COVID-19 The Corona Pandemic

The world is under siege. Massive lock-down, hoarding and largely fear is ruling in the many corners and epicenters of as many nations. It is ensnaring epic numbers of people in pain and suffering both physical and psychological. Without argument the coronavirus is infecting relentless numbers and is the most serious medical crisis we have faced in generations. Along with the infections; of course, come large numbers of deaths; the ultimate price/disaster. It is primarily sentencing the elderly communities but all ages can become and are the virus’ victims. People with chronic diseases along with the elderly are most at risk and the chief victims; those with heart disease, lung disease and MS are the types of related afflictions represented in the highest numbers of deaths; victims in this pandemic. It is a thing of a nature that the majority of the world’s citizens have not experienced or seen. Now; with all this said, “There is still hope and COVID-19 will not ultimately win.”

This systematic war is largely trench warfare and we are in said trenches.  Every one of us fights by keeping our distances (6 feet) whenever possible, covering our coughs and sneezes and avoiding crowds. Also; wash your hands and self-quarantine when necessary. We do what we can as the Pharmaceutical and scientific worlds search for treatments and a cure. The fact is that there is no magic bullet and time is a factor as much as it is of the essence. 

                                                                     

                  Stock Up But Don't Hoard!

Another way we fight for and to protect our families, friends and neighbors as well as ourselves is to listen to facts and follow experts. There are leaders who should better understand human nature and this epidemic but choose to speak from their “guts” and not their heads. Always listen to those in the “medical know” those who have dedicated their lives to treatment and disease prevention (the CDC.) Listen to reporters and leaders that respect and honor truth over fear and personal posturing. We can and will win in this current environment largely of the undiscovered and the unknown.

At the moment of the writing of this Blog I personally know of no one that has contracted the Coronavirus.  I know a very small number that are under limited lock-down because of exposure to possible infection. In that I am fortunate. I am looking/hoping/praying   for their exoneration from the disease. My area is not a large urban center and maps are showing that the less densely populated areas are not seeing large numbers of cases or even deaths by volume or either percentage. This is a blessing.   

Daft Punk May Have Always Had The Right Idea.

I urge everyone to send up a few extra prayers and make every personal effort humanly possible in preventing the spread of this horror in this; the time of COVID-19, The Coronavirus. We support all and I wish everyone good health and good fortune.

Jacob Lawrence @ Virginia Tech

The Jacob Lawrence road show came to town in late August. “History, Labor, Life: the Prints of Jacob Lawrence” is the featured exhibit at The Moss Arts Center on Virginia Tech’s expansive campus. It is stunning in scale, quality and daring. Art is many times not what we see but what we perceive. Lawrence has come of age or perhaps the world is catching up to his incredible gifts.

Lawrence was recognized early on in his life and remained a force as an interpreter and chronicler of the African American experience. He was given to work in series; many included forty or more individual pieces. He was purchased early on by MoMA and other prominent collections. Lawrence was truly a modernist, innovator and cultural contributor. He was much akin to the European Modernist of his time, Matisse, Picasso, Leger and Modigliani. His African American compatriots Bearden, Douglas and Alston are alluded to in his virtuosic efforts too. With that being said Lawrence remained true to his vision throughout his life; all the more remarkable for an almost totally untrained master.

Narrative was a hallmark of the man’s work. He strayed from the modernist doctrines in this respect. His Migration Series, Toussaint L’Ouverture Series and War Series are represented in this exhibit along with others including his Harlem Series and John Brown Series. These are definite historical stories and close to theatrical story boards. At best; when all is spoken Lawrence considered himself a Social Realist.

A high point of the opening reception was a talk by Leslie King Hammond; activist, historian, and professor emerita at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Dr. Hammond was a close friend to Jacob Lawrence and able to give personal reflections of the man along with a deep knowledge of his life and works. She touched all the bases and added interesting and new insights. Dr. Hammond was like a fountain in a beautiful garden of color and content.

This exhibition of Jacob Lawrence prints featured over ninety individual pieces. The last exhibition I have recently seen with such a large, over whelming number of great pieces was at New York’s Metropolitan. That exhibit featured about one hundred original and exclusive drawings by the world and historically renowned; Michelangelo Buonaroti.  Rarely has something of that cultural significance and scale been mounted in South Western Virginia. The color, vibrancy, refinement and geometry of Lawrence’s work holds it ground very well. 

 I drove home still under the spell of this mammoth in scale; major exhibition. I happened to see a young man that I often see power walking around town.  I spot him in the distance; black, bold, beautiful, shirtless…red shorts against the dark grey highway making his way around a curve. The green of late summer in the surrounding foliage were working as bracketing frames. Above all this was the elegance of a luxurious cumulus clouded blue sky. This moment, this scene, I had witnessed countless times without much thought. In my eyes now I’m in the presence of and viewing a living, breathing Jacob Lawrence Painting; a transformative visionary thing.

 “My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life; if he has developed this philosophy, he does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas.”

                                                                                                    Jacob Lawrence                                                          

                              

                                                                                   

In Heaven

"Large Turf"  Albrect Durer

In Heaven

by

Stephen Crane

In heaven,

Some little blades of grass

Stood before God.

"What did you do?"

Then all save one of the little blades

Began eagerly to relate

The merits of their lives.

This one stayed a small way behind,

Ashamed.

Presently, God said,

"And what did you do?"

The little blade answered, "Oh my Lord,

Memory is bitter to me,

For, if I did good deeds,

I know not of them."

Then God, in all His splendor,

Arose from His throne.

"Oh, best little blade of grass!" He said.