"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." Anais Nin

"There are roads out of secret places within us along which we all must move as we go to touch others" Romare Bearden

Posted by: brutallycurious at February 19, 2008 21:44 | link | comments (1)

Georgia O'Keefe is in the house...

georgia came to atlanta last week. The High Museum has a new exhibit centered around the Women Artists associated with Alfred Stieglitz. Stunning. Amazing.
Let's first consider what it was like for me to walk into that exhibit. My first original O'keefes.  It didn't occur to me until I arrived that seeing her work "live" for the first time would affect me.   I was on the verge of tears and awestruck to see them.  But, truly, she is a virtual mentor to me.  I connect with the raw energy she conveys in her work, and her dedication to her own voice.  Feminists who honored their own inclinations have  existed through all time, but it seems remarkable that she was so strong in the early 20th century when women were still solidly second class citizens.
The other women artists were superb. I was astounded to see the work of Anne Brigman. This woman's photographs were created a full century ago, and are still breathtaking in their honesty and feminine energy. She posed her own nude body against tree trunks and rocks of the landscape and became one with the land.  Every piece of hers was powerful and extraordinary.
The works of the other women were excellent in composition and concept, but i walked in silence spending time with each O'Keefe.  The colors run like rivers together on her canvas.  Every line feels like a torso or the curve of a hip; the ripple of petals are both precise and wild.
I kept wondering what my paintings will look like when i reach that stage of "canvas honesty".  I am only now understanding the expectations I bring to the canvas and how little I've allowed the inner life to inform the brush. Funny, because the rest of my life blossoms with authenticity. What will my paintings say?

Posted by: brutallycurious at February 19, 2008 21:32 | link | comments (1)
art , georgia okeefe, authenticity

writing

I am back into the swing of writing now, and just letting it flow even when it "stinks" because  the flow is more important than the product.  Although, hopefully a decent product will result from a lot of flow. We'll see.  I've begun to use my memories of the documentary I was interviewed for to inform my writing.  It seems to help to have the structure of their questions and my resulting answers/ rambling themes to go by.
Sometimes I forget that I have "something" to say, or that I know how to say it.  Maybe that's an affirmation that belongs on my wall...."you have something to say and you know how to say it". Yeah.

Posted by: brutallycurious at February 11, 2008 23:06 | link | comments