favorite images from art (across period)

so here are some works from different artists that i like. what you will read here is why i like the painting and/or the artist, and any story or emotional role the image has played in my life and love of art.

nothing too obsqure here... hope you enjoy! i enjoyed compiling.



vangogh. shoes. 1887

i got to see a collection of vangogh's series on shoes in boston ten years ago or so. i loved how ordinary and humble the subject matter he chose. i love that they aren't the lugz boots of his day- they are tattered and worn work boots. this isn't to mention that vangogh was a first love for me (as he is w/ many people i'm sure) when i was 12 or so.

goya. may 3rd.

i got to see this painting when i was 16 at the prada in madrid. it was my first encounter w/ a piece of art where i teared up. it is an enormous canvas and is just a powerful work to be in the same room. i don't know why it moved me so; i don't remember knowing the history (and now, as i look it up; there was a riot of andalusian rebels who were executed). but it did nonetheless.

rothko.

i love the whittney museum of art and believe it to be one of the most under-rated museums on the 5th avenue museum circut in manhattan. i saw a rothko exhibit once and that trip turned into five additional trips over the course of the exhibit b/c i adore mark rothko's work. i love the intensity of the color and how rich and deep the colors look and feel. when i saw this stuff in person- fat over lean took on new meaning for me. it has been a mantra by paining teachers- but it finally lodged in my mind and heart the importance and benfit of the techique.

giotto. stigma

one of the remnants of catholisim in our family is a reverance and esteem of st. francis. i love the content and story of this image. giotto was the king of his day of space, depth and was considered fairly revolutionary amongest his peers for it. this whole gothic / romanesque period was my whole schtick in college. this panel frescoe is in pisa.

cimabue.

ironically, cimabue discovered giotto. he was a thirteenth century florentine. i adore his cruxifications b/c they seemed more accurate emotionally. lots of cruxifictions of this era and leading up to it-were sterile. i remember cimabue's cruxifications really resonating with me.

hopper. lighthouse 2.

an american mack daddy. i think edward hopper's art is really accessible and his craftmanship is so pristine! i love when there is high quality accessible art that can orient people. that's the role i think hopper gave (and continues to give) americans (a relatively young country w/ not a tone of context/ history in the art world)- bearings and vocabulary. he's known to be a master of light. i got to see a lot of his stuff in chicago.

schiele. self. (taken from)

i love love love this guy. he's a turn of the century austrian that was influenced by gustav klimt (the guy who did the kiss). in my opinion, he far surpassed his teacher. lots of his art is a bit twisted and graphic on the erotic side. but i adore his nuetral portraits and his landscapes. i love the exagerration and the agony of his lines and his layers make figures pop off the canvas. i have not seen any of his work in person.

today's chewable vitamin:

"an artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision." ~ whistler

the bullet point post

+ read about this and almost projectile vommited.

+ have deduced that i have had some self induced anxiety in response to 911. will work to limit my intake as the anniversary approaches. my tolerance seems to be pretty low.

+ bachlorette saturday night for sweet annieb!

+ dinner w/ girl friend's from highschool thursday evening.

+ this is a cool project in manhattan that makes me further regret that i didn't study architecture/ urban planning. edward norton (stud that he is) is how i found out about it on charlie rose.

+ and yes- i realize that watching charlie rose pushes me into a geeky old category.

+ lunch w/ my mommy wednesday!

+ we're nearing out overnight to king's island. charles is as giddy as a school girl about it.

+ it's funny to me how we go from dormant activity to a flurry of busyness in our house.

+ basic but deep realization turning into a conviction... i am convinced that atrophy is like gravity. marriages don't last unless you fight for them. spiritual lives dull unless they are attended to. passivity in relationships ensures a shrinking of relationship

today's chewable vitamin
“if you want peace, work for justice." ~henry louis mencken

i haven't done this in a while...
today's gratitude list...

that i like to read the bible.
my heart feels alive.
that i can pray whenever and wherever i want...
that i'm sober today.
for charles and how he is patient w/ me.
the steps
grapenuts
my church
that there is a purpose for my life.
the window airconditioner unit in our bedroom.
my new friend jennifer.
diet coke.
my mom's swimming pool.
charles' job.
my job.
the fox
my nieces and nephews
my whole family.
u2 even though i don't have tickets.
our cheap apartment
my mother in law and how sweet she is.
that i can draw and i usually feel better after i do.
i love that i feel more alive when i give stuff away-
i'm grateful that my value as a person isn't determined by my bank account.
i'm grateful that charles is is own man and thinks for himself.

a bit abbreviated today for time; not for lack of content.

today's chewable vitamin:
"i am not what i ought to be; i am not what i will be; but thank God i am not what i used to be." - martin luther

five of my favorite passages from the bible:

luke 7
this is probably my favorite chapter in the gospels. it is meaningful to me at a couple of levels. the story of the centurion (1-10) hit me between the eyes at a real pivotal time in my life. what i love most about the story is that it is the only occasion i know of where Jesus was amazed by a human being’s faith. i tend to think that Jesus gets exacerbated w/ me and us humans in general. but i don’t think that’s actually true. the problem is i think like this; ‘if i was Jesus; i would be frustrated w/ me’. ha! talk about missing the boat! sometimes, i crack myself up!

anyways- to run across an occasion in scripture, where Jesus is amazed by someone’s faith was so cool for me. i decided to pray for the kind of faith that would amaze Him since this passage hit me between the eyes. it hit me between the eyes b/c i was orienting to life in america after living in albania for over a year and i didn’t think i could hack it. i was really lonely and i had no faith that it would get better.

the second portion of luke 7 is probably my ‘life passage’ (36-50). we asked my brother to use it as the text at our wedding. i tear up every time i read about it and think about it. it’s the story of the lady who is immoral and cries all over Jesus’ feet like a bumbling idiot and doesn’t care and washes His feet w/ her tears. and it’s about the guy who thinks he has all his crap together compared to the bubbling idiot and how Jesus calls his sorry ass out on it. it’s the most beautiful image in the gospels for me and complete wrecks me. but most of all- the passages beauty is conveyed through the meat of my biggest aspiration in life. i know i’m not telling you anything new- but i’m a sinner. a big sinner. i mean- i’ve done some wicked things. really. but this passage gives me hope. b/c apparently; there is a congruency between the amount that i’ve been forgiven of; and the potential and capacity to love and forgive others. and that’s what i’ve always wanted. i have always wanted to be loved; but i have this inner compulsion to be a good lover of people. and to love people and be involved w/ people- someone’s going to mess me up and do me wrong- that’s part of the deal. but apparently; i have the power to pardon, to forgive, to show mercy. and that is the mark i want on my life. this is revolutionary people- and it rocks my world.

revelation 7.9-17
basically, there is a tie between my two favorite books in the bible. it’s a tie between revelation and romans. when i went to treatment (as in rehab, as in stop drinking to run away from your life)- i took a precious moments bible that was given to me at my confirmation. funny- i know. i was an aesthetic snob then- as i am now- but i took it nonetheless. honestly, i couldn’t stop reading it. and i was riveted by revelation. i LOVED it. no one was around to suggest i might start w/ say- john. like any good person addicted to immediate gratification- i read the last chapter first. but oye did i love me some revelation. i think i like it b/c it seemed like one enormous trip- but w/ the most wonderful visual imagery.

i’ve been in love with this particular passage since i was about twenty. as time has passed; i have been exposed to more and more of the falleness of this world- so i think my love for this passage has only increased w/ the exposure. in particular; how race has been used to seperate and marginalize people. so i love this passage b/c it reminds me that heaven isn’t going to be an ole boys club w/ a bunch of whiteys. i also love that the worship of Jesus will bring everything into focus. we experience this in part here on earth- but it’s too rare for my heart and i grow tired. but then i read this passage and i am encouraged.

the other reason or turn that this passage has taken is in light of my dad’s passing. i adore the thought that my dad has a job that he loves in heaven. he adores it. everyday he wakes up (?- or whatever you do in heaven) and serves day and night in the temple. my dad hated his last job- i mean the dude loathed it. but now he has a job that’s perfect for him. i also love the knowledge that everything will work in heaven- we won’t experience need that comes from falleness or brokenness.

i forgot to say, that my love pangs took on new levels for this passage via michael card’s cd- unveiled hope.

ephesians 3.29-32
i love this passage b/c i talk too much and it reminds me that my words serve a purpose other than hearing myself talk. i love it b/c it’s really practical and directive. i think my relationship w/ the world at large would be way different if i thought of my words having the purpose of giving grace. wow. this all came to life when i realized for the amount of talking and ‘communicating’ i did might actually do more harm than good. this is a lesson i continue to learn. i rationalize excessive talking by saying ’i’m being open’. you know- i’m just being open. it is a newer lesson that i don’t actually have to say everything i think. this passage is a good filter to put up in my mind and over my mouth.

hebrews 3.7-19

i like hebrews. i love all the old testament references intertwined. i get intimidated by hebrews. anyways- i love this passage b/c it reminds me that sin isn’t a little side hobby of mine. sometimes that’s how i treat it. sad but true. hobby’s are benign and harmless. sin is not benign and harmless. ever. part of the deceitfulness of sin for me is to make it like it’s no big deal (13). i love that this passage reminds me that i’m supposed to respond TODAY to conviction. not tomorrow. today. and i love that it reminds me that i have a heart of flesh- not of stone- but it can atrophy and move towards stone. but if i respond today to his voice- there’s hope for it to be soft. i also love that there is a directive to encourage one another daily (13). it is not easy to say yes in the moment. i need encouragement and i need to give it too. love love love it! i’m grunting as i write this...

romans 5.1-11
this chapter is so deep. it’s hard to capture why i love it so much w/o short changing the passage. i love the opening of this chapter in particular. the cycle laid out in 3-5 appeals to my desire for formulas. but i am also a sucker for passages that talk about hope. i always have been. but i love that i’m instructed to rejoice in my suffering, that suffering isn’t futile nihilism that it has a purpose in my life, that it produces perseverance and tenacity- in turn in produces character (i’ve always wanted to have real deep character) and character somehow produces hope! i love hope b/c the bible says that it doesn’t disappoint. and i love anything that keeps disappointment at bay. i hate disappointment.

the other portion i adore follows the hope business immediately... i love that even when i was completely helpless- Jesus died for me. it’s so funny that i have an aversion to being helpless. my performance mentality gets weeded out little by little over the years. it’s so funny/pitiful that i think i might just have a chance to earn some sort of favor from God. this just nails me i have nothing that would merit God’s favor or mercy. it’s not about my resume. actually, it’s not about me at all.

romans 12
i love this whole chapter. i love v10 in particular. this is the chapter of the bible that i seem to revisit most frequently. i love it b/c it’s so deep but really practical too.

ok... lunch is over and i know i went over five and i only covered the new testament. can you blame me? the bible is the best book i've ever read. i will do old testament sometime at at later date. ok my peeps. signing off...

i don't have the heart

to leave the last entry continue to be the first thing one sees when this page loads. not that i don't love stevie. and vintage stevie at that... look- i don't want to get into it.

i'm putting this up instead.

i just finished reading my name is asher lev. it was really good. this guy came up in our discussion. our whole conversation beckoned me back to my extreme love for joyce's a portrait of the artist as a young man.

also, my hair continues to be wholy uncoperative.

and, i think i've been anxious lately. i'm not normally anxious. i'm more uptight than i'd like- but not normally anxious.

so- i have tried to implement this whole 'getting things done' lately (sidebar: i like to appear to have a distain for mainstream gimicky things- but the truth is i'm a total sucker for that stuff). so, i now have a seven page to do list in ten point type. they make it sound like doing a RAM brain dump will make you feel better... um no. it doesn't. it makes you have a seven page to do list in ten point type. after i printed off my todo list; i listened to the radio transmissions from 9/11 on all things considered- and this is when i decided i might be teetering on a panic attack.

the end

love,

maureen

w/b/s

f/f

this is to remind you that i believe stevie wonder to be freagin awesome
and one of the most under-rated muscians of our time.

don't try this at home...
time has passed enough for me to share this now...
basically, i mutilated my nose.
i had heard this story from a friend about these little lipoma that can grow on your skin. she told me she just 'scraps them off' the surface of her skin.

so- you know- no big woop- just scrape them off. sounds simple. brilliant.

so i self diagnoised (i do that fairly often) one on my eye lid. then figured i had on on the tip of my nose too. so i decide to scrape that little bump off my nose. needless to say, it took some effort- but i got the little lipoma bastard (if you will) off my nose. i looked badly wounded for a week or two- but all is back to normal. it hurt like a mutha.

also in my news...

today, i plan to convene a study to see if it is possible to die of boredom at work... i'll keep you posted.

here's a link of people working on the famine emergency in west africa.

it's been brought to my attention (and you may disagree- which you're free to- don't worry) that there have been some distinct overtones of irish melancholy on this here blog. it's been suggested that perhaps i sound a bit depressed. no worries folks. life is pretty good.

aside from the fact that bridget (my hair) refuses to coorperate w/ this humid ass weather. she is currently standing on end. no joke.

finally, i have been strangley disappointed w/ the low quality of my news resources lately. first, it was buying two usa todays in successive days. that news paper basically sucks in my humble opinion. then, yesterday, i read story in the times that made me want to throw my body againest a wall it was written so poorly. ugh. anyways.

today's chewable vitamin:

1 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness, "made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
~ 1 corinthians 4.1-18

The Christian Paradox
How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong

Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005.
in harper's weekly
What it means to be Christian in America.
An excerpt. Originally from August 2005. By Bill McKibben.

Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation’s educational decline, but it probably doesn’t matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin’s wisdom not biblical; it’s counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up…

* * *
Ours is among the most spiritually homogenous rich nations on earth. Depending on which poll you look at and how the question is asked, somewhere around 85 percent of us call ourselves Christian. Israel, by way of comparison, is 77 percent Jewish. It is true that a smaller number of Americans—about 75 percent—claim they actually pray to God on a daily basis, and only 33 percent say they manage to get to church every week. Still, even if that 85 percent overstates actual practice, it clearly represents aspiration. In fact, there is nothing else that unites more than four fifths of America. Every other statistic one can cite about American behavior is
essentially also a measure of the behavior of professed Christians. That’s what
America is: a place saturated in Christian identity. But is it Christian?

This is not a matter of angels dancing on the heads of pins. Christ was pretty
specific about what he had in mind for his followers. What if we chose some
simple criterion—say, giving aid to the poorest people—as a reasonable proxy for
Christian behavior? After all, in the days before his crucifixion, when Jesus
summed up his message for his disciples, he said the way you could tell the
righteous from the damned was by whether they’d fed the hungry, slaked the
thirsty, clothed the naked, welcomed the stranger, and visited the prisoner.
What would we find then?

In 2004, as a share of our economy, we ranked second to last, after Italy, among developed countries in government foreign aid. Per capita we each provide fifteen cents a day in official development assistance to poor countries. And it’s not because we were giving to private charities for relief work instead. Such funding increases our average daily donation by just six pennies, to twenty-one cents. It’s also not because
Americans were too busy taking care of their own; nearly 18 percent of American
children lived in poverty (compared with, say, 8 percent in Sweden). In fact, by
pretty much any measure of caring for the least among us you want to propose—childhood nutrition, infant mortality, access to preschool—we come in
nearly last among the rich nations, and often by a wide margin. The point is not
just that (as everyone already knows) the American nation trails badly in all these categories; it’s that the overwhelmingly Christian American nation trails badly in all these categories, categories to which Jesus paid particular attention. And it’s not as if the numbers are getting better: the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last year that the number of households that were “food insecure with hunger” hadclimbed more than 26 percent between 1999 and 2003.

This Christian nation also tends to make personal, as opposed to
political, choices that the Bible would seem to frown upon. Despite the Sixth
Commandment, we are, of course, the most violent rich nation on earth, with a
murder rate four or five times that of our European peers. We have prison
populations greater by a factor of six or seven than other rich nations (which
at least should give us plenty of opportunity for visiting the prisoners).
Having been told to turn the other cheek, we’re the only Western democracy left
that executes its citizens, mostly in those states where Christianity is
theoretically strongest. Despite Jesus’ strong declarations against divorce, our
marriages break up at a rate—just over half—that compares poorly with the
European Union’s average of about four in ten. That average may be held down by
the fact that Europeans marry less frequently, and by countries, like Italy,
where divorce is difficult; still, compare our success with, say, that of the
godless Dutch, whose divorce rate is just over 37 percent. Teenage pregnancy?
We’re at the top of the charts. Personal self-discipline—like, say, keeping your
weight under control? Buying on credit? Running government deficits? Do you need
to ask?

here's hoping for a mellow monday
two things that i've been read about this weekend in my free moments. the anniversary of the bombing of hiroshima and anniversary of l.b.j.'s signing of the voting act.

here are some links for you...

department of justice's copy of the voting rights act that enabled the registration of black voters in america.
wikipedia's account of the voting rights act and update on renewals.

account on how hiroshima happened.
ariel views of the bombings effects. and more ariel views here.
the 'rationale' of justification to use nuclear weapons.

today's chewable vitamin
"why was it necessary to drop the nuclear bomb if lemay (the columbus born general who engineered the bombing) was burning up Japan? and he went on from Tokyo to firebomb other cities. 58% of Yokohama. Yokohama is roughly the size of Cleveland. 58% of Cleveland destroyed. Tokyo is roughly the size of New York. 51% percent of New York destroyed. 99% of the equivalent of Chattanooga, which was Toyama. 40% of the equivalent of Los Angeles, which was Nagoya. this was all done before the dropping of the nuclear bomb, which by the way was dropped by lemay's command. proportionality should be a guideline in war. killing 50% to 90% of the people of 67 Japanese cities and then bombing them with two nuclear bombs is not proportional, in the minds of some people, to the objectives we were trying to achieve...

lemay said, 'if we'd lost the war, we'd all have been prosecuted as war criminals.' and I think he's right. he, and i'd say i, were behaving as war criminals. lemay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side had lost. but what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?"
~ robert mcnamara
former secretary of defense
taken from a movie i think every american should see- the fog of war.

last words...

today marks the last conversation i had on this earth w/ my father.

to watch his decline, to see him change to a shell, to watch my mom grieve, to witness the softening of his spirit as he readied to pass- changed me.

four years ago, i was with my dad on his twenty something trip to the emergency room over the course of the year. we knew that the end was coming. i was alone in my dad's curtained bay, climbed into his bed and hugged him.

i said, "dad- i love being with you." and he looked at me in the last moment of clarity i remember and he said, 'i love being with you too'. it seems like it just happened and i hope i never forget that scene and the sound of his voice.

he spent his remaining days in hospital. we got to be with him as he went Home seven days later. it was truly the most tragic and beautiful thing i have ever witnessed.

it's so ironic- i wouldn't wish that watching, seeing, and witnessing on anyone. yet- i wouldn't trade it for the world.

so- here's to my dad- the smartest man i ever met. i miss him terribly and think of him every day (still). he taught me about sobriety and how to stand up for the little guy by showing me and not just talking about it. he was very funny and if he found something particularly humorous- had this ridiculously contagious laugh that wouldn't quit. he (and my mom) showed me how to stay married- even when it was hard. he had rough edges that were often edearing and sometimes maddening; but nonethess- he taught me a lot of Jesus.

last years rememberance

today's chewable vitamin:
my dad's favorite passage...

34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
~matt. 25.34-45

happy birthday sweet nora...

i decided nora's day took precedence over the other events that i am reading about today.

here are the cliff notes to the competitors that lost...
bolton's nomination to the U.N. post
sudan's future.

these topics are too much of a downer for me to write about today.

today's chewable vitamin
"the way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity - even under the most difficult circumstances - to add a deeper meaning to his life. he may remain brave, dignified, and unselfish. or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. and this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not."
~ victor frankel