BirchLane.net

February 2005

Monday 28

Gifts.

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.

~Emerson
 

End of the month notes:

1. Missing my son and daughter
2. Broke but not broken
3. Inspired
4. Believing I have great gifts
5. First images posted to Ebay
6. Peace, Like a River

Sunday 27

Church. I went to church today. I had not been to church in weeks--months. Today was the third Sunday in Lent. There is a balm in Gilead. Applause greeted the choir after they sung "Rock o' my soul in the bosom of Abraham." The sermon asked us to "in-source" (vs. out-source); to find the light within each of us. During the offering soloist Mary Annarella brought many to tears when she sand "I Got to Lie Down." We closed the service singing "We Shall Overcome."

We shall overcome, we shall overcome, We shall overcome some day Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe we shall overcome some day

After David stopped in to see me and asked if I was hungry (I was not.), I went for a walk and took the photograph above and below.

 

Saturday 26

The Gallery List. Photography (if we listed "art" we would then have Mary Boone,             ):

• June Bateman
• Bonni Benrubi
• Janet Borden
• Edward Carter
• Jane Corkin
• Kathleen Ewing
• Peter Fetterman
• Howard Greenberg
• Edwynn Houk
• Robert Klein
• Paula Kopeiking
• Robert Mann
• Laurence Miller
• Robert Miller
• Sarah Morthland
• Scott Nichols
• Ricco Maresca
• Yancey Richardson
• Bruce Silverstein
• John Stevenson

 

Ah, this must represent something; if I only knew.

Out walking late this afternoon, Notre Dame here on Pleasant Street in Easthampton:

Friday 25

MET. I miss the MET.

Two or more here.

When I woke this morning mist rose from the mountain.

More thoughts about "The Blinds."

In this photograph we see the classical and monumental battle between hot and cold, light and dark, as illustrated by the massive steam pipe inside the dwelling and the corroded exhaust pipe just outside the window; separated, yet simply drawn together by "The Blinds." Notice, too, the wheel on the steam pipe at the top left hand corner where one may turn on or turn off the healing power of the generated heat. The beautifully decaying number "5" on the window frame is certainly an art historical and literary reference to Charles Demuth's well-known painting Number 5, which is an abstract portrait of William Carlos Williams' famous short poem "The Great Figure," both constant inspirations to the creator of "The Blinds." And in the distance, we can only imagine there might be a mountain where there are the sounds of music, echoing the dynamic dance played out here morning, noon, and night as the blinds are drawn open or drawn closed, reflecting the persistence of light to work its wonders in the world or as Walt Whitman said: "To me every hour of the day and night is an unspeakable perfect miracle."

In today's New York Times, there is a story about the Kertesz exhibition at The National Gallery of Art; when I looked out my window late in the day I was thinking about him when I took this photo. I call it The Lullaby of Loneliness.

PEOPLE who know photography revere André Kertesz as one of the medium's great practitioners, a modernist innovator whose snapshot aesthetic influenced artists from Henri Cartier-Bresson and Brassai to Robert Frank and Gary Winogrand....... He did not develop an instantly identifiable photographic template that would turn every situation into another "Kertesz." Going through the 116 prints in the exhibition, you may observe something chameleonlike about him: not that he mimicked the styles of others, but in the sense that he adapted photographically to different kinds of worldly realities... What distinguishes Kertesz's work is not a particular visual style or signature subject matter, but its emotional resonance. Undoubtedly Kertesz was a great formalist, but in his most persuasive pictures, form is put to the service of feeling. In their catalog introduction, Ms. Greenough and Mr. Gurbo get this just right. Kertesz, they write, sought "not the decisive moment when an external action completed an intriguing formal arrangement, but the instant when the world was infused with personal meaning."   They continue: "Working more from his heart, he explained, 'you don't see' the things you photograph, 'you feel' them." ~Ken Johnson, NYT, 2/25

1936, Kertesz

Thursday 24

Moon Over Mt. Tom. Maybe it WAS the moon.

Art galleries named after owner:

Mary Boone

Wednesday 23

BB.

"Icarus, my son, I charge you to keep at a moderate height, for if you
fly too low the damp will clog your wings, and if too high the heat will
melt them. Keep near me and you will be safe."

 

 

Tuesday 22

Trees. I want to read some Gary Snyder today; meanwhile, early this morning, out my window:

The community of trees-
thousands of bodies
with a human body among them.
Branches and leaves are waving.
Then the call of the creek,
and my eyes open to the sky of the great Mind.
A smile is seen
on every leaf.

The forest is here,
because the city is down there.
But Mind has gone with the trees
and put on a new green dress.

The sunshine is the leaves.
The leaves are the sunshine.
The sunshine is no different from the leaves.
The leaves are no different from the sunshine.
All other forms and sounds
are of the same nature.

Thich Nhat Hanh
Call Me By My True Names

A friend e-mails me last night regarding the portrait of Michele:

I guess there is a reason people pay to get portraits taken...stunning...it also takes a very special artist to make such a portrait. The connection and human understanding are vital. I expect that few people truly have such an opportunity -- to see their souls in their own faces.

Messages such as this sustain me.

Monday 21

And yesterday. Today I had my first commercial product shots---a golf shirt for one client and a girls pink rubber boot for another. All in all, $225 for one hour of work.

Sunday 20

Movement. Here in the building where I live,

The Guest House "This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, Some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, Who violently sweep your house Empty of its furniture, Still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out For some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, Meet them at the door laughing, And invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, Because each has been sent As a guide from beyond." ~ Rumi

Saturday 19

Light. A friend from High School, Brecon; a friend from 35 years-ago, visited with me today on her way home to New Jersey. We sat and talked, listened to music, and watched the sky through my windows change color.

There are two ways to look at life. One is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything is. ~Albert Einstein

Brecon and David, my neighbor down the hall

Friday 18

Patience & Perseverance. Today I got my first two commercial photo assignments: I shoot both next week; one is for a local mall--a sweater and some other piece of merchandise and the other is for a golf tournament--probably a golf glove or some other accessory. The pay is excellent and I can only hope the agency will be pleased with my images as they work with malls all around the country. (Now all I need is a $10,000 winning scratch card!)

When I woke this morning, I found this intriguing photo online:

Keever spends about a month working on each scene he photographs. He forms mountains by hand and arranges them carefully in his fish tank, which is only about 17 inches from front to back. Each scene is carefully lit; all of the color in his photographs-ominous gray-green clouds, brilliant golden sunsets, deep royal blue deltas-are a slight-of-hand created with theatrical gels. Lighting is a trying and time consuming task, but once done Keever sets up his large format camera, squirts a plume of white liquid pigment into the water above the mountains and shoots photographs as fast as he can change four by five inch film holders. Keever can only shoot for five to 30 minutes per session. He invariably ends up with hundreds of photographs, of which one or two are of interest. These images are scanned, cleaned up in Photoshop and enlarged to a scale that all but engulfs the viewer. The unusual surface quality of Keever's photographs mentioned earlier is created primarily by the build up of algae on the 1/2" thick glass of the fish tank. Blue Delta (2002) has the steamy quality of a primeval world. The algae clouds our vision giving the work a cracked and aged look. More here.

Thursday 17

For Free. I am discovering there is so much to do here in The Pioneer Valley, much of it free.  Last Saturday, for example, the Art Party (OK; it cost $3--almost free), where the photo below of Jody, Landon (the owner of Treydon's Bar & Grill in Easthampton) and his wife, Mindy, was taken. And there are art openings this Friday and Saturday nights.

More editing of photos of Darcia, the girl from Russia:

I read this yesterday and thought it rather interesting:

"Here is your assignment for life" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. You will receive a body You may like it or not, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around. 2. You will learn lessons You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called life. Each day in this school, you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant or stupid. 3. There are no mistakes only lessons Growth is a process of trial and error, experimentation. The 'failed' experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately 'works'. 4. A lesson is repeated until it is learned A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it, then you can go on to the next lesson. 5. Learning lessons does not end There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned. 6. 'There' is no better than 'here' When your 'there' has become a 'here', you will simply obtain another 'there' that will, again, look better than 'here'. 7. Others are merely mirrors of you You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself. 8. What you make of your life is up to you You have all the tools and resources you need: what you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. 9. The answer lies inside you The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust. 10. Whether you think you can or you can't, in either case you will be right - think about it. ~Author unknown

I had a portrait session this afternoon, which was very rewarding; great conversation and some fine photos.  I think we got we what we came together for: truth and beauty.

She was struck by the view of Mt. Tom:

Wednesday 16

Immaculate Conception. I thought the church I have been taking photos of from my window for the past few months was St. Mary's but today I discovered it is Immaculate Conception. I prefer this name.

I am thinking of asking the priest if I can display the photos at the church in an effort to sell some; they are quite good.

I drove to Goshen today
roads once traveled many years ago

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your official role model for the coming weeks
is the Vietnamese freedom fighter, Trieu Thi Trinh, who resisted the
Chinese occupation of her country in the third century. Unlike her, you
shouldn't *literally* raise a rebel army, establish your own sovereign
enclave, and ride into battle against the invaders on the back of an
elephant. (Although it's fine to do all that stuff metaphorically.) Like her,
you should agitate for liberation with unstinting exuberance, as if your
soul's health depended on it. I suggest you write her most famous
utterance on a piece of paper and carry it with you everywhere you go:
"My wish is to ride the tempest, tame the waves, kill the sharks. I will not
resign myself."

Not my new gallery assistant but a way to display my two promotional cards:

Ana had a good blurb in this week's Arts newspaper:

Tuesday 15

A Beginning.

"J’en suis au point où je ne touche plus à la vie, mais avec en moi tous les appétits et la titillation insistante de l’être. Je n’ai plus qu’une occupation, me refaire."
~Artaud.

On a hill there's a school
and the school's spirit's bright
and the name of the school's Lowell

Two little boys playing catch in a parking lot
with their Dad on a Spring-like February afternoon

The mountain is rust-colored

I would like to have a cat

Monday 14

Monday Meanderings.

"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
 ~Philippians 4:10-23, Paul

Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.
~Buddha

In order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.
~David Ben Gurion

"With age, art and life become one."
~Georges Braque

(We hope. 9:15 p.m., today)

Sunday 13

Open Square. I went to an "Art Party" last night at Open Square in Holyoke, Massachusetts. I took a few photos. Not to forget: yesterday was my last day on Celexa. A short history being:

1. I started taking 20 mg of Celexa two years ago.
2. I started taking 30 mg a few months later.
3. I soon started taking 40 mg (acute depression).
4. I cut back to 30 mg one year ago.
5. I cut back to 20 mg about six months ago.
6. I have been weaning myself off Celexa for past three months at 10 mg.

Am I sometimes sad and lonely? Yes. And although I have never been so financially poor, I have never felt so spiritually rich. I want to see where this takes me; if I feel I need Celexa back in my life, I will simply pick up the phone
and call my doctor and start taking it again.

I took a long walk this afternoon and took a few photos:

And the the church:

Saturday 12

Blah. I read a wonderful poem the other day, which

After last night's art opening, my friends Sidney and Darcia, who attended the opening earlier in the evening, stopped back at at Studio 19 and asked me to join them at Treydon's.

I think I like this one also (she is from Russia):

Yesterday, I had a great sitting with Jaimee of Healing Tree Massage who is also a member of BNI.

More of Jaimee here.

Friday 11

Boo. I left for Goshen early in the morning to

Thursday 10

Getting Ready for Opening.

 

I was unusually tired today. S much to do for tomorrow night's art opening. Daryl got his driver's license today.  A difficult part of divorce is not being around for moments like this. And outside today:

Wednesday 09

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

~Mark Twain

Tuesday 08

Monday 07

Remembering This: A few years ago, a photographer from Puerto Rico wrote to me:

Browsing your (website) is like walking thru museum and watching a documentary on the history of photograph at the same time. Low light, a glass of wine and soft piano music in the background... these are the conditions in which I to view your gallery. Simple photos: no extravagant angles, not fancy manipulation, no blowout colors and contrasts. Just moments in time magnificently capture in one frame of film. Just moments that once were and now are gone, but oh, how much they say to us. They are but just one frame of millions that compose our lives, our history and our culture. And some how you manage to capture a whole life, a complete story in history and those details that defines us as a society in just that one frame. Art is everything we do, from our first kiss, to our first son, to our last good bye… but you have managed to make art your life itself.

Sunday 06

Super Bowl Sunday.

when i was a boy
i watched the super bowl
with my dad, friends, and neighbors
when i was a teen
i watched the super bowl
with my dad, friends, and relatives
when i was a young man
i watched the super bowl
with my wife
when i was an adult
i watched the super bowl
with my wife and my children
yesterday i watched the super bowl
alone

Saturday 05

From Yesterday: an art opening in Northampton:

And more here:

Friday 04

Art Openings. This is the church I see from my window. This was today late in the afternoon. At night: two art openings in downtown Northampton.

Thursday 03

Dance. I had a great self-portrait session today with a woman I know from BNI (Business Networking Internationl).

I shot 120 photos and a few I think are quite good.

 

Wednesday 02

The Palace. The photograph below really has little to do with today except for the fact that it makes me smile and smiling helps me forget the severe pain in my right shoulder. It is Tucker's fault. See, my friend Sidney rents a room in a house from gal named Gaylen. Gaylen has a dog, a rather large and strong dog, named Tucker. I took Tucker for a walk last week. Well, that's not quite true; Tucker walked me. Tucker, says Sidney, listens to Gaylen and knows all sorts of tricks. Tucker does not listen to me. When I said "Heel" or "Steady" he pulled harder. Maybe Gaylen speaks to Tucker in a different language. She's Irish; does she speak to him with a brogue?

Asbury Park, 1907's

Tuesday 01

4 x 150. A week is what I need.