Monday, December 26, 2011

It's Saint Stephen's Day- Where's Rembrandt?

Where's Rembrandt? There he is, right above St. Stephen's head in this close-up of Rembrandt's painting The Stoning of St. Stephen, shown below.









Saul (later to become Paul) is depicted on his horse to the left as St. Stephen is stoned by the angry mob.










Today, December 26th, is celebrated in the Western Christian Church as St. Stephen's Day or Feast of St. Stephen. It is a celebration of St. Stephen-the first Christian martyr. He was a deacon who was put on trial after being accused of blasphemy against Moses and God. He was taken to the outskirts of town by an angry mob led by Saul of Tarsus, who would later become the Apostle Paul. Under Saul's persuasion, the infuriated mob stoned St. Stephen to death creating the Protomartyr. Over the years, I have heard of St. Stephen...his name is on many Churches and there is even a town in South Carolina bearing his name, but I never really knew the reason for his celebration. He is the Patron Saint of stone masons, coffin builders, widows (whom he served as a deacon), horses, and is also the Patron Saint against headaches.




The Stoning of Saint Stephen (shown above) is a painting by the famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt. Identified in 1780, it is not considered a great work of art, but is of importance because it is Rembrandt's earliest known dated painting, done when he was probably 18 or 19 years old. This wooden panel painting lay in a storage room in the French Museum of Lyons and was attributed only to the "school" of Rembrandt, probably due to it's skill level. Eventually, two Dutch scholars took matters into their own hands, suspecting Rembrandt to be it's true author. They simply had a corner cleaned and revealed the monogram of Rembrandt and a date of 1625. This painting has another first: possibly the first self-portrait of the artist. If you look directly above St. Stephen's head you will see him in all his "Where's Waldo" mode...it's young Rembrandt. Rembrandt would complete apx. 90 self portraits during his life time and his face appears in at least 5 works as a spectator or participant of the action. It has been suggested that Rembrandt's face in the St. Stephen painting serves as a element of disapproval as he is taken aback by what is occurring. But Rembrandt's appearance in his many paintings is not to be taken as a sign of an over active vanity as he had a merciless and very penetrating view of himself. In his quest for understanding of mankind, he found it necessary to begin with his own soul searching and honest portrayal of his likeness. His self portraits presented himself without vanity and with utmost sincerity (a characteristic easily "fudged" in paintings- the original Photoshop).


Rembrandt's "stoning" painting also demonstrates the technique of chiaroscuro which is an Italian term meaning light/dark. The artist uses the interplay of light and shadow to create a mysterious depth. In this painting, Saul is in the dark while the martyr, St. Stephen, is in the light. Chiaroscuro continues to be used today, even in cinema. Look at images from the Stanley Kubrick movie, Barry Lyndon, for an excellent example. In fact, Kubrick used this technique in all his films.








Rembrandt's Self Portrait With A Cap With Eyes Wide Open sketched in 1630, when he was about 24. An honest portrayal of his likeness.





A painting of St. Stephen done on a Demidoff altar piece by Carlo Crivelli. Notice St. Stephen's Saint attributes (symbols used by an artist to let the viewer know who he is looking at)-the three stones on his head and the palm of martyrdom.













Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas Eve

"All Is Calm, All Is Bright" by photographer, Stephanie Laird


Christmas Eve wishes to all the Blue Ghost viewers- all 17,000+ from all over the world. Peace, Love, and Happiness to each and every one.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Norman Maclean, Haunted By Waters


The beautiful Chattooga River: if this river doesn't speak to you, then none probably will.

Norman Maclean (1902-1990) was born on this day in Iowa in 1902. He was the firefighter, fly fisher and storyteller who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel, A River Runs Through It. Whenever I visit the Chattooga River and look under a rock, I think of this quote from the book:

"Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."












I've had my mind on fishing again. When talking to a friend about fly-fishing recently, he explained to me..."it's not the fish, it's the water." I too, feel haunted by waters, Norman.





Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fascinating Ambiguity: Christmas Still Life From Walter Tandy Murch

Urn (& Lights), 1945 by Walter Tandy Murch. Our family had this type of Christmas lights on our tree when I was young. I think this still life would make a good Christmas card...as the Christmas season is sometimes a little ambiguous.

I love this still life by Canadian born painter, Walter Tandy Murch (1907-1967). Murch combined realism with abstraction, as his subjects ranged from machinery, bricks, clocks and broken dolls. It is his mysterious and eccentric juxtapositions that create his fascinating ambiguity and I agree with the art critic, Clement Greenburg, that "ambiguity is precisely one of the largest sources of pleasure in art."





Self Portrait With Glasses, 1960.






Thursday, December 15, 2011

Clear Sailing, Little Chibley


Chibley, the polydactyl sea cat, shows off her extra toes while taking a bath on board the Picton Castle.


I had the pleasure of discovering the story of Chibley after having a discussion about cats who go to sea and why so many of them are polydactyl, which means they have a genetic condition which blesses them with extra toes. Many people are familiar with polydactyl cats as "Hemingway Cats". Hemingway loved these big footed felines and the story goes that he obtained his first polydactyl cat as a gift from a sea captain in Key West. There is still an abundance of these cats in Key West and along the east coast...supposedly because they were brought to shore on ships from England and Wales. They have always been popular and considered lucky as ship's cats and a discussion with a sea captain as to why this is so disclosed the following two reasons: he said 1) they are excellent mousers because of the extra dexterity of their paws and 2) they have better balance on ship because their larger feet give them a bigger platform to stand on at sea.






Well Chibley is a polydactyl cat with quite a story. She was the ship's cat for the tall ship, Picton Castle for almost 15 years. Miss Chibley Bits (her full name) was a member of the Picton's crew from the beginning, embarking on its first world voyage in 1997 after she adopted the ship's Captain, Dan Moreland. She logged over 250,000 sea miles and sailed around the world five times.



The Picton Castle was built in 1928 and was named after a real castle in Pembrokeshire Wales. It was built as a fishing trawler, then used in WWII by the Royal Navy as a minesweeper. It was brought back to life in 1997 under Captain Moreland and now travels around the world as a working tall ship, conducting sail training voyages. It is based in Lunenburg, Novia Scotia. You can sign up to become part of the crew for 4 or 6 months, or as little as two weeks. They will be starting a new Atlantic voyage next year and will be stopping in Charleston, SC...probably for Harborfest.


Chibley would be given free range to go ashore when the ship would come into port and then almost magically show up to get back on board ship shortly before sailing. But last November on a dark stormy evening in Lunenburg, Chibley was stuck and killed by a car while she and the Captain were trying to cross the street in front of the Captain's house in order to board ship. A funeral and elegy was held for Miss Chibley


Chibley resting with Robert on board the Picton Castle not long before her death. What a great life she had and what a great pleasure she was to many others.



and Captain Moreland wrote in his log: "It is also easy for us to attribute too many human qualities to a cat and suggest that she was more human than cat but I think the reverse is more likely the truth-she was pure cat and her influence on her shipmates was that she turned them into more cat-like souls" He added "people say we could have been more careful, but then they didn't know Chibley. Chibley did as she wished-and so did you." I find these words to be some of the wisest ever spoken on why cats are so special. At Chibley's funeral, Captain Moreland summed it up..."Well she lived as she chose and she sailed a course on the track of her own making. Would that we could say the same." A picture of another polydactyl cat (not Miss Chibley) that really shows some extra toes.










Saturday, December 10, 2011

Robert Frost's Road: The Not So Simple Truth






Usually, I am just so glad to see poetry referenced or read that it matters very little what the reader finds in a poem. But enough is enough with this one and I feel we owe it to Robert Frost to at least try to get readers with the program here; after all, he was a man who worked hard at articulating big truths at a time when we were more concerned with perfecting the big lie. Also, Frost's message is so much better than the interpretation by those with an undiscerning eye who mistakenly use this poem to represent the encouragement of self-reliance and not following where others have led. His message is actually close to the opposite. Frost said himself "you have to be careful of that one; it's tricky-very tricky." But it is not so very tricky if you read it-really read it as poetry deserves to be read. There is no road less traveled and he tells us this plainly as he examines his paths saying they were really worn about the same...it will only become the less traveled road "somewhere ages and ages hence" when he tells his story with a "sigh." In other words, he knows right now that some time in the future he will give credit to the path he took as making all the difference, when actually it will probably make no difference at all. As an old man he will look back, decide to place importance on this particular decision in his life. He will try to explain and give a sense of order to his life-implying that his decisions made all the difference, when in fact, a lot has to be credited to chance and luck. Look at the title: the poem is about a man taking a path that he would describe later as the "one less traveled" yet the title of the poem is "The Road Not Taken" telling us that there was actually no less traveled road to take. If this explanation is not accepted, then one must bring forth Frost's actual words about this poem spoken at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference in 1953: "I wasn't thinking about myself there, but about a friend who had gone off to war, a person who, whichever road he went, would be sorry he didn't go the other. He was hard on himself that way." This friend was Edward Thomas whom Frost walked with in the woods near London. Frost explained that when they would walk, they would come to different paths and after choosing one, Thomas would always fret, wondering what they missed by not taking the other path. Thomas' evidently also suffered from an undiscerning eye and was unable to see that it really made no difference.


So suggest that undiscerning eyes "take the road less traveled" and see the real meaning of this poem. This well loved poet has a message for us-don't let it go misinterpreted-for that is where the message is usually needed the most.

































Thursday, December 8, 2011

Snoop Santa Picks

Shopping with Snoop who knows how to pick those gifts that make it happen... I like to wear this one when I watch Toddlers and Tiaras. If it's fly, then buy.


WeGlow International Light Up Fuzzy Pink Cowgirl Hat....Amazon $12.99.






Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Cria: My Huaca

Cria, the Huaca. Huaca cames from the word "huacan" meaning to howl. Ancient Native South American worship often took the form of a howl or wail.


A huaca is a Quechua (native american language of South America) word for an object or place that represents something revered. Most early civilizations of Peru considered all of the world to be sacred and alive. The Peruvians would chose objects to carry with them to remind them of sacred places or things. They often took the form of a rock from a designated sacred area, an ear of maize, or a llama. I was given the little fellow above as a Christmas gift from a dear friend and I have designated him as a Huaca..to remind me of good friends and how revered they are. His name is Cria which is what a baby llama is called-he is only about 3 inches tall and is covered in real llama wool.