by Marty Coleman | Dec 1, 2012 | Art, Artists I Love, Roger Brown |
Hey Everyone, it’s wintertime again and that means I am going to restart my ‘Artist’s I Love’ Series. I will do an artist each weekend or so for a while. Let me know if you have a favorite artist, it might jog my memory and I’ll want to include them too!
If you want to see last year’s series, check it out under ‘Artist’s I Love‘.
Roger Brown Exhibition – 1981 – Catalog cover
First up for this year is Roger Brown. I first saw his work while I was a student in Graduate School at San Jose State University. I don’t remember the exact circumstances but I saw a show of his work and it blew me away. He combines humor, social commentary, great painting (and other media) techniques, fantastic color and spot on compositions. He is inventive, creative, always moving forward in exploring the possibilities of art.
I got this catalog from a Roger Brown exhibition that I did NOT attend. I was at a museum that had a few pieces of his and saw this catalog in the museum bookstore and had to have it. It’s been opened a LOT since I got it 30+ years ago, as you can tell by what shape it is in. He’s been one of my favorite artists ever since.
The Entry of Christ into Chicago in 1976 – Roger Brown
This image might be his most famous piece and it’s indicative of his imagery, high contrast and stylized into flattened patterns with repetitive elements. The subject matter is both contemporary and historical, which is also typical of many of his images. But there is a decided anti-religious feel to the piece, as if it is a tacky city-sponsored event.
‘Talk Show’ – Roger Brown
He frequently uses suburban scenes, most often with the banality of that world appearing to be the message. At the same time he uses it so much that I have always go the feeling that he knows and actually has affection for that world, even while leveling a sort of frustrated critique on it.
‘Devil’s Surprise’ – Roger Brown
‘Jim and Tammy Show’ – Roger Brown
As is obvious, he has no love lost for organized religion in this painting. The surprise that the churchgoers are the ones in hell probably has a lot to do with his being from the south and having been raised with that baptist fundamentalism all around him. His tacky, paperdoll cut out view of Jim and Tammy Bakker, preachers who fell from grace in the 90s, also give that message.
‘Post Modern Res Erection’ – Roger Brown
He has also played around (pun intended) with making light of America’s sexual obsessions, which isn’t unrelated to our religious ones.
‘Family Tree Mourning’ – Roger Brown
His social commentary wasn’t restricted to just two of the taboo dinner subjects, religion and sex, he dealt with the third as well, politics. Here he connects all our wars up until that time into a gigantic national family tree. He obviously felt that war had come out of and had overwhelmed the goodness of our founding.
He did a number of fine art prints and in this case made sure the viewer knew it was a print by saying so right on it. I like that cheekiness.
‘Twin Towers’ – Roger Brown – 1977
Brown delved into 3D work in his later career while not actually straying very far from his thematic and visual focus. This is obviously done much closer to the construction of the World Trade Center than it’s destruction, but it has a very moving feel to it, with the emphasis on the silhouettes in each window busy doing their work.
Here are just a few more I think are of interest.
‘Crater’ – Roger Brown
“City Expanding’ – Roger Brown
_________________
If you like his work you can read more about him at:
________________
Fall/Winter 2016
Winter/Spring 2015
Summer 2014
Winter 2012/2013
Winter 2011/2012
________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 30, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
I am crushin’ on the fact I finished 5 fun drawings this week about Secret Jesus. Here’s number 5.
Jesus and Puberty
So now we reach the obvious final question about Jesus’ lost teenage years. Did Jesus ever have a crush, fall in love, have a girlfriend and even perhaps ever marry? The stories of Jesus in the Bible and elsewhere say nothing specific about these things. But I know this: if Jesus was real, meaning a real human, then I assume he went through what humans go through when they reach certain ages. What that means to me is that when Jesus reached puberty and beyond he had the same feelings most other boys have and that is a new found attraction to girls.
Crushing Jesus
If Jesus had a crush and later maybe a girlfriend or two, it is safe to assume he also had break ups. Some might have been his choice, others might have been the choice of the girl. I can hear it now, “I am so sorry Jesus, but there is just TOO MUCH PRESSURE dating the savior of the whole world. I have to break up with you.”
Feeling What We Feel
But seriously, what this means is, once again, Jesus felt what we feel. If he was a real human, then he went through what we go through. Isn’t that why we pay attention to him and his teachings, because we know that he knows and understands?
Do you follow Jesus and his teachings? What caused you to do so?
_______________
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who follows sometimes.
_______________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 29, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
I am not afraid to tell you, it’s day 4 of Secret Jesus week!
Jesus Takes a Trip
Jesus had to have gone places on his own when he became an older teen. Maybe to visit his relatives, maybe to sell something his father and his shop at created, maybe to get supplies. No doubt new and interesting experiences awaited him on these journeys. There were likely moments of fear and confusion about what to do next as well.
Facing the unknown
One of the most heroic elements about Jesus was his willingness to face his fears head on. He had to have learned that he grew up, don’t you think? Whether it was learning from his parents or learning while out on his own, it’s the same thing we all have been through. We can’t learn if we are curled up into a ball, afraid to move and grow. It might be scary, it might be dangerous, but if it is the path you know you need to go down, then you need to face those things, and you can.
___________________
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who has faced a few storms.
___________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 28, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
Don’t get depressed about it, but we are over half way done with Secret Jesus week!
Jesus Funk
Do you think Jesus ever got depressed? We know he struggled quite a bit as an adult, and for good reason. But what about as a teenager? I can imagine him feeling blue, lonely, confused, even depressed about things, like most teens do at one time or another. Maybe he was feeling unappreciated, or misunderstood by his siblings or parents. Maybe everyone else had something important to do for a big holiday but for whatever reason he didn’t and that led to him feeling left out.
Who is Real?
If Jesus is real, if he is capable of complete understanding, complete mercy and compassion, then it isn’t due to his academic genius or his theological brilliance. There were plenty of people high in both those categories during his day. It is due to his empathy, his knowing what it is humans go through. If he didn’t experience it himself, (which in truth it’s likely he didn’t experience every single feeling and emotion ever known to man) then he at least was able to discern and feel it when other people were going through something. And he learned from it. Not just how to be empathetic but how to move past the feeling into a new and better place.
That’s the Jesus I like and relate to. That is the Jesus I admire and want to be more like as I continue to grow.
_____________________
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who is glad he isn’t the Pope.
_____________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 27, 2012 | Secret Jesus - 2012 |
Don’t blame me but it’s day #2 of Secret Jesus week.
Whose to blame?
This happened in my life, it happened in my kids’ lives. If Jesus is real (see yesterday for what I mean by real) then I think it happened to him as well. What do you think?
______________
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who didn’t do it, I swear.
______________
Jesus trivia answer from yesterday:
Yes, Jesus had 2 sisters (and 4 brothers), as recorded in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 6, verse 3. The book names his brothers but does not give names to his sisters. I think they were named Ruth and Miriam, but were nicknamed Baby Ruth since she was the youngest and Miracle since she was not expected to live. Yes, I made that up.
__________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 26, 2012 | Christianity - 2011-2013, Secret Jesus - 2012 |
For many years I have thought about all that wasn’t recorded about Jesus’ life, especially the ‘missing years’ from age 12 to age 30 when he started preaching. Here is day 1 of my ‘Secret Jesus’ series in anticipation of Christmas coming up soon.
Jesus’ thumb
Jesus had to be trained as a carpenter, right? It was probably his father, Joseph, who did the training since chances are he himself was a carpenter. I know when my father and grandfather taught me how to work with wood they started with teaching me how to hammer. I hit my thumb plenty of times and I have no doubt Jesus did the same thing.
Two Types of Real
Some don’t believe Jesus was real but the evidence seems to point to that he was. However, there is more than one way to be real. One of the reasons Christianity is messed up is because of the dichotomy within the church. We insist Jesus was real but build a story about him that focuses again and again on how unreal he was.
Seeing as I am pretty earthbound man, I like thinking about who Jesus was on this earth, not his identity in some spiritual realm I don’t really connect with and sometimes am not even sure exists. If he wasn’t a real human; learning and growing, then how do we relate? What are we going to learn about how to be and do in our real world?
___________________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
___________________
Jesus Trivia question
Did Jesus have a sister?
Come back tomorrow for the answer
____________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 17, 2012 | Bodyless Ghirl Ghosts - 2012-2013 |
Here’s another of my ‘marker test napkin that I turned into something’ napkin.
Prints are still available. $25.00
A Short Short Story about Ghosts
The 13 bodyless girl ghosts tried to get in the beach club but the doorman wouldn’t let them in. Though they were very pretty, they didn’t meet the dress code. They pressed up against the club window and watched everyone inside dance the night away. That made them sad and they cried a lot.
They later went home to the bodyless girl ghost bunkhouse and talked about how they had to figure out how to get bodies. Their plan got as far as the question, ‘Who do we know who doesn’t have a head?’ before they fell asleep and dreamt of having to pee.
________________
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who thinks they should have been let in.
________________
Amazingly unproven and totally ludicrous trivia of the day
Ghosts love the smell of lemons
________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 16, 2012 | I Love Television But...- 2012 |
It’s some sort of progress that today is day #5 of Television week.
Size Matters
For all the education that can come from TV, and yes I do believe a huge amount of education does come from TV, there is the ability for information to come out from all sorts of sources. And those sources aren’t always going to be intelligent or forward thinking. They aren’t changing their mentality just because their audience now one million instead of one thousand. Because of that the potential and proven damage is greater.
Science Matters
This is especially true in the world of sexism. We watched during this past US election cycle as a number of candidates said some things that were hard to believe. Probably the most egregious of these statements came from Akins in Missouri. He stated that he had been told by doctors that a woman who is being ‘legitimately raped’ had a built in protection in her womb that would kick into gear and stop the woman from getting pregnant. He was rewarded for his ignorance of science by being defeated. He was also rewarded with scathing criticism from all sides for general stupidity.
Standing Up Matters
What does this have to do with Television? It has to do with it because, just as on the Internet, you can have all sorts of ignorant, damaging and inaccurate information coming at you. There is no way to know what is true unless you work diligently to get a broad range of information, which many people are not going to do because they either think the broader world of information out there is dangerous, secular or demonic, or they are too lazy and don’t care to investigate and learn. Either way we end up with many people believing ideas, and implementing policy based on those ideas, that have already been proven to be scientifically false. They are going backwards and it is damaging and embarrassing for the US and it’s citizens.
We have to be diligent and stand up for what is true in the world against those who would take us backwards. And no, it won’t ever end. We will have to fight forever – on TV, the internet, and wherever else we see the stupidity and resulting damage being done.
___________________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Aldous Huxley
___________________
Trivia question answer from yesterday
Question: What caused Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the Television to proclaim, ‘This has made it all worthwhile.” ?
Answer: Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon – July, 1969
___________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 15, 2012 | I Love Television But...- 2012 |
I am here to educate you that today is #4 of my Television series.
Fire Food
Some Television is fire food. That means it’s really HOT and it burns you. How were you educated? By being taught not to eat that food again. With the food you need to drink a lot of cold water and just wait for the heat to pass.
When I first started working at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, California back in 1981 the kitchen staff tested me a bit. The dishwasher (who eventually moved up to head chef actually) gave me two pieces of green pepper. He said they were both mild, but I knew better. I ate them both, knowing I could handle hot peppers pretty easily. My eyes watered a bit, no big deal. They saw I could handle it. But I made the mistake of wiping my nose while I still had the oil from the pepper on my fingers. The oil caught part of the moisture from my nose and traveled up into my sinuses. It was PAINFUL and my left side of my face felt like it was going to explode! It took a long time for that to go away. I was educated by the fire food that day!
With TV it’s the same way. It can’t be unseen, you are stuck with this grotesque and painful image in your head that actually hurts your brain. You might have to take a cold shower, or change your pants. You might have to go to hypnosis counseling to rid yourself of the memory. It’s really not the type of educational TV you want to watch more than once, if at all.
What is an example of this kind of TV in your mind?
Fine Food
Some Television is Fine Food. It’s the type you eat slowly. You savor it. It enlightens you, teaches you, something new about how tastes and textures can combine to give you a sublime experience. You might even go back to the restaurant as soon as you can so you can have the same dish, the same experience, again.
Linda and I went out for our anniversary last weekend. We went to Bodean’s, a seafood restaurant in Tulsa. It easily ranks at the top of our restaurant list in terms of quality. Amazing food. The type of food you want to cut into little pieces and eat slowly so you can make it last a long time.
The fine food TV show is the same way. It’s something you savor, amazed at the concept, script, the acting, the sets, everything. You watch it again because you know you will see new things you didn’t catch the first time. It enlightens you, teaches you something new about life, history, psychology, relationships, science, faith, and more. You feel empowered after watching the show.
What shows are Fine Food for you?
Fast Food
Some Television is Fast Food. You aren’t there to have a sublime eating experience, you are there to feel a need, get some food in your belly and be done with it. You might have a hankering for it, like comfort food.
Like me and a quarter pounder. I barely ever have one, but when I want one, I REALLY want it. It tastes good yes, but it is really just a cheap thrill that I want, nothing fancy, nothing complex or sophisticated. I wanted one last week after having my colonoscopy and I indulged. Then I had that same hankerin’ again last night, coming home from a photo group library session. And I indulged again. I think I will need to discipline myself for a while, until this hankerin’ lets go of me!
Fast food TV is the same way. It’s pretty mindless entertainment, it is unlikely to teach us anything new or profound. It is ok in small doses but if your TV watching time is filled with it, you might be wasting your time without even the side benefit of learning something.
What is your fast food show?
_________________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Nicholas Johnson
_________________
Trivia question of the day
What caused Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the Television to proclaim, ‘This has made it all worthwhile.” ?
Come back tomorrow for the answer
_________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
by Marty Coleman | Nov 14, 2012 | I Love Television But...- 2012 |
Don’t touch that remote! Read TV #3 first, ok?
Smart
I think there are plenty of shows on TV that appear smart at first watching but end up being pretty mediocre, without a lot of intelligence behind them. I believe this is because television is a very intense and collaborative process. Many elements and many talents have to come together to make the entire production excellent and smart. Perhaps the concept is compelling, but the execution is poor. Maybe the script is top shelf, but the delivery from the actors is stiff and boring. Maybe the concept is so derivative it just doesn’t matter how great all the other contributions are, it’s just never going to be good.
Smart Ass
Then there are the shows that are highly watched and are often said to be ‘smart’. But what they really are is smart ass. They are often reality TV shows that get their kicks by cutting others down. They are promoting mean judgmentalism, intense drama and pathos for the sake of getting viewers. The programs are manipulative and petty. My wife and I made a decision last year to turn off those shows and not give that negativity room to breathe in our living room.
_________________
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who once made his family give up TV for a month, way back when.
Quote by Gallagher (updated to include a button on a remote instead of turning a knob)
_________________
TV Trivia answer from yesterday.
The question was: What was the first reality TV show?
The answer is: Candid Camera. It first aired in 1948.
_________________
Like this:
Like Loading...
