THE ART OF BEING HUMAN

    Just as I think that the artistic experience should be primarily between the viewer and the art piece, I also believe that the purest relationship in poetry is between the reader and the printed words. Therefore I am not a fan of poetry jams and readings. The whole dynamic of poetry is changed when a person stands and reads the words out loud. Not my cup of tea, with one exception: Maya Angelou.

Maya mural

    One can talk about the fascinating story of her life. But what won me over was when she read her poem, On the Pulse of Morning, at the Clinton inaugural in 1993. I was completely mesmerized and deeply moved by both the beauty of the words and her presentation of them.

    Stanza nine of that poem:

Each of you, descendant of some passed

On traveler, has been paid for.

You, who gave me my first name, you,

Pawnee, Apache, Seneca, you

Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then

Forced on bloody feet,

Left me to the employment of 

Other seekers -- desperate for gain,

Starving for gold.

You, the Turk, the Arab, the Swede, the German, the Eskimo, the Scot,

You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought,

Sold, stolen, arriving on the nightmare

Praying for a dream.

Here, root yourselves beside me.

I am that Tree planted by the River,

Which will not be moved.

I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree

I am yours -- your passages have been paid.

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need

For this bright morning dawning for you.

History, despite its wrenching pain

Cannot be unlived, but if faced

With courage, need not be lived again.

    With her recent passing, many video clips were shown of Ms. Angelou, and in many of them she was talking about what it is to be human. She reflected our journey on this planet back for us all to ponder.

    Some painted musings on the human condition:

by Winslow Homer

self portrait by Mary Cassatt

by Charles Sprague Pierce

by Edward Hopper

by Edward Hopper

by John Wehrle

by Michelle Irwin of Sonoma Coast

by Jason Avery Kelch of Santa Rosa

by James Bama

by Marylu Downing of Sebastopol

by Mylette Welch of Sonoma County

by Jerry Ballaine of Sebastopol

by Jennie Philpott of Canada

by Rebecca Love of Sonoma County

GRACE ON THE ROAD

I love fine design in any format. I probably learned appreciation for car design by observation on my family's many long road trips during my childhood.

The thrill of being in a fine looking car dates back to the early days of the automotive era, as seen with my great grandfather, chef Charles Blondel.

Yesterday my city's downtown was jammed with thousands of people, all there to admire the beautiful auto designs of years past.

What I appreciate most about these designs is the beautiful aerodynamic flows. Not only were they of function, but also of a grace one would not expect from a powerful machine.

They can stand alone in their sculptural qualities.

They can represent grandness.

Or frugality.

Art Deco on wheels.

Simplicity.

Detail just for its own sake.

Don't mess with me.

Stability.

Here I come! Do you see me?

The same big thoughts as today's SUV's, but much better looking.

In our era, one of my perennial favorite designs is that of the Porsche, both then and now, roaring past in a sensuous flow of power and steel.

A design I saw and greatly admired, even before seeing its nameplate, the Bentley.

An outstanding aerodynamic design of today is exemplified surprisingly by a model marketed to the common citizen, the Sonata. It sort of looks like a car image in a funhouse mirror, but I think it is a very cool look.

It won't be long before we are no longer driving these fossil fuel masterpieces.

WITHIN DARK SOULS

    I recently withdrew my Twitter account. Not earth shattering news, but the experience I had there was alarming to me. I had looked at what was trending on Twitter, and then entered my less than 140 character opinion on a political issue. Just a straight forward thought. But it was as if I had accidentally strolled in front of a pack of wild dogs hiding in the grass.

    What spewed forth from these people was severely ugly, vile, and vicious, and I can't emphasize that enough. It was unwarranted and stunning. They were clearly participating in a team blood sport of slashing the tweeter, and doing it with glee.

    The experience made me wonder who were these people, and how had their hearts and minds become so soured? The bright side is that they were expressing their aggression on social media rather than in the real world. 

    Another way to illuminate dark thoughts and feelings is through artistic expressions. Darkly oriented art has its place.

    Artists have been using images to scare the heck out of people for ages. All the ancient civilizations brought forth images that inspired people to behave or else.

Don't get on the wrong side of this Mesopotamian god.

You wouldn't want Medusa coming after you.

Aztec death god, enough said.

    Most famous of the dark artists during the Renaissance was Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), who illustrated the awful scenarios of hell.

    In the early 20th century a somber expressionist movement swept through Europe, depicting angst at the industrialization of societies, and for the horrors of WWI.

by Erich Heckel, 1919

by Erickmuller, 1919

by Otto Dix

by Ernst Ludwin Kirchner

    In every generation there is a percentage of the group who looks around and says, "This sucks big time and I hate it all." In recent decades the punk culture has held that banner high, and in that movement we see some interesting though sometimes disturbing artistic expressions, often on album covers and concert posters.

by Carissa Rose

    Expressions, both positive and negative, are good for society. But ambushing expression is not, such as those who roam the Twittersphere in packs, hungry for blood.