Awakened by a Dream

January started out with a gut punch. It hurt, and so far it has taken me 11 days to recover. Although I had a job as a bodyguard for a three year old kid back in 1987 when I lived in Los Angeles, and even though I had martial arts training every day of the week in the event I actually had to confront a kidnapper, I wasn't a fighter. I had a hot temper, but that was inherited from my father. And what taekwondo and aikido taught me was: when you are confronting the opposition, a hot head is precisely what you do not need. I was punched by love, and I staggered, sleepless, for 11 days.

In those 11 days I accomplished a few things. I got rid of some unnecessary, like a 17" aluminum pizza pan which I knew I would never use again. Back in NYC I had a moment where I got into making the perfect pizza dough, but that was a dozen years ago. I got rid of a tabletop easel which was also from the NYC epoch when my friend Doug taught me how to paint with oils. I completed one painting, which my friend Yvette ended up buying, but I haven’t painted since. I really loved the oils and I would happily do it again, but I only have so much time to dedicate to art making, and for the last several years photography has been my main creative effort. I also started cleaning the apartment, patiently, not all frenetic or anything, just a small corner here and there. I still have a lot to degrease and scrub, but I'm seriously not sweating it. It may take me the entire month of January to get through it all. I'm in no rush.

Today is day 12. (It's also my brother's birthday. John is two years older than me and he lives in Las Vegas with his wife and two kids). But honestly, my insomnia hasn't been that tragic. I've watched a ton of movies, in bed, on the iPad, and I have also started reading a book I purchased eight years ago called H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. This morning, in the wee hours, I watched the Korean film Burning which is two and a half hours long and thusly perfect for the sleepless, and, I was immediately hooked from the first frame. Lee Chang-dong just might be my new favorite director. A perfect movie. And Helen Macdonald is writing about melancholy, which is one of my favorite subjects. Helen is bereaved and she is eloquently telling me all about it.

After a few chapters of Hawk I turned off my Hindu night light—which I've had for at least 25 years—and shut my eyes. I kept the iPad nearby and listened to my current go-to playlist: "Meditation Moments" by Apple Music Classical. I started to get drowsy, which was a good sign, and at some point I was at a groovy rave where everyone was laidback and chilling to "Dream 3 (in the midst of my life)" by Ben Russell, Yuki Numata Resnick, and Max Richter. I was big time relaxing on a poolside chaise lounge, dancing with my eyes closed, using just my right hand to emote my deepest feels when I realized someone else was touching my hand. I tried to see who it was but I couldn’t recognize their face. Our hands danced together and it was tender, and loving, and peaceful. When I eventually opened my eyes (for real this time; I wasn't dreaming anymore) my right arm was outstretched as though I was still dancing with my partner. I bolted upright and smiled hoping to never forget this feeling. Then I heard some music so I immediately grabbed the iPad to see what was playing; it was “Dream 3" coming to a close.

I finally slept on day 12, holding hands with love.

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Benefit Exhibition at Maryland Art Place

I am honored to be included in the 11th Annual Benefit Exhibition at Maryland Art Place (MAP) this Friday, November 17th from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.

This will be the second year I have been invited by MAP to exhibit my work in this festive show in which 50% of the sales benefit MAP and their mission to provide thought provoking, contemporary art and other cool things.

At last year's benefit I contributed a larger print (13 x 19") and two smaller prints (9 x 12"). But this year I wanted to submit three works that were more cohesive as a whole and all the same size (13 x 19" which includes the maple frame). My cohesion philosophy was based on a few things: 1) the concept of a beginning, middle, and end, 2) the color blue, and 3) confident horizontals and strong verticals.

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The First Time We Met | Baltimore, MD | 2023

The beginning, middle, and end, like all good stories, is the structure of my triptych. The beginning suggests an encounter (The First Time We Met), the middle hints at the good days, bad days (Mostly Sunny Skies With an Occasional Thunderstorm), and the end alludes to closure, Act III (Curtains).

Is this a happy ending?

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Mostly Sunny Skies With an Occasional Thunderstorm | Baltimore, MD | 2023

On another level, The First Time We Met, was captured in Pigtown and was literally the first time I walked this wonderful neighborhood in March, 2023. Mostly Sunny Skies With an Occasional Thunderstorm was taken in Old Gaucher in July, 2023 and was the second time I shot this location, so I knew what I was getting into, and of course, the weather was as reported—mostly sunny skies with an occasional thunderstorm. Curtains was taken downtown in May, 2023 and is probably a five minute walk from MAP with the title character of the photo being a wide swatch of curtain seen through a window looking up to—nothing but blue.

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Curtains | Baltimore, MD | 2023

When all three images are lined up side-by-side, there is a through line of horizontals and verticals. For example: The First Time We Met (Act I) has confident horizontals by way of the glass bricks which pair nicely with the third string of red-white-and-blue streamers in Mostly Sunny Skies With an Occasional Thunderstorm (Act II) and continues through the building reflected in the window of Curtains (Act III). And the vertical line in the middle of Act I flirts with the confident flagpole in Act II and foreshadows the climax of the vertical blues in Act III.

And yes, it’s a happy ending.

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Preach

Sundays are my favorite day to take pictures.*

The Gift was composed outside a church in Pigtown on a Sunday in October. There was a group of folks conjugating in front of the temple when I walked by, so I slow rolled without taking a photo hoping to return later in the day. The thing that drew me to the sign was the florescence of the humble letters. There was a warmth and timelessness to the message, even though I wasn't totally sure what it meant. My goal was to capture the feeling, and do the research later.

I learned that the message was referencing a verse from the Bible (Ephesians 2:8) and in short it means: By the grace of God we are forgiven from all sins through faith in Christ.

Heavy.

To be honest, I don't go to church, but I have used the expression “Seeing Jesus!” when dancing into the wee hours, which in this regard makes me—a faithful devotee. Our lives are diverse and if the Bible is your guiding light: alright, alright, alright. I believe everything is connected. We are all one people, one flower, one star. Do unto others (Luke 6:31). Amen.

Now, let's go shake that booty! It's about to be a sermon up in here.


* Because they are quiet (like a church mouse).

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