Osso, one couple of ladies (a published novelist/psychologist and her poet friend) asked me which of the hanging fifteen works was my favorite. I pointed, quite sincerely, to my favorite of the moment. Others asked me for the "meanings" of various abstract and semi-abstract works. I had elaborate rationalizations on the tip of my tongue. They seemed satisfied. One man counted the entries in my album--108--and asked me if I was tired. By that time we were both a bit tipsy so it seemed funny. Fellow faculty members were very surprised that I painted. They knew I am a violinist, and that I played with groups while still working in the department. Some people disapproved that I and another faculty member (an archaeologist and harpist) were living "the good life." His attitude was very puritanical regarding our professional obligation to sacrifice our lives for the sake of publication output (in numbers).
The faculty present seemed to approve of my painting enterprise. As one commented, I'm demonstrating that there can be life after retirement. I refer to my retirement as my reincarnation.
Re the puritan, don't we always need one to help delineate our ephemeral borders? (Remind me, I am reading a chilling but interesting book, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafasi..)
As to life after retirement, I think you have an engagement.
that puritan is a very sad person - good for you Renaissance man jln with your multi talents! carry on living
I'm with Osso all the way on prices and try to be straight with galleries by keeping prices at a fairly consistent level in our group shows.
please set up a website John and let us see more of the work - and Osso too (sitekreator.com - have a look at it - free and easy to use after the 4th or 5th run through the tutorial!)
Oh, thanks for asking, osso. It was a minor thing, I think I talked about it at the time. I was on the planning committee for a big deaf event in Chicago, and one of the features was to be an art gallery (deaf artists) but person in charge of that feature wasn't getting as many artists as she expected and was despairing. I said, offhand-like, I have some art, and she said GREAT! (I mean she hadn't even seen it at this point.)
As it happened, it took off after that (extended deadlines, got one big name on board and others followed), so my two paintings were in the company of some major professional artists. Went to the reception, wore some pin identifying me as an artist, had SO much fun. Especially talking to the other artists, but watching people get caught by my paintings, stay there, discuss them (advantage of ASL, I could see what they said from across the room), take pictures of me standing next to my paintings, get invited to an art show -- it was a gas, indeed.
JLN, that faculty attitude is the bane of my existence. I get it, I get it, but it's screwy. (Hubby's a new professor.)
Sozobe, what an advantage that ASL. You should be a spy. I've talked about my sightless friend (since birth) who one day fixed a pistol for me, of a problem that a gun dealer could not fix. I was amazed and said, naively, how can you do that without sight? He answered, "I can do it BECAUSE I don't depend on sight." Advantages everywhere.
Give your husband my sympathies. Academia is the best job I could imagine, but the academy is turning more every day into just another money grubbing corporation. A real tragedy in my judgement.
Do you have any of your works posted in A2K? I'd like a glimpse of your spirit.
set up a website and pm us the address???? I'd love to see some of the work as well
Night on the edge of town is my favorite. Love the use of black, and gives the impression of a secret drama going on.
this is one of my two JLNodoby originals now hanging on my living room wall: (lighting is not very good)
That's gorgeous. What a lovely thread and I miss Joanne Dorell terribly. It was quite a coincidence that she was friends with my parents in D.C. a long time ago.
You know, dys, there is something about that painting that is aboriginal. I think perhaps we're all spinning backwards a bit today.
I like that, JL.
I miss Joanne too. I hope she is ok.
JL, and dys, I LOVE that.
Oh, and I sort of like the lighting.
It is meant to be joyfully light. I put the rectangles as an illusional picture plane, "under" the real picture plane of the canvas, to give something for the birds to break through on their joyful ascent up and into the picture. I hope it gives Dys and Diane a smile when they see it.
personally (and I told JLN this at the time) I think the painting is about magic.
One of the artists who showed with us, Russell Smith, did a whole series about, erm, let me not get into his view of what it was about, but mine was that it was about water surface.
At some point I'll try to post some of his work. Would be polite to ask him first and we've lost touch. He's in Indiana now. I could just nab some of the works from the gallery but I'd rather ask him first.
I bring this up since I see a relation - not at all confluence - between his take and yours, jl.
Just to set the record straight Jl only painted the canvas, I own it, it's on my wall, I say it's about magic so it doesn't matter what JL thinks about it.
I know you don't care if I or anyone else thinks your stated view, at the moment, of jl's painting that is your's is cool, dys.
I have my own enthusiasm.
dyslexia wrote:personally (and I told JLN this at the time) I think the painting is about magic.
I agree d. It reminds me of the short story Jonathan Livinston Seagull.
