A War of All Against All

The Edge of The Woods – Oil/Canvas – 33 x 44 in.

I know the truth.
Forget all other truths.
No need for people
anywhere on this earth
to struggle.
For what? Poets?
Lovers? Generals?

Look: it is evening,
Look: it is nearly night.
The wind is level now,
the air is wet with dew.
Soon all of us will sleep
Beneath the earth,
We, who never let each other
Sleep above it.

Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941)

This painting was born during the 1990’s out of deep foreboding. On the other side of the world from my home, the Soviet Union had collapsed, and in what had been Yugoslavia, Serbs and Croats were at war, killing each other, as if to say, “we no longer have to hate the Soviets, let’s hate each other.”

Here in Freedom’s Land and Bravery’s Home, we are living Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet upside down: “How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.” By presidential fiat, what had been our Dept. of Defense is now our Dept. of War. Against what? Against the usuals subjects, of course: whatever and whomever is not like us, especially those with skins darker than ours.

On a deeper level, we struggle against the Earth, our own Mother. Deeper still: we struggle against kindness, compassion, empathy, caring, gentleness, against whatever is deemed “not manly.”

At the center of the painting a woman embraces a man and sings a song he doesn’t want to hear: “I want a whole man, dear one, not just a half. Look: the sun rises at the edge of the woods. Look: it welcomes us to dance together in the snow. Embrace me and the woman inside of you. Embrace all of our sisters too, or your tomorrows will be only dismal repetitions of your yesterdays.”

Eleven Visions

Poster image by Margaret Lindsey

What is a Vision? Have you ever been struck by one? Been frustrated by not being able to draw or paint it? Whatever your answer might be, would you be interested in seeing Visions from eleven professional artists? If you’re curious, and in Northern California during September, you’re in luck.

I and ten of my colleagues will be sharing our Visions at the Seven Stars Gallery in Nevada City. The artists include Mira Clark, Gary Graham, Della Haywood, Aram Larsen, Molly Molly, Douglass Truth, Lil McGill, Margaret Lindsey, Ben Vierling, and Alison Kenyon.

The exhibition, presented by the Nevada City Odd Fellows, runs from Thursday, the 4th of September until Sunday, the 28th, at Seven Stars, 210 Spring Street. You can meet the artists at an opening reception on Thursday, 11 September from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

The Gallery will be open Thurs. — Sunday from 11:00 until 5:00. Come in a have a look.