Christopher Rouse: New Music? Not!

I attended a "New Music" program at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, including this season's headliner commission, Christopher Rouse's String Quartet No. 3. I do not share many people's aversion to new music, in fact, I have commissioned new music. However, Rouse's work was not "new", rather it took us backwards 40 years to the academic compositions of the 1970's that we all had to suffer through. How many different screeching sounds can a violin or cello make? Apparently quite a few, to my horror. In the composer's words: "something akin to a schizophrenic having a grand mal seizure." There was no emotional content or meaning (1970's callling!) One might consider it an intellectual exercise, but there was little intellect involved. Is this 2011 or 1971???

Another

"The Taste of the Campari", June 2011, Watercolor, acrylic, mixed media on panel 10x10 inches.

Notice the new background which employs automatic writing, similiar to what I used in a number of paintings five years ago.

3 More Mixed Media

"Tat Tvam Asi" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper. 10X10 inches, on panel.

"Markets" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper. 11X14 inches, on panel.

"Intuition" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper. 8x8 inches on panel.

Mixed Media

Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, photography. 8X8 inches on panel.

Two Dark, Thought Provoking Films, and One Light

Incendies explores the layers of hatred and violence in a fictitious Middle Eastern country over the past 30 years. As the movie opens, two 20-something siblings are hearing their mother's will. They are given two envelopes. One to give to their brother, who they didn't know existed, and the second for their father, who they thought was long dead. From the safety of Canada, they are thrust into the dangerous world of the Mid-East to honor their mother's will and discover a bizarre outcome.

In a Better World is directed by one of my fave Danish film makers, Susanne Bier. The Danish title is, aptly enough, Revenge. Bier examines violence and revenge in two parallel stories: one set in medical camp for refugees in an un-named African country, the second in a Danish grade school. It also casts a sharp eye on families under intense stress. Lots of good acting from Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm and the young Markus Rygaard. Also, check Bier's earlier work After the Wedding, with a great performance by my fave, Mads Mikkelson.

The story for In a Better World was written by Anders Thomas Jensen. For a more lighthearted film, see Flickering Lights, which he directed. Here some bumbling crooks try to escape from the mob, fleeing into the countryside, buying a run down house, and eventually opening a bad restaurant. It has a sweet vibe and a happy ending, whew!

Two Good, One Dud

I finally read Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger, 25 years later. After a bumpy start I found an insightful examination of History, with a capital H, and history, and of different kinds of families and love. The story is told in the death-bed reflections of an extraordinary woman. Lively was born in Cairo and spent her childhood there. Her chapters placed in the desert battles of WW2 were incredibly evocative. I was not so captivated by her recent Consequences, but, I loved The Photograph from a few years ago, which had a great conceit that was wonderfully developed.

I read another of Eliot Pattison's mysteries set in modern Tibet, Beautiful Ghosts. These books are really about the people, culture & religion of Tibet, and the brutal oppression of all things Tibetan by the Communist Chinese. In this volume, Pattison develops the true story of the 1904 incursion into Tibet by the British Army and the officers who stayed behind to become lama artists. If you care about Tibet, Pattison's books are a must read.







Charlie Smith's Three Delays got rave reviews last year for its "hallucenigenic prose". What I found was druggie ramblings of disfunctional characters who repeatedly washed down 'ludes and meth with gulps of rum. Oi vey, you can skip this one.

Back to Collage

I'm getting back to collage after a respite of a few years. My previous collages had evolved from a series of paintings that evoked calligraphy. That served as the background for the collages. They used watercolor over images from my life: worksheets from portfolio management, Sanskrit texts, & musical scores.

"Intersection" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper, on canvas. 16x20"

My first venture this year is completely different. The origin was a gift for my brother in thanks for his work on our mother's estate. So, it is a bit scrapbookish, using photos & memorabilia, but similar compositional elements.









My latest piece uses materials from both of these previous approaches. The background is watercolored worksheets, Sanskrit & music. I composed a design of travel related images on top of that. I like carefully composed collages that allow your eyeballs to rest peacefully on them.

"Reading Line" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, photography, on panel. 12 x 9".