DAILY PHOTO: Milwaukee Ave. Murals, Chicago
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Category Archives: Art
Limerick of the Portrait of Felix Rey
Van Gogh's doctor, a man named Felix Rey, was given a portrait -- much to his dismay. While Rey didn't grouse, the pic patched his henhouse, but it survived and 's worth millions today!
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BOOKS: The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick RubinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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This book offers Rick Rubin’s philosophy of creativity and art. For those unfamiliar with Rubin, he’s a ZZ Top-looking music producer who contributed to a lot of successful albums, ranging from hip hop to the rock-n-roll of Tom Petty. He was a major player behind the Run DMC cover of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” that blew peoples’ minds in the 80’s. Interestingly, Rubin is neither a musician nor a technologist, and I heard him say in an interview that his great value-added was having an extremely high level of confidence in knowing what he liked. Rubin has a persona that is as much guru as music producer, and this book reflects this broad insight and wisdom.
In the book, Rubin lays out his view of the creative process and the mistakes people make with it, but along the way he offers insight into such interesting questions as why some artists only seem to have one major work in them. While Rubin’s experience is mostly with music (though he also worked with comedian Andrew Dice Clay on Clay’s albums,) his book is broadly targeted towards all artists, and he seems to use as many examples from literature and graphic arts as he does from music.
Rubin does sound a bit woo woo here and there, but I found that many statements — e.g. those that spoke of the universe’s role in artistry — could be interpreted in a way that wasn’t necessarily superstitious. While woo woo sounding statements often get on my nerves, I felt Rubin’s use was poetic and spoke to a broader truth.
I’d highly recommend this book for artists and creative types, regardless of field.
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Self Portrait [Common Meter]
So many historic figures
whose look we think we know.
Did Jesus of Nazareth sport
hippie hair & a halo?
Perhaps, he did have quite long hair
but not the tawny blonde
of which so many "portraitists"
seemed to be quite fond.
The Shakespeare that we recognize
is drawn from memory.
Kings oft declared true depiction
a form of treachery.
Past commoners' appearances
are lost in bygone days.
We know Van Gogh from a mad mind,
and know him thirty ways.
Do you know whose look we do know?
Every teen now alive.
There're pics from every angle
stored on redundant drives.
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DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from the Van Gogh 360 Exhibit, Bangalore
DAILY PHOTO: Széchenyi Lánc Híd Lions in Lego & Stone
Five Wise Lines from Fireflies by Rabindranath Tagore
In the drowsy dark caves of the mind / dreams build their nest with fragments / dropped from day’s caravan.
From the solemn gloom of the temple / children run out to sit in the dust, / God watches them play / and forgets the priest.
The wind tries to take the flame by storm / only to blow it out.
The same sun is newly born in new lands / in a ring of endless dawns.
When death comes and whispers to me, / “Thy days are ended.” / let me say to him, “I have lived in love / and not in mere time.” / He will ask, “Will thy songs remain?” / I shall say, “I know not, but this I know / that often when I sang I found my eternity.
Fireflies by Rabindranath Tagore is in the public domain and can be read at sites such as:
Fireflies is available at PoetryVerseShare on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Van Gogh Palette [Haiku]
black-eyed susans nudge me into Van Gogh's world, but not too deeply.
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DAILY PHOTO: Statues of St. Stephen’s Basilica
Algae Pond [Haiku]
algae-covered pond:
provides a blank-slate
for shadow art.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 