a modernistic memory | the “el” @ 52nd and market street | west philly
“A Modernistic Memory” is a new conceptual series based on the connectivity of memory attachments as they relate to places of significance in my past.
variations, rewind and remixes | postcards and influences 01
I often start a new series. Never quite knowing their origins, or where they will lead me. Several series that I have developed, such as Post Canvas and Paint, Data Complexes, Variations, Rewind and Remixes are just that: Endless conceptual ideologies of ambiguities in form and structure, that for the most part, have emerged from past artistic influences. Every new work builds on something from the past: An exhibit here. A performance there. A poet’s word softly translated. An image seared in memory. Newly discovered places … deep dark places and beautiful heavens. And of course, there is the reflection in the mirror and memories behind everything. I enjoy working from my past. It seems at times to be all I know. So in this series of Variations, Rewind and Remixes, I will simply re-examine my catalog of artistic influences in a new way. Back in 2011, I created several posts under the title “In the Reflective Mirror | Various Artistic Influences”, and asked the question … When searching for meaning in a catalogue of artistic events, does one art form influence another? And I can say, that in both a direct and subliminal manner, that it does indeed influence the way I see and create art.
Below are links to several of those earlier posts.
In the Reflective Mirror / Various Artistic Influences 03: why ask questions about art
Weekly Photo Challenge: Thankful | For The Road Back Home
Taking the road back home. Traveling north on route 13 along the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Having just left Virginia Beach via the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel, our destination is Philadelphia. We are thankful for a beautiful morning with a lovely fog filled landscape. Looking forward to seeing my grandchildren and family.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Green | The Park
This is an interesting challenge. And a challenge to post mainly because it is asking for a multiple of images per post. However, because I am using my phone to post to the challenge, I do not have the capability, or have not figured out, how to post multiple images. Sigh. So please bear with me with the single image.
Nothing brings green to the forefront like a park. This digital collage created in 1997, is one of my first large-scale (42″ x 48″) prints. I’ve always loved this piece. I took all the park photos in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia while biking and hiking. I combined them with archival photos of my family in Central Park and 4th of July picnics. Green dominates the feeling of the piece. Lush and beautiful. The Park 1997.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Renewal
Another great challenge: Renewal. It certainly can be seen and expressed in many forms. This piece is from “The City Series” and is entitled “Across The River The City That Sleeps With Dreams.” Both the city and our dreams can be a starting point to or a departure point from when finding the path to renewal. In my own experience; one of past substance abuse and present recovery, the city and leaving it was the impetus for renewal. I found a new way to dream. I may never return to the big city life, for now living in a rural setting with mountains, have given me a new lease on life. Next up for the challenge of renewal are mountains.
Moments In Time (A Yesterday Video Remix)
Sometimes moments in time are like the possession of precious jewels only remembered briefly…..
My latest video entitled “Moments In Time (A Yesterday Video Remix)” starts off with clips from previous videos and a multimedia performance before evolving into my most recent ventures of 2012; finding new forms in the mountains of Western North Carolina. My early video work began back in 1988. Of course there were no digital cameras, and we had to use those large, bulky, VHS Cameras. At the time I was fortunate to have some rather unique video editing software, and hardware courtesy of my Amiga 1000 digital suite and the third-party supplier of a video mixer called the Genlock. Now with a HD digital camera, there is much higher resolution, creating a more definitive, sharper image. I recently purchased the Avid Studio Pro video software, and hope that the quality, and versatility will yield several levels of high performance (within a modest price range).
One of the major traits in the processing of my previous video work, has been my ability to layer video sources. So I am looking forward to using this new capability (the latest digital hardware and software) to continue this process. In the end I hope to create thought-provoking video imagery that is abstract, ambient. and minimalistic.
So I hope you enjoy what I think may be a transitional video on the path to new ideas, and processes.
Moments In Time (A Yesterday Video Remix)….
Urban Contemplation: 14 – The Industrial Revolution and its Deconstruction
The city series….
The forming of an industrial moment in time
The cities where the industrial revolution was founded….
I remember the period in our American history, when the industrial revolution was coming to an end. I was in my mid-twenties and working as a Process Engineer at the DuPont Company. If you were a young person in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s trying to believe in the American dream, a job with the DuPont Company was a great place to start.
Or so I thought. Little to my knowledge, things were about to get very difficult. Life was going to become very hard. The way in which our society ran and governed its social, civil, economic and political spheres were about to change.
The social agenda of the New Deal that sustained the dreams of many families and individuals would slowly be deconstructed until it (with the hopes of some) would be gone forever.
In the mid-seventies, early 1980’s and in 1991 we had economic recessions of various lengths. They were short, but a tell-tale sign of things to come. In 2001 we had another recession. These four recessions were not as severe as the present recession; however, the factors that led to these five occurrences over time are similar; deregulation, the creation of a “false paper economy” and an insidious construct to shift the wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.
And unfortunately it is working.
I was laid off from my job at DuPont after having worked there for four years. Still emerging from the perception that all you had to do was start at an entry level position with a good company; move up the ladder and retire 30 years later. Remember how your parents or grandparents followed this rule and uplifted themselves into the middle-class? It appears that in 2011, that route to the middle-class is long since gone and not returning any time soon. It is a global world now. It is now a have and have not world that is shattering the dreams of many. It is 146 million Americans in the United States living in poverty or near the poverty line. It is a health care system that is dysfunctional and over-wrought with cost. It is an education system that is mostly for profit (remember when the California State Schools were free). It is a manufacturing sector that barely exists. And it is a corrupt body of government that wants to protect the rich, sustained the rich and become rich, at the expense of the poor.
And the attack is calculated and vicious to the core.
But I love America. With all its faults, it still has the potential to be a great nation. But we must learn from our past, and if possible turn back the hand of time just for a moment. And perhaps in that moment we can have a true political and social conversation, wherein we remember what we fought so hard for—a fair and equal society for all.
This post is in support of all those who participate in the Occupy Wall Street protests in America and around the world.
From Across the Park I See the Brownstones Decaying (Recovery Remix 2011)
The city series….
The cyclical life of urban decay
from across the park
i remember
seeing
the place where all this started
the decaying brownstones
and
embracing the thirst that consumes
seeking awareness
in things we knew not of
finding the descent that limits
and subtracts
life
the city was dying…
and we too for years to come
Weekly Photo Challenge: Windows
Windows at Highwire Gallery – Island, Water, Bridge exhibit 1993….
What illumination, the light shinning through; creating the perfect ambience for the found art installation.
The windows at highwire gallery - the second street art building
Urban Contemplation 07: On Either Side of that Door It’s the Same
The city series….
Towards the open door….
caught in between
feeling things folding inward
there i stand
seeing things unknown
a future with no past
a past with no ending…
caught in between
magic and lost
a guiding light
a promised home
and there i stand…
with my intangible destiny
at the crossroad of life
before…
the uncertain door….
Featured video for this post … the artist “A Dancing Beggar” and the song “Returning” from the CD “Follow the Dark as if it Were Light”.
On either side of that door it's the same
The ambiguities of life are like the opening of a door. We never know for sure what we will discover on the other side.
But one thing is certain… on either side of that door it’s the same…there’s memory and hope.
What are your thoughts? When you arrive at that “uncertain door” what is your reaction? What is your hope?
Urban Contemplation: 06 – Dreams that Never Breach the Walls of Sleep
The city series….
Dreams that never breach the walls of sleep….
Urban decay a place of broken dreams
The dreams that search for the freedom from sleep….
Urban Contemplation 05
The city series….
The Door (Recovery Remix 2011)
Transformation: finding new places to find oneself
The door that leads from the city
Urban Contemplation 04
The city series….
Across the River the City that Sleeps with Dreams….
The city that sleeps with dreams
Urban Contemplation 03
The city series….
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility (Recovery Remix 2011)
8 a.m.
tell me the lies
say that you love me
come back to haunt me
for days without end
and nights without rest
the bittersweet siren call
the addict’s sad song
3 a.m.
This post is dedicated to a dear friend, may he rest in peace. It was his kind, centered, and wise words that showed me the way to a better tomorrow.
Urban Contemplation 02
The city series….
The Playground (Recovery Remix 2011)….
Take me away from the place where all this started…this desire.
The playground
How Can I know If You Believe In Me (a short reprise)
on a sea of glass
a reflection of what you believe
is it me
or my imagination
that is dreaming
believing in
the beautiful times gone by
and forgotten moments
now and forever
— for us
Now and forever believe in me
Life on the Edge of Nothingness
Remove yourself from the painful past and uncertain future
Sometimes in the waking we often remember that life exist with its
own set of difficulties. It seems as if we are living in perpetual change and in
transitional states of being. We are confronted with interpersonal
relationships that need our undivided attention, support, and unwavering love—while
simultaneously we must seek solutions to a world struggling with civil,
political and social unrest. It is a monumental task at times to remove oneself
from the painful past and an uncertain future. But for the sake of the communities
we live in, and our children—we must
take that leap of faith i.e. believe in something greater than ourselves,
struggle against all odds, and see beyond living on the edge of nothingness.
This piece entitled “Remove Yourself from the Painful Past and
Uncertain Future” is a reminder of how we must move from one place to another
throughout our lives, both figuratively and literally. Sometimes there is pain involved in that move. I created this piece
back in 2003 when I was going through a period of personal change, and
recollection. It was one of a series of works that reflected on a transitional time
in my life, where I needed to migrate both physically and emotionally. Part of
that process was a physical move from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.
The other part of that move was internal—from a place on the edge of nothingness—to
a place on the edge of everything….
I found that a place on the edge of everything is a beautiful place indeed.
The Fun House @ Highwire Gallery: 1991 / Dreaming in Future Tense / a 2011 remix
“Sometimes we turn the pages in the Book of Memories and come to remember the children who dream in future tense”…..
The Highwire Gallery production of The Fun House
workshop began in March 1991 at the Sayre Morris Community Center in West
Philadelphia and concluded with a performance in May. Funded by the PA Council
on the Arts, the goal was to bring together a group of children and introduce
them to the arts. Our focus would be on dance, performance, music and the visual
arts. Another important part of the workshop was for it to be a community
service, which merged different ethnic backgrounds and communities. For the
eleven girls who participated in the workshop, the hope was to inspire personal
challenges and the pursuit of their dreams. Everyone involved, the artists of
Highwire Gallery, the kids, Empress our musical director, Sandra Lynn our choreographer,
and “DADA” (Dancers Against Drug Abuse) met the challenge and worked hard to
make the program a huge success.
How do we encourage our children to dream, a dream that
inspires, enriches and motivates them to reach for the sky, and to touch just one of the millions of snowflakes that
can be found in the realm of possibilities? How do we lead them by the hand,
through the garden of hopes and dreams?
The Kids at Sandy Beach 2011
I think we do it one child at a time, one school at a time, one
project at a time, and as one community. Children love to discover, and be creative.
I strongly believe that the arts will provide them with the tools they will need for exploring their
imagination and giving birth to their dreams.
What do you feel is our children’s greatest need? What resources in our society would you like to see be provided for the well being and growth of our children? Do you believe that the arts, especially at a young age, is a vital tool for encouraging creative thinking and problem solving?
What do you think?
Select the link below for a dream-like journey into a contemporary child’s lullaby.
Winter Poem by Nikki Giovanni
once a snowflake fell
on my brow and i loved
it so much and i kissed
it and it was happy and called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
i reached to love them all
and i squeezed them and they became
a spring rain and i stood perfectly
still and was a flower
— Author and poet Nikki Giovanni
From “The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni”
And last but not least in this journey of dreams…a short animation.
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / Resolution and Redemption
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / Resolution and Redemption was first conceived as a collaborative project with video artist Walter Smith and fellow artist / singer / actor and friend, Ronald Freeman in 1994. The emotional impetus for the project was the ever increasing urban decay surrounding us in Philadelphia. Through substance abuse, drug warfare, and a rapid deterioration of its infrastructure, we came to see our beloved city in a struggle for survival. The original song, Hunger for Holiness, which accompanied the original video was written and sang by Ronald. The composition sought to give insight to the problems and plight of the urban construct and hope for a better tomorrow. In this remixed version, a dreamlike jazzy trance score replaces the composition to create an otherworldly sense of ambiguity, but again hope.
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / A Self Portrait of Resolution and Redemption
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 14
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 14 asks the question what is “a song that no one would expect you to love”?
The song that inspired this post. Read the summary first, then view the video.
http://youtu.be/P237zpWbPRM The Waterboys – Bang on the Ear 1988
Okay, you have to visualize this
true story to absorb the moment.
It is 1989 in the urban landscape
which is West Philadelphia. The streets are lined with row homes, some occupied,
others abandoned. The row homes cast deep, long, shadows onto the pavements
where the trees have long since been cut down. The shadows are created from the
orange florescent-crime prevention lights hanging ominously from above. I
remember distinctly when Philadelphia changed from ordinary street lamps to
these supposedly crime preventing monoliths. There is an eerie glow and a surreal feeling
as I drive my 1987 Toyota MR2 towards the corner of 52nd and
Catherine Street.
It is the middle of summer and the
temperatures are in the low 8o’s at 2:30 a.m. It is hot and humid. There are
some young kids out playing in the streets, and I wonder why they aren’t in
bed. But this is Philly, and there is a never sleep embodiment that pervades.
There is also a contrasting sense of culture that sometimes invades places
unknown….
I am listening to the cassette
tape of The Waterboys and the song “Bang on the Ear”. My windows are down and
the volume is up. I approach the intersection and on my left a teen, dressed in
true urban, black, hip-hop gear, is standing smoking a joint. Our eyes connect
for a moment. I am waiting for the traffic light to change. It’s taking its
time, when all of a sudden the youth in rebellion jumps into a country square
dance. “Whoa”, I say to myself, “he is so cool and down by law”, as his arms and
legs move in perfect rhythm to the beat of the Waterboys pumping from my car.
It is a surreal moment indeed as
time stands still. I watch him, watching me, as he performs specifically for
me. The light changes, I smile, give him a thumb up and slowly pull off.
I will never forget that
encounter. It reminds me of how art and music transcends, transforms and
connects our different cultural backgrounds. In a moments’ notice we can be
swept away by something new, different and exciting.
Enjoy the song. It has the beat of life 🙂
p.s. “down by law” means “one who has authority” in urban slang.
Bonus Song
Billy Bragg – You Woke Up My Neighborhood 1991
You Woke Up my Neighborhood
Post Canvas and Paint 03: The Whipping Machine Acid Flex Dance Remix
The Whipping Machine Acid Flex Dance Remix 1989 / 2010
http://youtu.be/rvSKJjCkVx0 Youtube video
In continuing the Post Canvas and Paint series, I am presenting a video piece entitled The Whipping Machine Acid Flex Dance Remix 1989 / 2010. It is a video art abstraction created as a video segment of The Whipping Machine, a multi-media performance of modern dance theatre performed at The Painted Bride Art Center in June of 1989 in Philadelphia. Utilizing the Amiga 1000 computer and multi-layering soft and hardware effects, I explore the pulsating ambient rhythm of marbled abstraction. In this segment the video represents the mesmerizing intoxication and manipulation by the industrial complex on the masses. Today I am posting this piece as a reflection of our current political and economic struggles.
Stay informed and stand up to tyranny and deception.
Post Canvas and Paint 02: in the lightness of being blue
As an artist, I am sometimes feeling a little blue and uncertain about to which idea I need to explore. It is then that I find the process of creating which I use in my ongoing Post Canvas and Paint series liberating. That ambiguity found “in the lightness of being blue” is washed away amid the beauty of finding an intuitive way of moving from one image to another.
In this particular Post Canvas and Paint series, I start with numerous paused video images of works from my past installations and performances. They are photographed or captured digitally and remixed for this series.
The color blue dominates the vision and feeling of the series. It is the starting element that embodies each image. While the color blue sets the mood for this particular Post Canvas and Paint series, what is consistent throughout all of them is the organic and the patterned designs. As I have stated in previous writings (artist summary @ website: newdigitalscapes.com) on the methodology of the series, it is my intent to remain true to the digital process i.e. recognizing and imploring the intricate, microtonal possibilities inherent to the computer. I take this approach by allowing the computer to contribute its infinite source of geometric abstractions, digital glitches, visual drones, disintegrating loops of color and focus, underlying beats and rhythms, and tonal variations.
The most important thing I would like to achieve in this process is establishing a rhythm in my own inner intuition—feeling the next step and incorporating it into the another image. This is the objective of the series i.e. for each image to move effortlessly to the next….
It is adding while becoming, and finally, being no different from the previous as a whole.
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 