JaZzArt en València

This is an interesting part of Art History. I am sure you know these two, at least you know their work…

Cheers…

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DEACON 11
Duties and Responsibilities

We truly believe, and we should, that we have rights like, Human Rights, and national rights, which are those protected by the laws of the nation. But we also have duties and responsibilities. We do not exist in a vacuum. We are social beings and as such we have duties and responsibilities to each other in society. We have an obligation to treat others with courtesy and respect. We have a duty to look out for the welfare of all members of our society. We are responsible for the care of our neighbourhoods, communities, cities, countries et al. And we must never forget that our freedom extends only to the tip of our nose. We must be mindful of manners and we must be kind.

In the Gospel according to Saint Luke we are taught a very important lesson about who, among the members of society, is a good neighbour, i.e. he who is responsible and dutiful and cares for his fellow man. Jesus said that a man was assaulted on the road, beaten and robbed of all his money and was left alone and badly injured. A priest passed by but quickly kept going, ignoring the injured man. So did a Levite who, after seeing the man, did not stop to render aid. Then a Samaritan passed by and took compassion on the man and bandaged his wounds and took him to an Inn so that he could rest and recuperate, and paid the innkeeper for all of the man’s expenses. Jesus pointed out that this Samaritan was the good neighbour. He was the man who had truly lived up to his responsibility as a human being and a member of society. (Saint Luke 10:30-37)

Selfishness is nothing new in the world. I am sure it has existed since the days of the first established community. However, it seems that selfishness is becoming more and more common. And perhaps it is because people are being taught to be selfish, or greatly encouraged, by the supposed leaders that they elect into office. The bad examples of those perceived…or known…to be in positions of power embed themselves deeply in the minds of many people, especially of those that are supporters and admirers of the so-called leader. The words, the speeches, and the senseless slogans these politicians publish or blast on radio and television also makes a profound impression because these words are, lamentably, believed.

Bad examples by egocentric, narcissistic public figures…and now also by the so-called influencers…create and re-enforce selfish attitudes in the minds of many. Selfishness is an obstacle to good judgement. Selfishness becomes the substitute of the compassion that we should feel and demonstrate. Selfishness, the I, me, mine attitude, always takes; a charitable attitude always gives. Selfish people ever give anything except negative vibes and energy.

And in the same is true of chauvinism, nationalism and the fervent, exaggerated version of patriotism exhibited by fanatics. It amounts to nothing positive in society. And that goes directly to those who think their country is superior to others. Because they think they are superior they believe they can do with the inferior ones whatever they want. This makes them think it is right to take take from the perceived inferior countries what they consider valuable or important to their own. This attitude leads to unfriendly, disrespectful acts that can ultimately become aggression and even war.

Saint Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians said: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” And this is the essence of kindness and a spiritual life. One need not be religious, one only needs be a moral human being, in behaviour, not in creed. Follow your heart and the instincts of the human spirit. This will guide you towards committing acts of charity and kindness, not of aggression and spite. Saint Paul was quite clear: Be humble, value others above yourselves.

And that does not mean that one should not love oneself. One most certainly should. If one does not oneself one cannot love others. But one must avoid the selfish, greedy spirit that leads one to think of others as obstacles in one’s way. And one must embrace others kindly, responsibly and dutifully. I tell my dear ones all the time that they should look out for Number One and that is that Number One is themselves. I am number one for me, but I would take a bullet for any one of my loved ones. There is no contradiction in terms. Love is love.

So we must protect our rights by being dutiful and responsible citizens. We should be wary of the words and the examples of arrogant and selfish leaders…or influencers, pop stars, media figures et al…so that they will not poison our soul. We cannot let their negativity find its way inside our minds. For if we know that the negative ones are saying things that will lead us astray, their discourse cannot hurt us. Remember Jesus taught us that man is not poisoned by what comes in, but what comes out of the mouth.

Valencia, España, 08 MAR 2025, Francisco Bravo Cabrera

Well some people probably thought that Bob Marley had shot a sheriff somewhere in Trenchtown, Jamaica. But he didn’t. He was a man of peace and love, not a killer. He was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica on the 6th of February 1945. His father was a white Jamaican of English descent who fought in WWI as a Captain of the Royal Marines; his mother was afro-Jamaican. Cedella, his mother re-married and moved to Delaware (US) and wanted to bring her son. Marley actually lived there with her for eight months and worked at a Chrysler plant. But he married Rita and moved to Kingston (1966) just when the rastafari movement had begun there.

In any event the song «I Shot the Sheriff» is not about shooting the real sheriff. Marley always said the «sheriff» was a metaphor for wickedness and he kept an air of mystery surrounding the song. But later (2012) Esther Anderson, a former girlfriend said the words: «Sheriff John Brown always hated me / For what, I don’t know / Every time I plant a seed / He said, ‘Kill it before it grow'», were written originally as «doctor» and replaced with «sheriff» because of Marley’s opposition to her use of birth control pills.

He wrote the song and recorded it in 1973. In 1974 Eric Clapton recorded the song which rose to number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. Other artists have covered the song including Jaco Pastorius.

Hope you liked the song and I look forward to your comments…

CHEERS

Posiblemente la abstracción más famosa en la historia del arte es, «Amarillo, rojo y azul» de Wassily Kandinsky. La que se consideró la primera, también de Kandinsky, y sin titulo, fue una abstracción creada en 1910. Pero así no fue la historia porque ya Hilma Af Klint habia realizado sus pinturas abstractas.

Hilma Af Klint, artista sueca, nació en Solna, en 1862. Pintó sus primeras abstracciones en 1906, adelantándosele a Kandinsky, Mondrian y Malévich. En vida la artista nunca participó ni en exposiciones ni eventos. Murió en 1944 y pidió que no se expusieran sus cuadros hasta no haber pasado veinte años de su muerte. Sus cuadros se expusieron por primera en una exposición titulada «The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890–1985», en el Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles, Los Ángeles, USA. del 23 de noviembre de 1986 al – 8 de marzo de 1987.

Wassily Kandinsky nació en Moscú en 1866. Se le reconoce como el padre de la abstracción, ya no porque se piense que fue el primero en hacer un cuadro abstracto, si no por sus teorías sobre el arte, la abstracción y lo espiritual. Fue coordinador del grupo Der Blau Reiter, profesor de la famosísima Bauhaus y un teorista, no solo de la abstracción pero igualmente del expresionismo en la pintura y el arte. Estudió derecho y economía en la Universidad Estatal de Moscú, y a los treinta años se dedicó, enteramente, a la pintura. Murió en Francia en 1944.

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GRACIAS

ME ESTOY PONIENDO VIEJO

Ya voy cambiando mi vestir,
mi paso es lento ya al andar,
ya no trasnocho como ayer,
me siento solo aquí en el bar,

Ya van mis días menguando en paz,
voy olvidando lo que fue,
mi voz ya no vibra al cantar,
mis ojos poco pueden ver,

Me voy despacio,
miro al espejo,
me estoy poniendo
viejo…

Me he acostumbrado a este sillón,
en el salón con vista al mar,
ya no navego como ayer,
ya he dado lo que pude dar.

Voy dormitando al caminar,
sueño con todo lo que ayer,
me seducía con ambición,
ya queda poco por hacer,

Me voy despacio,
ya no voy lejos,
me voy poniendo
viejo…

Me cuido del invierno gris,
y de la lluvia de mi hogar,
prefiero olvidar lo que fui,
prefiero no poder pensar.

Ya pocos conozco en el bar,
ya hay otras caras, juventud,
ya mis amigos ya no están,
ya he dominado mi inquietud.

Me voy despacio,
faltan reflejos,
Me estoy poniendo viejo…

Me voy tranquilo a recostar,
mis huesos contra la pared,
viejos fantasmas conjurar,
un vino calma ya mi sed,

Me voy hablando
con mi cortejo,
me voy poniendo
viejo…

NOTA BENE

Quizá no lo aceptes tu, pero yo digo que la vejez es solitaria. No importa cuantos amigos, cuantos hijos, nietos, mujer o hermanos tengas a tu lado, vas a envejecer solo. No importa si vives con la familia, en una residencia o en tu piso, como siempre, envejecerás solo y en silencio. Tus años irán aumentando y así tu soledad. Mientras más viejo te pongas más pensarás en el pasado y más detalles del mismo olvidaras, o quieras olvidar. Como la vejez, esas cosas no se pueden evitar. Acostúmbrate, vetusto soñador, a todo esto. Y una cosa más te digo, no te asustes de los fantasmas que, al caer la noche, se acomodan en las butacas de tu salón. Son tus viejos amigos son los únicos que te harán compañía. Quizá en esas noches no te sentirás tan solo.

Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 03 de julio de 2024 – Valencia, España

The lesson starts with black notes one by one seeking attention,
the body soon reacts and lets the rhythm filter in,
and sliding through each string are four fast fingers full of tension,
and cruising through the bow she conjures spirits in the wind.

The violin caresses warm her shoulders and phrases find intention,
the chord progression so precise now burns within,
the legs that move the dancer are just begging for ascension,
the bodies slither forwards so let the dance begin.

Then suddenly a sound like thunder bursts right in with wild pretension,
four hands, two drums, four feet, splash wildly, mad, insane,
and four thick strings vibrate drunk with declension,
and the bodies slither forwards so profane.

The lesson ends with white notes, long, enduring intervention,
the bodies drenched in sweat slowly retreat,
and sliding through each string the violin proffers the question,
where do these notes go hide when our dance-music is complete?

C.2022, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 02 MAY 2022, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Well, are you going to find some original Banksy’s at these museums? No you are not. You are going to see reproductions of the stencilled artwork that Banksy had placed somewhere on some wall. And the museums are all under their building’s roof. But aren’t Banksy’s stencilled little doodles on walls out under the sun, or moon? Yes they are…

So Banksy, the anti-establishment activist, in his secret form, instead of fighting the system, the establishment, he is contributing to the growth and development of the same. And he is making beaucoup bucks from it. And I do not blame him. I advocate for artists making money, as much money as they can. After all we do our art to sell it, at least most of us do. But, come on, hypocrisy is something very disdainful and for an anti-establishment guerrilla activist these moves are totally hypocritical.

So, if one morning you arise to find that Banksy left one of his stencilling’s on your front wall, don’t think you’ve a Banksy. No, you first must run it through his agency called Pest Control. If they authenticate it, they will then issue you a Certificate of Authenticity, which I imagine you must have to pay for, as everyone wants their cut, their piece of the anti-establishment pie. Now, with the COA in hand you can re-sell your authentic Banksy and continue greasing the wheels of the capitalist economy, i.e. the establishment, the one Banksy is fighting.

And don’t forget his online store where you will find dozens of anti-establishment articles that you can buy to enrich those fighting against the establishment. And sincerely, I do not think Banksy is a person, and much less an artist. He, or They, or whatever, is a marketing company with brilliant ideas, not for art, but for merchandising.

So if you are a struggling artist, take a look at Banksy’s business model, you too can become an anti-establishment rich capitalist.

And, by the by, entrance to his museums, on the average, is approximately 30£.

CHEERS

Todo lo ha dominado el hombre…

¡Pues claro! Desde que existe el universo nos han dicho que Él creo a él y de la costilla de él, Él hizo a ella. Ella no era más que una mujer, y muy desobediente pues fue a comer de la fruta prohibida y le dio también a él y eso causó que ellos, y por ende la humanidad, fuesen expulsados del Eden, o sea, del paraíso. Bueno, algo así…

La Grecia antigua, Roma, Egipto, Persa, China, y los demás imperios de los tiempos de la antigüedad remota fueron todos dominados por grandes hombres, e.g. Alejandro Magno, Julio Cesar, Ramsés II, Ciro el Grande, Kangxi el Grande…

¿Querría decir esto que no habían mujeres capaces de regir sobre un imperio?

¡Vamos! ¡Claro que no! Pero no las dejaban hacer nada de eso. Si, claro que conocemos cuentos de la Reina del Sur, de Cleopatra, de Juana de Arcos, y de otras reinas del medioevo y del renacimiento, pero fueron pocas.

Y, ¿La mujer común y corriente, que ni era reina ni santa? ¿La que hubiera querido ser escritora, pintora, científica, medico?

Pero ya ha cambiado la cosa y se están tomando los pasos necesarios para garantizar la igualdad y se está respetando mas y mas a la mujer y también a otros seres discriminados.

Por eso me detuve a la orilla del Mar d’Ella a verla nadar como una sirena…

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Man dominated everything…

Of course! Since the dawn of the Universe we have been told that He created he and from a rib He took from he, He made her, a woman. And quite disobedient she turned out to be. She ate of the forbidden fruit and gave he to eat as well. This caused he and she to be expulsed from Eden, or Paradise. Well, something like that…

Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Persia, China, and the rest of the great empires of antiquity, were all dominated by men, e.g. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Ramses II, Cyrus the Great and Kangxi the Great…

Can this mean that there were no women capable of governing an empire?

Come on! Of course not! But they were not allowed to do anything like that. Yes, we have heard about the Queen of the South, Cleopatra, Joan d’Arc and other queens of medieval times and the Renaissance, but there weren’t really that many.

And what about the normal, common woman, who was neither a queen or a saint? The one who wanted to be a writer, a painter, a scholar or a scientist?

But things have changed. Steps are being taken towards equality. Women are respected more as are others who have always been discriminated.

Because of that I stood at the shores of the Sea of She to watch her swim like a mermaid…

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Bueno, esta es una entrada de hace dos años pero creo que vale la pena revivirla. que pensáis vosotros?

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Well, this is a post from two years ago, but I think it is a good one to bring forth once more. What do you think?

Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 16 AUG 2022, Valencia, España.

ART AND THE ARTIST

(Francisco Bravo Cabrera, while listening to the Sonata no. 9 by Beethoven)

Well, maybe I should rather say ART AND LIFE or THE ARTIST AND LIFE, something like that, I don’t know, I think it may have been a better title, but no, the one I’ve chosen I like…

Life, what is life? José Saramago in his book All the Names said: “Life is like paintings; it’s best to look at them four steps back.” Four steps… phenomenal.

The distinguished writer, whom I admire very much, has told us what life is similar to, but he has not told us what life actually is, nor why he relates it to paintings. Well, could it be that paintings are similar to life? I don’t think so, but anything is possible.

Paintings are representations. Nothing that is portrayed on the canvas, wood, or whatever surface the painter uses is truth. Moreover, I remind you that nothing in art is reality. The closest it comes is to a reflection, if the artist does it well, and if you immerse yourself in the painting, you may see something in it that you associate with real life. But you won’t find reality in any painting. However, if you’re lucky, you’ll see how the author has perceived it. A painting, like a movie, a play, or a ballet, lies. Finally, don’t delude yourself into thinking that you’ll find sincerity in art. Perhaps art is the most cynical thing on the face of the earth. Don’t doubt it.

And why do I tell you this? Because I am an artist. My professional and academic training taught me that reality is not art. Art feeds on reality, uses it, embellishes or tarnishes it, but always changes it. The actor does not feel what you think he is feeling when you see him in the theater or in a movie. Neither does the painter nor the poet. Yes, we all play with emotions, but as the great director and co-founder of the Moscow Art Theatre, Konstantin Stanislavski, said, “Raw emotion (human) is not art.” We play with real emotions, but the ones we represent are artistic creations, period.

So, why take four steps back? Frankly, I don’t know. Looking for a better perspective? Maybe…

But well, let’s see, what is an artist? The great masters of the European Renaissance did not consider themselves artists. They viewed themselves as craftsmen, men (and women) who had learned their trade well and had also been trained in other disciplines. Moreover, they painted not what they wanted, but what was commissioned by their great patrons, who were the church, royalty, nobility, and to some extent, the emerging bourgeois class.

It may have been Michelangelo who first considered himself an artist, but that’s debatable. The thing is that artisans and craftsmen began to turn into artists. Once they were artists, they could choose the themes they were going to paint, and the subject matter shifted from biblical scenes and portraits of kings to something more casual, everyday, and completely secular. Art began to gain value, and collectors emerged. Then came the museums, and with them, art history started to be written. In 1793, the Louvre Museum was founded in Paris, the Prado Museum opened its doors in Madrid in 1819, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1870.

That’s how things began to change. The avant-gardes of the 20th century came along, and art took on previously unthinkable directions, causing artists to evolve. But now, after the great artistic milestones of geniuses like Picasso and Matisse, artists no longer know what to do. They seek to experiment, draw attention, shock, alarm, scandalize, and even offend. They also enjoy making people think they are exceptional beings with almost supernatural abilities. But don’t you dare believe that; it’s all nonsense.

Artists today are neither geniuses nor avant-garde. Everything has already been done, so don’t think that for art to be good it has to be original because nothing is original anymore in art. A good artist, as Picasso said, imitates, but a brilliant artist steals. However, what they have stolen is transformed into something better. And I remind you that we create art for only one reason: to earn a living. Nobody enters a studio for ten hours a day, painting like a madman, for the love of art. We do it because we want to sell our work. And if they talk to you about inspiration, don’t believe it either. It’s a myth, nonsense, a fairy tale, a con trick. The artist works and dedicates themselves to their craft not because a muse with magical powers has inspired them, but because they are hungry.

Perhaps a better title would have been The Great Deception…

She died a few days ago… She was born on November 11, 1929, in the Bronx, (New York). Her name is Ida Applebroog, daughter of Orthodox Jewish parents, she studied graphic design in Manhattan, stating that she did it because she needed to earn money… She was a feminist, a painter, designer, illustrator of children’s books, and a prolific writer… After moving, with her husband and four children, to Chicago, she enrolled in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and devoted herself to making jewellery and costume jewellery for the family to sell at art fairs in the city… In 1968, the family moved to California and she began attending art classes at the California Institute of the Arts, which is when her painting style began to develop. Her first exhibition (mixed) was in 1972 at the Long Beach Museum of Art (California)…

It was in 1974, and after relocating back to New York, when she changed her name and became «Ida Applebroog,» (her paternal last name was Applebaum). There she fully developed her style, which consisted of creating figurative artwork resembling comic strips to convey her ideas about feminism, social justice, and domestic violence. In 1977, she wrote a series of books that she self-published and distributed by mail. She also joined «Heresies,» a feminist magazine that addressed topics of art and politics.

Then in 1981, she presented «Applebroog: Silent Stagings«, her first exhibition at the Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York, where she continued to exhibit for over twenty years. The theme of this artist has always been to demonstrate the dynamics of «power,» let’s say, of men over women, parents over children, healthcare professionals over patients, and the government over the people…

In 2020, Applebroog’s work was included in a group exhibition at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida, in a presentation titled «My Body, My Rules.» The exhibition showcased the works of women artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Carolee Schneemann, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Ana Mendieta, Wanguechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, and Francesca Woodman. We will feature all of these artists on this blog.

Ida Applebroog passed away at the age of 93 in Manhattan.

CHEERS

GRACIAS