Drenched in Light, Within a Ring of Fire

#70 – Tuesday July 17th

I just start putting things together, connecting points, drawing lines, being pulled along through the curiosity of where it might end.  This week began with my taking pictures of Molly Teardrop’s ball.

A long overdue visit to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), and spending time in one of my favorite environmental art pieces, James Turrell’s elliptical skyspace, Knight Rise. The skyspace is a vaulted room with an elliptical hole in the ceiling opening up to the sky. There’s an integrated bench around the circumference, for sitting drenched in light, the sky reaching down, as day passes by.

The annular eclipse, Ring of Fire, last seen in the US in 1994, next in 2023. The Transit of Venus, which won’t come our way again until 2117.

Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art and the iconic photographer of everything fashion, Bill Cunningham’s “On The Street” video, SPOT ON, for NYTimes.com.

Contemporary anonymous Tantric paintings from Rajasthan, India.

A week beginning with taking pictures of a ball.  From a dog’s toy to the cosmos, into obsession, the intersection of art and fashion, the mystic, and a future where I don’t exist. All in all a very good week.

Thanks for reading.

Charles

Subtle Magic

#39 – Tuesday December 13th

A few of weeks back, while perusing the New York Times Magazine, I stumbled on a several images I found simply . . .  remarkable . The images accompanied an article titled “17th-Century Modernism ? “ Which piqued my interest even more, because my own aesthetic is bent in a distinctly modernist direction, and the prospect of “modernism” being connected to a three hundred year tradition of painting, was well worth investigating. The article turned out to be a review of the book “Tantra Song” a collection of contemporary anonymous paintings from Rajasthan, India, compiled by french poet Franck Andre’ Jamme, documenting the practice of creating visual images for use in private meditation (a practice dating back to the sixteen hundreds). After reading the review then visiting the publisher’s web site Sigliopress.com, I knew I needed to own this book. “Tantra Song”  features over 50 illustrations of these timeless and amazingly beautiful paintings. “Tantra Song” is published by Siglio Press and includes contributions by writer and Berkeley Art Museum Director Lawrence Rinder, poet and art critic Bill Berkson, and scholar André Padoux. A few days after receiving my copy of “Tantra Song” another package arrived from Siglio Press. A small folio with “siglio EPHEMERA #5” stamped on the front and containing a collection of cards by Selena Kimball, and two booklets, one featuring a poem by Henri Michaux. The second collages by Richard Kraft. The siglio EPHEMERA folios are based on Dada, Surrealist, and Fluxus printed materials, and are created in collaboration with artists and writers the folks at Siglio Press admire. Siglio Press gives these editions away for free ” in the hope that we (Sliglio Press) delight or suprise, provoke or engage, in some unexpected way”  And for myself, Sliglio Press has far exceded that simple goal.

Thanks for reading.

Charles