By Alex Ness
THE ARTS OF MY LIFE
In this brief article I am going to discuss 8 different artists, all of whom have moved me, and some of the specific books that collect their ideas and art. One aspect of world's collected arts is a fuel for the imagination from the depths of space to haunted medieval forests. I've written a great deal about the art that moves me and there are many sorts of art. Arts appeal to mind, the senses, and the story telling instincts we have as a human method of transmission of information. Over the centuries, into millennia, the arts have been a way for humans to communicate important events, ideas, emotions and more. The arts come in the form of music and film, poetry and prose, games and the graphic visual arts, of sequential, sculpture, paintings, drawings and photography. And some things qualify as art in the sense of being creative, without traditionally being seen as such, such as architecture or even new or creative creation of cuisine.
As a poet, and as a writer about popular culture's works, I've been considering new themes of life in this period of change. I am aware of art being composed of creative fire captured in a form. It can inspire, educate or simply bring pleasure. None of those goals are wrong. Not every work will have the same goal, or accomplish anything equally. The human species isn't different much in respect to talents of individuals or found in the different ethnic groups. While the human form has limits, there are cultural experiences, understanding and talent to express whatever the creative fire has burned into being, means art will have unequal results, however good it might be, or not. Responses to the typical understanding of art is not deeply understood, but new art will always challenge the acceptance, and successful infiltration into the spirit or soul, flavor of the taste of the kiss of that work. Unequal levels of skills and talents will be balanced versus time in service, and enthusiasm of all new talents.
“Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” Rumi
Jeffrey Catherine Jones traveled a difficult path in life. As a painter she had brilliant talents, and struggled with mental illness and in the end realized that she needed to change her own physical form in order to find happiness. She was called an equal and a master of painting by Frank Frazetta, a great artist.
Bob Giadrosich was influenced by many different artists and ideas. A clear connection to influences by the pre-Raphaelites is one aspect of his work, but that work went from a similar style as Barry Windsor-Smith, to a dedication to black and white works that absorbed colors in a magical mix. He was responsible for publishing my first work, with my name on the cover, and his work amazes me and leaves me in awe.
Ian Miller has an amazing and unique style. It is a combination of manic and controlled lines and curves, without looking like anyone else's work. I've an opinion that fantasy art has to be unique, or it can be seen as being without magic, one of the style's most important requirements. I'd suggest his art would do well in the genre of horror along with fantasy, or dark fantasy. It is beautiful without being "pretty". I can't explain what I mean better.
Jean Giraud//Moebius had a new kind of art when he first entered the world of art. It was perfect for the genre of science fiction, being odd and vaguely inhuman, but it was also perfect for emotive expression. It was beautiful and if it was found by readers of fantasy, it could easily fit in. But outside of the style and talent, I'd like to say, I think Moebius was a monolith in the world of art in his lifetime. He was perceived as a master, and crossed oceans in the directions East and West. Others tried to emulate his work, but he was uniquely talented, and in my personal experience, he was a master in terms of desire to tell a story in new ways.
Masahisa Fukase suffered a tragic life. It would be accurate but glib, or perhaps trite to suggest the viewers of his photography benefited from the torment he experienced. But his works were inspired by sad events, and his expression is almost perfection. He was an artist of photography that clearly was formed and completed in perfection by a dark muse. I've owned 3 copies of The Solitude of Ravens, having given copies to two wonderful artists, and the book is so rare but well considered, it is worth nearly a thousand dollars. His work is sad, but beautiful. He died after suffering a tragic fall that left him paralyzed for many years. I've read that his inspiration for the book came from his heart break upon his divorce from his wife.
Ansel Adams captured in black and white images grandeur and beauty, but they also inspired the American people to redress the wrongs done to the immigrant Japanese and next gen Japanese Americans following Pearl Harbor and the entry into war with Japan. His photos of National Park beauty is well considered by any who saw his work, but the photo journalism at Manzanar, an internment camp showed Americans how these Americans were no different outside of ethnicity, finding community after interrupted lives, being placed in camps with barbed wire to keep them from living in the open society. Some have argued that they were camps for the safety of the Japanese Americans, but this can be seen quickly as lie, for the machine guns were aimed inward towards the camp internees, and not towards the outside. Adams work and that of Dorothea Lange, another great photographer, changed hearts with images of innocence, and harm done by executive orders, and the loyalty to America still existent following internment. You hear all the time about media "creating" public opinion due to their efforts to change minds. That isn't always a good thing. But the humanity shown shamed Americans of their racist choices, by the work of Adams.
Hugh Ferriss created a variety of buildings and cityscapes as an architect and an amazing futurist. The movie Metropolis was a living example of these kind of images and concepts, as have fictional cities for comic book homes of Superman's Metropolis and Batman's Gotham City been aimed. Ferriss was creating worlds of the future, utilizing concepts of larger buildings, the use of planes and flight, and the belief there'd soon be pre-planning of greater cities. This work can be seen in many other arts, and it moves me deeply. Timothy Burton's Batman shows a great use of the concepts too.
Pablo Picasso created ways of looking at the body and the world around us differently, and by use of art as a voice of the wounded, created the painting Guernica in 1937 that showed the height of terror the next wars would make use of. His take upon the destruction of a town in Spain during the Spanish Civil War illustrated the terrible consequences of war, the outrage of the killing of the innocents, and the use of art as a weapon against the passive view of war by those not involved. As with any new art, it challenges conventions, brings new ways of telling stories, and delves deeper meanings from, generally speaking, use of the same tools others used. Picasso was flawed as humans go. You might read about his flaws. I look at his art and realize, we aren't all born with the same outlooks or talents. Art gives us ways to learn from others, and new ways to communicate.
(Pablo Picasso's Guernica, copyright estate of Picasso, used as illustration as fair use. No challenge to copyright ownership asserted.)
Jeffrey Catherine Jones
Bob Giadrosich
Ian Miller
Jean Giraud//Moebius
Masahisa Fukase
Ansel Adams
Hugh Ferriss
Pablo Picasso
First off, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email at Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address. I no longer have a post box, although I regret that. It was a crushing defeat to no longer have a p.o. box, when I came to realize I was getting so little product it made no sense to pay for the privilege to not receive mail at both my home and at the post office. If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.
MY LINKS:
My Poetry Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
My Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Lovecraft Styled Horror CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis and other Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
I have an email list for my poetry blog, AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com If you are interested please send me an email asking to join the list. I have 3 new poems appearing daily. When or if I have new books, the first people to know will be on the list, and I offer deals there for new products. Send an email to Alexanderness63@gmail.com to join the list. I promise never to sell the list or share it.
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