Taking Stock
Last week, this site went down for a day when technical difficulties hit the web host. When it came back up a couple of posts were missing. It reminds me of the obstacles we encounter as artists all the time and that there’s no point fussing. Just keep going.
Summer slips away here. I was out on an errand this morning and discovered that some of the trees along the highway have now turned a soft yellow. The change of season, especially this one, is a good time to take stock. I see that I’m not quite as far along with my main project as I’d hoped to be. Life intervenes, of course, but creativity also has its own ebb and flow, not one to be messed with. So it’s all perfect and I’m also noting that a huge amount of work has gotten done and that the end of this project is now in site.
I went with a friend and fellow artist to Boston’s new Institute of Contemporary Art. It’s a bare-bones building in a spectacular setting right on the waterfront next to the famous fish restaurant, Anthony’s Pier One. The photo doesn’t capture much of this but you can get a sense of place.
I didn’t find the art, however brillliantly done, as intriguing. Every piece in the photography exhibit focused on the underside of life, on suffering and confusion, so at the end of the visit I was exhausted and down on my knees with thanks that I live in a parallel universe. But what I’m really interested in is how those who suffer can be lifted up. No sign of that here.
Well, the pendulum swings and I’m eager to see where the art of awakened consciousness now goes. There are signs of awakening everywhere from the work people are doing to eliminate poverty in Africa to the beginnings of efforts to stem global climate change. With so much peril on the planet it seems like the art of peace might now tiptoe in and start lifting us in new directions. Curious, isn’t it, that that art does not seem to make it into this kind of venue. Those of us who practice it will have to be subversive.
Fall is a great time of renewal, I think. As the leaves get ready to fall, I feel my energy picking up. The lazy days of summer are gone and I’m thinking the timing is just about right. Good thing I’m not in charge—I might have stretched things out a bit. But now it’s back to business.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:24 am
I’m glad to see you back, Cathy. Paul Hawken recently wrote Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming. He addresses
what you have described. We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I prefer the accademic calandar… instead of autumn being the beginning to the end, I see it as THE beginning. Summer is wonderful but soooo distracting. Like an 8 wk Christmas. Happily, here in PZ it’s pretty dismal all the time.
So true about angst ridden art. It’s so much easier to create a disturbing piece which is v. close to the surface. What’s really difficult is to dig deep when one is feeling like shit and come up with something beautiful. I think the fashion for bad art is a sign that we’ve all gone soft. You don’t see primative societies producing this crap.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Hi, Debra! Thanks for that. I don’t know Paul Hawken but was fascinated to see what his book was about. Here’s the description from Amazon—
The profusion of good causes and the nonprofit groups that advance them can seem laughably overwhelming, but without altruistic grass-roots efforts, the world would be a far less merciful place. Environmentalist Hawken believes that we are in the midst of a world-changing rise of activist groups, all “working toward ecological sustainability and social justice.” Rather than an ideological or centralized movement, this coalescence is a spontaneous and organic response to the recognition that environmental problems are social-justice problems. Writing with zest, clarity, and a touch of wonder, Hawken compares this gathering of forces to the human immune system. Just as antibodies rally when the body is under threat, people are joining together to defend life on Earth. Hawken offers a fascinating history of our perception of nature and human rights and assesses the role indigenous cultures are playing in the quest for ecological responsibility and economic fairness. Hawken also presents an unprecedented map to this new “social landscape” that includes a classification system defining astonishingly diverse concerns, ranging from farming to child welfare, ocean preservation, and beyond. Fresh and informative, Hawken’s inspired overview charts much that is right in the world.
Will definitely try to read it!
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And KT— So true what you say about making beautiful art—what we find when we dig deep is beautiful, well worth the dig! The other stuff seems so adolescent but then the whole culture does. What’s funny is that these kind of art venues have the idea they’re on the cutting edge.
I love that beautiful is now subversive. Your art has the kind of energy that lifts us up!!! Here’s to more of it! The pendulum swings…
Great point about primitive societies.
September 6th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
KT’s art is luminescent. The light comes from within. Cathy and KT, your thoughts about
“angst-ridden art” sure ring true to me. It definitely does seem an adolescent’s view.
Maturity lets me realize that that which enables me to feel the pain also lets me bask in the light of joy and beauty.
September 7th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Thanks Debra, I’ll order the book on Amazon. I’m about to do a bit of basking myself today at the Lido Jubilee Pool here in Pz. It’s a fab 1930’s art deco masterpiece that juts out into the ocean. The pain enters when you jump in. It’s freezing!! Go to Lido, Penzance on google. Splash.