A Murder of Crows

 

I dreamed I was haunted and hunted by a murder of crows; indicted by a parliament of owls and entertained by a gaggle of geese. These are all poetic terms for groups of birds; their origins not completely known. The case of the crows probably is in alignment with the fact that battle fields have been known to be covered with the feasting carrion birds. I’m certain more than one murder victim’s corpse has been found in the same manner. The crows black feathers an ominous symbol of death and their song a cry of pain, far less than alluring. A murder of crows in short has a “ring” that sounds remarkable fitting and ideally distinct.  

 

 

The crow is equally arresting in nature and in fiction. Books, film and song feature the resourcefully clever creatures. Aesop was fond of crows and found them useful in many of his illustrious fables, “The Crow and the Pitcher, The Fox and the Crow and The Crow and the Swan” among them. Disney used crows in his feature “Dumbo.” A flock (Disney would never have used the word murder) of crows befriend the distressed elephant; help him to believe in himself and his abilities. Disney’s Crows add humor, song, heart and compassion to the film. The characters were also considered racially offensive and rife with negative stereo-types. They remain debatable. Ralph Bakshi would use crows in a similar but updated manner as did Disney in his adaptation of R. Crumb’s “Fritz the Cat.” Bakshi’s films were much more satirical and “hipper,” they were critical of every aspect of society and culture. Bakshi’s brilliance was equal to Disney’s but drastically different and his target audience the radical chic and the underground covet his land mark films.

 

Actor Johnny Depp has chosen to wear a hopefully taxidermist crow as a headdress in the currently in theatres version of “The Lone Ranger.” His impressive “Tonto Look” was inspired by a painting by contemporary artist Kirby Sattler. The painting “I Am Crow” is a feat unto itself and Sattler’s fame should increase exponentially with the film’s success. Depp in full makeup is featured on the July 4-8 cover issue of “Rolling Stone” magazine. It will take its place among the many iconic covers from the magazine’s remarkable history of striking covers.

Painter Jamie Wyeth works almost exclusively from nature. He is one of America’s most acclaimed and revered artists.  Crows, along with their cousin’s ravens have found their way onto a number of his canvases. These works are detailed to a flaw and lovely to behold. Wyeth’s crow paintings are successful renderings that illuminate the animal like no others.

                                                    "I Am Crow" by Kirby Sattler

 

 

James O’ Barr’s “The Crow” is the telling of a murder victim’s rise from the grave and vigilante style retribution of his own and his bride’s killers. It places Barr among the most revered of the graphic novel form. The original film version released in 1994 starring the late Brandon Lee became legend. Lee’s immersion into the character and his untimely death during the actual filming have made “The Crow” a cult classic that remains engaging and intriguing. The stylistic comic book, gothic-noir look of the movie is unsurpassed to this day. 

In as much as the crow informs and inspires the minds of the creative they are in general among the least popular of birds. Think about the scarecrow…what other bird has a thing named; invented and dedicated just to ward it off. The scarecrow does honestly have a justification in that crows destroy crops and are a general nuisance. There are few that don’t love a singing and dancing scarecrow as portrayed by Ray   Bolger in “The Wizard of Oz” and later by Michael Jackson in the “Wiz.” Crows themselves are by most accounts not the most beautiful of creatures especially considering the vast array of colorful families of known birds. Crows while reviled are actually the cleanest of birds, smart, loving and attentive as parents. 

 

As I write this blog a giant crow has just landed in a tree above me adjacent to my front porch, we are almost face to face. It is cawing wildly and dangerously close. I have to admit he is a little “too close for comfort.”  I will have to chase him away. It seems that the species is best viewed from a distance or through the interpretation of fiction.  The true scientist would perhaps view this as a rare opportunity and a great vantage point of observation. I do not. Why is it also in this moment of discomfort; this feeling something of ill at ease, with it there is too a strange validation; a degree of union to nature and in its oddity something akin to Poe?    

The Crow and the Pitcher 

 A crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a pitcher, which he saw at a distance. But when he came up to it, he found the water so low that with all his stooping and straining he was unable to reach it. So he tried to break the pitcher, then to overturn it, but his strength was not sufficient to do either. At last, seeing some small pebbles at hand, he dropped a great many of them, one by one, into the pitcher, and so raised the water to the brim and quenched his thirst.

Aesop

Moral: Little by little does the trick

Superman "Man of Steel"

 

 

The “Man of Steel” has been around for many, many extravagant, entertaining and extraordinary years certainly longer than you or I. He was originally conceived by teen agers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938. Within his unique history he has been envisioned in every possible medium since his comic book birth; radio, theatre, novels, games, toys, music, television and film. He is certainly the stuff of legend both as a character and as a production icon of society. Ask anyone if they remember being introduced to Superman and overwhelmingly people will answer that they can’t recall “The Man of Steel” as a new concept. We learn about Superman as we learn of language itself. With so much history and saturation into the American psyche and hearts it is next to impossible to change or revamp the temperament and tone of the character for our contemporary times. Batman his partner, foil and diametric opposite is much more flexible for rewrites and reworks. Spiderman, Dare Devil, Iron Man and even Hell Boy are crafted for our dystopian modern existence. Superman; the “Grand-Daddy” of them all is in most ways just that; the “Grand-Dadd

                                               

                                          

                       

                                                                  

As Superman is known there are some definite things that he can do such as to leap a tall building in a single bound (it would take the rest of us at least three or four bounds.) He is faster than a speeding bullet (there are benefits to this ability; ask just about anyone.) He is more powerful than a locomotive (this refers to a train; something most Americans under the age of thirty probably have never heard of.)  Now; there are also some things that he cannot do. He cannot and has no right to doubt himself. When you can fly purely as a result of your own will power, bend steel in your bare hands, see through walls etc. you do not have any time or reason for petty insecurities. When using said powers you cannot do anything wrong. This means any selfish thing or anything that hurts anyone else (even the bad guy or gal.) You’re the opposite of the baddie and that‘s what makes you the hero; not your powers.   

 

“Man of Steel” opened this weekend in theatres across the country and world-wide. The reviews are mixed; the consensus at this point is “Man of Steel” is at best a descent effort but nothing special. This is the fourth big screen incarnation for Superman. Christopher Reeves set an impossibly high bar for anyone to reach in the Donner films. They will never be surpassed. Reeves personified Superman on screen and he proved to have an amazing amount of courage and resilience in real life. Reeves was an inspiration. This new film comes to us over blown, dark and repetitive. These days the source materials for the super hero “Block-Busters” are known as Graphic Novels. Originally the book’s genre was classified and considered Comic or Funny Books. There has to be a sense of humor; a joyfulness in the equation for anything relating to a comic book creation like Superman, again he is the original. Superman doesn’t need to imitate the kids. He only needs to be himself.      

                                                 All Images of Superman by the Stellar Alex Ross

"The Greedy Child"

Mrs. Wonderley was everything her name suggested. She was joyful, energetic, vibrant…she taught with a passion and love of the thing; Art. Her knowledge of the subject ran deep. Art’s history, movements and techniques were all introduced to her students. Her classes ranged from pottery to macramé and from mixed-medium to painting, drawing and graphics. Mrs. Wonderley taught from her head but she taught mostly from her heart and love. Her gift to us was a richer understanding and meaning to what art was and could be. She inspired and was wonderful!

The methods of teaching she choose were tried and true and from the respected scientific laws of seeing. Drawings from plaster models and life were done in her art room as we learned the importance of symmetry, perspective, form and composition. There was little she missed but one of the simplest and yet most extraordinary things she did was after instruction and background on our assignments she would jump in and do her own version of the topic. There was no competition in this but she knew as did Leonardo that working with a superior more experienced artist would only make us better. The reality is that she truly enjoyed expressing herself as she continued her own learning and artistic growth. At these times she would most often create originals but copies would sometimes be her choice of expression, depending on her whim. 

On one occasion as we students worked on assignment Mrs. Wonderley chose to copy something from Picasso’s Blue Period, “The Greedy Child.” To see her copying as a drawing this master piece of 20^th century painting, this modernist marvel from a master’s hand was a thing of beauty onto itself.  She worked with a relaxed diligence that showcased her talent and ability to see and reproduce both the detail, depth of feeling and nuance of the original. It was impossible to discern any real difference between the graphic structure of the image she copied from and the image we saw unfold on Mrs. Wonderley’s paper. Her choice to copy “The Greedy Child” would increase my admiration for my teacher as well as for the masterful, Pablo Picasso.

Forty years later while walking, relaxing, passing through the National Gallery in Washington, DC my grandchildren and I would stop to sit before a work from the museum’s permanent collection. This was an opportunity to study and further enjoy a painting of beauty, worthy of deeper reflection. It was a gift of sort from me to them. I felt something wholly unique and special as we look at the miraculous, this original work of art “The Greedy Child.” I thought about Mrs. Wonderley and as we looked; the wheel turned. Within this rarest of moments I somehow knew the essence and meaning of art.