Alex Ojeda in eFortSmith Magazine

Its always a pleasure to share good news. Its even more fun when the good news is about a good friend and their artwork. I just heard that the photography of Alex Ojeda will be featured in this month's Entertainment Fort Smith magazine.

We've been looking forward to this for a few weeks now. Alex consulted several of us a while back to help in his selection process. I was very flattered that he asked my opinion on his photos. He wanted his friends to help him pick 10 pieces to be featured in this month's issue. Of course, Alex never takes a bad picture so it was not an easy decision.

As you see from this sample magazine page, the subject of this series focused on commercial signage. These four images are just a sample of a much larger collection that included faded signs in disrepair found along the highway all the way up to the most elegant lights of Times Square and Broadway. Alex does a great job at making these very static images convey a very tangible sense of mood and character. The seedy old motel signs give us a nostalgic reminder of what glorious things they must have been in the days right before mass air travel led to their demise. The neon of Broadway glows with the radiance and hauteur of the stars that grace their stages. Of course, I'm partial to the black and white, and monochromatic images. Alex has a fine sense of value, balance and composition. In my opinion, its these photos where those qualities show up best.

I hope everyone will take the time to look at this months issue of Entertainment Fort Smith. Its easy to find locally. There are usually free copies at most local restaurants and newsstands. For convenience I'm including a link to this month's Entertainment Fort Smith web page. I'm also including a link to Alex's photography web page.

Congratulations, mi amigo!!

Randall Good on NPR

On Monday I took one of my regular pilgrimages to Blue Moon Art Gallery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I consulted with my favorite art gurus Pat and Dishongh Scavo. They've updated me on the latest news about my favorite artist, Randall Good. While I was there I acquired my fourth piece of work by Randall. Its a large and dramatic drawing of "The Fallen Icarus". As some of my frequent readers know I've collected a couple of drawings and a couple of small watercolor studies of Good's mythology subjects. Three of the works are in the Icarus series.

My last trip to Blue Moon was in March. Randall just happened to be at the gallery. He had just been interviewed by a local NPR station about his work and the exhibit at Blue Moon Art Gallery. Dishongh and Pat told me on Monday that the radio station had just recently given them a copy of the interview and it is now posted on the Gallery's website. I am including a link here for those of you that would like to hear Randall himself speaking about his work. I'm sure you will hear how knowledgeable he is about art history. He's a very articulate speaker but also a very accessible artist. I'm sure you will enjoy the interview.

There is more exciting news about Randall and his work. His work is currently showing in New York and getting quite a bit of positive notice. Also, several of Randall's major works in oil have recently been acquired by an admiring collector. I'm very happy for Randall and Blue Moon for their success. But, its sad for those of us that love to see his work at the gallery won't be able to see those paintings any longer. The up side is that Randall is always working on new drawings and paintings and the gallery will soon have more beautiful things of his to show us. I'm particulary interested in a new breathtaking series of angel subjects he has started.

I will have the new "Fallen Icarus" drawing framed some time this summer. Its a large piece and I want some special things done for its presentation. I'll be sure to post a whole article of it when its ready. I will also be attending the next Gallery Walk event in Hot Springs on Friday, June 6th and visiting Blue Moon Art Gallery then. I hope many of you will make plans to attend also. I hope to see you there. For more details about the event be sure and contact Pat or Dishongh at Blue Moon via the email links on their website. If you see me be sure and say hi. I will be the guy standing in the Randall Good shrine at the back of the gallery staring hypnotically at the inspiring imagery. Just shake me out of my trance and shake my hand.

Be sure and check out Randall's NPR interview. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Leave a comment here if you feel inclined to share or drop me an email.

Now Public News

I was recently contacted by a fellow blogger that wrote an article for Now Public News. He had seen my Memorial Day photos on Flickr and asked to use some of them to illustrate his article. I was very flattered. Click on the links in this post to view those articles and photos.

Remember Their Sacrifice

Yesterday I attended a Memorial Day service at our National Cemetery. We were honored to even have a Pearl Harbor survivor with us in attendance. After the ceremonies I walked around taking pictures. It was a beautiful day for it. I used the time for personal reflection while I looked over the cemetery. So many of us see this holiday as nothing more than the beginning of summer. Its the start of the picnic and grilling season. I too often confuse the holiday of Memorial Day with Veterans' Day. But yesterday as I walked around I tried to focus on the differences between the two holidays. On Veterans' Day we celebrate and show thanks for our service men and women. On Memorial Day we honor the sacrifice of those service men and women who lost their lives in service to our country.

I was very moved by this simple grave marker. We think of the tomb of the unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery because of its size, the daily ceremonies and Presidential wreath laying that we see on TV. This little marker reminded me that the Arlington tomb is merely a symbol of all the many unknowns that have lost their lives in service. This soldier will never have a flower or wreath placed on his grave because his family doesn't know where he was laid. No doubt his mother and father knew their son was lost in action but never heard more about him. The could remember him but never visit his grave. This simple flag placed by his marker will be the only tribute he ever receives. It was heartbreaking to see not just this one, but row after row of unknown grave markers. It certainly puts our American freedoms into perspective. To see more of the Memorial Day photos I took yesterday, please visit my Flickr account.

Caravaggio Rocks

I'm currently reading about the Italian Renaissance artist, Caravaggio. I've always admired the dramatic pictures that he made. He created emotional religious scenes, lusty classical themes of pagan gods and most of them included beautiful young men as featured subjects. I always put him in the same classical category as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, etc. As a matter of fact, he was almost a contemporary of those guys. Lived just slightly afterward. What I'm just beginning to learn is that he had a rock star personality that rivaled his artistic talent.

The painting featured here is obviously an interpretation of Bacchus. He has the toga, the grape leaves wreath on his head and the obligatory cluster of gapes in hand. All that's missing is the bloated, gluttonous physique. However, I personally prefer this younger more muscular figure. I've seen this painting in art history books, encyclopedias, the Internet, for years. But, until I recently read a biography of Caravaggio I didn't know the whole story. This painting is actually a self-portrait. The drunken Bacchus in this picture is the face of Caravaggio himself.

It seems that Caravaggio was a real wild man of the art world. He got into a lot of trouble during his lifetime. He was always drinking, feuding, and brawling. It was only due to the fact that he had influential patrons that respected his work that he was able to avoid a lifetime of prison. He did spend his share of time in jail. It seems that he was always pulling a knife on someone, throwing rocks at them, you name it. It sounds like he was the Russell Crowe or Naomi Campbell of the art world. It didn't help things that he was frequently intoxicated and sick from drink.

I regret that because of his undisciplined personal life that Caravaggio died way before his time. His painting career lasted only 15 years. But I've been so glad to hear that this guy was a "real" person. There is no way to force him into the idealized role of academic Renaissance artist. He was perhaps one of the most original, talented, and creative of his time. But, he was just a regular guy.

The Man, The Myth, The Pseudonym

Last week I signed my latest painting with my pseudonym, "Gemini Art." Its the second or third piece I've attached that signature to. It was a surreal experience. Since the creation of this blog and the establishment of my web gallery I feel as if I've developed to distinct personas. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not admitting to any type of multiple personality or dissociative disorder. There's no pathology going on here. I just have two major parts of my life that are compartmentalized from each other. For the most part I have a mainstream, conservative, "bread & butter" career. But, for recreation and a very meaningful hobby I am an amateur artist, art critic, blog author and an increasingly openly gay man.

While I am dedicated to my daily professional career which I have enjoyed for almost 20 years now, it pigeon-holes me into being little more than a bureaucratic drone. I follow the rules, I enforce the rules and never breathe a whisper that might resemble self-expression or individuality. So, I guess Gemini Art has become my personae that represents everything that is "not that". (Read the works of Jung if you don't get the personae and archetypes I'm talking about.) As Gemini Art I can give my personal opinion freely. I can admire and appreciate beautiful artwork (and beautiful men) without fear of persecution. I can be imaginative and creative. As Gemini Art I experience that incredible lightness of being that I have observed in other gay people but had never experienced for myself.

I've questioned a few times if its "normal" or emotionally healthy to subdivide my life in this way. After long reflection I recalled that some of the most admired creative minds of our time have lived and worked under pseudonyms. The first that comes to mind is Samuel Clemmons who wrote under the name Mark Twain. A juvenile Ben Franklin had the audacity to write as a middle-aged woman named Silence Dogood. Even Stephen King has written under a pseudonym.

What can we learn from this? I believe that most creative or intellectual people use pseudonyms for two reasons. First, they use the name to protect themselves from persecution. Secondly, they use the pseudonym to hide a personal history that might not be as prestigious as their writings suggest. For instance, Clemmons wanted to be known for his literary work, not as an uneducated river boat pilot (he had great contempt for the public education system). Franklin knew that his scandalous words would get him in trouble as a teenage boy. As a puritanical and respectable widow of a minister, he was given more credibility.

Am I suggesting that by assuming a pseudonym I am hiding from persecution? In my profession and locale, YES! Am I suggesting that I'm hiding a less than adequate academic background? NO! My masters degree is just as good as the next guys, and most of my friends would probably say that, if anything, I'm too smart for my own good. Am I comparing myself to intellectual giants like Sam Clemmons or Ben Franklin? No, but I guarantee you that Gemini Art is a helluva lot more interesting than the other guy that lives in this skin.

David Kawena Does Disney

It seems these days every major male celebrity, model and athlete has to promote himself with the obligatory “fashion photo shoot”. You know who I’m talking about, David Beckham, Ben Affleck, Ashton Kutcher, Mark Wahlberg, etc. The list goes on and on. They spend more time on the cover of GQ than they do on the movie set. It’s not enough that an actor can act. He now has to market himself in some Abercrombie-esque fashion because that’s what appeals to the demographic that goes to movies, i.e. the adolescent teen/young adult population (and gay men). Not that I’m complaining. You know the type of photo I’m talking about. It’s real “artsy”. The photo is usually in black and white or sepia toned with dramatic high contrast lighting. The model is almost always styled in a manner to emphasize his “physical fitness” wearing little more than accessory items. Apparently, even the leading men of Disney’s animated features have gotten into this new A-list actor fad.

I recently saw the latest Walt Disney animated feature, oops I mean romantic comedy, Enchanted. As usual it was amazing. It has great music, a fun story and was a real visual fantasy. While I watched the handsome Patrick Dempsey and the very pretty James Marsden, it reminded me of just how adorable Disney’s leading men are. They come from a long tradition of perfect princes such as Eric in Mermaid, Philip in Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin the Prince of Thieves and even Tarzan King of the Apes. I laughed at myself when thinking about how attractive I thought each of those characters is.

While I was thinking about it I began to realize that the first crush of every young gay guy is probably one of those charming Disney cartoon men. I mean, we feed that stuff to our children as if its American mythology. In a perfect world we want our lives to turn out the way a Disney plot concludes, right? The Disney heroes are beyond perfect. They’re strong, brave, handsome, kind. You can always depend on the guy to come charging to the rescue no matter what. What’s not to like?

For young gay guys who are just starting to feel that they are a little different (yes, it does feel different even in grade school) the Disney hero is a safe first crush. It’s safe because he’s not real. It can be explained away as fantasy, hero-worship, love of Disney cartoons, whatever. The Disney world is so welcoming to young gay kids. When real boys are being mean to the gay kid and calling him names, the Disney fantasy world is so much more appealing. The gay community has a lot to thank Walt Disney for.

So, it’s not surprising that when three worlds collide, the Disney world, the art world, and the gay world, a new and interesting creation is born. I’m leading up to an introduction and explanation of an artist I recently discovered. David Kawena is an artist/illustrator working in Israel. I had been searching blogs and links related to the Enchanted movie and found a link to him. He had written briefly about the movie and segued into a discussion of his admiration of other Disney heroes and his interpretation of them.

I was fascinated that Kawena is located in Israel. I sent him a note asking about what it was like to be a gay artist working the Middle East. I’ve always considered that to be such a religiously and culturally volatile part of the world that it would be dangerous to be a gay artist there. Kawena responded,


“Actually being (a) gay artist, or straight artists who deals with ‘gay’ issues
is pretty much a cool thing to be in Israel! Israel is very open minded and very
narrow minded too - it's (a) mix of a place. We have a lot openly gay artists
here, most of them are on prime time television - actors, fashion designers -
and many singers who are openly gay are at the top of the national charts all
the time. I do most of my work outside of Israel, but that's a different
subject. I could very well be categorized as a straight artist who dose gay
work, or vise versa... You know?!”

As you can see, Kawena’s work is primarily digital media. While the Disney Heroes pieces are a somewhat cheeky pin-up spin on these fairytale characters, I found other pieces of great sophistication. His digital rendering of the late Heath Ledger is breathtaking. So, for those of you art snobs out there that might “poo-poo” the digital media I ask you to reconsider when looking at this work. I certainly couldn’t do any better job with this portrait in watercolor, pastel, acrylic, oil, or finger-paints.

I hope you enjoyed the work of David Kawena. Leave a comment if you did.