Marc Chagall & Plato’s The Symposium

 It can be observed that most of Marc Chagall's work is an expression of his philosophy, his religious sensibility if you will, in the form of the "literalization of metaphors," deeply grounded in the mystical and symbolic Hasidic world and Yiddish folktales, which include in their writings the "repository of flying animals and miraculous events." (Wilson, 2007)

It is impossible to label Chagall's work as "Expressionism," but the representation of an acute imagination, colored in fantasy, depicting highly charged religious symbols, including in several works, Christs Crucifixion in a variety of contexts. What I love about Chagall is the viewer is drawn into the work by its striking color and busy subjectf999 matter and is compelled to study it because the meaning of the painting must be discovered as it is not apparent on a superficial viewing.

My favorite paintings by the artist are his various representations of love that display an ethereal, mystical quality, a sublimeness that to me captures love in their most revealing forms, as the author, Jonathan Wilson, writer of the latest biography of the artist, states:

"Chagall's vision of love, so appealing to the human soul, frequently involves a merging of two faces, or bodies, into one. In this regard, he is Platonic, as his figures pursue their other halves in an apparent longing to become whole again. Over and again, he paints the myth that Aristophanes recounts in The Symposium."

This notion is apparent in the painting depicted above; the merging of "two into one."

Chagall's life, Wilson suggests, was an attempt through his art at the reconciliation between two worlds, a genuine effort at universalizing or merging opposites, he writes,

"In his paintings, past and present, dream and reality, rabbi and clown, secular and observant, revolutionary and Jew, Jesus and Elijah...all commingle and merge in a world where history and geography but also the laws of physics and nature have been suspended."

Chagall was a man with an extraordinary imagination, an astonishing amount of energy and ambition, and considered by art historians as one of the true icons of Modernism along with Picasso and Matisse.

Source: Wilson, J.
Marc Chagall
Random House 2007

United States

Hylas and the Nymphs & Muriel Foster

My favorite art movement aside from German Expressionism was the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), and my favourite artist from that time would have to be John William Waterhouse.

Like most of the Pre-Raphaelites, Waterhouse painted exotic scenes from poetry, myth, and legends. It is a neo-classic style that more often tells a story, depicting a dramatic moment.

I wrote about visiting the Victorian National Gallery and witnessing the original 'Ulysses and the Sirens' by Waterhouse, and how seeing the actual painting against my print, that has hung on my walls for years, was a much more meaningful experience, as one can see aspects in the image that one cannot see in a mere copy.

The most interesting about almost all of Waterhouse's paintings is that he used the same model for most of his work. She was one of the best-kept secrets in the art world for many years. In most of J.W.'s paintings, whether depicting Sirens, Nymphs, garden scenes, or historical representations, this model's face is in just about every image. So who was she, and what was Waterhouse's relationship with her that captivated him so, inspiring so many beautiful paintings?

We have come to discover that her name was Muriel Foster. She is the quintessential classical beauty with that lovely face and slender figure. However, it was only in 1981 that a sketch by Waterhouse was discovered, and written along the bottom of the drawing bears her name.

She first appears at the speculative age of fifteen in Waterhouse's 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci,' where, from that point on, she appears in most of his paintings until his last unfinished work because of his death, 'The Enchanted Garden,' which is considered the artists' best work despite being unfinished.

We see Muriel Foster grow older with utter grace in Waterhouse's paintings, the most distinctive being 'My Sweet Rose', seeing her in a beautiful bohemian green gown, her elegant red hair, tied back, smelling a rose, and her lovely slender hands touching the flowers.

As it happen to be the Victorian era, where sexual hypocrisy reigned supreme, and most artists at the time always sketched their models in the nude at the start of their specific project, (A common practice of the time) rumor did and has run out of control about their 'true' relationship.

In the present time, who really cares, but I have my own thoughts on the matter…that she was his lover, inspiration, and 'muse.' Waterhouse had all the middle-class facades: a good family man who lived in Italy than London. He had six children and loved them dearly, supporting his family from his art.

In Hylas and the Nymphs, Ms. Foster's face is on all dangerous water beings.

This story is from Greek mythology, where Hercules and his long-time companion, Hylas, traveled with Jason and the Argonauts, searching for the Golden Fleece. It was known throughout the ancient world of Hylas's beauty…he was sought after by many queens and royalty because of his incredible beauty. Because of his unbending loyalty to Hercules, half-human, and half-god, he promised to never leave his side.

In the painting by Waterhouse, are Hylas' last few moments before being pulled into the magical pond of the enticing nymphs, who could not resist taking him because of his incredible beauty.

This happened on an unknown island where Jason and his crew stopped to retrieve water and food to continue their quest.

It was time to set sail, but Hylas had not returned. Hercules searched the island for hours for his friend, but he had already been taken to another world. Hercules refused to leave without his long-time companion. Jason promised to return once his quest for the Golden Fleece had been accomplished.

Hercules wandered the island for many years searching for Hylas, his echoing screams unrelenting. It was there on that tiny island that Hercules died of a broken heart, never to see his beloved Hylas again.

This painting depicts the exact second where Hylas loses his life...taken by the nymphs, all of them with the face of Muriel Foster.

This is a beautiful painting focusing on a specific dramatic scene in the tale. The print, the second one I purchased of Waterhouse, has a significant meaning for me, that is to say, love lost, beauty, and the steadfast loyalty of a friend. 

Russia/Ukraine War – Opinion

 

The subject of war is a contentious issue. I can't name any other topic (mainly when the battle's happening now). As we are a tribal species, it is human nature to pick a side; our tribe or country must be the righteous one. Most arguments against the tribal view are attacked and ostracised from the tribe. We see this again; the current Russia/Ukraine war is one such example.

Our society is designed to only absorb a limited amount of information. As working folk, our time is extremely limited due to economic factors. When you operate a nine-hour job or two jobs, you'll only receive news from primary stream sources. As I've been writing about for years, the MSM is a tool for government propaganda. They create the "official" narrative, and those who oppose that official narrative are deemed "fake news."

Since the Biden administration came into office, censorship, specifically from democratic and establishment powers, has sought to quash any dissenting view other than their own. The notion of free speech is not canceling another because you disagree with them. Free speech is all speech except, of course, hate speech, which has no place in human discourse.

So when one presents a rational argument regarding the Ukraine crisis that goes contrary to the establishment narrative, one is immediately placed in the sin bin, silenced, sometimes forever. This isn't democracy but totalitarianism.

The Russia/Ukraine war is more nuanced and complicated than what's presented in the corporate press. It's not like Russia decided to invade Ukraine out of a vacuum. There is a historical context to consider, and putting the shoe on the other foot, so to speak. What has really led to this war? There are many factors to consider.

The US-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014. A pro-Moscow and left-leaning president was elected and was overthrown by far-right Ukrainian factions. Some eastern states like Donbas, Ukrainian Neo-Nazis have been fighting the Russian-speaking people in that region. Many atrocities have been committed, including sadistic assassinations on civilians.

In 2014, you can hear US officials discussing over the telephone the best Ukrainian government officials to put into office. This is the definition of a puppet government. The US has been interfering in Ukraine for over eight years. Then vice president Biden's son was given a $50.000 a month place on a Ukrainian gas company board. This is suspicious but reveals how far US tentacles have reached into Ukraine.

I really don't care what you think about President Putin (all current world leaders are terribly corrupt), but all Russians did not want Ukraine to become a member of NATO. There are already 5 US/NATO bases surrounding the Russian border. For Ukraine to become a member of NATO presents a clear threat to all Russians. Ukraine was the gateway for Hitler and Napoleon, causing 10's millions of Russian deaths.

Putting the shoe on the other foot notion: would you want Russian bases in Cuba, Canada, and Mexico? The US has been playing a dangerous game in Ukraine. For years Russia called a red line. A red line means you cannot cross it, or there will be dire consequences. That line was turning Ukraine into a NATO state. The Russians asked the US and the EU not to do this, pursuing it anyway. If any country should be blamed for this war, it is the US. and its allies.

I read this morning that the Ukrainian president, as a welcome gift to Joe Biden's presidency, closed three major Russian media stations in the country. This should give a glimmer into the machinations of the US in Ukraine and why Russia decided to invade.

For many years, as an anti-war activist, war is never the answer to any conflict. There's always a diplomatic solution. Did Russia have any other options aside from war? I believe more than likely they did. If you poke the docile bear enough, you're going to piss her off, and she'll retaliate.

As an added note: NATO should have been dismantled in the 90s when the Soviet Union crumbled. Instead, NATO is now used to defend international corporate interests. It is a tool for corporations.

The biggest irony is so-called liberals are currently claiming that an occupied country has the right to fight any occupying force. The US has been occupying Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria for decades. Israel has been occupying Palestine for over 50 years. But I guess that's somehow different...it isn't.

During any war or conflict, it's much better to avoid emotional responses and attempt at logic and rationality.

When innocents are being killed, it's an almost impossible thing to do. 

Beauty & the Pre-Raphaelites

“Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.” Edgar Allan Poe

The battle concerning the nature of art and Beauty indeed continues to rage in universities, galleries, and salons designed for those who claim an artistic sensibility. What is Beauty? Can it be defined? The great American poet Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Beauty is not caused. It is.” When first exploring these questions, I discovered as many opinions as there are lovers in the world, and all think themselves an authority not to be gained said. As a result, we may never know precisely what Beauty is. Nevertheless, like a neurotic fixation, this question has haunted me over many sleepless nights.

In my quest to define Beauty, I came upon a curious movement that seemed to ring a semblance of truth. It was a specific sensibility, a philosophy of life and art, a literary and artistic wave, culminating in the 1890s – Aestheticism. For the Aesthete, the quest for unadulterated Beauty is recommended as the most refined occupation humankind can find themselves during this short “visit” and “indefinite reprieve” from death that we have come to call life. The art of life or the life of art, the Aesthete, equates with a form of pure ecstasy that can flourish only when removed from the roughness of our stereotyped world of “actuality.” One of the most extravagant exponents of Aestheticism was the Irish writer Oscar Wilde. He said that “the seeker of beauty should never accept any theory or system that would involve the sacrifice of any mode of passionate experience” How true.

Closely associated with the Aesthetes was another curious artistic movement known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Such forgotten luminaries as Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti founded the PRB in 1848. However, my personal favorite painter of the later period of this movement is John William Waterhouse. A net close group of art students, painters, and poets revolted against the canons of the English Royal Academy. They dedicated themselves to recovering the purity of medieval art, which Raphael and the Renaissance had destroyed. Inspiring even today, they turned their backs on the realities of the 19th-century Industrial society and, anticipating Symbolism, merged classic form with the dream world of myth, spirituality, and the human imagination.

Any conservative or stalwart of the classical persuasion will tell you that the “death” of art occurred after German Expressionism. This is quite possible considering the work of the Abstract Expressionists.

Be that as it may, the Pre-Raphaelite artist were amazingly proficient in depicting vividly, naturalistic detail, which the Australian art critic described as “…spectacular, beautiful in patches and coldly, provokingly weird in others, sometimes both at once.”

For me, their work provokes uncannily moods of dreamy melancholy. There is a painful yearning of sentimentality in the work combined with a cold realism that is sometimes quite frightening.

Edward Burne Jones, the dreaming Aesthete who cared for Beauty, almost single-handedly brought the English aesthetic movement into existence. His work was the exact opposite of Realism. In a conversation with Oscar Wilde, he rhetorically asked, “Realism? Direct transcript from nature? What does that have to do with art?” Indeed the growing abstraction in his work began to upset some significant benefactors at the time. But he didn’t care – Burne-Jones’ quest for Beauty continued into the realms of the imagination, attempting to remove the vulgar roughness from the stereotypical world of actuality.

As fashion changes, so too an artistic sensibility. However, over the last twenty years or so, the work of the Pre-Raphaelites are becoming more popular. The art critic Robert Hughes speculates, “Modernism is losing its mandate in our fin de siecle.” I would venture to say that painting this century is losing its mandate because of its never-ending preoccupation with form, lacking in that certain quality the Romantics attempted to explore and strive towards – the Divine.

To describe what Edward Burne-Jones was striving for in his work, he wrote the following diary entry:

“I mean by a picture a beautiful romantic dream of something that never was, never will be – in a light better than any light that ever shone – in a land no-one can define, or remember, only desire – and the forms divinely beautiful.”

If this is not true Beauty, it is at least, in the quest alone, beautiful.

A Lighthouse and the Little Cottage.

 

It is a treat to have a two-week break in the middle of the school year. Since teaching high school, this time of the season, the winter months, can be breathtaking, so I manage to travel somewhere in this beautiful state in search of new sights, unusual surroundings, intent on moving outside the familiar. I’ve discovered this activity does wonders for one’s general sanity, well being and somehow creates balance to a life that tends to tip too far in a particular direction. At least for a few days, moving out of the neighborhood is not the key to happiness, but can provide a rest from the banalities, routines, and vagaries of one’s day-to-day existence.

Arrived in Apollo Bay after sunset amid a rainstorm.

The Great Ocean Road is truly a sight to behold, only the beginning of a week of views to excite the senses and move the soul.

Our cottage is a lovely bed and breakfast. A two-story, re-furbished house…polished wooden floors, wooden staircase leading to a loft-like bedroom overlooking the rolling green hills reminiscent of Sussex in England. The countryside is vast, with cows grazing down towards the east and sheep appearing like tiny white dots to the south against shades of brown and black while shadows travel leisurely across the landscape. Yet, as I stand at the window, the outstanding quality about this environment is its silence. After the rain had stopped, however, the faint sound of the ocean’s surf gently echoed in the distance.

Entering the cottage for the first time, strangely, on the wall next to the fire-stove, hangs a large print of one of my favorite J.W. Waterhouse paintings: a little girl dressed in white leans over amongst ancient ruins to smell red and white roses in black vases. I call this “strange” because this was the first Waterhouse painting I ever purchased, giving it to my grandmother as she spent her last months in a small room in my mother’s house. She loved this painting, and it seemed to make her happy as it brightened the room. At first startled because I had not seen the image for years, later it became a kind of comfort, creating a warm feeling in the house.

We left the cottage around eleven the following day, driving for only 30 minutes or so to arrive at the light station.

As luck would have it, the morning was clear and crisp with the sound of the surf and the smell of salt in the air.

The Cape Otway Light Station had been built in 1848 by orders from the prime minister because several shipwrecks had occurred in the area.

On the grounds inland from the white tower stood the old Head Light Keepers Residence, constructed in 1857; not far away was the Assistant Light Keepers Residence, which was turned into a café for visitors like us. The assistant Residence also was used as a schoolhouse for the children, and one can actually feel the history as you move from room to room, almost hearing the joyous laughter of the students as they learned their lessons and played precariously next to the cliffs.

As an amateur artist, I had brought my sketchbook along, sitting in the café and gazing at the magnificent lighthouse, a beacon of hope for lost sailors. Sipping my coffee and drawing with care, a local man walked up behind me, not saying a word. His presence did not bother me as I continued to draw the lighthouse. Once finished, he said, “Most people take a few pictures and leave, grumbling about the admission. It’s good to see someone take the time to “look” at this wonderful place. It’s not a bad picture either, mate.”

I think it was the 19th-century art critic and writer, John Ruskin, who advised that to truly experience meaning and the beauty of the sights you come upon when traveling, one should sit still and write about them, draw the landscapes, the buildings, the objects of interest, and the experience will be that much more meaningful and memorable. Sketching the lighthouse did indeed create, personally, something akin to “being in the moment”…my appreciation for the place grew the longer I lingered and studied its details, nuances, and history.

Later that night, at home in the cottage, I stirred the fire, adding more wood, causing the flames to come back to life. Showered, clean, fed, warm and tired, I jumped into bed between washed crisp sheets to then fall into a deep sleep with nothing but the scent of the sea and sweet silence.

Teaching History: Expressionism vs. Fascist Art.

 

Some years ago, teaching my year10 history class, we examined the rise of the Nazi Party pre-WWII and the personality and political machinations of Adolf Hitler.

The female students in the class find, generally, the subject of war boring. But, on the other hand, the male students are more engaged than usual. They are particularly interested in the personality of the 20th century’s most notorious dictator. Hitler has become a household word for a variety of reasons. Ironically, however, you ask a 15-year-old boy to tell you who Hitler was and why he is so infamous, their eyes roll back into their little heads, and the response is usually vague at best.

It wasn’t until I did my ‘chalk & talk’ lesson on Adolf Hitler for the class that week that the sound of penny’s dropping throughout the classroom told me that these young adults didn’t have a clue as to who and what this famous man was responsible for during the first quarter of the 20th century. To my astonishment, while I paraded around the classroom, gesticulating and screeching my chalk against the blackboard (yes, our school at the time, in certain rooms, still use this antiquated teaching tool), every eye and ear paid attention, hanging on my every word.

Why do these young minds have such a fascination with a man responsible for millions of innocent deaths? How does such an evil individual continue to reach out from history and grab the full attention of our cyber-drenched youth of today? In all fairness, your guess is as good as mine…but the fascination remains.

Because history in our State curriculum focuses, for the most part, on names, events, dates, and movements of the period under study, there is not much time to capture the feelings and emotions of the people involved. That is to say, history is the story of our past, and it is not just about names, dates, and events; history is about motivations, emotions, circumstances, and atmosphere.

I devised a small research project to involve my female students, attempting to make it a little more interesting for them. They had to investigate the life of Eva Braun, Hitler’s beautiful and intriguing mistress. Once in a while, a teacher will hit a subject on the nose where the students will dive into the subject matter with full enthusiasm – this was one such case.

During their research, they came upon something that I was not even aware of, and that is the home movies that Eva Braun shot while at Hitler’s home in the Black Forest, Berchtesgaden. Eva met Hitler while working as an assistant in a photography shop. She hit meters and meters of film depicting Hitler’s numerous guests, his inner circle, Speers, Himmler, etc., but until a few years ago, we could not determine what was being said at those gatherings. The new software has been developed to analyze the lips of subjects on silent film and, through an exciting process, can determine with 100% accuracy what is being said. A group of Oxford Historians used this process on the Braun home movies with exciting results.

(To view the documentary on the new software and Braun’s home movies, go to Google and type “Hitler Speaks” you can view the entire doco online.)

In terms of history as a subject, approaching the human side, so to speak, has opened whole new vistas for the young student in the academic study of our past.

I devised a PowerPoint lesson on Expressionism vs. Fascist Art. In this presentation, I revealed the Expressionist art movement as an expression of the “inner world” and “emotion” of the artist of the time. In this case, the drastic turn in Art after WW1 from Neo-Classicism & Impressionism to Surrealism & Expressionism and why this might have occurred.

This prelude will lead to the “Politics of Art” and Hitler’s realization that by including propaganda in culture and the Arts, one can change the consciousness of an entire nation.

During this time, Hitler went on a rampage, closing down galleries all over Germany and Austria, damning the expressionist art movement as “decadent” and part of a Jewish plot to influence the minds of the pure German race. In addition, Hitler imprisoned many artists and destroyed thousands of valuable pieces of artwork from this period, replacing it with his notions of what Art really is…

The presentation showed many examples of Nazi Art, Hitler’s somewhat distorted Neo-classic style, depicting the German people and the Nazi party as Natural, Heroic, and Superior to all other nations. By doing this, as this lesson is an extension of “What is Fascism?” show my students fascism in action, as it were, excluding all ideas, beliefs, self-expression other than the One, in this case, Hitler’s and the Nazi Party.

This is not to say, of course, that I strayed from the Department of Education and Training’s suggested curriculum; however, I attempted to include other dimensions, different approaches to our past, to maybe provide for the student a fresh perspective of what the subject of history is really all about.

Rant: Relentless US War Propaganda

(Written right before the invasion).

 

The United States government along with their media cronies have been pushing for war with Russia via Ukraine for many months. This sword rattling has escalated over the last few weeks, predicting Russia's imminent invasion of Ukraine. Media from around the world predicted this invasion on February 16^th – as we all know, this never happened. 

Once upon a time, the lies of the government and media weren't exactly in plain sight. The propaganda for war would begin slowly, ending with full-blown lies. The US and their allies are stating blatant lies up front, believing that the people will believe them. When it comes to war, we really should have learned by now, governments always deceive their people all the time.

It should be evident to the warmongers in the US that all their violent forays from Vietnam to Afghanistan have been abject failures. In both these cases, the mighty US military was defeated by indigenous guerilla fighters. So now they desire to war against a nuclear-equipped superpower? Again, the idiocy and profit-motivated intentions are apparent.

The only people who have benefited from the war in the last century have been the rich and powerful. The people are bombarded with ideals like freedom, patriotism, and democracy, only to return from war as broken human beings. Once these soldiers return, they are ignored and left to fend for themselves for the most part. Over 50% of these vets commit suicide. So no, people never benefit from a war.

Ask the typical American, Australian, or Frenchman, if they are concerned about Ukraine's freedom or independence? Most basic folk could not even point out Ukraine on a map. We're more concerned with our own problems with our loss of privileges and economic austerity placed on our respective populations. Many have no sense of history, so when asked about Ukraine and Russian relations. These wars, specifically current Ukraine and Russian "conflict," has been created by oligarchic and corporate interests. The only people to benefit from this war would be the weapon manufacturers and their stockholders. (This would include many politicians)

As a citizen of Australia and the planet, the recent propaganda relentlessly pushed by the US and their allies about Ukraine and Russia is absurd and laughable. These warmongers have not improved their propaganda techniques...and they've been doing it for years.

An old rule is you know when someone is lying when their stories keep changing. So the US and their brown-nosing media partners change their story about Ukraine/Russia by the week.

What I found most revealing is the Ukraine president telling President Biden to stop escalating the war with Russia. In an already unstable country and a barrage of economic unknowns (investors are leaving the country and tourism is zero), the US is pushing war non-stop with Russia. It's absurd.

......the only people that will experience undue suffering and death from this potential disaster will be the Ukrainian people and the soldiers fighting this all too obvious corporate war.