You've Got Me Under Your Spell

May 24, 2015, 1:07 pm

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Theatrical experiences come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. From painfully intimate monologues to Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas, from giddy sex farces to searing family tragedies, live theater offers a remarkably versatile platform for examining mankind in all its glory as well as its many frailties.

• One reason why it's so difficult to label any production as the year's "best" is that there are so many parameters which may set it aside from the competition.



• One show might be a star vehicle while another relies on the work of a tightly-knit ensemble.



• One show might rely on extensive scenic effects and digital mapping while another may simply let the actors speak the playwright's words in a minimalist setting.



• One show might require a lot of period costumes while another is performed in modern dress.



• One show might have incidental music -- or a fully-sung musical score -- while another may be filled with pregnant pauses and awkward silences.

When one particular production stands head and shoulders above many others, it's a sure sign that its individual elements have created a synergy that raises the theatrical experience to another level. I often think of magical moments in theater and opera when it feels as if the air in the auditorium has been hovering over the audience, protecting the performers from being interrupted while making it possible for those in attendance to remain acutely focused on what is happening onstage.

In 1965, I attended a riveting matinee of a 20th anniversary production of The Glass Menagerie in which Maureen Stapleton brought a rare fragility to Amanda Wingfield. Exquisitely directed by George Keathley (with George Grizzard as Tom, Piper Laurie as Laura, and Pat Hingle as the Gentleman Caller), the Tennessee Williams play was transformed into an unforgettable experience whose memory I have cherished for a half century.




Pat Hingle, Maureen Stapleton, George Grizzard, and
Piper Laurie in the 1965 revival of The Glass Menagerie


While I have enjoyed many such experiences over the years, the nature of live theater is perversely ethereal (and in some ways as intensely personal as an orgasm). If everything comes together to create a moment of theatrical magic, it's a privileged artistic experience to savor. It's also the kind of experience which is extremely difficult to explain to anyone who didn't share it.





Two productions new to San Francisco had that special aura about them. One was a piece of dance theater that attempted to retell an ancient Greek drama written by Sophocles in approximately 441 BC. The other was a contemporary drama which brilliantly demonstrated what happens when superb writing, directing, and acting combine to elevate a script into a miraculously poignant and deeply fulfilling theatrical event.

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The Shotgun Players recently unveiled a new adaptation of Antigone based on Anne Carson's 2012 book, Antigonick. Co-directed by Mark Jackson and Hope Mohr, Antigonick is a dance theater piece wherein the ensemble pushes the boundaries of storytelling while working on a simple, yet highly effective unit set designed by Nina Ball and lit by Stephanie Buchner. Theodore J.H. Hulsker's exceptional sound design helped to create an other-worldly atmosphere which captured the searing tragedy of Antigone's predicament while showing the hopelessness of her situation.




Rami Margron as Teiresias in Antigonick
(Photo by: Pak Han)


Shotgun's heavily symbolic production featured dancer Parker Murphy as Nick (as in "Nick of Time"), a silent figure who brings a ghostly presence to the proceedings.




Parker Murphy as Nick in Antigonick (Photo by: Pak Han)


In the following clip, co-directors Mark Jackson and Hope Mohr explain the evolution of their production of Antigonick and the challenges it presented to their ensemble.





In their co-directors' note, Jackson and Mohr write:

"When we say we need to give ourselves space to deal with something, often we're saying we need time. As a poet, Carson understands that a perfectly coherent narrative order simply cannot contain the chaos of the human experience. Antigonick is full of interruption, ambiguity, and collage. Exquisitely spare and energetically compact, Antigonick offers a challenge and an invitation. It's no longer possible to coast on expectation. It's no longer easy to separate heroes from villains. Carson carves out a bit of space and time for us to consider alternative possibilities."

Kenny Toll and Kevin Clark in Antigonick (Photo by: Pak Han)

"Working on Antigonick has led us to think a great deal about integrity. If we measure a person's integrity by the extent to which she puts her body on the line for her ideals, then of course Antigone wins our sympathy. But isn't Kreon also throwing himself on the fire by wearing the new title of king (a title he never wanted) and trying to create order in the wake of a chaotic war he never supported? Aren't the Antigones and Kreons of the world similar in their narrow-minded courage? Most of us are more like Ismene, Haimon, Eruydike, or the Messenger -- teetering somewhere between the poles of Antigone and Kreon's extremes. Who is right? Who suffers more? Is it so easy to say?"

Kenny Toll and Rami Margron in Antigonick (Photo by: Pak Han)


Without doubt, Shotgun's ensemble delivered a powerful performance which challenged the audience, making full use of each actor's versatility and commitment to an artistic vision. Rami Margron doubled as Antigone and the blind prophet, Teiresias, while Kevin Clarke's Kreon closed the evening with an increasingly desperate attempt to physically climb the set's curved rear wall. Monique Jenkinson was magnificently on fire as both Ismene and Eurydike.

In supporting roles, Kenny Toll portrayed Haimon, a guard, and a messenger while David Sinaiko embodied the chorus. Parker Murphy's wordless contribution as Nick was often riveting.

* * * * * * * * * *

It's extremely rare to leave a theater haunted by a new play, yet that's exactly how I felt following the opening night performance of Sister Play at the Magic Theatre. Written and directed by John Kolvenbach, the experience was right up there with some of the best performances I've seen of works by Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee -- and that ain't chopped liver, folks!

Presented as part of a rolling world premiere with the Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Sister Play takes place in the Cape Cod home of a family's deceased father. Kolvenbach's dramedy involves the deceased writer's two daughters, one daughter's husband, and a mysterious stranger whose presence is uplifting, provocative, and brings a surprisingly spiritual component to the proceedings.

Sister Play begins as Malcolm (Anthony Fusco) enters his late father-in-law's home, talking to himself in the manner one might expect from a writer who lives in his head. As he muses on the amount of mold in both the house and his life, he is joined by his wife, Anna (Lisa Brescia), and her rebellious younger sister, Lilly (Jessi Campbell).




Lilly (Jessi Campbell), Malcolm (Anthony Fusco), and Anna
(Lisa Brescia) in a scene from Sister Play (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)


To suggest that Anna is a frighteningly neurotic control freak (and overprotective monster of an older sister) might be understating the situation. At a very early stage of her life, Anna was forced to take on the responsibility of raising Lilly and protecting her younger sister from a wildly impulsive streak. Even though Lilly has had one bad experience after another with a series of men, Anna is still operating as the kind of fierce tiger mother who tells her obviously adult and sexually adventurous sister to "Go to your room!"




Anna (Lisa Brescia) and her younger sister, Lilly (Jessi Campbell)
in a scene from Sister Play (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)


It doesn't take long for Anna to get on her kid sister's nerves. When Lilly (who does not have a driver's license) insists on taking the car out for a late night spin, Anna's control issues quickly begin to boil. After Lilly returns home with William Casy (Patrick Kelly Jones), a homeless hitchhiker she has picked up by the side of a road, Anna goes into a protective attack mode that borders on a psychotic episode. At one point, Anna's behavior becomes so outrageous that Lilly instructs her to "go into the kitchen and count to a million."




Patrick Kelly Jones as the mysterious and itinerant
William Casy in Sister Play (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)


Although the older/younger sister dynamic is well established, it's no surprise that Lilly wishes Anna would relax her talons and let Lilly live her own life. Meanwhile, in an exquisite soliloquy, Malcolm explains the surprising benefits (as opposed to the risks) of being caught in the sibling rivalry between two highly emotional women.

Kolvenbach gives each of his characters a beautiful solo in which they can speak to the audience, to themselves, or to the ghost of their dead father. By far, the most mysterious and complex character is the hitchhiker Lilly dragged home -- a well-intentioned vagrant from Texas who lacks any of the financial or emotional security shared by Anna, Malcolm, and Lilly. An actor who has given Bay area audiences numerous memories of stunning performances, Jones creates a tender, romantic, and almost other-worldly loner whose confusing presence and impressive intellect simultaneously threaten Anna, charm Malcolm, and excite Lilly.




William (Patrick Kelly Jones) and Malcolm (Anthony Fusco)
in a scene from Sister Play (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)


Working on Erik Flatmo's unit set (with lighting design by Jeff Rowlings and sound design by Sara Huddleston), Kolvenbach has staged his drama with an acute sensitivity to his characters' quirks and weaknesses. The bravura performances by Lisa Brescia and Patrick Kelly Jones are neatly complemented by the quieter work of Anthony Fusco (spot on, as always) and Jessi Campbell.




Patrick Kelly Jones (William), Jessi Campbell (Lilly), and Lisa Brescia
(Anna) in a scene from Sister Play (Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)


Sister Play is a beautiful, beautiful work which will hold up well as the years pass by, enchanting and haunting audiences through each theatrical season with its freshness, mystery, and rare vitality.



To read more of George Heymont go to My Cultural Landscape

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The Magic of Taiko for American Audiences

May 25, 2015, 9:43 am

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A few months ago I had the privilege of introducing readers to a Japanese drum ensemble whose enduring sounds have performed for over thirty years and today counts 100 talented performers in its troupe. Kodo is credited with popularizing the Japanese drum taiko style around the world--their magic is in the group's ability to draw its audience into traditional Japanese sounds.

They spend most of their time during overseas and in Japan, and they recently wrapped up their North American tour, which took them all over the U.S. and Canada. When I followed back up with the group a few weeks ago, they told me how exciting it was to play in America's longest running performing arts theater, the Brooklyn Academy of music and the thrill of performing to sold-out audiences in cities around the country. Here's what they had to say about One Earth: Mystery's three-month stint inviting North American artists to experience the mystery of Japanese folk arts.

Steve Mariotti: How did One Earth: Mystery do with North American audiences? Were any changes made in the process?
Kodo: Many changes have been made to Kodo's productions ever since we have welcomed in Kabuki actor, Tamasaburo Bando as our artistic director. The theatrical and humorous pieces were internationally acclaimed, and audience of all ages were able to enjoy the performance. We have made a few minor changes to better reflect our North American audience tastes, and it has brought an addition of colorful expression on stage.





Namahage (credit: Takashi Okamoto)


SM: What were the compositions featured in this tour and what are their significance?
Kodo: We had a few newly written pieces for this production which were all influenced by different art forms, culture, and music. Kodo's compositions are written by the performing members, and our production in particular, Mystery, featured many of the traditional Japanese folk arts from all over the country. The serpent scene was Kodo's interpretation of Jamai ("serpent dance") from Iwami Kagura in Shimane Prefecture. There are other traditional Japanese performing arts incorporated into the production such as Shishimai and Namahage. Other pieces in the production were written by the performers who get their influence from touring the world, and spending their time on Sado Island.

SM: How did the group shape the timing and delivery for their audience? What did you need to understand about the audience to do that? How do you get to know an audience?
Kodo: As Mystery featured theatrical parts that brought a laugh to the audience, the "ma" was considered an important aspect of the performance. "Ma" is a Japanese expression using a significant length of pause and silence. "Ma" is used to create humor in theatrical scenes, and express tension in concentrated serious scenes. This "Ma" is adjusted at every performance, based on what we learn throughout our audience feedback during tour. The audience reactions are always very genuine; the length and timing of applauses, cheers, laughs, and the standing ovation after the finale, really reflects their feelings during the performance.




Chit Chat (credit: Takashi Okamoto)


SM: What are Kodo's near future plans? What is the big vision for the future?
Kodo: In May of 2015, Kodo will perform in Osaka Japan in collaboration with Tamasaburo Bando for the musical production called Amaterasu. In August, we will host our 28th annual international music festival called Earth Celebration here on our home soil on Sado Island. In October, we will be in Montreal, Canada to be part of a contemporary ballet production called Kaguyahime.

After our performances of the production, Mystery, we will have our next new production called Eternity, touring domestically in Japan. At the end of 2015, the newest production called Chaos will premier. With the artistic direction of Tamasaburo Bando, Kodo will continuously aim for the highest quality performance, and present the audience with everlasting excitement of taiko music.




Shishimai (credit: Takashi Okamoto)


Kodo will be back on U.S. soil in 2017, and you can see them in Europe next year.

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A Virtual Tribute: Remembering on Memorial Day

May 25, 2015, 12:23 pm

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Memorial Day is upon us, the special day in the United States when we remember the people who died while serving in our country's armed forces. In Washington, D.C., the holiday turns into a major event with millions of people visiting the various national war memorials and monuments, and Arlington National Cemetery.

Over the years, I have photographed many of these sites. This year, General Dynamics Information Technology is displaying some of the photos on their social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+) . Below you can find some of the photos, a virtual tribute to those that made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America.


The Korean War Memorial


The World War II Memorial


The Vietnam War Memorial


6,821 Ribbons: Armor Down hosts Mindful Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery with 6,821 ribbons honoring the service men and women nthat have died in theater since 9/11.


The U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial


The Air Force Memorial


My daughter Soleil reflects at Arlington National Cemetery

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Permission: Spanking for Jesus at the Lucille Lortel Theater

May 26, 2015, 5:42 am

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Whatever special kinks spice up your sex life, the particular coupling of spanking and faith in Robert Askins' play Permission will having you laughing -- and googling "Christian domestic discipline" (CDD) at intermission. Who knew this was a real-life church-sanctioned practice? In its world premiere at the Lucille Lortel Theater, under the direction of Alex Timbers, the MCC production of Permission, penned by the Hand to God playwright, relies on the conceit that marital bliss can be found if the husband assumes authority in marriage by acting like a man -- that is, disciplining his wife with a firm hand (or belt) on the butt.

Act I: Two couples having dinner. The host asks his wife to the kitchen. Behind a scrim a battle ensues. Shelley (Nicole Lawrence) has forgotten to bake some gluten-free rolls, and Zach (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe) must punish her. Rather than suffer the humiliation, she seems to relish every moment. The other couple -- Eric (Justin Bartha), a college teacher looking for a promotion, and Cyndi (Elizabeth Reaser), a procrastinating novelist -- try it out. They raise their game and love life through this practice -- that is, until all hell breaks loose in Act II.

Fans of Hand to God will recognize familiar themes of sin and redemption in Permission. As in Hand to God, sex is wildly -- if uncomfortably -- funny, as it would be to witness what goes on privately behind closed doors, maxed out by a fine ensemble cast. A plot twist involving Jeanie (Talene Monahan), one of Eric's students, seems pulled from the headlines and doesn't quite land right. But otherwise this is a riot of a show and, at least for the first act, a voyeur's tour de force.

A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.

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Why the 'New Shakespeare Portrait' Is NOT Shakespeare

May 26, 2015, 7:48 am

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A great deal of fuss has been made this week about a supposed "newly discovered portrait of Shakespeare" found on the title page engraving of sixteenth century botany book. The editor of UK lifestyle magazine Country Life, in which the discovery was announced, declared it "The Literary Discovery of the Century." The story was dutifully picked up by BBC News Online, and such is the clout of the BBC that by yesterday, all major news outlets were excitedly repeating the story, leading it to trend across social media. The botanist who made the discovery quickly morphed into a "historian" and NBC news even multiplied him into "historians" to add a little weight to the theory.

But the portrait is not a portrait of Shakespeare. There were one or two knowledgable people explaining in the comments sections of various news items yesterday who it was and why, but since their explanations seem to have been drowned out by a slew of "hipster facial hair" comments and breathless speculation, I thought I'd set them down here, in the hope that the madness might be stopped.

The engraving, on the frontispiece of John Gerard's The Herbal or General History of Plants is a representation of Dioscorides, a Greek doctor from the time of the Roman emperor Nero. His book on herbal medicine had been the standard text on the subject for 1,500 years. In other words, he was considered something of an authority on the subject of the book, and was depicted there to give it his seal of approval. For being the top writer in his subject, he gets a laurel wreath on his head. The Roman army toga is a bit of a clue, for Dioscorides was a physician in the Roman army. Why Shakespeare would be depicted in a toga is anyone's guess.

We can be sure that the picture is meant to be Dioscorides because when the book was updated and reprinted in 1633, he was helpfully labelled. You can compare the two images for yourself. Here he is in the first edition of 1597. And here is the same guy -- same facial hair, same toga, same footwear -- in the second edition of 1633, on a plinth that says "Dioscorides." Just in case someone thought he was Shakespeare or Francis Drake, or someone else with a fancy mustache.

Country Life's gardening expert, Mark Griffiths, makes a great deal of the fact that the figure is holding a snake's head fritillary and a cob of corn. In Ovid's version of the story, which Shakespeare used for his long poem "Venus and Adonis," Adonis was transformed into an anemone. Shakespeare referred to the flower only as "the purple flower... chequr'd with white," which one scholar has suggested might be either a fritillary or a variegated tulip. But, just because Shakespeare (possibly) referred to a fritillary, and even if he was the only poet of the period to do so, that doesn't make any chap holding a fritillary into Shakespeare.

Griffiths claims that the cob of corn in the figure's other hand is a reference to Titus Andronicus. But the "corn" mentioned in Titus Andronicus is very clearly wheat, not the newly imported American plant maize. We know it is wheat because it is thrashed ("first thrash the corn, then burn the straw" -- 2.3.123) and gathered into sheaths ("This scattered corn into one mutual sheaf" -- 5.3.70). You do not do this with corn-on-the-cob. "Corn" in Elizabethan England denoted any kind of grain, and according to the Oxford English Dictionary, maize was not referred to as "corn" without the modifier 'Indian' before 1809. This removes any argument that it might be Shakespeare who is holding a cob of corn.

The frontispiece show Dioscorides holding these new plants to make the point that Gerard's book is bang up to date. The picture represents the ancient authority (Dioscorides) being updated with Gerard's new knowledge. It is an attempt to establish Gerard as the new authority in the subject.

Now to the key part of the new claim; the peculiar "cipher" written on the plinth underneath the figure, which Griffiths 'decoded' to arrive at Shakespeare. He sees the first part as a four (and also as an arrowhead) (with an "E" stuck to it ). Quoting the Guardian article:

In Elizabethan times, people would have used the Latin word "quater" as a slang term for a four in dice and cards. Put an e on the end and it becomes quatere, which is the infinitive of the Latin verb quatior, meaning shake. Look closely and the four can be seen as a spear.

Look closely and you can see almost anything you want to see. In the fascinating world of the Shakespeare authorship question, I witness this kind of thing all the time. Griffiths says the "Or" is because the Shakespeare family had recently been granted a coat of arms with a gold background and the heraldic term for gold is "Or." Below that, he sees a "W" for "William." Case closed!

But this cipher was in fact the Mark of William and John Norton; John Norton (William's nephew and apprentice) was the printer of the book. It was noted as their mark in the 1749 book, Typographical Antiquities. Printers marks like this were a standard device of the period, as you can see from this frontispiece on the British Museum Website.

In short, then, as with so many Shakespeare news items that cause near-hysteria in the mainstream media, this is much ado about nothing. It is possible that the story already has enough momentum to become a new truth, and that future Shakespeare news items will appear under a picture of the Greek physician Dioscorides just as many, thanks to the last of these "newly discovered picture of Shakespeare" stories, now appear under a picture of Sir Thomas Overbury. But, I sincerely hope not.


Credit is due to many sources for the information in this article, chiefly Guardian commenter 'MisterJim', John Overholt, Miriam Jacobson and Tom Reedy.

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In Flight: Fasten Your Seat Belts, It's Going to Be a Bumpy Ride!

May 26, 2015, 9:10 am

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Jenny Lyn Bader's charming and uplifting new play takes place in an unlikely locale--the offices of Omega Traveler, an in-flight magazine--hence its title. The magazine is run by a smart and ambitious woman named Marty (Danielle O'Farrell) who however lacks the sense of risk to actually venture out of her corporate existence--instead she sends her writers to experience all of the exciting things that she actually yearns for. Upstairs, her tough boss Melanie (Ginger Grace) owns Omega Airlines and its magazine, ruling both with an iron fist--she is one tough lady. At the beginning of the play she confronts Melanie after what she sees as a small debacle: "What you lack is common sense. You've lost it. Get it back./You don't have any fight in you. You're toothless. The magazine's a dying art. Be ruthless."

Marty hires a charming, handsome young writer named Andrew (Drew Ledbetter), with whom she slowly falls in love. To say that our Romeo has issues with the truth would be a kind understatement.




And when Melanie more or less strong-arms Marty into on-staffing her sweet but oafish son Ted (Jackson Thompson) whom she has more or less castrated into submissive incompetence over the years, the results are, well edifying. Shortly thereafter Marty sends Ted to Canada (how boring) and Andrew to Bhutan (how exciting). What could possibly go wrong? Everything, of course.

Bader has a remarkable facility with language. The entire play is rhymed and moves at a fast clip thanks to Jessica Bauman's deft directing and some superb acting from the ensemble cast. And playing Page, the passionate and brilliant travel writer, the wonderful Lynnette Freeman positively glows with talent and charisma. She is real thing through-and-through, the only one of the bunch worth her salt in frequent flyer miles.



In the end, Bader's play is really about the walls that people put up around themselves and the personalities that they project to overcome their respective insecurities. Reality and illusion, if you will. The plot thickens as one of the writer is feared lost in a bloody revolution abroad and the airline company runs into some managerial issues worthy of the best of wall street scandals. It's heady stuff.

Form and function have been doing battle in drama since the Ancient Greeks. In this case, as in some of Bader's other writings, her delicious punditry and rhyming ease almost occult the very serious messages that she wants to get across about love, modernity and the way we relate to another in an age of social media. But I suppose that having an almost preternatural facility with words isn't the worst fate a dramatist can have.

IN FLIGHT by Jenny Lyn Bader; directed by Jessica Bauman; set design by Elli Engstrom; costume design by Nicole Slaven; lighting design by Chelsie McPhilimy; sound design by Iris McElroy; production stage manager, David Givens. Produced by Turn to Flesh Productions (Executive Director, Samantha Elizabeth Turlington; Artistic Director, Emily C.A. Snyder). At the WorkShop Theatre through May 23, 2015.

WITH: Danielle O'Farrell (Marty), Rajesh Bose (Art), Drew Ledbetter (Andrew), Ginger Grace (Melanie), Lynnette R. Freeman (Page), and Jackson Thompson (Ted).

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The Ice Fishermen of Schroon Lake, New York

May 26, 2015, 10:00 am

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Ice Fishermen, Schroon Lake, New York

I know that everyone is getting ready to slip into their flip flops and sandals, but let us all not forget that less than a few months ago, the east coast, New York in particular, was experiencing a pretty brutal winter. I decided that instead of fighting the cold harshness of mother nature, embracing it might be a better approach! That is when I decided to travel up to the beautiful town of Schroon Lake, NY to photograph the annual ice fishing derby.

Having never been up to the Adirondacks at all, this was quite the adventure. The small town is tucked away between a beautiful lake and the interstate. I started out with familiarizing myself with the locals by visiting the town fish and game club since they were the ones putting on the event. After learning more about the agenda, access locations to the lake etc., I headed out to the ice.

Having no experience at all with the ice fishing sport, I had my doubts as to whether the ice would be safe. Those doubts quickly subsided after seeing the amount of SUVs, cars, and four wheelers that seemed to be safely gliding along the lake. It was dusk on a Friday evening and the fishermen were already out there drilling and setting up their home bases for the weekend.

Over the course of the next two days, we worked from sunrise to sunset walking around the lake, meeting and talking with people, and taking their portraits. The temperature at 5:30am was around 5 below zero, but by the afternoon, the temp rose to about 15 degrees. We definitely battled with the bitter cold, and equipment started malfunctioning, but we made it through. I was both amazed and inspired by the amount of determination and hard work that the ice fishermen and women put into this sport.




Rick came up to the lake to do some ice fishing with his daughter. They arrived on the lake around 3am and began drilling holes.


A family sits and waits by their ice fishing holes.


An ice shanty sits on the lake. This is a mobile shelter often left out on the lake for the season. Some shanties are powered by generators to supply heat and electricity.





Two ice fishermen drill holes all over the lake. They planned on drilling into the late evening.






Moto Hikita and his son stand next to a shovel. They are both from Japan and enjoy ice fishing very much.




Eric Talmadge from Greenwich, NY sits on his four wheeler. Eric has been fishing the derby for the last few years with his friend Ray. Together they have ice fished on eight different lakes this past winter.


An ice fisherman baits his line before dropping it into the hole.


A local perch was caught and sits on the ice.



Lisa and Joe Mieczkowski get up at 5am on the second day of the derby to try drilling on a different part of the lake as the day prior proved to be unsuccessful.



Dan Barcomb stands next to his fishing pole after he baited his line.


Mike Charbonneau sits on his two-seater with his tip up. Ice fishermen rarely use traditional fishing poles. Most resort to the use of a tip up which is a spring loaded contraption that raises an orange flag when a fish tugs on the bait.

Yvonne Albinowski is an environmental portrait, travelogue, and food photographer based in New York City. In addition to working in the commercial world, she continues to shoot personal photo essays that take her to remote places all over the US.

You can view more of her work at www.yvonnealbinowski.com

Follow her on instagram, tumblr, and facebook.

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Quick Questions With American in Paris Tony Noms Brandon Uranowitz & Max von Essen

May 26, 2015, 11:10 am

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An American in Paris is about many things: Paris after the war, the joy of new experiences, romance, love, dance and the relationship between three friends. Robert Fairchild stars as the titular character with Brandon Uranowitz and Max von Essen often by his side. Uranowitz plays Adam Hochberg, another American in Paris, a struggling composer and narrator of the piece; von Essen plays Henri Baurel, a Frenchman who longs to be a song-and-dance man, a fact he is hiding from his parents. All three men are first-time Tony nominees. While Fairchild is new to the Great White Way, Uranowitz and von Essen are more familiar names. I've only seen Uranowitz in one thing prior to An American in Paris, but I've seen von Essen in tons of things since the early 'oughts. He is also partially responsible for the hashtag #SIP (standing for "Saturday intermission pictures"), which is now popular with shows across the world, and the results of which I personally check out on BroadwayWorld each week. (It's one of the rare times I purposely look at social media photos.)

I asked both featured men to participate in my recurring feature where I ask actors random, often silly, questions taken directly from the subject matter or text of the show. This time we did it over email and I also threw in a Tony question for good measure. Below are the results.

When you think of Paris what comes to mind?

Brandon: History. Delicious food. Skinny people
Max: The Eiffel Tower, the Chatelet Theater, omelet mixte.

Who or what haunts your dreams?

Brandon: My boyfriend's dog, Bessie... Oh, and my boyfriend, Zach - I GUESS.
Max: Stepping out on stage in front of an audience without having seen the script.

Did your parents approve of you wanting to be in musicals?

Brandon: Oh yes. Too much, sometimes. But I wouldn't be where I am without their boundless love and support.
Max: They always approved of it as a hobby, and once they saw I could actually make a living, they supported me full out.

Which do you prefer -- coffee or champagne?

Brandon: Bourbon.
Max: Oh god, Sophie's choice. I adore champagne but it is a treat. I can't really live without coffee, so it's gotta be coffee!

Are you the type that is chipper all the day?

Brandon: I'm Jewish, so absolutely not. But I really wish I were!
Max: Honestly, yes, but about 90% of the time. The other 10% you honestly don't want to be around me. I'm best left a lone in a room somewhere.

What is your favorite moment of the show?


Brandon: The opening ballet and singing my favorite Gershwin song, "But Not For Me."
Max: Listening to the opening scene between Robbie and Brandon and knowing that in just moments I get to enter and play for the next two and a half hours.

What has been your favorite thing about being a Tony nominee?

Brandon: Meeting my idols and making my parents proud.
Max: Feeling like someone who snuck into the fanciest, coolest party ever and no one seems to be kicking out!

Photos by Matthew Murphy. Top right is Brandon Uranowitz; bottom left is Max von Essen.

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Indian Award-Winning Documentary 'Daughters of Mother India' -- Jarring Wake-Up Call for Men Like Me

May 26, 2015, 11:36 am

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With Jitin Hingorani.

While living and working in my comfortable American cocoon in December of 2012, I vaguely remember hearing about an Indian girl named Jyoti Singh Pandey, who was brutally gang-raped on a Delhi bus. My immediate reaction was: "Poor girl... what is happening to my country of birth!" But I did not give it another thought.

I vaguely remember seeing images of Delhiites being water-hosed by police while rioting for "Nirbhaya," an assignation that means "Fearless One," given to Pandey by the media as authorities would not release her name. Again, mild sympathy followed by... not another thought.

No outrage, no outburst, no outpouring... not until May 2015, exactly two-and-a-half years after Pandey's death.


Cast of "Nirbhaya" on stage. Photo Credit: Culture Project, N.Y.C.

I had the privilege of watching the New York premiere of the critically-acclaimed play Nirbhaya, written and directed by Yael Farber and produced by Poorna Jagannathan and Culture Project. So moved was I by the true stories of gender-based violence, set against the backdrop of Pandey's horrific gang-rape and re-enacted on stage by the survivors themselves, that I left the theater in complete silence, with a mild headache and bloodshot eyes from the sheer force of my tears. I had never in my adult life, been more cognizant of my good fortune, my male privilege, my American cocoon.

When I heard about the screening of a documentary film titled Daughters of Mother India (DOMI), already sold out at the upcoming New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), I was somewhat intrigued, having just had a strong dose of Nirbhaya's story. As soon as I read that the movie had won the National Award, the country's highest film honor bestowed by the President of India, for "Best Film on Social Issues," I squirmed my way into the second screening, still wary that a documentary about this subject matter could not possibly affect me the way a live performance did. I was grossly mistaken.


Daughters of Mother India" Film Poster. Watch Trailer HERE.
Photo Credit: NYIFF.

Former CNBC business reporter turned documentary filmmaker, Vibha Bakshi, sets out on a quest in which she is "searching for answers to so many questions." On the surface, the narrative revolves around a series of sound bites from sociologists, victims' advocates and senior law enforcement officials ALL reacting to Pandey's rape and pontificating on how it might have been prevented. If you dig much deeper, though, this documentary is representative of India's side of Nirbhaya's story: a story filled with resolve, activism and hope.


Former Indian TV personality turned filmmaker Vibha Bakshi,
Director of "Daughters of Mother India." Photo Credit: NYIFF.

In a sit-down interview with Bakshi after her film, she talks candidly about DOMI being a small documentary that has started a revolution of sorts.

I never expected when I was making this film that it would receive the kind of praise and recognition that it has received thus far. My goal was to make a responsible movie that did not sensationalize the issue of gender violence, and the fact that people are connecting to it from all walks of life is very heartening.

Veteran Actor Mohan Agashe presents Vibha Bakshi the award
for "Best Documentary" at NYIFF. Photo Credit: NYIFF.

MY connection to the film formed when Bakshi gives us uncensored access into the Dehli Police control room, where all emergency calls are taken, and we learn that women police officers are now taking calls specifically from victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence because of the drastic increase in the number of women coming forward in the wake of the Nirbhaya tragedy. Trained law enforcement officers are metaphorically wearing the hats of gender violence advocates.


Scene from "Daughters of Mother India." Photo Credit: NYIFF.

These scenes, masterfully edited by Hemanti Sarkar, brought back vivid memories of when I worked at the National Domestic Violence Hotline in Austin, Texas. Those brave domestic violence advocates went through months of training before they were allowed to take a victim's call on their own, but these women police officers were forced to cope with life-threatening situations during call after frantic call, all in an attempt to prevent one more woman from being called "Nirbhaya."

The toll that similar tragedies have taken on the police has been skillfully captured by Bakshi in a trio of three-minute public service announcements (PSAs) featuring a dozen or so policemen and women, all of whom investigated some of the most brutal incidents of sexual assault in Mumbai over the past two years. These PSAs will start broadcasting in movie theaters all over India before feature films. "I created the police campaign to bridge the gap between the public and the police," responds Bakshi via email. "These men and women are also human beings, and one of the policemen who watched the PSA said he wants to 'live up to the people's expectations.' It is about time that the Indian janata (public) give our law enforcement the respect they deserve." To watch one of the PSAs (in Hindi only) from Bakshi's police campaign, please click here.


Scene of Asmita Theater Group's performance from
"Daughters of Mother India." Photo Credit: NYIFF.

However, as this actress screams from the top of her lungs at a public performance in a busy Delhi market, "Change cannot happen in a day!" When will Delhi no longer be referred to as the "Rape Capital of the World?" That is yet to be determined. But, in just 45 engrossing minutes, Bakshi manages to weave in how gender violence laws are stricter, police are more vigilant and activist groups are more vocal... all because the "fearless one" sacrificed her life.

As a feminist male, a victims' advocate and a survivor of childhood domestic violence, my thoughts are consumed by the fate of that Indian girl on a Delhi bus. Daughters of Mother India has helped open my eyes, which now glisten with hope.

Daughters of Mother India is a 2015 Indian documentary film, which won the National Award. It is directed and produced by Vibha Bakshi and executive produced by Academy Award-Winner MaryAnn De Leo.

New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF)

Jitin Hingorani is a journalist and publicist who runs his own PR and events management company, JINGO Media, in New York City and Dallas. He recently founded and produced DFW's first-ever South Asian Film Festival (www.dfwsaff.com).

See Stories by Jim Luce on:

India & Indian-American Culture | Women & Girls

The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation (www.lucefoundation.org) supporting young global leadership is affiliated with Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW), raising global citizens. If supporting youth is important to you, subscribe to J. Luce Foundation updates here.

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Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited

May 26, 2015, 12:30 pm

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Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered--either by themselves or by others. - Mark Twain

For two weeks in 1927, Bristol, Tennessee was the site of a legendary recording session known now as "the big bang of country music." The sessions launched the careers of The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers and reinforced the popularity of Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman whose music career was already well established in the recording industry. Many of the regional musicians who recorded in Bristol did not go on to fame and fortune, but their contributions to country music are acknowledged and honored at last in this reimagined tribute project.

The new Orthophonic Victrola had found an eager audience, and executives were on the search for new talent. Thanks to Stoneman's encouragement, Victor producer Ralph Peer found it in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a region that rightly claims its place as a who's who of American roots music.

Fast-forward a generation or two, and history seems to be singing along with itself. In 2011, Grammy award-winning musician Carl Jackson was telling his longtime friend Rusty Morrell about a new project he was just finishing up, Mark Twain: Words & Music. This double-CD told Mark Twain's life in spoken word and song and boasted such talent as Jimmy Buffett, Brad Paisley, Garrison Keillor, and Clint Eastwood. It was a benefit for the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri. Morrell, a Bristol native, was intrigued.

"Naturally, anybody who grew up in the South and read books was a fan of Mark Twain," he said. "Carl sent me the CD. I was in Bristol, and out of the blue this idea came to me. You know, nobody really had ever acknowledged the 1927 sessions for their impact on country music and how important those sessions were."

Morrell started researching, and although Congress had officially declared Bristol "the birthplace of country music" in 1998, no one had ever paid tribute to those original sessions in the studio. That was about to change.

He called Jackson back and told him, "I've got a crazy idea."

Jackson, who has produced nearly every major artist in country and bluegrass, did not think the idea was crazy at all. The two immediately imagined a tribute befitting the original sessions, and the result is Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited. The double-CD was released by Sony Legacy Recordings on May 12, 2015 as a benefit for the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol. Like the Twain project, it brings a lot of talent to bear on an important historic topic.

WSM disc jockey, fiddler, and country music historian Eddie Stubbs narrated 19 spoken word tracks that provide context for the 18 newly recorded songs. (The original songs can be heard in the background.) Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton, Ashley Monroe, The Shotgun Rubies, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Vince Gill, Keb' Mo', The Church Sisters, Corbin Hayslett, Brad Paisley, Carl Jackson, Ashley & Shannon Campbell, Sheryl Crow, Larry Cordle & The Virginia Luthiers, Jesse McReynolds, and The Chuck Wagon Gang recorded the updated songs, all acoustic versions in keeping with the originals. I had the privilege of researching and writing narrative, just as I had done for the Twain CD.

Jackson produced the project, and Morrell served as executive producer. Others got behind the idea, including the Birthplace of Country Music, Bristol Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation. Bristol, Tennessee shares a state line with Bristol, Virginia. The entire region is known for its musical heritage with such highlights as Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion and The Abingdon Crooked Road Music Fest in Virginia.

Inasmuch as the 1927 sessions were a bona fide search for new talent, this new project honored that tradition. The museum sponsored a contest inviting musicians to submit videos of their performances of some of the original recordings. Corbin Hayslett's "Darling Cora" won the competition. Another youngster, Keb H-Mac, twelve-year old protégé to Keb' Mo', accompanied his hero on "To The Work." Early reviews have also praised the work of The Church Sisters, twin sisters who are relatively new on the scene.

The project has become another source of hometown pride for Rusty Morrell whose entire life has been shaped by this music. "The original recordings provided the raw ordination for the type of music that comes out of these hills. Getting it out to the masses was a big deal," Morrell said of the impact of those early sessions. "I wanted to redo the songs with new artists, to make the songs relevant to new generations who have no idea of the history. For Carl and me, that was our job - to tell the story."

And with a little help from their friends - so they did.

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Using Objects as Evidence to Tell a Woman's Story: An Interview with Amelia Peck, Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

May 26, 2015, 1:38 pm

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A few semesters ago, a group on my job organized a guided tour of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was then generating a lot of interest, "Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800." That exhibition was coordinated and curated by the Marica F. Vilcek curator of American Decorative Arts at the Met, Amelia Peck. As I walked around in those dazzling rooms at the Metropolitan Museum, I remember wondering about the woman who could pull together an exhibition that was truly global in scope. An exhibition that traced routes and roots from the Near and Far East, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Without knowing it, I was subconsciously trying to make connections between Amelia Peck and the work that she had done.



Amelia Peck is a rare breed: she is a New Yorker through and through. Born in New York City, Peck spent her first two years in Forest Hills, Queens, before ending up in Hastings-on-Hudson, just 20 miles outside of the city, where she lives today. In high school she sculpted and sewed -- activities that she still does -- before she focused on theater design. "Because of my love of sewing, I thought I would end up a theater designer," she told me. "When I went off to Brown University I was an English major, since the theater department was part of the English department at that time. I enjoyed being an English major, though, because I've always been a great reader of novels. I guess, looking on some might think it unusual for an English/theater arts major to grow up to be a curator, but there are great similarities between the two fields. As a curator I find that I am always writing to, and communicating with, the public. And what is an exhibition if it is not gathering together objects to tell a fascinating story, exactly as is done in the theater?"

While at Brown, Peck discovered the fields of architectural history and material culture -- which Peck defines as the study of everyday objects that people use -- and after a couple years of designing costumes for theater productions, Peck switched her focus and went to Columbia University to get a degree in historic preservation. In 1981 she came to the Metropolitan Museum as a summer intern, and except for a year away, she has pretty much found her place and her calling there. "What is so fascinating about looking at objects through the lens of material culture," Peck told me, "is that you can interpret how people lived through the objects that they either had or created. As a curator of decorative arts, I strive to use objects as evidence to highlight the stories of the objects and the people who had or made them. This is particularly important if you begin considering the implications for telling women's stories. These objects can be the voice and give voice to the subsumed and voiceless in a way that is unparalleled. The only way oftentimes to tell a woman's story is through the objects that she made. These objects help us to understand this person's life and the period they lived through.

"I recently acquired for the museum a lovely embroidered seat cover that has been passed down in one family through seven generations for the last three hundred years. I have been able to trace this seat down through every generation of women in that family. Thankfully, someone had the good sense to record the name of the woman who initially made the seat cover. Think about it: Someone had to say to themselves, my mother made this and it is important. This is what is left of the things that my mother made. This is worth holding onto, as a record of my mother's life."

At The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Peck has three areas that she is in charge of: She is the American textile curator and oversees all textiles from the earliest period of American history to the first half of the twentieth century. She makes sure that the textiles are cared for, acquires relevant pieces for the Met, and she designs exhibitions around the textiles in the collection. She is also in charge of the Period Rooms at the Museum and is very pleased with introducing interpretative computer screens to the Period Rooms. As well, she is the Manager of the Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art. "I feel very privileged to have a job where I get to work with and think about really fascinating objects. Essentially in my job, I get to learn about objects and use them to tell stories about peoples' lives. I am always learning something new and always telling a different story." She continues, "Another great pleasure of my job is that at the Metropolitan Museum there is this wonderful community of colleagues, who are real experts on their subject matter. The depth of their knowledge is nothing short of breathtaking."

Still, I wanted to know more about the field of material culture and its inclusion in museums. Peck readily admits that there is more acceptance of the traditional field of art history, especially since material culture is a hybrid field that incorporates several disciplines. Furthermore, she concedes that objects like textiles, pottery or furniture are oftentimes thought of as commonplace and not collectable. There is an informality to decorative art objects, she admits, and it is harder for some people to look at everyday objects as "great art." "In the exhibition 'Interwoven Globe,' for example, people would go up and touch the textiles hanging on the walls in ways that they would not dare touch an oil painting. They felt that they could do this with textiles, because textiles are more familiar and are conceived of as everyday and commonplace."

Still, Peck believes that there is growing appreciation for textiles. Particularly so in the United States. "Patchwork quilts, for example, formed from multiple pieces of fabric, are part of how Americans understand and seek to portray themselves as the scrappy pioneers who built this country bit by bit." In the over thirty years that Peck has been in the field, she has noticed that there has been a rise in the appreciation for non-traditional quilts, in large part because modern quilts, such as the quilts of Gee's Bend, raised appreciation of idiosyncratic kinds of quilts. All the more reason, Peck insists, that young women in particular who are artists should not be afraid to utilize textiles in their works.

"I would say to a young woman who wants to work with or design textiles that there are huge possibilities in this medium for you to put your own spin on things and for you to influence the visual culture. Everybody has an association with textiles, for example, and will always have an association with textiles, through clothing and home furnishings, so this is a medium that will always remain relevant."

Similarly, she encourages more young women to enter the field of curating, particularly becoming curators of decorative arts. "As a curator of decorative arts you really get in touch with people from the past and their loves through objects. You get to understand how things are made, and, if you are a history buff like myself, you get the chance, time and time again, to engage with history. Being a curator is truly a wonderful thing. You get to tell stories. And in some cases you get to give a voice to the voiceless. You get to 'un-silence' those who might have been completely forgotten if not for the objects they made with their hands."

Until next time.

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The Mona Lisa Stolen By Museum Worker!

May 26, 2015, 1:52 pm

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La Joconde.

The familiar face with the soft smile is a work of art etched into our very knowledge as the image of a classic painting vaguely reminiscent of a mother, a wife, a sister -- but with no definite certainty, and a sense of the absurd feeling that she knows more about us watchers than we do about her, staring back.

Le Louvre Museum in Paris is the largest one in the World and the Mona Lisa (La Joconde, as she is called in French) is the most recognizable and visited piece of art on the planet. To this day, nobody fully understands why, but she is our little link to a defunct universe of classic beauty and quiet times gone by.

The security at the museum is certainly something of the highest priority for its curators, directors, maintenance and security personnel. And yet a museum employee managed to snatch her away from the wall she resides on, and kept her for two years in his apartment. It's to be wondered if he hanged her on one of his walls. Or maybe stored her up in a small closet with the unfazed smile still on her face.

Vincenzo Peruggia was an Italian citizen who strongly believed the painting on wood belonged to Italy, its country of creation, and should be returned to its birth place. Was he even wrong? After all, many art pieces get shipped back to the countries that once owned them. Many of the art recouped by the Monuments Men from the Nazis were sent back to their proper museums, along with the private properties reunited with their owners.

He was not a thief per say, just a museum worker with strong beliefs and determination. The petite frame must have spoken to him and possibly expressed the desire to see her homeland. We don't know. But what is certain is that he took the painting under his arm and took off. She is not painted on pliable canvas, but on sturdy poplar wood, so there was no folding her, nor rolling her up.

True Story.

On Sunday August 20, 1911, Peruggia realized what is known as the greatest art robbery of the 20th century. He hid inside the museum on a Sunday, the day before he knew it would be closed the following one, a Monday, a traditional day when most museums of the capital are still closed today. On that Monday morning, wearing the habitual white artists' smocks that museum employees were used to see around, he walked into the Salon Carré where the Mona Lisa was - and simply lifted it from the wall.

No wiring, no electronic chip, no sensors, no alarm, no laser shield, not a shred of security protection to deal with. This was a time of mere simplicity, when an uniformed guard would simply glimpse and evaluate the adoring visitors during the opening hours -- to make sure no one was touching it -- but beyond that, the painting was not even cordoned off with a few feet of safe space. Nothing.

The painting weighed just about 18 pounds, since da Vinci painted it on three slabs of wood (as opposed to canvas), like many during the Renaissance. Painted in oil on a white poplar panel, it is believed to date back to the period during 1503 and 1506, as far as its beginnings, only to be finished in France while da Vinci arrived at the royal court, some 10 years later.

Most people don't realize how small she is: only 30 by 21 inch, she is hardly impressive in size and visitors to the Louvre sometimes have a hard time seeing her until they get close and can peek in between shoulders and admirers' heads. This is one of the reasons Perrugia was able to conceal her under his worker's uniform.

After snapping her away, the thief took it to an enclosed stairwell, leaving only four iron pegs behind. After removing the glass case and the heavy frame, he concealed the painting under his smock, walked right by a deserted guard station, and went home.

He kept the celebrity work of art in his flat for two years. When interrogated by the police of his whereabouts of that Monday, he simply said he was not working that day, and that was it. After he transported the painting to Italy -- with no troubles at the border while riding in the train -- he was finally denounced by a Florence art gallery dealer, to whom he had tried to unload the master's art. He had asked for a reward for returning the painting to its homeland.

He may not have been aware that the small frame was a gift from Leonardo da Vinci to the king of France Francis I, for welcoming him to court when he became an official royal painter of his majesty's reign during the 16th century.

Perrugia believed the painting had been stolen by Napoleon (who was himself king of Italy in 1805 to 1814), but obviously the painting had been in France for centuries before the birth of Napoleon. The man did not have his history facts right. The Mona Lisa was French all along, and even though it was painted by an Italian master, it was never stolen, never commandeered, she was simply a gift from a master painter to a king.

In 1913, the Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre Museum. At his trial, the court agreed that Peruggia committed the theft for patriotic reasons and gave him a very lenient sentence of one year and fifteen days -- he served only seven months. Perrugia then joined the Italian Army during WWI. He died at age 44.

Her Name is Serene.

She got her French name, La Joconde, from her own real Italian name: she was Mona Lisa del Giocondo, after taking the name of her husband. Therefore called La Gioconda, which translated in French into La Joconde. Giocondo in Italian means "serene," so the appropriate angelic face on the painting might just be because her name was invoking serenity and da Vinci painted just that emotion on her face.

That would be the simplest explanation -- but we'll never know much more than that. Her subdued gaze follows yours around the room when you move, and that feast alone makes her a true emotional rendering, as she looks and feels alive in her frame.

On the death of da Vinci, in 1519, the painting was inherited by his assistant, who sold it to the king of France who kept it at his summer palace, until the new king, Louis XIV took it to Versailles. After the French revolution, when kings were no more, the painting was hosted by the Louvre Museum, where it remains to this day, ogled by millions of adoring fans.

Some rumors claim that the original Joconde is deeply hidden in a bank vault underneath the museum -- so secretly in fact that the press office of the museum have not been able to confirm/deny the fact to me. The security around her is now high-tech top of the line, and the guards are never even blinking.

She was the first celebrity.

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Cities and Art That Bring Us to Tears

May 26, 2015, 5:12 pm

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So, Memorial Day is over. But, some memories continue to linger. I keep thinking about an intriguing article I read in yesterday's New York Times op-ed section by T.M. Luhrmann, which asks the question, "What gives certain places their extraordinary power to move people so deeply?" It starts with a story of a teenager who went to Jerusalem. "There he met God... he had an experience so remarkable, so terrifying, so powerful... Jerusalem has this effect on so many people that experiences like this have a name: Jerusalem syndrome."



Then, the article mentioned the so-called Florence syndrome, which brings many visitors to their knees in the Uffizi Gallery. But, actually, the more accepted description for this phenomenon is the Stendhal syndrome, named after the famous French writer, who saw Giotto's frescoes in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, and was overcome with emotion. He wrote, "I was in a sort of ecstasy... I had palpitations of the heart... life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling."



So, all of this makes me think of the famous Russian writer Feodor Dostoyevsky, who, during his visit to Dresden Gallery, dropped to his knees and started to cry in front of the famous painting, Sistine Madonna, by Raphael. All his life, he had admired this painting and kept a black-and-white lithographic reproduction of it in his apartment in St. Petersburg. Many years later, confronting the original painting in person, he experienced rapture.



I haven't read anything about a "Rome syndrome" yet, but my first experience with this city made my heart palpitate when, as a teenager, I saw the Hollywood movie, A Roman Holiday. For us living in the Soviet Union, to travel to Italy was virtually impossible. Yet, there I was, along with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, climbing Spanish Steps and driving a Vespa by the Coliseum. I was in heaven.

Many years later, during my emigration, I found myself living in Rome, continuing to be in awe of this Eternal City.



And last, but not least, let me mention Paris syndrome, which, according to the New York Times article, Japanese tourists experience when they arrive in the City of Light. Wikipedia mentions that there is a 24-hour help line run by the Japanese embassy to help tourists suffering from this condition, viewed as a severe form of culture shock. Luckily for me, my recent trip to Paris was pure joy.

Yesterday, I stopped by the Norton Simon Museum, to see a small exhibition of rare paintings on loan from the famous d'Orsay Museum in Paris. One of them is Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, by American artist Whistler. This painting, commonly known as Whistler's Mother, is one of the iconic artworks of the 19th century. And to see it, here in LA, is a rare treat.



Next to Whistler's painting hangs another jewel on loan from Musée d'Orsay - a portrait of the French writer Émile Zola, by Edouard Manet. The young writer wrote a passionate essay in defense of Manet, who was rejected from participating in an official Salon in 1866. And now, all this is here for us in LA.

So, my friends, treat yourselves to a taste of Paris at the Norton Simon Museum - but, be warned, the emotions might overwhelm you.


To learn about Edward's Fine Art of Art Collecting Classes, please visit his website. You can also read The New York Times article about his classes here.


___________

Edward Goldman is an art critic and the host of Art Talk, a program on art and culture for NPR affiliate KCRW 89.9 FM. To listen to the complete show and hear Edward's charming Russian accent, click here.

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13 Dream-Related Stories by H.P. Lovecraft

May 26, 2015, 6:38 pm

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H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a prolific American author of poems, short stories and novellas in the horror/fantasy genre. Although he died in poverty and obscurity, he has since been recognized as one of the most influential writers of "weird fiction" since Edgar Allen Poe. In 2005 an edition with several of Lovecraft's Tales was published by the eminent Library of America, in recognition of his enormous impact on contemporary fantasy literature.

One of the most powerful sources of his creativity came from his dreams and nightmares. The following is a list of 13 of Lovecraft's most dream-infused stories, with the dates he wrote them in parentheses. I will be giving a more detailed presentation on Lovecraft's dreams and writings at the upcoming conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

1. The Tomb (1917), his first adult story, a tale of someone practicing dream incubation next to, and then inside of, a decrepit mausoleum.

2. Dagon (1917), a "captive at sea" story from World War I, with the narrator finding a strange oozing island with ancient stone carvings of a horrible fish-god, Dagon. HPL said the imagery of the island was partly inspired by a dream.

3. Polaris (1918), inspired by a personal dream of "floating over a strange city." The narrator in the story makes it his goal to go back to that city night after night in his dreams, and eventually he takes physical form there and becomes a trusted guard in the city's security forces. But then he falls asleep in that world and wakes up in this one; he feels acute guilt over abandoning his post in the city of dreams and leaving them vulnerable to attack, and wishes he could awaken out of the nightmare of this current reality, back in the strange city.

4. Beyond the Wall of Sleep (1919), set at a mental hospital where an uneducated, low-born murderer is plagued by alien entities attacking him in his nightmares, revealing spheres of reality far beyond his ordinary knowledge. Some hi-tech electrical gadgetry allows an intern to enter into the murder's dream world, contact those entities, and learn about what lies beyond the wall of sleep.

5. The Statement of Randolph Carter (1919) is an only slightly altered transcription of one of Lovecraft's personal dreams, which made him wonder, "have I the right to claim authorship of things I dream?"

6. Celephais (1920) tells of a magical city created by Kuranes, a man from London whose dreams enable him to create a more meaningful and vibrant reality than his current shabby urban existence.

7. Nyarlathotep (1920), another story that essentially transcribes an especially powerful dream Lovecraft experienced. Nyarlathotep, also known as "the Crawling Chaos," is a trickster magician who lures people into madness, and he is mentioned in several other HPL stories.

8. Hypnos (1922), about a sculptor who fears sleep and tries to fend it off for as long as possible, until he finally collapses and becomes swept away in the vividness of his imaginary creations.

9. The Call of Cthulhu (1926), one of his best known tales, about a secret cult devoted to an ancient race of monstrous aliens, the Old Ones, who ruled over earth long ago and now sleep in the depths of earth and sea, generating strange dreams in the minds of sensitive people, until the day they awaken to rise up and destroy humankind. Cthulhu is one of the Old Ones (Cthulhu fhtagn means "Cthulhu is dreaming"), and the story follows the apprehensive protagonist as he tracks down the clues of strange dreams and nightmares from people all over the world, pointing to the imminent return of these cosmic malignancies. This story is an early instance, albeit fictional, of systematic cross-cultural dream research.

10. The Silver Key (1926), is a quasi-autobiographical tale in which the narrator loses the key to dreaming, but then regains it and once again returns in sleep to the wonders of childhood memory. (As a biographical note, Lovecraft moved out of New York and back to Providence in 1926.)

11. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1927), with his alter-ego Randolph Carter as protagonist once again, is an elaborately detailed adventure in the land of dreams that brings together all the dream themes and images from his previous works: strange cities, dark tombs, flying Night-Gaunts, heroic cats, the kingdom of Celephais, the dreamer Kuranes, the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep, the power of lucid dreaming, and the saving grace of childhood reveries. It is one of Lovecraft's longest stories, and one of the few that has a happy ending.

12. The Evil Clergyman (1933), published after Lovecraft's death, a direct narrative from one of his dreams about finding himself in the book-lined attic of an old house where he encounters, and ultimately becomes possessed by, a malevolent supernatural man in clerical garb.

13. The Shadow Out of Time (1935), among the last stories he wrote, draws directly on his lifelong experiences of shifting identities and merging personalities in dreaming.

The best source of information on Lovecraft's dreams come in his letters, several of which have been helpfully excerpted and edited by S.T. Joshi, Will Murray, and David E. Schultz in The H.P. Lovecraft Dream Book (West Warwick: Necronomicon Press, 1994). More information about Lovecraft's writings can be found at the H.P. Lovecraft Archive.

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The Coney Art Walls: First Three Completed and Summer Begins

May 27, 2015, 6:42 am

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Summer Just Got More Fun in N.Y.C. as Coney Island Reinvents Itself Again

You know the scene: cotton candy, blasting music, bold font signs, city beach, sticky fingers, tattoos, carnival barkers, roller coaster barfing, stolen kisses under the boardwalk, big bellied men with their shirts off, giggling girls in flip-flops smelling like coconut sunscreen, garbage on the sand, mermaids, Porta Potties, stuffed animals, concrete, cigars, hot dogs, butts, boobs, lipstick, screaming, flashing old-timey light bulbs, kids passed out in strollers, boozy Romeos, sketchy snake oil salesmen, aerosol painted walls by New York's old-skool graff writers.

That last part is now in effect, actually.


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Instead of being hunted down for catching a tag or bubble-lettered throw-up, a couple dozen graffiti/street art painters are invited to hit up Coney Island this summer -- and since we've just marked the unofficial first weekend of summer in New York -- we're bringing you the first three freshly completed pieces.

Part of "Coney Art Walls", the muralists began taking the train out to this seaside paved paradise that is re-inventing itself once again, this time courtesy of art curator Jeffrey Deitch.


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)

While the sun was still struggling to get a handle on summer, we captured the early crew hitting up the temporary two-sided walls outside and inside the compound that will share space with food vendors, picnic tables and a stage for music performances. Some brought family while they worked and a few even took a ride on the Cyclone with Martha Cooper just to scream their heads off. The artist lineup is looking stellar, with golden names predominantly associated with New York's '70s and '80s graff heyday sprinkled with a few of the current street art contenders, but you never know what is popping up next, or who. It's Coney Island after all.

Here are the first three completed murals with the Tats Cru twins How & Nosm leading the pace, followed by Crash and Daze.


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)


The one and only Martha Cooper shooting How & Nosm at work. (photo © Jaime Rojo)


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)


How & Nosm (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Daze (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Daze (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Daze (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash. The inspiration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash. The sketch. (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Crash (photo © Jaime Rojo)


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Nitza Melas, a Greek Muse!

May 27, 2015, 6:44 am

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Nitza Melas was born in Montreal, Canada but her stage is the world, having performed all over. She has attained star status in Japan, produced and co-produced numerous CDs, been named "World Music Artist of the Year" at the Los Angeles Music Awards and has worked with the musician, magician and television performer, Criss Angel, on Cirque du Soleil's "Believe" which was instrumental in cementing her reputation and augmenting her trove of awards.

Nitza Melas, the woman with the celestial voice and ethereal presence onstage, recently released her latest CD, "Musa," a fusion of American pop, Greek folk, and Japanese music. Melas may perform in clubs around the world and teach vocals while residing for long stretches in Japan, but in heart and thought she remains purely Greek!

What made you decide to pursue a career in music?
Music permeated my household from a young age as both my parents were musically inclined. My Dad is an adept bouzouki player and singer who had his own band in Montreal, "Ta Paidia tou Pirea," and Mom was a wonderful singer and theater buff.

How did it all start?

Witnessing the connecting force that music had in my home between relatives and friends was the first gravitational pull. Whether for celebrations or nostalgia of the homeland, music seemed to express, communally and individually, the emotions of all.

How did you land the job with Cirque de Soleil?

The man behind Cirque, Guy Laliberte, walked in on one of my performances in Japan and asked if I would be interested in performing at some of his special events. Shortly afterwards, he offered me the opening act of his initial musical arena tour. It was the first time that an artist with the troupe would be billed under her own name and perform her own original compositions.

How many shows have you performed for Cirque de Soleil?

In the arena tour, "Delirium," I performed 167 times in North America and with Criss Angel's "Believe," in Las Vegas, I stopped counting after the 400th show. The special events department is the one I am mostly involved with these days. Creative teams plan unique performances all over the world, creating an intense, creative and generous environment to share our talents with each other and with the audience.

You are highly influenced by Greek music but also by Japanese sounds. How is it that you can marry classic, western and eastern cultures in your work?

Fortunately, for all of us, music has no borders. Part of being a generous artist is sharing what you know well and allowing for others to reciprocate. When dogmatic attitudes are abandoned, the ebb and flow occurs naturally. It is bereft of science and relies more on intuition, respect and generosity of spirit.

Your latest cd is called "Musa" and is a mix of influences from the three worlds you cherish, North America, Greece and Japan. Which one do you adore the most?

As I love each culture for what it offers me, I have no favorite. There is no utopia for an artist who grew up in a microcosm (Greek) inside another microcosm (French Canada). I am very comfortable being different and yet, by some osmosis, finding myself feeling comfortable in my own skin in foreign lands. Some immigrant children feel a lack of belonging their entire lives but I tend to feel that I am a citizen of the world and that the fabric of my makeup is interwoven with ideas, tastes and attitudes from various influences. I adopt what attributes I admire and reject whatever doesn't suit me.

How are you planning to stage this latest work of music which needs to be visualized?

Twice a year, I teach at KCG University in Japan. There are some incredibly talented students at KCG who are generously lending their time to create visuals for this project. The excitement of not knowing the end result is part of the adventure and creative process.

What are your feelings about Greece?

Greece is what swims softly in the cells of my body, resonating and reacting viscerally inside me once I step off the plane. I sit by the sea as I write, listening to the waves, under a starlit sky in the silence of a small village in Mani, and feel inner peace.

How did you develop your deep relationship with Japan?

Japan is a land that has welcomed me and respected me and, then, adopted me. It continues to allow me to dream unabashedly and I feel possibility and generosity everywhere. Japan is my lucky charm!

Are you planning to work with Cirque de Soleil again as a solo performer?

With Guy Laliberte anything is possible!

Do you have any plans for a concert in Greece?

I am quite positive that performing in Greece is in the cards for me. The right opportunity must simply present itself.

Who is Nitza Melas today?

She is still the little girl who wants to make music and travel the world.

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Gayan Prageeth's "Extravagance" - A Witty Portrayal of Sri Lanka's Political Carnival

May 27, 2015, 6:45 am

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As Sri Lanka marks six years since the end of a bloody war, looking at the country's post-war political realities through art


The post-war Sri Lanka witnessed "an unraveling of a political carnival, I was inspired by this, and the extravagance that it attempted to project. This collection captures this 'extravagance'" says Sri Lankan artist Gayan Prageeth, whom I met at Colombo's Saskia Fernando Gallery on a rainy Wednesday afternoon to talk about his latest collection of paintings, 'Extravagance'. The very use of the term 'carnival' instantly drew me into this conversation and I wanted to know more. And so we began to talk about some sensitive political realities Sri Lanka has been grappling within the post-war era. This article is based on this conversation, and expands into my personal analysis of the artist's collection.

The term carnival reminded me of the Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin's famous "Carnival and Carnivalesque", a critique of the medieval carnival. Unlike medieval carnivals, which were literally celebratory gatherings that took place in public squares, Sri Lanka's very own political carnival was not exactly a carnival in its literal sense, but invites a satirical interpretation. This political carnival exposits the celebration, glamour, extravagance perpetrated through political maneuvering - through practices, norms, development agendas, and more severely through the careful conditioning of the public mind.

Bakhtin wrote that medieval carnivals created alternative social spaces, characterized by freedom, equality and abundance. The inception of Mahinda Rajapaksa regime, with the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka, was similarly a ritualised pageantry that made people believe in such deliverance. It was a brief escape from furrows [the war] and an enactment of utopian freedom and emancipation, with a defining feature of festivity and extravagance. Numerous victory songs played on the radio, flags raised in every street corner, and brilliant speeches made about democracy, accompanied by the taste of warm kiribath, and the celebratory burst of firecrackers were an indication of this festivity. These ideologically motivated festivities were followed by ambitious development projects. This political farce is not new to Sri Lanka, but a continuation or an evolution of an age old tradition.



Floating Rock, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 244 x 122cm

Gayan Prageeth's Floating Rock--a painting of an enormous boulder floating in the water like a dried gourd--demystifies the magnitude of the political carnival, great expectations which were raised, promises delivered, and the monolithic political vision of the former regime. The very fact that this boulder is floating indicates that even though it shows strength from the outside, it is hollow inside. It pretends to be something that it is not; its appearance is misleading.

To me, this painting captures the political grotesqueness, the incompleteness and the disruption of expectations. The grotesqueness epitomizes the accumulation of state power, militarization, ad-saturated democratic process, rights abuses, and colossal development projects such as harbors, airports, highways, luxury shopping arcades which displaced thousands of people. These projects have left us--as a country--mired in debt amounting to billions of dollars.



Diya-wanna?, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 122 x 145cm

The painting Diya-wanna? depicts the parliamentary building of Sri Lanka -- an architectural marvel which is Colombo's little showroom for democracy. Inside this architectural wonder are the representatives of the people - or so they are called - reducing this nationally significant building to a bear-pit as they sense blood, get to their feet or rock their chairs, shout, bray, laugh, stamp, point fingers at each other, and lose each other's voice in a bedlam. The flock of crows painted over the parliamentary building is symbolic of this.

To me, it also signifies the excessive powers wielded by hierarchical institutions such as the parliament and the high court [painting Court/Caught?] --a kind of power that seems proportionate against the greater 'evil of collapse' and things going out of control, in other terms people's revolt and critical consciousness. We have seen the erosion of justice and human rights owing to the atrocities of the State, military, and police. The mayhem that took place in Rathupaswala, where lives were claimed to silence the people who were demanding their basic right for clean drinking water is one such example; the autocratic impeachment of the chief justice is another.

In the two paintings, the colourful walls of boxes are an indication of how carefully this reality is being hidden from the public, through glossy media campaigns and charismatic speeches among other methods of maneuvering.



Court/Caught?, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 94 x 145cm




Climax, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 96.5 x 147.2cm

Gayan's paintings Climax, and What are you trying to hide? cleverly captures the surge of Sinhala Buddhist ethno-nationalism in post-war Sri Lanka and anti-Muslim hate campaigns gaining ground among the Sinhala population. In the recent past, we have witnessed campaigns against halal, attacks on mosques and Muslim businesses, spread of hate speech, intimidation and threats. The bloodshed that took place in Aluthgama is one such example.

Sri Lanka, as a country, has a history of periodic nationalist mobilisations, essentially due to the country's ethnocratic democracy which is ruled by the Sinhala majority.

The painting Climax is a portrayal of a young male attempting to hide his nakedness behind a heavy bouquet of blue water lilies - the national flower of Sri Lanka - which could be interpreted as metaphoric of overbearing nationalism, and shameless attempts to hide everything that is ugly behind patriotism and nationalism.

Also, blue water lily is symbolic to the previous regime; we have seen its overuse in political campaigns, on the television, on billboards - larger than life - in every street corner.



What are You Trying to Hide?, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 101.5 x 152.5cm




What are You Trying to Hide? I, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 101.5 x 152.5cm



The Primrose Path II, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 125.5 x 145.5cm

The outpouring of Sinhala Buddhist nationalist tropes central to gender identity and roles such as 'good Sri Lankan woman', 'ideal Sinhalese woman' and 'good Buddhist woman' has been gaining momentum within post-war Sri Lanka. This stems from a familial ideology that has extended its tentacles through the State, political and administrative institutions, and powerful extremist organizations.

"The woman provides a solid foundation to the family as well as to society. She devotes her life to raise children, manage the family budget and ensure peace in the family..." - as stated in the election manifesto of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which was also the formal policy framework of the previous government.

With the previous regime coming into power, there was a momentous repudiation of the reproductive rights within the country. The ethno-nationalist ideology on the role of the Sinhala Buddhist woman prefigures her as the biological reproducer of the nation. Extremist Buddhist groups have been vocal about the supposedly diminishing Sinhala race and the need of--for want of a better term--greater propagation of the Sinhala race.

As a response to this, we have witnessed the [previous] government shutting down abortion clinics across the country, including the institutions providing emergency menstrual regulation by certified medical professionals. In 2013, Ministry of Health sent a circular to all government hospitals and private institutions, and non-governmental organizations banning all irreversible birth control procedures. Also, some extremist groups were offering financial schemes to support Sinhala Buddhist families with five or more children.

Such attacks launched on gender identity and roles by the ethno-nationalist project have been accepted and internalized by some sections of the general public, in some cases by women themselves. The continuing rise of violence of all forms against women and the demeaning treatment of female identity are the results of such mainstreamed and institutionalized prejudice.



Passion, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 122 x 145cm




The Pond of Dreams?, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 145cm


Gayan's "Pond of Dreams" is my personal favorite out of the collection. It captures much of the reality of Colombo's colossal beautification blueprint. The pond or the fish tank in this painting belongs to a glossy new shopping arcade, built by the previous regime, with every nook, cranny and corner breathing luxury in the middle of the Colombo city, with manicured lawns, water fountains, and floors paved with cobblestones. A citizen who contributed to a previous essay that I wrote about Colombo's beautification described this as "a development placebo, an attempt to cover up many other serious issues in the country".

This is an attempt to hide the beaten, banged and mutilated under layers of a sprawling city, to conceal the quiet menace of poverty that stains the city's glistening skyline. This space epitomizes the linear, monolithic, and militarized vision for development, creating prisons of consumerism, obliterating all connections with broader and much more important development issues, while instigating control and social polarization.

As cleverly captured by Gayan, the man in the painting resembles a citizen of the country, mesmerized by such beautification, comes from far away to watch, to observe. But little does he know about the burden of such luxury, such extravagance and such festivity. Everything about such spaces has a price tag on it.

To me, this man also signifies the hundreds of thousands of people who had their homes demolished and were driven out of their lands, so that city malls, luxury hotels, apartment complexes, and highways could take over their share of the land. These are the shadow people, who live in the cracks of neoliberal institutions and trickledown gentrification, whose basic rights to a land are snatched away from them. These are the people who are not even remotely included in any of these colossal and glossy development projects, and probably do not even realize the burden on their tax money. If you look closely at the painting, you will notice that the man has his eyes closed and hands tied, indicating that neither can he see nor touch, nor sense this political grotesqueness, nor can he change the system that has crushed his agency.

***

Mikhail Bakhtin writes that the central ritualistic act of the carnival is the false coronation and deposition of the carnival king. In January 2015, we the Sri Lankans, deposed one king and crowned ourselves as the citizens of the country, with all the colourful festivity - seemingly a demolition of hierarchal barriers, and losing of privileges of the authoritarians and the dominant discourse. As Bakhtin puts, it is "the world standing on its head", the world upside down. During the medieval times it was the clown, fool or the slave who were coronated, only to be shamefully deposed later. Similarly, one can be skeptical, that it is only a matter of time, within this 'political carnival', we the citizens realize that this is only a make belief, a temporary coronation, with no realistic basis to it - yet again a disruption of expectations. One can only hope that it wouldn't be the case...

The author wishes to thank artist Gayan Prageeth for an insightful interview, and Shanika Perera at Saskia Fernando Gallery for her support.

The pictures were obtained with the permission of the artist.

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An Afternoon With Scott Jurek

May 27, 2015, 8:55 am

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Photo Credit: Casey Atkins

"Scott Jurek is a veritable demigod in the sport of ultrarunning,"  (Tim Ferriss)

We all have moments when we want to give up. When pressure or pain becomes too high, it feels natural to throw in the towel. But it is going that extra mile that divides victors from losers. When Scott Jurek, world-famous athlete and dedicated vegan, visited Harvard Business School last week, his fireside chat with Jose B. Alvarez, HBS senior lecturer, revealed lessons that will make you go that extra mile.

What makes runners run for very long distances? As one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, Scott is an authority to answer that question. His main discussion focused on the connection between diet, health and the environmental footprint. But I will uncover and share three hidden lessons from his talk that will help you go that extra mile.

Isn't it ironic? Scott used to hate running. He said that he saw it as something one did as part of punishment in gym class. What changed his outlook was when his mother had multiple sclerosis. So when he was 20 years old he began running. Fast forward twenty years later, Scott has won many of the sport's most prestigious races multiple times.

However, it is easy to extrapolate from the past to the future. It is easy to think that if you were not good about something in the past, it will continue that way. But that is dangerous thinking. Whatever you hated or sucked at in in the past should have no bearing on your future. If you started late, who cares. Better start late than never. Focus on the present. Focus on what you can do. Step by step.

Over the years as Scott ran across the world's most amazing places, he began to care more about the environment. He described the production of animal products is rather inefficient. That's what explains his plant-based diet.

But his call for a plant-based diet is also a disguised call to think about the long-term. It has helped him to stay youthful and maintain longevity. He has been running for twenty years. Thanks to his diet and lifestyle, Scott has quicker recovery and more energy. "What matters is what happens 5-10 years down the line," Scott emphasized. And he is still able to compete with the younger folks.

"90 percent of my sport is mental, and the other 10 percent is mental, too," Scott half-jokingly said. When he cannot physically press on, he plays mental tricks on himself. If you break the larger picture into smaller chunks, all of a sudden it is becoming more manageable. Instead of focusing on the next 10 miles, focus on the next mile, he advised.

Yoga and meditation has helped him to go that extra mile. "When I am in a situation, turning to my breathing helped me to stay focused," he said. By focusing on breathing, one eliminates the noise. All those voices that tell you that you can't.

These tricks can be quite simple. "Inhale for four seconds, hold for seven, and exhale for eight," he suggested. That way  through a simple breathing technique  you control your mental outlook and focus.

You have to put yourself in tough situations, he said. Modern life has become easy, and putting yourself in tough situations practices that old age six sense or primal instinct. You have to put yourself out there. And getting out and putting his body physically at a discomfort is the best policy he knows.

And if you really want to turn vegetarian consider this: You have to add to your diet, and not just eliminate. Many people don't think about adding new food. But it is kep to be open to new tastes. You have to make it fun and adding flavors makes it more fun. Add one food to your weekly routine, he suggested. Don't be afraid to experiment, especially when you travel.

Three simple lessons. Don't be impaired by your past; think long-term, and eliminate the noise. An interesting question Scott asked himself was why people climb mountains. It is the ultimate human question, he answered. "The lost art of human survival," he added. But he did not have the answer himself. That made me curious. Live strong, live long.

This piece was originally published as an op-ed at The Harbus, the student newspaper of the Harvard Business School.

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The Summer of Doug Aitken Arrives in Europe

May 27, 2015, 9:25 am

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By Justin Quirk, May 27, 2015

This summer marks a significant point in the career of American artist Doug Aitken as three major European galleries exhibit his work.

Creating what his gallery term "fine art installations," and roaming across a wide range of media, techniques and subjects, Aitken's work has been difficult to categorize. But taken together, these three shows should give the unacquainted viewer a full overview of who he is, what he does and why his work is so significant.

First, there is a show of new work at Aitken's London gallery, Victoria Miro. Specially conceived for the Mayfair site, this "constellation" of five works looks at the idea of time as experienced through different senses and is focused around "Eyes closed, wide awake (Sonic Fountain II)," a sculpture made up of water and sound.

While the Victoria Miro show is running, Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt will further explore Aitken's output, giving the entire gallery space over to four film installations, related sculptures and a sound installation specifically created for the Kunsthalle. Meanwhile, late June sees the only international edition of "Station To Station," Aitken's 30-day living exhibition, where art is spontaneously created at the venue by the participants that he has bought together for his temporary residency.

Although this show is less of a pure Aitken exhibition than the other two, the participants are perhaps the best guides when seeking to locate the artist within the creative universe. While other visual artists appear (Martin Creed, Olafur Eliasson, Ed Ruscha), there are also contributors from the world of music (Suicide, Terry Riley, Boredoms), film (Joanna Hogg), sculpture (Urs Fischer), photography (Stephen Shore) and typography (Lawrence Weiner) among others.

A week before the creative gathering starts, the Barbican will show "Station to Station: the Feature Film" in its UK public premiere. This is a collection of 62 one-minute-long films recording what happened in the project's earlier incarnation in 2013, when Aitken's "kinetic light sculpture" train traveled from the east to the west coast of America over 24 days and ten stops in a high speed modern road trip. The art that occurred at each point -- Ed Ruscha exploring the American landscape, Beck performing with a gospel choir in the desert etc. -- makes up a snapshot of a particular moment in American art and highlight exactly where Aitken sits in relation to it. Part-curator, part-patron, this is a very modern portrait of the artist.

At Victoria Miro Mayfair, June 12 - July 31st.
At Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, July 9 - September 27th.
At Barbican, London, June 27th- July 26th.

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-- Justin Quirk is an ARTPHAIRE contributor and the Editorial Director of HOUSE magazine, as well as a contributor to The Guardian, Esquire, Shortlist, Stylist, Grazia and The Sunday Telegraph. Quirk is based in London and explores the writing world in the realm of arts and culture.



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Birth of a Lion and the Great American Bildungsroman

May 27, 2015, 10:00 am

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Arma virumque cano
- Virgil ; The Aeneid Book 1, Line 1

I was in Philadelphia all day on Saturday. I went to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in the morning, the Italian Markets, Reading Terminal, the Barnes Foundation, and Chinatown in the afternoon, and saw The Lion King at the Academy of Music in the evening. It was, in short, an absolutely incredible day.

As I was thoroughly enjoying The Lion King in such a regal theater as The Academy of Music, I became aware of how interesting it was that my Saturday, on Memorial Day weekend no less, was book-ended by themes of Freedom, Truth, Liberty, and Justice and all within the context of two great bildungsromans, otherwise known as coming of age stories - the transformation of Simba from a lion cub to a lion king and the recondite story of 13 disparate colonies unifying into one great nation. I even began to realize how these two bildungsromans highlight and compliment each other in interesting ways.

Independence Hall is a miraculous and sacred site where ordinary, awful, imperfect, and yet still splendid and inspired men came together and wrestled with how to actually birth not just any nation, but a land that stands for truth, liberty, and universality. But of course, in the end, life complicates even the best of intentions - there are always compromises to be made. Imperfections and discord settle themselves into the roots and constitutions of all things. However granular or obtuse as they may be, they seem to never-the-less grind deep into the fabric of our masterpieces. On September 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin closed the deliberations at the Constitutional Convention by stating:

I confess, that I do not entirely approve of this Constitution at present; but Sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it...Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution, because I expect no better, and because I am not sure that it is not the best.

And so the ripples begin to fan out further. Time and space continue marching themselves forward, and we are caught in both their wake and current simultaneously. We are creator and we are created. Victor and victim. As we blaze every new trail, so too do new mountains form before us in the distance.

Disney's The Lion King Musical is a spectacular work of art. Theatrically it is epic and poetic. Musically it is deeply stirring and vibrant. Visually it is masterfully and brilliantly designed and choreographed. There are very good reasons it earned so many nominations and awards. I highly recommend it for children of all ages.

In case you've been hiding under a rock since 1994, when The Lion King first came out in movie theaters, it is basically a coming of age story that in most respects has the story-line of Hamlet but is set on the African Savannah and the main characters are lions and other safari animals. The turning point of the story is when Simba has what is known in the world of literary criticism as a moment of anagnorisis. He realizes and admits to himself that he is in fact the living son of Mufasa and the rightful heir to the throne. He overcomes and banishes all doubt and fear that he may be harboring inside himself that would deny his true identity. He "comes of age" as it were and journeys forth onto his next quest to challenge his evil uncle Scar and restore peace, abundance, and blessing to all the kingdom. It was at this time in the musical, this moment of anagnorisis for Simba, that I began to connect the events of my day together.

I flashed down Broad Street, flew through City Hall, made a right onto Market Street then onto 6th and Chestnut and bam! There I was in the unassuming rooms of Independence Hall again. There was George Read's walking stick sitting on an 18th century wooden table beside an inkwell and a feather quill. There was the regal yet still austere wooden chair for George Washington to preside - a beaming sun carved at the top of it, now rising before all the assembly. And then across the street, I recalled the photo of Martin Luther King Jr. standing beside the great crack of the Liberty Bell. And here I was sitting in orchestra seats at the Academy of Music with Simba and the great African landscape rich and magical dancing and singing before me and hundreds of others. The cast of actors on stage were all beautiful and black, powerful, joyful, and wise. What a testimony for who we truly are! What a blessing for this great nation - a nation where only a few blocks away from me and some couple hundred years ago, slavery had not only been defended but legally codified. And now this. Now The Lion King. The transformation and accomplishment is staggering. A great bildungsroman living and breathing, dynamic and developing before our very eyes. A blessing ever alive, ever available for each human and every generation that lives. Anything is truly possible given time and a genuine desire for Truth.

Yet even still, as I sat in awe and wonder of America swirling and singing before me and all around me, I listened again to Simba. I watched him gaze into magic waters and see his father appear to him in a vision. The Great Mufasa - King of the Jungle. I observed Simba, for a time, still doubtful and fearful of his own true self. I saw how he, with help from a wise, playful baboon, came to his senses, and realigned with his faith and courage. His dignity and love for the Truth, for himself, and for all those that loved him surged again, and he was whole and powerful, able to attempt and perhaps accomplish great feats mighty and true. He was transformed into himself anew. And then I thought of us, of America, of our politicians today, and the state of our nation. And yes it is true - I found hope again. But it is not a hope springing from anything that I see or hear or even sense radiating from those in power. It is instead a hope founded on truth - the truth which I witnessed before me with Simba and with The Lion King and Mitchell, the National Parks Ranger who guided and spoke to me and 30 others at Independence Hall. I saw that all darkness has its place. That evil times call for even finer and more powerful virtues. Greatness lives forevermore in each man and woman and in all things evermore. Our intelligence, tolerance, ingenuity, and courage memorialize more interminably that which is the best of ourselves. The ways in which we care for each other and nourish our creativity are the more lasting memorials of each individual, each nation, including this America. Without living truths, all monuments across the land are vacant and hollowed out. Their sound and resonance muffled perhaps even lost to our ears and Souls when struck.

In As You Like It Shakespeare has the wise and clownish Jacques state "All the world's a stage". Jacques goes on to describe the seven ages of man, and in doing so maps out his own comedic bildungsroman ranging from birth to young lover to middle age mediocrity and eventually returning again to helpless infancy and death. Truth is often best swallowed with honey. Regardless of how dark the night becomes, it is pivotal for both an individual as well as a nation to realize this too has its place. That this darkness proves its true purpose. We can use even this to cultivate growth, transformation, transcendence. When the curtain of this great "world stage" drops, there will be a moment of pause and anticipation, and just as the curtain rises again and the play's cast reappear, so too shall we all once again reveal ourselves and celebrate the roles we've played, the pains and joys we've now endured, the insights we've come to attain. All will be shared. All will be applauded. A standing ovation may be in order. Another Act in this nation's play has begun. The arc is ever nigh. The turning point always fast approaching. The deeper anagnorisis is readied and stilled for us to look upon, if we so desire. We are all here, and we will all triumph together as well as individually. We all have our parts to play. And each man, woman, and child must chart life as they see fit - and they do. We all already live the life we were born to live. We are all hearing the round of applause for our performances - continually memorialized in time and space. We shall rise again for another day, for another transformation, and for an even louder, more resonant roar of the great lion within.

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