Vo

What is art today really? Can it be anything and everything and at the same time be nothing? Thelonious Monk said,"Jazz music is freedom." Is art freedom? As I visit art shows here in Europe, I'm somewhat lost to making sense of it all when it comes to art today in this vernacular, systematic world. But who am I to raise this question about art in the world today? I'm not trying to be judgmental or to criticize what I see, I'm just trying to understand the world of art after twenty five years of creating my own art environment. You have art from the U. S. A and then there is Europe, Africa and all over the world. What are we saying? I believe that art or creativity comes from the soul, something way down deep inside of you. It's kinda like Ray Charles's music-you FEEL it. Have the rules changed the game? If so, what are they now?

Danh Vo is the other artist here living at the house with me. His opening was this past Friday. Gisela and I attended the opening. The show was in Austria at the K.U.B Arena which is a new museum. I'm not sure but I think the title of the installation was Mass Star Death in the Dark Heart of our Milky Way. What I saw was captivating in terms of art today. How do you express what you feel on the inside or your thoughts? Are we free enough to do so? It was wild-crazy out there and I had so many questions flowing around in my head. The installation was competing with the space. There was so much space for him to deal with and I personally wanted him to monopolize it all and he could have, I believe, if he wanted to. I don't know Danh personally but I would like to get to know him if I can. There was another piece to the show that I had questions about, color. I love colors and also believe that color is the piquant of life when it comes to the arts, in a practical sense. Looking at it for what it's worth, I saw a show that gave me something to think about as I sleuth to find answers to what is art today? On the way home from Austria, I reflected back on the show in my mind thinking about what I saw and trying to understand what Danh wanted me to walk away with. One thing I did walk away with was I would like to see more and more and perhaps more.

P.S. Danh Vo had me pick up his laundry for him. Is that art too?

My first dinner party.....and blue shoes.

I was nervous. I couldn't sleep and was really looking forward to my first dinner party. All week long I was planning and thinking about this gathering of people. I did my shopping early in the week, my way of trying to stay ahead of myself. This event is really special in a way because this one person who I invited,  Stephanie, who lives here in Switzerland, has been to the Project. Stephanie is the reason for the party. Fiona is Stephanie's partner who also happens to have a shell fish allergy. OK, I needed to know that because plan B for food went into motion, which was fish. I was somewhat reluctant at first to making this shrimp soup but chose to have it as a appetizer for those who could eat it. With the help of Maggie and Jan we pulled it off. It all came together. Stephanie and Fiona were late which was good in a sense because it gave me more time to get it right. Yes, it all came together and we had baked fish and fried fish, wine for the soul and a wonderful shrimp soup dish for those who could eat it. Oh yeah, we had music playing in the background, Oscar Peterson and a Swiss artist, by the name of Sandy Patton, Miles and the grand finale, Freddy Cole, my man!

We talked about the Heidelberg Project and the U. S. A., the Swiss government, art and the politics behind the art world as we know it to be in today's market. We ran an hour behind schedule, so we got started around 1:30 pm. Oh we got into it and nobody held back! Stephanie talked about her love for Fiona and we drank wine and they smoked their cigarettes. We were on cloud 9. What a day here in Basel! Well, after four and a half hours, it was time to bring this good to an end. I had such a wonderful time with my new Swiss friends and there will be more parties to come. Stephanie who is a big girl and I mean a big girl, who is truly bodacious and audacious, an original work of art herself, stole the show with these blue suede gangster-fly shoes of hers. This lady had it down to a science and all I could think of was the song Elvis Presley made, Don't Step on my Blue Suede shoes. Well we didn't!

P.S. 

The party was on April 8, 2012.

An Artist Named Maggie

Maggie, whom I met a year and a half ago, is a very talented artist who lives here in Basel. Her art is very interesting especially in terms of me judging it for myself and comparing it to my own philosophy of what is art today. Maggie is originally from the States and came here to Europe about seventeen years ago. I think it would be safe to say this is her home away from home now. What do I see in Maggie's art and why did this thing, synchronicity or spirit law, the power of a higher source or what ever, bring Maggie into my world? Why? That question I often ask of myself. I really enjoy those very profound conversations we have about life and spirituality, going to museums and talking about art. If it was not for Maggie who speaks Swiss German, when I first arrived here, I would have been in deep shit. She helped get me acclimated into the swing of things here in Basel. I see her as a person who is just bubbling over with ideas and one who likes to excogitate on things, especially those pertaining to the world.

Maggie's art is a reflection of what's in her. She is warm, caring, non-confrontational and has a passion for music. One day I asked Maggie a question, "What do you want or better yet, what do you expect from your art?" She said to me, "My hope is to have my art pay off, where I can help my dad."  I thought about that answer for weeks. I personally think that Maggie's art is all really paying off. I also understand her answer to my question too because I've been there in my own way of thinking about my work and having people to appreciate it. Maggie, you've the power to move mountains and your art will do whatever you tell it do. It's all really paying off in so many ways my friend. That shooting star you saw in the sky was your sign to get ready because the whole world is your canvas and your paint brush is your magic wand, so paint because the world will come. I came.

April - 12 - 2012 

A New World

Life. And then there is life. We live in a very complex world but what else is new, other than tomorrow and then next week. The opposite of new is old and I can visualize a new world. What would it look like and where would it exist? Here or somewhere else? An untrodden world where everything is perfect in terms of faultlessness. Utopian, excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement. A new world in the mind of old thoughts. Can we have that kind of world here in this one, can we? A place where anthroposophy dominates the creation of mankind in his thought process.


Dr. Henry C. Kinley talks about the Creator from a scientific point of view and how the Creator actually is and operates in today's world, meaning he's running the whole creation, good and bad. The teachings of Dr. Kinley are very radical but so was Jesus. He was radical in such a way that the world is still studying his works and miracles. One of Jesus' many miracles happened at a party where they ran out of wine. So Jesus being Jesus, turned the water into wine. What a party! Wish I could have been there. Then there was another miracle where Jesus rose from the dead and said he was going to prepare a place for those who love him in spirit. A new world. I came to a new world here in Basel where the people speak another language and the infrastructure is different. The air is light and there is this "honor system" here that people live by. The new world that I'm speaking of is a brisance of the mind where you become new all over again. The new world is you but you have to come to a knowledge of knowing it. The spirit law of the universe is the life giver that animates us to be ourselves, here in this world of searching for trust. The whole world is my canvas and it's a brand new world every day when I wake up to see it in action.


April 4, 2012.

Trust

The confident expectation of something, hoping and believing it to be true. Do we trust ourselves really and do we know ourselves in order to undoubtedly trust ourselves? I had a conversation with Gisela today at the Laurenz office about trust. As I rode back home on the tram, the number 15-16-8, I reflected back on the discussion with Gisela at the office. Trust to me is like learning to ride a bicycle or when a baby takes his/her first step. Trust in another sense is when you put your assurance in the hand of the pilot to fly the plane for example or me leaving my work behind and coming here to Switzerland. I turned my project over to people who I don't really know, but I do know them in a sense because of what I believe. Life is all about trust even when you're not conscious of it. I'm learning the magic of trust and how time plays a significant role in us coming to know it, letting it guide us in all of our endeavors. I trust myself to wake up in the morning if it be His will. That same trust carries me through the whole day, through today. It guides me on this very spellbinding journey we call life. It is a medicine when I'm feeling sick and when I can't seem to see my way, it brings clarity and freedom to the mind. It gives me strength to go on believing and trusting in that divine, unseen power of faith. I trust that the sun will shine here in Basel tomorrow and if not tomorrow maybe the next day. Last year, I came here not knowing what the future had in store for me but I'm here to receive and to exercise my personal trust in Yahweh, who is my trust.


Marz-29-12