Perfect Likeness?

Getting ready for the opening and a last-minute press conference for the exhibition Everett Raymond Kinstler: Pulps to Portraits tonight at Norman Rockwell Museum. Kinstler is an illustrator turned portrait artist, who has created paintings of many notable figures over the past five decades, including Katharine Hepburn, Tony Bennett, Tom Wolfe, Paul Newman, and Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. The artist will be in attendance for the opening, along with a special celebrity guest who has been one of the subjects of Kinstler's paintings. 

It should be an interesting evening, and in addition to coordinating the press conference, I'll be taking a few party photos and video. Hope I survive it, body and soul...

Speaking of Activism...

I'm trying to wrap my head around this whole viral video about fugitive African rebel leader Joseph Kony that has been popping up on Facebook and in the media this week. Sarah and I watched the video tonight-- it sure is slickly produced, and there's something about the tone that doesn't set right with me. 


From http://siena-anstis.com/2012/03/07/on-invisible-childrens-kony-2012-campaign/: "The issue with social media is really highlighted by Invisible Children. The number of “likes” on your Facebook page is not necessarily related to the quality of information you share. Social media allows making anything viral, quickly. People often do not look into the substance of the message, or even watch the video you are sending. Once you become a brand, you can do anything. Invisible Children has successfully become a brand, but is sharing information that is far from nuanced and based on emotional reactions. It fails to paint the full picture."


I'm thankful to learn more about the issue, but it's time for more research: about the atrocities of Joseph Kony, the current situation in Uganda, and the background of this group of filmmakers. 


Related Links:


KONY 2012 video

"Kony 2012: The anatomy of a viral campaign," The Washington Post, March 9, 2012


"#Kony2012 and the Warping Logic of Atrocity," Amnesty International USA, March 9, 2012

Wonder Women!

I learned that today is International Women's Day (thanks Google). Apparently working women in Europe have marked this date since the early 1900s  "to highlight their solidarity in the fight for equal, economical and political rights with men." Other areas of the world have followed suit, and it is now an officially recognized holiday in several countries. In light of the recent public debate over reproductive rights, it seems high time we recognized the day here in the U.S. as well.

Peace! Photo by Jeremy Clowe.
All rights! reserved.

I have been fortunate to know several very inspiring women during my life, and hold great admiration for the work and sacrifices they have made to help me and others (this means YOU Mom, Grandma, etc.). One woman I have grown to admire in recent years is my soon to be mother-in-law, Elaine. Not only has she raised a beautiful family, but she is one of the most active people I know, involved with many different community organizations. She is often the first person I hear to announce important meetings or initiatives, and I have had the pleasure to learn from many of volunteer programs she has been involved with.

Sarah and I have actually become members of one of these groups, Peace Action New York State (thanks to Elaine's sponsorship). I have found myself attending interesting lectures on political, social and environmental topics; I have marched on the Washington Monument to protest the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; I have dressed as Uncle Sam (seriously) to call attention to abuses of the former administration; and I have even utilized my video production skills to document important discussions on such topics as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. In the spring of 2010 we all took part in a nuclear non-proliferation conference at the famed Riverside Church in New York City. What a great privilege to document and take part in that program, which culminated in a march on the United Nations building. Elaine was active as ever that weekend, and I even persuaded her to interview a couple of the speakers, who had interesting insight into the continuing harmful effects from nuclear energy:

As long as there is a right to fight for, I'm pretty confident that Elaine will be there, offering a rational and peaceful voice to the discussion (or bringing up the discussion in the first place!). So on this International Women's Day, I salute MOM/E... and no, I'm not just trying to suck up here! The world is a better place for women who care as much as she does.

Peace Action New York website: http://panys.org

Most High Def-initely

Tech nerds rejoice! Apple announced the release of its latest iPad today: due out March 16, it will feature a new, sharper display screen and 4G service (that's a lot of Gs). I have been really tempted to buy one myself after hearing all the raves (even from my Mom!). I don't have a laptop, so it would be great to have a portable device that was smaller than my iMac and bigger than my smartphone, that I could work on away from home. I was actually checking out the iPad 2 last night at Verizon, and I do love the interface. The only drawback is that Adobe doesn't seem to offer their products for the tablet... and, of course, once you buy the damned thing, they will announce an entirely new, updated version on the way. Love/hate that about you, Apple.  


Anyway, even Norman Rockwell Museum is trying to keep up with the technology boom... bless 'em. We have been talking about various mobile applications, and next week the Museum will once again offer a workshop on digital animation art. A five-week after school offering, it is being taught by cartoonist Scott Lincoln, who had previously taught the course−a mix of traditional drawing and computer work. I created a promotional video for that last workshop, so in the spirit of social networking/viral cross-promotion, blah blah blah, here's another embedded YouTube clip to share with y'all:





For more information on the class, visit Norman Rockwell Museum's website: www.nrm.org

Related Links:

"New iPad neither dud nor 'revolution,'" CNN, March 7, 2012

Super Tuesday, My As$

Seriously, is it still only Tuesday? 

Karaoke break!!!

Voices from the "Past"

Last night we went over to Sarah's folks' place to help celebrate her mother's birthday. Of course, one of the first things I needed to do was wrestle with my two nephews. I almost died when the youngest one came running in from the other room wearing a little mesh Spider-Man mask− adorable, and certainly reminded me of myself at that age (I was a huge Spidey fanatic).


Later in the evening, Sarah's dad brought out their old video camera, and we started watching some old home movies of her family. It was fun to see Sarah as a kid, and a little startling when she and her two siblings each appeared on camera, wishing their mother a happy birthday... it was almost like voices from the past connecting with the future!


I took a workshop at the Omega Institute in the Hudson Valley a few years back with the writer of The Artist's Way− sort of a self-help book to help you ignite your creativity. One of the exercises we had to do was write a letter from ourselves at age eight and 80. It sort of took me aback, because some of the advice I received from my older self was unexpected and assured (i.e. that I would find a very rewarding career, including the creation of graphic novels). From my younger self, it reminded me that I was a very creatively-driven child, who would work tirelessly on artistic pursuits and knew that was what he was meant to do.

One of those pursuits was doing little "radio shows" with my friends. The other day as I was going through my storage in Hudson, I came across a box filled with these tapes, which I had created on a little recorder I was always carrying around (along with a Polaroid camera). I didn't know I had these with me, and also realize that they are probably but a small portion of the many recorded shows I have somewhere. 


Anyway, one of these afternoons I might just have to don my own Spidey mask, and listen to some of these shows... there is something almost mythic about them to me. As I get older, I find it can be a lot more challenging to give myself the time to just let loose and be creative. Here, I have a pretty extensive document of myself doing just that as a young artist... hmmm...
I wonder what secrets will be revealed on the hours of magnetic tape?...

House Cleaning

Ok, I'm on a tear this afternoon, using some of my old shelving and storage units to help organize our cohabitation. It's not even spring, but things are feeling good! I could keep going like this all day, but I probably should stop and get some of my other work in order.

Speaking of work, my buddy/poet Darian Dauchan will be performing his new piece Obamatry this afternoon at 1 p.m., at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. The performance is what he calls a "spoken word remix," collecting many of the poems he has created, that document Obama's presidency. Adding to that mix, he will be using several of the "chiefly commanding" visuals I have created over the years for the Spoken Word Almanac Project, where I serve as multimedia designer. The afternoon event is free, but donations are being accepted for a Kickstarter campaign for Dauchan's hip hop poetry musical Death Boogie, which he is attempting to share with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. If you can't make today's performance, you should be able to stream it live at www.bowerypoetrylive.com

On a political note, I was watching Meet The Press this morning, and I swear it's a miracle that anything gets done in Washington. Some of the bantering is so petty, and this latest controversy over the funding of contraception by insurance companies is infuriating. I think Al Franken was spot on when he declared: "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." Go ahead and have a public discourse, but keep your sexist comments out of it. Oh, I better get the visuals ready... I'm sure one of the SWAP poets has already started working on this one...