John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

Some painterly graffiti

From this collection of artful graffiti, some of which is really impressive.

A thought on artists and citizens

"An artist may have burdens the ordinary citizen doesn't know, but the ordinary citizen has burdens that many artists never even touch."
- Patti Smith

A thought on pencils

"Art is a fight to the finish between black charcoal and white paper."
- Gunter Grass

Artful glimpses at the bottom of Royal Albert Hall

On Monday, Royal Albert Hall in London will let spectators see some art that could be viewed otherwise only by staff, road crews and performers lingering in the loading bay, far below the stage. On the walls are graffiti-style depictions of people who have performed at the Albert Hall. More details of the LOAD exhbition here; click here for a set on Flickr of what it looks like.

A thought on innovating

"I'll play it first and tell you what it is later."
- Miles Davis

A thought on a love of your life

"It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction."
- Pablo Picasso

The analogue Bob Dylan

Not that many years ago, I had a stack of often unspooled cassettes. Nothing, however, that spilled out to form the likeness of Bob Dylan, nor the other musical icons pictured here.

A thought on memorials

"I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.' "
- Andy Warhol, who died 22 years ago today (Note the can of soup at the bottom...)

A thought on comedy and drama

"We participate in a tragedy; at a comedy we only look."
- Aldous Huxley

Van Gogh at night

When we were in New York last month, we made a point of seeing a show at the Museum of Modern Art called Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. Some of the paintings belong to MoMA; others were brought in from Europe. I hadn't realized how much of Van Gogh's work concerned themselves with dusk and night-time, Starry Night being an obvious exception. You can see the exhibit online at the link above.

The show continues until early January. Long lineups, no surprise, so get there early if you have the opportunity to go. I couldn't get over being able to look at Van Gogh's strokes - thick, heavy, full of vigour - so close to the actual canvases. A detail from one of them, the Dance Hall in Arles, is the basis for the current banner of this blog.