tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46762986066473722122024-03-15T21:12:32.176-04:00Life After All Historian PhD, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Ukraine, 2009-2011), college teacher, retired director of NEH affiliates in DC and Florida, Fran offers a multi-layered perspective on current issues, culture and community. A different voice. A unique perspective. From the bottom up. Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.comBlogger637125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-6274949134425502992023-08-22T13:01:00.000-04:002023-08-22T13:01:39.488-04:00Don't get out the popcorn yet: The Wheels of Justice Grind Slowly<div class="separator"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><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/AVvXsEj2jbu55NHwsUCpW-hJed9ZTfkdQ50lktZyfn0D4jipms855GygbLmfMWG1BS3SXK01MYnC4cdLqydoHQ9c-1xIp1r_XTy6LdasE-wkLLVybEqR40Als7hO8wT7d44p0BI93chvzd8z7D1hu3nmhXmUMDN_rG-Cuci6xGXqrzOMBS7ZyHAUXwFsuKAM_H8/s800/the-wheels-of-justice-turn-slowly-but-exceedingly-fine-e8bbb5d978cdf450d97d8f0f4b96afa0.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="800" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jbu55NHwsUCpW-hJed9ZTfkdQ50lktZyfn0D4jipms855GygbLmfMWG1BS3SXK01MYnC4cdLqydoHQ9c-1xIp1r_XTy6LdasE-wkLLVybEqR40Als7hO8wT7d44p0BI93chvzd8z7D1hu3nmhXmUMDN_rG-Cuci6xGXqrzOMBS7ZyHAUXwFsuKAM_H8/s320/the-wheels-of-justice-turn-slowly-but-exceedingly-fine-e8bbb5d978cdf450d97d8f0f4b96afa0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: medium;">"Delay, Delay, Delay: From pre-trial motions to negotiations over security, the master of legal stalling has many tactics in his arsenal." Politico, 8/16/23</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Forget the popcorn and the celebrations. The Indictments are in the legal system, which means the trials</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">could take months and years to start, let alone reach any verdicts. Many months and years. </span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Now begins a tortuous process of making sure Due Process is honored and the trials are fair. That means discovery, plea bargaining, pre-trial hearings, motions and delays of one legal kind or another. As Politico notes, Trump is a master at it. So are the other co-conspirators. If you are waiting with bated breath for some action, you'll be disappointed.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I'm starting to realize it is a waiting game I'm not up to. I'm not going to sit in front of the TV hoping something is going to happen. It's not going to happen for a while. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Maybe after a long break from Indictment news, I'll wake up in ten years (if I'm still going) to learn justice has been served. That's the "exceedingly fine" part of the wheels of justice. The "turn slowly" part puts me in the mindset of a groundhog. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">"Waiting for Godot" would be faster. </span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some legal experts, for example, are predicting that the Georgia RICO trail could take at least two years before it begins. "Racketeering cases are not built for speed," the </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Seattle TImes</i></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> notes. Fani Willis is proposing a March 4, 2024 trial date, but Mark Meadows has already filed a motion to move the case to federal court. Trump is just getting started. Then there are the 18 others indicted. Imagine the twists and turns. Hopefully some of them will drop off one way or another. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then there's the other three criminal cases that will complicate schedules, and I wouldn't be surprised if more are coming. Is an Arizona fake electors' case on the horizon? </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-family: arial;">"</span><span style="color: #2b2c30; font-family: arial;">The schedule of likely Donald Trump criminal trials in 2024 is turning into the criminal justice equivalent of a multi-car pileup," <i>The Hill</i> opined.</span></span></span></div><div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>I</i>'m hoping Jack Smith's trial will go first. He</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> brilliantly fashioned his indictment to make a speedy trial possible. </span></span></span><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Time </i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">magazine argues that Jack Smith needs a speedy trial faster than Fani Willis. I'm all for that.</span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"> "</span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If Trump reclaims the White House, he could potentially exert executive power to inoculate himself from federal criminal vulnerability, such as attempting to pardon himself or appointing an attorney general who will quash the charges against him. That may be why Smith brought forth a lean indictment that he hopes can get to trial quickly, according to former federal prosecutors. <i>“There’s a race against the clock,”</i> says Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. Attorney, referring to Smith’s case. “In Georgia, that’s not really the case. No attorney general of the United States can shut down a state court investigation. So this case can proceed, even if Trump is elected.”<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EERjja-dmlfMNn5vFH1hFXx9GhRYTV_E8wvgPWwWzG6my4Pdv5IkgTja0F6rV1syg1fFrWuWCKvaf3_oEvYKnqbIRH5JwfMQjIo1EtpPm9IrOIspJaix7OAzqAOszRXW9Wwx4IN8S9SkKNy8L0NdTIB9Xvo4_NY0cGM3oS9jNhkl0HVAnJjJtt9Qw4g/s1280/GettyImages-1230455307-scaled-1-1280x720.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EERjja-dmlfMNn5vFH1hFXx9GhRYTV_E8wvgPWwWzG6my4Pdv5IkgTja0F6rV1syg1fFrWuWCKvaf3_oEvYKnqbIRH5JwfMQjIo1EtpPm9IrOIspJaix7OAzqAOszRXW9Wwx4IN8S9SkKNy8L0NdTIB9Xvo4_NY0cGM3oS9jNhkl0HVAnJjJtt9Qw4g/s320/GettyImages-1230455307-scaled-1-1280x720.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Getty image captures the horror ofJ6.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think the talk about tRUmp reclaiming the White House is all hogwash, but the rest of the argument is well taken. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">"There's a race against the clock," as Barbara McQuade put it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)" style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A race? We'll see. Maybe we'll see something in early 2024, but for now it's too soon to get out the popcorn. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Some Sources:</span></div></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">1. </span><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/in-georgia-case-against-trump-a-trial-within-6-months-could-be-a-stretch/" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: arial;">In Georgia case against Trump, a trial within 6 months could be a stretch | The Seattle Times</a>, August 16, 2023. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;">2. <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4151748-there-wont-be-time-for-four-trump-trials-before-">https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4151748-there-wont-be-time-for-four-trump-trials-before, by Gregory Wallance.</a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;"><span face="ff-meta-serif-web-pro">3. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;">W</span></span><a href="https://time.com/6305281/trump-indictments-strategies-fani-willis-jack-smith/" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro;">hy Jack Smith Needs Speedy Trump Trial More Than Fani Willis | Time</a><span face="ff-meta-serif-web-pro" style="color: #231f20;"> by Eric Cortellessa, 8/15/23.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;">4. "Will Trump Get a Speedy Trial?," 8/16/23, Russell Berman. T<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/06/trump-indictment-classified-documents-charges-trial-timing/674377/" style="background-color: transparent;">he Race to Put Trump on Trial Begins - The Atlantic</a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;">5. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/01/trump-indictment-trial-date-delay-00090028">‘Delay, delay, delay’: How Trump could push his trial into the heart of campaign season - POLITICO</a>, by Josh Gerstin and Kyle Cheney. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;">6. <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/former-trump-white-house-lawyer-132354473.html" style="background-color: transparent;">Former Trump White House lawyer says ‘no chance’ Georgia trial happens within two years (yahoo.com)</a>. I think lawyer Ty Cobb is right.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;">7. <a href="https://billmoyers.com/story/insurrection-timeline-first-the-coup-and-then-the-cover-up-updated/" style="background-color: transparent;">UPDATED: Insurrection Timeline — First the Coup and Then the Cover-Up – BillMoyers.com</a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #231f20; float: none; font-family: ff-meta-serif-web-pro; font-size: 19px; margin-block: 0px; margin: 0px auto 13.5px; padding-inline-start: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 636px;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-37900034944086464922023-06-03T14:42:00.000-04:002023-06-03T14:42:35.834-04:00Refik Anadol and AI Art: Beyond Imagination<p> </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/AVvXsEiKF7NVQnkfdxJZDNRxYdRVg3ITu2YMFeeQp8iRvlEXrpqbJphzN4UINdbJr0R0iYoUjFYKzNcGpd-fPSVRlfTDaQbH6Qlt1DoyCZYGvRVd3k_G9qZ1vMUvdHqsXQKVS8RHj1h7sYPGezi0OV4oxCh9l-SmokwYFarYpLD4sHgmf2LaKK3KnDDHrORO/s2250/Refik%20A%20photo-joshua_white-jwpictures.com-4q6a7188.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2250" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKF7NVQnkfdxJZDNRxYdRVg3ITu2YMFeeQp8iRvlEXrpqbJphzN4UINdbJr0R0iYoUjFYKzNcGpd-fPSVRlfTDaQbH6Qlt1DoyCZYGvRVd3k_G9qZ1vMUvdHqsXQKVS8RHj1h7sYPGezi0OV4oxCh9l-SmokwYFarYpLD4sHgmf2LaKK3KnDDHrORO/w400-h266/Refik%20A%20photo-joshua_white-jwpictures.com-4q6a7188.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Unsupervised</b>, Refik Anadol exhibit at MoMA</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What would a machine dream about after seeing the entire collection of The Museum of Modern Art in one fascinating digital exhibition? For that matter what do humans dream after seeing Refik Anadol's exhibition, <b>Unsupervised</b>, which art reviewer Vincent Tully of the New York Times calls "the new avant garde?" </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>For <b>Unsupervised</b>, Los Angeles artist Refik Anadol, born in 1985, uses artificial intelligence to interpret and transform more than 200 years of art at MoMA. Wow, really?</span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Known for his groundbreaking media works and public installations, Anadol has created digital artworks that unfold in real time, continuously generating new and otherworldly forms that envelop viewers in a large-scale installation. Tully put it this way: </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"It’s the museum’s collection digitized into roiling shapes..."</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><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/AVvXsEgqLmL_jvVm5x210U5sh82MudxZX-Mv8ZoDzwkEXD406Ag652D60NkJW9xuLYXmRQi28SqT9gHx-aaM0M4C2pZ_72kMjkUF5vjzDA54xKORlzs64PEHMriFQe7i3ICXNOmlX9gqABJXjTs0wD9umjHylfar5CdOsfFA8u2SJPeRBXqFWjR_DpV7sUba/s1800/Unsupervised-MoMA-NFT-Collection-Refik-Anadol.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLmL_jvVm5x210U5sh82MudxZX-Mv8ZoDzwkEXD406Ag652D60NkJW9xuLYXmRQi28SqT9gHx-aaM0M4C2pZ_72kMjkUF5vjzDA54xKORlzs64PEHMriFQe7i3ICXNOmlX9gqABJXjTs0wD9umjHylfar5CdOsfFA8u2SJPeRBXqFWjR_DpV7sUba/w400-h240/Unsupervised-MoMA-NFT-Collection-Refik-Anadol.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Anadol</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">This artist and his art are new to me. I am fascinated by it. This is art for the 22nd century and beyond. I can hardly imagine it, hardly understand how this art is made. And controversy about the implications of AI development have me a little scared of it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am quoting Anadol's description to try to get my arms around it. That might not be the right anology for something so monumental, but the scope of it, and the consequences, stun and amaze. Something tells me, deeply, that we need to try to understand it. Here's what the MoMA exhibit catalogue says: </span></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana;">"Unsupervised</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> is a meditation on technology, creativity, and modern art. Anadol trained a sophisticated machine-learning model to interpret the publicly available data of MoMA’s collection. As the model “walks” through its conception of this vast range of works, it reimagines the history of modern art and dreams about what might have been—and what might be to come. In turn, Anadol incorporates site-specific input from the environment of the Museum’s Gund Lobby—changes in light, movement, acoustics, and the weather outside—to affect the continuously shifting imagery and sounds." (Note 1) <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/AVvXsEi29ZL3vpPEsRO4pFXdnr14IStDGn9skMgI7W9hT4uSlU3CROg3cLcC9lNTvkUDod5fzLIw7AR5FMJKSYN0d6-wL8oE0ANHpmz6MAkj5m1YfkmTMUYxk1jHSBc0dx9gDp4kj6RNpW28pvqrLfhuzsrVfoSYXq07oHIHr9bA6Yhpxi2ASEWAmgCDL_6x/s2400/Unsupervised-%E2%80%93-Machine-Hallucination-Moma-x-Refik-Anadol-Studio_Page_11-2400x1350.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2400" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29ZL3vpPEsRO4pFXdnr14IStDGn9skMgI7W9hT4uSlU3CROg3cLcC9lNTvkUDod5fzLIw7AR5FMJKSYN0d6-wL8oE0ANHpmz6MAkj5m1YfkmTMUYxk1jHSBc0dx9gDp4kj6RNpW28pvqrLfhuzsrVfoSYXq07oHIHr9bA6Yhpxi2ASEWAmgCDL_6x/s320/Unsupervised-%E2%80%93-Machine-Hallucination-Moma-x-Refik-Anadol-Studio_Page_11-2400x1350.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MoMA's collection swirling around in computer waves</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SK6iI9W9rk9ZDQsBY4468UHGwP21FHgArhsvLzv9LvNr9Eeox1OX98jJtmp0kmZiKJGaQXFCUh4ZeFBCupTIu_IHbzg0fteThEUGjVCwv5Ihj2ws1sbWJH9FmTDlazjZmMfKi-ZsbWc8F8sovoX8qHDsnnzQi6ZBR6uTFhMZbSQumvoAj10JCooG/s640/anadol%20images1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SK6iI9W9rk9ZDQsBY4468UHGwP21FHgArhsvLzv9LvNr9Eeox1OX98jJtmp0kmZiKJGaQXFCUh4ZeFBCupTIu_IHbzg0fteThEUGjVCwv5Ihj2ws1sbWJH9FmTDlazjZmMfKi-ZsbWc8F8sovoX8qHDsnnzQi6ZBR6uTFhMZbSQumvoAj10JCooG/s320/anadol%20images1.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br />"AI is often used to classify, process, and generate realistic representations of the world. In contrast, <b>Unsupervised</b> is visionary: it explores fantasy, hallucination, and irrationality," creating an alternate understanding of how art is made. The installation is based on works that are encoded on the blockchain, a distributed digital ledger, which stands as a public record of Anadol’s art."(Note 1) </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>What does that mean, Anadol?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>“I am trying to find ways to connect memories with the future,” the artist has said, “and to make the invisible visible.” </span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>It seems to have started in 2021, with Anadol's exhibit "Nature Dreams" at the Konig Galerie in Berlin. This Los Angeles artist is changing "the way we see," reviewers noted. I can see that. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>This art actually transforms the "Zen of Seeing" into the Zen of Artificial intelligence. Remember the 1973 art book, calling us to not only look, but "to see," to meditate, focus, be present and mindful. Anadol's unique approach is certainly changing the boundaries of art, "changing art-making itself," in Refik Anadol's words. (Note 1) </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Vincent Tullo in his review of the exhibit (note 3) raised a question that stirred in the back of my mind: Does </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"the impulse to make computers do something “artistic” speak to our anxiety around what makes us human — if software can create art, then what’s left for us?" </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><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/AVvXsEg5cMHuu-492WgXc8sf87fpDS7_UZ-CBUnSHfSfzUG_5H74ROP7o88uxA6q3kPnzbamHFPrFXe8aG_Wqb-eUrWX6aUIahaNsa5rH7_v2x5vKIDOKM9F-mO-rrOWmFFuM8WEHALz6XFUcaLsaRQ8ww7EFEaqPNuEgHjs8o2Ma9YkGe_BWhtdNgdeYAaB/s1024/anadol%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cMHuu-492WgXc8sf87fpDS7_UZ-CBUnSHfSfzUG_5H74ROP7o88uxA6q3kPnzbamHFPrFXe8aG_Wqb-eUrWX6aUIahaNsa5rH7_v2x5vKIDOKM9F-mO-rrOWmFFuM8WEHALz6XFUcaLsaRQ8ww7EFEaqPNuEgHjs8o2Ma9YkGe_BWhtdNgdeYAaB/w400-h266/anadol%202.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="NeueHelvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #7f7f7f;">Refik Anadol, Quantum Memories, 10M x 10M x 2.5M AI Data Sculpture Custom software, quantum computing data, generative algorithm with artificial intelligence (AI), real time digital animation on LED screen, 4 channel sound, Courtesy RAS via ARTnet</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><span face="NeueHelvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #7f7f7f; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Note 1: </span><a href="https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5535">Refik Anadol: Unsupervised | MoMA</a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">This exhibit was Organized by Michelle Kuo, the Marlene Hess Curator of Painting and Sculpture, and Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture and Design and Director of Research and Development, with Lydia Mullin, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture. </span><a href="https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5535">Refik Anadol: Unsupervised | MoMA</a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><br /><span>Note 2: </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamanderson/2023/02/06/momas-newest-nft-exhibit-proves-you-cant-even-give-nfts-away-for-free/?sh=493b7a094bde">MOMA’s Newest NFT Exhibit Proves You Can’t Even Give NFTs Away For Free (forbes.com)</a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Note 3: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/arts/design/refik-anadol-unsupervised-moma-review.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap">MoMA’s Daydream of Progress - The New York Times (nytimes.com)</a>, calls <b>Unsupervised</b> "The next avant-garde." <span face="nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif" style="background-color: white; color: #727272; text-align: right;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #727272; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.01em; text-align: right;">Vincent Tullo for The New York Times</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><br /></div></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-23791538477880510522023-04-24T14:18:00.001-04:002023-04-24T15:37:39.699-04:00Running Away from Russia and Russification: An Unintended Consequence of Putin's Vicious Revanchist War in Ukraine <div><br /></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/AVvXsEg9MdMXePG5l0wHhzA71iG8rZL_lcPZ-5f_Bzp6tOXWa71u9h8WzAm0ATZ0JFq5XZ8TBaLzuwZ4nWPQB3PdwKSZ1zT21te-LPuUYVI4C0bvgjXJSjUbBL6NXpmgKgtVGiGbyKSM328F1J-1ngcZx22EMvPnqDsPU_Qbl3QurclIIHMiFYouXxOuzmOl/s1024/Georgia%20the%20country%20trying%20to%20escape%20RU%20infl%20GettyImages-1247908739.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1024" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MdMXePG5l0wHhzA71iG8rZL_lcPZ-5f_Bzp6tOXWa71u9h8WzAm0ATZ0JFq5XZ8TBaLzuwZ4nWPQB3PdwKSZ1zT21te-LPuUYVI4C0bvgjXJSjUbBL6NXpmgKgtVGiGbyKSM328F1J-1ngcZx22EMvPnqDsPU_Qbl3QurclIIHMiFYouXxOuzmOl/w400-h268/Georgia%20the%20country%20trying%20to%20escape%20RU%20infl%20GettyImages-1247908739.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A protest outside of parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia.<br />Symbol of a new world order, with the flags of the country of Georgia, Ukraine, and NATO united?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><br /><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/AVvXsEiHjtKwRVId1b2Rti6sXVFdaV5tqICZpH9CGpiGWsTlyieVG90Ll_SBPTb-B8Lq1pN06JBFqBWLA_vgV2Fs6_VhyPszOIV_mtalcAW-Dx53GALpMbmnqzAffOyRIZ3f-7MRtdwkqktHqoqzuVFDw550zyGuceYQzvUA6CQsQonx7hXajbcRT9FfOQb3/s1024/2022-06-14T205724Z_1667814627_RC2RRU9PQFPT_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-DONBAS-REGION-scaled-e1658349852668-1024x745.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="1024" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjtKwRVId1b2Rti6sXVFdaV5tqICZpH9CGpiGWsTlyieVG90Ll_SBPTb-B8Lq1pN06JBFqBWLA_vgV2Fs6_VhyPszOIV_mtalcAW-Dx53GALpMbmnqzAffOyRIZ3f-7MRtdwkqktHqoqzuVFDw550zyGuceYQzvUA6CQsQonx7hXajbcRT9FfOQb3/s320/2022-06-14T205724Z_1667814627_RC2RRU9PQFPT_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-DONBAS-REGION-scaled-e1658349852668-1024x745.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ukraine Can Win," The Atlantic Monthly, July 2022,<br />by Richard D. Hooker, Jr. <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraine-can-win/">Ukraine can win - Atlantic Council</a><br /> <i>"It is far better to confront the threat now while Russia is reeling from high casualties, depleted stocks of high-tech munitions, low morale, severe losses among senior commanders, and inferior generalship."</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Putin's war in Ukraine is having a ripple effect on all the former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) and countries in Eastern and Central Europe that were once in Russia's </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">orbit. It's a fascinating development, an unintended consequence of the war Putin started to exterminate Ukraine. Russian aggression is exposing its revanchism and weaknesses and, in the process, creating an evolving new world order that is shrinking Russian influence forever. </span><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFLsVY901RCa8ARkgfAGn6Jadhiuv0Bm_5hE5p0ltpspra3yAiaFy1_HzzyjQMVfqHQP6JtLx1-rT4Hdk6MhoX9UyEw1_RldOO145ufdC9Mvg2qO91G7lsPZDDsrbsFXy3m9-hb6AgAI_RJpHcfrR7ge-tGoAFTKNTPpnklva4EiG67j17KLVS0JA/s2640/map%20of%20former%20SSRshutterstock-290167274.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="2640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFLsVY901RCa8ARkgfAGn6Jadhiuv0Bm_5hE5p0ltpspra3yAiaFy1_HzzyjQMVfqHQP6JtLx1-rT4Hdk6MhoX9UyEw1_RldOO145ufdC9Mvg2qO91G7lsPZDDsrbsFXy3m9-hb6AgAI_RJpHcfrR7ge-tGoAFTKNTPpnklva4EiG67j17KLVS0JA/w400-h266/map%20of%20former%20SSRshutterstock-290167274.webp" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">The bottom line: Former SSRs (shown and listed on the above Wikipedia map), as well as countries once in Russia's orbit, do not want anything to do with Russia. Putin's war has assured that. </span><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigU0soxet5Gfa0SA3DFM_Utl2q8y_9Hv627-ZdYoA-YG4IzjnmGac5FwLo-L8XOGjM7vXPCyETSkddTcHWsQzAJ-bBx1dIVFhU7iuVzSPlrx6jZrSM4nECMSerD6kqR68gPJhI1igptw1CEEsIV91dZLmLa-4yI7tMlaHrRaUWQUkRu8B7oZtd-Q5A/s680/Ukr%20war%20meme.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="630" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigU0soxet5Gfa0SA3DFM_Utl2q8y_9Hv627-ZdYoA-YG4IzjnmGac5FwLo-L8XOGjM7vXPCyETSkddTcHWsQzAJ-bBx1dIVFhU7iuVzSPlrx6jZrSM4nECMSerD6kqR68gPJhI1igptw1CEEsIV91dZLmLa-4yI7tMlaHrRaUWQUkRu8B7oZtd-Q5A/w185-h200/Ukr%20war%20meme.png" width="185" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">What country can look at what Putin is doing in Ukraine and not think the same thing could happen to them?</span> </span></div><div><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">They know what it's like. </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">T</span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">hey know from experience the criminal excesses, the violence, the relentless Russification designed to propagandize their citizens and liquidate their histories and culture.</span></span></span></div><div><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; font-size: medium;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">And today, right now, l</span></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">ook at the places Russia is </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">occupying in the Donbas, in Bakhmut, Mariupol, the village I served with the Peace Corps. Look at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, where workers describe beatings, torture and looting. </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Look at Crimea, once-beautiful, diverse, peaceful, now Stalinized, militarized and terrorized. </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><div><p></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everything Russia touches turns into Soviet-style gulags and reigns of terror. Wastelands. Everything. Putin's unjust, vindictive, vicious war proves it. The world is seeing it.</span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">This is why more former SSRs and Eastern and Central European countries are lining up to join NATO. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Why, for example, did Finland join NATO? </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">"We reacted to Russia, actually," Kai Sauer, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, told CBS News. "It was a reaction to an action by Russia, and the action was Russia's aggression on Ukraine." </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Same reason the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, are members of NATO. They fear Russia will attack them next. They see what's happening in Moldova and Georgia, where Russia is working to destabilize those countries like it did in Crimea. Same playbook. It's why they are sending arms, too. Latvia is sending all of its Patriot air defense systems. In fact, Poland, Slovakia and Romania, most all the neighboring states of Ukraine, are sending all the help they can. </span></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">These fiercely independent nations understand all too well the risk a Russian victory poses, and they fear the consequences that the loss of Ukraine would have on their security, in their own countries and across the world. </span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmk9m7Gb0u2N1YZsfLO1tSl-R1f4HJLyP-nAghiBArp2itDmXp-Q7zPH90TCTdtRryW84hF8TxsmE7VNKO06cOTVZrKaRi2Iv4-10hwv_aWyepMzyNycamZwlSAg04HC_EZDhmd5TXu8_loO939SNs2bVoaoUTHWsO_tZtLlw9cgGgZddtne-HuEt/s2400/Belarusans%20protext%20results%20of%202020electeion,%20Minsk.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1645" data-original-width="2400" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmk9m7Gb0u2N1YZsfLO1tSl-R1f4HJLyP-nAghiBArp2itDmXp-Q7zPH90TCTdtRryW84hF8TxsmE7VNKO06cOTVZrKaRi2Iv4-10hwv_aWyepMzyNycamZwlSAg04HC_EZDhmd5TXu8_loO939SNs2bVoaoUTHWsO_tZtLlw9cgGgZddtne-HuEt/w320-h219/Belarusans%20protext%20results%20of%202020electeion,%20Minsk.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protest against Lukashenko in Belarus<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">So Putin's war is having the direct opposite results he intended, exposing how backward his thinking, how old and worn his perspective, how out of touch he is with ever-changing modern international relations. </span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Russia is now a pariah state. Who wants to </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">join Putin's revanchist bandwagon? They want to look ahead. The Belarus government is an exception, but its people are soundly against the war. Does Belarus really want to be a vassal state of Russia? </span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;">Same with countries once fully aligned with the Soviet Union. Bulgaria is an example. Bulgaria’s foreign minister Nikolay Milkov, echoing Finland's Kia Sauer, told the <b><i>Kyiv Independent</i></b> that the Russian invasion of Ukraine "has accelerated his country’s efforts to eliminate Russia’s influence." Bulgaria is struggling to find its footing in the post-Soviet world. It's not easy. So are countries like Georgia, still fighting Russia's hybrid war, still fighting to rid itself of Russian influence. Even the Central Asian states are starting to pull away, especially among the younger generations. </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/AVvXsEh_IMTE9qKXrR14wQkMTnidqfbO9CBbP5oMmBhA4nay6tIlra98nRd0Kg6gFuaEjY2vCvY4TjcwEWjAEh94V1Sd_yJmu6ouvTp5Z3neZfVER-mJeRYjeI9R2lKBH3fE-RfuT3jQpz8opPbMIeHcG7-71VCAc_1hXvWKUUdwc8ZhyAUcUcmWaWIOHBvn/s1024/Georgia%20the%20country%20trying%20to%20escape%20RU%20infl%20GettyImages-1247908739.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1024" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IMTE9qKXrR14wQkMTnidqfbO9CBbP5oMmBhA4nay6tIlra98nRd0Kg6gFuaEjY2vCvY4TjcwEWjAEh94V1Sd_yJmu6ouvTp5Z3neZfVER-mJeRYjeI9R2lKBH3fE-RfuT3jQpz8opPbMIeHcG7-71VCAc_1hXvWKUUdwc8ZhyAUcUcmWaWIOHBvn/s320/Georgia%20the%20country%20trying%20to%20escape%20RU%20infl%20GettyImages-1247908739.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Protestors wave the Ukrainian, Georgian, and European Union flags outside Georgia's parliament in Tbilisi on March 8, 2023, amid a demonstration against the Georgian government's plan to introduce a "foreign agent" law reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. (Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images)</i></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Putin's war is birthing a whole new order. It <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">will be his downfall. It will be Russia's loss. Zelenskyy has warned him: Get out now or be destroyed. He means i</span></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">t. Putin's deliberately destroyed Ukraine village </span></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">by village, city by city. Reduced them to ashes. Annihilated them. War crimes upon war crimes against the people, infrastructure and landscape of Ukraine. It's given Ukraine a whole new goal, a new mission:</span><span style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"> To take back its territory in the East, in the South, and in Crimea. To get Russia out. Putin's loss will be his humiliation and his end. Ukraine can win.</span></span></p><p>Sources/Notes: </p><p>1. <a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/how-putins-war-in-ukraine-has-ruined-russia/">How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia | Journal of Democracy</a>. by Kathryn Stoner, July 2022. Excellent article.</p><p>2. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000008865929/ukraine-russia-frontline.html">‘I Cry Quietly’: A Soldier Describes the Toll of Russia’s War - The New York Times (nytimes.com)</a>. The saddest video, the saddest war, the death and dying.</p><p>3. <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/02/24/russias-assault-on-daily-life-in-ukraine/?fbclid=IwAR3whlooDPCLwfzzEINaWIuFFU8XB0T2DXNfrMoKVmcpUbks12xgf3MvnRw">Russia’s Assault on Daily Life in Ukraine - bellingcat</a>. See Bellingcat's TimeMap of harm done to civilians at bustops, train stations, schools, hospitals, and places that Ukrainians use as part of daily life. The map documents verified war crimes upon war crimes. </p><p>4. <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/batu-kutelia-lessons-from-georgia-of-geopolitical-procrastination/?fbclid=IwAR2C8_XL02oNG9BAhCloEM0xzGvyq4ac-IIUg4T-cPiVjdnLhpYvr_tRPLo">Batu Kutelia: Lessons from Georgia of geopolitical procrastination (kyivindependent.com)</a></p><p>5. <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/finland-join-nato-military-alliance-112827245.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb&tsrc=fb">Finland doubling NATO's border with Russia in blow to Putin (yahoo.com)</a></p><p>6. <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-you-should-care-about-belarus-090040698.html">goog_779994558Why you should care about Belarus (yahoo.com)</a></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/AVvXsEi4HSKioyg31Zt9m1ndR9i04qtnUUGVScKda7TfE3cdOnufoqAfCPTEe6bHMJQsguMWMMcOgYKli7tYFsSir34fE0rOJDgXfBNFimo7ZJ86yMx4BVkZGpqzJ-nos-MiILO0gfr-RxUcGDZTYm4OhbEaklPKtFLbZVfyL97WPKkEZToOCKnppVDkG6ik/s2400/Belarusans%20protext%20results%20of%202020electeion,%20Minsk.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1645" data-original-width="2400" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4HSKioyg31Zt9m1ndR9i04qtnUUGVScKda7TfE3cdOnufoqAfCPTEe6bHMJQsguMWMMcOgYKli7tYFsSir34fE0rOJDgXfBNFimo7ZJ86yMx4BVkZGpqzJ-nos-MiILO0gfr-RxUcGDZTYm4OhbEaklPKtFLbZVfyL97WPKkEZToOCKnppVDkG6ik/s320/Belarusans%20protext%20results%20of%202020electeion,%20Minsk.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protest in Minsk against 2020 election results.<br />Lukashenko despised. He's reduced his country into a RU minion <br />rather than build the modern state ordinary Belarusans desire.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>7. <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/ll-kill-come-back-abduction-193338545.html">‘They’ll kill me if I come back’: Abduction, torture become routine in Russian-occupied Melitopol (yahoo.com)</a>. This experience is true everywhere Russia occupies. </p><p>8. <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/nuclear-workers-describe-beatings-detention-131134908.html">Nuclear workers describe beatings, detention, and looting by Russian soldiers to force them to keep a Ukrainian power plant running (yahoo.com)</a>. </p><p>9. <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-defense-ministry-says-complex-measures-under-counteroffensive-underway-in-the-east/?fbclid=IwAR2py8MK6lNcZDvLQiTFrcTODWTSdC5u2beW4opN6OnOZ4CmeRVoasH-i6A">Ukraine war latest: Defense Ministry says 'complex measures’ of counteroffensive ‘underway’ in the east (kyivindependent.com)</a>. </p><p>10. <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/does-membership-mean-nato-newcomer-142750458.html">What does membership mean for NATO newcomer Finland? (yahoo.com)</a></p><p>11. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/17/where-does-central-asia-stand-on-russia">‘I was naive about Russia’: Central Asians on the Ukraine war | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera</a>. Article by Mansur Mirovalev, 17 February 2023. Views are changing. Younger people no longer support Russia. China is supporting these nations to reduce Russian influence, another developing story. <i>“The younger those polled are, the worse is their attitude towards Russia” because they have access to independent and diverse online media, he told Al Jazeera./ Another sobering factor is regular threats from Russian political figures to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/24/whats-behind-kazakhstan-not-recognizing-ukraines-separatists">annex</a> northern Kazakh regions that have a sizeable ethnic Russian minority./And that is where Beijing, whose economic clout in Kazakhstan has already surpassed that of Moscow, stepped in./In September, during a visit to Astana, the Kazakh capital, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to protect Kazakhstan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty."</i></p><p>12. Wikipedia. </p>According to the United Nations definition, countries within Eastern Europe are <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/belarus.htm">Belarus</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bulgaria.htm">Bulgaria</a>, the <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/czech_republic.htm">Czech Republic</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/hungary.htm">Hungary</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/moldova.htm">Moldova</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/poland.htm">Poland</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/romania.htm">Romania</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/slovakia.htm">Slovakia</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/ukraine.htm">Ukrain</a><a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/ukraine.htm">e</a> and the western part of the <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/russia.htm">Russian Federation</a> (see: <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/European-Russia-map.htm">European Russia map</a>).<br /><br />In most definitions, the countries of Central Europe are <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/germany.htm">Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/poland.htm">Poland</a>, the <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/czech_republic.htm">Czech Republic</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/austria.htm">Austria</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/slovakia.htm">Slovakia</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/slovenia.htm">Slovenia</a>, and <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/hungary.htm">Hungary</a>.In some definitions, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/switzerland.htm">Switzerland</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/croatia.htm">Croatia</a> would also belong to Central Europe, as well as <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bosnia_herzegovina.htm">Bosnia-Herzegovina</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/montenegro.htm">Montenegro</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/serbia.htm">Serbia</a>, <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/macedonia_rep.htm">North Macedonia</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/albania.htm">Albania</a>. All these countries are in the Central European Time zone (CET = UTC + 1 hour).<div class="c-topper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--space-32); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 850px; padding: 0 var(--grid-margin);"><figure class="c-feature-image-figure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--space-32); padding: 0px;"><figcaption class="c-feature-image-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #868686; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: unset; line-height: 20px; padding-top: var(--space-8); width: 810px;"><br /></figcaption></figure></div>The Central Asia region (CA) comprises the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It is a diverse region with a mix of upper middle and low income countries with major strategic importance due to their geographic location and natural resource endowments. They are all former Soviet Socialist Republics, still pro-RU but all in the process of change. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9mc4XaPFPEkDto7kTr7OIU7Rj0Q2fn_AtlP-mO3SVwnV9Gf_MR5Sn4TXYPlzf5kQsMsiNATZYqH9JcKf7RWecz0ea0xbrfV8KE4CAoOsVFiuUjfTVJteiKo44bVXfcjoIRaxDCJkqQfImtsR4hNfEj45M-QridMzxq0z7J9TuzDelB_oj5vo9u63/s1024/Georgia%20the%20country%20trying%20to%20escape%20RU%20infl%20GettyImages-1247908739.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1024" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9mc4XaPFPEkDto7kTr7OIU7Rj0Q2fn_AtlP-mO3SVwnV9Gf_MR5Sn4TXYPlzf5kQsMsiNATZYqH9JcKf7RWecz0ea0xbrfV8KE4CAoOsVFiuUjfTVJteiKo44bVXfcjoIRaxDCJkqQfImtsR4hNfEj45M-QridMzxq0z7J9TuzDelB_oj5vo9u63/s320/Georgia%20the%20country%20trying%20to%20escape%20RU%20infl%20GettyImages-1247908739.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-36964922113530356152023-03-23T11:05:00.003-04:002023-03-23T15:31:36.496-04:00Woke and Kicking up a Storm: The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 2021 Medals Just Awarded<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/AVvXsEjs6Zw4yY7g2Jx29aRtKb1GRYN3L_dnt_ayuXcF-Tyz1elkBu-6NcoVMWmNrRRyeHUGyQdlMx7kkhU6ZX-gVhwIkM6rqg9NGS8h2opr6D1g7ygKDRULAUzhzBJLopykyqB4p6QmrYpWLhZxuc5YJu4JXnH1qZy2p5rGDuxKzoTKDR8COHe4wMj6OfX8/s1200/henrietta_mann_001-(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6Zw4yY7g2Jx29aRtKb1GRYN3L_dnt_ayuXcF-Tyz1elkBu-6NcoVMWmNrRRyeHUGyQdlMx7kkhU6ZX-gVhwIkM6rqg9NGS8h2opr6D1g7ygKDRULAUzhzBJLopykyqB4p6QmrYpWLhZxuc5YJu4JXnH1qZy2p5rGDuxKzoTKDR8COHe4wMj6OfX8/s320/henrietta_mann_001-(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Henrietta Mann, 2021 NEH Humanities Award recipient.<br /><span>A Cheyenne, she taught Native American Studies at the University of Montana,and gives voice to the stories<br />of Indigenous Americans.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Photo she provided NEH. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;">Underneath all the bad news, life goes on. Some positive things are happening, and they are making a difference. That's why I was glad to read news that the public humanities are alive and well. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdhMs9M0aPqr5hRGXlu-w12wyGF3ndcgr-gmAld4qO-dtHM_uVeXSt5mgp6vay1Idh7qsejTQic30F9rJtVOTj_OxbXw9bNSGLUk7avDVpt71sRrnPYKOnJ9y61_Y7TdgLBQJxMizkhkXzv22u6iOHhYSt-I5fkrBjfliwKkqcgMyx1c9YgVYnv8J/s900/cherry%20blossoms%20WH%20fineart.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="900" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdhMs9M0aPqr5hRGXlu-w12wyGF3ndcgr-gmAld4qO-dtHM_uVeXSt5mgp6vay1Idh7qsejTQic30F9rJtVOTj_OxbXw9bNSGLUk7avDVpt71sRrnPYKOnJ9y61_Y7TdgLBQJxMizkhkXzv22u6iOHhYSt-I5fkrBjfliwKkqcgMyx1c9YgVYnv8J/s320/cherry%20blossoms%20WH%20fineart.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;">Just a few days ago, President Biden presented the 2021 National Humanities Medals, delayed by the COVID pandemic, in conjunction with the Medals of Arts, at the White House. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;">The 12 Humanities medal recipients include writers, historians, educators, journalists and activists. Jill Biden attended, as I remember Hillary Clinton doing when Bill Clinton presided and I worked with the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;">DC h</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px;">umanities council. The cherry blossoms were usually in bloom and it was a gala event. Rebirth was in the air.</span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Although NEH wouldn't put it this way, I am happy to note that the public humanities are "woke" and kicking up a storm. They may be somewhat hidden under the political noise, </span>so full of drama, rage and thunder, but they are doing great work in every state across the country. Google the state humanities councils to see how their ongoing programs and grants are strengthening our democracy while extremists tear it apart, fraying our social fabric. There's hope.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18P8SiEzUKVZc1ZYjIj5zFosGHmNOmfr2E1XZMuFOpx-JcV8aFBUXCXAaQM6NRqj1zq9iAjB_KfwJ1GvFGgEMnuS9E2zvVtGvptGv_kEoDZVRwxEiEq1xTWYcQDQaAiBfCDC1uAsBTy2zwz8qWvD3biPe1T7R6j6iR30Gqiz-N-TnWO3SIkYnhdS5/s634/shelly_lowe_t715.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="634" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18P8SiEzUKVZc1ZYjIj5zFosGHmNOmfr2E1XZMuFOpx-JcV8aFBUXCXAaQM6NRqj1zq9iAjB_KfwJ1GvFGgEMnuS9E2zvVtGvptGv_kEoDZVRwxEiEq1xTWYcQDQaAiBfCDC1uAsBTy2zwz8qWvD3biPe1T7R6j6iR30Gqiz-N-TnWO3SIkYnhdS5/s320/shelly_lowe_t715.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelly Lowe, NEH </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Shelly Lowe, a Navajo and the first Native American to head NEH, praised the recipients. "They </span>have enriched our world through writing that moves and inspires us; scholarship that enlarges our understanding of the past; and through their dedication to educating, informing, and giving voice to communities and histories often overlooked." </p><section class="l-section" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 4rem; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><div class="l-section__content" style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;">I</span><span style="color: #444444;">n short, these talented, gifted and dedicated Americans are "woke" and working to enrich our intellectual and cultural lives. They are aware. They know what's going on around them, sensitive to issues of racism, the authentic history of our country,<br /> who's been left out, who's worked for change to realize the promise of America. They are fearless in the realm of thought. They question and they are engaged in civil life. They welcome discussion and civic discourse.</span></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So who are these "woke" individuals who are asking questions about the kind of world we live in and the kind of world we hope to leave to our children? </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNvV_d976xHhpgRU7Beqdp6I2p2CmuXYOS3Tc2E5VPZ_m0gRGtMgLCVO8ULfqq40PV3DsdGMLp19celLohUkSy_dxR8a4S5AuZcN33QhTU1v0b7XG6kLyLtmcJh9-g-d5Z7R4BlpjKM_iEZ4U5MoQpmLaoEqEJv7aa_F7vWiRShTl26G0Si1Z2n3K/s2048/NEH%202023%20Humanities%20Medeal%20recipients.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1434" data-original-width="2048" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNvV_d976xHhpgRU7Beqdp6I2p2CmuXYOS3Tc2E5VPZ_m0gRGtMgLCVO8ULfqq40PV3DsdGMLp19celLohUkSy_dxR8a4S5AuZcN33QhTU1v0b7XG6kLyLtmcJh9-g-d5Z7R4BlpjKM_iEZ4U5MoQpmLaoEqEJv7aa_F7vWiRShTl26G0Si1Z2n3K/s320/NEH%202023%20Humanities%20Medeal%20recipients.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;">There's R<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">ichard Blanco,</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> born in 1968</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">son of Cuban immigrants, an</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span>award-winning<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span>poet, author and professor whose "storytelling challenges the boundaries of culture, gender, and class." He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, and the first openly gay person to be an Inaugural poet, reading his poem "One Today" at Barack Obama's second inauguration. Some of us remember it with nostalgia for the<i> e pluribus unum</i>, "Out of many, one," that it evoked. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;">There's the amazing <b>Joh</b><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">nnetta Betsch Cole, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">born in 1936, </span>anthropologist, humanities leader, former Spellman College president, then Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art from 2009-2017. Her life work about the contributions of Afro-Latin, Caribbean, and African communities have advanced American understanding of Black culture. I had the good fortune to meet Johnnetta Cole at various NEH and Smithsonian Institution functions, and I learned something new every time. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;">As you can see, woke. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjPrrapgAELGtI8vn45it5n0RuwtyRpbFm_cHmM1AGvl6lZ0LScyB_4IxRaoNxVC7HJcgwA3MRdQ8xgCi0lHxud9T8fnbDueB3tq2M5uDVLwoQiA6rB8dBZyBLBbBQxLAoxcXNwADhTm3whEcNd0aQQ91wYLv1nwEDNwlkK8gQb7G-JMTCs8gq1ff/s1200/big-nac-logo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjPrrapgAELGtI8vn45it5n0RuwtyRpbFm_cHmM1AGvl6lZ0LScyB_4IxRaoNxVC7HJcgwA3MRdQ8xgCi0lHxud9T8fnbDueB3tq2M5uDVLwoQiA6rB8dBZyBLBbBQxLAoxcXNwADhTm3whEcNd0aQQ91wYLv1nwEDNwlkK8gQb7G-JMTCs8gq1ff/s320/big-nac-logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: medium;">I was especially glad to learn about the contributions of </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-size: medium;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Henrietta </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><b>Ho’oesto’oona'e, Mann</b>, a Cheyenne, an elder of her people, and a citizen of Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. She is a pioneer professor of Native American studies, "honoring ancestors that came before and benefiting generations that follow."</span> Her story is moving. Another recipient, <span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><b>Native </b></span></span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">America Calling,</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> is an</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">interactive show on public radio and online that educates us about Indigenous issues, amplifies native voices, introduces us to Indigenous artists, poets, writers, and activists. This program complements Mann's work and the research and teaching of other scholars in Native American Studies. </span></span></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: times; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">There's also </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Walter Isaacson, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">journalist and author, past president of the Aspen Institute and a former head of CNN. According to NEH, his wo</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">rk</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> "</span>bridges divides between science and the humanities, and between opposing philosophies... elevating discourse and our understanding of who we are as a Nation." Born in New Orleans in 1952, he has an incredible record of accomplishments in public and private affairs, truly a Renaissance man. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Rounding out the awardees are </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Ann Patchett,</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> award-winning</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">novelist and owner of Parnassas Books,</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> and</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> Amy Tan, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">daughter of Chinese immigrants, author of <i>The Joy Luck Club</i> and many others;</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Bryan Stevenson, </span></span></span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">advocate for the poor, incarcerated, and condemned, who also chronicles the legacy of lynching and racism in America; </span></span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Tara Westover, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">for her memoirs</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">of family, religion, and the transformative power of education; </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Colson Whitehead, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">novelist, "who makes real</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span>the African American journey through our Nation’s continued reckoning with the original sin of slavery and our ongoing march toward a more perfect Union." And <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">Earl Lewis, </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">a</span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"> </span>social historian, Black history scholar, and academic leader who's a leading voice for greater diversity in academia and our Nation. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;">Woke. All these fabulous recipients of the Humanities Medal. Anecdotes to the toxicity of the latest anti-intellectual furor over the progress made toward realizing the American ideals of equality and justice under the law. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;">Woke and kicking. </span><span style="font-family: times;">To be aware and engaged. To be open to education, books, learning and growing in knowledge and understanding. To be informed. To care, to care deeply about American ideals, values, traditions, and promise.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-family: times;">These are, indeed, the hallmarks of an informed citizen in a democracy. Supporting and honoring the humanities in education and in our public life, amplifying the voices of these Humanities Medal recipients, will ensure we have what it takes to keep it. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Sources:</span></p>1. H<a href="https://www.neh.gov/award/henrietta-mann">enrietta Mann | The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov)</a> one of 12 recipients of the 2021 National Humanities Medal bestowed by Biden on March 21, 2023.<br /><br />2. <a href="https://www.neh.gov/news/2021-national-humanities-medals?fbclid=IwAR299uZZzaFTwSG5HzVzESB40GkzPA8WeismQShNQ2u9P3lXi6lh_EJSXks">2021 National Humanities Medals | The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov)</a>, Washington, DC (March 20, 2023). As noted above, the 2021 medals were delayed due to the COVID pandemic. NEH like the rest of the nation is catching up.</div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><br /></div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">3. Google Wikipedia and press coverage of the award ceremony at the White House to learn more about each Humanities Medal recipient. They are amazing.</div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><br /></div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">4. <a href="https://www.neh.gov/award/native-america-calling">Native America Calling | The National Endowment for the Humanities (neh.gov)</a></div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><br /><br /></div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">About NEH: </span>Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities </span></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #44474e; font-family: "Playfair Display", serif; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-timing-function: linear;">(NEH) supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation that support research in the humanities, nurture humanities infrastructure, and expand the reach of the humanities. Since 1965, NEH has awarded nearly $6 billion to cultural institutions, individual scholars, and communities. The Endowment serves and strengthens the country by bringing high-quality historical and cultural experiences to large and diverse audiences in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five jurisdictions; providing opportunities for lifelong learning, access to cultural and educational resources, and strengthening the base of the human stories that connect all Americans.</span></span></div></div></section>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-4805058993388623722023-02-27T20:32:00.000-05:002023-02-27T20:32:16.458-05:00Kay Smith at 100: Artist Laureate of Illinois, Painter Laureate of America<p></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/AVvXsEhUiEAjnu3d9oAchapWcoWXhG2dcGEjqjP-xbzGUDJCJ3so8PUrdMgATnwiWkzwZqKiTaRO82sOIe_0HbQTz_60YR6zqVAckJSiEq9l57IxPf937x7NacCCvY0DKYx9CRZn9R9NHxPsgPg07T_16CZL0chi-3tpbo54zUWUlb6RVO6DKr39wqcctTyH/s1685/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__Fireworks-Celebration-Statue-of-Liberty.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1685" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUiEAjnu3d9oAchapWcoWXhG2dcGEjqjP-xbzGUDJCJ3so8PUrdMgATnwiWkzwZqKiTaRO82sOIe_0HbQTz_60YR6zqVAckJSiEq9l57IxPf937x7NacCCvY0DKYx9CRZn9R9NHxPsgPg07T_16CZL0chi-3tpbo54zUWUlb6RVO6DKr39wqcctTyH/s320/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__Fireworks-Celebration-Statue-of-Liberty.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kay Smith, Artist Laureate of Illinois, Fire Works behind the Statue of Liberty,<br />from The American Legacy Collection.</i></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>"<span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;">Watercolors have brought Kay Smith from the hills of Mount Rushmore to the stall of the esteemed racehorse Secretariat, as she’s spent her life depicting U.S. history with her paintings." </span><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: x-small;">Vanessa Lopez, Chicago Sun Times, February 2023</span><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;">. </span></p><p><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"></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/AVvXsEi0wopKHl7n4ncd6Yn4NQlXVxSATiDNGDnkdVZpBGJyf8KKGCAd6TkBLcchHL8_ZcbZxWq1eDImQvEWBqyS3SaDgnBrINkJqXLR1_GJM0byjfugqyH9hnwcVtR89-2qumZxXlUFHTaFBvSjfZq8c2o1MVYwqnBJ64x6qBTqCe0vLflD5rAQPKP-MgmB/s1685/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__White_House_Snow.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1685" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wopKHl7n4ncd6Yn4NQlXVxSATiDNGDnkdVZpBGJyf8KKGCAd6TkBLcchHL8_ZcbZxWq1eDImQvEWBqyS3SaDgnBrINkJqXLR1_GJM0byjfugqyH9hnwcVtR89-2qumZxXlUFHTaFBvSjfZq8c2o1MVYwqnBJ64x6qBTqCe0vLflD5rAQPKP-MgmB/s320/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__White_House_Snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The White House in Winter</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkxuUU_SPR0t4dCzJNA08qMo3N9SspXBhfR69aIcQxtCJ7XuxySMMccmENCif0PsZFJ3sj0cDjJoJqmu_oUdD_jspAH98prYJP-rVvDHQIPebiqq9CBq45CR3Ktw67XDOp1-LHLpANSB6Zg1lwtX5F5kl7gm6tQ2aVGNcp0nWgVpxmiPyysmiADZa/s474/Company%20Street,%20Valley%20Forge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="474" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkxuUU_SPR0t4dCzJNA08qMo3N9SspXBhfR69aIcQxtCJ7XuxySMMccmENCif0PsZFJ3sj0cDjJoJqmu_oUdD_jspAH98prYJP-rVvDHQIPebiqq9CBq45CR3Ktw67XDOp1-LHLpANSB6Zg1lwtX5F5kl7gm6tQ2aVGNcp0nWgVpxmiPyysmiADZa/s320/Company%20Street,%20Valley%20Forge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Valley Forge</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTV7WGoO2U9tXeTq2juiJqTQBsX0f4mXTgVImDkGaxQ5UbCoUwCWGV6V202qKP1PAgY-JkpBa0TyGkMQX-mH0pMvW6puLdOB8DiGW6IC_dyDW74atP3AZq75plNzVkXk-QAHbxJ9Hk6Y-zFttjP5CphNeWZc25f1sUOp9UonT68mS60w3qUEGIbxE/s1685/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__Monticello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><br /></span><div><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;">What a fascinating American artist. The mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, has declared today Kay Smith Day in honor of her 100th birthday. The Mayor's proclamation recognizes Smith's Illinois roots, her teaching and community contributions, and the various thematic collections that make her art meaningful and popular: The American Legacy Collection, which includes 250 beautiful watercolor renditions of our monuments, battlefields, historic homes, and special places; and the America Horseracing Collection that includes an award-winning portrait of Secretariat. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_xzlrkO4yBBNtREYNLdewC0Vdfhx4QhQPyzKO-vSFkHAwL9xU_Q01lPnrbwAhQ6xK1lA0q4cAec9LZtt4TX71VOKhBj4kyO2z47e_mkzE8oz-CuqpN34XL0kIzQt8av4M-wP7Y2ttRe8u21oq-i4-lwFaav77GNBsQPaSf8euBUbjOgsYT7Br0Ml/s480/Morning%20BlissAWAAQAHQ-P1065863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="480" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_xzlrkO4yBBNtREYNLdewC0Vdfhx4QhQPyzKO-vSFkHAwL9xU_Q01lPnrbwAhQ6xK1lA0q4cAec9LZtt4TX71VOKhBj4kyO2z47e_mkzE8oz-CuqpN34XL0kIzQt8av4M-wP7Y2ttRe8u21oq-i4-lwFaav77GNBsQPaSf8euBUbjOgsYT7Br0Ml/w200-h134/Morning%20BlissAWAAQAHQ-P1065863.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Morning Bliss</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><div><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;">It made me think how fun it would be to teach American History using her collections. I also love her flowers and gardens, all so pretty, positive and bright.</span><p></p><p><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"></span></div><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfip07fJk51cA3YOsC6xYuBla8cPCe8FMInJzLIcVjmvfjxMjOqtHdBBTC7Dx4QI12JZNlGZgUkQLz766rz7Be7gK-9S_jjZmefbg4lihphqv5MN1rFxhPPSt3HHxUGrkASad0i_iJD-z5R0hrUC91rAq5emU0F_L8ZP3OLxC_lJX1ODijoBvGWiU/s840/In%20her%20home,%20nsuntimes,%20painting%20keeps%20me%20going%20Pa%20Nabong%20photo.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="840" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfip07fJk51cA3YOsC6xYuBla8cPCe8FMInJzLIcVjmvfjxMjOqtHdBBTC7Dx4QI12JZNlGZgUkQLz766rz7Be7gK-9S_jjZmefbg4lihphqv5MN1rFxhPPSt3HHxUGrkASad0i_iJD-z5R0hrUC91rAq5emU0F_L8ZP3OLxC_lJX1ODijoBvGWiU/s320/In%20her%20home,%20nsuntimes,%20painting%20keeps%20me%20going%20Pa%20Nabong%20photo.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smith's studio is in her home.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Kay Smith says that her passion for painting is what keeps her going. It certainly has. She is still painting at her home in Lincoln Park, surrounded by the art she's created over the years. There are also paintings in process, just waiting for her to take her brush and do what she loves, what she has always loved. </span></div><div><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;">She started when she was six years old. She startled her mother then by saying, "I'm going to be an artist." And that's what she became. Chicago, America, the world are fortunate she did. </span></div><div><span style="color: #040606;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span face="basis-grotesque, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #040606; font-size: 18px;"><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/AVvXsEgGkbRpa7wfC_2gZHDN2lsEi97-W-VH2Y6hw6xiaxidUbe7oA27KKcPxSNWxZPSyHDYX-oVUwVOlGLiPGhRWPAL7miu0ZMzYy9fdBY9SsHKUiutb0ruuJNeHc1FL_8HTegucMyzMw1FcUR4O8ZDMFI8t5mKE5AHOVWliz0JjvKul690HdEmMekZRpKk/s1685/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__Monticello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1685" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkbRpa7wfC_2gZHDN2lsEi97-W-VH2Y6hw6xiaxidUbe7oA27KKcPxSNWxZPSyHDYX-oVUwVOlGLiPGhRWPAL7miu0ZMzYy9fdBY9SsHKUiutb0ruuJNeHc1FL_8HTegucMyzMw1FcUR4O8ZDMFI8t5mKE5AHOVWliz0JjvKul690HdEmMekZRpKk/s320/Kay-Smith-Artist-Laureate-of-IL__Monticello.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Monticello</i></td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwIS3mnHzeoabqpXS6Z94xlJaeDrDn9NAq5JNxSlhmJ5GEuOLzFtsSljQFDx-H8Pax6aN34aXUe07MI8DYTjf07LOIIv7xLZXUfeXHK4xZIWg5IxFmYbBqXyNSlkx3Cqw--oOUfHjYews7NEgt3YlmNxyCJSrbFtxB1pnGYhndmt9Tn_J0Oxfzeqk/s840/Kay%20Smith%20a%20het%20Lincoln%20Park%20home,%20photo%20Pat%20Nabong,Suntimes.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="840" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwIS3mnHzeoabqpXS6Z94xlJaeDrDn9NAq5JNxSlhmJ5GEuOLzFtsSljQFDx-H8Pax6aN34aXUe07MI8DYTjf07LOIIv7xLZXUfeXHK4xZIWg5IxFmYbBqXyNSlkx3Cqw--oOUfHjYews7NEgt3YlmNxyCJSrbFtxB1pnGYhndmt9Tn_J0Oxfzeqk/w200-h133/Kay%20Smith%20a%20het%20Lincoln%20Park%20home,%20photo%20Pat%20Nabong,Suntimes.webp" width="200" /></a></p>Sources:<p></p><p>1. <a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/02/27/renowned-artist-kay-smith-turns-100-monday-shes-spent-the-past-century-depicting-us-history-in-watercolors/">Renowned Artist Kay Smith Turns 100 Monday. She's Spent The Past Century Depicting US History In Watercolors (blockclubchicago.org)</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/2/23/23587894/illinois-artist-laureate-kay-smith-chicago">Artist Laureate of Illinois Kay Smith says her passion for painting keeps her going - Chicago Sun-Times (suntimes.com)</a>, by Vanessa Lopez. Pat Nabong photographer</p><p>3. <a href="https://kaysmithartist.com/Artist-Kay-Smith-Blog-Kays-Story.html">Artist Kay Smith Still Lifes, Gardens and Landscapes (kaysmithartist.com)</a> Kay's blog, Kay's story</p></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-92224937397317887472023-02-10T10:35:00.002-05:002023-02-10T10:35:36.115-05:00Preserving Eatonville, Florida, Zora Neale Hurston's Beloved Town<p> </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/AVvXsEiEgPmhY7YE8bL73r-QU6nkDedYKo2dx1gyeIJ1YP1fbnlb2ZHJild-UYeEWGHb_DEomtqgb_KKjnOUhF-B7CKdXmWRVnk0_b8mvGHQzJJ-_OceSTMhPQKa_2UBOoR7NoxIgFzWoq_vr-__guqnDA6qYRRUVumMkP4XmxpBeepVSiWWrn0YCFUhBR0b/s1920/it-takes-a-village-rectangles-video-3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEgPmhY7YE8bL73r-QU6nkDedYKo2dx1gyeIJ1YP1fbnlb2ZHJild-UYeEWGHb_DEomtqgb_KKjnOUhF-B7CKdXmWRVnk0_b8mvGHQzJJ-_OceSTMhPQKa_2UBOoR7NoxIgFzWoq_vr-__guqnDA6qYRRUVumMkP4XmxpBeepVSiWWrn0YCFUhBR0b/w400-h225/it-takes-a-village-rectangles-video-3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PreserveEatonville.org</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObZhA2mZdtIywHL25LwahqsE2mfDnFuhnkQo_fY5nGces1-bca4lWmgjvXJGkP1quBlz7IoWehMTcTBflyBqFLWGmTli8Do2pti6quYJH6Is2veoUyNN0aTkWXZBDTFnDlbXWSPgvkEXVtAn8BLWfV-Cli895x5aZVsEkdjZua05_MXcHOzWw0N35/s526/327360286_6353290641372396_3158411522800551250_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObZhA2mZdtIywHL25LwahqsE2mfDnFuhnkQo_fY5nGces1-bca4lWmgjvXJGkP1quBlz7IoWehMTcTBflyBqFLWGmTli8Do2pti6quYJH6Is2veoUyNN0aTkWXZBDTFnDlbXWSPgvkEXVtAn8BLWfV-Cli895x5aZVsEkdjZua05_MXcHOzWw0N35/w200-h200/327360286_6353290641372396_3158411522800551250_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>Eatonville, Florida, just north of Orlando, is one of the oldest incorporated Black communities in the U.S., founded by newly freed slaves. <div><br /></div><div>Now the town is in danger of drastic change that will pave over its history. Commercial development threatens the<i> Hungerford</i> property, a 100-acre Eatonville parcel that was the site of the school founded in 1887 with the help of Booker T. Washington. If it stays on the Eatonville landscape, if it's not destroyed, what stories it can tell.<div><div><br /></div><div>That's why residents are fighting to save their town. The know its history, its culture and traditions. </div><div><br /><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/AVvXsEgqFQgqm4XVc_DCTjffLtVxwo0hAhgCGI_Ie8Grf3tLz2t5TRs_HcxnnoxIlTKEuUH0fKZud0FysDQRkUgVxvgwEfTAuJukht8MKfFbX3KlfkkGNOk7xRHoDiofHspitrdjAmdZw8UBLFelCoeEUR4AiOUKjNg6327Zhy1yIHHXckdIztDFNI4mFrHZ/s1280/The%20old%20Eatonville%20school,%20a%20source%20of%20pride%20The%20Town%20that%20freedom%20built.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFQgqm4XVc_DCTjffLtVxwo0hAhgCGI_Ie8Grf3tLz2t5TRs_HcxnnoxIlTKEuUH0fKZud0FysDQRkUgVxvgwEfTAuJukht8MKfFbX3KlfkkGNOk7xRHoDiofHspitrdjAmdZw8UBLFelCoeEUR4AiOUKjNg6327Zhy1yIHHXckdIztDFNI4mFrHZ/s320/The%20old%20Eatonville%20school,%20a%20source%20of%20pride%20The%20Town%20that%20freedom%20built.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The old Eatonville School, which educated generations of <br />. children, Zora among them. Developers are set to buy it and the property and develop it.. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><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/AVvXsEjC_QxdRSsTl_cPTiyO1fnBzkqTCIbwmTIca5sPEOxPjRqf4m31QD6o2_3CeAyXRZ7-iwCIGfnIhr1vwbVz0vCTxPFxDp3Csw0l_OEvWgRPKtYoGCinOnqNpFlUiWzqyzoiJG4eTPLDnZr6gqZ43VVwT2v2wWzibFNL6nI0xbCzLm7Z8OYkCnUFFf6e/s1080/328248957_1249951182571256_9017349231510139845_n.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_QxdRSsTl_cPTiyO1fnBzkqTCIbwmTIca5sPEOxPjRqf4m31QD6o2_3CeAyXRZ7-iwCIGfnIhr1vwbVz0vCTxPFxDp3Csw0l_OEvWgRPKtYoGCinOnqNpFlUiWzqyzoiJG4eTPLDnZr6gqZ43VVwT2v2wWzibFNL6nI0xbCzLm7Z8OYkCnUFFf6e/s320/328248957_1249951182571256_9017349231510139845_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />As the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes, 'They object to the land being used to gentrify and change the balance of power in their community by pricing out community members from several hundred new housing units. Residents want to keep the land and use it in a way that preserves its history and provides a community benefit." </div><div><br /></div><div>It can do both, say its residents.<div><br /></div><div>The SPLC, which is on board to preserve Black history and monuments across the South, and which is one reason I support it, is aiding in the effort. As it poignantly reminds us, "If only they could gaze into Hungerford's past. . ." </div><div><blockquote><b>"If only they could gaze into Hungerford’s past, they would see the young Zora Neale Hurston, the queen of the Harlem Renaissance, skipping joyfully through the beloved Black town she grew up in and immortalized in her literary masterpieces. They would see a school founded with the help of Booker T. Washington filled with Black students thriving even as they were denied opportunities in the white-run world around them. They would see the mothers and fathers, the grandmothers and grandfathers of Eatonville come to life from old photographs still cherished by their descendants – dancing around a maypole, striding with confidence to and from a Black-owned sawmill and a brickworks, harvesting sugarcane and oranges on their own farms – and teaching their children the pride of a place of their own." (</b>Note 3) </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhgE21Q1mZE99ZpsBpP-Qf_5z9Cff7AeeZbPY0mvJkDjEMumst3Y3Yk3PXBsFZDmn_MlAEgF9rrR_4NdzY4swrXIW8NIwI915TLNheCdIzk3m9KH8ED4Vw5MEGdh6CiXZyIXYTyt7Mz_zhumW1vJtA-hiWMUz3vMHqIAKhbYBaT7dgdSGW1G9UEhw/s1080/Preserving%20Eatonville.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhgE21Q1mZE99ZpsBpP-Qf_5z9Cff7AeeZbPY0mvJkDjEMumst3Y3Yk3PXBsFZDmn_MlAEgF9rrR_4NdzY4swrXIW8NIwI915TLNheCdIzk3m9KH8ED4Vw5MEGdh6CiXZyIXYTyt7Mz_zhumW1vJtA-hiWMUz3vMHqIAKhbYBaT7dgdSGW1G9UEhw/w200-h200/Preserving%20Eatonville.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>I first learned about Eatonville when I directed the Florida Humanities Council. It pioneered in supporting the creation of the Zora Neale Hurston Arts and Humanities Festival, awarding its first grant in 1990. It's been going every year since then. Florida Humanities (as it's called now) also supported a "Chautauqua" Zora character, which became one of the most popular programs at the time. Phyllis McEwen, Zora scholar and impersonator, channeled Zora, became Zora. She travelled around the state telling her story, a hit wherever she went. </div><div><br /></div><div>Zora grew up in Eatonville, went to school there, spent lots of time in the library, and always called it her home. Eatonville nurtured her curiosity and creativity. It nourished that "sense of place" that filled so many of her stories, including <i><b>Their Eyes Were Watching God</b></i>, as well as her work as an anthropologist and folklorist. </div><div><br /></div><div>Zora's Eatonville sense of place and her folklorist training and curiosity, led her to another Black town founded by and for former slaves: <b>Africatown </b>in Mobile, Alabama. The founders came over in 1860 on the now-famous Clotilda, 'the last slave ship. Zora discovered the leader of this group of Africans in 1925, his African name Cudjo, and she interviewed him. What a discovery! The interviews became the basis for her book <b style="font-style: italic;">Barracoon: The Story of the last "Slave Cargo." </b> The title refers to the<b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>packed holding pens in which slaves were held until their forced passage across the Atlantic. </div><div><br /></div><div>Zora pioneered in telling this story, but it lay buried for decades because she had trouble finding a publisher for it. It was finally published in 2018, as the Clotilda was being recovered off of Mobile. </div><div>Africatown is still there, barely, needing the same preservation efforts as Eatonville. The descendants of Cudjo are leading the efforts. </div><div><br /></div><div>An Eatonville sense of place. That's what Zora embodied so profoundly. That's what many other Black towns exhibited too, rising like Phoenixes on the American landscape after the Civil War. Life wasn't easy but these African-American towns and communities promised opportunity and freedom, and eventually fueled the fight for Civil Rights. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's why preserving Eatonville is so important, not only to its descendants but to the larger story of the United States. African-American history is American history, The story of black towns, from Oklahoma and Kansas to Washington DC to Africatown and Eatonville, are part of this history.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></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/AVvXsEhB7IN1jr7rDs-7C0nHwSvwOlqbsacev18k7Ap2qMcTaA6hoIFLgpDszGE4GE4Eh8gTCQ7SmvX6iEBFx3lcvvnAKQBUwihv5WlJRt8_t3_Bs7xNzNp2ux-ahdGDRSv9kvmcHGTgULyH-DjIzgcSsVs3kR17TxKw-C5xsia9sf0I75mGp_iq-x-HoV-O/s1440/pec-web-culural-arts-yards-gardens.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1440" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7IN1jr7rDs-7C0nHwSvwOlqbsacev18k7Ap2qMcTaA6hoIFLgpDszGE4GE4Eh8gTCQ7SmvX6iEBFx3lcvvnAKQBUwihv5WlJRt8_t3_Bs7xNzNp2ux-ahdGDRSv9kvmcHGTgULyH-DjIzgcSsVs3kR17TxKw-C5xsia9sf0I75mGp_iq-x-HoV-O/s320/pec-web-culural-arts-yards-gardens.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Yard and Garden Club of Historic Eatonville grows and provides locally grown organic fruits and veggies for their wider community. Their goal is to help end food health disparity and provide Eatonville residents with good food that they can get "just down the street" from where they live.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>BREAKING NEWS!</b> Just returned from a St.Pete Florida, vacation and read this great news from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC): <b>The School and its parcel saved</b>! "<span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Eatonville, Florida, community has won a major victory! The Eatonville Town Council voted against rezoning the site of the historic Hungerford School, a school founded in 1897 to educate Black children, effectively blocking a developer's plans. The massive redevelopment could have erased the town's Black heritage and priced residents out of the community. Community members fought back against developers for their land and to preserve the history of their community. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"This decision by the town council is an important first step in a process for the community to plan for good development of the historic Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School property that will ensure economic prosperity for the Eatonville of today and for Eatonville's posterity," N.Y. Nathiri, Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community executive director, said. Learn more: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv x1fey0fg" href="https://www.splcenter.org/news/2023/02/08/eatonville-council-votes-against-rezoning-hungerford-property?fbclid=IwAR3dyBB0AltS2CPKTBNRWYuW440TJDd_LNCXDA6NJUB5IDfHfXu9YkqwWpc" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.splcenter.org/.../eatonville-council-votes...</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Sources/Notes</span></div><div><div class="ymu2Hb" jsslot="" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; position: relative;"><div class="t0bRye r2fjmd" data-hveid="CDAQBA" data-ved="2ahUKEwju4Ijl3O_8AhU4kokEHSznAC4Qu04oAHoECDAQBA" id="_wfHXY678C7ikptQPrM6D8AI_56" jsname="oQYOj" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 1;"><div id="wfHXY678C7ikptQPrM6D8AI__44"><div class="g" style="clear: both; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; width: 600px;"><div data-hveid="CCEQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwju4Ijl3O_8AhU4kokEHSznAC4QFSgAegQIIRAA" lang="en"><div class="tF2Cxc" style="position: relative;"><div class="yuRUbf" style="font-size: small; line-height: 1.58;"><div>1.<a href=" https://preserveeatonville.org/4-reasons-why-you-should-help-preserve-eatonville-florida/"> https://preserveeatonville.org/4-reasons-why-you-should-help-preserve-eatonville-florida/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>2. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eatonville,_Florida">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eatonville,_Florida</a></div><div><br /></div><div>3. <a href=" https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/11/18/historically-black-community-eatonville-florida"> https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/11/18/historically-black-community-eatonville-florida</a></div><div><br /></div><div>4. <a data-ved="2ahUKEwju4Ijl3O_8AhU4kokEHSznAC4QFnoECCEQAw" href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/eatonville-florida-1887-0/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/eatonville-florida-1887-0/&ved=2ahUKEwju4Ijl3O_8AhU4kokEHSznAC4QFnoECCEQAw" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); color: #1a0dab; font-size: 14px; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.blackpast.org/<span class="dyjrff qzEoUe" role="text" style="color: #5f6368;">african-american-histor</span></a>y</div><div><br /></div><div>5. <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/11/18/timeline-events-eatonville-florida?">https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/11/18/timeline-events-eatonville-florida</a></div><div><br /></div><div>6. <a href="https://francurrocaryblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-last-slave-ship-clotilda-and.html">https://francurrocaryblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-last-slave-ship-clotilda </a>and https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/slave-wrecks-project/africatown-alabama-usa </div><div><br /></div><div>7. <a href=" https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-list-of-well-known-black-towns/2015/03/27/9f21ca42-cdc4-11e4-a2a7-9517a3a70506_story.html"> https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-list-of-well-known-black-towns/2015/03/27/9f21ca42-cdc4-11e4-a2a7-9517a3a70506_story.html</a> About African-American towns in the USA.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Honor of Black History Month, which should be honored, taught, remembered, throughout the year. Black history is American history..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNeojgHFf9903tkTskwE9n7R67HFR8Rf2uiJv3p0Je2Wifq3Fi1JlOTINZ2umAG-KYDFwiR0dLFm8AClpWCTn37zzhsr8gRJWsoRxCO43nle5Y3HNZGysT6oKVJkWYe1s8oXbxHwq7KmYUHxnSoFZZ3sHZ5mbtN9VXqrUGX45HDy7PhWzgokpc_g5/s960/Black%20History%20Month%20poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="960" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitNeojgHFf9903tkTskwE9n7R67HFR8Rf2uiJv3p0Je2Wifq3Fi1JlOTINZ2umAG-KYDFwiR0dLFm8AClpWCTn37zzhsr8gRJWsoRxCO43nle5Y3HNZGysT6oKVJkWYe1s8oXbxHwq7KmYUHxnSoFZZ3sHZ5mbtN9VXqrUGX45HDy7PhWzgokpc_g5/s320/Black%20History%20Month%20poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Some of these links can't be accessed for some reason, but I include them for the sources of information for further research. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="B6fmyf" style="height: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; visibility: hidden; white-space: nowrap;"><div class="rnBE4e" style="display: inline; margin-left: 20px; position: absolute; visibility: visible;"><div data-bsextraheight="0" data-isdesktop="true" data-movewtractions="true" data-ved="2ahUKEwju4Ijl3O_8AhU4kokEHSznAC4QieYJegQIIRAG" jscontroller="exgaYe" jsdata="l7Bhpb;_;BkxEdU cECq7c;_;BkxEcU"><span data-ved="2ahUKEwju4Ijl3O_8AhU4kokEHSznAC4Qh-4GegQIIRAH" jsname="zOVa8"></span></div></div></div></div><div class="IsZvec" style="color: #4d5156; line-height: 1.58; max-width: 48em;"><span class="aCOpRe ljeAnf" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 2; display: -webkit-box; line-height: 1.58; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden;"></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-65589840177499640992022-11-12T09:58:00.004-05:002022-11-12T14:07:26.017-05:00Loren's 75th Birthday Rolls Around and He's Still Hiking<p></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/AVvXsEhVozgAXTrpv3U983qV8zR2PgSWplL_-xktibtJbyr1jXR7CBAMi_ewecYsyFGNMBP8Xz9ncwmV7EVUw2voW9CevRHs4hIhHmAJ_aZrkzYoOOhwRGph7JRcWF4-iPaBbXb9RCJlRtyeONUEidi8zMX47YIxfyQnGpp7J25VfEshusx_t4XXQSQtO6za/s526/Loren%20on%20a%20lovely%20path%20(harmony%20in%20lfe)++.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="526" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVozgAXTrpv3U983qV8zR2PgSWplL_-xktibtJbyr1jXR7CBAMi_ewecYsyFGNMBP8Xz9ncwmV7EVUw2voW9CevRHs4hIhHmAJ_aZrkzYoOOhwRGph7JRcWF4-iPaBbXb9RCJlRtyeONUEidi8zMX47YIxfyQnGpp7J25VfEshusx_t4XXQSQtO6za/s320/Loren%20on%20a%20lovely%20path%20(harmony%20in%20lfe)++.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm sure that's Loren on this lovely path.<br />Photo from Harmony in Life, Sylvania's Main Street haven.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYda6mgMmLTrwuSMOPTHbADp3MKdAn1Kf0v00EilzT7biSqpXoh6ndqCyzcMFNLMbELkDAAIO_Y1qI3r42s9-9Pbd8SVUWYrpg8_znvg22DAtjv6yOSVXPE_MKqI-TLIxU7nsd10ezLe1bqD2K0n6ql7RC69jhYEl9iIGU0Vy2Q035IV_IQepQfgj/s1187/il_1140xN.1191925415_5ohl.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="1140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYda6mgMmLTrwuSMOPTHbADp3MKdAn1Kf0v00EilzT7biSqpXoh6ndqCyzcMFNLMbELkDAAIO_Y1qI3r42s9-9Pbd8SVUWYrpg8_znvg22DAtjv6yOSVXPE_MKqI-TLIxU7nsd10ezLe1bqD2K0n6ql7RC69jhYEl9iIGU0Vy2Q035IV_IQepQfgj/w192-h200/il_1140xN.1191925415_5ohl.webp" width="192" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cardinal, Andrea Patton,<br />Watercolorist</td></tr></tbody></table>My brother Loren would have been 75 years old today, November 12, but age doesn't matter a whit where he is now, on some path or another beyond the horizon. <p></p><p>This is what's interesting about him being where he is. At seventy-five he still has the energy of his 63 years when he died suddenly while hiking along the Aucilla River in northern Florida. His heart gave out, but not his spirit. </p><p>I used to call it his last hike, but now I'm not so sure. </p><p></p><p>I think he's still hiking, traveling the world, free as a bird. Elissa was sure Loren was with us when this cardinal followed us on a path we were walking at Wildwood Metropark. That bird stopped when we stopped, followed us when we moved. "Yep, Mom, Loren's listening in." </p><p>He's also telegraphing ideas to me. I get a compulsion to look something up, like a nagging thought. That's how I discovered the artist Andrea Patton. As it turns out, most of these nagging curiosities have to do with issues and subjects Loren himself embraced. It's kind of how telepathy works I guess. </p><p>Andrea Patton is a wonderful artist. She's from Houston, lives in Alaska, likes to travel, to Italy, all over Europe, to Colorado and around the wonders of America the beautiful. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwmVOVJciHUv9sNL55L2gGBfLt_bToxesf8sg6Bpq0ZgFae3D39RZIUi8bHYc4lKCNPCo_Bae25ZtAPgxQHnJRI0Suaaow5vtP_yLm_IJw-2DUuCcIK8at5bihvRagGxdBhenldCGBS7iqWwkqywmjCnhsi82OI4CXGMVnrNE43e7I4usrSNff-AG/s1024/Rainbow%20Warrior,%20A%20Patton52776_2152434xl.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1024" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwmVOVJciHUv9sNL55L2gGBfLt_bToxesf8sg6Bpq0ZgFae3D39RZIUi8bHYc4lKCNPCo_Bae25ZtAPgxQHnJRI0Suaaow5vtP_yLm_IJw-2DUuCcIK8at5bihvRagGxdBhenldCGBS7iqWwkqywmjCnhsi82OI4CXGMVnrNE43e7I4usrSNff-AG/s320/Rainbow%20Warrior,%20A%20Patton52776_2152434xl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When I saw Patton's vibrant painting of a Rainbow Warrior, a colorful watercolor of a Native American warrior, I knew then and there it was Loren channeling the artist, nudging me to discover her. <p></p><p>Loren knew more about Native American history and culture than anyone I know. It was his life-long passion, along with his environmental activism. He did his Master's thesis at Goddard exploring social ecology and Native beliefs and culture. </p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2jrMoekM7lEmXOl-rg7wndWX0y8V4GuX-_BenILF6xmd_XadlvXmVvQsaG7OBPT6pWDoYPuAVUzTtNb7snQ-n7SBEwJ4iYr7iYtq4hsll_lWaiscOp60U5i_JFDs-7RP4NjzjKLlqXvHzjBnc7hM47pyWbUbE3-MWewG7aDdWMPBwIpjXXPtJSqV/s1024/A%20New%20Day%20in%20alcohol%20inks%20Patton.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="1024" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2jrMoekM7lEmXOl-rg7wndWX0y8V4GuX-_BenILF6xmd_XadlvXmVvQsaG7OBPT6pWDoYPuAVUzTtNb7snQ-n7SBEwJ4iYr7iYtq4hsll_lWaiscOp60U5i_JFDs-7RP4NjzjKLlqXvHzjBnc7hM47pyWbUbE3-MWewG7aDdWMPBwIpjXXPtJSqV/w320-h314/A%20New%20Day%20in%20alcohol%20inks%20Patton.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrea Patton, <i>Colorado</i></td></tr></tbody></table>It's Fall now, Loren's favorite season. Great time to hike. I think Loren was on this path in Colorado, painted by Patton, when our minds connected. <div><br /><div>It's a time when Nature takes a hike, too, leaving a bright path across America, across the world. A Ukraine fall looks like autumn in Ohio or in New England. Loren knew how much I cared about Ukraine and its people. He tells me they will triumph. I believe him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nature brightens before the dying of the light, Loren mused, as we were hiking at St. Marks National Wildlife Preserve near Tallahassee. "It's the way of Mother Earth." She promises to return after her winter rest into her rebirth in Spring. For Loren, there was no better guide to the cycles of life and death. <p></p><p>He may be 75 years old, but he remains young in spirit. He is one with Mother Earth. It's where he always wanted to be. That's why I think he's still hiking. </p><p><br /></p></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-70207456659985238902022-08-27T16:14:00.006-04:002022-08-27T17:03:14.723-04:00Lyubov Panchenko, Ukrainian Folk Artist, a Victim of Russia's Genocide <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/AVvXsEgB6nhWoSrhA9b_Bfrp4NHIhcRUg0HXR8fM-ctCmUCZQ6l1qvD51dz-xeWWCO9PMc1lKH9003TtoE49BXY9f8Q4k0vO01eyVu8rBIU6zK5BAtr5ir93jeWjFDiMFr_o5xuP95SL-CF3LXudVCC8keZ7zS9iWs0SofiUixkW-Mv_2ELr5uhnKDGHj47d/s768/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-red-viburnum-768x470.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="768" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6nhWoSrhA9b_Bfrp4NHIhcRUg0HXR8fM-ctCmUCZQ6l1qvD51dz-xeWWCO9PMc1lKH9003TtoE49BXY9f8Q4k0vO01eyVu8rBIU6zK5BAtr5ir93jeWjFDiMFr_o5xuP95SL-CF3LXudVCC8keZ7zS9iWs0SofiUixkW-Mv_2ELr5uhnKDGHj47d/w400-h245/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-red-viburnum-768x470.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Lyubov Panchenko, Red Viburnum, collage.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7Lx24oKefMMWXXjgG91QP1ogRFPwnTpcgHWu2V6bQNkD_VhRrLotDsHE4XNW0nsOayPyVG7SWx88b-RHYXbUarU3rms1EnV6vL4fXtc9PpiByXS6RSzcwUVma2AtDfYlU2qQ4RMcTXZUSymV_Bi-QdTkMYX22wGzIUpoC2aRlbQqXnc9EVbnW9rQ/s1024/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-motherhood-1024x627.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1024" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7Lx24oKefMMWXXjgG91QP1ogRFPwnTpcgHWu2V6bQNkD_VhRrLotDsHE4XNW0nsOayPyVG7SWx88b-RHYXbUarU3rms1EnV6vL4fXtc9PpiByXS6RSzcwUVma2AtDfYlU2qQ4RMcTXZUSymV_Bi-QdTkMYX22wGzIUpoC2aRlbQqXnc9EVbnW9rQ/s320/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-motherhood-1024x627.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span><span style="color: #999999;">Motherhood, collage with coat fabr</span></span></i><i><span><span style="color: #999999;">ic, at Sixtiers Dissident</span></span></i></span><i><span><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><br />Movement Museum, Kyiv. Interesting to know it exists.<br />Also, Panchenko was a fashion designer in the 60s, a reason<br />she often used fabric in her collages. <br /></span><br /></span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Bucha, a northern suburb of the capital Kyiv, one of Putin's early targets in his personal vendetta war to annihilate Ukraine, lay in ruins after February 24. That's when Putin's unprovoked war began. He aimed to surround and occupy the ancient Ukrainian capital, but was pushed back. He had not expected it, and the revenge of his armed forces was fierce. <p></p><p>When Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv region, the vicious war crimes of the invaders were revealed, to the horror of the world. The suburb of Bucha was destroyed. Civilians were executed, raped, tortured, starved, shot while their hands were tied behind their backs, while walking their dog, while shopping, caring for the wounded, sleeping in their beds. War crimes. Documented, witnessed and recorded, by eye-witnesses and early investigators. Bucha, like Mariupol after it, became a symbol of Putin's full-fledged war against Ukraine--horrific, relentless, a genocide.</p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVLCRjievHZYxcXMpLeUH_n2bqzB9_neItJi_u602Y_GK7U8-yGam12J8OdTwP7uBc1TeLQ0frv4abUE3cs9QjCjYsXqTyczj8gS6h3of_Mxqtgu_3wGZiwjWVD_OeUfO_AQSXyh6o-aD4WT1gDmVwxX-PgxLLRYjAEJElBZHJNpTMKTbBSaQyXx-/s1024/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-starry-space-1024x726.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1024" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVLCRjievHZYxcXMpLeUH_n2bqzB9_neItJi_u602Y_GK7U8-yGam12J8OdTwP7uBc1TeLQ0frv4abUE3cs9QjCjYsXqTyczj8gS6h3of_Mxqtgu_3wGZiwjWVD_OeUfO_AQSXyh6o-aD4WT1gDmVwxX-PgxLLRYjAEJElBZHJNpTMKTbBSaQyXx-/s320/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-starry-space-1024x726.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="color: #999999; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Lyubov Panchenko, In Starry Space, collage with coat fabric, <br />The Ukrainian Sixtiers Dissident Movement Museum, </span></div><div><span style="color: #999999; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kyiv, </span>Ukraine</span><span face="basier, sans-serif" style="color: #606a73; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">.</span></div><div><span face="basier, sans-serif" style="color: #606a73; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: -0.288px;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Among the starved and the dead, we have recently learned, was 84-year-old Ukrainian artist Lyubov Panchenko (1938-2022), a long-time freedom fighter and social activist who aimed to preserve Ukrainian traditions and folklife through her art.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bucha was her hometown, and it is her grave. She was found alone in her apartment, her dog by her side, starving slowly, barely conscious. A neighbor discovered her, alerted by her dog wandering the road in a lonely trek. Volunteers took Lyubov to a nearby hospital, but little could be done to save her. She died soon thereafter. "She was nothing but bones," a doctor said. </div><div><br /></div><div>And so this beloved folk artist became a victim of the Bucha massacre. Her death casts a pall across the cultural landscape of Ukraine. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Lyubov lived alone and died alone. Survivors will remember her life-long fight for freedom, her involvement in the 1980s with the Sixtiers dissident movement, which fought against the Russification of Ukrainian culture, and her lifelong advocacy for a unique Ukrainian identity. (Note 1) </div><div><br /></div><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/AVvXsEhfiH883P9QqV-fbE13lmPIPYwZG-x3F33Y6rtiOGkcZmSdPUK6qqkh70o8gM781qoe_YWsEkATsD10qxkJeYPDAqnlGXMYoxOe09FWyGkvK_zpWBxLi5qmWrln2uzFSp74G7GQgsXndCsXNXrzMn0AaB6fIuOzybrDZttuFoRi-ii2Pwu8OE9DNG_D/s961/272946747_3056456024575739_2903576623744090465_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="961" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiH883P9QqV-fbE13lmPIPYwZG-x3F33Y6rtiOGkcZmSdPUK6qqkh70o8gM781qoe_YWsEkATsD10qxkJeYPDAqnlGXMYoxOe09FWyGkvK_zpWBxLi5qmWrln2uzFSp74G7GQgsXndCsXNXrzMn0AaB6fIuOzybrDZttuFoRi-ii2Pwu8OE9DNG_D/s320/272946747_3056456024575739_2903576623744090465_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Panchenko's Cossack on the Bandura, a 60-string Ukrainian folk instrument. I heard it played in Lviv..<br /></span></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I was not surprised but happy to learn she loved the poems of Taras Shevchenko, an early and equally strong advocate of a unique Ukrainian identity. "When I die, bury me on Ukraine's broad steppes...near the Dnieper River's great roar," he declared in his popular poem "Testament." Today, it is Shevchenko's poem "fight, and you will win," that resonates most loudly, a Ukrainian call to arms to defend their country against Russia. </div><div><br /></div><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/AVvXsEgqKrg0p69OnyZKgvWFCIaQi2WW8E_NwVzMrQmy3Ye_338ONdJJRo_-CD4elRUjJ6HqgvEosp21wqiPfs6p5MW_7-RDIhWw1TLVvOaPYa2-ZHFVj2pCxelj1H2FS3j561ty0gbqSQ0B-5umqqCK6x690bhPaaHfTpMNbhQ2Wo9SrFNb06sxpneEb2cw/s1701/Panchenko,%20fashion%20designer%20in%20the%201960sah23fakcbww81.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1701" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKrg0p69OnyZKgvWFCIaQi2WW8E_NwVzMrQmy3Ye_338ONdJJRo_-CD4elRUjJ6HqgvEosp21wqiPfs6p5MW_7-RDIhWw1TLVvOaPYa2-ZHFVj2pCxelj1H2FS3j561ty0gbqSQ0B-5umqqCK6x690bhPaaHfTpMNbhQ2Wo9SrFNb06sxpneEb2cw/s320/Panchenko,%20fashion%20designer%20in%20the%201960sah23fakcbww81.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Aren't these Lyobov Panchenko designs gorgeous? </span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Lyubov's nationalism did not endear her to the Soviet authorities, who could make her life miserable. She did not have a public exhibition of her work until 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union. Imagine that! She'd been practicing her art for over 40-50 years by then, her painting, collages and fashion designs. Yes, she also designed dresses adorned with exquisite Ukrainian motifs. I would love to know if any of them exist today, when Ukrainian attire is a proud symbol of Standing with Ukraine in war.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the Soviets at that time, however, the 1960s through the 1980s, "she was guilty of being born in Ukraine, guilty for considering herself Ukrainian not Russian, and for promoting Ukrainian culture," noted Igor Kulyk, head of Ukraine's Archives of National Memory (note 4). She created in the shadows of Soviet oppression, as did most of her compatriot artists, poets, and creative thinkers of her time. </div><div><br /><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/AVvXsEh8zO2OIjtde1OVu171olqVKdh4BjJ__1p6d_SsADBpN4q4-6zNGBimhjd7nIdhOH0b4dkdyKqJPkWmmcqp5Gis3Fm_lVgiemwQ0LCiNuuMkktlvb2SM_Lv-lX3PCYAmcNqA4uL9GffP5Se5wCDPDwgjymwi0KYZGjqcC6BxPdyOTc5oaFK5PouZpZC/s1024/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-unexpected-meeting-1024x689.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="1024" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zO2OIjtde1OVu171olqVKdh4BjJ__1p6d_SsADBpN4q4-6zNGBimhjd7nIdhOH0b4dkdyKqJPkWmmcqp5Gis3Fm_lVgiemwQ0LCiNuuMkktlvb2SM_Lv-lX3PCYAmcNqA4uL9GffP5Se5wCDPDwgjymwi0KYZGjqcC6BxPdyOTc5oaFK5PouZpZC/s320/lyubov-panchenko-ukraine-artist-unexpected-meeting-1024x689.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">An Unexpected Visitor.</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>After the early 1990s, Panchenko became famous for her collages. When people had the opportunity to see them, examine them, they were adored and celebrated. Her collages, those I've seen online, are fanciful, colorful, embracing a purity and innocence, a joy. Sometimes dark clouds appear around the edges. But mostly they evoke harmony, look to the past, honor it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Her death in Russia's 21st-century rerun of World War II, which we thought could never happen again, is tragic. For me, the collage above encompasses the surrealism of this holocaust: the unexpected visitor, the Russian bull, mean, power-hungry, threatening a smaller prey, stalking across the garden, out to destroy everything in its path. Not that Panchenko was any stranger to Russian cruelty. She lived through World War II and its aftermath. She resisted Soviet oppression. She had fought against it all her life. She died because of it.</div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiF1SY3GZj_5wje_uU0ipEuBcpyvt0ijuAhguefHLcGDVMDGxpx5dFPmze9FzLpIbepnxYKYp8gURdFl5eRuy3oImQF5QWnnuN7e3co2b1PyQVDTPD1JVraUm4DEeM3vKkhzmNskE_dXE016mhcLAi2g9g3NO5mGBIhy7CgCZVkSzXfqXvKooBQvX/s240/Panchenko,%201994%20bright%20colors..jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiF1SY3GZj_5wje_uU0ipEuBcpyvt0ijuAhguefHLcGDVMDGxpx5dFPmze9FzLpIbepnxYKYp8gURdFl5eRuy3oImQF5QWnnuN7e3co2b1PyQVDTPD1JVraUm4DEeM3vKkhzmNskE_dXE016mhcLAi2g9g3NO5mGBIhy7CgCZVkSzXfqXvKooBQvX/s16000/Panchenko,%201994%20bright%20colors..jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i>from 1994, bright and bold</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The aggression that killed her had only strengthened her resolve to celebrate Ukrainian traditions until she took her last dying breath. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252324; font-size: 14px;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252324;">She was not broken by the KGB during Soviet times,” </span><a href="https://t.me/FirstLadyOfUkraine/365" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #093969; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition-duration: 0.2s;">said</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252324;"> Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska. “But the Russian occupation broke her.”</span> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he Daily Art Magazine's Emily Snow, art critic, remembered her this way: "</span>Lyubov Panchenko demonstrated the revolutionary power of art throughout 84 years of her life. Perhaps she would have found earlier success as an artist if not for Soviet censorship. She would likely still be crafting collages in her Bucha studio today if not for the latest Russian invasion."</div><div><br /></div><div>"She was killed by the Russians," Igor Kulyk of the Ukraine Archives remarked, "But her legacy will live on." </div><div><br /></div><div>I think her legacy will become entwined like a vine she created into the story of RUs genocidal war, now in its 6th month. Putin's terrorism has leveled most of Ukraine's cities, towns and villages, and the vast farmlands surrounding them. The Donbas and southern Ukraine around the Black Sea have been hit the hardest. Ukraine is now receiving the advanced weapon systems they need to counterattack and conduct offensive battles against Russian positions. It's about time, because Ukraine is fighting World War III on its own, defending the West and Europe, and democracy around the world. </div><div><br /></div><div>Panchenko knew one thing in her heart and soul: Ukraine's art and folk traditions, its creativity and distinctive culture, will never be destroyed. Nor will Ukraine's independence and freedom. The land will be rebuilt on this promise, on this foundation. That will make Lyobov Panchenko smile. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sources/Notes</div><p>1. <a href=" https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/lyubov-panchenko/"> https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/lyubov-panchenko/</a>, by Emily Snow, remembering the artist. </p><p><span style="color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">2. </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaCD0XlxYgA" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaCD0XlxYgA</a><span style="color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">, the horrors of Bucha, the war crimes, the cruelty.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">3. </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaCD0XlxYgA" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;"> https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/20/europe/bucha-ukraine-reported-killings-intl/index.html</a><span style="color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">, more evidence of Putin's sickening war crimes against civilians in Bucha.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">4. </span><a href="https://kyivindependent.com/national/ukrainian-artist-liubov-panchenko-died-after-month-of-starvation-in-russian-occupied-bucha?" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;">https://kyivindependent.com/national/ukrainian-artist-liubov-panchenko-died-after-month-of-starvation-in-russian-occupied-bucha</a>.<span style="color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px;"> The Kyiv Independent remembers Panchenko. </span></p><div class="page-content article-content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="row" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px !important; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px -15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="col-lg-8" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; flex: 0 0 66.6667%; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; max-width: calc(678px); padding: 0px 15px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 678px;"><div class="project-module project-module-text" data-wtg-lazy="0" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="small-wrapper" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px auto 0px 0px; max-width: calc(678px); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 648px;"><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #4d5761; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.288px; line-height: 24px; list-style: none; margin: 22px 0px 32px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal;"> </span></p></div></div></div></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-84736376827404050222022-06-24T09:13:00.002-04:002022-07-01T15:52:04.223-04:00Janet Sobel, Ukrainian-American Pioneer of Abstract Expressionism <p></p><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="#" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHL5CTf5eFOK1jdJOvgY3a9bQs7vi60mx9h_IlNo9FJWVf0A-o52Lep7PMSpRSsJOEai2zfpHeJxLjFHPqlbMOS5ZutjhhOLyIPUSrswHNxfitfgP54BSBpuzhrmWRd4rnvt0jj_5m_RzjOOYYoam5ayItOSJxzjOjMCCSJGi2f5Fliccdrfn6R5Be/w256-h320/Janet%20Scobel,%20Ukrainian%20born,%20NYC,%20Milky%20Way,%201945,.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Milky Way series </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>"Contrary to established myth . . . Jackson Pollock's 'signature' style [his so-called 'drip paintings'] wasn't his invention at all, but the brainchild of another artist, one whose extraordinary story confounds and invigorates our understanding of one of the most celebrated contours in recent cultural history. Put simply, modern art has a problem. Her name is Janet Sobel."</b></span><br /><br />I saw this painting that I liked (to the left) and thought it was a Jackson Pollock. Wrong.<br /><br />It was posted on the Female Artist in History site and the artist was Janet Sobel. Really? I noted that Sobel was Ukrainian-American, which interested me right away, and that she was a friend of John Dewey, one of my favorite early 20th-century educational reformers. I had discovered Dewey when taking an Intellectual History class with Professor Bill Taylor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.<br /><br />Now I'm discovering the story of a woman artist hidden from public view named Janet Sobel (1893-1968), who, it turns out, is really the forerunner of Abstract Expressionism. It was she who influenced Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning. Not the other way around.<br /><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPir02Nvedlgfe03m12fBkqeE0695S7iKJnZevWuP_A2TwKBtStUh8akPAHtx9F4Qk_Zl1-dFuGzKUWy2v0CJLfxcVxNBAxY7QwkBTD2vZwsqIZTn0HDXF1u2SOI3pWXLkl9lAiN_ulMbiYlfSNNWCF1qe59iGnsdyHcKvaeWst4HaLYqVkBIQWDN/s1199/BurningBushes.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="876" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQPir02Nvedlgfe03m12fBkqeE0695S7iKJnZevWuP_A2TwKBtStUh8akPAHtx9F4Qk_Zl1-dFuGzKUWy2v0CJLfxcVxNBAxY7QwkBTD2vZwsqIZTn0HDXF1u2SOI3pWXLkl9lAiN_ulMbiYlfSNNWCF1qe59iGnsdyHcKvaeWst4HaLYqVkBIQWDN/s320/BurningBushes.png" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Burning Bush</span></td></tr></tbody></table>This we know now. Post-World War II male artists, always recognized as the founders and major purveyors of Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and other cultural trends, made it a point to belittle and ignore women artists of their time, pushing them quite deliberately to the margins. Just women dappling, nothing more.<br /><br />Art critic Clement Greenburg in the mid-1940s and 1950s described Sobel's work as "primitive," denigrated her work as that of a "housewife," while praising Pollock's paintings as "innovative and masculine to the core." Yes, "masculine to the core." He, along with other critics, puffed Wyoming-born Pollock up as a kind of Marlboro Man conquering his paintings like a Wyoming cowhand, free from tradition, a Wild West art warrior. <br /><br />It was a myth. It was t</div><div><br /></div><div>he height of patriarchy in the American art scene. <p>We are still uncovering the brilliant women artists who worked in the shadows of these male artists. Janet Sobel is one of them.</p><p></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/AVvXsEj0biZ94oIcbL748261YojodGXTxcB5gdz7-vpoYqYR09ZT0XNSB9UcJ9ZagLAbkQg_NtwIKVo7sJp9fPD08DTly34MPkrmjI0_hhaN214-Q2Uxa_D_3AQwzq-SRMn-1bqRaA3Gcq3Tv6BHk_n49fkFiK8wvJmeturdpmGfiMMS7EiRa_R2EKgL5EQu/s293/sorbel,%20daily%20art%20mag,%20the%20artist%20who%20influ%20jacson%20p.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="293" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0biZ94oIcbL748261YojodGXTxcB5gdz7-vpoYqYR09ZT0XNSB9UcJ9ZagLAbkQg_NtwIKVo7sJp9fPD08DTly34MPkrmjI0_hhaN214-Q2Uxa_D_3AQwzq-SRMn-1bqRaA3Gcq3Tv6BHk_n49fkFiK8wvJmeturdpmGfiMMS7EiRa_R2EKgL5EQu/w400-h235/sorbel,%20daily%20art%20mag,%20the%20artist%20who%20influ%20jacson%20p.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sobel, "Milky Way" series</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlzWrJYkJjqApwHFl60akwBLceZUaQDRk47Z3X1xscJGX-xifG-wYuUY8jbh8UkY_IiLUMIlLaYKq9W0bF00lO__KiXNZLNXmwu_i2AA6Zfn45LxfBHwUlang5ZptBUByzNdbbnQ1Vd7urSXX9Rr-F97AbQBZILceLGCVJYsHjCVdrlq90mbuj3cq/s326/hiroshima-ca-1948.jpeg!PinterestSmall.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="210" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlzWrJYkJjqApwHFl60akwBLceZUaQDRk47Z3X1xscJGX-xifG-wYuUY8jbh8UkY_IiLUMIlLaYKq9W0bF00lO__KiXNZLNXmwu_i2AA6Zfn45LxfBHwUlang5ZptBUByzNdbbnQ1Vd7urSXX9Rr-F97AbQBZILceLGCVJYsHjCVdrlq90mbuj3cq/s320/hiroshima-ca-1948.jpeg!PinterestSmall.jpeg" width="206" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sobel, "Hiroshima"</i></td></tr></tbody></table>She was born Jennie Lechovsky in a small Jewish village in eastern Ukraine, near what is now Dnipro in Lugansk oblast and under Russian obliteration bombing. Her mother and three siblings escaped to the US after her father was killed in a vicious anti-Semitic pogram. They arrived in New York City in 1908. Sobel was fifteen years old. A few years later, she married Max Sobel, an engraver and goldsmith, and raised five children. The Russian-Jewish enclave in Brooklyn provided a safe haven for a young mother who had escaped anti-Semitism in this World War II era. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Sobel didn't begin painting until her mid-40s, apparently when her son Sol gave up art and gave all his painting materials to her. She began by experimenting with canvases laid out on the floor, using a style that came to be called "drip painting" and "all-over painting," in which no surface is left bare or untouched.(Note 4 below) </div><div><br /></div><div>It was, for Sobel, a housewife, mother, and grandmother, a moment of self-expression. You can feel a sense of freedom in her work. Talent unbound. <p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYr9Ejo9CP2mpGfKiH58XVC4McoYaHCMudPjtGU8-JG0xDm8SJTslheSalyHrs3d3jD5K_Ge5enGTdxRsk7Jf16eyTuSRn9gSoJovFNPk5x2jBpO3vYe5HGeZjnkSavgY3c66_nBYZVyj8D6e1fguyTraOmtTNd_uSFvs3qMQq8CBebsjqyAqr92ZW/s900/Sorbel,%20the%20Women%20written%20out%20of%20History.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYr9Ejo9CP2mpGfKiH58XVC4McoYaHCMudPjtGU8-JG0xDm8SJTslheSalyHrs3d3jD5K_Ge5enGTdxRsk7Jf16eyTuSRn9gSoJovFNPk5x2jBpO3vYe5HGeZjnkSavgY3c66_nBYZVyj8D6e1fguyTraOmtTNd_uSFvs3qMQq8CBebsjqyAqr92ZW/w160-h200/Sorbel,%20the%20Women%20written%20out%20of%20History.jpg" width="160" /></a>It was this moment in her life, inhabiting the meaning of living in a democracy, that led to her meeting John Dewey, who championed her work. He wrote about her in a catalogue for the Puma Gallery in New York in 1944. She was just getting started. <b><span style="color: #93c47d;">"Her work is extraordinarily free from...self-consciousness and pretense. One can believe that to an unusual degree her forms and colors well up from a subconsciousness that is richly stored with sensitive impressions received directly from nature, impressions which have been reorganized in figures in which color and form are happily wed." </span>(</b>Note 1)</p><p>Her forms and colors also welled up from her experiences under Russian pograms, as well as the economic difficulties her family experienced during the Great Depression, when food was often scarce. </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/AVvXsEgye7-PQtsBQAE-PJBtYWrIjexiwJxc09J-RE5cYSvz66M6B-aGvg02qZfnaztunrZ4Iez5QmadHxi0UUB3GXS6tDHTSjAO5zmCYmxZOjq8CWtBhUMJKmMfnGUyIRq785YExs36t8zyBEFbiMNLnJa6ixGmpoIJC3vseZaRdWcIOTwbagx_ezDFWxW2/s344/sobrl,%20drip%20painting%20idealart.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="229" data-original-width="344" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgye7-PQtsBQAE-PJBtYWrIjexiwJxc09J-RE5cYSvz66M6B-aGvg02qZfnaztunrZ4Iez5QmadHxi0UUB3GXS6tDHTSjAO5zmCYmxZOjq8CWtBhUMJKmMfnGUyIRq785YExs36t8zyBEFbiMNLnJa6ixGmpoIJC3vseZaRdWcIOTwbagx_ezDFWxW2/w400-h266/sobrl,%20drip%20painting%20idealart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSbzDO76nK3mzOzbDpe1TSN_h6m185uEAuRzeepoPxFv5G0b1a-iByx3xPydhiUUmdTVmppn1yXUchS4FiZLomwZ9fdOupHJMuGgsBaTBS24D-1ZALQCwdV8ZwfAYjqsT46nvLE0eNDVnzMLtSAPCYcfkFbUWJvkdozhtzkzCEZk5pC6Qa-AJsCUC/s600/02OVERLOOKED-SOBEL-articleLarge-v2nyt.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivSbzDO76nK3mzOzbDpe1TSN_h6m185uEAuRzeepoPxFv5G0b1a-iByx3xPydhiUUmdTVmppn1yXUchS4FiZLomwZ9fdOupHJMuGgsBaTBS24D-1ZALQCwdV8ZwfAYjqsT46nvLE0eNDVnzMLtSAPCYcfkFbUWJvkdozhtzkzCEZk5pC6Qa-AJsCUC/w400-h266/02OVERLOOKED-SOBEL-articleLarge-v2nyt.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New York Times photo</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Sobel enjoyed a brief spurt of public recognition in the late 1940s, then disappeared from view, and viewings of her art, when her husband moved the family from Brooklyn to Plainsfield, NJ for business reasons. Away from the vibrant New York art scene, she seemed to become lost into the role of suburban wife and mother, the very women Betty Friedan wrote about in <b style="font-style: italic;">The Feminine Mystique </b>in 1963. Apparently there was some talk that she had developed an allergy to something in paint, but her more modern granddaughter asserted that it was more an allergy to Suburbia than paint. <p></p><p></p>The rise of what Friedan called the Feminine Mystique, prescribing a narrow role for women in the private arena of hearth and home, while men dominated the public arena, left it's mark. Sobel was one of its victims, I think, although she never talked about it..</div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNws2jhy9jzO1nd-512T7asQgbpctKiDMwgC5zV1ge_ZZTv7kVg1ZXWxkfB4KWXpDSJkrd0pBxzAwwhqYKfq9E2sDaxXW8qcMUXAs-2MridgfQiXhrmszkHJzmYONSmtVtbr9G0S5knOunL8SVguOhbyq9GkfMq9t6CxwpvJXJS_EiBlZmkp1fm-xp/s2000/W1siZiIsIjE2MTEyNyJdSobel%20at%20MOMALFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcXVhbGl0eSA5MCAtcmVzaXplIDIwMDB4MjAwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1544" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNws2jhy9jzO1nd-512T7asQgbpctKiDMwgC5zV1ge_ZZTv7kVg1ZXWxkfB4KWXpDSJkrd0pBxzAwwhqYKfq9E2sDaxXW8qcMUXAs-2MridgfQiXhrmszkHJzmYONSmtVtbr9G0S5knOunL8SVguOhbyq9GkfMq9t6CxwpvJXJS_EiBlZmkp1fm-xp/s320/W1siZiIsIjE2MTEyNyJdSobel%20at%20MOMALFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcXVhbGl0eSA5MCAtcmVzaXplIDIwMDB4MjAwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">How could a piece of art so powerful<br />become so hidden?</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Her art fell into that black hole of neglect that swallowed up lots of female artist then and over time. After 1946, no gallery showed her art during her lifetime. I found that sad. Because she kept painting into her old age. </div><div><br /></div><div>"A supremely gifted artist, whose work spans folk tradition, surrealism, and abstract expressionism," wrote art critic Victoria Linchong in a May 2022 article, "Sobel deserves wider recognition for revolutionizing 20th century art during a a meteoritic career that was cut short by the patriarchy of her time." (Note 9)</div><div><br /></div><div>The good new is that Sobel's oeuvre has been recently rediscovered, recaptured and brought to light.</div><div>Museums like MOMA and well-known art galleries like Gary Snyder Fine Art in NYC have begun exhibiting and selling the works of women artists so the world knows they existed. Sobel is among them. She is found again. She had left behind "hundreds of paintings," telling us that she continued painting into her obscurity. Some of these paintings are now included in major exhibits, most recently <i>Women in Abstraction</i>, a 1921 exhibit that traveled from the Pompidou Center in Paris to the Guggenheim in Bilbao. And galleries are selling her work. It's about time. Wouldn't it be lovely to grace a wall with one of her paintings, one that influenced Abstract Expressionism and left a legacy of creativity and beauty. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p>Sources/Notes: </p><p></p><p>1. <a href=" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Sobel"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Sobel</a></p><p>2. <a href=" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey</a>, 1859 – 1952, American philosopher, educational reformer, a founder of "pragmaticism," a public intellectual. The overriding theme of Dewey's works was his deep belief in democracy. Although he is best known for his publications about education, he also wrote about aesthetics, social theory, and art. The latter brought him in touch with Janet Sobel, who shared his beliefs in democracy and an educated citizenry. </p><p><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">3. <a href=" https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/janet-sobel-forgotten-female-artist/"> </a></span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 14px;"><a href=" https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/janet-sobel-forgotten-female-artist/">https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/janet-sobel-forgotten-female-artist/</a> </span>Excerpt from Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction, 2017, MOMA. "Sobel’s artistic technique became later known as "drip painting“ when it was adopted by Jackson Pollock. Sobel’s artwork from 1945 entitled Milky Way is a prime example of the artist’s “drip technique." Pollack knew Sobel's work, and he adopted it for himself. While art critics dismissed and belittled her work, arts patron Peggy Guggenheim noticed Sobel’s work and decided to include it in her gallery, The Art of this Century, in 1945" Jackson Pollock, himself, visited this gallery and ultimately admitted that Sobel’s work “had made an impression on him." Unfortunately for Sobel, her work was overshadowed by her male counterparts in an Abstract Expressionist movement that was male-dominated. Thus did time forget her as the true creator of the “drip painting” technique for which Jackson Pollock became so well-known.</div><p></p><div>4. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220307-janet-sobel-the-woman-written-out-of-history"> https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220307-janet-sobel-the-woman-written-out-of-history</a>, by Kelly Grovier, March 2022. It's about time that Sobel is being recognized for her contribution to art history. </div><div><br /></div><div>5. <a href="https://design-fixation.com/2010/02/jackson-pollock-vs-janet-sobe.html">https://design-fixation.com/2010/02/jackson-pollock-vs-janet-sobe.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>6. <a href="https://www.wikiart.org/en/janet-sobel">https://www.wikiart.org/en/janet-sobel</a></div><div><br /></div><div>7. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/obituaries/janet-sobel-overlooked.html?">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/obituaries/janet-sobel-overlooked.html?</a></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>8<a href=". https://gaillevin.commons.gc.cuny.edu/files/2014/03/Janet-Sobel-Primitivist-Surrealist-and-Abstract-Expressionist-2005.pdf">. https://gaillevin.commons.gc.cuny.edu/files/2014/03/Janet-Sobel-Primitivist-Surrealist-and-Abstract-Expressionist-2005.pdf</a>, an article by art historian Gail Levin.</div><div><br /></div><div>9. <a href="https://www.messynessychic.com/2022/05/11/before-pollock-saw-her-work-a-ukrainian-woman-pioneered-drip-painting/">https://www.messynessychic.com/2022/05/11/before-pollock-saw-her-work-a-ukrainian-woman-pioneered-drip-painting/</a>by Victoria Linchong, May 20,2022.</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: Trying to access some of these links doesn't work, they are "hidden," but I'm including them in case I want to use them for future reference. </div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-43884588144908842412022-06-03T11:53:00.002-04:002022-11-15T10:08:44.464-05:00Ukraine Violated: My Village is Occupied by Russia<p> </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/AVvXsEibb7b34kwH2kqWQ6BkitRcSBRYRo-hg2iL366p8vCeB8qWdsNsiDAYXPMtxsAJz4CobnNrmTxPBmj7C3Vs39MzPGJvQDZSchcDtFBxlRHXx2fbYQVkIx40iidDfdaCcu7GyzHz1uiTF1tCSEVkqsbCfAvJmJZ-v_b-w82Err0p_OS7G62na0tvY3NN/s2048/Dniper%20running%20thru%20Kyiv%20gettyimages-Anton%20Petrus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibb7b34kwH2kqWQ6BkitRcSBRYRo-hg2iL366p8vCeB8qWdsNsiDAYXPMtxsAJz4CobnNrmTxPBmj7C3Vs39MzPGJvQDZSchcDtFBxlRHXx2fbYQVkIx40iidDfdaCcu7GyzHz1uiTF1tCSEVkqsbCfAvJmJZ-v_b-w82Err0p_OS7G62na0tvY3NN/w400-h266/Dniper%20running%20thru%20Kyiv%20gettyimages-Anton%20Petrus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;">The stunning Dnieper River, a major European waterway, <br />the Ukrainian Mississippi. The bridges over Kyiv. Anton Petrus/Getty image.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>On the 100th day of Putin's vicious war crimes campaign and genocide in Ukraine:<br /><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMKESVhDq0jRW7OY2q6BPvgJ3oODAZ_nHAupoMLmC8ME3uSM4GR-nDHImHPTYrBVGkCtPciQpzq3xBjybn7roVqGzZbcGyIah2bwElgIOf6xQ95VI6bfn5V3zQQsuRBae6xyueZNvc3ftaCECIQ4J6_Ud5Qx_chA81t0cTPAz4I7z4HIIDaWIBatX/s2272/me%20at%20sosnovy.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2272" data-original-width="1704" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMKESVhDq0jRW7OY2q6BPvgJ3oODAZ_nHAupoMLmC8ME3uSM4GR-nDHImHPTYrBVGkCtPciQpzq3xBjybn7roVqGzZbcGyIah2bwElgIOf6xQ95VI6bfn5V3zQQsuRBae6xyueZNvc3ftaCECIQ4J6_Ud5Qx_chA81t0cTPAz4I7z4HIIDaWIBatX/w240-h320/me%20at%20sosnovy.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;">At a summer camp for kids from all over<br />the Lugansk region. Where are they now?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Дорогая Фрэн, Мы в подвале...Русские преследуют людей. стучится в двери. Я думаю, что могу быть в списке за свою активность. Я плачу, когда вижу, что наш флаг опущен. Мы боимся каждого звука, каждого шума, каждого шага, каждого голоса. Как долго мы сможем продержаться? Я не знаю. From a dear friend in the Donbas</p><p><i>Dear Fran, We're in the basement...The Russians are after the people, knocking on doors. I think I might be on a list for being active. I cry when I see our flag down. We are afraid of every sound, every noise, every step, every voice. How long can we hold on? I don't know.</i></p><p><span><span style="font-size: medium;">T</span></span>he village where I served with the Peace Corp in the Donbas is now occupied by the Russians. The town I know and love, where I lived for two years, is suffering, overwhelmed by a war the world didn't think possible in our time. </p><p>My friends write that Russian soldiers are stalking them, scaring them, arresting them. Some are "disappearing," исчезновение. They are horrified at the thought they are being tortured, or sent to gulags in Russia, along with thousands of other Ukrainians. They fear young girls are being brutalized and trafficked. They live under constant stress. Russian military leaders occupying towns and villages have lists, they say, and they fear they may be on them.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHG3rxwMqHRQZlPMa2msvMv9wU7Ti-HwR9j619PZk1S301D00SCvtLN_DzaaFd3iT4R5zu4rZv0HIQaQbv3IasvpfshVvgsDg-TUGUjj0UUPKHAdrjc1GjlQaIHL_Af9FZvElgh-g6GBtjKyqG-tEPy8-04upeQTtuq7XjtTY3wTCnf2iovCY40HH/s480/4-20090911-20090911-IMG_0444.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHG3rxwMqHRQZlPMa2msvMv9wU7Ti-HwR9j619PZk1S301D00SCvtLN_DzaaFd3iT4R5zu4rZv0HIQaQbv3IasvpfshVvgsDg-TUGUjj0UUPKHAdrjc1GjlQaIHL_Af9FZvElgh-g6GBtjKyqG-tEPy8-04upeQTtuq7XjtTY3wTCnf2iovCY40HH/w150-h200/4-20090911-20090911-IMG_0444.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;">A lovely window on a <br />home in my village.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Putin's war crimes campaign to obliterate Ukraine from the face of the earth is a 21st-century genocide that we thought, we prayed, would never happen again. <p></p><p>The people of the town where I served have been resisting Russian incursions since 2014, when Putin invaded Crimea and the Donbas, Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts, and nothing was done to stop it. Now they too are being "temporarily occupied," as the Ukrainians say. But I'm terrified of the outcome. Meanwhile, the residents, my Ukrainian family and beloved friends, are living under unbearable fear and anxiety. </p><p>It's what happens when a vicious dictator, using the Hitler/Stalin war and purge playbook, plus the Georgia and Syria total mass destruction play book, invades a foreign country and gets away with it. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1bl6b4TH4OEZMPEPX7IRVEwdE_oWJ5KfxUuZoRjZF7P8F7ofp6QR7SRYv-u9a5Q6L6cAalOKGJkzvq_YlpfbDpbYplgIzW-Us0p3884qZt15P-wjMyhsZ-ieZq_Hs-xGSc6-Wy_tBxwqeUrHlbe3TKHudUib-VBqc8TCswswb619W8l9Ec4olbkg/s604/Inessa%20Morozova%20______%20________%20Tutt'Art@%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="597" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1bl6b4TH4OEZMPEPX7IRVEwdE_oWJ5KfxUuZoRjZF7P8F7ofp6QR7SRYv-u9a5Q6L6cAalOKGJkzvq_YlpfbDpbYplgIzW-Us0p3884qZt15P-wjMyhsZ-ieZq_Hs-xGSc6-Wy_tBxwqeUrHlbe3TKHudUib-VBqc8TCswswb619W8l9Ec4olbkg/w198-h200/Inessa%20Morozova%20______%20________%20Tutt'Art@%20(1).jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Inessa Morozova, born 1981 in Kherson, <br />southern Ukraine, now under relentless <br />RU attacks & unspeakable war crimes.</span> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Putin is destroying everything in sight, intentionally bombing civilian targets without mercy, relentlessly. Death and destruction for the purpose of death and destruction. Putin's depravity on full display. No military targets, just civilian targets. Not just once, but over and over. Mariupol writ large. </p><p>At this writing it's Severodonetsk that's being savaged, the Lugansk oblast city where I did my banking and where I loved walking the streets around the Chemical Palace, the bus station, the markets. I would buy Luba flowers, like the large white calla lilies Frieda Kahlo and Georgia O'Keeffe painted. I'd also buy Roshen chocolates and good cognac, though I knew she regifted them. </p><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VmxyswFpjS_tN7pdh0buMY163Y4VvuY37a6Hi86MDQnBsh-s-wbPvH5lywfJN5L-ngIGGVZ5Rb3EOcv-bsxUPnZqDc-Pp3_F9CQslA_o6jVaGrn9ah0m8_veV_Gy86i-ENRJExwkNzD5gsCste2zspiuEQgb22orE1AKSeam9KbM6mQFUvgFRupA/s960/100%20days%20of%20war%20in%20Ukraine.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VmxyswFpjS_tN7pdh0buMY163Y4VvuY37a6Hi86MDQnBsh-s-wbPvH5lywfJN5L-ngIGGVZ5Rb3EOcv-bsxUPnZqDc-Pp3_F9CQslA_o6jVaGrn9ah0m8_veV_Gy86i-ENRJExwkNzD5gsCste2zspiuEQgb22orE1AKSeam9KbM6mQFUvgFRupA/w200-h200/100%20days%20of%20war%20in%20Ukraine.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p>Severodonetsk is now obliterated. The whole city, gone. Since Putin's war crimes campaign began on February 24, 2022, all battles have come at a heavy price to civilian lives, infrastructure, hopes and dreams. Ukraine is being bombed to death into Putin's Mariupol, his Bucha, his Kherson. He is claiming victory over the wasteland he's created. </p><p>Putin's using every weapon in his arsenal: heavy artillery, long-range and ballistic missiles, illegal cluster bombs and hypersonic bombs, weapons of mass destruction, aimed indiscriminately at the places where people live, work, go to school, go to church, go to a hospital, celebrate their cultural heritage, walk and bike about their neighborhoods.</p><p>It's a form of murder. It's a Syrian style of Russian warfare, "to wipe everything off the face of the earth and then 'conquer' the ruins. A city of over 100,000 residents is now in rubble." (<b>EuroMaidan PR </b>and RPCV Harlen Rife, who is following the war closely, reporting). </p><div><div>Ukraine's request for longer-range rocket systems is in part driven by the need to prevent this destruction through counter-battery fire.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHr5ew19qkNGI3ov4X3TPBSMo0_GX8eVftJmMlkwFwgwahdLMTGWdXTfEJ_EF1fCau_hE7MgvL3rDCeN3bpTOpMkZlRqMsYbnD1PqD3MmU8twaxRVAeThiTQgJRX01DCg5XTTdcyyZwlbNKJuALmu6cTO9JweprSa09cVADBOq-YzirMy83RTrEBxL/s900/severodonetsk-ukraine-city-views-8.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="900" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHr5ew19qkNGI3ov4X3TPBSMo0_GX8eVftJmMlkwFwgwahdLMTGWdXTfEJ_EF1fCau_hE7MgvL3rDCeN3bpTOpMkZlRqMsYbnD1PqD3MmU8twaxRVAeThiTQgJRX01DCg5XTTdcyyZwlbNKJuALmu6cTO9JweprSa09cVADBOq-YzirMy83RTrEBxL/w200-h153/severodonetsk-ukraine-city-views-8.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Severodonetsk in Lugansk oblast <br />no more. 90% of the city destroyed.</span></td></tr></tbody></table> Biden is promising this aid. Will it arrive soon enough? Russia now occupies 20% of the country, according to President Zelensky. It's overwhelming.</div><div><p>The war won't stop until Putin is stopped. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoPNbW6UBazp41DgGlSbregQWLMTLy2QWjR1lTDbPHU5fZIITBXLo3EU-Tmtg2wW6PtznblS-jLBP85VxrsgYepY9sspOGNFhlQCwhBMqi_dTLnzFQ66DXtrpPbvUAU_WRvGds-lunzEUkg_a2zAh4PRI3zA1x10RIccSueOFPwt9G3LCa5YqSvC_/s960/Contemporary%20Ukrainian%20Artist%20Iryna%20Kolesnikove,%20bor%201975,%20In%20the%20Rhythm%20of%20the%20Music.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="710" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoPNbW6UBazp41DgGlSbregQWLMTLy2QWjR1lTDbPHU5fZIITBXLo3EU-Tmtg2wW6PtznblS-jLBP85VxrsgYepY9sspOGNFhlQCwhBMqi_dTLnzFQ66DXtrpPbvUAU_WRvGds-lunzEUkg_a2zAh4PRI3zA1x10RIccSueOFPwt9G3LCa5YqSvC_/s320/Contemporary%20Ukrainian%20Artist%20Iryna%20Kolesnikove,%20bor%201975,%20In%20the%20Rhythm%20of%20the%20Music.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;">Ukrainian artist Iryna Kolesnikova, <br />lives and works in Odessa</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">An emotional John Kirby, Pentagon spokesperson and retired Navy admiral, put it honestly and forthrightly at a recent press conference, when he admitted how hard it is to absorb the tragedy of Putin's lethal invasion:</span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"></span></p><blockquote><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"><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/AVvXsEi4Ab-j2DNndlNRfj3aewZBGLSnzyom3cn1LaCoSptF3CZRazOLWqh0W-ezKTVZ8JLLcEYEfrRXhHiCc8hB5QMzRmbDzocvWXO0fwtRAlkRxW_SOMrr9TzgbxchcVlt7CAG5Woe-atmleJ1sJvkguyzoIvNKOUS4Qe14tOlNNSvF7NpkTA8ITZI7qvU/s770/Odessa,%20Roman%20CHudnovsky4311619-HSC00001-7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="770" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ab-j2DNndlNRfj3aewZBGLSnzyom3cn1LaCoSptF3CZRazOLWqh0W-ezKTVZ8JLLcEYEfrRXhHiCc8hB5QMzRmbDzocvWXO0fwtRAlkRxW_SOMrr9TzgbxchcVlt7CAG5Woe-atmleJ1sJvkguyzoIvNKOUS4Qe14tOlNNSvF7NpkTA8ITZI7qvU/s320/Odessa,%20Roman%20CHudnovsky4311619-HSC00001-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;">Odessa, by Roman Chudnovsky, born 1965 in Kyiv.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></blockquote><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px;"><b></b></span></p><blockquote><b><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px;">"It’s hard to look at what Putin's doing in Ukraine, what his forces are doing in Ukraine, and think that any ethical, moral individual could justify that. It’s difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious, mature leader would do that....So I can’t talk to his psychology, but I think we can all speak to his depravity. It’s hard to square [Putin’s], let’s just call it what it is, his BS, that this is about Nazism....about protecting Russians in Ukraine...about defending Russian national interests, when none of them — none of them — were threatened by Ukraine,” Kirby added, while lightly pounding his fist on the podium./"It’s hard to square that rhetoric by what he’s actually doing inside Ukraine to innocent people: shot in the back of the head; hands tied behind their backs; women, pregnant women being killed; hospitals being bombed. I mean, it’s just unconscionable,” he said. “It’s just beyond me. (c</span><a href=" https://uacrisis.org/en/rosiyany-provodyat-masshtabnu-filtratsiyu-gromadyan-ukrayiny">risis.org/en/rosiyany-provodyat-masshtabnu-filtratsiyu-gromadyan-ukrayiny</a>)</b></blockquote><p></p><a href=" https://uacrisis.org/en/rosiyany-provodyat-masshtabnu-filtratsiyu-gromadyan-ukrayiny"></a><p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="732" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpqurc3mewgOKFRpb6aaAO6_sKz4_bVz_otyLzH3-5HQeqlVdlsezrWwy2RuOPtBscTQsN3e2UwfomARMQF9XlTJtb8olb7vn7myPQJiOXOcESNtoSlqpsBcWytYtLA1G1HSsMWpe_lAIG0jhHw4Lm2c20YybIsPGLDqLhV-pXTnoyHRzZt2SGT35/s320/Roman%20Chudnocskypainting-of-opera-theater-odessa-ukraine-vector-9863341.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="217" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Save Odessa. <br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Opera House by Roman Chudnovsky</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #2b00fe;">.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysychansk</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/20/russia-ukraine-war-severodonetsk-zelenskiy-says-donbas-hell<br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">https://kyivindependent.com/national/russia-destroys-ukraines-historic-heritage-steals-rare-collections-from-museums/. This also pains me, Russia's deliberate bombing of cultural and historic museums, theaters, Houses of Culture, collections and artifacts. Putin aims to destroy Ukrianian heritage and identity. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Harlan Rife Reports: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Ukrainians continue to request longer range precision rocket systems like HIMARS and MLRS. They want to disrupt Russian logistics and prevent advances like we are seeing in the Donbas. They want to push Russian artillery back so they cannot level whole towns as they have at Rubizhne, Popasna, and now Severodonetsk. They want to support their own infantry in liberating occupied territory. At present, they are outgunned. / </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chris Miller explains, "With artillery superiority, Russian forces are pounding Ukrainian troops and pulverizing everything else in their way with massive barrages around the clock in an effort to surround and capture strategic cities in the East of Ukraine, colloquially known as the Donbas. He quoted Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military government who said, “They are carpet-bombing us. The cities they attack are simply being erased from the face of the earth." </span></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-81457990981220728542022-05-25T17:41:00.000-04:002022-05-25T17:41:10.785-04:00Stuart Hodges Riordan, Tallahassee Artist <p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></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/AVvXsEgPuA7BHupJ_seW_tac96TzD3mq9jusGvHo_81_p1B8yg8MEWKBOddhXvSKcFc8gI8FVS8wQA6g62a9CiJjfza4xO5tMMXn3LrD_kb4UhPTFWgmSks-Ya30c-Ky4j6W66aMKI5FD3P3G8PG_OdWzz-S1vsDfiAzFR-6npdQ5gN14y9bfAu1vs3_sDz0/s1800/Stuart-Riordan-Down-by-the-Water-copy-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1377" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuA7BHupJ_seW_tac96TzD3mq9jusGvHo_81_p1B8yg8MEWKBOddhXvSKcFc8gI8FVS8wQA6g62a9CiJjfza4xO5tMMXn3LrD_kb4UhPTFWgmSks-Ya30c-Ky4j6W66aMKI5FD3P3G8PG_OdWzz-S1vsDfiAzFR-6npdQ5gN14y9bfAu1vs3_sDz0/w306-h400/Stuart-Riordan-Down-by-the-Water-copy-2.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking into the water, Stuart Hodges Riordan (c.1950-April 25, 2022) <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>What do you see when you look at this image of a Stuart Riordan painting? I see a highly stylized dramatic image of a muscular</span><span> woman in a billowing white gown, enveloping her, richly textured, in a classic Narcissistic pose. But who is she seeing in the mirror? The bright blue water holds the image of a child with floating letters that the strong figure seems to be deciphering. The strange bird at her back holds the key. The key to what? Not sure. Perhaps her younger self, some hidden sense of self? </span></span><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSzpeymJwnd_rUv5S4f5jxDrgWRVNB9C5mfWMbbc1xEXXNCtVcDxdYNc4hrt-osgWwIGRiZIz4bZ70HMXTlVBWoEPEWTgkTt1Y-V6_BkdQLgFWZMEX2iyk66jSo70F2vNUH_t-x38vyd02BIFqz23ddmFnmj50dPTbXEddS5yHJSUgsIUdIVh5llf/s2163/StuartRiordan-Your-baby-aint-sweet-like-mine-copy-2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2163" data-original-width="1662" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSzpeymJwnd_rUv5S4f5jxDrgWRVNB9C5mfWMbbc1xEXXNCtVcDxdYNc4hrt-osgWwIGRiZIz4bZ70HMXTlVBWoEPEWTgkTt1Y-V6_BkdQLgFWZMEX2iyk66jSo70F2vNUH_t-x38vyd02BIFqz23ddmFnmj50dPTbXEddS5yHJSUgsIUdIVh5llf/w308-h400/StuartRiordan-Your-baby-aint-sweet-like-mine-copy-2.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Is this Stuart Riordan's re-creation of<br /> Lizzy Borden, the 19th-century axe murderer,<br />eventually acquitted of murdering her parents? Is<br />this powerful woman seeking revenge, about to kill<br />someone, perhaps her own demons? </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I usually discover artists on internet art sites or through postings of friends on social media. Then, my curiosity aroused, I google their names, do some research, study the images. I'm especially drawn to the art of women and African Americans whose works are hidden in the shadows of the Western canon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This Tallahassee artist comes through my sister Andy, who is a friend of the artist's sister Sally. Sally's become my dear friend too. But I never met Stuart, whom I am getting to know through some of her published paintings. She died recently and Andy sent me her obituary. I was moved to dig a little deeper. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I must say her paintings fascinate me, and confuse me. I'm not sure what I'm looking at. I see strong women, tough, in various poses, but I'm not sure what to make of them. There are elements of Renaissance splendor, in the intricate folds and textures of her dresses, "exquisitely sumptuous...a sense of grandiose and epic scope," as one art critic put it (note 6). There's also some Spanish exuberance and lots of surrealist images. These paintings are personal, internal, deeply symbolic, perhaps depicting aspects of the artist herself. I haven't seen many of her other works, her smaller paintings, but these popular, larger works are stunning and evocative. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Stuart Hodges Riordan was born in Lynchburg Virginia, grew up in Fairfax, Virginia, married and had two children. She seems to have had a strong sense of her family tree. After several dramatic life changes, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>travelling the world, living in exotic places like Morocco, learning the cello in Moldova, collecting dirt from various places to use in her paintings, s</span><span>he landed in Tallahassee, Florida (notes 1 & 3). I'm not sure if it was a smooth landing or not, in the larger sense of the term. But as noted, this is where her sister Sally lives, and that's how I learned about Stuart Riordan, the artist. Stuart filled her life with her art and music, perhaps marched to a different drummer. Perhaps her oeuvre is her biography, although I have seen only a small part of it. I'd like to see more, her smaller works, her other visions, works in various mediums. I love this one, published by John Dos Passos Coggen (note 1). <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/AVvXsEgBnikbZnQGExUj9ek1iZM_ZLqLCq2T6w4nVoSgsDaUNnlCAcUZEDCKbv_hBoFdANfvFa7sE82-DDIHobqMMQ_mgExZeAOdV3EV01uzCuLkXhUVNG8596cOuzhUruky9n-X5rTyykv9oXeeD9kg5VO0FjMrqntLQZ2QhRg3uTALeWHBLB8nY2nm8UR_/s610/Riordan%20cropped-Palma-de-Majorca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="610" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnikbZnQGExUj9ek1iZM_ZLqLCq2T6w4nVoSgsDaUNnlCAcUZEDCKbv_hBoFdANfvFa7sE82-DDIHobqMMQ_mgExZeAOdV3EV01uzCuLkXhUVNG8596cOuzhUruky9n-X5rTyykv9oXeeD9kg5VO0FjMrqntLQZ2QhRg3uTALeWHBLB8nY2nm8UR_/w400-h136/Riordan%20cropped-Palma-de-Majorca.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stuart Riordan's lovely painting of Palma-de-Majorca.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">An art critic, writing about an exhibit she had at the LeMoyne Art Center<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnlxaM1CeYK-PTU9zDQPX8jWc20tU963-Oh2XpMzlUJ6jmjl1Bz99HItqPst0o1UK-4vmtfm4i4AP2xcjpXPHMtASsLhQ2Z0oXQB1da66Pz9nKoy8c4OEga8z-yw70Fx6DQGYkEitONlKNv8ZBxeSQBqt86THkGEaOTC2QGQK54o454-TpxH-PS-s/s960/636608706944309916-Stuart-9.webp" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnlxaM1CeYK-PTU9zDQPX8jWc20tU963-Oh2XpMzlUJ6jmjl1Bz99HItqPst0o1UK-4vmtfm4i4AP2xcjpXPHMtASsLhQ2Z0oXQB1da66Pz9nKoy8c4OEga8z-yw70Fx6DQGYkEitONlKNv8ZBxeSQBqt86THkGEaOTC2QGQK54o454-TpxH-PS-s/s320/636608706944309916-Stuart-9.webp" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Is she scuba diving here, <br />getting her dog?</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;"> in Tallahassee in 2018, remarked that Riordan's paintings reminded him of Caraveggio and deVinci "with the dram</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">a of deep darks and blinding lights called Chiaroscuro...and also Rene Magritte and his surreal references with the impossible poses of her figures as they fly through space or descend as angels onto airport landings." (note 3)</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">Stuart Riordan's art takes us on flights of fancy int</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #303030;">o the souls of mysterious women and places, some mythological, some super realistic, all full of rich textures and fascinating symbolism. Her women are physically strong, adventurous, some angry, some curious, all larger than-life, at least in the images I've seen. It's an intriguing journey.</span></span></p><p><br /></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/AVvXsEh7oaF5VfLBIVyMmkXf3pUqq8oyi_Sff187m2uaPG7xg-yLJve9E8iZd2siwipxnXJpuFuZMQ6Li2Qj5BpgpWkNa_r9m-dzXgMjeG8vLxw1n3fL5mPVKugrdw7vRt7J3uvzHtI7g8hvoTv_dFsuAza04rn18gekTDZYcC5H1vJcSAH-ozK_IOivsopO/s4368/636607956551705989-Stuart-8.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2468" data-original-width="4368" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oaF5VfLBIVyMmkXf3pUqq8oyi_Sff187m2uaPG7xg-yLJve9E8iZd2siwipxnXJpuFuZMQ6Li2Qj5BpgpWkNa_r9m-dzXgMjeG8vLxw1n3fL5mPVKugrdw7vRt7J3uvzHtI7g8hvoTv_dFsuAza04rn18gekTDZYcC5H1vJcSAH-ozK_IOivsopO/w400-h226/636607956551705989-Stuart-8.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good example of Riordan's fusion of the <span style="background-color: white; color: #303030; text-align: left;">Chiaroscuro</span> style and Magritte's surrealism,and Salvador Dali's too. This strong woman by<br /> the sea is surrounded by musical notes. Is the music making her sad? </td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sources:</span></p><p>1. <a href="http://www.johndospassoscoggin.com/artists-and-innovators/artists-innovators-stuart-riordan-painter/">http://www.johndospass</a><a href="http://www.johndospassoscoggin.com/artists-and-innovators/artists-innovators-stuart-riordan-painter/">oscoggin.com/artists-and-innovators/artists-innovators-stuart-riordan-painter/</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://m.facebook.com/SFAUniversitySeries/photos/a.240349806175184/240355949507903/?type=3">https://m.facebook.com/SFAUniversitySeries/photos/a.240349806175184/240355949507903/?type=3</a></p><p>3. <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/2018/05/05/lemoyne-presents-artist-stuart-riordans-first-tallahassee-exhibit-six-years/570904002/">https://www.tallahassee.com/story/00000/2018/05/05/lemoyne-presents-artist-stuart-riordans-first-tallahassee-exhibit-six-years/570904002/</a></p><p>4. <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/obituaries/tad065380">https://www.tallahassee.com/obituaries/tad065380</a></p><p>5. <a href="https://www.tallahassee.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2022/04/29/tallahassee-artist-stuart-riordan-through-years/9576445002/">https://www.tallahassee.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2022/04/29/tallahassee-artist-stuart-riordan-through-years/9576445002/</a></p><p>6.<a href=" https://www.sfasu.edu/about-sfa/newsroom/2015/cole-art-center-exhibition-feature-work-florida-artist-riordan."> https://www.sfasu.edu/about-sfa/newsroom/2015/cole-art-center-exhibition-feature-work-florida-artist-riordan.</a> About an exhibition of Riordan's work entitled "Stuart Riordan: Sardines & Oranges," which was held at the Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches, TX, featuring Riordan's renowned paintings of the human form, according to John Handley, director of galleries at SFA. "Riordan has said of her work, "The human body has more gestures, mystery and intrigue, and everybody can relate to it. I think Socrates said an artist does his stuff but is not 'there' when doing it, and only after it is done can the artist formulate ideas of the work and viewers formulate their ideas." Quoting abstract expressionist artist Willem de Kooning, she said, "'It's all in the flesh' is what de Kooning said, and he was right."</p><p>Tallahassee Democrat writer and columnist Mark Hinson wrote: "At first glance, Riordan's accomplished human figure paintings seem formal and even neo-traditional - far away from, for example, de Kooning's 'Women' series. But on closer inspection the viewer notices her attention to the gestural aspects of the painting - the swirls of color, the layering of paint, the strokes that have been created by using the other end of the brush, of the fractured sentences and phrases that run across the work as if yanked out of some larger sequence." Hinson notes that Riordan mixes her own paints, which are made from dirt, clay, pumice and dry pigments imported from distant locations such as Tasmania and Australia.</p><p>7. <a href="#">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-19th-century-axe-murderer-lizzie-borden-was-found-not-guilty-180972707/</a><br /><br /><br /></p><blockquote class="yiv6714038162" style="background-color: white; border-left-style: none; color: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;" type="cite"><div class="yiv6714038162"><div class="yiv6714038162system yiv6714038162exported" id="yiv6714038162article" style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="yiv6714038162page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;"><br class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;" /><br class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;" /><br class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;" /></p></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote class="yiv6714038162" style="background-color: white; border-left-style: none; color: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;" type="cite"><div class="yiv6714038162"><div class="yiv6714038162system yiv6714038162exported" id="yiv6714038162article" style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="yiv6714038162page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;"><br class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;" /><br class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;" /></p></div></div></div></blockquote><br /><div><blockquote class="yiv6714038162" style="border-left-style: none; margin: inherit; padding: inherit;" type="cite"><div class="yiv6714038162"><div class="yiv6714038162system yiv6714038162exported" id="yiv6714038162article" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="yiv6714038162page" style="max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p class="yiv6714038162" style="max-width: 100%;"><br /></p></div></div></div></blockquote></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-47235165379743103872022-05-21T18:53:00.003-04:002022-05-22T10:39:59.071-04:00Nanette Carter, Artist, Expressing the Complex Balancing Acts of Contemporary Life<p> </p><p></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/AVvXsEj5ErkScP6gNhOWSaannZq5d6oanzl9iFABRcze-h1YPYczaz9Z4T98wDgU2kOmKaJHf15IomNiAYp7cXe1q8ev18vhXYtOxYAavq9J60oWSCmR4HdRtxI59oiy22QvOEt73UXrRfv9WrxZ-nm-txMWnpOWx7i6uhBsqC5bdsbQQo2LAa49fgaN02yG/s640/Nanette%20Carter,%20f%20artsy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="640" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ErkScP6gNhOWSaannZq5d6oanzl9iFABRcze-h1YPYczaz9Z4T98wDgU2kOmKaJHf15IomNiAYp7cXe1q8ev18vhXYtOxYAavq9J60oWSCmR4HdRtxI59oiy22QvOEt73UXrRfv9WrxZ-nm-txMWnpOWx7i6uhBsqC5bdsbQQo2LAa49fgaN02yG/w400-h316/Nanette%20Carter,%20f%20artsy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Nanette Carter, Contemporary, "Cantilevered."<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">"Working with intangible ideas around contemporary issues has been my motivating force. Reading the news about different developments taking place around the world has turned me into a chronicler of our time. How to present these ideas in an abstract vocabulary of form, line, color and texture is the quest. These are the challenges and creative instinct that intrigue me most."</div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8FJqHHN-3-jIjTtB2LulIC96UepQmTrVR-dK1N11VaSBDuETws2edCwafQqcrHZ7NZWwMofBqBwEbqoxDJLf_qO0qMTwL7h_BDOCBguAREfKSIWW3HKoWhCnt61KAhsZe6npFjsMK-2in5GF6BESpF0HhkgTEuvQdVgc-cBq2yu7iWx4tPjX2-bWV/s350/Carter%20shape%20shifting88d2a94c-e940-4b47-bc4b-329e685585e4_1_105_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="350" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8FJqHHN-3-jIjTtB2LulIC96UepQmTrVR-dK1N11VaSBDuETws2edCwafQqcrHZ7NZWwMofBqBwEbqoxDJLf_qO0qMTwL7h_BDOCBguAREfKSIWW3HKoWhCnt61KAhsZe6npFjsMK-2in5GF6BESpF0HhkgTEuvQdVgc-cBq2yu7iWx4tPjX2-bWV/w200-h186/Carter%20shape%20shifting88d2a94c-e940-4b47-bc4b-329e685585e4_1_105_c.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>Nanette Carolyn Carter, born January 30, 1954, in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, is an African-American artist and college educator living and working in New York City. She is best known for her collages and assemblages with paper, canvas, and Mylar. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The minute I saw the art, posted by my artist friend Peter Stebbins in Washington, DC and a friend of my late friend Lily Pilgrim, I was intrigued with the shapes, colors, composition. Some images looked like art teetering on the edge. I felt the relevance.</span></p><p><span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-size: large;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmhgeY2h7b9g5HvD3McAqymTbJ7EM6MghXh4aDBa-K7aiPpTdLSVVg6QV2HU70IPZW3z9vT3DoSAdurK_M_Y975ke2XlJ5r7U6ir_oqrsbJf-CNOlALcrOm3aATVTnWvja2zEn6sTE5AUZxoXEVFl57UlQHsmRB2QNyuzHiVFOsqTSnWPO8ZIbK1w/s338/ALvn%20Loving%20art39197af4-8e58-4200-9328-4760de94fbc8_338.webp" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmhgeY2h7b9g5HvD3McAqymTbJ7EM6MghXh4aDBa-K7aiPpTdLSVVg6QV2HU70IPZW3z9vT3DoSAdurK_M_Y975ke2XlJ5r7U6ir_oqrsbJf-CNOlALcrOm3aATVTnWvja2zEn6sTE5AUZxoXEVFl57UlQHsmRB2QNyuzHiVFOsqTSnWPO8ZIbK1w/s320/ALvn%20Loving%20art39197af4-8e58-4200-9328-4760de94fbc8_338.webp" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Al Loving, Abstract Expressionist, born<br />in Detroit, mentored Nanette Carver.</td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="font-size: medium;">Carter's work embraces the brilliant African-American abstract art </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">tradition created by the likes o</span><span style="font-size: large;">f </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Alma Thomas, Romare Bearden, Sam Gilliam, and Alvin Loving, Jr, her friend and mentor (note 4). These are some of my favorite artists of all time. The influence of Al Loving (1935-2005) is especially clear and direct, as seen in the Loving silkscreen to the right. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Carter got her undergraduate degree at Oberlin, where she first began exhibiting in the mid-1970s, and art degrees at the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She spent time studying in Italy and won a Fulbright scholarship to Japan, where she studied under well-know Japanese woodcut printers. I can see that influence in her art. She taught at Pratt for 20 years, a popular and beloved teacher whose influence is far-reaching. She is now retired from teaching, devoted to her art full-time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CI4iJRAS--SZfDM3P5hpotxUTuB0mlnKnp4nKH_1Npe08JIa8Ypf0NRfKn9OM-ToQrwQPJ--gS3IFFwSETpVBYBaJky93f3pLmRyCPQSkm3CKHWZm9axroyR7rJVV1VIBCl8z3Rvr58jU3L0P2i634kihKMBa7gozse_Vp4JqJyMlAP9Na_icc5C/s1471/Nanete%20Carter.com4687478_-Cantilevered-62.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1471" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CI4iJRAS--SZfDM3P5hpotxUTuB0mlnKnp4nKH_1Npe08JIa8Ypf0NRfKn9OM-ToQrwQPJ--gS3IFFwSETpVBYBaJky93f3pLmRyCPQSkm3CKHWZm9axroyR7rJVV1VIBCl8z3Rvr58jU3L0P2i634kihKMBa7gozse_Vp4JqJyMlAP9Na_icc5C/s320/Nanete%20Carter.com4687478_-Cantilevered-62.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56jN8oh3gNPHSMuXwm3jiIbDLnQRkYAptBUs63MOqa9qPAaNHc-IM1F5Bfqkr7ZjK7X5jde-2q3iS0F3R6G3VkqYW4YxEDDECQ5e_yox0sti9rThIsdGe1eXNs0m3n947A6SLrIhreas8vi1q0-IRapuB4rJ3po6dAI84ADIgmieu4ats51-kDire/s1067/Artblog-Nanette-Carter-Cantilvered61-800x1067.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56jN8oh3gNPHSMuXwm3jiIbDLnQRkYAptBUs63MOqa9qPAaNHc-IM1F5Bfqkr7ZjK7X5jde-2q3iS0F3R6G3VkqYW4YxEDDECQ5e_yox0sti9rThIsdGe1eXNs0m3n947A6SLrIhreas8vi1q0-IRapuB4rJ3po6dAI84ADIgmieu4ats51-kDire/s320/Artblog-Nanette-Carter-Cantilvered61-800x1067.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Her exhibition titled "Cantilevered" expresses her point of view and her perspective. It stems from the architectural term "Form Follows Function," which she translated into her own unique art forms. The shapes she uses inform the viewer of her intention and are choreographed in a way that tells her story, she says. "Since I have been working with conceptual abstractions for decades I have seen the correlation between this architectural idea and semiotics in the work. "Semiotics is the study of signs, symbols, shapes to communicate something. Once I've decided on a theme, I begin to think about how my shapes, colours, line and textures can best portray these concerns. How can I compose this imagery into a universal language." </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEnaTVNqOJJYfCnlZHNHI5AyVBjnEiZSbbh6gGWWaeUti6M9bxK8wHFlZXr3YFZvevZCWdTxe1Pj5-KvZrWUAa9g64vS5m7ZdKLoZY9zUfiTjdfSKbaEBTR0ShSJYtiB_r5LsRq7o-cvcv-XlKisGGaDV0qbQA91Stk2978SOXEvaL9THEeWomvMG/s350/towson%20U%20Arts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="350" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEnaTVNqOJJYfCnlZHNHI5AyVBjnEiZSbbh6gGWWaeUti6M9bxK8wHFlZXr3YFZvevZCWdTxe1Pj5-KvZrWUAa9g64vS5m7ZdKLoZY9zUfiTjdfSKbaEBTR0ShSJYtiB_r5LsRq7o-cvcv-XlKisGGaDV0qbQA91Stk2978SOXEvaL9THEeWomvMG/s320/towson%20U%20Arts.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Carter uses the term cantilevered "</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>as a metaphor for living in the 21st century." I associate the term with Frank Lloyd Wright. A cantilever, Carter explains, "is when a strong horizontal structure is supported only at one end. It's a balancing feat." It's like life itself in this century of social media, divisive politics, senseless violence, a pandemic, climate change. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>"I feel we are all trying to maintain our balance and sanity."</span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>So it appears in many of Carter's works that "the shapes are teetering, there's a sense of tension." In other works "it seems that somehow the structure is withstanding the weight." (Note 3) </span></span><span> I can see how the term "cantilever" fits the precarious political insanity of our time, the unnerving ebb and flows, the egregious injustice, the ever-changing realities of a</span><span> democracy on the precipice, a</span><span> world turned upside down.</span></span><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><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/AVvXsEhuja0NweGzzhOefU2G-pBA_xH_0geK6Yx7kLiVhWQD-acSMYIsvhb7YC57HI5aXL5wvKGU_Gjc84pBLDbzmqMFTMBCnAPBALE7CXVnCBHZBsbfdSwlFGvH7YRP5dQNivDsMyk74QcOvy1ne8L00KiqmPyim1EMN1hfayJ8utUNCzS2RR6duSbf0IcS/s857/Shifting%20Perspetives%20%231,%202022ncarter_3_15_22_01_f.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="857" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuja0NweGzzhOefU2G-pBA_xH_0geK6Yx7kLiVhWQD-acSMYIsvhb7YC57HI5aXL5wvKGU_Gjc84pBLDbzmqMFTMBCnAPBALE7CXVnCBHZBsbfdSwlFGvH7YRP5dQNivDsMyk74QcOvy1ne8L00KiqmPyim1EMN1hfayJ8utUNCzS2RR6duSbf0IcS/s320/Shifting%20Perspetives%20%231,%202022ncarter_3_15_22_01_f.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shifting Perspectives #1, 2022, recent works now at the Berry Campbell Gallery,<br />which is the exclusive representative of Nanette Carter's work..</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Ed1s2lLPQD1rsCxcH5h2-uDtBu8Y-FCIzZkzL5GaVvTjCNljj9YlkJDhJ3oWou81X3T0xA6uQDc5Rds9YWJ0ESN0v97L01lPFFg8PM-MIEhWEylbybo5xhzu-hOA91nHFx89LlF7GVC1IQroXlxyYb8aaV90-sTU_RomloXgj0XAIyrUqz9aIZqO/s236/shape%20shiftingdownload%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="236" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Ed1s2lLPQD1rsCxcH5h2-uDtBu8Y-FCIzZkzL5GaVvTjCNljj9YlkJDhJ3oWou81X3T0xA6uQDc5Rds9YWJ0ESN0v97L01lPFFg8PM-MIEhWEylbybo5xhzu-hOA91nHFx89LlF7GVC1IQroXlxyYb8aaV90-sTU_RomloXgj0XAIyrUqz9aIZqO/s1600/shape%20shiftingdownload%20(1).jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br />A new exhibition of her recent work is now at the Berry Campbell Gallery in New York City, entitled "Shape Shifting." It carries forward many of the same themes of "Cantilevered." Life is a balancing act. It is signature Nanette Carter.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Can I get to New York to see it during this busy period in my life, selling my house, looking for another place to live? When I get back from Florida, I'm going to think about it. Nanette Carter's art is elegant, intellectual, profoundly creative in concept and execution. I can see how it enriches our mind and our senses at the same time. I think we can all feel our own shifting shapes in her art. </span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgem9H9S1WQRnAiVu6K6ESDVrNhIP3iUOgdB94-Ujh20JJpKjYgBPUi3z8ZQhM9j2PaPqCQ5_jgojqSLPHqAiLPubyzt7yDuxfdKaBk7uyNUqUvrAgNpE7PfxcbBOkDaijdKGkzTp66YdJ5YouPlFEy7ZgDXA3-G67nKpBLyWYjznaLvDdd6YwI6-BY/s1280/NCarter%20at%20Berry%20Campbell%20shapeshifting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgem9H9S1WQRnAiVu6K6ESDVrNhIP3iUOgdB94-Ujh20JJpKjYgBPUi3z8ZQhM9j2PaPqCQ5_jgojqSLPHqAiLPubyzt7yDuxfdKaBk7uyNUqUvrAgNpE7PfxcbBOkDaijdKGkzTp66YdJ5YouPlFEy7ZgDXA3-G67nKpBLyWYjznaLvDdd6YwI6-BY/s320/NCarter%20at%20Berry%20Campbell%20shapeshifting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;">Sources </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1. </span><a href=" https://nanettecarter.com/" style="font-size: large;"> https://nanettecarter.com/</a></div><div><p>2. <a href=" https://www.theartblog.org/2022/04/nanette-carters-journey-as-artist-educator-and-anonymous-was-a-woman-award-winner/"> https://www.theartblog.org/2022/04/nanette-carters-journey-as-artist-educator-and-anonymous-was-a-woman-award-winner/</a></p><p>3. <a href="https://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibitions/forms-follow-function-the-art-of-nanette-carter/ ">https://www.hunterdonartmuseum.org/exhibitions/forms-follow-function-the-art-of-nanette-carter/ </a>Current exhibit. Carter describes her work. </p><div>4.<a href=" https://www.berrycampbell.com/exhibition/143"> https://www.berrycampbell.com/exhibition/143</a>, Nanette Carter's series, "Shape Shifting," on view at Berry Campbell Gallery, NYC. My friend Peter Stebbins keeps me up-to-date.</div><div><br /></div><div>5.<a href=".https://www.galleriesnow.net/shows/nanette-carter-shape-shifting/">.https://www.galleriesnow.net/shows/nanette-carter-shape-shifting/</a></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-49382411911702673162022-04-28T09:58:00.000-04:002022-04-28T09:58:32.209-04:00Faith Ringgold, Artist, Triumphant<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b></b></span></span></p><p><br /></p><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/AVvXsEjrAMmkOB3lnhzWEhd_FU1CuKTSHutUHVm1hZhUAwlWVIGOczuiPAoSbTAAmoCMtHA89YBX7Luinmk6CFsxYHqZqqlxaYBbsXlmNXJCvkAFVDQXbQvFv0vetw3lP-e5ve6H6v-9uiAvYZYcmJtCnnS5WgsVWrjjpdGX-70PomyERFewWbRXbInQJYj8/s768/4_Ringgold-Groovin-High-768x_at%20Crocker%20AM%20in%20Sacramento%202018%20exhibit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="768" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrAMmkOB3lnhzWEhd_FU1CuKTSHutUHVm1hZhUAwlWVIGOczuiPAoSbTAAmoCMtHA89YBX7Luinmk6CFsxYHqZqqlxaYBbsXlmNXJCvkAFVDQXbQvFv0vetw3lP-e5ve6H6v-9uiAvYZYcmJtCnnS5WgsVWrjjpdGX-70PomyERFewWbRXbInQJYj8/w400-h271/4_Ringgold-Groovin-High-768x_at%20Crocker%20AM%20in%20Sacramento%202018%20exhibit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Faith Ringgold, Groovin', at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, 2018 Exhibit</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">"When I see my work from all the different series and media assembled together, I feel a great deal of satisfaction that I was able to produce so much and that I had the freedom to find my own voice, against all odds. It’s deeply gratifying — I hope my story can be an inspiration for all artists</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Faith Ringgold</span></b></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">"At 91, Faith Ringgold is having a big moment. Six decades of her art are on view in a retrospective exhibition at the New Museum in New York titled American People, paintings, sculptures, works on fabric, and the story quilts, a mix of writing, painting, and quilting, for which she is best known." Jeffrey Brown (note 1 below)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="border: 0px; color: #161f2d; font-family: Akkurat, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXUIP2WHH82xHoDo34m_GnHCCf65MbEqU0nHZwj2XqVrp241_RO57kCLjyPfmtG1-P0iJ1l4s_PFK_K0FQsrl6na_GvyANfN50GErupk_fE2T74x66bB8Zk-gaZVVnCIPmRIr4plvmH1eHI4eJW1sXU1gZsx-wwloGq5e9kUQ3tx3mQTUVRjN1obs/s848/Faith-Ringgold,%20Story%20Quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="848" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWXUIP2WHH82xHoDo34m_GnHCCf65MbEqU0nHZwj2XqVrp241_RO57kCLjyPfmtG1-P0iJ1l4s_PFK_K0FQsrl6na_GvyANfN50GErupk_fE2T74x66bB8Zk-gaZVVnCIPmRIr4plvmH1eHI4eJW1sXU1gZsx-wwloGq5e9kUQ3tx3mQTUVRjN1obs/w400-h266/Faith-Ringgold,%20Story%20Quilt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: small;">Faith Ringgold, The Sunflower Quilting Bee, one of her famous story quilts.<br /></span><br /></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuffpSd972ylrI1hH_WLNGyDVt212qdy1P7IfE-Fb1jsRgd4V8sZZLferenphdHtZcYmA-jdRHASRnRx2klFuToWjrWnGCodH9BOp1QEGpXcIF_5nImSgBsEJ4sO5udwFCGpW2w0jW4hOUAKtWZk-UZjBYCgZwsjWMtf4fkkS7a7ReXfHyvXbMWRH2/s500/Ringgold's%20Memoirs9780822335641-us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuffpSd972ylrI1hH_WLNGyDVt212qdy1P7IfE-Fb1jsRgd4V8sZZLferenphdHtZcYmA-jdRHASRnRx2klFuToWjrWnGCodH9BOp1QEGpXcIF_5nImSgBsEJ4sO5udwFCGpW2w0jW4hOUAKtWZk-UZjBYCgZwsjWMtf4fkkS7a7ReXfHyvXbMWRH2/s320/Ringgold's%20Memoirs9780822335641-us.jpg" width="267" /></a></span></div><span><br />Faith Ringgold's roots go back to Harlem, where she was born in 1930 and became a talented artist of the late Harlem Renaissance, a painter, quilter, mixed media sculpture, performance artist, writer, teacher. She went to City College of New York (CCNY), travelled in Europe and Africa, made waves in the 1960s Civil Rights movement and Anti-Vietnam War protests. It was during this time she created her first political paintings. She moved toward sculpture, fabric art, and mixed media, establishing her voice and her legacy in the 1970s and 1980s until today. She wrote several books, including wonderful art books for children, and an autobiography,<i><b> "We Flew Over the Bridge"</b></i> (Duke U Press, 2005/1995)</span></div><p></p>"Recording history through her art," that's how Faith Ringgold views her oeuvre over time. And she did it her way, a pioneer in using a variety of mediums to tell what she saw, a pioneer in how she told the stories of her experiences, how she felt, a unique perspective. .<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/AVvXsEi7piob3zLBZe76-o6m4ZWZw9apmhyxDjRM16ZKj7vYbKZRgbRXwXRgRmINftLaguEQSgZrPtRqie-ABQ-ZWrbdnNwn7JAV9YayGHjXh3Xhv4iAwByQeNq5vJBbJdxRbjOQE2V1ENZEMauNVEkicTMmJz8ANwXKyjqk9Gjjme2TW-pb_Hoh0dLDhJ02/s500/Dancing%20at%20the%20Louvre,%20Her%20French%20COllection%20and%20other%20Story%20QuiltsF9780520214309-us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="466" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7piob3zLBZe76-o6m4ZWZw9apmhyxDjRM16ZKj7vYbKZRgbRXwXRgRmINftLaguEQSgZrPtRqie-ABQ-ZWrbdnNwn7JAV9YayGHjXh3Xhv4iAwByQeNq5vJBbJdxRbjOQE2V1ENZEMauNVEkicTMmJz8ANwXKyjqk9Gjjme2TW-pb_Hoh0dLDhJ02/w373-h400/Dancing%20at%20the%20Louvre,%20Her%20French%20COllection%20and%20other%20Story%20QuiltsF9780520214309-us.jpg" width="373" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this! </td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yGt1yva3u5aHN7NpqjGT3HJXF30aOYzf3iazeq7tJPUTPF02e91rO-VgrumDMg5_XxIVkIoe12MY2rin1dWSGzEJQ9sHBFBEDfR_C3ixYn_2fedBsY0l8itsF_Ex8HOfDVPcyDdOtlet7kGUYi6XQBbqrSkUP5VRINmlC2-mKWKtfNxmQb3EsnRS/s640/lRinggold,%20Jazz%20series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="493" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yGt1yva3u5aHN7NpqjGT3HJXF30aOYzf3iazeq7tJPUTPF02e91rO-VgrumDMg5_XxIVkIoe12MY2rin1dWSGzEJQ9sHBFBEDfR_C3ixYn_2fedBsY0l8itsF_Ex8HOfDVPcyDdOtlet7kGUYi6XQBbqrSkUP5VRINmlC2-mKWKtfNxmQb3EsnRS/s320/lRinggold,%20Jazz%20series.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nigeria, Africa!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This retrospective exhibit is at the New Museum in NYC until June 2022. I hope I can get there to see it. The Artistic Director, Massimilano Gioni, says of the artist: "She's opening doors and windows and making the house of art much more complex and hospitable. The great thing about seeing this work together, seeing 60 years of this work, is you understand how many times Faith Ringgold was right before her time."<div><br /></div><div>Sources:.<br /> 1. <a href="#">https://artscanvas.org/arts-culture/artist-faith-ringgolds-lifes-work-celebrated-in-new-york-exhibit?</a>Great interview with Faith Ringgold on Judy Woodruff's PBS News Hour, by Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport and Allison Thoet.<div><br /></div><div>2.<a href=" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Ringgold"> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Ringgold</a></div><div><br /></div><div>3. <a href="https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/faith-ringgold">https://www.selvedge.org/blogs/selvedge/faith-ringgold</a>, by Dr. Catherine Harper. <br /><br /></div></div></blockquote></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-12634007711544790792022-04-11T15:32:00.001-04:002022-04-11T15:32:45.190-04:00Odessa: In Putin's Sights with his new General Dvornikov, the Butcher of Syria <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><br /><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/AVvXsEjcAf2i9jTR6Meb779F8RDcEuftgPejGmmL66yIlMCpf1iEXhF-qvRtcFkzjIYP68ZqO3pSbesd7nobCH_FxGz5m9STLmBhOdwOxVuyqP-zcpz7I_uhvdQB18J5kS3Po4bqKpvLT8XsoNhzTK2BB_apyO8aohnC9t7SL9cEU6r2pzED2GgSZ3DTJN32/s1280/Odessa%20Market%20organizes%20against%20Putin%20feb%202022.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAf2i9jTR6Meb779F8RDcEuftgPejGmmL66yIlMCpf1iEXhF-qvRtcFkzjIYP68ZqO3pSbesd7nobCH_FxGz5m9STLmBhOdwOxVuyqP-zcpz7I_uhvdQB18J5kS3Po4bqKpvLT8XsoNhzTK2BB_apyO8aohnC9t7SL9cEU6r2pzED2GgSZ3DTJN32/s320/Odessa%20Market%20organizes%20against%20Putin%20feb%202022.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odessa is preparing for RU attacks. Intel says it's coming as Putin's eastern front ramps up. </td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSL2D-H4fsX6dMIiINaHihGF9NxrBdrwWrvz71mswfe7S-V0RCKfWy2NIaZMrUt6k2hcr_U8BgzfuqKICT1dGZWXUsFz7vHlBULFrJYfd4mXoJhPhMeNhMJNf8SGChZR1uR9GmPUhccjSXr8ntx5wvnuKVz-IjuZa941k8jgs2jVl8M0Y8gkkkWmOq/s540/Adobe%20tock%20photo%20Odessa360_F_269219647_WyLRC4b1ivlk161yKPSclCL0SFEDJL7g.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="540" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSL2D-H4fsX6dMIiINaHihGF9NxrBdrwWrvz71mswfe7S-V0RCKfWy2NIaZMrUt6k2hcr_U8BgzfuqKICT1dGZWXUsFz7vHlBULFrJYfd4mXoJhPhMeNhMJNf8SGChZR1uR9GmPUhccjSXr8ntx5wvnuKVz-IjuZa941k8jgs2jVl8M0Y8gkkkWmOq/w320-h213/Adobe%20tock%20photo%20Odessa360_F_269219647_WyLRC4b1ivlk161yKPSclCL0SFEDJL7g.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">I think Odessa holds a special place in Putin's twisted mind. And it is now in imminent danger of his brutality. A massive naval squadron sits in the Black Sea blockading the beautiful port city, awaiting Putin's word to unload their lethal weapons. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">The apocalyptic scenes uncovered in Bucha, in Chernigov, Kherson, Mariupol, war crimes that have horrified the world, will play out in Odessa in time, unless the Western allies help Ukraine repel them. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Putin's paved the way to Odessa with his earlier assaults on southern Ukrainian cities. Today, the world awaits his campaign to annihilate the Donbas. His new general, Alexander Dvornikov, known as the Butcher of Syria for his unspeakable war crimes there, for his "utter disregard for the laws of war," is more than ready to carry out Putin's orders. An 8-mile holocaust convoy loaded with weapons is headed to Sloviansk, the platform for Putin's eastern and southern campaign. Train stations filled with terrified refugees will be easy targets everywhere, as will all evacuation routes, apartment buildings and other civilian targets. Zelenskyi warns this offensive will be worse than World War II. This has to be a red line for NATO and the western alliance. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Odessa is the Ukrainian city created by Catherine the Great in the 1790s, with a lustful eye for dominion over all of Ukraine, then the bread basket of Europe. She also ordered the creation of Dnipro, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Sevastopol on Crimea. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Putin has invaded all of them, destroyed most of them, all front lines to the Black Sea and to the critical seaport of Odessa. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU82iEAC6HhIO9H7Mx-Ya-ry51FrpDBd8GCzRUh-Q-xtJcDRMjWOX3YqUeRbEyy_cg8VcNAiHyEMYk3vNUJ0Jl5NKcp1soBy3ywkHRey4QJCKFLofQ9-M6bs_pXMrDNmaOIHe4bwOylcrSFWPk_Nhd5X-srSrd0Xm--fAQLG7K-Ku0lllcWJBlkubb/s1280/_124000056_ukraine_invasion_south_map_640x2-nc.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1280" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU82iEAC6HhIO9H7Mx-Ya-ry51FrpDBd8GCzRUh-Q-xtJcDRMjWOX3YqUeRbEyy_cg8VcNAiHyEMYk3vNUJ0Jl5NKcp1soBy3ywkHRey4QJCKFLofQ9-M6bs_pXMrDNmaOIHe4bwOylcrSFWPk_Nhd5X-srSrd0Xm--fAQLG7K-Ku0lllcWJBlkubb/s320/_124000056_ukraine_invasion_south_map_640x2-nc.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 4, 2022, multiple artillery attacks on Kherson & Mykolaiv, the southern towns around the Black Sea, along the front to Odessa, as you can see on this map. Mariupol has been totally <br />destroyed. Its Mayor says it looks like Auschwitz. Pres. Zelenskyi says tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. <br />.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Catherine presented herself as an "Enlightened" autocrat who was guided by the rule of law but at the same time she annexed much of Ukraine through wars with the Ottoman Empire and the partition of Poland, and she brutally suppressed the largest peasant rebellion in Russian history (wikipedia). This chapter of Russia's history of empire is part of the complex and tortured history of Ukraine, long a political football in that part of the world. That tortured history is true as well for the other former Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) and most of eastern Europe. Historian Timothy Snyder calls them "The Bloodlands." </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Odessa in spite of its origins grew to become one of the most vibrant multicultural cities in the 19th century, a free port that attracted wealthy merchants and traders and people from around the region and the world. Odessa was multinational, multi-linqual and multiethnic. It was a vibrant center of Jewish life. I am amazed at how many friends tell me their grandparents, their ancestors, came from Odessa. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">The iconic Robert Sears' Guide to the Russian Empire, first published in 1855, described Odessa this way: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">“There is perhaps no town in the world in which so many different tongues may be heard as in the streets and coffeehouses of Odessa, the motley population consisting of Russians, Tartars, Greeks, Jews, Poles, Italians, Germans, French, etc.” Sadly, World Wars I and II changed that, and the Jewish population was decimated. </span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Today, thankfully, Odessa feels a lot more like it must have been in the 19th century than what it became during the 20th century. It's a mix of nationalities with a tolerant upbeat spirit. It is noted for its multicultural cuisine, joie de vivre, sense of humor, resourcefulness. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIWsOIwg7o8MWZMbSf4zh0Za8YI8zSs6b1btyvtXrhjkMuzFF2K9PWJeomxqD6mmvTPSl7r1N9A83HxrqK81M1nCuOotNK58jAuhQ4lJiaqJJyfBZSFKQ6AAWPeAZ8guULBjVL6DekOuJQgpCP4LeoV56FVR944jv48QQkhmSz78kImJ9jf5RQHQ8/s480/Gr%2036%20in%20Odessa%20Sept%202010.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIWsOIwg7o8MWZMbSf4zh0Za8YI8zSs6b1btyvtXrhjkMuzFF2K9PWJeomxqD6mmvTPSl7r1N9A83HxrqK81M1nCuOotNK58jAuhQ4lJiaqJJyfBZSFKQ6AAWPeAZ8guULBjVL6DekOuJQgpCP4LeoV56FVR944jv48QQkhmSz78kImJ9jf5RQHQ8/s320/Gr%2036%20in%20Odessa%20Sept%202010.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Peace Corps volunteers loved meeting in Odessa, loved the cafes, the Turkish street vendors, the Potemkin steps and port, the beautiful architecture, the people most of all. It's like a European city, easy to enjoy, easy to embrace. A friend I made at Camp Sosnovy, a summer camp for kids of all ages from all over Lugansk oblast, the head counselor Iryna, said I should move there. I could stay at her apartment. I was tempted. I must say I think about those wonderful kids, wonder what's happened to them. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Putin shares Catherine's lust for Ukraine, but he means to take it by obliterating it. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Why? Because Ukraine no longer identifies with Russia, the Russian empire, or the Soviet Union. Ukraine has become fiercely independent, fiercely Ukrainian in its soul and spirit. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodHJHKwatrRVcICNZr7uLv3leSNkoVLmPzwjsdTCVB7WhtwnX7INJ8SpFStub2hoDvi2o2JFv6z3H68Qz_M8US7RGbuWP-ROvzxHaDFOglEnIuheIVJZngTd-55nMTFks1rUpY1bLRdKRubYv28RXdpGf3MzVLe9-Uchw5-Fisr-e_14BqI5LBe9A/s480/Odessa%20opera%20house%20interior.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodHJHKwatrRVcICNZr7uLv3leSNkoVLmPzwjsdTCVB7WhtwnX7INJ8SpFStub2hoDvi2o2JFv6z3H68Qz_M8US7RGbuWP-ROvzxHaDFOglEnIuheIVJZngTd-55nMTFks1rUpY1bLRdKRubYv28RXdpGf3MzVLe9-Uchw5-Fisr-e_14BqI5LBe9A/s320/Odessa%20opera%20house%20interior.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odessa Opera House. I can't remember the <br />Opera we saw, but oh I remember the<br />stunning beauty.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Moreover, Odessa, like Mariupol, like Kherson, Severodonetsk, Trostyanets, resisted Russian advances after Putin invaded and occupied Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014/2015. Putin, in his diabolical revenge, has destroyed these cities, and he wants to do the same to Odessa. If he can't have it, nobody can. His offensive is underway from the East. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">The Generals say Putin's escalation in the greater Donbas region will be "reminiscent of World War II." Russia bombed a train station in Karmatorsk, not far from Lugansk city, not far from where I served with the Peace Corps. Yesterday another train station was hit. Civilian corridors, Escape routes. All targets. Putin's new commander will gladly kill as many civilians as possible. He's a red flag of disaster, of war crimes. What more does the US and the West need to see before it gives Ukraine everything it needs to stop Putin right here and now?</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;">Odessa, stunning Odessa, will stay in Putin's sights, his grand prize if he is not stopped in the Donbas. Odessa is preparing, but will it be enough? </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjp5I6T9r68cuBeyivGImYX809do0fT4hKrLAmFPjn0gQVj-hOoN4Sjo9bCcLi2aN4Cdx2XN1eG6EQdZM5-jeeeIv1yw7hPSuSP92qj-G1EQN4f8b0cqVBoBq3jNj1dHTzqf6KVHlnmVb-nszMbp9JUHix5QuxmQAOSo9AxoyRmozWpW1_2FVYF-f8/s1120/Odessa-Montage-2016.png" style="clear: right; display: inline; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjp5I6T9r68cuBeyivGImYX809do0fT4hKrLAmFPjn0gQVj-hOoN4Sjo9bCcLi2aN4Cdx2XN1eG6EQdZM5-jeeeIv1yw7hPSuSP92qj-G1EQN4f8b0cqVBoBq3jNj1dHTzqf6KVHlnmVb-nszMbp9JUHix5QuxmQAOSo9AxoyRmozWpW1_2FVYF-f8/s320/Odessa-Montage-2016.png" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odessa collage.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17.5px; font-style: italic;"> </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/AVvXsEia4NfUBh3oc30ObrS3SHa2TufgigKKanUNJxX1YVukbEcUW3TxEVEjkWvkBXS03pwHgwmrOi7qIy-nF4tjnnWcRix5RbZw060IwujSTcPd8JOSqV38Svp4HGXRcxtzxoso7uOCjq55NelltkAHe8CiwhvDsA1guYMYn6o1JVQiMlfi3ww3meU7a15I/s2048/gettyimages-1385225209-2048x2048Opera%20House%20sandbags.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4NfUBh3oc30ObrS3SHa2TufgigKKanUNJxX1YVukbEcUW3TxEVEjkWvkBXS03pwHgwmrOi7qIy-nF4tjnnWcRix5RbZw060IwujSTcPd8JOSqV38Svp4HGXRcxtzxoso7uOCjq55NelltkAHe8CiwhvDsA1guYMYn6o1JVQiMlfi3ww3meU7a15I/s320/gettyimages-1385225209-2048x2048Opera%20House%20sandbags.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing for the worst. Sandbags around the Opera House.<br /> Getty image/Scott Peterson</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Odessa Food Market on Richelievska, once a hipster paradise ablaze with neon signs advertising oysters and sparkling wine, welcoming one and all, is now a logistical hub for the war effort. Volunteers in orange and yellow jackets sort and organize donations onto shelves, ready to be taken to the front lines. The city stands, but it is watchful. "Time is of the essence," they say. Russians have already launched attacks on nearby oil tanks and suburbs from the air. That massive fleet in the Black Sea, ominous, threatening, is aimed directly at the city. Odessans know what's coming. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">The US, NATO, the Western alliance know what's coming, too. Unless Putin is stopped in the Donbas region on his way South around the Black Sea, the world will witness another apocalyptic disaster. That it will be Odessa to fall is too much to bear. </span></div><div><p><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Sources:</span></i></p><p>1. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-catherine-great-invaded-crimea-and-put-rest-world-edge-180949969/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-catherine-great-invaded-crimea-and-put-rest-world-edge-180949969/</a> "<span face=""open sans", sans-serif">Nearly 250 years ago, Catherine II played a similar hand when she attempted to impress the West while ruthlessly enforcing her authority over Russia & the surrounding region."</span><span face=""open sans", sans-serif" style="font-size: 17.6px;"> </span></p><p><span face=""open sans", sans-serif" style="font-size: 17.6px;">2.<a href=" https://contestedhistories.org/resources/case-studies/catherine-the-great-monument-in-odessa/"> </a></span><span face="open sans, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><a href=" https://contestedhistories.org/resources/case-studies/catherine-the-great-monument-in-odessa/">https://contestedhistories.org/resources/case-studies/catherine-the-great-monument-in-odessa/</a></span></span></p><p><span face="open sans, sans-serif">3. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great</a></span><span face=""open sans", sans-serif"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great. ">. </a> "Catherine, who admired Peter the Great, aimed to modernize Russia along Western European lines, but military consription and the economy continued to depend on serfdom, one of the chief reasons for the Pugachev Rebellion of Cossacks". </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">4. </span><span style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-catherine-the-great-may-have-inspired-putins-ukraine-invasion-178007">https://theconversation.com/how-catherine-the-great-may-have-inspired-putins-ukraine-invasion-178007</a></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #202122;">5. <span style="color: #202122;"></span><a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/odessa-ukrainian-port-inspired-big-dreams">https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/odessa-ukrainian-port-inspired-big-dreams</a> "Catherine's </span><span face="acumin-pro" style="background-color: white; color: #484247; font-size: 16px;">Black Sea port quickly emerged as a randy mix of nationalities and cultures.".</span></p><p><span face="acumin-pro" style="background-color: white; color: #484247; font-size: 16px;">6. </span><span face="acumin-pro" style="color: #484247;"><a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/03/07/odessa-finds-its-ukrainian-identity-ahead-of-a-russian-advance">https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/03/07/odessa-finds-its-ukrainian-identity-ahead-of-a-russian-advance</a> </span></p><p class="article__body-text" style="align-self: baseline; border: 0px; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: MiloTE, MiloTESec, Charter, "Bitstream Charter", "Iowan Old Style", "Calisto MT", serif; font-size: var(--ds-type-scale-2); font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; grid-area: auto / 3 / auto / 9; line-height: var(--ds-type-leading-lower); margin: 0px 0px 0.875rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7. <a href="https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3448166-russian-military-abducts-tortures-people-in-kherson-region.html">https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3448166-russian-military-abducts-tortures-people-in-kherson-region.html</a> war crimes in Kherson, torture and detainments.</p><p class="article__body-text" style="align-self: baseline; border: 0px; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: MiloTE, MiloTESec, Charter, "Bitstream Charter", "Iowan Old Style", "Calisto MT", serif; font-size: var(--ds-type-scale-2); font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; grid-area: auto / 3 / auto / 9; line-height: var(--ds-type-leading-lower); margin: 0px 0px 0.875rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8. <a href="https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3448765-ten-killed-by-cluster-munitions-in-mykolaiv.html">https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3448765-ten-killed-by-cluster-munitions-in-mykolaiv.html</a>Mykoliav attacked April 4, 2022, civilians, schools, a hospital. More horrendous war crimes.</p><p class="article__body-text" style="align-self: baseline; border: 0px; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: MiloTE, MiloTESec, Charter, "Bitstream Charter", "Iowan Old Style", "Calisto MT", serif; font-size: var(--ds-type-scale-2); font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; grid-area: auto / 3 / auto / 9; line-height: var(--ds-type-leading-lower); margin: 0px 0px 0.875rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9. <a href="https://scalar.usc.edu/works/odessa/a-brief-history-of-odessa">https://scalar.usc.edu/works/odessa/a-brief-history-of-odessa</a> by Isabella Buzsynski </p><p class="article__body-text" style="align-self: baseline; border: 0px; color: #0d0d0d; font-family: MiloTE, MiloTESec, Charter, "Bitstream Charter", "Iowan Old Style", "Calisto MT", serif; font-size: var(--ds-type-scale-2); font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; grid-area: auto / 3 / auto / 9; line-height: var(--ds-type-leading-lower); margin: 0px 0px 0.875rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mb63jGUeUd6vwokWvsgCN1sat0b6CNzyzXRzKZELEUXAJQssEd4aGfw8hjnrNYryLlv1nAiWxPkXNn-VDCoAxquOkP3oCMX3_o_e5i1W8o0q_UbdlgqA6y40y5JUG9DnJXEMTNENz7Cz_uVbTLOgHGU8or8kL8oxv6Kz4la3gsQ5rpO-nm-aacvo/s4424/Odessa%20Recollected%20by%20Patricia%20Herlihy.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4424" data-original-width="2949" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mb63jGUeUd6vwokWvsgCN1sat0b6CNzyzXRzKZELEUXAJQssEd4aGfw8hjnrNYryLlv1nAiWxPkXNn-VDCoAxquOkP3oCMX3_o_e5i1W8o0q_UbdlgqA6y40y5JUG9DnJXEMTNENz7Cz_uVbTLOgHGU8or8kL8oxv6Kz4la3gsQ5rpO-nm-aacvo/w133-h200/Odessa%20Recollected%20by%20Patricia%20Herlihy.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span face="acumin-pro" style="color: #484247;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="acumin-pro" style="background-color: white; color: #484247; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></p></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-48198407914821306712022-03-16T15:00:00.001-04:002022-03-16T18:27:18.780-04:00Boris Lurie, Holocaust Survivor, Artist, and the "No!Art" Movement<i>NOTE: I started this blog a few months ago, but it resonates now more than ever, when the world is screaming NO! to Putin's unprovoked war of total destruction in Ukraine, NO! to the real possibility of a World War III in the 21st century. </i><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguXbEQwnR1b1_A62fAUxCL_saGAP4XtrgRj9x_2qU0pCONPeWsoqbzwcwfMFAwS033VoCmZYcQgV3VYZmtxGMZNbQmdzwzxUliqKM3xp9UnCUuHhPiejCw2sX_jHIG-hvZUHnxcFtNws8MlPVXFsNdE6zvkoluk74ACFQzfPL2n4WiN9tcL0aQz9DT=s720" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="720" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguXbEQwnR1b1_A62fAUxCL_saGAP4XtrgRj9x_2qU0pCONPeWsoqbzwcwfMFAwS033VoCmZYcQgV3VYZmtxGMZNbQmdzwzxUliqKM3xp9UnCUuHhPiejCw2sX_jHIG-hvZUHnxcFtNws8MlPVXFsNdE6zvkoluk74ACFQzfPL2n4WiN9tcL0aQz9DT=w400-h211" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Boris Lurie, Holocaust survivor, artist, poet, writer, co-founder of the <span><b>NO!Art</b></span> movement</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: red;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>in New York City, post-WWII, </span>using art to educate & protest man's inhumanity to man. <br /></span><div><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEih-NkgR6qOuEVZUxzGiX5_I1NB1HDhVoO4ehHAB9B5MYOopeqkXmHleA9-tY1lUirrvadhn9yVeewXGJpYQGg7DY23ox-kEsUhmIXpE25U_WdiKjvMD9tx0iiQw1o0NmrEjVcmPlbOMqkyBkuzaZCKgMBhPAqk475xOF1qI8ul8YTdmyWW8rU8gcOK=s480" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="480" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEih-NkgR6qOuEVZUxzGiX5_I1NB1HDhVoO4ehHAB9B5MYOopeqkXmHleA9-tY1lUirrvadhn9yVeewXGJpYQGg7DY23ox-kEsUhmIXpE25U_WdiKjvMD9tx0iiQw1o0NmrEjVcmPlbOMqkyBkuzaZCKgMBhPAqk475xOF1qI8ul8YTdmyWW8rU8gcOK=w200-h167" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">Lurie, "Immigrant Suitcase."</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />He was only 16 years old in December 1941 when the Nazis captured him, branded and demeaned him, and sent him to Buchenwald. It was the end of the age of innocence.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Boris Lurie was born in Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg) and raised in Riga, Latvia, where his father had moved the family when Boris was a young boy in order to be freer to explore new opportunities.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4eRhczpTcYwOlduAOHxkMy2SOAA00EPCKOTAzyzoVBAmh8_jAs3QnaWIbDv0hJgWlWYMWybSuMRdwge_RrkZyIM9JKWR0L6hu79c4yTCI2ZZvIaJV4U7vgdYgKssyY5lG4jjbhk3xUKXHRmxPxzyTRxCxx74yUR8nhMPZzOCHML85mL9qai2PWoEy=s1064" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1064" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4eRhczpTcYwOlduAOHxkMy2SOAA00EPCKOTAzyzoVBAmh8_jAs3QnaWIbDv0hJgWlWYMWybSuMRdwge_RrkZyIM9JKWR0L6hu79c4yTCI2ZZvIaJV4U7vgdYgKssyY5lG4jjbhk3xUKXHRmxPxzyTRxCxx74yUR8nhMPZzOCHML85mL9qai2PWoEy=w320-h286" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">.. </span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Boris' youth was taken from him and tragically, beyond words, so were the lives of his mother, sister, grandmother, and his teenaged girlfriend. At the end of December 1941, Boris' family was herded into a ravine in the Rumbula forest on the outskirts of Riga and shot to death. It was the place where Boris grew up, went to school, found his first love. It was the time when life as he knew it ended. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Rumbula massacre is considered one of the most horrific crimes of the Nazi era, its echoes heard to this day. It repeated exactly the massacre at Babi Yar in Kyiv, Ukraine, three months earlier, when Nazis herded the Jewish residents of Kyiv </span><span style="font-family: arial;">into a ravine and shot them dead. The SS soldiers stood around the top rim of the ravine, shooting bullets down into the innocent victims trapped below. I thought I heard the cries of the victims as I stood on that rim with fellow Peace Corps Volunteers during a walking tour of Kyiv. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6l7z1Vl7eOFFUsaVGNIAx32eNE7dbNKjvrX18pUYH1i5coO8iWNgjCMfkwWz6_KZW3gGoWe-juZUiqVdzEckRnPPXwR4HkmzdVlrSKTp2NlImERvEr-ZBYgEdSBj9eldU2PEPQAoxWuiqznqHZ4hjmBHNttS_NjpE82ppOORN63NovpSsxR_l335m=s614" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6l7z1Vl7eOFFUsaVGNIAx32eNE7dbNKjvrX18pUYH1i5coO8iWNgjCMfkwWz6_KZW3gGoWe-juZUiqVdzEckRnPPXwR4HkmzdVlrSKTp2NlImERvEr-ZBYgEdSBj9eldU2PEPQAoxWuiqznqHZ4hjmBHNttS_NjpE82ppOORN63NovpSsxR_l335m=s320" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">"The most difficult ingredient in all art is the<br />hardest to learn. It is courage."</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Boris Lurie</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;"><br />"Dance Hall Yellow,1955, Lurie's trauma<br /> comes out of the shadows into the light.</span> </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">At Rumbula, 38,000 Jewish residents of Riga were shot dead in cold blood: Nazi soldiers standing at the top of the ravine, like they did at Babi Yar, shooting bullets into the bodies of the people trapped below, falling in horror on top of each other, women, children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends, doctors, lawyers, teachers, shop-keepers. And this over a two-day period, carrying out Hitler's "final solution," the genocide of the Jews.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I came across Boris Lurie when I was writing about the Fritz Ascher Society and Ascher's art. His story, the stories of the Holocaust, continue to shock. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And to think that such ugly authoritarianism, fascism, Nazism, haunt us to this very day, warning us of the past, warning us to be diligent, to remember. How can we stand silent in the face of rampant, vicious anti-semitism that gave us Hitler and the Holocaust, that is on the rise right here at home? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIN_o03Z2w3hvOp_lVr3krKuV0h9W_KHevvEOl63QN0JbgUDr07Lw3X_eMBFMmKB1-IGUCi1oHm_vakGa3NL3hJ39stXimXKKUXBgACSqLcoRXlfSE03Wiq_wKC71HC5U8U-uvkcWnHSgFbSQrPSHuteoL5OXWCttXWVG76KeIJFmiLonOnbhvpkpk=s800" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="800" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIN_o03Z2w3hvOp_lVr3krKuV0h9W_KHevvEOl63QN0JbgUDr07Lw3X_eMBFMmKB1-IGUCi1oHm_vakGa3NL3hJ39stXimXKKUXBgACSqLcoRXlfSE03Wiq_wKC71HC5U8U-uvkcWnHSgFbSQrPSHuteoL5OXWCttXWVG76KeIJFmiLonOnbhvpkpk=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />And now, today, I can't help but ask this: How can one man in a position of power, Vladimir Putin, decide to viciously attack a peaceful country that was no threat to Russia. None whatsoever. An unprovoked war to annihilate Ukraine's cities, towns and villages, and murder its people. To attack not military targets, but civilian targets, deliberately, intentionally, bombing homes, neighborhoods, apartment buildings, hospitals, schools?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">How can we be witnessing another European genocidal war in the 21st century? I wake up in the middle of the night and cry out </span><span style="font-family: arial;">"No.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">N-o-o-o-o-o-o. It can't be happening. It has to stop." </span></div><div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOITuywyLK_bxKegW_RZnQpUaUSzsfzuBFwhGXbp4aTcAUTsabpUthivu8HgvkC8uDKxFSMl7cU_e6v4nI0AntKBohx8UVQgfJFLY5IoBe6t6sMIeoI-Ob17FSVXrfSvolYldmFootGXHYo2O64hTb8rCH2b6VP07Vgdtm53fDHy64TlWO04nlgmr6=s600" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="600" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOITuywyLK_bxKegW_RZnQpUaUSzsfzuBFwhGXbp4aTcAUTsabpUthivu8HgvkC8uDKxFSMl7cU_e6v4nI0AntKBohx8UVQgfJFLY5IoBe6t6sMIeoI-Ob17FSVXrfSvolYldmFootGXHYo2O64hTb8rCH2b6VP07Vgdtm53fDHy64TlWO04nlgmr6=w200-h196" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">This was the anguished cry of Boris Lurie after he came to America in 1946, the pain of his experiences still raw. He came to live free and to paint, to start a new life in New York City. But he could not forget. He found himself fighting against the post-War </span><span style="font-family: arial;">indifference of friends, of contemporary artists like Rauschenberg, Warhol, Lichtenstein and Johns. America wanted to forget the war and move on. This mood, a national mood, was reflected in the two most popular art movements of the era, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0vvZM3gfQBm3lWRXStlWXAbQrvNws3TbDzKIoPPuhNBaKUzB7tparc8gG5DTthuFpSKkNEZq-DvmL_udjc9Wu_9sPBAG_eU3oJ-l2ob0w64cMPbYeYrcaytx5It1Sr9AklYiqQpU-aCFROdB5KzIyOHUgghOepPGAkQ6gtun5cWSj-qtPloGm_UuZ=s1466" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1466" data-original-width="1460" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0vvZM3gfQBm3lWRXStlWXAbQrvNws3TbDzKIoPPuhNBaKUzB7tparc8gG5DTthuFpSKkNEZq-DvmL_udjc9Wu_9sPBAG_eU3oJ-l2ob0w64cMPbYeYrcaytx5It1Sr9AklYiqQpU-aCFROdB5KzIyOHUgghOepPGAkQ6gtun5cWSj-qtPloGm_UuZ=s320" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">In the camps.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />But Boris had a hard time moving on, He was driven to say "NO" to the Holocaust of his youth, to the horror, the losses, the struggle to survive in the death camps. He was driven to tell about it.</span><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In 1959, he, Sam Goodman and Stanley Fisher, also artists and writers, founded the <b><span style="color: red;">NO!Art</span></b> movement. Its goal was to bring back into art the subjects of real life. It thus stood in opposition to abstract and pop art. I had never heard of <b><span style="color: red;">NO!Art</span></b>, but it seems altogether too timely to ignore.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In his art and also in his poetry and writings, <i>i</i>ncluding a memoir, Boris Lurie pushed the reality of man's inhumanity to man to the limit. It didn't make the New York art world comfortable. It doesn't make me comfortable. </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/a/AVvXsEjmHxi9m58Tn5HQgjyIV-yJ291qIZ6qe0W_n2-CaTTFtkiAeXt19objgfeQ7npOGrmOAXDVpOR7_yTELjiiSdAVuTLQOiehvWFEkG1S7gSuQ55_YDrmi2oq148H40s7dfxga9yD8rvXWM4m-OpQnTur2ATgfs8Etem49YWVTGfzoKRIWfuvOpwH584O=s269" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="269" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmHxi9m58Tn5HQgjyIV-yJ291qIZ6qe0W_n2-CaTTFtkiAeXt19objgfeQ7npOGrmOAXDVpOR7_yTELjiiSdAVuTLQOiehvWFEkG1S7gSuQ55_YDrmi2oq148H40s7dfxga9yD8rvXWM4m-OpQnTur2ATgfs8Etem49YWVTGfzoKRIWfuvOpwH584O=w400-h278" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">Railroad Collage, 1966. A pin-up in front of a railroad car filled with dead Jewish victims, perhaps his own family among them. This is considered Lurie's most famous work. Besides showing us the horrors of the Holocaust, reviewers note that it brings together for the first time American consumerism and the brutality of the Holocaust and in a way that caused a furor in the art world. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Lurie died in 2008 in New York City, after some sixty years of painting, writing, pushing against indifference to the Holocaust and human suffering, exhibiting his work, educating his audiences about the pain and loss of war. He is buried in Hof Hacarmel cemetery in Haifa, Israel. He found peace at last. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyCy2YgcrcxEpaGcQHn2cQIFnpJY_fDOCzhP8atnSsy78SNdjvU6F6zlG47P1OJUBY25icXjZCqijyVZjGxzitVb90M5QRr27PhcK-NsfY5-d9GsRj-7Lbpcshw9sgN6BWesoUfSNnpcmN4HbUH-d6WyqSkDc5QFN257xBmxq0aRWHYZ_prOCdiIQO=s800" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="800" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyCy2YgcrcxEpaGcQHn2cQIFnpJY_fDOCzhP8atnSsy78SNdjvU6F6zlG47P1OJUBY25icXjZCqijyVZjGxzitVb90M5QRr27PhcK-NsfY5-d9GsRj-7Lbpcshw9sgN6BWesoUfSNnpcmN4HbUH-d6WyqSkDc5QFN257xBmxq0aRWHYZ_prOCdiIQO=s320" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Before his death and with the support of friends, he established the Boris Lurie Art Foundation. Its mission was "preserving and promoting the social vision of the <span style="color: red;">NO!Ar</span><span style="color: red;">t</span> group in art and culture." It's still going today, in Clifton, NJ, and exhibitions of Lurie's work are ongoing at various museums and galleries around the world. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As we witness Putin's War in Ukraine, on TV, in our living rooms, on social media, we can remember Boris Lurie's obsession, his trauma and his fury. Sad to say, when we thought the Holocaust and World War II were tragedies of the past, we find them painfully alive in the present. We need a "</span><span style="color: red; font-family: arial;">NO!Art</span><span style="font-family: arial;">" movement today. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgScB-lxBqWkH1N5DbWFrz3wyQZTEbkyME0i8-nPVEQEYmbL0PybnkJcFUHc8-3ELYvuXHy95rCbBtzFON4VG7qS7s-Z1SixPcuGwsyG1SWCQo5EcKTTBncOI6SR7K9xlwTDtuEM30nB9nAGQBl9SUa60U4o9O9TNgZ0Jh5veEyLQiO2X-f24clLrwP=s400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgScB-lxBqWkH1N5DbWFrz3wyQZTEbkyME0i8-nPVEQEYmbL0PybnkJcFUHc8-3ELYvuXHy95rCbBtzFON4VG7qS7s-Z1SixPcuGwsyG1SWCQo5EcKTTBncOI6SR7K9xlwTDtuEM30nB9nAGQBl9SUa60U4o9O9TNgZ0Jh5veEyLQiO2X-f24clLrwP=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">SOURCES/NOTES: <br /><br />1. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://borislurieart.org/about-boris-lurie</a></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. <a href="https://hyperallergic.com/707579/boris-luries-search-for-historical-truth-in-trauma/">https://hyperallergic.com/707579/boris-luries-search-for-historical-truth-in-trauma/</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://hyperallergic.com/707579/boris-luries-search-for-historical-truth-in-trauma/ "> </a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. <a href="https://hyperallergic.com/707579/boris-luries-search-for-historical-truth-in-trauma/ ">https://www.huffpost.com/entry/revolution-in-the-avanteg_b_868378</a>, fascinating article by Lisa Streitfeld on women in Boris Lurie's art and in his notes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">4. <a href="https://borislurieart.org/">https://borislurieart.org/</a> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Boris Lurie foundation still going strong in Clifton, NJ, educating about and showing his paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">"</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A Holocaust survivor who emigrated to New York in 1946, Boris Lurie was active in the post-war New York avant-garde scene. Always outspoken and often confrontational, he was never easy with his adopted home, America, or with his place in the art world. The loss of his mother, grandmother, sister, and first love in the massacres perpetrated by the Nazis at </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Rumbula near Riga, Latvia in 1941 inflicted a lasting sense of suffering and loss on Lurie, which he attempted to process through his work."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://borislurieart.org/2021/boris-lurie-nothing-do-try">https://borislurieart.org/2021/boris-lurie-nothing-do-try</a> an exhibit at the Jewish Heritage Museum in NYC. </span></p><p><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">6. </span><a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2005/01/boris_luries_noart_and_the_hol.html" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2005/01/boris_luries_noart_and_the_hol.html</a><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">, article by Jan Herman</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">7. https://ss<a href="https://issuu.com/matt-bluelightstrategies/docs/lurie_catalogue_01.16.20">uu.com/matt-bluelightstrategies/docs/lurie_catalogue_01.16.20</a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">8. <a href="https://arterritory.com/en/visual_arts/interviews/23488-a_conversation_about_boris_lurie/">https://arterritory.com/en/visual_arts/interviews/23488-a_conversation_about_boris_lurie/</a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">9. <a href="https://www.politicsartus.org/events/boris-lurie-exhibit/">https://www.politicsartus.org/events/boris-lurie-exhibit/</a></span><a href="https://www.politicsartus.org/events/boris-lurie-exhibit/ "> </a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">10<a href=". https://kunstaspekte.art/event/boris-lurie-and-wolf-vostell-art-after-auschwitz">. https://kunstaspekte.art/event/boris-lurie-and-wolf-vostell-art-after-auschwitz</a>, a January 2022 exhibit in Germany, "Art After Auschwitz."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAeqD8ZfKJtUe86MNx4hwKikGRThY3wFoMItMO1sdDjSxr-Xx9c9K976Gbp3aViy6cLY0xa96aj19bzVrC_7toqGbDq1Qx1aQnCaqgLu9uZiI13gKFyUYQQ-vHieuPOXHp4zSuct6z5FLOLKosiVFvV5BtSchEO-qoNFwsgE9bWrOtl60q9Qlvm2as=s720" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="720" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAeqD8ZfKJtUe86MNx4hwKikGRThY3wFoMItMO1sdDjSxr-Xx9c9K976Gbp3aViy6cLY0xa96aj19bzVrC_7toqGbDq1Qx1aQnCaqgLu9uZiI13gKFyUYQQ-vHieuPOXHp4zSuct6z5FLOLKosiVFvV5BtSchEO-qoNFwsgE9bWrOtl60q9Qlvm2as=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-8731525553248474062022-03-07T16:11:00.003-05:002022-03-07T16:11:45.834-05:00A Respite from the Genocide of Ukraine: A visit to the Toledo Museum of Art <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg305yDIwBOLFqgOZFM3O-KhT7bKOsioU2wBTAlJ7jJMtB8XMzQxiZLOwe-0iP3DfKdMCDqW6P-zNQxdk8ZnX-rMbNRWD7cHVWmXTcrY6Y5lQZczCWm2YUN_hO-9JgjWkZkLa8H_XxjhcwL7g6y480rXTVywqnvBhgHz6yM4uUFGomHr3JvCMj2_99x=s1548" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg305yDIwBOLFqgOZFM3O-KhT7bKOsioU2wBTAlJ7jJMtB8XMzQxiZLOwe-0iP3DfKdMCDqW6P-zNQxdk8ZnX-rMbNRWD7cHVWmXTcrY6Y5lQZczCWm2YUN_hO-9JgjWkZkLa8H_XxjhcwL7g6y480rXTVywqnvBhgHz6yM4uUFGomHr3JvCMj2_99x=s320" width="179" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Guess where I was yesterday? My friend Janice, also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (she served in Africa), yanked me away from my 24/7 obsession with the destruction of Ukraine. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSbsaIOb-ksNmcis-owmik3NAsPhohMnTr6YJmPjBkXLUT2hN2lQjS5eqgCrxuT7Z2HDgiDhOF4g2177fKV8S5faRivkRE2UNxiwxvZt2fGdv7S2wVBd_sWIjjOiudMy1k16iwzLfBnAgxL5Zhq9wIGN9gIDUteexy5W8o8cArZjl6_MFFszP-JcdA=s1536" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1536" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSbsaIOb-ksNmcis-owmik3NAsPhohMnTr6YJmPjBkXLUT2hN2lQjS5eqgCrxuT7Z2HDgiDhOF4g2177fKV8S5faRivkRE2UNxiwxvZt2fGdv7S2wVBd_sWIjjOiudMy1k16iwzLfBnAgxL5Zhq9wIGN9gIDUteexy5W8o8cArZjl6_MFFszP-JcdA=s320" width="320" /></a><p></p><p> I wanted to see the cleaned up Cloisters, walk the galleries, see the ":Living Legacies" exhibit, "Art of the African-American South," and have a gourmet lunch at the Cafe. We did it all. <br /></p><p>The African American Art exhibit was wonderful. From quilts to paintings to garden art and assemblage art using found objects from daily life, it was fascinating to see and embrace. When I think of Alabama I think of Selma and Birmingham. When I think of Georgia and the former slave states, I think of lynchings, the KKK, virulent White Supremacy. When I think of the American South I think of the violence on which our nation is founded. </p><p>When I saw the exhibit, I saw beauty, skill, powerful images through the lens of African-American artists. I saw unique points of view, pain and triumph, heard African-American voices. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikXxblYNHJpnRjXJr8ihb1xC-DNghYufELBX0VOLd4OQnXIMUkxjWvMNQlbNXMerKbqav679h2EXyb2jqnP0CkgHS-lckPI20Pw48js6VbS1VG8z8bYGgGLu9fkfbeALGA8klA2pFMUK_XEY6Jaej2KcZwH1Df8kJP13YFUZeKo1Be2aBsJ_HGJAHg=s1107" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="979" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikXxblYNHJpnRjXJr8ihb1xC-DNghYufELBX0VOLd4OQnXIMUkxjWvMNQlbNXMerKbqav679h2EXyb2jqnP0CkgHS-lckPI20Pw48js6VbS1VG8z8bYGgGLu9fkfbeALGA8klA2pFMUK_XEY6Jaej2KcZwH1Df8kJP13YFUZeKo1Be2aBsJ_HGJAHg=w283-h320" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ronald Lockett, Verge of Extinction, <br />a quilt-like sheet metal sculpture,<br />a combination of found tin, nails, wood.<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The exhibit, I was happy to learn, presents the Museum's recent acquisition of major works by African-American artists from the southern United States. Twenty-four of them. It was partially funded by NEH, my former employer.<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/a/AVvXsEh6qbU-WhFgzJCaGWHSUtb3HyoPMmPVu5MvJvFEO8tHAII4-9RPOa30P0t4qqSqJ6cLUO0M4pOvyNkk9MKRblLdu-BKFsJmwwn_daZQSO2UXVk9PVriClhluBJkMCVGGUf67fgIrFBAyr8wChFK5dhMpZYLU5T_wVo7yb25JTpwvKSxCBuCyaUcn-pq=s1344" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="839" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6qbU-WhFgzJCaGWHSUtb3HyoPMmPVu5MvJvFEO8tHAII4-9RPOa30P0t4qqSqJ6cLUO0M4pOvyNkk9MKRblLdu-BKFsJmwwn_daZQSO2UXVk9PVriClhluBJkMCVGGUf67fgIrFBAyr8wChFK5dhMpZYLU5T_wVo7yb25JTpwvKSxCBuCyaUcn-pq=s320" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leroy Almond, 1938-1997, The New Heaven," carved wood, light bulbs, glitter, ornamental pearls, paint.<br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiy4y7wIlWutQN8DxwlQ6x2cieuMh6CvYJQ310iNV_6JL2unEI9Haz6nnIZ6FusG9A_8LWDaL8MjosV-wNM1BlPgDV_VzP5WtlzZJHUDDxZYIXeQYeXIJNFI8_U32mFA1Hh6KRuJitZNzx1Q7gOmpd-dlgdoMrVoSC9snZh-OqXdt-HSC8fmejKWJzM=s320" width="319" /></div><div>The quilts were fantastic, and a video of the Freedom Quilting Bee added to their meaning, understanding their design, their purpose, the fabrics used. That Quilting Bee is still going strong. It's a reminder that <span style="font-family: inherit;">"m<span style="background-color: white;">any of the artists featured in the exhibit were active during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Estelle Witherspoon (1916-1998), one of the founders of the Freedom Quilting Bees, was a driving force supporting the Civil Rights Act and participated in the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965." (City Paper)</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKT12iAON6JNGj-u5XkqlLAXAIyD1XtO9RgXYpzDsQTASJmjuKRxViiZud9V_ItL4SxEPYnIjNM9Vs6Z5f3JGAM8reWIS8ig2ejZBsmhnjNOEQz1I-5qjF7u5643dDvEBRKc4aguU-NxlxnVKNHS_AfHpLFTFOspTeIsd9-l-cENrYvoO0sV2NXCgx=s320" width="179" /></div><br /><div>This was true of the Deal family of artists. This welded steel sculpture is by Richard Deal, which he calls "The Comfort of the First Born.. It's mixed media, welded steel, plastic tubing, paint. I love this especially. Richard is the brother of Thornton Deal, Jr, and their father is the painter Thornton Deal, all wonderful artists. Resistance and art is a family tradition and powerful legacy. And how exciting that these pieces are now part of TMA's permanent collection! </div><div><br /></div><div>We were also glad to spend time in the newly refreshened Cloisters gallery. The columns are cleaned and vivid in their detail, the art fresh and stunning to behold. The walls are painted blue, really similar to the new blue on my front door, and the lighting is exquisite. It feels like being in a holy place, closer to God. Janice and I said a prayer for Ukraine. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqET6NSsDo4ICI1qLfqqau3oSnxHjdSbVRlbf2BgDUq9BPc3UWj6wV1NswMelpmtVbC6REbIF-3Gf2RhOzESShLN-E2TBKiOkouHz--aGBFhvoo_KRcAMplkrubKxijCuHpafABoyTHlX4d33pI0ajY5mFVOmceSJW_2Gr-skEgyG-N_DXwqBFTPLh=s1536" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1536" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqET6NSsDo4ICI1qLfqqau3oSnxHjdSbVRlbf2BgDUq9BPc3UWj6wV1NswMelpmtVbC6REbIF-3Gf2RhOzESShLN-E2TBKiOkouHz--aGBFhvoo_KRcAMplkrubKxijCuHpafABoyTHlX4d33pI0ajY5mFVOmceSJW_2Gr-skEgyG-N_DXwqBFTPLh=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><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;"><span style="text-align: left;">I almost feel guilty feeling joy as we walk through the galleries, but I know my Ukrainian friends in my beloved adopted country now under vicious assault would say "it's okay, Fran. </span>Все в порядке, Фрэн. Это хорошо." They taught me that we need to find happiness and peace wherever we are, whenever we can. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIC_pSv78p0rDrqTJs2zsLNOC6JGgWaZTX9mbtobFAaLH7hZXuB370h0RCilSlAZx1XS944HfJUY10qDfGs_PGMS-DrFDrFMOzxVsvC2EOGagr5TCN2_PT6dxKXEvLZ3_P8DkR_369eGRFHzrqrpWR1AXXMs2WhN7DLn8vQCJgYEngpTPrb1uq6Xz1=s622" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIC_pSv78p0rDrqTJs2zsLNOC6JGgWaZTX9mbtobFAaLH7hZXuB370h0RCilSlAZx1XS944HfJUY10qDfGs_PGMS-DrFDrFMOzxVsvC2EOGagr5TCN2_PT6dxKXEvLZ3_P8DkR_369eGRFHzrqrpWR1AXXMs2WhN7DLn8vQCJgYEngpTPrb1uq6Xz1=s320" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chihuly, near Grove Street entrance<br /> to TMA</td></tr></tbody></table><br />But now. Now it's different. I want to envelop them in beauty, in imagination,in Chihuly's light (left). But they are literally fighting for survival. Their homes are being bombed, their schools, hospitals, their evacuation routes. If nothing else, this "Legacies" exhibit reminds us that survival against the odds is possible, painful, terrifying, but possible. African Americans in the USA have survived against the odds, survived and flourished. God, let Ukraine and its people survive. Let there be peace in Ukraine. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">NOTES:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.toledomuseum.org/art/exhibitions/living-legacies-art-african-american-south">https://www.toledomuseum.org/art/exhibitions/living-legacies-art-african-american-south</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://toledocitypaper.com/art-to-heart/tma-explores-living-legacies/">https://toledocitypaper.com/art-to-heart/tma-explores-living-legacies/</a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.toledomuseum.org/about/news/toledo-museum-art-reinstalls-its-unparalleled-cloister-gallery">https://www.toledomuseum.org/about/news/toledo-museum-art-reinstalls-its-unparalleled-cloister-gallery</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span> </span> "After a year-long conservation and renovation project, the Toledo Museum of Art’s (TMA) Cloister Gallery will present a wider range of the cultural heritage of the Middle Ages when it reopens on Dec. 18, 2021. In addition to a complete reinstallation of works on view, the project entailed the comprehensive cleaning of the gallery’s three medieval arcades and Venetian wellhead, removing centuries of accumulated dirt; the conservation of three stained-glass windows and other works of art that have not been on view in the gallery for decades; and new casework, lighting and security. The Toledo Museum of Art’s Cloister Gallery is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art in North America."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-68536049817262949492022-02-18T19:03:00.010-05:002023-06-06T14:14:05.027-04:00Luigi Serafini's Codex Seraphinianus<p><br /></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/a/AVvXsEha4zrq1Xn-hFNu1mCnga9k3Xrur3YUboRgJ58yjLLmgU23290MEqLXr0wjXRY0EifNQzVmxfNS7jUfhUIAW6_UEGe6lp2RwvF9wyC0uZ7xdeEdCf1CR6aM3GsYmfr34asWT85qlq07SiOkfwXtxxq6GGHE6Sca0mRqzKVmTFq7sGQn53pm_YtDJ_J9=s600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="600" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha4zrq1Xn-hFNu1mCnga9k3Xrur3YUboRgJ58yjLLmgU23290MEqLXr0wjXRY0EifNQzVmxfNS7jUfhUIAW6_UEGe6lp2RwvF9wyC0uZ7xdeEdCf1CR6aM3GsYmfr34asWT85qlq07SiOkfwXtxxq6GGHE6Sca0mRqzKVmTFq7sGQn53pm_YtDJ_J9=w400-h269" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The fantastical world of Italian artist Luigi Serafini, born in 1949 and still living in Rome. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ_18UicodwWYFaJeRE5zBQXyC7YKrsTwenrhz0InB7Njyl5-_gkX_qtAehys1BKMWRBPvjHshYj-Oi_hycSTt_SWd--POqCFfy0K6NvfMdS8ipM78Nv2V0V_q9wNhCYZ_FqORPl5YJqEKv2aEu6c446DAIVkatIz3xw7W2yOQjKY-csYmclwdpfZ3=s960" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ_18UicodwWYFaJeRE5zBQXyC7YKrsTwenrhz0InB7Njyl5-_gkX_qtAehys1BKMWRBPvjHshYj-Oi_hycSTt_SWd--POqCFfy0K6NvfMdS8ipM78Nv2V0V_q9wNhCYZ_FqORPl5YJqEKv2aEu6c446DAIVkatIz3xw7W2yOQjKY-csYmclwdpfZ3=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A forest somewhere, in some place, <br />maybe over the rainbow</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I discovered a whole new world recently when visiting my granddaughter Julia and her oldest son Philip, my great-grandson, now 15 years old. He talked about something called the Codex, an encyclopedia of some kind, and he especially liked the drawings. They are weird, these odd scribbles and things, made-up things. Like weird plants, weird animals and birds, weird machines. Hmm, really? I had no idea what Philip was talking about.</span></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi120rcrYuPYpNDnkqtibp44s47shSHd6TWxLTq8CbkXgj8uOAEHsaJjUESAygAgZ5y9U_AHpms6bVAJxXXJIG6QXcNLBpZ0KCsno5sB4u58KiLJ8KRe8GQcwF_6Kr7Z6yK2g07_w4EKsbh8dzobFWio-MwsWKammgTODvPoNuCvUlC9kF2MV9ciB0u=s900" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="900" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi120rcrYuPYpNDnkqtibp44s47shSHd6TWxLTq8CbkXgj8uOAEHsaJjUESAygAgZ5y9U_AHpms6bVAJxXXJIG6QXcNLBpZ0KCsno5sB4u58KiLJ8KRe8GQcwF_6Kr7Z6yK2g07_w4EKsbh8dzobFWio-MwsWKammgTODvPoNuCvUlC9kF2MV9ciB0u=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">When I got home I messaged his mom to send me more information. What is this book? She said it was called <i>The Codex Seraphinianus</i>. Strange name. I did some research and reading. It didn't take long to realize I had gotten lost in a very unusual, to say the least, fantasy world that was incomprehensible and fascinating at the same time. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Codex Seraphinianus</i> is an encyclopedia of people, places and things that exist only in the mind of its creator, Luigi Serafini. It's nothing like the other Codex we know, the one by Renaissance artist and genius Leonardo Da Vinci, which is a collection of his scientific writings and illustrates the link between art and science. No, this is different. Maybe its title contains some hints. It's peculiar. It's graphic. It's a combination of the author's name and, ahem, something else. It was created to sound like Latin so it would be taken seriously, which is so amusing in itself, this parody, this play on words. </span></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOsB3scJvqtOElafwKqMuLyDfO-ZQGZwgcYNJ4aHWEZavipzJrscmy6N-cSIU3vhSzNG5HyK-wBDlyEiMvtgfglxFZrqku0j3x7Kz7Ql3uGx1C_0HTEon-UvutTBRm71My7W5-YF7azq0SuikQPHYuKLDn67OBvpWYQv0DNdZrbySm81XOPs2jDSpI=s1556" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1110" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOsB3scJvqtOElafwKqMuLyDfO-ZQGZwgcYNJ4aHWEZavipzJrscmy6N-cSIU3vhSzNG5HyK-wBDlyEiMvtgfglxFZrqku0j3x7Kz7Ql3uGx1C_0HTEon-UvutTBRm71My7W5-YF7azq0SuikQPHYuKLDn67OBvpWYQv0DNdZrbySm81XOPs2jDSpI=s320" width="228" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Serafini's <i>Codex</i>, as it's called for short, was first published in 1981. That's a longer time ago than I thought. I learned that it became a "cult classic," has been republished several times since then, and that it continues to feed a vast underground of admirers and followers right up to Philip's generation. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Serafini, who lives in Rome, is an artist, designer, and architect. He spent years creating a make-believe language for his encyclopedia, a sort of flowing script with lots of curly ques and flourishes that looks like a free-floating form of Sanscrit to me. Some reviewers have called it <i>asemic</i>: it looks like writing, but you can't read it.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">So the first thing to know about Serafini's <i>Codex</i> is that you cannot read this book. You just look at it and enter into a fantastical place you've never been before. I went to the Library to look through it. It was strange. It felt like being embedded in a Salvador Dali painting, actually many Dali paintings, getting into his dripping watches out on a limb in a strange dreamscape. </span></div><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/a/AVvXsEjjhXkz7Q9A2CSHxgV4emPSF_SQnejNEO5XMu9a8w9MCuT8eiD68X7LGttJcjZib8JVitutiPlkqNjih0mTh42ABJMn1Rbc1bheM_EpuY0VxduxdiXP9N4Il6bzg33s_R_kA0ra-x5hzhrJtvh--HC3bRAjDChzAm-VEco8L_SihLCkTy59MLXDaPSr=s726" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="726" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjhXkz7Q9A2CSHxgV4emPSF_SQnejNEO5XMu9a8w9MCuT8eiD68X7LGttJcjZib8JVitutiPlkqNjih0mTh42ABJMn1Rbc1bheM_EpuY0VxduxdiXP9N4Il6bzg33s_R_kA0ra-x5hzhrJtvh--HC3bRAjDChzAm-VEco8L_SihLCkTy59MLXDaPSr=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>What in the world? Whose world?</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOy_DeGEZSMxLZkGh450ynaMkzqozMs-hS43UMRmFDjYHHXEefFCbVNzaeH2yWQZtKrlmFloDIXdPQxxz3wRaKg66jmUUthsckfaAkybqTZJs47-gX28gXNelehbnMUVAGQKEsqw7Z_pax_hcwDY64v11zu_Y70gOm0jLA1Z5HrbXrP6_ypwatBdz1=s1024" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="722" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOy_DeGEZSMxLZkGh450ynaMkzqozMs-hS43UMRmFDjYHHXEefFCbVNzaeH2yWQZtKrlmFloDIXdPQxxz3wRaKg66jmUUthsckfaAkybqTZJs47-gX28gXNelehbnMUVAGQKEsqw7Z_pax_hcwDY64v11zu_Y70gOm0jLA1Z5HrbXrP6_ypwatBdz1=w226-h320" width="226" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">The second thing is that the people, places and things described in this encyclopedia are also invented. <i>The Codex</i> is wildly imaginative. The made-up language describes made-up people, places and things. Yes, I see what Philip was saying. The illustrations are amazing and weird, drawn in colored pencils, detailed, amusing and sometimes even scary. These fantastical visuals resemble nothing that we would want to look up in any real encyclopedia, but you can't help but be drawn into a surreal enchantment. Serafini credits the decorative gothic painter Carlo Crivelli and the Surrealists with informing his style. "I have many masters. I really believe in masters. Really, it's very difficult to say what master gave me more than others," he says. The surrealist masters stand out for me. </span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj325WIStjZ1OYWZP_06cyhiQMOkn9uDn2vxwzRyWAPQdB6ODkJBcOaMcBOx8kzhk9D2UuF7mvMh7q28921V93sEd-PighUZSZTKMERqixq5ucq0toomeJRSlsqa3MgtRXMTn3vLsf6H3blFHJwflZOaVfDjZ0S8T6YvBHP8kasKIMuYAliyEn5aGU=s3443" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2582" data-original-width="3443" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj325WIStjZ1OYWZP_06cyhiQMOkn9uDn2vxwzRyWAPQdB6ODkJBcOaMcBOx8kzhk9D2UuF7mvMh7q28921V93sEd-PighUZSZTKMERqixq5ucq0toomeJRSlsqa3MgtRXMTn3vLsf6H3blFHJwflZOaVfDjZ0S8T6YvBHP8kasKIMuYAliyEn5aGU=s320" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">Taken together, the visuals you don't recognize and the language you can't read, add up to a powerful imaginative experience that transports you to another realm. Readers, especially younger readers, are inexplicably mesmerized by this encyclopedia of arcane knowledge you don't need to consult for any reason, except that it's a fun+++ art experience. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Serafina, now 72, began creating his Codex in the mid-1970s, and I would hazard to guess, maybe under the influence of something! According to a 2020 <b><i>Insider</i></b> article, Serafini spent "two and a half years drawing like a hermit" while wearing out the grooves of a vinyl copy of Mozart's "<i>The Magic Flute.</i>" That was "the soundtrack of the Codex," Serafini said. "I almost broke it." </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">His publisher finally forced him to put his pencil down. The Codex was published in 1981, and republished several times after that.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One critic calls Serafini's work "a cross between a field guide to alien flora and fauna and an assembly manual for bizarre biomechanical devices, like something you'd find on a shelf in Dr. Strange's library – an arcane artifact that's recognizably a book, just not one from our reality."</span><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/a/AVvXsEg7cBdoS2A52yWmIptzMY7H1XuYGMOSWSU1eHaLWQjNpfAp5HA6tR_OUgfaonWHrohhwgZ96kROfMPVTl86EYVTjUazwvSEQ0bSIf_U3p39YmllKcKH6Okqvd8T9RXdbqosn3JFJvyID0uF7tQv7Ot9smUok5dbX8iwOeFjapXEL68R-J_5etQCx9bh=s700" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="700" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7cBdoS2A52yWmIptzMY7H1XuYGMOSWSU1eHaLWQjNpfAp5HA6tR_OUgfaonWHrohhwgZ96kROfMPVTl86EYVTjUazwvSEQ0bSIf_U3p39YmllKcKH6Okqvd8T9RXdbqosn3JFJvyID0uF7tQv7Ot9smUok5dbX8iwOeFjapXEL68R-J_5etQCx9bh=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">A panel from a French exhibit of Serafini's work in October 2020</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Why has this fanciful encyclopedia of Serafini's world that exists only in his mind, as creative and wonderful as it is, become a cult classic? Maybe this psychotherapist, Douglas Hofstadter, has an answer. </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEv6_LJ8KOIElbURdXF5KfJ7wN9XcJpF-scRyVcvGnW4KbyBS3ar9Nfioet7dGfHTiSzHD7G1gusQMdlLYEviI4IJu-jo515EWT-5tELvqzNe9qeJUBU6xlAdrsapGGm6Pu1KFkyLzsFiACOIpE0B1gPf66Uq-W00A6YDT_MoYB3J7RFltFkwj38kA=s2508" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1672" data-original-width="2508" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEv6_LJ8KOIElbURdXF5KfJ7wN9XcJpF-scRyVcvGnW4KbyBS3ar9Nfioet7dGfHTiSzHD7G1gusQMdlLYEviI4IJu-jo515EWT-5tELvqzNe9qeJUBU6xlAdrsapGGm6Pu1KFkyLzsFiACOIpE0B1gPf66Uq-W00A6YDT_MoYB3J7RFltFkwj38kA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">At Serafini's house in Rome. He is still writing,<br />still drawing, so there's no end to his Codex either. <br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><blockquote><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;">"On top of dreaming up a magnificently mysterious curly script in which all the articles were written (readable only by inhabitants of that world, sad to say, yet beautiful to behold by outsiders like us earthlings), he painted hundreds of fantastic, surreal scenes that would have sent chills up and down the spines of such madly possessed magicians as Hieronymus Bosch, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and M. C. Escher. Without any doubt, Luigi Serafini belongs in the ranks of those immortal geniuses, each of whom was gifted with a unique brand of deliciously demonic inventivity. Serafini matches them all at every level and in every dimension. I tip my hat with boundless admiration to this marvelous thinker, miraculous creator, and magistral artist." Douglas Hofstadter</span></blockquote><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6D0KLDV3SLHQ3rP4fqTvG1KpcrsykYcEsUEPeAUsFfpcy4upp5niJ0tphTdNsVqBOEv7FtIOxYhjxH-u3rdIvD7884AwbSprISeN3_bGtGy0EXryoDI1Dhh03ig3mSCrME05glb_ut_H1uP2zXmzO9HqJQXTbs0oxmYngMEVDcrvZpHQnXgqbT911=s500" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="450" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6D0KLDV3SLHQ3rP4fqTvG1KpcrsykYcEsUEPeAUsFfpcy4upp5niJ0tphTdNsVqBOEv7FtIOxYhjxH-u3rdIvD7884AwbSprISeN3_bGtGy0EXryoDI1Dhh03ig3mSCrME05glb_ut_H1uP2zXmzO9HqJQXTbs0oxmYngMEVDcrvZpHQnXgqbT911=w180-h200" width="180" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">So, Philip. Why do YOU like this book you can't read and that you find strange and weird? "I don't know. It has do with the mystery of it, and the drawings." </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">"Lots of people think the made-up language could be an actual language," he says. "There's lots of discussion online about it." </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Why would they think that? "Well, it might have grammatical rules or something. Also, the drawings are the coolest things ever and the art is unique. Where else can you find this information, Nana?"</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Some Sources: </span></div><div><p>1. <a href="https://birdinflight.com/media/luigi-serafini-on-how-and-why-he-created-an-encyclopedia-of-an-imaginary-world.html">https://birdinflight.com/media/luigi-serafini-on-how-and-why-he-created-an-encyclopedia-of-an-imaginary-world.html</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://contentcatnip.com/2018/09/21/book-review-codex-seraphinianus-by-luigi-serafini/">https://contentcatnip.com/2018/09/21/book-review-codex-seraphinianus-by-luigi-serafini/</a></p><p>3. <a href="https://newsrnd.com/life/2020-09-29-france-pays-homage-to-the--codex-seraphinianus-.rJeUvLYgUP.html">https://newsrnd.com/life/2020-09-29-france-pays-homage-to-the--codex-seraphinianus-.rJeUvLYgUP.html</a> A 2020 exhibition in Southern France. </p><p>4. <a href="https://www.insider.com/codex-seraphinianus-luigi-serafini-interview-40th-anniversary-edition-2021-11">https://www.insider.com/codex-seraphinianus-luigi-serafini-interview-40th-anniversary-edition-2021-11</a></p><p>5. <a href="https://www.wired.com/2013/10/codex-seraphinianus-interview/">https://www.wired.com/2013/10/codex-seraphinianus-interview/</a></p><p>6. <a href="https://www.openculture.com/2017/09/an-introduction-to-the-codex-seraphinianus-the-strangest-book-ever-published.html">https://www.openculture.com/2017/09/an-introduction-to-the-codex-seraphinianus-the-strangest-book-ever-published.html</a> two pages from this weird Encyclopedia of a fantasy world</p><p>7. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Leicester">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Leicester</a></p><p>8. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Seraphinianus">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Seraphinianus</a> "<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">T</span>he Codex is an encyclopedia in manuscript with copious hand-drawn, colored-pencil illustrations of bizarre and fantastical flora, fauna, anatomies, fashions, and foods....The illustrations are often surreal parodies of things in the real world, such as a bleeding fruit and a plant that grows into roughly the shape of a chair....Others depict odd, apparently senseless machines, often with delicate appearances and bound by tiny filaments. Some illustrations are recognizable as maps or human faces; while others (especially in the "physics" chapter) are mostly or totally abstract. Nearly all of the illustrations are brightly coloured and highly detailed." </p><p>Wikipedia also describes the structure of the book. "The book is in eleven chapters, in two sections. The first section appears to describe the natural world of flora, fauna and physics. The second deals with various aspects of human life, including garments, history, cuisine and architecture. Each chapter seems to address a general encyclopedic topic, as follows:</p></div><div><ol style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; list-style-image: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Types of flora: strange flowers, trees that uproot themselves and migrate, etc.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Fauna (animals), including surreal variations of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Horse">horse</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hippopotamus">hippopotamus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Rhinoceros">rhinoceros</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Bird">birds</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">An apparently separate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_(biology)" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Kingdom (biology)">kingdom</a> of odd <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipedal" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Bipedal">bipedal</a> creatures</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Physics">Physics</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a> (generally considered the most abstract, enigmatic chapter)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Bizarre machines and vehicles</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The humanities: biology, sexuality, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Indigenous peoples">aboriginal</a> peoples, including some examples with plant life and tools (e.g. pens, wrenches) grafted onto the human body</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">History: people (some only vaguely human) of unknown significance, with their times of birth and death; scenes of historical and possibly religious significance; burial and funereal customs</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The Codex's writing system (which is to say, the – or probably, a – writing system of the world (if a world it is) from which the codex originates, or which it documents), including punctuation marks, the text being written, and experiments performed upon the text</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Food, dining practices, garments</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Bizarre games, including cards, board games and athletic sports</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture" style="background: none; color: #0645ad; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Architecture">Architecture</a>." </li></ol></div></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-43446400340001594502022-02-14T15:28:00.001-05:002022-02-14T15:47:28.043-05:00Russia v. Ukraine: David v. Goliath<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJE7k5nZRZeupEOA20CRmeRfNt_IYfRkycT7cJIyUBm13NqRkbsPhKkY9wmaAUd4Yq8rbCxhofq88pHmfxJhSqCmF_YSaUDUSZjYjTJA1ctQn90ACWY4Ml5kyJZQ4AZPWkjfNVpfVvOUrGAgFgzVYPjpB0Szd7tgsZoQ0We3Z96Nhaov7jB4EMNAAP=s770" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 20px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><span><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/a/AVvXsEjps4N3lj5iYphReQa3c12FoZ8bd8R5Z1gpL7JVX3bID4ptMtJTBgJJjizp5KmGzcPy4tqevlw1lxxSbEKCPYTcas3sMSlADN1OjiT5GNRtA6HA1Ae_oHDJMgdTeHvxD1-p2d4hee6dFsAhQPWflZxnZ1tYfy4fB1cW1V4bO_6g0biQr9EkdJsbkRz8=s780" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="780" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjps4N3lj5iYphReQa3c12FoZ8bd8R5Z1gpL7JVX3bID4ptMtJTBgJJjizp5KmGzcPy4tqevlw1lxxSbEKCPYTcas3sMSlADN1OjiT5GNRtA6HA1Ae_oHDJMgdTeHvxD1-p2d4hee6dFsAhQPWflZxnZ1tYfy4fB1cW1V4bO_6g0biQr9EkdJsbkRz8=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Biden says latest intel indicates Russia will invade on Wednesday<br />16 February 2022. Pray for Ukraine.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Russia has one of the most powerful militaries in the world. It ranks in the top five nations that spend the most on their military. In 2020, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcgkmSHjztGe3ZI8Ikh9-GY3bUy_igr3M6fTlFMnIXm2QV4p_QOHxNNWa88rJqzGarKIcY7wlHFyz4UaVxDrERLqVdnjRtwj_lp_gnxm-BzFyTkJf-2vUyjR8LOJ6ovnT4ovMMTjUSCH8Kx2SHBbmvzF3zlEbUS7qAgmC5P3er7ZkJAaIDmrp1f1E5=s920" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="920" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcgkmSHjztGe3ZI8Ikh9-GY3bUy_igr3M6fTlFMnIXm2QV4p_QOHxNNWa88rJqzGarKIcY7wlHFyz4UaVxDrERLqVdnjRtwj_lp_gnxm-BzFyTkJf-2vUyjR8LOJ6ovnT4ovMMTjUSCH8Kx2SHBbmvzF3zlEbUS7qAgmC5P3er7ZkJAaIDmrp1f1E5=w400-h308" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A map of Russia and Eastern and Western Europe. The<br />sheer size of Russia is daunting, and its military budget<br />even more so. </span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Russian military spending amounted to $61.7bn. Ukraine’s was less than a 10th of that at $5.9bn, according to the Sto</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">ckholm International Peace Research Institute. </span>The Ukrainian military is bigger than it was in 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and then invaded eastern Ukraine in the Donbas region where I served with the Peace Corps. But it's still David v. Goliath when it comes to war and geopolitics.</div></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">n't always the case. In fact, Ukraine used to be the third largest nuclear power in the world. It gave up nuclear weapons in 1994 in exchange for security guarantees from the US, UK and Russia. These were promises to respect Ukraine's borders. Russia violated these agreements by invading Ukraine in 2014. Only then did NATO station multinational forces to protect eastern Europe, and the U.S. and allies imposed sanctions on Russian and pro-Russian oligarchs. These were the sanctions that Republicans sought to end in 2016, and in most cases did, Oleg Derispaka being the prime example. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRZyqwdHIi4xbcDyv-0Pv-1A0xGT2V7RDor2a_Liw-fuXuWaQr_4lkQeG6iqTohKcOsgtSuPAJc9hv9TbwsTnjIORiPsCjvKxurNSwo_iyWafdQ8FF1qirKmVEvHsZl_MbOSCk_0WDg2rYypu3MHkQyRI9C9kSfMUcRqJ0wqSqY8uTvBxepwEd7b9y=s780" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="780" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRZyqwdHIi4xbcDyv-0Pv-1A0xGT2V7RDor2a_Liw-fuXuWaQr_4lkQeG6iqTohKcOsgtSuPAJc9hv9TbwsTnjIORiPsCjvKxurNSwo_iyWafdQ8FF1qirKmVEvHsZl_MbOSCk_0WDg2rYypu3MHkQyRI9C9kSfMUcRqJ0wqSqY8uTvBxepwEd7b9y=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although the NATO nations agreed to increase support for Ukraine, there is still no international accountability for Putin's invasion of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine's borders, or for that matter for Russia's shooting down of MH-17 over the killing fields of Ukraine, which killed 298 innocent people, or the blatant breaking of international treaties. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXb44XLrJ_KbqQl-6w9Vbczb-qah7wOjII-il2abCEcUiW7COJ_aQdjufPLX6BqDEhmPGAIGHrm_GlKTPJSAAVkySPk9q-wQ-u-SOkXsZcKpFmFSK1sKzwpIMPc5cvPngFiMMqcnhq-RptshAugjd_5hXSAaMieQHy6iXztL1fokoNBf95mD0_a4P2=s320" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="320" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXb44XLrJ_KbqQl-6w9Vbczb-qah7wOjII-il2abCEcUiW7COJ_aQdjufPLX6BqDEhmPGAIGHrm_GlKTPJSAAVkySPk9q-wQ-u-SOkXsZcKpFmFSK1sKzwpIMPc5cvPngFiMMqcnhq-RptshAugjd_5hXSAaMieQHy6iXztL1fokoNBf95mD0_a4P2=w200-h151" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Crimean Tatars, a peaceful and long-suffering people,</i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>mourn the 2014 Russian takeover of their homeland. </i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>After heroic efforts to return to Crimea & rebuild their</i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>homes and communities, they find themselves once again</i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>under the genocidal thumb of Russia. </i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Few shed tears for the loss of Crimea, the indigenous home of the Crimean Tatars, now militarized, stalinized, and victimized by untold human rights abuses. I weep for Crimea, and for the loss of parts of Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts, where I lived for two years and where the warm and wonderful Ukrainian people took in a stranger and made me feel at home. </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: x-small;">. .</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Putin, unchecked, will continue to grab Ukraine into his orbit. It touches the core of his revanchism. He is set on destroying Ukraine and with it NATO in one fell swope. He says this is non-negotiable. Not Ukraine, not any eastern European country, must be accepted into NATO membership. It cannot happen. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><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/a/AVvXsEhJth9YX3jTinp2Tqo3w7r7-1KAmdJtPsgTAVnlE6_wN3gDBRf5cvakzu2pnNsB4H_zVZhJQcwgfzb1AKffYzAuxndhdbe2t_Bvw-SIR2WNw1k3JeI8U-qM_5X-chV4mca2564U52FV0yRjgBeoPX--UP9zz5co3OdPbf3J1lCJW2_9yBOXk2OWLoDq=s780" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="780" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJth9YX3jTinp2Tqo3w7r7-1KAmdJtPsgTAVnlE6_wN3gDBRf5cvakzu2pnNsB4H_zVZhJQcwgfzb1AKffYzAuxndhdbe2t_Bvw-SIR2WNw1k3JeI8U-qM_5X-chV4mca2564U52FV0yRjgBeoPX--UP9zz5co3OdPbf3J1lCJW2_9yBOXk2OWLoDq=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Yesterday's protest in Kyiv.</span> +</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #26282a; font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpj_NuI74V7lGcQ1iDh1Mf1m_NzC6zHP_7lliyd47fsJY1M8Bh1dyM5ZXcXYTqdvJh8s51uLocImDaaGeMApWZ4-o-JEoE7ufALMvxVrp9zb-uptYEc9GlnS6YzTUWVvWKjKMMthhMbouOlnIcJOfZAzWawCwFHSiG0Rkq1buAWbz3tE620T6h6zjF=s780" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="780" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpj_NuI74V7lGcQ1iDh1Mf1m_NzC6zHP_7lliyd47fsJY1M8Bh1dyM5ZXcXYTqdvJh8s51uLocImDaaGeMApWZ4-o-JEoE7ufALMvxVrp9zb-uptYEc9GlnS6YzTUWVvWKjKMMthhMbouOlnIcJOfZAzWawCwFHSiG0Rkq1buAWbz3tE620T6h6zjF=s320" width="320" /></a></div></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Shouldn't these countries be able to make their own decisions, free from the threat of war? It's not what Putin wants. Nigel Gould-Davis, of the International Strategy Institute in the UK, argues that Putin's immediate fear is not NATO per se, "but its own currently declining influence over Ukraine, whose Western ties are growing deeper, resistance to local pro-Russian figures like Viktor Medvedchuk sterner, and national identity stronger.... Since time is not on Putin’s side, he is seeking to assert dominance over Kyiv while this is still possible.” (reported in Aljazeera, which is on top of this story). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="color: #26282a; font-size: medium;">No one wants war with Russia. I think President Biden is making every effort to work with our allies in Europe to negotiate peace. Putin's aggression has strengthened our alliances, which as we know were severely damaged during the former administration. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelinsky, was elected by a large majority and is holding fast. He has made progress against corruption and is focusing on Ukraine's economy. I asked historian Timothy Snyder, author of <i><b>The Bloodlands</b></i>, if there were Nazis in the Ukrainian government. "There are no Nazis in the government," he said. Zelinsky, who is Jewish, is working on self-determination for Ukraine, and that's across the board. That's what the vast majority of the Ukrainian people yearn for. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial;">In spite of the massive amounts of intel the US has, no one knows for certain </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial;">what Putin will do. He's already achieved his goals of creating chaos and fear in the West. His military build up will make a decision to invade easy to carry out. And it will be devastating.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial;">Biden warns that the latest intel suggests that Russia will attack on Wednesday. This Wednesday, February the 16th. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial;">Ukraine will resist, but it will not be able to hold back the mighty Russian military. I fear for arial bombings of Kyiv, an ancient and beautiful capital city filled with extraordinary cathedrals. monuments, and neighborhoods. I fear for the destruction of the beauty of Ukraine across the country, from my town of Starobelsk in the far east to Lyiv in the far west of Ukraine; from Chernigov down to Odessa and around the Black Sea. I fear for my friends who have been in harm's way since Putin's 2014 invasion. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If Ukraine falls, many Russia experts predict that so will other former Soviet Socialist Republics of eastern Europe. Belarus is already in alliance with Russia. Hopes for self-determination and autonomy will be gone. Western Europe will be on the Russian border, facing Putin's Ukraine strategy. The world will be a sadder place wherever Peace Corps volunteers have served in eastern Europe in their efforts to build fellowship across boundaries. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><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/a/AVvXsEjZ9duH6r7yhOyrzrHqccs9kuqaSRLO7iS9LkJyJS6d0VAA7Il2QfJQoie084QDhlxcqHWl07wH5m6nKZ72kKB7hHtHD34LnyYshH8XodCdc2nS9xRyoMuIwZ2-3RxVzSIQs0LPoTCLfiMFQM5t8_HZcVRI-rVpdHY1uzKOP3GPc96SOrwihDauvv8n=s300" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZ9duH6r7yhOyrzrHqccs9kuqaSRLO7iS9LkJyJS6d0VAA7Il2QfJQoie084QDhlxcqHWl07wH5m6nKZ72kKB7hHtHD34LnyYshH8XodCdc2nS9xRyoMuIwZ2-3RxVzSIQs0LPoTCLfiMFQM5t8_HZcVRI-rVpdHY1uzKOP3GPc96SOrwihDauvv8n=w400-h224" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: arial;">Putin's map would look something like this, adding eastern Europe and more<br />territory to what is already the largest country on earth.</span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: arial;"> Putin does not fear for his borders, he's hungry for war and revenge and international dominance over eastern Europe that will bring Russia to the boarders of the West. </span></span><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #26282a; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The drums of war are getting louder. The echoes of death and destruction are hovering. The saber rattling is morphing into boots on the ground and bombs from the air. President Biden says if Russia continues to advance into Ukraine, retaliation will be swift and forceful. What does that mean? I pray for my friends. </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisEdIYnxrMiKnJpRpGjUkcDRChfbNvmKasUZ9rp_7mtQyBzeO7q8z6lTHv2KQAg8Dg6dh69J1S46K2QF94NglYSWcR2YHY-HWJryb347FYLmAkvzOPXgFEF2epLuZBVlcFpa2wodVSsbywaUMATiFOq8JOtWtZ2GKWZ56LvalolMVjxZKQDn3flP37=s770" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="770" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisEdIYnxrMiKnJpRpGjUkcDRChfbNvmKasUZ9rp_7mtQyBzeO7q8z6lTHv2KQAg8Dg6dh69J1S46K2QF94NglYSWcR2YHY-HWJryb347FYLmAkvzOPXgFEF2epLuZBVlcFpa2wodVSsbywaUMATiFOq8JOtWtZ2GKWZ56LvalolMVjxZKQDn3flP37=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Here is a powerful take by Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic, "The Reason Putin Would Risk War," February 3, 2022: "<span style="background-color: #f0f2f5; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Putin is preparing to invade Ukraine again—or pretending he will invade Ukraine again—for the same reason. He wants to destabilize Ukraine, frighten Ukraine. He wants Ukrainian democracy to fail. He wants the Ukrainian economy to collapse. He wants foreign investors to flee. He wants his neighbors—in Belarus, Kazakhstan, even Poland and Hungary—to doubt whether democracy will ever be viable, in the longer term, in their countries too. Farther abroad, he wants to put so much strain on Western and democratic institutions, especially the European Union and NATO, that they break up. He wants to keep dictators in power wherever he can, in Syria, Venezuela, and Iran. He wants to undermine America, to shrink American influence, to remove the power of the democracy rhetoric that so many people in his part of the world still associate with America. He wants America itself to fail."</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sources/Notes:</span></p><p>1. <a href=" https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/how-ukraines-armed-forces-shape-up-against-russias-2022-02-01/"> https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/how-ukraines-armed-forces-shape-up-against-russias-2022-02-01/</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/25/infographic-military-capabilities-of-russia-and-ukraine-interactive">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/25/infographic-military-capabilities-of-russia-and-ukraine-interactive</a>, Good on options for economic sanctions, which sound severe. </p><p>3. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/27/ukraine-faces-enormous-military-odds-against-russia">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/27/ukraine-faces-enormous-military-odds-against-russia</a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Ukrainian politics is quite a fractious sport because it’s undergoing a period of protracted reform from an oligarchical system. Russia is ruled under the iron grip of the regime and there wouldn’t be any vacillation on the Russian side,” he said, calling any Russian-Ukrainian war “an unfair fight”.</span></p><p>4.. <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_111767.htm">https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_111767.htm</a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">5. <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2022/02/04/an-open-letter-to-the-russian-leadership/" style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: arial;">https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2022/02/04/an-open-letter-to-the-russian-leadership/</span></a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">6, </span><a href=" https://francurrocaryblog.blogs+pot.com/2016/02/de-occupy-crimea-end-russian-occupation.html" style="background-color: transparent;"> https://francurrocaryblog.blogs+pot.com/2016/02/de-occupy-crimea-end-russian-occupation.html</a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; hyphens: auto; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7<span style="font-size: x-small;">. <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/how-russia-is-slowly-encircling-europe-32596">https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/how-russia-is-slowly-encircling-europe-32596</a></span></span></p>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-86971837052340505622022-01-28T12:27:00.006-05:002022-01-30T09:17:10.798-05:00"Overcoming the Powers of Darkness:" The Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized and Banned Art<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq22_T1oUkn7SB5M24512vrNXgVVc1eYiqqeoGyTbNMNV9xqF5qpNdSQj7Meug2rhKEinJnyZbtr_SmQTkjMEm6PnshYZgIWrLCTD2gyYIJLe1pLW9CQtaGgYavI9Xz5hKtpkKipTouVkLck7yLToLzOnexoGMoTi2V5i_3I3i6WEDaZdqxR4wlBp5=s860" style="clear: left; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="860" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjq22_T1oUkn7SB5M24512vrNXgVVc1eYiqqeoGyTbNMNV9xqF5qpNdSQj7Meug2rhKEinJnyZbtr_SmQTkjMEm6PnshYZgIWrLCTD2gyYIJLe1pLW9CQtaGgYavI9Xz5hKtpkKipTouVkLck7yLToLzOnexoGMoTi2V5i_3I3i6WEDaZdqxR4wlBp5=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #990000;">Fritz Ascher was born on Oct. 17, 1893 in Berlin and died on Mar. 26,1970 in Berlin<br />A Holocaust survivor, his work was discovered by Rachel Cohen in the mid-80s and inspired her founding of The Fritz Asher Society in 2014. Ascher, an Expressionist and symbolism artist, is just now being rediscovered, so we are in on the ground floor..</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzj9_Y3reJ5A4cSil0Qsp0CNzoti9V23osfS22toUB7NxKJZAVi9WrH5qYHGf1sjCMIDhuGusrJHt_2FvqTk8i6uJR7AySoQCo7XJ45Epu1NS9WzCHshBbNZ3ygjvIruCoLZRosfXU7bCUyijiNfPewAMfIl0xdW2B8qS3x38O5N37Kho-ntUcxUmT=s1200" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1200" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzj9_Y3reJ5A4cSil0Qsp0CNzoti9V23osfS22toUB7NxKJZAVi9WrH5qYHGf1sjCMIDhuGusrJHt_2FvqTk8i6uJR7AySoQCo7XJ45Epu1NS9WzCHshBbNZ3ygjvIruCoLZRosfXU7bCUyijiNfPewAMfIl0xdW2B8qS3x38O5N37Kho-ntUcxUmT=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Cahana</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> I discovered the Fritz Ascher Society by accident, when I was researching a blog on the artist Alice Cahana. Cahana (1929-2017) was a Hungarian Jew from Sarvar who survived four different concentration camps in the last year of WWII, losing every member of her extended family except her father and her beloved older sister Edith. Edith survived only to perish from illness immediately after liberation. She entered a hospital and Alice never saw her again. Cahana married and came to the US, where she became known for her art of the Holocaust and left a remarkable legacy. Loss is an enduring pain, Nazi terror knew no bounds, and it informed Alice's life and her art. How could it not?</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In learning about Alice Cahana, I became interested in the art and the artists who survived the inhuman violence of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMGJkkj5VOKLiFKPFhqjYi06BxPFCqZucLF8qAqmEQ_KHdJNe6duXo8SktXkch6aEpb5TQtRoSebrhOmAQTf47lejR1X9UPRtfLfrRDRUYIhQppIZsXVWHxGwX320rduypKmkQxvmndpwsJK6HynNrPxslglEOU9aCJZqwtm2a5RAyLWfhXbWncGUU=s1800" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1410" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMGJkkj5VOKLiFKPFhqjYi06BxPFCqZucLF8qAqmEQ_KHdJNe6duXo8SktXkch6aEpb5TQtRoSebrhOmAQTf47lejR1X9UPRtfLfrRDRUYIhQppIZsXVWHxGwX320rduypKmkQxvmndpwsJK6HynNrPxslglEOU9aCJZqwtm2a5RAyLWfhXbWncGUU=s320" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>So did Rachel Cohen, who some years ago discovered the art of Fritz Ascher, whose career, like Cahana's and so many other artists, was motivated, interrupted or destroyed by the Nazi regime. Cohen felt, rightly, that these artists had not received the recognition they deserved. She writes:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="color: #990000;">"The</span> </i></span><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #990000;">strength and artistry of Fritz Ascher's work has driven me to try change that. In 2014 I founded the Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized Banned Art, which researches, discusses, publishes and exhibits artists whose life and work were affected by the German Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. With our work we commemorate their artistic achievements, introduce work that may have been forgotten to a broad audience, and initiate an active dialogue about individuality and artistic integrity in response to conditions of extreme duress and political tyranny</span></i><span style="font-family: arial;">." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Th</span><span face=""Open Sans", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">is is God's work for sure. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">Fritz Ascher studied art in Berlin and began a brilliant career only to confront the fearful rise of Hitler's Nazi Germany. Moving from place to place to avoid capture, he, along with millions of others, could not escape the Gestapo's ruthless hunting rampages. He was found and sent to Sachsenhauser concentration camp and then to Potsdam Gestapo prison.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">"Art interrupted," as art historians remark with sadness about the Jewish artists of these times.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">When released Ascher lived in a bombed out shelter with the help of Martha Graftsmann until the war ended. He resumed his painting, but his oeuvre came to embody the darkness and emotional terror that overcome his life and that of so many other artists then. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw8OhPGnP-7C2Ih8aNHEfXeDfVpzdzgVMTx4FgXsdxFlEZ1JqJudn-TQ5aXB-NmZCQS71W1PZ-w15iuROK81CxuZt3CCBYopa9DAakao4ThQNKBLqW5bRbTO2jyXgGtXlq9iPYugilJ7zU_6YKA_C0dSpUYbuT4LIHq-Zm6829v4rAqCzyU-bIV8OL=s707" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw8OhPGnP-7C2Ih8aNHEfXeDfVpzdzgVMTx4FgXsdxFlEZ1JqJudn-TQ5aXB-NmZCQS71W1PZ-w15iuROK81CxuZt3CCBYopa9DAakao4ThQNKBLqW5bRbTO2jyXgGtXlq9iPYugilJ7zU_6YKA_C0dSpUYbuT4LIHq-Zm6829v4rAqCzyU-bIV8OL=s320" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;">Ascher's Sunset, at Grey's Gallery, in 2019,NYU's fine<br />arts gallery in Washington Sq.in Greenwich Village. </span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />His work lay hidden from public view until Rachel Cohen discovered his paintings and vowed to bring them to light. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: arial;">“The intensity, the strong energy, the colors, the forms,” she said, recalling the first time she saw his work in the mid-80s. "It was love at first sight." </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: arial;">After years of study and research, Cohen is finally bringing Ascher's work to the public, and galleries, art auctions, social media sites, public exhibits, and some media exposure is amplifying the Ascher Society's efforts. Cohen's labor of love is expanding our art universe.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "PT Serif", serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Ascher Society recognizes as well that while the Nazi terror regime "is certainly the blueprint for authoritarian terror," there are other dictatorial regimes that have suppressed individual and artistic freedom during the 20th century. They deserve recognition too. There was the Stalinist terror of the late 1920s through the 1950s; China's long march terror under Mao ZeDong; Pol Pot in Cambodia; Salazar in Portugal; Franco in Spain, authoritarian takeovers in the Middle East, and in fact up to this 2022 International Holocaust Remembrance Day. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Ascher Society commemorates those who withstood these powers. I believe with the Ascher Society that by showing their work "we can inspire reflection, creativity and resilience in the face of adversity today...and provide today's audiences and society at large with valuable examples of how humanity can overcome the powers of darkness." </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">Sources:</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span face="Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;">1. </span></span><a href="https://fritzaschersociety.org/" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">https://fritzaschersociety.org/</a><span face="Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;"> </span></span>"Comparing Ascher’s self-portraits from before and after the War equally proves instructive and offers insight into how Ascher’s psyche and his self-conception evolved as a consequence of his persecution. For an artist, the self remains a compositional subject infinitely in play as something to explore, avoid, grapple with, or deny. In this regard, Ascher’s multi-medium and multi-faceted study of himself and the representation of the inner life prove to be a consistent thread throughout his career."</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span face="Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;">2. </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Ascher</a> </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span face="Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 18px;">3. </span><span> <a href="https://francurrocaryblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/alice-lok-cahana-holocaust-survivor.html">https://francurrocaryblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/alice-lok-cahana-holocaust-survivor.html</a></span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span face="Open Sans, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. <a href="https://borislurieart.org/about-boris-lurie">https://borislurieart.org/about-boris-lurie</a> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">5. <a href="https://www.artforum.com/spotlight/boris-lurie-art-foundation-83595 ">https://www.artforum.com/spotlight/boris-lurie-art-foundation-83595 </a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">6. <a href=" https://300magazine.com/nightmare-art-inspired-by-war-first-us-exhibition-of-fritz-ascher-works/."> https://300magazine.com/nightmare-art-inspired-by-war-first-us-exhibition-of-fritz-ascher-works/.</a> </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;">7. <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/if-not-for-the-nazis-he-may-have-been-the-next-leonardo/ ">https://www.timesofisrael.com/if-not-for-the-nazis-he-may-have-been-the-next-leonardo/ </a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><br /></p></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-43711234422914228552022-01-17T20:28:00.006-05:002022-01-18T09:09:45.202-05:00SPLC's Civil Rights Museum: Honoring MLK and the Monumental Struggle for Civil Rights and Justice <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNehmt-x6JTKTQqFDGq1vj8jFYEpP0SpLqXIoqkkQvWu-N0-GVg8sPMDlJeFCKR49gcdl9sXgXhMMCX7-AOtf90aVYRj5Esh3IMyz8XyHf6sHcdA-peCpLY4R4tsT1U-i_QNUn9S6qBdyBld99xhzG1_bqKElB4Hu96NtoSaS6_ibN6ZCgp_bm-870=s362" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="362" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNehmt-x6JTKTQqFDGq1vj8jFYEpP0SpLqXIoqkkQvWu-N0-GVg8sPMDlJeFCKR49gcdl9sXgXhMMCX7-AOtf90aVYRj5Esh3IMyz8XyHf6sHcdA-peCpLY4R4tsT1U-i_QNUn9S6qBdyBld99xhzG1_bqKElB4Hu96NtoSaS6_ibN6ZCgp_bm-870=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></p><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUNaxVzTosz3sQvIqKCRMwIL0NEuahhZ5w1YjoCB9cxFu92bGRcUJ7PnhUk9xrVVHbs7zQ7slJhanaa3p7bnfT3USGlhO4JFnfqvNZn2RYZpvYbxlliO8zEKMEheuoMf4jFR-0IP9DJ65vKtCT1lMo1S6CZCs1zOVfuc0DPNdbVFlnxVfH9BjUBGeO=s843" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUNaxVzTosz3sQvIqKCRMwIL0NEuahhZ5w1YjoCB9cxFu92bGRcUJ7PnhUk9xrVVHbs7zQ7slJhanaa3p7bnfT3USGlhO4JFnfqvNZn2RYZpvYbxlliO8zEKMEheuoMf4jFR-0IP9DJ65vKtCT1lMo1S6CZCs1zOVfuc0DPNdbVFlnxVfH9BjUBGeO=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; text-align: start; white-space: pre-wrap;">The newly redesigned Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama, remembers the past and challenges visitors to continue the struggle. The center provides another pillar to support the struggle for freedom and justice in this country. Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />The Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC) in Montgomery, located new the church where MLK preached during the Montgomery Bus boycott, was created in 2005, designed by Maya Lin, famous for the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) created the museum as part of its long-time commitment to social justice.<div> </div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmvHuBWMTfk2EncHP4OK88BkRoyMgr7uSy_vI8NZJVUl--8pGDIQzM3jy0TS36PdGVxwE6Dr5O7nVxxKyXkxN9jemVmvWs_S-shQfXxcCm0N6qBonjpzk28ARBpREIwHHcYzcHPmOyS42GKcNfDW0RaNZWvUAKEAnYheU6xDmes5MAeulNFt-WC572=s484" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="484" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmvHuBWMTfk2EncHP4OK88BkRoyMgr7uSy_vI8NZJVUl--8pGDIQzM3jy0TS36PdGVxwE6Dr5O7nVxxKyXkxN9jemVmvWs_S-shQfXxcCm0N6qBonjpzk28ARBpREIwHHcYzcHPmOyS42GKcNfDW0RaNZWvUAKEAnYheU6xDmes5MAeulNFt-WC572=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaZbaFJYImtySibtM2AT69YQ2zJnuWqrDDrCr3XJYkvK6gFRXOG1wCtsCE95DC16YmGtpjOWs36ZL_y8cVZqXUvGM1KVdTryr90q-pLnM9JU6cFAFKBdKIB3BzMcxSPkT0DPQl-9qHojqnftdKpuoSH6QkBT24yCbJ_76DKDH3ZosKWgun9Zppsfs4=s1390" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="866" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaZbaFJYImtySibtM2AT69YQ2zJnuWqrDDrCr3XJYkvK6gFRXOG1wCtsCE95DC16YmGtpjOWs36ZL_y8cVZqXUvGM1KVdTryr90q-pLnM9JU6cFAFKBdKIB3BzMcxSPkT0DPQl-9qHojqnftdKpuoSH6QkBT24yCbJ_76DKDH3ZosKWgun9Zppsfs4=s320" width="199" /></a></div><br />The SPLC has been looked to as a pioneer in Civil Rights advocacy since its founding in 1972. Its had landmark cases against vicious White Supremacy, the KKK, and all forms of racial injustice since then. SPLC has had its own struggles and some painful inner turmoil, but it is back to the SPCL we idealist liberals have known and loved since Julian Bond served as president. It's why I continue to support its work. It's new president, Margaret Huang, formerly head of Amnesty International, is committed to its mission and its legal, advocacy, and educational goals. </div><div><br /></div><div>The renovated Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC), given added weight as the Black Lives Matter movement ricocheted across the country, embodies this mission. It embodies the passion and commitment of Martin Luther King. It emphasizes the civil rights movement "as a continuum, weaving together the US's history of racism with the ongoing activism in pursuit of equity. Like the work of the SPLC itself, the museum challenges visitors to be catalysts for justice." Its new exhibits, videos and hands-on materials sound fascinating and moving, its educational mission as important as SPLC's legal advocacy. </div><div><blockquote>“The reopening of the CRMC comes precisely at the right moment as our country grapples with efforts to prevent the teaching of an honest history about race and racism in our schools,” said Margaret Huang. "The CRMC and museums across the country can help fill those gaps. I’m thrilled that the CRMC is reopening to once again help visitors understand the truth about the history of civil rights advocacy in this country.”<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/a/AVvXsEhsRtC3u7Eke50QzgQQZ_NLmbExJNPG_qwEKLX75P4WGQFMSNiPLCg9eeTLbCbS0HFmnpHAcXBYygM_4yTlg0IAwuTyP8agw-Hjk4mFsRttbezlJHJsdZO2vcjHFDmCKKfYbTooqILgS1vvIvG6VxLNu56Rn_dx5OCcy-0-sUJ-7JYmCpzPSGTqwNYB=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="878" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsRtC3u7Eke50QzgQQZ_NLmbExJNPG_qwEKLX75P4WGQFMSNiPLCg9eeTLbCbS0HFmnpHAcXBYygM_4yTlg0IAwuTyP8agw-Hjk4mFsRttbezlJHJsdZO2vcjHFDmCKKfYbTooqILgS1vvIvG6VxLNu56Rn_dx5OCcy-0-sUJ-7JYmCpzPSGTqwNYB=w274-h320" width="274" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martyrs of Civil Rights movement engraved on black granite wheel.</td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><p><br /></p></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi47YNeHSsAioMAetozvzNlfXmem2G2c9bML2UqsCSWdZCqJA3MGEvTGRDOx8_-2EXkbUv2exNbok6ax7GeBJOjR1wBG4VeEqXYfnpGiHa1o5e3Iai9rEgoov26BxtlWTKymK4HRe3UROxdVBuk0VN5dxJKpp4WAsKptX93_ZK3fVjUvq2Mu1Dy1skw=s480" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi47YNeHSsAioMAetozvzNlfXmem2G2c9bML2UqsCSWdZCqJA3MGEvTGRDOx8_-2EXkbUv2exNbok6ax7GeBJOjR1wBG4VeEqXYfnpGiHa1o5e3Iai9rEgoov26BxtlWTKymK4HRe3UROxdVBuk0VN5dxJKpp4WAsKptX93_ZK3fVjUvq2Mu1Dy1skw=s320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Haraz Ghanbari/AP</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The SPLC's recognition of and commitment to lifting up the work of activist and community organizers on the front lines of the fight for racial justice resonates especially with historians of the movement. People like Fannie Lou Hamer, who fought for voting rights from the ground up in Mississippi when the KKK rode roughshod over the lives of African Americans and lynching darkened the Southern landscape with violent deaths </div><div><br /></div><div>The Museum honors them all, and all those who fought and died for the monumental struggle. The names of civil-rights martyrs from 1954 to 1968 are engraved on the Memorial's circular black granite table. It honors those killed, terrorized, and buried in the darkness of tragic loss. It reminds us that the work for equality and justice never stops. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tragically, the fight for voting rights, the basic rights in a democracy, is with us again. It is shattering. That no elected Republicans in Congress will vote for the current voting rights bills passed by the House is criminal; it's treasonous. That's why we need the continuing educational and legal advocacy of the SPLC and its Civil Rights museum, as well as other museums and memorials in Montgomery, and in several other Southern cities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Martin Luther King's dream remains unfulfilled. It's up to us to make it a reality, to continue the monumental struggle for civil rights for all Americans, "until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." . </div><div><br /></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/a/AVvXsEi6I_tFYGfnq4XCNw68-I1MpIswFhyd8jxJIzFdagycEqBvqybXPRZPxgdriUHPXsQkcbfsDjDDzuPHEM3-KPSr8Fmoashi9qHWOyjM5plAwt2kNwzsSGpbq1TxodP2ZeU9MHMKsC4JZhYYyUMyh1lZHxeg6Z-THjM84u3NzJ8F4izBpG1bMJgjsFZ6=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6I_tFYGfnq4XCNw68-I1MpIswFhyd8jxJIzFdagycEqBvqybXPRZPxgdriUHPXsQkcbfsDjDDzuPHEM3-KPSr8Fmoashi9qHWOyjM5plAwt2kNwzsSGpbq1TxodP2ZeU9MHMKsC4JZhYYyUMyh1lZHxeg6Z-THjM84u3NzJ8F4izBpG1bMJgjsFZ6=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A story of one victim of White Supremacy, Johnnie Mae Chappell.<br /><a href="https://www.splcenter.org/news/2021/02/12/remembering-johnnie-mae-chappell-jim-crow-era-injustice-resonates-period-black-lives-matter">https://www.splcenter.org/news/2021/02/12/remembering-johnnie-mae-chappell-jim-crow-era-injustice-resonates-period-black-lives-matter</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Some Sources:</div><div><p>1. <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/01/14/redesigned-crmc-encourages-fight-social-justice?fbclid=IwAR2DQUVz5sI3nYmnyWdAV6aGtq5WNNCbXKQXul0NhwhoneNR-_9XtLqYxtw">https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/01/14/redesigned-crmc-encourages-fight-social-justice?</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center</a> good descriptive article, with a good list of the cases SPLC has litigated.</p><p>3. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-alabama-mississippi-museums-20180722-story.html">https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-alabama-mississippi-museums-20180722-story.html</a></p><p>4. <a href="https://www.goworldtravel.com/tragedy-triumph-civil-rights-sites-alabama/">https://www.goworldtravel.com/tragedy-triumph-civil-rights-sites-alabama/</a>. There are several Civil Rights museums in the US. I'd like to take a tour of all of them. It would be good to take high schoolers on a tour especially now. </p><p>5. <a href=" https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2021/04/montgomery-alabama-confronting-americas-painful-past-at-the-legacy-museum-along-the-us-civil-rights-trail.html"> https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2021/04/montgomery-alabama-confronting-americas-painful-past-at-the-legacy-museum-along-the-us-civil-rights-trail.html</a></p><p>6. <a href=" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/arts/civil-rights-trail.html "> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/arts/civil-rights-trail.html </a></p><p>7. <a href=" https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-16-2022"> https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-16-2022</a> A brief and important history: </p>"Republicans say they oppose the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act because it is an attempt on the part of Democrats to win elections in the future by “nationalizing” them, taking away the right of states to arrange their laws as they wish. Voting rights legislation is a “partisan power grab,” Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) insists. / In fact, there is no constitutional ground for opposing the idea of Congress weighing in on federal elections. The U.S. Constitution establishes that “[t]he Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.”<br /><br />There is no historical reason to oppose the idea of voting rights legislation, either. Indeed, Congress weighed in on voting pretty dramatically in 1870, when it amended the Constitution itself for the fifteenth time to guarantee that “[t]he right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” In that same amendment, it provided that “[t]he Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” / It did so, in 1965, with “an act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution,” otherwise known as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law designed to protect the right of every American adult to have a say in their government, that is, to vote. The Supreme Court gutted that law in 2013; the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act is designed to bring it back to life."</div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-72431246838305282722022-01-06T14:37:00.011-05:002022-01-12T05:56:15.607-05:00Favorite Memes of 2021 & Doing my Bit <div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilG_M3yr62caf2mvAhYV-y7vxLMM5SVpvb2i5FDvyAwVWMxxnD47kl4Jv5ZaH_1f67Y9STFunYB-JgFjL86PyWIvwcpOtGeHIG7UWjHej5spQZJHcDVTJy7npzBXuVsr8peTzPa1w28qJ-6LHDaW5TAKF37KmMxcU9s2jChlhr1OEBpMbKO7S5y_Uv=s396" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="396" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilG_M3yr62caf2mvAhYV-y7vxLMM5SVpvb2i5FDvyAwVWMxxnD47kl4Jv5ZaH_1f67Y9STFunYB-JgFjL86PyWIvwcpOtGeHIG7UWjHej5spQZJHcDVTJy7npzBXuVsr8peTzPa1w28qJ-6LHDaW5TAKF37KmMxcU9s2jChlhr1OEBpMbKO7S5y_Uv=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1bBJBaDK3mJtWFPdrs8d2HClatHlSHNoJm9nnenBXKQpiSjV2a90YSzbX4Jjel9I5EoIACPhwVWhxxvc5Cc6I1rJJ_okV7EH5LukSB8tBqXd2Komtzw91haElZfOI9Pa_lU7NBivHVzh_eKmQjwdhecmddqpsrN-FtHY-pWSrijeE9P0v_HJFHAyx=s2048" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1bBJBaDK3mJtWFPdrs8d2HClatHlSHNoJm9nnenBXKQpiSjV2a90YSzbX4Jjel9I5EoIACPhwVWhxxvc5Cc6I1rJJ_okV7EH5LukSB8tBqXd2Komtzw91haElZfOI9Pa_lU7NBivHVzh_eKmQjwdhecmddqpsrN-FtHY-pWSrijeE9P0v_HJFHAyx=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />A picture says a thousand words. A meme gives a message in as few words as possible. It's like folk art. Words and text with a message from the heart.<p></p><p>Another year comes to an end, and lots of great meme's tell the story of how it went. Issues captured in one little message that carries a lot of meaning.</p><p>For fellow Democrats, a meme actually makes our ranting less noisy, . In a few words it can save a thousand words. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVko3C3U7vO2kzGtgTD2p70oqmMDr_SKx5uw9BUGaqkXUKeCZpOdMfOw0hDRlrF3MiYIdHBWCFGcN4U5yV03zfGXlpDIFNjzWRgWLIMtl3eTBrpBy_uAoyOKbKqM9zYQfAAAp9GwYzb-SLVd-GGmLsZC-D2aHd2Z8IiqxdwQkbM9brYRzNjKW8JQve=s750" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="750" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVko3C3U7vO2kzGtgTD2p70oqmMDr_SKx5uw9BUGaqkXUKeCZpOdMfOw0hDRlrF3MiYIdHBWCFGcN4U5yV03zfGXlpDIFNjzWRgWLIMtl3eTBrpBy_uAoyOKbKqM9zYQfAAAp9GwYzb-SLVd-GGmLsZC-D2aHd2Z8IiqxdwQkbM9brYRzNjKW8JQve=w640-h77" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkMsmLWzpCcDTIAxxxmsV0w_7OL38YAsAY18yZUwxex6H1IJAiiRUEpnX41usGuLblHr1Gg7nDzl45Pf2mgzgNXtlxUYQKb8QfNzorrNaphwu53tyG8C5U5ljHzTR8AOiTRLPB5KKroH_CevQWYS-6N44F1iIPXcc7Q0yBt4rR2eCJDSS6hseiUvHI=s853" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="754" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkMsmLWzpCcDTIAxxxmsV0w_7OL38YAsAY18yZUwxex6H1IJAiiRUEpnX41usGuLblHr1Gg7nDzl45Pf2mgzgNXtlxUYQKb8QfNzorrNaphwu53tyG8C5U5ljHzTR8AOiTRLPB5KKroH_CevQWYS-6N44F1iIPXcc7Q0yBt4rR2eCJDSS6hseiUvHI=w177-h200" width="177" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>No gun shops in Sylvania</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmswSGXIiWgy1_0MLuKK47PaJOXYUePBB2RiLXlrCeo9H2oD0eygWnYx96cUq9j0L8BmusjppuK9T0yiWqIYF1KINx3xCqWMyJh05J91KTGdF78y9p6BW5bEPPY_tCfRaCMfl7U_Txp_8JvnutF67nceey1JKd9Uqi0DsE3YJdzD9ha8E88LZ7v2Os=s553" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="553" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmswSGXIiWgy1_0MLuKK47PaJOXYUePBB2RiLXlrCeo9H2oD0eygWnYx96cUq9j0L8BmusjppuK9T0yiWqIYF1KINx3xCqWMyJh05J91KTGdF78y9p6BW5bEPPY_tCfRaCMfl7U_Txp_8JvnutF67nceey1JKd9Uqi0DsE3YJdzD9ha8E88LZ7v2Os=w200-h198" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Used this one a lot. Historian<br />Chris Browning on the "gravedigger<br />of democracy." </span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>There are lots of memes on the other side, sure, on the dark side, lots of propaganda in my view, in support of sedition, lies, gaslighting. But I spot the ones that mean the most to the millions who voted for Biden and want to save our democracy in these unhinged, twisted time.<br /><br /><div>What the memes on the progressive side of the political spectrum tell us is that the resistance to tyranny, betrayal of rule of law, dereliction of duty, and sedition is alive and well. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBSIelGicuwjgPfQH5Viuh7Nybrjp8tsCzS-sZP6NOuLeB7zLlQXoVWJdyt01zUkV3mjn8dnl-lG3xsTEec5FjT58JgEMwzEXxpDbT3giZDbdSnedpNShzzx9mBKzZJ1N85Y-ZsNfziywrhEK8Cbqka0S483G6lpAbsmfq_owpuLLAk_-zEmw9MUpq=s951" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="951" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBSIelGicuwjgPfQH5Viuh7Nybrjp8tsCzS-sZP6NOuLeB7zLlQXoVWJdyt01zUkV3mjn8dnl-lG3xsTEec5FjT58JgEMwzEXxpDbT3giZDbdSnedpNShzzx9mBKzZJ1N85Y-ZsNfziywrhEK8Cbqka0S483G6lpAbsmfq_owpuLLAk_-zEmw9MUpq=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Toledo's Resist Portman Indivisible group meets on Zoom <br />on Tuesdays. The R Senator, who voted tRUmp all the way, every time,<br /> is not running. Hope to turn his seat Blue with Rep.Tim Ryan (OH,D). </span></i><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinoKfP-UwOFkEOTmOcuJJlQn3vs6XpTOInadTDbBrZnTMUAZuD_TnHI4tUEFMl956SUAgxBf4XAmW_wyJrWVOSZ-ZTvcg96ImgFg_2HlnvSy1RN9AKjnv-lmrCo2OtRHMISXSRFwKSTT8px77DGs62J4JnU0L99cGhtOK6qfKxtpOe-715c3OnwsUt=s1040" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="678" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinoKfP-UwOFkEOTmOcuJJlQn3vs6XpTOInadTDbBrZnTMUAZuD_TnHI4tUEFMl956SUAgxBf4XAmW_wyJrWVOSZ-ZTvcg96ImgFg_2HlnvSy1RN9AKjnv-lmrCo2OtRHMISXSRFwKSTT8px77DGs62J4JnU0L99cGhtOK6qfKxtpOe-715c3OnwsUt=w131-h200" width="131" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Sisters of St. Francis<br />hold BLM protests every<br />week. I'm happy to join.<br />them</span></i>. <br /><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table>Thanks to Indivisibles across the land, local and state action groups, progressive media organizations, and voter rights advocates everywhere who have been on the front lines since the Women's March on Washington in January 2017. It's been over 6+ years. We've been marching and protesting ever since. I've done my bit, and whenever I'm on the streets with my signs, I feel better. I'm considered an old warrior, which is fine by me. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks also to the Southern Poverty Law Center, CREW and like-minded organizations for exposing corruption and going after the dark $ unleashed by Citizens United against our politics and our culture. I was with the resistance 100%, and did my bit for saving our democracy.<div><div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some of my favorite memes that tell a larger story in a few words and images. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZ3EyWAefy6MIMG2cyz7Dgq40vLklGa5JWFUvu3Xf2HrxPLY1IKeouZN8mqVYAnFUeNeSmiDWdYTYdYTOuzlbs2wKRRONjlOuSg6NHOT5ojq6R3oAo-OwTHRE4uRtrbnMwXfAMraaJSjn6CMxKjcr7Esyj348z1J1VtHgOXnpyuU0qfPAcsiOfQ-Rl=s1426" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1426" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZ3EyWAefy6MIMG2cyz7Dgq40vLklGa5JWFUvu3Xf2HrxPLY1IKeouZN8mqVYAnFUeNeSmiDWdYTYdYTOuzlbs2wKRRONjlOuSg6NHOT5ojq6R3oAo-OwTHRE4uRtrbnMwXfAMraaJSjn6CMxKjcr7Esyj348z1J1VtHgOXnpyuU0qfPAcsiOfQ-Rl=w320-h181" width="320" /></a>We know the state of our Judiciary branch from SCOTUS on down is precarious. With millions of dollars from Koch networks and dark money funders, the Judiciary branch has been loaded with far-right wing zealots from top to bottom. SCOTUS stands on the precipice of irrelevance. We have lost confidence in the highest court in the land. Chief Justice Roberts has joined Justice Sonia Sotomayer in sounding the alarm. </div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV6OyIi5bnZpnJN5FesHwh2nr3IycjqrywhR0jo5-BUDbBbdH6TEy81M3_Xs2H9z2SkTIAIEhW0FaJ6fpNC_P93ci8q1ixge2Vv7SRPojUo0DjCdlusSMzPh1GKbf42CBapp4qoFedMVQppflUzpa3ZLjXnAaj9dBpnmbeJpohTS5j-oVuc8QiLY3x=s599" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="599" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV6OyIi5bnZpnJN5FesHwh2nr3IycjqrywhR0jo5-BUDbBbdH6TEy81M3_Xs2H9z2SkTIAIEhW0FaJ6fpNC_P93ci8q1ixge2Vv7SRPojUo0DjCdlusSMzPh1GKbf42CBapp4qoFedMVQppflUzpa3ZLjXnAaj9dBpnmbeJpohTS5j-oVuc8QiLY3x=w200-h191" width="200" /></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTyx2o_ZlyrY1tngCeBL9HsL5LBRuf3KlGG_Pe7Mx5a8eEIJMBvI8rJzkJsI5lyo0aXHLz5FGJyEuDowMNOXv_TtrShkrqIc3HgjNwoOKQtIkWfOSnc-cV1vsDg0wuZuoLHwqJE9-a-6eEYVdcvWc-evt6tKDMSX5kcmEPFPLaxKi39r-ilzirAJX-=s500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTyx2o_ZlyrY1tngCeBL9HsL5LBRuf3KlGG_Pe7Mx5a8eEIJMBvI8rJzkJsI5lyo0aXHLz5FGJyEuDowMNOXv_TtrShkrqIc3HgjNwoOKQtIkWfOSnc-cV1vsDg0wuZuoLHwqJE9-a-6eEYVdcvWc-evt6tKDMSX5kcmEPFPLaxKi39r-ilzirAJX-=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Gravedigger" of democracy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Mitch McConnell has played a major role in corrupting the Judicial branch, cramming over 260 far-right, unqualified, unapproved by the Bar, without judicial experience on the courts. It is rank dereliction of duty to obstruct Senate legislative activity, deliberately rig Senate "juries" to vote against impeachments, to pack the courts. Liar Kavanaugh? Dancing on Ruth Bader Ginsburg's grave? Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is on it. I'd like to assume the FBI is on it too. A real investigation this time around.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZ5iZMsY6VjqfI_JqNn0ungO3ecbUwsL8_2l-10xvzl1LwdK3WHI5TDJeoUnxZ8iu6hfOqE2kySwdInK81IGIgKnc63eAjtoErS8PSS7xgZBcD_x0x-HAS_--rizAQa8cOQETf9g2FH0u-XKFC6SiIrW1bLurcEazZob--tcRScqWrKBtwCXeZyOrx=s1920" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZ5iZMsY6VjqfI_JqNn0ungO3ecbUwsL8_2l-10xvzl1LwdK3WHI5TDJeoUnxZ8iu6hfOqE2kySwdInK81IGIgKnc63eAjtoErS8PSS7xgZBcD_x0x-HAS_--rizAQa8cOQETf9g2FH0u-XKFC6SiIrW1bLurcEazZob--tcRScqWrKBtwCXeZyOrx=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyk-2v4oN4fh_S1jjW3hEBnBGZhaXehCVcFCTqHSqBRJTdl-faHjz6oiwD9QA33msQKbKG3Exa0netMHaJrrogsQ5qEPLv4MrrbiXPc8SnEjjNKpi4JXNEMCOISTY8jMVK5ldEAB_CeU2jkf5YtGnvukAEUyHVQH3rc68LoEui6b1728tb83UW90M5=s201" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="180" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyk-2v4oN4fh_S1jjW3hEBnBGZhaXehCVcFCTqHSqBRJTdl-faHjz6oiwD9QA33msQKbKG3Exa0netMHaJrrogsQ5qEPLv4MrrbiXPc8SnEjjNKpi4JXNEMCOISTY8jMVK5ldEAB_CeU2jkf5YtGnvukAEUyHVQH3rc68LoEui6b1728tb83UW90M5=w179-h200" width="179" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Voting Rights protest with<br />friend Janice. </span></i>. </td></tr></tbody></table>While I'm on McConnell, it is still a question how one person, plus one (Manchin) since 2020, can get away with obstructing action on the VOTING RIGHTS BILLS that have been passed by the House. How is it that Mr. Filibuster McConnell gets away with no action on bills piling up his desk? Doesn't the Senate have a constitutional duty to act on them? Isn't it dereliction of duty? </div><div><br /></div><div>And what about accountability for all those involved in the insurrection against the US government and all those Republicans who voted the Big Lie on the presidential election, with tRUmp watching it on TV with glee? Extreme dereliction of duty again, and again, since the former guy lied about crowd size and committed over 92,000 lies thereafter. </div><div><br /></div><div>If the January 6 committee keeps working full steam ahead, as it is doing now, I predict that there might very well be some 100 Republican seats open in 2022 and 2024. Public hearings are planned, evidence is piling up, cases are being made. It looks like tons of information will be revealed. Liz Cheney has made that clear. A sea change could be upon us. "The times they are a changing," as Dylan sang. Liz Cheney might very well get the GOP back on track, and maybe run for president too. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOyhV9BXN0YQdM_6ImE-5Vs3LQHXiZEcIJ_losSAwcaXS8CPgmjyrQRCKJjSoF_ENu8ln9CjFIM_XX4IJ3lXLesQlYUUXmbCeIUXhbHt0IQT_SCp9R1CM4D3Czxz8qHtFxGvCgpkdhTGJAQwN6q6wL1FK5yR2sAv87LLWPwY4vdaDhs5otn6ICiK0U=s225" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOyhV9BXN0YQdM_6ImE-5Vs3LQHXiZEcIJ_losSAwcaXS8CPgmjyrQRCKJjSoF_ENu8ln9CjFIM_XX4IJ3lXLesQlYUUXmbCeIUXhbHt0IQT_SCp9R1CM4D3Czxz8qHtFxGvCgpkdhTGJAQwN6q6wL1FK5yR2sAv87LLWPwY4vdaDhs5otn6ICiK0U" width="225" /></a><div><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="400" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgdJL1sHH4-XnKA-O72yNkeGNYeOzFaxK1Lvoy6rXij9IUi_aqz0O7cEJaagTK9zs7IrSOTggtSZ1A9ujLIdlyUiRmQad_jaM9FfNrMm1xnELhap7aJKfLAgvFZLQskV6e49LDHrx2k8xDt0fuX2M1SacLFUASefVS1VtA6A9d_3USswCQil_B27PYk=w320-h208" width="320" /></div>It would help a lot if we could get money out of politics by legislating transparency and safeguards, putting limits on corporate lobbying, making it illegal for Congress members to own stock, ending Citizens United. Senator Elizabeth Warren has drafted some excellent legislation to address these issues. Lots of good memes advocate for change. Get money and greed out of politics. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuGdbaIDDYdMe8R7xuZDEzEFLuZLNkFyMkHlXuNToJ7NqPnXXq6ASflObUN3_8FpcVGDdxWNcgSweDIG2jhOFExhKja4nurkG0quryUy_L0bkyf4uv3iWnzPj1zSWTR8BkzUKgM7YLb3Bh5aK0P5pBk8_9ygOZvgm1ImomFZQGP0KT8a20Tk2pkQsa=s1170" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1170" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuGdbaIDDYdMe8R7xuZDEzEFLuZLNkFyMkHlXuNToJ7NqPnXXq6ASflObUN3_8FpcVGDdxWNcgSweDIG2jhOFExhKja4nurkG0quryUy_L0bkyf4uv3iWnzPj1zSWTR8BkzUKgM7YLb3Bh5aK0P5pBk8_9ygOZvgm1ImomFZQGP0KT8a20Tk2pkQsa=w200-h129" width="200" /></a>And while we're getting money out of politics, we need to tax the rich, too. Robert Reich, public economist #1, is on these issues. His memes are the best. Reich can pack a message better than just about anyone! He kept them coming in 2021.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTHDDW18CPnYKna4SpQgYOZ7IAe3mXuW3POyNMtX4cFpn-jKylYS-b8BlOC7CiuxNg84X46Pq6vDiitQVhK6SWXn6Tg7ZWsLQHh7YMBc-AZKJsyZoMxhWZsJ43txgsMeprkyWMShBWpnCt1Byff8WPVQYngFTnk-J1TAcXORB05rPY8ipBnhX2vHDV=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTHDDW18CPnYKna4SpQgYOZ7IAe3mXuW3POyNMtX4cFpn-jKylYS-b8BlOC7CiuxNg84X46Pq6vDiitQVhK6SWXn6Tg7ZWsLQHh7YMBc-AZKJsyZoMxhWZsJ43txgsMeprkyWMShBWpnCt1Byff8WPVQYngFTnk-J1TAcXORB05rPY8ipBnhX2vHDV=s320" width="320" /></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;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvSYcDULR-_XE8rPPJAx5CCwEOBgUxCRBoB5XNksyZhE_6jXco0tj8xb1VB6lKh8PsuBf-k0x6QcDH4rWUZh78mA51NDPmysJ98NWT2saHlijLXXoSNhsq32t1DIkwA5dTc85qBZ7pMi2oQgizhtI8evaJ27L04Q8b5tjEjj8-P95Vb5rSrjIB0SuN=s1905" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1905" data-original-width="1472" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvSYcDULR-_XE8rPPJAx5CCwEOBgUxCRBoB5XNksyZhE_6jXco0tj8xb1VB6lKh8PsuBf-k0x6QcDH4rWUZh78mA51NDPmysJ98NWT2saHlijLXXoSNhsq32t1DIkwA5dTc85qBZ7pMi2oQgizhtI8evaJ27L04Q8b5tjEjj8-P95Vb5rSrjIB0SuN=s320" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what Reich preaches. Wisdom<br />from a great President. When will this<br />message sink in to all voters?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMOAZL4eeP8y9aRfMuFDCm9p9KWNctiJDcKILBtOoEMN0HzzKd-1QEmx_PXH2TYZ5lRQ32KwngR-6zThVats0etzaq7gHuyGka8SEDfwD1-aoZNQg1KbgKxfi2xVC1H7K2aZtO4iJXKeQinuLy-ULbOTf1rgRfpTDk-nRvmDP15_-k_o2zHF80yP8b=s1280" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMOAZL4eeP8y9aRfMuFDCm9p9KWNctiJDcKILBtOoEMN0HzzKd-1QEmx_PXH2TYZ5lRQ32KwngR-6zThVats0etzaq7gHuyGka8SEDfwD1-aoZNQg1KbgKxfi2xVC1H7K2aZtO4iJXKeQinuLy-ULbOTf1rgRfpTDk-nRvmDP15_-k_o2zHF80yP8b=w200-h133" width="200" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I also like the progressive memes on getting Putin out of Ukraine. Ukraine has been in the center of the Cabal's corruption at least since Paul Manafort became head of the fool's campaign. Putin is threatening again, amassing some 90,000 troops on the border, saber-rattling. He gets off on it. But it's exactly where I served, in Starobilsk, Lugansk oblast, far-eastern Ukraine close to the Russian border. It's complicated, but my friends are in harm's way, and I care what happens. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC913umTjfYhh4usN03CzDRAjNmi6RzORXKm4aXyTdw6dAxS65-dzm4ti55ErvuqSnFMDsDDiJBlW2501IQSbVdcmjKUkCuyaIBEeyOmAIOhgBEMazpqwHj4Vn1Oy9jc7sp5uM0AtJXiyhO100BQu_4PDYniG1sHMea3JnoWXQ4U-bztrZZ9TYNJPv=s624" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC913umTjfYhh4usN03CzDRAjNmi6RzORXKm4aXyTdw6dAxS65-dzm4ti55ErvuqSnFMDsDDiJBlW2501IQSbVdcmjKUkCuyaIBEeyOmAIOhgBEMazpqwHj4Vn1Oy9jc7sp5uM0AtJXiyhO100BQu_4PDYniG1sHMea3JnoWXQ4U-bztrZZ9TYNJPv=s624" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="624" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC913umTjfYhh4usN03CzDRAjNmi6RzORXKm4aXyTdw6dAxS65-dzm4ti55ErvuqSnFMDsDDiJBlW2501IQSbVdcmjKUkCuyaIBEeyOmAIOhgBEMazpqwHj4Vn1Oy9jc7sp5uM0AtJXiyhO100BQu_4PDYniG1sHMea3JnoWXQ4U-bztrZZ9TYNJPv=s320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiezmCH5eUEWBlLgXjDpkyHQ0ejiCMphNqpw_LulTz_WAquOwDDdsI52-wvTGT_Ht2UuwD-mPEZznwI_L0_HNZiy2CN_naql_tk_9a-IICh3zhdFU9449mLQ2J602JpSK8o0kb8eSAG-yH521j_pquA8z0nO6tgw858_KwvPiAcdXaTL3rcH2LJwzG4=s1200" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiezmCH5eUEWBlLgXjDpkyHQ0ejiCMphNqpw_LulTz_WAquOwDDdsI52-wvTGT_Ht2UuwD-mPEZznwI_L0_HNZiy2CN_naql_tk_9a-IICh3zhdFU9449mLQ2J602JpSK8o0kb8eSAG-yH521j_pquA8z0nO6tgw858_KwvPiAcdXaTL3rcH2LJwzG4=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Other issues that matter include Voting Rights, gun violence, and Black Lives Matter (BLM ). There are tons of them but these remind us that White Supremacy is alive and well, and poisoning our social fabric the same way it's done since the beginning of time. I've never been so aware of White privilege. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8akNp-kWvy_oY5FcIRJOTFPm3zdbF5-DEHXufhRpPT6apPfxs4RZYeq2BNEVFsBxMnhTv5oNHfkqzAxqfIwVHK2FF61zT-O1_u_PJM4v3fTgUlbEWL1Crey88REn4Kk3esoYX2gEsVlBoKZBI2DwtjwF55w_tpbRKa3rIWpLE3M9bOtPurIMXSfm-=s779" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="779" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8akNp-kWvy_oY5FcIRJOTFPm3zdbF5-DEHXufhRpPT6apPfxs4RZYeq2BNEVFsBxMnhTv5oNHfkqzAxqfIwVHK2FF61zT-O1_u_PJM4v3fTgUlbEWL1Crey88REn4Kk3esoYX2gEsVlBoKZBI2DwtjwF55w_tpbRKa3rIWpLE3M9bOtPurIMXSfm-=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>And finally there's a lot of unfinished business on the 2022 political agenda. These memes point the way.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoge2SzlNRFYewPyoeJfXfjuzbhNtlrqEb2Vjh1CnjzQW3dFeGRHzqe5R0tz_7DXhOl87IDuFgH1cQlUW3DBnZZlnDPh1vcIJTYSVdAu3FaQNxCcHNMljHInR7g6t9oz7mp88Z2Nm1aVeYOR_thn_PngktIKBLAhUkQv7ZRy-LAkEjiYYjnFBH9bg-=s566" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoge2SzlNRFYewPyoeJfXfjuzbhNtlrqEb2Vjh1CnjzQW3dFeGRHzqe5R0tz_7DXhOl87IDuFgH1cQlUW3DBnZZlnDPh1vcIJTYSVdAu3FaQNxCcHNMljHInR7g6t9oz7mp88Z2Nm1aVeYOR_thn_PngktIKBLAhUkQv7ZRy-LAkEjiYYjnFBH9bg-=s320" width="283" /></a></div><br />America awaits real action on climate change, addressing the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic to reduce incidents and deaths, and bringing final accountability for those who planned, organized, and funded a coup to overturn a presidential election in gross violation of Rule of Law, the worst case of treason and dereliction of duty this country has ever seen. . <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJSZ2OCY2u2rJknuml0hexXMeF3zEvNDwryqoKyorxx-6EFJmo9YcsliiFiPLuBjEuJJt9J9RrIZ2Uz-CwFORH-nrwiqmsE8JcMrlTNTE9HQFXmfKgVJJ-0E01b2Qp_YAgEnRsTXxr_HPBCl_h0onTAHTy4ooWxdonGrBpE_h9vopjKLCS8lbwgZBJ=s900" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJSZ2OCY2u2rJknuml0hexXMeF3zEvNDwryqoKyorxx-6EFJmo9YcsliiFiPLuBjEuJJt9J9RrIZ2Uz-CwFORH-nrwiqmsE8JcMrlTNTE9HQFXmfKgVJJ-0E01b2Qp_YAgEnRsTXxr_HPBCl_h0onTAHTy4ooWxdonGrBpE_h9vopjKLCS8lbwgZBJ=s320" width="213" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div> "There’s is no Law and Order without Justice. There is no Justice without accountability." </div><div><br /></div></div><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/a/AVvXsEjhyfZLaupDigRLBPN7JV4QmCxWYjKfjSE3vqZQSLvqiFbgaVwodNaD-DFnYckO7v58B-9Dl_x9BiRyDyh8PNFUv9SLb6x_zGbs2lhTrgAcywHrTnxpNCxAbPwq6vkeslAh5cOHTbXbFAQNKz-hQNl9fwdwREmZiOqCWUD6dRLlvIuLpkTdpdI1hRxL=s650" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="650" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhyfZLaupDigRLBPN7JV4QmCxWYjKfjSE3vqZQSLvqiFbgaVwodNaD-DFnYckO7v58B-9Dl_x9BiRyDyh8PNFUv9SLb6x_zGbs2lhTrgAcywHrTnxpNCxAbPwq6vkeslAh5cOHTbXbFAQNKz-hQNl9fwdwREmZiOqCWUD6dRLlvIuLpkTdpdI1hRxL=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of unfinished business. This is tip<br />of the iceburg in the foreign relations department.<br />There's Ukraine, Iran, Saudi Arabia, what Kushner did in <br />Israel, secret deals with Russia, North Korea, enemies of the US. the role of transnational networks, and extreme dereliction of duty to protect and preserve the USA. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><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/a/AVvXsEhMB5ZaNBOH_dyzK7h79jsciYjWTCIJoGXvY9O08oD9ECwKLrsCP3jztNfMjRIKwTY_bSABc33wSmvJPck3Ws482XS63qBTN0EG2o-y8clFB4ETMLhRBDekOwsKf3eanNyuTVQMjBua7ZvUCvyPmfGyhGrbMr2UliXBZ23SbNqNVQ9gyfnP3sCFIAiI=s2048" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="2048" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMB5ZaNBOH_dyzK7h79jsciYjWTCIJoGXvY9O08oD9ECwKLrsCP3jztNfMjRIKwTY_bSABc33wSmvJPck3Ws482XS63qBTN0EG2o-y8clFB4ETMLhRBDekOwsKf3eanNyuTVQMjBua7ZvUCvyPmfGyhGrbMr2UliXBZ23SbNqNVQ9gyfnP3sCFIAiI=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new year's wish. </td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Interesting Guardian article on memes: </div><div><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/04/political-memes-2016-election-hillary-clinton-donald-trump">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/04/political-memes-2016-election-hillary-clinton-donald-trump</a>. The good, the bad and the ugly use of memes. Pure propaganda? </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/79654/the-path-to-real-accountability-the-timetable-and-track-record-of-the-jan-6-select-committee/">https://www.justsecurity.org/79654/the-path-to-real-accountability-the-timetable-and-track-record-of-the-jan-6-select-committee/</a></div><div><br /><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtGXdzDU_0JBYra7oTRktZ_HQLsxA77WTDRl-S8tSHkaPVy6GD9Q2WrCo-SthCURLRgs-S5E2eJ3UuNIjRx3wJNDViW1KIWdATrg11pFa-162g7uZc5Ofxf7scmcb1McWPZnEb1rGoEYKFF-XJFiAyhySp8gBKSym4a-N8ImA9YeQ_15fLnv9tl3L_=s1170" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6c3DHZy35RXBndft3LEm4eicAiaZlvPLl2zBDzEUrqaLBfqPWomyWdZOHix2wINgBJu0sYrp4dEFdE85HiPS1-ndsGRwqzZlTykdPzhhOA0er3t6_0nrwJXY2Avu0qCyLl0oy3nAvAKJdkdg9PshDZo_gm671JAPvijQgMWTyJBLLgRsCKs7wf2oY=s679" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div></div></div></div></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/a/AVvXsEjFqWhJn3kWIlwlYjuVTDsTJ_R4DB4eaQ9QNo5s1PwwHdZUC6bm-yYjd-V0sqt9pQk3jYMXaoEvfeHvoX0D-4Qknimbt_0oVzyo_vbhgeg_U8zQCeFkYQQxqxoffihGKkZoAOMmO-6CZctBlRHYG1ZspRvglJkNmiO4ZWT8TFPyZ2iJQr60IPPEGdqa=s512" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="512" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFqWhJn3kWIlwlYjuVTDsTJ_R4DB4eaQ9QNo5s1PwwHdZUC6bm-yYjd-V0sqt9pQk3jYMXaoEvfeHvoX0D-4Qknimbt_0oVzyo_vbhgeg_U8zQCeFkYQQxqxoffihGKkZoAOMmO-6CZctBlRHYG1ZspRvglJkNmiO4ZWT8TFPyZ2iJQr60IPPEGdqa=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-2964754052711732512022-01-03T09:56:00.003-05:002022-01-07T11:04:47.499-05:00Another Florida Road Trip To Begin a New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></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/a/AVvXsEiuHq9UQuaZMYQJOtfTpcO6xXZ0VIp59piuD2uJvDWRJByldRsW5Fbus72VJ5GTnptGDdH5ntQ4XGwtGYPr1-P-R2oaHunwpsDcCjUydFvsT9HVUcKiFWn2PWBw7dKOUTR85D9vNEwAUo1EEgVOD-KUh4G784Tzw1zbwK9VHi6QxnKoDmWZo1TInQjN=s895" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="895" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuHq9UQuaZMYQJOtfTpcO6xXZ0VIp59piuD2uJvDWRJByldRsW5Fbus72VJ5GTnptGDdH5ntQ4XGwtGYPr1-P-R2oaHunwpsDcCjUydFvsT9HVUcKiFWn2PWBw7dKOUTR85D9vNEwAUo1EEgVOD-KUh4G784Tzw1zbwK9VHi6QxnKoDmWZo1TInQjN=w640-h400" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We happened upon Mary L. Proctor's roadside Folk Art Garden, on Route 319, Crawfordsville Highway going South, and gloried in her art with her husband Tyrone. <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><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/a/AVvXsEiy2HCG73nL1bYdjmHCX8XVee3xGqBEBdF5HIPXP0cEcSOmOQDTXysX27z7CrcIBcH6Ed4ldb1A-uMfIgkuEPZBvPkZEDBoPHJtz-jJh3KxxY6CkYrpos84fh-v9_mYdLUdiKH-6YoIY2Yd80_xt0bsR-vod07Ik6oXyA_mKUf9GistsAqejECShSBt=s860" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="455" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiy2HCG73nL1bYdjmHCX8XVee3xGqBEBdF5HIPXP0cEcSOmOQDTXysX27z7CrcIBcH6Ed4ldb1A-uMfIgkuEPZBvPkZEDBoPHJtz-jJh3KxxY6CkYrpos84fh-v9_mYdLUdiKH-6YoIY2Yd80_xt0bsR-vod07Ik6oXyA_mKUf9GistsAqejECShSBt=s320" width="169" /></a></div>I had a fabulous Trish Collins moment today. She's the Tallahassee native who happened upon Missionary Mary L. Proctor's doors, bought them for $5,000, took them down to her SOHO New York gallery, bought lots more, and had a huge exhibition at which Mary witnessed her art go out the door at $7,000 a pop. (h<a href=" https://francurrocaryblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/mary-l-proctor-folk-artist-tallahassees.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">ttps://francurrocaryblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/mary-l-proctor-folk-artist-tallahassees.html</span></a>) A folk artist was born.<p></p><p>Andy and I were on another Florida road trip, going through Wakulla<br /> County to catch a sight of Ochlockonee Bay and put our feet in Gulf waters. The weather turned cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy; rain was coming, but we took our chances. We're glad we did. <br /></p><p>Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Mary Proctor's doors and paintings on the side of the road. No doubt about it. "Sis, those are Missionary Mary's paintings!" Andy sped past but I made her turn around. "Really, sis?" "Yes, positive." Sometimes writing blogs can be helpful.</p><p>And that's how we got to spend a glorious time talking with Tyrone Proctor, Mary's husband, at the roadside "Folk Art Garden." A big board with Mary's face on it welcomed us. How absolutely uplifting to go through some very fine genuine Missionary Mary art. We walked around the crowded space that looked more like a junk yard than an art garden. It was filled with treasures. We admired this piece and that, taking photos, wishing we could buy four or five pieces. Alas, the $5,000 art was out of our price range, and the $750-$1,000 ones, too. Tyrone understood; he was kind, helpful. He said he could bring out some lower-priced ones, and he did. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6uNvdbmY7kfIGbidXdC4xkbjBeuvSgchJRBJn6vtSWmeJNs_d8tUvZr6hjFXMBpDLw53a_C_pR4mv088pof7iQIKmlq5XVO9OmYExSQsXTp0sXvNsPsWIRq0-vdef74EA5eZdG6Dr2tOR6AmHY-r10sQb_Lsz9kL69-q72taF10Rwobmcn177M6c3=s866" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="866" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6uNvdbmY7kfIGbidXdC4xkbjBeuvSgchJRBJn6vtSWmeJNs_d8tUvZr6hjFXMBpDLw53a_C_pR4mv088pof7iQIKmlq5XVO9OmYExSQsXTp0sXvNsPsWIRq0-vdef74EA5eZdG6Dr2tOR6AmHY-r10sQb_Lsz9kL69-q72taF10Rwobmcn177M6c3=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi0TCoLapCyt_tbJWwci_z6q-N8MRMUKk_BHVR24vTQPGnuEeZQXMbhfqJpWjakAjWQwG5JwuZ6VbAIK2f70uZeIstwbkuEIzM_rSRxeSzXB5dsWS25i1LERMGOUG62ojJTytCXJyOQlBM4E-oAw-MJJ22fxy2BhCpC72iIcHbToOq9QKxnxFVpsg_=s389" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi0TCoLapCyt_tbJWwci_z6q-N8MRMUKk_BHVR24vTQPGnuEeZQXMbhfqJpWjakAjWQwG5JwuZ6VbAIK2f70uZeIstwbkuEIzM_rSRxeSzXB5dsWS25i1LERMGOUG62ojJTytCXJyOQlBM4E-oAw-MJJ22fxy2BhCpC72iIcHbToOq9QKxnxFVpsg_=w83-h200" width="83" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Missionary Mary</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I am now a proud owner of a Mary L. Proctor. Not the big ones, a little one, authentic, wonderful. It's about music, and I love the message: "Music heals the body mind and soul." Pure Missionary Mary.</p><p>Happy as a lark, filled to the brim with girlish glee, Andy and I continued on our journey to Panacea and the Gulf. First stop, Oaklockonee Bay. </p><p>Andy knew the way. Before the Panacea bridge she took a left onto a dirt road and got us there. We stepped out and felt the Gulf air. We got some selfies in front of the Bay. The two of us together. We stood still. Enjoyed the view. Peaceful. Calm. A lovely way to begin a New Year. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqsG0hU_COjuAUaqn_F-H2groAJJA2dSpFQLjQYbVMZ1DE8KiXbBoKPNuFNhzhzCtGKXH3asnbJDvzraOS7Pi7tXpwZTcdoa470lsGHXc7TDiQsYIw2bTxgTfwYCEkvfbu9JGLuHcZ69T-_BA__z_v_yHZrRF8nkNyy7soxbjW8mLwrxbuTzhg6vsR=s320" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqsG0hU_COjuAUaqn_F-H2groAJJA2dSpFQLjQYbVMZ1DE8KiXbBoKPNuFNhzhzCtGKXH3asnbJDvzraOS7Pi7tXpwZTcdoa470lsGHXc7TDiQsYIw2bTxgTfwYCEkvfbu9JGLuHcZ69T-_BA__z_v_yHZrRF8nkNyy7soxbjW8mLwrxbuTzhg6vsR" width="320" /></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;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVYDDfUUOGIwYK3HhhJ1ZFRWdtq2plbn9RPc2w_ZnOKjwIObG2nFIWdg_CGkc-M0tYOwKr7qCwxJxZKGKFECHaUoPB-zNOtSQ11QxKIKmFJ1pMSq7B2ugr69SCCaVjZgmLGSJDw3IaQJHalLBPGgkiCJdsfdeoAucowNnJ6CC3aiRzvoUmFbIBJXLb=s957" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="957" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVYDDfUUOGIwYK3HhhJ1ZFRWdtq2plbn9RPc2w_ZnOKjwIObG2nFIWdg_CGkc-M0tYOwKr7qCwxJxZKGKFECHaUoPB-zNOtSQ11QxKIKmFJ1pMSq7B2ugr69SCCaVjZgmLGSJDw3IaQJHalLBPGgkiCJdsfdeoAucowNnJ6CC3aiRzvoUmFbIBJXLb=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ochlockonee Bay, so pretty and calm.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjW1E4HDnZ35XFExiWfpLeYNz-srcNorJajs7oEZw6b-YrwfBjeX5U2bTGHy2MFWrfQ8cFWkGvLAJ7dVqGUSwWEybaCtyDVU27nkSS1gY-gjHXFoFZz3mXREwpMV6nerKcRJeGUEuIYcLXzCYC2RGpM4vTStaludSR5vVIauD6VAUZ6o_8aMib1Ylxu=s774" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjW1E4HDnZ35XFExiWfpLeYNz-srcNorJajs7oEZw6b-YrwfBjeX5U2bTGHy2MFWrfQ8cFWkGvLAJ7dVqGUSwWEybaCtyDVU27nkSS1gY-gjHXFoFZz3mXREwpMV6nerKcRJeGUEuIYcLXzCYC2RGpM4vTStaludSR5vVIauD6VAUZ6o_8aMib1Ylxu=s320" width="179" /></a></div><br />We then drove over the bridge, so familiar from the days Andy went to St. Theresa. Andy was nostalgic, wistful. I could see her mulling things over. We made it to a little corner of the Gulf. "You okay, sis?" "I'm okay, just remembering." We walked to a small sandy beach, enjoyed the view, the smell of the water, the sight of folks fishing off a small dock. It was enough for us.<div> We had a special moment. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoFCyZnIgpKmfqnthrWV0AxrF6IJhrUqDA0Es9Fj5jDctXZ2JSIlnagLrJPlKgpP6zXgFK4WK5-iL3UntFa7K7Q3DjhXFs6ZpusDQ7BJhZEvAosyPgCqdNNJV2xYMv3MKIn9WsQ3zkS6-WtCL8MQ6LxVLR5RIDUb8r1m1QYMUisUxL70ZV3Wpzrkxt=s383" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="245" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoFCyZnIgpKmfqnthrWV0AxrF6IJhrUqDA0Es9Fj5jDctXZ2JSIlnagLrJPlKgpP6zXgFK4WK5-iL3UntFa7K7Q3DjhXFs6ZpusDQ7BJhZEvAosyPgCqdNNJV2xYMv3MKIn9WsQ3zkS6-WtCL8MQ6LxVLR5RIDUb8r1m1QYMUisUxL70ZV3Wpzrkxt=w128-h200" width="128" /></a><p></p>We reminisced over the sands of time, the highs and lows, the changes. Lots of changes. Andy got a photo of me with my Mary Proctor. A gift from the God who speaks to Mary. But I knew in my heart that the best gift in my life is not a piece of art, not something you buy. It's my sister Andy. Thoughtful, compassionate, beautiful inside and out, and a great cook. I count my blessings. It's these times together with my beloved sis that matter the most. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">A garden of art.</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;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSBRgBakUQnvvg-WNxoK4807wp0y2HXiqhRv5dJwGu2fl_BFxG5mHFjVHcCJAiatM-fpYBgvn5vPa2jQsLxB4V8JTQw-aJXo6Ch7REKBSRNG0MSjNaoDHTtfccNXp_7GQoIPxvLWyC31Mq0maWYEjYOgRDdhP7_HLztu2cGH3_03GoApVQLbI5-gdT=s900" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="488" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSBRgBakUQnvvg-WNxoK4807wp0y2HXiqhRv5dJwGu2fl_BFxG5mHFjVHcCJAiatM-fpYBgvn5vPa2jQsLxB4V8JTQw-aJXo6Ch7REKBSRNG0MSjNaoDHTtfccNXp_7GQoIPxvLWyC31Mq0maWYEjYOgRDdhP7_HLztu2cGH3_03GoApVQLbI5-gdT=s320" width="174" /></a></div>"I refuse to let hate in my garden."<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitJnYBj4D6u_Gycpb-O1-0q1ej1HH4uCRFGAgKd8AcHTkmMsV2fpJy5fkizutyfIj2Gs2Q9pxqfFjhWQkK8NZXhZhd_wvbhQVThDH0FxEoPfwfdLvYpt08LZ2eoaS7xv1WN9OXRIF-3yDCmbIQG83-OtyDfXghz83oOuu2BPjAPFH45ZzJGnLsXXJd=s942" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEitJnYBj4D6u_Gycpb-O1-0q1ej1HH4uCRFGAgKd8AcHTkmMsV2fpJy5fkizutyfIj2Gs2Q9pxqfFjhWQkK8NZXhZhd_wvbhQVThDH0FxEoPfwfdLvYpt08LZ2eoaS7xv1WN9OXRIF-3yDCmbIQG83-OtyDfXghz83oOuu2BPjAPFH45ZzJGnLsXXJd=s320" width="224" /></a></div> The Tallahassee Capital building <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnTsW_VX-o15s39UksjgupURs_JAZLd1HA7b7sbDNXWMptvSm0yiO7sPUY2Mk_KsGPILCycXKhUoujVon_oG-xisWZ9RcteD2hgLVIZcvgeh7FD-5SGw70Drjq9iU7jRpN-rIpRroy85KLJXqc8Vewi8m_g-3NkNmJS4_zLxubjE2IwLs1pYcSaRq6=s930" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="930" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnTsW_VX-o15s39UksjgupURs_JAZLd1HA7b7sbDNXWMptvSm0yiO7sPUY2Mk_KsGPILCycXKhUoujVon_oG-xisWZ9RcteD2hgLVIZcvgeh7FD-5SGw70Drjq9iU7jRpN-rIpRroy85KLJXqc8Vewi8m_g-3NkNmJS4_zLxubjE2IwLs1pYcSaRq6=w400-h255" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure Missionary Mary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjU14qH_gmuwvzIoMocYzbIw39L-e1ll4HCg9NJGhuyut634TXL4jZVS9snXmj7S8kflEqgJvAHrdVsO1VXufbO7q_H5WZIAUV2TvRqGqdtwt9GLGDNtByzvVDw0IuaE8pxfijhPgvNV-K65lZFKzuoG-KSdX6O_E0eMWZv3eJF3PWCXy39jYHEs2nm=s869" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjU14qH_gmuwvzIoMocYzbIw39L-e1ll4HCg9NJGhuyut634TXL4jZVS9snXmj7S8kflEqgJvAHrdVsO1VXufbO7q_H5WZIAUV2TvRqGqdtwt9GLGDNtByzvVDw0IuaE8pxfijhPgvNV-K65lZFKzuoG-KSdX6O_E0eMWZv3eJF3PWCXy39jYHEs2nm=s320" width="165" /></a></div><br />Not sure if this is a Mary L. Proctor but it's her message:<br /> you can make art out of anything.<br /><br /><br /></td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-58605696961615820232021-12-30T09:23:00.003-05:002022-11-15T10:14:09.400-05:00Mary L. Proctor, Folk Artist: Tallahassee's "Missionary" Mary <p> </p><p></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/a/AVvXsEjCASsMQyydmurfKocaX8BnqUhC3bNI1q2b-kwjzqtd3x_3SJwe13FTLOdsvW-mOqdHTO-gcuYVHmw8AKCnKgINkj185OqPgv89xBCxbiQEnY6FXtvjwj02JohXi5cgKfkpTH-xI6DbyIau23iEIiXudhIjYMESsya26yoXF5ESXN_HhjijVm1ZNnsJ=s512" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCASsMQyydmurfKocaX8BnqUhC3bNI1q2b-kwjzqtd3x_3SJwe13FTLOdsvW-mOqdHTO-gcuYVHmw8AKCnKgINkj185OqPgv89xBCxbiQEnY6FXtvjwj02JohXi5cgKfkpTH-xI6DbyIau23iEIiXudhIjYMESsya26yoXF5ESXN_HhjijVm1ZNnsJ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Mary. L Proctor, "Missionary Mary," painting on doors. She had a vision, a sign.<br /> "go paint," and "the door is the way," and she followed it. These are portraits of <br /> Zora Neale Hurston, Sojourner Truth, and pioneering educator Mary McLeod Bethune, <br />founder of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida, <br /> with the perfect text: Knowledge is Power</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5sij4RKBvCRWDHEtrKoi-bJZkEG8mImHxLH04gKbDw0sZE9uiOlQUK3_XOURnhmDxU21wT85s6nZyFd9-YJj7tTMwwA3UB-GB0EQXs8Mcms73YiDBw18Lxk_XlUbIhXTOBmSa1TOOGTg1PQc6P-RCJBBAftEiSlh0wEc_BDvBrAu2hOezqsD8LuMr=s500" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5sij4RKBvCRWDHEtrKoi-bJZkEG8mImHxLH04gKbDw0sZE9uiOlQUK3_XOURnhmDxU21wT85s6nZyFd9-YJj7tTMwwA3UB-GB0EQXs8Mcms73YiDBw18Lxk_XlUbIhXTOBmSa1TOOGTg1PQc6P-RCJBBAftEiSlh0wEc_BDvBrAu2hOezqsD8LuMr=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Missionary Mary tells it like it is.</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Tallahassee was once all plantations, every inch of it, plantations worked by slaves. <div><br /></div><div>Now it has folk art, lots of it is, created by their descendants, among others. It's art inspired by personal experience and a unique way of seeing. It's art from the heart, honest art through the lens of folks who are moved to express themselves unhindered by the techniques and rules of traditional artists trained in the aesthetics. <div><br /></div><div>Self-taught artists. Outsider art. Primitive art. They are driven to express their thoughts and feelings, some to express messages from the angels. Many say they are moved by God. They have signs. "God I need help. What can I do?" And the answer is "go paint" or "go make art." And that's what they do. <p></p><p>This is how Tallahassee's own Mary L. Proctor tells it. 'I started painting in '95 . . .now they are nation wide.' In '95 she had lost her grandmother, an aunt and uncle in a devastating house fire. She cried for months, depressed, lost. And then she got the message, a sweet vision: "Go paint." That vision inspires her to this day: "Art heals the body mind and soul." She hasn't stopped painting since then. </p><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPes1nxHwXdfvAf6lo_Pk2wPjrC75yrM6N8VqK9dVccJd2tJWGalQdYjskqywGBa_ARwM4Ycoy1Cw-aPirmbOivVs2--OgzjWbVd_0_tN_2GZSIsiiseDUGE6UEuxJ6xWc61OSByJvNDsCaqEy2t-QehlsYW2mSl_IsmK-vGjR_kaxU-opSL-WbZ7Y=s1500" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1500" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPes1nxHwXdfvAf6lo_Pk2wPjrC75yrM6N8VqK9dVccJd2tJWGalQdYjskqywGBa_ARwM4Ycoy1Cw-aPirmbOivVs2--OgzjWbVd_0_tN_2GZSIsiiseDUGE6UEuxJ6xWc61OSByJvNDsCaqEy2t-QehlsYW2mSl_IsmK-vGjR_kaxU-opSL-WbZ7Y=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span>"Missionary" Mary in her gallery, <br />surrounded by her work</span>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The Lord delivered in another way, a huge unfathomable way, really a coincidence: He sent Tricia Collins, a Tallahassee native who owns a gallery in New York's SoHo that collects and sells folk art. She happened to be visiting her hometown, happened to take a drive out to Jefferson County near Monticello, near where Mary and her kin were born, and happened upon Mary's doors. </div><div><br /></div><div>Collins was ecstatic. She jumped out of her car, looked over those doors, and offered Mary $5,000 for them on the spot. Down to New York they went. A compulsion to paint overcame Mary Proctor. </div><div><br /></div><div>A good thing, too. Tricia Collins, amazed at her discovery of this self-taught artist, bought 75 more paintings and had a one-woman exhibition of Missionary Mary's work in 1996. A folk artist was born. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFHkBvYBS64n125KWi-TfdR92IedYSYvHNm02ulhsCzYmZYt2c8YcsMg1GBUAxj7T531Xak6te372fRGW5UVWqWjNgj2EUQr1V4VO4SKhKFj1OssWy5XdnHMeVESb7jJr4FUW6SsdQYFwRhq66byMH_APTD4HVaHjbFYprw54JXp4FLJTPCUbPgoZh=s853" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFHkBvYBS64n125KWi-TfdR92IedYSYvHNm02ulhsCzYmZYt2c8YcsMg1GBUAxj7T531Xak6te372fRGW5UVWqWjNgj2EUQr1V4VO4SKhKFj1OssWy5XdnHMeVESb7jJr4FUW6SsdQYFwRhq66byMH_APTD4HVaHjbFYprw54JXp4FLJTPCUbPgoZh=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span>On niece Ali's wall</span>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I can almost imagine the overwhelming joy Mary Proctor felt, to see her work beautifully displayed on bright white gallery walls, and "to witness purchase after purchase by people willing to pay seven thousand dollars each for her treasured doors and her wall art." Tricia Collins had brought manna from heaven. Praise the Lord.</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f5e5e; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8RJ4f7lpLhY8htiyw45n806tmZjLZ3F3W9DqArU5gukKSXfsBF52fgKjIakLpvftR1PuKlmzIOmovd0R1wqaBWi74rUw5nJrRV8AbOhggyRLYnc4ryJGTWR7w5S1jRnGTZF5_Ugx4ukXNQHx4W-Tm7D-zcEn39LIoC5tLS-fMU4y4xkpHkWUN_CcR=s1024" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8RJ4f7lpLhY8htiyw45n806tmZjLZ3F3W9DqArU5gukKSXfsBF52fgKjIakLpvftR1PuKlmzIOmovd0R1wqaBWi74rUw5nJrRV8AbOhggyRLYnc4ryJGTWR7w5S1jRnGTZF5_Ugx4ukXNQHx4W-Tm7D-zcEn39LIoC5tLS-fMU4y4xkpHkWUN_CcR=w320-h213" width="320" /></a></div><div>Now this is one fine example of how an inside artist brought in an "outsider" artist, in the true sense of that profoundly meaningful transaction. It's how folk artists, "outsider" artists, come into the large universe of the art world, and are recognized for their innate talent, driving obsession, their honest expressions of daily life. Mary's paintings are sold in many galleries and on every online art site, from Artsy and Pinterest to Worth Point and yes, Mary's own gallery. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYz-5qt-p2YNCFvvLY1Af-tvysMpiWKCn84UxRS0yVGDoqBsptLa8x9eb3cGolUqXX461gXHfsMc0L5ECXo7sAzSdNbDLXaNtP7lI4sBMmfYFjIh-3BmuEaaF8fugIcEziTmY8qBRnF8Yl3d9bXDuHBgk_7nPckTLscQsrbQBu44Vd4kV-lM-sykpt=s853" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYz-5qt-p2YNCFvvLY1Af-tvysMpiWKCn84UxRS0yVGDoqBsptLa8x9eb3cGolUqXX461gXHfsMc0L5ECXo7sAzSdNbDLXaNtP7lI4sBMmfYFjIh-3BmuEaaF8fugIcEziTmY8qBRnF8Yl3d9bXDuHBgk_7nPckTLscQsrbQBu44Vd4kV-lM-sykpt=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">On my wonderful niece Ali's walls.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>That's how my niece Ali, Andy's daughter, acquired two of Missionary Mary's paintings. I've seen them on her walls for ages, but this time I took a closer look. "Those are Mary Proctor's," Ali says. "She's a well-known folk artist on a mission to channel God's wisdom," sister Andy added. "And these are original paintings?" I ask. "You betcha Aunt Fran, bought in her gallery." </div><div><br /></div><div>So that's when I had a sign: Learn more about Missionary Mary L. Proctor. </div><div><br /></div><div>And well, for heaven's sake, I found that Mary has lots of paintings with that very message: "pay attention to signs....signs point the way...." And so I paid attention.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></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;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidsrEvMB1d3V31tChbccUcO7k_tbV2-SnQlgCH6zrTDVhKf8RxD8emN7RXv6BJAKfFmYQgCss1nK_-yx9ekYZhtv6nwMN8GpapHX5qFIMrlFBVYp9XmzPcnPdyEnlZfvEeJd574sOGm1BSI25tc0o0j-2p0DdxNPuFHR4zdPxKMo0GV41v1Pv3Uwam=w400-h224" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katherine Wolf-Hehn, in the Bitter Southerner, <br />Photo by Mark Wallheiser.<br /><span style="font-size: medium;">"Art heals the body mind and soul"</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Sources/Notes</div><p>1. <a href="https://bittersoutherner.com/missionary-mary-proctor-southern-folk-art">https://bittersoutherner.com/missionary-mary-proctor-southern-folk-ar</a>t. “This is my communication line to God. This is my expression. The Church of Art.” .</p><p>2. <a href="https://porchscene.com/2014/01/06/marys-doorway-philosophy-by-deborah-fagan-carpenter/">https://porchscene.com/2014/01/06/marys-doorway-philosophy-by-deborah-fagan-carpenter/</a></p><p>3. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_L._Proctor">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_L._Proctor</a>+</p><p>4. <a href="https://mainstreetgallery.net/artist/mary-proctor/">https://mainstreetgallery.net/artist/mary-proctor/</a></p><p>5. <a href="https://discover.hubpages.com/education/Folk-Art-The-Self-Taught-Artist">https://discover.hubpages.com/education/Folk-Art-The-Self-Taught-Artist</a> -- "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16.2px;">Folk art is artistic creativity performed by people who are self-taught, or by those who learned their skill from having it taught or handed down to them, such as from family members. That means it lovingly embodies the skill, imagination, memories, stories, and creativity of the artist in a way that is simply unique."</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #6c6d74; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 16px; margin: 20px 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #6c6d74; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 16px; margin: 20px 0px 0px;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-24804967126860039452021-12-28T12:25:00.001-05:002023-01-07T11:00:08.463-05:00The Last Slave Ship: The Clotilda and Memories of Africa in America<div class="separator"><br /></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/a/AVvXsEhEIibu_s8nNvcNU47AEyVaBLndcpajnimaN2VkbnJWPcXu0QamOj4YFpSLNROnep21T1GY_F4iQngk6hBdMMsQX8M1VmH-9g3Hwrz9aC54VOKL19XlaFkYdDFl20a4hSRvnSXanMyNAXCWn2VzxNCZ22Ut8xTCd4gQWMEC1Wz-GfyiZ1rF3jABNfKk=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEIibu_s8nNvcNU47AEyVaBLndcpajnimaN2VkbnJWPcXu0QamOj4YFpSLNROnep21T1GY_F4iQngk6hBdMMsQX8M1VmH-9g3Hwrz9aC54VOKL19XlaFkYdDFl20a4hSRvnSXanMyNAXCWn2VzxNCZ22Ut8xTCd4gQWMEC1Wz-GfyiZ1rF3jABNfKk=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The schooner<i> Clotilda</i> probably looked like the slave ship Armistead in this rendition,<br />according to scholars studying and documenting the recovery and authentication of <span style="color: #990000;">The Last Slave Ship</span> to make the horrific "middle passage" across the Atlantic. Photo rendition from Ben Raines, in Anniston/Gadsden (Alabama) Rel-Time News, July 2019. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv9lvoABonncpQJe9cSywT2jtsKb-zgBi4ISL1shfqb7-FgMOKcUNIF7o0HPyam1oMnn0RNloF47RNmZdGFhTlR3wxeAVNRzOFC0hH2DWMX3CWC9-7pp8Ord7cidyMwHQktjK2bzWAuhKj25ty4dg0yNXNWV88AGwWxhTZAdfPmHyURlSOn-RoW815=s640" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="640" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv9lvoABonncpQJe9cSywT2jtsKb-zgBi4ISL1shfqb7-FgMOKcUNIF7o0HPyam1oMnn0RNloF47RNmZdGFhTlR3wxeAVNRzOFC0hH2DWMX3CWC9-7pp8Ord7cidyMwHQktjK2bzWAuhKj25ty4dg0yNXNWV88AGwWxhTZAdfPmHyURlSOn-RoW815=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The wreck recovered, May 22, 2019. It was <br />"remarkably in tact," according to an NPR story.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">In 1860, the wooden ship Clotilda illegally transported 110 people from what is now the west African nation of Benin </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">to Mobile, Alabama. </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">The Clotilda was then taken into delta waters north of the port and burned to avoid detection. The Slave Trade had been prohibited in 1808, but it continued robustly up to the Civil War, mostly with Northern acquiescence. In fact, Northern industrialists ran a lucrative trade out of New York City harbor for years, and helped</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;"> </span>fund the Clotilda run. Scholars believe the Clotilda is the last slave ship to make it to America, and their human cargo were the last Africans to </span><span style="font-size: medium;">be enslaved here in the so-called "land of the free." This is the story of the African past and the American experience torn asunder by the institution of slavery. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">The director of the Alabama Historical Commission, Lisa D. Jones, called the discovery "</span>an extraordinary archaeological find,” noting that "the voyage represented one of the darkest eras of modern history and is a profound discovery of the tangible evidence of slavery." It is also a profound discovery of the meaning and importance of the African heritage of American slaves, the ways they were forced to adapt, the impact of family separations, the hardships, the dreams of freedom, and the memories and traditions of Africa they held so closely </span><span style="font-size: medium;">through the cruelty of human bondage.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">"Tangible evidence," if any more is needed. The trafficking in human beings and its dire impact and consequences constitute a horrifying thread running through the social fabric of America up to the present, and yes, it is well-documented.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">The human dimensions of the story are painful, tragic, and to its credit the Smithsonian recognized its significance in its announcement of the </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">Clotilda's discovery: </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"></span><blockquote><span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: -0.16px;">"One hundred and fifty-nine years ago, slave traders stole Lorna Gale Woods' great-great grandfather from what is now Benin in West Africa. Her ancestor, Charlie (Cudjo) Lewis [born Oluala Kossolo] was brutally ripped from his homeland, along with 109 other Africans, and brought to Alabama on the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States. Today, [May 22, 2019] researchers confirmed that the remains of that vessel, long rumored to exist but elusive for decades, have been found...</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">" </span><span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Smithsonian Institution, a major partner in the ship's recovery and authentication. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #990000; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZPrCH5VEPmcmkEb4JG4MgwTmkopJxoNL5nNoon6JZLOUykP-NHTcaRHE4syjCLqFWI2Yzwmca2LXKLcdPTGFCWlcLue-leKd64GXpX4jjFootktY57lKqIZro_SISGLl-_AO1AXypvsXteZEgv_901N00wScy9SAQTbplb_M7DKIP6ZnrebRggsy6=s750" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="685" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZPrCH5VEPmcmkEb4JG4MgwTmkopJxoNL5nNoon6JZLOUykP-NHTcaRHE4syjCLqFWI2Yzwmca2LXKLcdPTGFCWlcLue-leKd64GXpX4jjFootktY57lKqIZro_SISGLl-_AO1AXypvsXteZEgv_901N00wScy9SAQTbplb_M7DKIP6ZnrebRggsy6=w183-h200" width="183" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cudjo and another Clotilda<br />survivor in 1914 (wikipedia).</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">The amazing remarkable thing is that the survivors of the Clotilda who remained in Alabama formed their own community, Africatown, in Mobile, after the Civil War. Cudjo Kossolo Lewis was said to be a chief and the oldest person on the ship. It was Cudjo and </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">thirty-one other Africans who founded Africatown. They were joined by other continental Africans and formed a community that continued to practice many of their West African traditions and the Yoruba language for decades. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhS2pVqRKzgu9mP7D-PQqeXzcXFydSjFeOs4ahKcXl0H4p10p8xqWws5dhDPyT4luD-Yx2r4BgXNB4RR5CWJl_wKO1CEIQZ5f46015jqVmBKLzsWit2oDYBYYLh9r11FXh6HvxzpOUEzmSK9xJEZh_YSjxVaruO8Fh5hhRiGOnd82addaWaNGaIndia=s500" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhS2pVqRKzgu9mP7D-PQqeXzcXFydSjFeOs4ahKcXl0H4p10p8xqWws5dhDPyT4luD-Yx2r4BgXNB4RR5CWJl_wKO1CEIQZ5f46015jqVmBKLzsWit2oDYBYYLh9r11FXh6HvxzpOUEzmSK9xJEZh_YSjxVaruO8Fh5hhRiGOnd82addaWaNGaIndia=s320" width="213" /></a></div><br />According to an excellent article in Wikipedia, a spokesperson for the community said Cudjo (pictured left) died in 1935. Redoshi, another captive on the Clotilda, was sold to a planter in Dallas County, Alabama, where she became known as Sally Smith. She married, had a daughter and lived to 1937. Another survivor, Matilda McClear, lived until 1940. By then there were eight surviving members of the last slave ship from Africa.</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Wikipedia, note 2 below, and the book <b>Dreams of Africa in America</b> by Sylviane Anne Diouf, Oxford U Press, 2007.. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.16px;">Some 100 descendants of the Clotilda still live in Africatown, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, five years before the Clotilda was fully recovered and its history confirmed. We can imagine the joy this community experienced when the discovery made the news, and it made a lot of news. </span><span style="color: #990000;">“The excitement and joy is overwhelming,” says Lorna Woods, great-great granddaughter of Cudjo, in a voice trembling with emotion. She is 70 years old now. But she’s been hearing stories about her family history and the ship that tore them from their homeland since she was a child in Africatown."</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><p></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXB6aesRkk2nAcMcNH00jnI7TIj8Hoh55SuzrI6kNvEaJhe_NuD5EOuW7cTXwwWemZZ4Ll1Jizh-A-IZDSEPJ222prEHPsS65no6KgbaWaAH8yBv2J54wUxzSgu1R0PFkVxEpA-kZ4v8WzRL94GywJvZ4WfaWzSnqFLQuVCo1TC6iQiQ4R03EeEjDP=s499" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXB6aesRkk2nAcMcNH00jnI7TIj8Hoh55SuzrI6kNvEaJhe_NuD5EOuW7cTXwwWemZZ4Ll1Jizh-A-IZDSEPJ222prEHPsS65no6KgbaWaAH8yBv2J54wUxzSgu1R0PFkVxEpA-kZ4v8WzRL94GywJvZ4WfaWzSnqFLQuVCo1TC6iQiQ4R03EeEjDP=s320" width="212" /></a></span></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>An interesting note on the authentication of the slave trade and its monstrous trafficking in human lives is that the anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Huston made her own significant discovery in about 1925: She found Cudjo and interviewed him about his experiences. Unfortunately, she had trouble finding a publisher for this story, even after publication of her novel </span><b>Their Eyes Were Watching God. </b><span>The interviews were finally published in 2018 in Hurston's book titled </span><b>Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo." </b><span>I just discovered that Hurston's title was the name of the prison and holding pen where the slaves were kept before their forced trip to America. </span><span>The content and the significance of Hurston's interviews, lost for decades, were revived again after the Clotilda's resurrection from the dead. </span></span></p><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Soon scheduled for release, on January 25, the investigative journalist Ben Raines, who worked for years on recovering the Clotilda, will tell his story in The True Story of How Clotilda was Found, Her Descendants, and an Extraordinary Reckoning. For some time, it appears, the major institutional partners in the project, the Alabama Historical Society, the National Geographic, SEARCH Inc, the Smithsonian, and others, neglected to mention the work Ben Raines with the support of the University of Southern Mississippi researchers had done in making this discovery possible. It was trial and error for a long time, but Raines persevered and he deserves recognition for his obsessive work in pinning down the Clotilda's location. I'm glad he's telling his story, and I look forward to reading this book.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818; font-size: medium; letter-spacing: 0.8px;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal;">"Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States." </b><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122; letter-spacing: normal;">W.E.B. Dubois (1868-1963)</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.8px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p>Sources/Notes<p>1. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/clotilda-last-known-slave-ship-arrive-us-found-180972177/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/clotilda-last-known-slave-ship-arrive-us-found-180972177/</a></p><p>2. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/12/22/1067078342/wreckage-of-last-slave-ship-clotilda-alabama">https://www.npr.org/2021/12/22/1067078342/wreckage-of-last-slave-ship-clotilda-alabama</a></p><p>3. <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/Dreams-Africa-Alabama-Slave-Ship-Clotilda/31057664499/bd?cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Textbook-_-product_id=COM9780195382938USED-_-keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwqCOBhCdARIsAEPyW9kWmh4XriGpyuG_qRdNlecD5-JRo0rXul8swJr3QNfe12-PnIBhLvIaAjaIEALw_wcB">https://www.abebooks.com/Dreams-Africa-Alabama-Slave-Ship-Clotilda/31057664499/bd?cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Textbook-_-</a> The story of the last Africans forced and trafficked to the US, based on their own stories, memories of Africa, and the tragic experience of being captured and enslaved in the U.S. in 1860, just 1 year before the outbreak of Civil War. </p><p>4. <a href="https://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/2019/07/alabama-files-legal-action-to-help-protect-the-clotilda.html">https://www.al.com/news/anniston-gadsden/2019/07/alabama-files-legal-action-to-help-protect-the-clotilda.html</a> </p><p>5. <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-has-been-found-alabama-historical-commission-announces.html">https://www.al.com/news/2019/05/clotilda-the-last-american-slave-ship-has-been-found-alabama-historical-commission-announces.html</a></p><p>6. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotilda_(slave_ship)#:~:text=The%20schooner%20Clotilda%20(often%20misspelled,23%20ft%20(7.0%20m).">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotilda_(slave_ship)#:~:text=The%20schooner%20Clotilda%20(often%20misspelled,23%20ft%20(7.0%20m)</a></p><p>7. <a href="https://www.history.com/news/zora-neale-hurston-barracoon-slave-clotilda-survivor">https://www.history.com/news/zora-neale-hurston-barracoon-slave-clotilda-survivor</a> Hurston's unpublished manuscript of Barracoon is held by the Spingarn Center at Howard University. The importance of preserving historical documents revealed! </p><p>8. <a href="https://www.history.com/news/us-illegal-slave-trade-civil-war">https://www.history.com/news/us-illegal-slave-trade-civil-</a></p><p>9. <a href="https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2019/05/reporter-raines-credited-for-role-in-clotilda-search.html. ">https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2019/05/reporter-raines-credited-for-role-in-clotilda-search.html. </a></p><p>10. <a href="https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2019/05/reporter-raines-credited-for-role-in-clotilda-search.html. ">https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674330511</a>, W.E.B.DuBois's <b>Suppression of the Slave Trade to the USA,</b> 1638-1870, his pioneering research and dissertation at Harvard, where he was the first African-American to receive a PhD. The slave trade actually continued after it was legally prohibited, but DuBois's study and his subsequent research and writing remain an important contribution to the extensive scholarship on slavery and the African-American experience. See also <a href="10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2294050">https://www.jstor.org/stable/2294050</a> The writings of DuBois are best of all, starting with <b>The Souls of Black Folks</b>. </p><p><br /><br /><br /></p></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676298606647372212.post-42464135231132649152021-12-26T10:45:00.010-05:002021-12-26T16:49:40.245-05:00Aminah Robinson: The Art of Storytelling <p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBYJPisTGK6Ba9bVmcR3YrlRkHRAL6Ex_EyMum_9EKAEWQblYSp1YVEWZiV8lHOjEXZpu0m1D4trxmvDB5If7tuzhnZAa1oWI5PV-6J0lNO2YOYrM--WTuQV9bWUBc53Tdo6txYcsjnLYOuTjWf2pRTOiopewrdov9SPoYqb_0yWhUABo7ghbp8ygj=s1920"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1920" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBYJPisTGK6Ba9bVmcR3YrlRkHRAL6Ex_EyMum_9EKAEWQblYSp1YVEWZiV8lHOjEXZpu0m1D4trxmvDB5If7tuzhnZAa1oWI5PV-6J0lNO2YOYrM--WTuQV9bWUBc53Tdo6txYcsjnLYOuTjWf2pRTOiopewrdov9SPoYqb_0yWhUABo7ghbp8ygj=w640-h250" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>In this image titled, “Christmas in Poindexter Village” Ohio artist Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson depicts a public housing community in Columbus where she grew up. In her unique handmade books, Aminah explores the history of her family, her community and Black Americans.</i></span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Toledo Museum of Art used this picture on their facebook page to wish members and fans a Merry Christmas. It caught my eye, pulled me in, and inspired me to learn a bit more about Aminah Robinson, the artist. </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/a/AVvXsEgoRLtL-6AXYjUZtfaYKWponbOnTwhpLyYJHrfDb9gDcRNMx1x6yvo3t35E_8VDvRw2-Cbpn4GBzQm1_0im7-DymOx3p2Jad29xqJpe_2S0ZmjSMwCRdzvS7dS87iuaSbzJAKqDvolGxtvvnPqNnHGL5Wf9iWMF_p5vP6qOpPJSafIpNVxSLcBoESJy=s1024" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoRLtL-6AXYjUZtfaYKWponbOnTwhpLyYJHrfDb9gDcRNMx1x6yvo3t35E_8VDvRw2-Cbpn4GBzQm1_0im7-DymOx3p2Jad29xqJpe_2S0ZmjSMwCRdzvS7dS87iuaSbzJAKqDvolGxtvvnPqNnHGL5Wf9iWMF_p5vP6qOpPJSafIpNVxSLcBoESJy=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="AkzidenzGroteskPro-Regular" style="background-color: white; color: #220e10; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;"> </span><span face="AkzidenzGroteskPro-Regular" style="background-color: white; color: #220e10; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson from the series Folk Costumes from the Blackberry Patch, featured in the exhibition "Raggin’ On: The Art of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson’s House and Journals," at the Columbus (Ohio) Museum of Art. <br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPezmASVweK_A5fu3_3CNRwRUOf8CCgYeYdmxx1XG45Mst-fWXltvChq8Q-lQcWKqMkHriVrwrGof7g481q0zwPlcORm7o_PZc8DX9UaHxiyCZZBcy4Br4w7yEdkALklnkWpztlyzJu50-23U_noAgsSLwrQCWff_ZV4tz6ZDuw-RMbigm_Z7GsDx0=s500" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="429" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPezmASVweK_A5fu3_3CNRwRUOf8CCgYeYdmxx1XG45Mst-fWXltvChq8Q-lQcWKqMkHriVrwrGof7g481q0zwPlcORm7o_PZc8DX9UaHxiyCZZBcy4Br4w7yEdkALklnkWpztlyzJu50-23U_noAgsSLwrQCWff_ZV4tz6ZDuw-RMbigm_Z7GsDx0=s320" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Carole Miller Genshaft, CMA curator, <br />Ohio U Press, 2018, for children</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>She was born on February 18, 1940, in Columbus, Ohio, and died at 75 years of age in 2015. She grew up in the Poindexter public housing community in Columbus, one of the first federally funded housing projects in the country. She started sketching from an early age, encouraged by her father and mother. "“By the time I reached 9 years old,” she wrote in one of her journals, “I was deep, deep into transforming and recording the culture of my people into works of art."</div><div><br /></div><div>She attended the Columbus College of Art and Design and worked on her art diligently, inspired by the stories of African Americans in her community, as well as the history of the Black experience in America. "She believed that life for her people in America was 'an act of near-superhuman perseverance,' and she was determined to capture that history in every medium she could" (note 5 below). </div><div><br /></div><div>Her entire oeuvre--including paintings, sculpture, mixed-.media using objects from nature, buttons and found materials, multi-layered portraits, drawings and books from the writing in her journals--is a testament to this determination, driven to work daily from sun up to sun down until her death in the home she turned into a vibrant artist's studio. A MacArthur Genius Award in 2005 enabled her to work as a full-time artist. Her work took off and flourished. She travelled to Africa and other countries, became a force in her Columbus community, was a Civil Rights artist activist, influenced a new generation of artists, and developed a close and fruitful relationship with the Columbus Museum or Art (CMA). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><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/a/AVvXsEgJ4KP1QUXzv8OO1T1Nlvag4xAO-ErjjLqAy6e86r1AYgN9hkdwaC-ZkR0NNdIFIG5EdbvIKqdU78YQIxBwJ3PtDFcNNSk8UxZ5y6AAwf6pne6UHQWCnVxy8ULvjWZsTueT9MbjM-SaRRMv1YqUKQGOv2ca8MvSF-0uwAyN8p7mEv_UAq1xniLA1tHR=s660" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="660" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ4KP1QUXzv8OO1T1Nlvag4xAO-ErjjLqAy6e86r1AYgN9hkdwaC-ZkR0NNdIFIG5EdbvIKqdU78YQIxBwJ3PtDFcNNSk8UxZ5y6AAwf6pne6UHQWCnVxy8ULvjWZsTueT9MbjM-SaRRMv1YqUKQGOv2ca8MvSF-0uwAyN8p7mEv_UAq1xniLA1tHR=w640-h288" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span><i>Aminah Robinson, "Bo Walking the First Family through the Rose Garden,"</i><br /><i>Columbus Museum of Art. Robinson soared with hope and joy when</i><br /><i>Obama was elected president, a dream toward which she had long worked </i><br /><i>as a dedicated Civil Rights activist. She marched with Martin Luther King at the </i><br /><i>1963 March on Washington.</i></span><br /><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg__GDe8Y8KHEDDLGiv-rhenmvqXk5XwTaQY5ZZ14OOxysRgLW1QC_Oqh_lryROp3jl4J-nNGey5IIv1U5mWzZXGrXnEdqdakyKHOoNQ2KVimdt2RGDGzwXrD0ijqY5FxjiVbXu_VVL4TSarGFVd6dIPVgcuw7oM7UVt-unZHCgCjmll1bLK93DoWfr=s1440" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1440" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg__GDe8Y8KHEDDLGiv-rhenmvqXk5XwTaQY5ZZ14OOxysRgLW1QC_Oqh_lryROp3jl4J-nNGey5IIv1U5mWzZXGrXnEdqdakyKHOoNQ2KVimdt2RGDGzwXrD0ijqY5FxjiVbXu_VVL4TSarGFVd6dIPVgcuw7oM7UVt-unZHCgCjmll1bLK93DoWfr=s320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Upon her death, Robinson bequeathed all her art and her house to the CMA. The museum spent years carefully documenting her art, writings, archive and library that remained in her house. A trusted steward, the museum mounted the first major exhibition of her work in November 2020, delayed due to Covid, called "<i><b>Raggin' On: The Art of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson (1940-2015).</b></i>" This exhibition, co-curated by Carole Miller Genshaft, presented six decades of Robinson's art and writings. Thoughtful and deliberate, the museum invited visitors to experience the artist's house and creative processes and to better understand her intention "to celebrate the everyday lives and culture of Black people and their endurance through centuries of injustice." </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aminah Robinson's work is now held by several other museums, part of their permanent collections, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Smithsonian National Museum of Art, and our own Toledo Museum of Art.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3Tqxsmb4r6UpGmGOrAfTF57nhwPgRMU6qg3Xhs60DXdPTsFcQ-CMAtMc5mIMVEpbai5Rfyg1GXPJViXXm2aUqqpb2rStSZuKCEFv3osLSmON8CU3hFeuEfTPEl57IBoTRDQWufGVEfZeNbBP8A4JJMj0wme1lRruO0IiOtCrMyF8oQLwhmSRuSYiy=s360" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="360" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3Tqxsmb4r6UpGmGOrAfTF57nhwPgRMU6qg3Xhs60DXdPTsFcQ-CMAtMc5mIMVEpbai5Rfyg1GXPJViXXm2aUqqpb2rStSZuKCEFv3osLSmON8CU3hFeuEfTPEl57IBoTRDQWufGVEfZeNbBP8A4JJMj0wme1lRruO0IiOtCrMyF8oQLwhmSRuSYiy=s320" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"Symphonic Poem," part of a series, so powerful and moving, like all Aminah Robinson's work.</i><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On this first day of Kwanzsa, TMA posted a piece of art from another great African-American artist, Romare Bearden (below). It's titled "Family Gathering." I remember discovering Bearden at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and have never forgotten it, or the impact the work of this fabulous artist had on me. Aminah Robinson clearly stands proudly in the iconic tradition of Romare Bearden, along with Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas, folk artists like Mary Proctor and the Florida Highwaymen and Woman, Gordon Parks, William H. Johnson, Lois Mailou Jones, Beauford Delaney, to mention only a few. It is an august tradition that expands the traditional canon and opens our eyes to a whole universe of experience and culture that all Americans should understand and embrace.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1j608dWs8XPm1wvWOcMUoylU4CfB_BL3FLXm-uf0vM1FlHi5Dk_7YWAO672LYgzn_3xLZXQug6WkpFhFDLKChdhoC3FKRuvoXS3lMORLIIop3-RHzJUjW8i3qpioMA1wV1YnYTMzWoQMgcjEnTsLdQ5LvgMcHAJEgvg1b3WhbSuJ5t2bwGzGYcc8j=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1603" data-original-width="2048" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1j608dWs8XPm1wvWOcMUoylU4CfB_BL3FLXm-uf0vM1FlHi5Dk_7YWAO672LYgzn_3xLZXQug6WkpFhFDLKChdhoC3FKRuvoXS3lMORLIIop3-RHzJUjW8i3qpioMA1wV1YnYTMzWoQMgcjEnTsLdQ5LvgMcHAJEgvg1b3WhbSuJ5t2bwGzGYcc8j=w400-h313" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is as well a fitting tribute to Desmond Tutu, the friend of Nelson Mandela and voice for justice, who died today and whose loss we grieve.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="css-axufdj evys1bk0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sources/Notes</span></p><p class="css-axufdj evys1bk0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. </span><a href="https://www.columbusmuseum.org/blog/tag/aminah-robinson/" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.columbusmuseum.org/blog/tag/aminah-robinson</a></p><p>2. Carole Miller Genshaft, <b><i>Aminah's World</i></b>, Ohio U Press, 2018. A book for children about the artist.</p><p>3. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminah_Robinson">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminah_Robinson</a></p><p>4. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041301066/buttons-beads-and-bravado-celebrating-the-simple-joy-in-aminah-robinsons-art">https://www.npr.org/2021/10/01/1041301066/buttons-beads-and-bravado-celebrating-the-simple-joy-in-aminah-robinsons-art</a></p><p>5. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/obituaries/aminah-brenda-lynn-robinson-overlooked.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/obituaries/aminah-brenda-lynn-robinson-overlooked.html</a></p><p>6. <a href="https://www.columbusmuseum.org/blog/news_room/raggin-on-features-new-work-by-beloved-artist ">https://www.columbusmuseum.org/blog/news_room/raggin-on-features-new-work-by-beloved-artist </a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9bStydwtIAaLvkTaQHenpfvCgF1GZI_ytL6qQnbcipACJzJ5cY6jypPXpNLO7s3cLtK9hZdqeQBy5P2iQFi-nMp1hE8slVoibop8Uc8fMRQb9ODOc--UzpniF25PfGBd9aRyqGeQnVGDf-5Sdg421MpyBibxYRZZvoFE6zXhn1j7SkM9hgNOP0u5C=s500" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9bStydwtIAaLvkTaQHenpfvCgF1GZI_ytL6qQnbcipACJzJ5cY6jypPXpNLO7s3cLtK9hZdqeQBy5P2iQFi-nMp1hE8slVoibop8Uc8fMRQb9ODOc--UzpniF25PfGBd9aRyqGeQnVGDf-5Sdg421MpyBibxYRZZvoFE6zXhn1j7SkM9hgNOP0u5C=w150-h200" width="150" /></a></div>7. <b>A History of African-American Artists</b> by Romare Bearden and Harry Henderson.<p></p><p>8. <b>African-American Art and Artists</b> by Samella Lewis, U. of Cafifornia Press, 2013.</p><p>9. Another good source is art historian Richard Powell, a Duke University professor of Art history, who wrote on the African-American tradition in important ways after his wonderful book on William H. Johnson. I knew Richard in DC and admired his critically important work at the time, and still do. See <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/richard-j-powell-interview-1944754">Richard J. Powell Was Once Among Only a Handful of Scholars Dedicated to Black Art History. Here's How He Has Seen the Field Change (artnet.com)</a>.</p><p>10. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/desmond-tutu-archbishop-south-africa-apartheid/2021/12/26/9fef6f0c-661e-11ec-a7e8-3a8455b71fad_story.html.">https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/desmond-tutu-archbishop-south-africa-apartheid/2021/12/26/9fef6f0c-661e-11ec-a7e8-3a8455b71fad_story.html.</a></p></div>Life After All Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09779246633308203065noreply@blogger.com0