ART & THE OTHER
(An art show I will be in.)
June 10th, 2008 8:00 - 10pm
The Department of Arts and Consciousness
JFKU Berkeley Campus
2956 San Pablo Ave. 2nd floor Berkeley, CA
corner of San Pablo & Ashby
Free and open to the public!

Man vs Nature

My thoughts are on people. With all of these masses here in Vegas it is hard not to think about people in all their uniqueness, ugliness and beauty. The pool from 34 floors up is beautiful. People moving in the water causes a beautiful cracked glass mosaic pattern. Flashes of light quickly shine and then disappear. A big man made body of water treated with chemicals in the middle of the desert. From the 34th floor I can also see mountains and desert. Yesterday I saw how low lake Mead is. You can tell by the white calcium deposits left on the rock where the water used to be. But people must have super large pools to relax in. I cannot help but think of the environment today staring at this beautiful mountain range over a bunch of man-made crap.
At the Bellaggio Art museum I saw some Ansel Adams prints. Beautiful, breathtaking Nature. I saw the golden gate area without the bridge. It was so beautiful, the bay moved out unrestricted. Man feels a need to conquer nature. To stop a river that has flowed longer than man has been here. Build where nature once was. I do not have this need. I want to learn from nature and take nothing from its beauty. I only want Nature in my heart and mind and become inspired by it. People scare me sometimes. Flowers, animals, mountains, rivers, the oceans all beauty. God given beauty - that is in me. I am part of nature and that does not scare me at all. All of this must sound silly but it is how I feel today. I hope you can understand.

My Studio

Catcus

Wow cactus are really great, especially in mass quantities! Flowers surrounded by dangerous spikes. Vibrant purple and yellow flowers. Reds, pinks. God, nature is so beautiful. Last night I saw a beautiful sunset from my room on the 34th floor, so high above the strip. Thank you God for the beautiful colors in the desert. Oh yea, I saw a dwarf Joshua tree. So much hot fuss over a tree. Except for the age thing there are many more beautiful cacti that God made. But I will do some research on them. Perhaps everyone knows something I don't.
Oh, by the way, I am in Las Vegas.

Hoover Dam

Went alone to see the Hoover Dam. Very cool. All of this concrete. A great creation from man built to feed people and generate electricity. Imagine if this had been done to the Chobe river in South Africa. It the middle of this natural wonder of the earth is a massive wonder made from man. The desert is beautiful. The rock is strong, solid. All of the sudden a plant grows out of small cracks in the rock. Life from a harsh environment. Today I was in both Arizona and Nevada. I walked over the state line. It is on Hoover Dam. All of that concrete.
I am on my way to a very old catcus garden I will talk more later...

Fire

At the top of the world
looking out,
among the grass,
the trees
and fog.
There is you and only you.

You, with the fiery red hair.
The laugh,
the smile.
The you that I know not so well,
the you that I want to know, oh so well.
Inside
and out.
How your mind works
how it ticks
what makes your sense of humor
click.

Without you
here on this hill
the world looks differently.
Through a veil of red.
Curly,
on fire,
on my mind,
steeped in my life.
I long to see
a red escapee
on my bed
upon my pillow.
A reminder of you,
proof that you were here with me.
Not just another one of my hopeful fantasies.

I a world filled with sharp, red, vivid tones,
the green of the trees and grass are embarrassed to call this home.
The fire takes over the night and the beginning of the day,
leaving me with the thought
will this fire, ever
ever,
go away?

The fire.
The beautiful red
within me.
In my mind,
in my eyes.
It.
And thoughts of you
my dear,
will never die.

-C. Martin

MOMA

Went to the San Francisco MOMA and I had a great time! I spent most of my time in the permanent collection. What impressed me the most was the room of Clyfford Still pieces. All non objective Art, most of them very large pieces that overwhelm you. Breathtaking risks are evident on all of the canvases. Blacks so dark, brooding and rough they seem to absorb both color and the viewer. Still is one of my favorite artists so to see six or so pieces I was blown away. I also saw a Marilyn Minter piece and two Joan Mitchell works from 1960. It was a perfect day.