toby Spiselman |
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Sketches
is a free newsletter of WhyART.com and is available by subscription.
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at any time. I appreciate your thoughtful comments.
Michael Gerrish • 159 1st Street • Troy, NY 12180 •
(518)266-0304 • mrg@whyart.com |
