My days of street protesting are over, but I was deeply moved by the ground swell of protests across the country and in support of the basic premise: that Black Lives Matter just as much as anyone else’s and as long as they do not, no one’s life matters. So, a painting. I used Bruegel’s… Continue reading Journal: Black Lives Matter, 2019 – 2020
Black Lives Matter
This series was inspired by the spontaneous protests all across the country, which included people from all ages and cultures in support of the African-Americans in this country: their painful past and difficult present. It began as one painting and grew into a series. (See the Journal 2019 – 2020 for more details.) Two-panel oil… Continue reading Black Lives Matter
Faces of Fear, a.k.a. Intolerance
This is the first panel of a three-panel image called Faces. I am appalled by the negative, militia-fueled reaction to the BLM movement. It strikes me as a medieval response; in fact, I saw faces that could have come directly from paintings by Bruegel and Bosch. In order to organize the faces, I used a… Continue reading Faces of Fear, a.k.a. Intolerance
The Art of Infrastructure
SoLA Contemporary Gallery in Los Angeles, 2021 From the invitation: “The Art of Infrastructure exhibited the work of six artists, over three years of on-site art making, documenting the construction of a marvel of modern bridge technology in the Long Beach Port of Los Angeles, the new Gerald Desmond Bridge.”
The Bridge Project: How it all Began
Excerpts from my Journal: Part 1. Written on November 11, 2018 and edited 2021. We have been going to paint the construction of the new bridge since the last day in August, 2018—a little over two months ago. The day Yu Ji had a memorial for Domenic Cretara there was a film, including some of… Continue reading The Bridge Project: How it all Began
The Top of the Bridge
Excerpts from my Journal: Part 2. Standing on the top of the bridge is a spectacular experience and painting from it is surreal. We have been so privileged. Right now the two highest pillars of the bridge, which will form the suspension part, have not been joined to the east and west ramps. The ramps… Continue reading The Top of the Bridge
Under the Bridge
Excerpts from my Journal: Part 3. I love the belly of the bridge as much as the top. From the time we painted in the parking lot at Connolly Pacific to now, it reminds me of Brueghel’s Tower of Babel. There are staircases that climb up the sides of the bridge pillars, made of metal tubing and… Continue reading Under the Bridge
Those who build the bridge.
Excerpts from my Journal: Part 4 There has been a lot of curiosity about what we are doing and enthusiasm for our project. Every day, one or two workers stop by to see our work. On some level, our project is a validation of their project, or at least a confirmation that the public appreciates… Continue reading Those who build the bridge.
Technology
Excerpts from my Journal: Part 5. In drawing and painting the bridge, so many associations from history creep in. Technology really does build upon itself. As one engineer pointed out, the laws of physics do not change. So, I look under the bridge and see the Tower of Babel. The top calls to mind old… Continue reading Technology
The Day of Fire and Wind
Excerpts from my Journal: Part 6. Written November 9, 2018; edited 2021. Kathryn and I, on the east ramp. We knew it was going to get hot—86 degrees—but we did not know the winds would be so fierce, up to 77 miles per hour! Kathryn insisted we get there before sunrise, but there was a… Continue reading The Day of Fire and Wind