Halloween

 

                                                                                                  

                                                                                    

A sacred night

Something of fright

A creaky floor

A slamming door

The blowing leaves

I do believe

Black Widows weave

All Hallows Eve

Bats in Bristol, bones in bags

Muses, minstrels, monster mags

A dance of death

A witch’s face

The children run

Keep up the pace

No time to loose

No time to waste

The zombie's  hair

all stuck with paste

The row men row

Against the wind

Don’t look; don’t worry

It's here again

No fear of death

It’s Sting rebuked

The Song of Solomon

The book of Luke

 

We know there’s more

But here today

We celebrate our special way

A sleeper, a keeper

Both darker and deeper

A crawler and creeper

Who laugh at the reaper

                                                      

                                                                                                             2010

The Nocturnes

The artist made famous by his “Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother” (Better known as “Whistler’s Mother”) was a painter of nocturnes. Frederic Remington painted haunting, intriguing, mysterious nocturnes as did Van Gogh. What is “The Starry Night “if not a nocturne. Vincent did many other brilliant night scenes as well. The night is a fascinating time to many artists.

There is nothing as seductive, sublime or beautiful as the night.  Paul Williams expressed a sense of awe and love for the night when he wrote the lyric “What’s so amazing that keeps us star gazing?” In that continual spirit of wonder I choose to look at the night sky as often as I can. We don’t know exactly why we are fascinated even comforted by the sight of the stars and the moon. Often we are prividgled to see the moon accented with a cluster of clouds in a unique arrangement.



These natural compositions sometimes lasting so briefly that they are gone in seconds never to be repeated in exactly the same pattern again. I do know that just looking up and out at the heavens can relax and renew the spirit. Yes Paul; it is still amazing. Perhaps it is the possibility of seeing something never seen before; something that at the same time has been seen and shared by every human being that does compel us.

Within the last few years I have painted a series of works that are exclusively black and white and are nocturnes of a sort.  There is a paring down to basics in using black and white exclusively that gives a kind of purity and even sacredness to the work. The essence of all painting can be found in the interplay of light and dark. The technique is identical in a black and white piece; there is simply the lack of color. Ansel Adams created his “Zone System” for rating a black and white photograph. He believed every good photograph had every tone ranging from a pure or complete black to complete white while including every gray in between.   I’m   attempting to do a similar thing with my nocturnes. 

I was showing recently in a group exhibition where I displayed all black and white paintings and black sculptures. A woman remarked to her companion as they passed my work “Well; Picasso had his Blue Period…” I can take that kind of assessment.

The reflection of traffic and neon light on dark wet pavement during or just after a rain storm is as spectacular and nuanced as any light show in any venue you would want to see. The night cafes, bars and theatres and those travelers that are their patrons continue to color the night and make it unique. The night offers much to those that embrace it whole heartedly or even occasionally. It is a gift and a necessity as is the day. The balance of light and dark is essential to life and to works of art.

The night is not just a time of the gothic or horror but a time of quiet and reflection. In painting an opportunity   to depict not only light but a surprising vastness of shadows within the darkness, depth and distance.  

Assael's Superman

Steven Assael is a painter of fine portraits. He paints crowded buses, waiting rooms and singular portraits of the people he knows and sees.  His subjects pose in varying degrees of dress and undress. They range from  regular folks to trendy; heavily tattooed and pierced to those in ornate costumes. He is among the best of our times and a personal favorite. Assael recently chose to paint an ordinary man in a mock Superman costume; it is fabulous in it’s simplicity. He wanted to depict a Superman of non- extremes. His Superman as presented as a typical man becomes unique as a depiction of
Superman. It goes against all previous depictions of the character. The ordinary is certainly extraordinary in this case. It is also masterfully executed.

Why even think about Superman (as a comic book character) or the concept of a superman? Great minds like Friedrich Nietzsche have explored the ubermench (over man) as something greater than mere man. George Bernard Shaw’s play “Man and Superman” explores the subject of the eternal pursuit by man and woman to produce a superman. There is currently a movie “Waiting for Superman “that is another variation and inquiry into the idea of the quest and need for a superman in today’s society.

Humanity has the constant need to compare and to rate itself. We will always have “top ten Lists” and”the best of” compilations. We want to know who is the fastest, the most beautiful, the richest and the smartest. We once celebrated the biggest winners and now we even laud the biggest losers. This, if for  no other reason than we are  imperfect creatures and we do need to continually  improve , to want more and to be more in every possible way. We need standards to set as goals to reach. Something like an ultimate being such as the superman is inspired because it is unattainable. We are always striving for but we will never reach that summit of perfection.

Jerry Seinfeld is a huge comedic talent (a superman among comedians) and considered by many to have co-created the funniest sitcom of all time. He is also a huge fan of the Siegel and Shuster character we recognize as Superman. In 2002 Jerry‘s picture book “Halloween” was released. It is based on his childhood holiday experiences and at the center is his ultimate costume choice; the packaged official “Superman Costume”. The text and the illustrations are dead on. I read it every year and it never ceases to amaze and thrill; it is hilarious. “.  I won’t be revealing too much but I do agree with Seinfeld: In that Superman does live potentially within us all.

  The legend of the superman has lived through out all histories and cultures. There are both religious and secular versions. Our vision of Superman; “The Red/ Blue Blur” as he is called on the “Smallville” TV show, was born in the late 1930’s; the dream of two High School students. It was a dream that has fathered many other dreams. It was a dream worth dreaming in the 1930’s and it is still worth dreaming today.