Brooklyn Artists Gym, Open House

When: Friday, July 10, 5:30 to 8:00
Where: Brooklyn Artists Gym, 168 7th Street Brooklyn NY 11215, between 2nd and 3rd avenues, and very near the 4th Avenue stop on the F-train.

What: "Come check out Brooklyn Artists Gym, see what we're about.
If you already know us, come have something to drink and see the work of member artists in the gallery."

I'll have a piece up in the gallery for the next week or two.

Gallery hours are 11-6 Mon-Fri, and 1-6 on weekends.

Twitter : 140 [a/k/a, the twitterartshow]

I've just completed my submission to the Twitter : 140 art show.



The title of the piece is twittertree, hopefully for obvious reasons. Media: acrylic and graphite on canvas. The size, appropriately enough, is exactly 140 square inches (14" tall by 10" wide). Oh, and I forgot: there's also some black sharpie in there.

My artist's statement for the piece (which is exactly 140 characters, including spaces, in length) reads as follows:

In this work, connections emerge from the truncate chaos of twitterspace, not unlike the acorn's power to create unity from its environment.

I don't want to say too much more about the piece, but rather let the viewer tease out the references and connections.

Read more about the Twitter : 140 project here: http://twitterartshow.blogspot.com/

Some haiku, in honor of the soggy solstice just past

Summer has come in like a ... well, like a wet mop, actually -- somewhat atypical for this corner of the globe. Here are a few haiku I wrote to celebrate the occasion:

No past, no future,
Only now:
Incessant rains
blight the Linden blossoms.

This June
Wet past remembering;
moss covers
the old oak's trunk.

Happy Summer everyone!

A few small changes ...

In the interests of simplifying and streamlining my online presence, I am now linking to Hominy Grits directly from the homepage of my arts website. Hominy Grits will also serve as the main venue for news and announcements related to my artwork. There were just too many websites and blogs to try to maintain.

I'll be reviewing all the features and contents of Hominy Grits over the coming days and weeks; stay tuned for more exciting changes!

Visual Art Against Aids

Hey folks,

I've contributed a few pieces of my work to a fundraiser to benefit the upcoming "Breaking the Cycle" AIDS ride sponsored by and benefiting the GLBT Center in New York City. Here are the details of the event (quoting the event flyer):

Host: Stefano Biaggioni & Team Eagle

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Location: Jim & Ed's Loft
Street: 248 Lafayette St, btw Spring and Prince, #6
City: New York, NY

Phone: 9174761401

Please RSVP to: stebiaggio@yahoo.com

Join us for some fun, food and fine art!

Beautiful painting and sketches, on different medias, and photographs have been donated by several artists for this fundraising event; all the proceeds will benefit the Center Care of the LGBT Center for people affected by HIV and AIDS

Art apart, donations will be gladly appreciated.

Then, meet the Artists and the Fierce Riders of "Team Eagle", one of the teams that will be riding in September 275 miles between Boston and New York.

I would like to thank particularly all the artist who generously donated several art pieces: John Azelvandre, Ross Bennett Lewis, Stephen Cimini, Daniel Fictum, Steve Frim, Ellen Jaffe, Peter Ketchum, Steven King, Duane Neil, Hillary North, Jim Pavlicovic, Marco Pedde, Larry Schulte, James Schlechter, Kendall Shaw, Don Ventura, Karl Volk, Michi Yamaguchi and Michael Weinert.

Also, our Very Special Thanks to Jim Pavlicovic and Ed Gresik, who kindly offer their beautiful loft to host the event.

Quote of the Day

"Academies that are founded at public expense are instituted not so much to cultivate men's natural abilities as to restrain them" --Spinoza

I would add that it hardly matters whether they are publicly or privately funded. There is, alas, a real distinction between "schooling" and "education."

Thanks to @pareidoliac on twitter for this quote, who re-tweeted it from @BFuniv.

And yes, I'm on twitter now: @zephyrusnyc.

Books: A Personal Top Ten

Lately, I've been re-reading Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, by David Bayles and Ted Orland. This wonderful book got me thinking of all the other books that have really made an impact on my thinking, on my aesthetic sensibility or have been just thoroughly and repeatedly entertaining.

What follows is a quick list of my "top ten." These are pretty much the first ten books I thought of, without regard to genre and listed without ranking.

1. Art and Fear, Bayles and Orland. (Obviously, since reading this is what got me going on this topic.)
2. The Zen of Creativity, by John Daido Loori
3. The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron
4. The Ambassadors, by Henry James
5. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien (I've read it clear through 4 times in my life, so far.)
6. The Shobogenzo, by Eihei Dogen. (I've hardly read all of this masterwork of the 13th century Zen Master, but certain essays, particularly "Instructions to the Cook" and "The Bodhisattva's Four Methods of Guidance" have been particularly moving.)
7. Process and Reality, by Alfred North Whitehead. (Purportedly, I am writing about this. Someday.)
8. The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James
9. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki
10. Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

What's your top ten?

Spring Art News

Although it doesn't quite feel like it yet, Spring is just around the corner! And in my corner of the artistic universe there is lots going on. In this post, I'll be covering 5 exciting items:

1. New website design!

2. See my paintings at the Flying Saucer!

3. Upcoming: come join the Ganesh Experiment!

4. What comes after Sputnik? Art of course!

5. Adventures in Second Life!

~~~~~~~

1. Website 2.0 is now live! If you haven't visited my gallery website in a while, please stop by and check out the new look and improved image gallery. With the help of Gallery 2.0, I'm able to more easily update images, while providing a better viewer experience.

2. Up now: works on paper at the Flying Saucer in Brooklyn, New York! I have 9 lovely works on paper up at this intimate and charming cafe, located at 494 Atlantic Avenue between Third Avenue and Nevins Street. If you missed the show at the Tea Lounge last month, this is a must see.

3. Be a part of the Ganesh Experiment on April 4! I will be a participating artist in this art happening at Brooklyn Artists Gym in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. Tickets are $10 at the door and there will be a cash bar. Read more about the Ganesh Experiment here. I hope to see everyone there! It will be a blast!

4. Announcing the AfterSputnik Art Project: "A three-day celebration of debt relief and enlightenment, The AfterSputnik Art Project has invited artists from around the country to create and display pieces speaking directly to their own indebtedness and the large fiscal burden the student loan industry has created in the United States."

Having intimate personal experience with student loan debt, I have created a thoughtful piece for the event, which runs from Friday April 10 through Sunday April 12. Friday night's opening gala is $20 at the door; Saturday's Speakeasy event is $15, or you can get a weekend pass for $30. Proceeds benefit a new organization that seeks to address the burdens of excessive student loan debt. The art is also for sale! For more details, and to buy tickets, please see the AfterSputnik website. I hope to see you there!

5. Are you in Second Life? Finally, I'm pleased to announce that I am constructing an artistic presence in the virtual world, Second Life. If you are in-world, visit my gallery at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cicero/163/74/172 or contact my avatar-agent Zizonus Serapis, who will be happy to show you around!

Whew! I think that about covers it for now. Have a wonderful Spring!

Quote of the Day: Henry James on Art

This is from Henry James' essay, "The Art of Fiction."

Experience is never limited, and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue. It is the atmosphere of the mind; and when the mind is imaginative -- much more when it happens to be that of a man of genius -- it takes to itself the faintest hints of life, it converts the very pulses of the air into revelations. ...If experience consists of impressions, it may be said that impressions are experience, just as (have we not seen it?) they are the very air we breathe. Therefore, if I should certainly say to a novice, "Write from experience and experience only," I should feel that this was rather a tantalising monition if I were not careful to immediately add, "Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!"

(Boldface is mine).

Natural History Notes: the Common Cold

Having been plagued with what feels like more than my fair share of colds this winter, I decided to do a little research into this pesky human ailment. In so doing, I found some excellent information online, which helps dispel some of the myths and misinformation that is associated with this malady. When dealing with these sorts of troubles, I think it pays to be rational and clear in one's approach. I'd like to share the fruits of my labors with you here.

Most of my information comes from an excellent website, www.commoncold.org. This website is sensible, scientific, unbiased and blessedly non-commercial. One thing I'm learning about treating the common cold is that everyone wants to sell you a remedy! I also reviewed some other sources, including the wikipedia.

So, some facts:

The common cold is a viral infection originating in the back of the nose. There are in the neighborhood of 100 different viruses that can cause this infection, but half of them are caused by various kinds of 'rhinovirus.' Rhinoviruses mutate readily, and it is therefore virtually impossible for the body to develop an immunity to them.

A cold is "caught" when virus particles are introduced to the nose. This may happen when one comes into close contact with someone who has the infection, or it can be transported to the nose by your fingers, if you touch a surface onto which a sick person has unknowingly deposited the virus particles. (Perhaps they sneezed, or rubbed their nose and then touched something, etc.)

About 95% of people whose noses are exposed to the cold virus will become infected, but only 75% of those infected will develop symptoms! So, yes, you could be an unwitting carrier!

It only takes about 10 to 12 hours to develop cold symptoms after being exposed to the virus. It grows fast. Symptoms usually peak in 36 to 72 hours. Colds generally last no more than 7 to 10 days and are self-limiting. The infection is not fatal. However, secondary infections can occur (sinus infections, bronchitis, etc.)

Being the most common of human ailments, we all have a pretty good idea of what the symptoms are: runny nose, sneezing, scratchy throat, cough, chilliness, mild fever and a general feeling of 'yuckiness.'

Unfortunately, there is no cure for the common cold. Researchers have been investigating the use of anti-viral drugs, but other than that, the remedies available only treat symptoms.

There is no evidence that vitamins and what not do anything to cure or prevent colds. Sometimes products are sold that are supposed to boost immunity and thus prevent or shorten colds. There's no evidence that boosting immune system functioning (assuming these products even do that) would prevent cold symptoms. It may even be the case that the stronger your symptoms are, the stronger your immune system is! Remember, not everyone who gets the infection has symptoms. The symptoms are caused by your body's immune response to the invaders.

Still, it's worthwhile to treat symptoms. After all, who wants to feel miserable? Treating symptoms can also reduce the chances of secondary infections. It's been in the news lately that blowing one's nose could be a bad thing. Apparently the tremendous air pressures involved can force mucus back into the sinuses. This might lead to such things as bacterial sinus infections. So, if there is a treatment that reduces the running nose, that in itself could be a good thing.

The doctors at commoncold.org recommend the following as basic treatment:

A 'first-generation' antihistamine to reduce the mucus production and inflammation, and a 'non-steroidal anti-inflammatory' drug to treat the general feelings of yuckiness (headache, aches, mild fever, etc.). One might then further add: decongestants and cough suppressants.

Now to personal experience:

I wish I had read the commoncold.org website when I first got the latest cold -- I could have saved myself some unnecessary suffering. The commoncold.org folks don't mention or recommend any commercial products. This is good in terms of showing their lack of bias, but bad in helping the consumer find things at the drug store. They recommended first generation antihistamines (the kind that make you sleepy!) such as Chlorpheniramine. I had to read a lot of labels to find a product that fit the bill. And it was virtually impossible to find a medicine that contained only an antihistamine. The kitchen sink philosophy reigns supreme in over-the-counter cold medicines.

I finally found 'Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold' which contans only Chlorpheniramine and the cough suppressant Dextromethorphan. That, and Advil were my front line.

Well, Chlorpheniramine certainly works! The commoncold.org authors make no mention of expectorants, such as guaifenesin, but since I had a cough and some upper bronchial phlegm and irritation, I thought it might be a good idea.

This combination of treatments, plus rest and plenty of fluids, seems all one can do. I guess hosting a rhinovirus from time to time is just one of those things that comes as a part of the deal of being human.

The Legend of the Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, perhaps the most famous of Mahayana Buddhist devotional figures (after the Buddha himself), and the interesting story of how he almost gave up trying to keep his bodhisattva vow. Avalokiteshvara is also known in East Asia as the female Bodhisattva Kuanyin (Kannon, in Japanese). The name ‘Avalokiteshvara’ can be translated as “All seeing lord” or “lord who looks down on the world” or perhaps “he who has perceived sounds.” Her Chinese name means “she who hears the cries of the world, in order to help.”

I found an account of the story online, titled“Legends of 1000 Armed Avalokiteshvara,” (by Min Bahadur Shakya, published in Buddhist Himalaya: A Journal of Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods, Vol. II No. I & II (1989) Copyright 1989 by Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods.)

Unfortunately, it’s not a very good English translation, so what I’m presenting below is excerpted and reworked, with some additional words by me. I hope I’ve kept true to the spirit of the original.

The legend goes as follows:

Kneeling before Buddha Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara made a vow to save all sentient beings from suffering and despair. This is the first of the four bodhisattva vows that all Mahayana Buddhists make.

Having thus vowed, Avalokiteshvara went into all the realms of Samsara (that’s where we are – the so-called “real world”), and with great effort, he absolutely emptied the ocean of sufferings. Then he went back to Buddha Amitabha and he declared that the liberation of all sentient beings had been affected.

Buddha Amitabha said to him, “You should look back again into the world!” And as he did, there he saw that once again sentient beings were in samsara and in sorrow. The ocean had refilled. He became so discouraged at what he saw that his “awakening mind (Bodhicitta)” decreased in that moment and he lost his courage. The promise that he had made earlier declined in his heart. He felt like giving up.

He was overcome with sorrow. He felt (or thought to himself): “how could there ever be time to liberate all sentient beings as I have promised?” At that moment, his head and body cracked and fell apart into one thousand pieces, and he fainted.

Buddha Amitabha said before the broken Avalokitshvara, “My son, where has your courage, your mental strength gone?” Amitabha picked up all the pieces of the bodhisattva’s head and body. At the same time he said, “this happened because of your prayer. You deserve the praise of all Buddhas since your prayer was efficacious! However, Noble son, don’t worry!” Thereby he blessed his broken head and reformed it into eleven faces upon eleven heads, and his broken body was reformed into one with a thousand arms and hands like one thousand petals. Thereafter he said,” I bow to you because your one thousand hands are the hands of the thousand universal emperors and those eyes in each palm of each hand are the eyes of one thousand Buddhas who will appear in this fortunate aeon.”

With all these heads, hands and eyes, Avalokitshvara was given the power to live up to his vow.

This is such a fascinating story. Who wouldn’t feel like giving up in this situation? Little things make my head pop -- but an entire ocean of suffering refilling? Why does Amitabha say that Avalokiteshvara’s prayer has been efficacious? And what about all those hands and eyes? Who is Avalokiteshvara, or Kuanyin, really? Whose heads are those 11 heads? Whose faces are the faces of compassion? Whose hands are the thousands hands, whose eyes are the thousand eyes? What does it mean to vow to save all sentient beings, anyway?

Something to ponder this holiday season.

Up Now! 'Encryptions' at MH Art & Framing, Manhattan

I'm pleased to announce that I have four paintings in a group show in Manhattan. The show is called "Encryptions." MH Art & Framing is located at 9 West 20th Street in New York City. The show will be up from December 6 until January 24.

There will be an opening reception on Thursday, December 11 from 6 until 9 p.m. I'd love to see you there!

To read more, about this and other Art goings-on, visit my art website blog at: http://apps.azelvandre.net/Blog/.

A new endeavor

Hey folks, herewith is a little plug for a new venture I'm trying out on my gallery website. I have now put up a store page, and am currently offering for sale some quality blank greeting cards that feature my watercolor painting "Solstice tree I." Check it out. Quantities are limited. Let me know what you think.

Happy Thanksgiving! and a Quote

Everything comes and goes
Pleasure moves on too early
And trouble leaves too slow
Just when you're thinking
You've finally got it made
Bad news comes knocking
At your garden gate
Knocking for you
Constant stranger
You're a brute you're an angel
You can crawl you can fly too
It's down to you
It all comes down to you
---from "Down to You," by Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell is an absolute goddess in my book, and if you haven't checked out her wonderful, official website, www.jonimitchell.com, you really must.

Listening to this song today, I was struck about how the lines "Pleasure moves on too early/And trouble leaves too slow" seem almost an exact paraphrase of these lines from Dogen's "Genjokoan":

Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and happy thanksgiving day.

From the Annals of Zen: Dogen's Genjokoan

"As all things are buddha-dharma, there is delusion and realization, practice, and birth and death, and there are buddhas and sentient beings.

As the myriad things are without an abiding self, there is no delusion, no realization, no buddha, no sentient being, no birth and death.

The buddha way is, basically, leaping clear of the many and the one; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas.

Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread."

(from "Genjokoan" - "Actualizing the Fundamental Point," by Eihei Dogen (1200-1253). Translated by Robert Aitken and Kazuaki Tanahashi, 1985 version)

This past weekend, as the Fall Ango concluded at Zen Mountain Monastery, we were informed that Master's Dogen's essay "Genjokoan" will be the subject and theme of the upcoming Spring Ango.

The "Genjokoan" is possibly Dogen's most revered essay on the essence of Buddhism and Zen practice. Like many of my fellow Zen students, I'm already exciting (also daunted) by the prospect of delving into this little gem.

Since I'm already gearing up for a thorough study of Dogen's essay, I'd like to share with anyone who happens by a few online resources and a brief biographical sketch of the man who founded the Soto Zen school in Japan.

A good resource for studying the Genjokoan can be found here. This site contains eight different English translations of the work.

I'm particularly fond of biographical details, and Dogen is a fascinating character. There a pretty good brief bio of him on the wikipedia, and a more polished one can be found in any number of books, such as Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen, ed. Kazuaki Tanahashi. What follows is based on the wikipedia article and the Tanahashi book as well autobiographical details that Dogen included in his own writings.

Dogen was born in Kyoto in 1200 to a noble family, and both of his parents died when he was quite young. At the age of 13 he became a monk, studying with the Tendai School of Buddhism, which at that time was the leading sect in Japan. Apparently, he was quite precocious, because it didn't take long before he became troubled by one of the most difficult religious questions of Buddhism, or of any religion. He phrased his big question thus:

"Both exoteric and esoteric teachings explain that a person in essence has true dharma nature and is original a body of "buddha nature." If so, why do all buddhas in the past, present, and future arouse the wish for and seek enlightenment?"

In other words, if we already possess buddha-nature, why do we have to work so hard at spiritual practice? I might even dare to add: why do people not act like they have buddha-nature -- why is there evil in the world? Why do people do bad things?

It seems that this was to be Dogen's central question, and it appears (from my point of view) to comes up again and again in his writings. His Tendai teachers suggested he go to China to study Zen. He found one teacher in Japan who had studied in China, studied with him and then with that teacher's student. Ultimately he made his own trip to China.

As recorded in his essay, "Instruction for the Tenzo (Tenzo Kyokun)," Dogen shares several anecdotes that show him posing his central question (in one form or another) to the veneral old monks he meets in his travels in China. These are touching stories, and, to my mind, make Dogen a real person that I can relate to.

The "Tenzo" is a monk in a Zen buddhist monastery who is in charge of the kitchen and the meals for the entire monastic community. In the first of two anecdotes I'd like to share, Dogen writes:

"During my stay at Mt. Tiantong, a priest named Yong from Qingyuan Prefecture held the position of tenzo. One day after the noon meal when I was walking along ... he was in front of the buddha hall drying some mushrooms in the sun. He had a bamboo stick in his hand and no hat on his head. The sun was very hot, scorching the pavement. It looked very painful; his backbone was bent like a bow and his eyebrows were as white as a crane.

I went up to the tenzo and asked, 'How long have you been a monk?'

'Sixty-eight years,' he replied.

'Why don't you let a helper do it?'

'Others are not myself.'

'Reverend Sir, you follow regulations exactly, but as the sun is so hot why do you work so hard as this?'

'Until when should I wait?'

So I stopped talking. As I was walking further along the covered walkway, I thought about how important the tenzo's position is."

In the second story, Dogen recounts how he encountered another monk who had made a long trip on foot to the harbor where Dogen's Japanese ship was moored. He came to buy imported mushrooms for the following day's meal.

Dogen asked:

"'When are you going back to your monastery?'

'I will go back as soon as I have bought mushrooms.'

I said, 'Today we met unexpectedly and had a conversation on this ship. Is it not a good causal relationship? Please let me offer you a meal, Reverend Tenzo.'

'It is not possible. If I don't oversee tomorrow's offering, it will not be good.'

'Is there not someone else in the monastery who understands cooking? Even if one tenzo is missing, will something be lacking?'

'I have taken this position in my old age. This is the fulfillment of many years of practice. How can I delegate my responsibility to others? Besides, I did not ask permission to stay out.'

I again asked the tenzo, 'Honourable Tenzo, why don't you concentrate on zazen practice and on the study of the ancient masters' words rather than troubling yourself by holding the position of tenzo and just working? Is there anything good about it?'

The tenzo laughed a lot and replied, 'Good man from a foreign country, you do not yet understand practice or know the meaning of the words of the ancient masters.'

Hearing him respond this way, I suddenly felt ashamed and surprised, so I asked him, 'What are words? What is practice?'

The tenzo said, 'If you penetrate this question, how can you fail to become a person of understanding?'

But I did not understand. Then the tenzo said, 'If you do not understand this, please come and see me at Mt. Ayuwang some time. We will discuss the meaning of words.' He spoke in this way, and then he stood up and said, 'The sun will soon be down. I must hurry.' And he left."

[Both of these stories were excerpted from Moon in a Dewdrop, cited earlier.]

Eventually Dogen did penetrate his question, and his "Genjokoan" is one way in which he expresses that understanding and urges us to pursue the question for ourselves. The Genjokoan concludes with a famous koan, which once again poses the same question:

Zen master Baoche of Mt. Mayu was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, "Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. Why, then, do you fan yourself?"

Although you understand that the nature of wind is permanent," Baoche replied, "you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere."

"What is the meaning of its reaching everywhere?" asked the monk again. The master just kept fanning himself. The monk bowed deeply.

So. Genjokoan. We have our work cut out for us.