JaZzArt en València

I am so happy to be here, conversing with a friend and fellow blogger, a very artistic person that I think you will enjoy reading about and getting …

Conversing with da-Al

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DEACON 11
The Good and the Bad

I understood he was about to talk about good and evil and as I approached I wondered what on earth he would say…

Then he began:

“Some of the ideas related to the concepts of good and bad have been altered in these days. We used to think of good and bad in terms of absolutes, and that is what’s been altered. Now we are to believe that there are no absolutes that it all comes down to the consequences of the act. And that may or may not be true. For me, I do not accept it as truth. There is an organic difference between good and bad. And when it comes to people, being either good or bad, there is a very clear and distinct difference.

«No one can deny that there are good people and there are bad people. I do not know how they got that way. The mind of humans is a mystery and the origins of the mind is even more mysterious. And what goes on inside the mind, thoughts, impulses, instincts etcetera, that no one but God knows. I don’t care what psychologists or neurologists say. The truth, and truth is also an absolute, is that no one knows what goes on inside a person’s mind. So why there are bad people, or why some become bad at some point in their life, is a great unknown.

«However, are we equal? Well… equality is not a natural occurrence. Everything is nature has a purpose and a function and everything was made perfect for their assigned purpose and function but not necessarily equal to any other thing. Human beings are the same. We are not descendents from animals nor are we evolved creatures. We are created by God in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) and with a spirit that enables us to transcend the gap between the profane and the sacred. That is not possible for evolved animals or plants. So equality was not a part of the scheme of the Creator. For each their abilities in accordance to their function.

«Yet, harmony is important in life and in society we must all be equal under the law. And that very important quest, to make us equal, under the law, is a job for the government. In society we cannot tolerate differences based upon sex, gender, race or colour. The job of good government is to iron out our differences and allow us all to work and live as equal members of society. But what of the bad people? What of the anti-social ones that wish to disrupt the peace of our communities? Punishment? Being equal under the law is not a moral equaliser.

«Punishment is important. We cannot tolerate criminal or anti-social behaviour that is violent or in any way damaging to others. But the job of punishing criminals, that commit delinquent acts, is the job of the government as well. Governments must strive to maintain a balance between our Human Rights and their duty to sanction delinquents. It is not our function to judge or to punish. It is the job of our judges and our free and democratic judicial systems.

«We are taught that God lets it rain upon the just and the unjust and lets the sun shine on the good and on the evil, (St. Matthew 5:45). Therefore our commandment is to love (St. John 13:34-35). Jesus said we must love our enemies as well as our friends (St. Matthew 5:43-48) and to pray for those who hurt us (St, Luke 6:27-28). Can we do that? Have we ascended to the point where we can forgive and turn the other cheek? (St. Matthew 5:38-48).

«In closing I want to leave you with the knowledge that there is absolute good and absolute bad in this world. We are judged at the end by the one who can take our soul. We are taught along the way what is the righteous path, but we have free will. We are all children of God, and to some He has given the right to call themselves sons of God (St.John 1:12). And we, who are good, are not equal to those who are bad. Yet, it is not up to us to change anything, the wheat must grow alongside the weeds. (St, Matthew 13:30).»

May God bless…

Agradeced, gente buena, que se nos ha dado un día más…

Expressionism, but with a touch of surrealism equals «Surreal-Expressionism»…

Well, more or less. Expressionists look to create nature with their paintings. Not to paint the natural world, or people, as they are but to create them through their work. The surrealists looked to go beyond the limits of reality and produce a world better suited for dreams. So the mixture of the two should then be an oneiric world as seen through the eyes of the expressionist artist creating it. And that is accurate but not complete…

Surreal-Expressionism is the creation of art that symbolises reality and at the same time creates it.

The painting above (unfinished) is «Portrait of Pino the Drummer». It is done with acrylic on canvas and measures 70 X 140 centimetres. Available soon at Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia. For more information contact:

«By Guloshka» (artist representative). IG: @guloshka or Guloshka404@gmail.com

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Según sube el sol en el cielo que igual suban nuestros ánimos de defender la libertad, la paz y la soberanía, individual e implacable.

Just as the sun rises in the sky so should rise our determination, strength and perseverance for peace, liberty and sovereignty, individual and implacable.

Ok, so I think a lot of my readers know that I am very partial to The Beatles. To me they did it all in pop music, wrapped it up with phenomenal lyrics and placed it in a balloon and let it float all over the world. And I am grateful that I coincided with their songs as with their songs I learned to speak the English language. Well, and with the help of my dear teacher from Scotland, Mrs. Donovan, who I will never forget. After all both of them taught me so well that when I arrived in the US (as a wee lad), nobody could understand me…

In any event. I am in the process of presenting twenty great British bands of all times. Except the present, as I am not into present day bands or music. I like good music so I stick to the golden years which lasted until the 90’s. So I thought about who to place in the coveted number 20 position. Of course, The Beatles! And in number 19 the Rolling Stones. But then I thought again as I was discussing this with my good friend Malc, also a great Beatles fan. And I concluded that the two bands will not be in the reckoning as they are in a totally different category. And here they are as the two best British bands (in my humble opinion) of all time.

So tell me what you think…

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CHEERS AND KEEP ON ROCKING

He’s been here…

«Fragile» is from Sting’s second album Nothing Like the Sun. The song was released in the UK in 1988. He sang it also in Spanish titled «Fragilidad«…

This is a fabulous song for sure. Sting said he wrote it after the death of American engineer Ben Linder who was working on a hydroelectric project in Nicaragua (1987) and was killed by a rebel group. However the song can fit any occasion of violence and senseless killing.

At the opening ceremonies for the opening of the 2002 Winter Olympics Sting sang the song, performing with cellist Yo Yo Ma. There is a version sung with Julio Iglesias that is included on Sting’s Duets compilation album released in 2021.

Hope you enjoy it…

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This is not a complete list by any stretch of the imagination. These are but a few. I really think that these women, as well as most women artists, need to be recognised fully and as equals of their male counterparts. When we think of Latin American art we usually think of the great artists like Diego Rivera (Mexico) and Wilfredo Lam (Cuba) and the only woman that comes to mind (to most people) is Frida Kahlo. But Frida was not a great artist, at least not in my appreciation, and much less when I compare her with some of these. Besides the idea that it is only Frida has to end and the sooner the better. I would encourage all art bloggers to blog about women artists from anywhere in the world.

Cheers…

I must confess that I did not know much about this painter, mainly because they did not mention her at uni, but what I have discovered is incredible! Leyster, a Dutch artist from the Golden Age of Netherlander art, was not given credit for her work. Her works were attributed to Frans Hals, a baroque artist considered a master portrait painter, or to her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer, also a painter and engraver. In 1893 Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, a collector and curator, gave her the authorship of six paintings which carried her distinctive signature ‘JL’. It is incredible, but possibly because after her death many of her paintings were placed in inventory as simply being of the wife of Molenaer», and not as Judith Leyster.

She was born in Haarlem, on the 28th of July of 1609 and died in Heemstede, on the 10th of February of 1660. It is believed that her first signed commission was dated 1629. Four years later (1633), at the age of 24 years, she was admitted into the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem. She might have been the first female artist to be registered in the guild. But it might also have been another female artist (which we will feature here in the future) Sara van Baalbergen, who was registered, it is believed, in 1631. Judith was registered in the guild and recognised as an artist, not like many other women who were registered as embroiderers, ceramists or wood and metal workers. Some were added to the lists of the guild as the successors of their deceased artists husbands.

Her self-portrait of 1633 (see above) is considered her audition to the guild. The self-portrait definitely shows some historic changes in the style of portraits of women. Her pose is relaxed and dynamic in opposition to the style of the times. Her dress denotes her status and dignity. She presented herself as a lady of society and means. After all one can present themselves any way one wants in a self-portrait. She demonstrates the dignity of her profession.

You can see some of her works in various museums: The Rijksmuseum of Ámsterdam; The Mauritshuis of The Hague; The Museum Frans Hals of Haarlem; The Louvre of Paris; The National Gallery of London and the National Gallery of Art of Washington D. C…

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