Trumpets and Paintbrushes

jazz American music developed from ragtime and blues, characterized by varying degrees of improvisation
abstract expressionism an artistic movement of the mid-20th Century comprising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing esp. an artist's liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through non-traditional and usu. non-representational means

Trumpets are conduits for music; paintbrushes, in the hands of artists, bring visual art to us. How we hear jazz and how we see abstract art are more complicated than just listening in a desultory manner, or glancing at a painting and moving to the next one.

In jazz we hear a main theme which quickly becomes entwined among various instruments, is submerged, disappears, and surfaces as another variation: improvisation, ever changing and charged with energy. Recorded jazz is almost as good as a live session, but not quite. The way to hear true jazz is to experience in concert its dynamic qualities which cannot be captured by electronic means.

Abstract art does not have to be "about something". Its colors, shapes, forms and designs, reflect what the artist wishes to bring to our attention. At times the purpose is obvious, other times, not. In either case it can usually be revealed by taking time to consider the work. Photographs of paintings, however good the quality of print, lack the impact made by a visit to an exhibition in a museum or an art gallery.

Jazz and abstract expressionism have much in common. Once heard and viewed in person, recordings and photographs can be reminders of performances and exhibits that brought great rewards.

Have you heard jazz performed by a local group? Have you visited an art exhibit featuring local artists? Would you be willing to attend a jazz concert? Would you travel to an art museum to see an exhibition by contemporary painters?

Carl Sandburg wrote

Drum on your drums, batter on your
banjos, sob on the long cool
saxophones.
Go to it, O jazzmen

Wassily Kandinsky said

The content of painting is painting. Nothing has to be deciphered. The content, filled with happiness, speaks to that person to whom each form is alive, i.e., has content.

Two Last Words

On reading Hunter S. Thompson's suicide note:

It is disturbing to note that two great writers, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) and Hunter S. Thompson (ca.1938-2005) committed suicide in their sixties. There were great differences in their subject matters and styles, and yet both wrote powerfully and with a great impact on the literature and thought of their times. Both, apparently, experienced a despairing impotence having to do with "old age".

What might they have brought to the world had they been able to overcome that darkness of spirit and decide to make do with whatever years were left to them before death came unsought. There are many who have gained fame and prestige in the arts and sciences who have lived on into old age, adjusted to it, and given the world the benefit of their words and deeds through the years. What might Hemingway and Thompson have given us from the perspective of another twenty years, or more, of their lives. Life is not easy. One must persevere through adversities, enjoy what pleasures there are, be as creative and productive as possible, and remember that death comes to all, eventually - no need to rush it.

Shakespeare wrote

What's done is done, and cannot be undone.

A Nod To The Bishop

Berkeleianism the idealistic system of philosophy of Bishop George Berkeley (1685-1753),
idealism a theory that the essential nature of reality lies in consciousness or reason

A familiar question that can give rise to endless speculation is this: if a tree falls crashing to the ground in a forest, and there is no one present to witness it, no ear to hear the crash, does the event make noise? If the answer is yes, how can it be proven? If the answer is no, how can it be proven? The impact of the crash will cause ripples in the air (potential sound waves), but lacking a listener, those waves will diminish and fade silently. Or will there be sound regardless of the presence or absence of an observer?

Bishop George Berkeley might have had an answer. He maintained that things (matter) cannot exist unless perceived by some mind. One of his peers attempted to prove to him that matter exists by kicking a large boulder until he rebounded from it, in order to prove reality. The Bishop retorted that matter is a notion added to what the senses actually report. And so far there has been no rebuttal to Bishop Berkeley's argument.

What is your reaction to the problem of the tree that crashed in the forest? If you have an opinion, you are indulging in one of philosophy's great occupations - that of speculation. Will you read more about Bishop Berkeley's theories? Do you know of other unanswerable situations that invite argument?

Thomas Stearns Eliot wrote

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow

Two Tragedies Too Many

The early twenty-first century has brought America two disasters. The first is known by its date: 9/11. It came unannounced and was a result of human evil. The second is known by its name: Katrina. It came announced well in advance as a hurricane and was accompanied by dire and urgent warnings. Its cause: nature, which is neither good nor evil, but is mightier than anything mankind can create or imagine.

America will never be as it was before Katrina. Need and grief co-exist. We the people will do what we can in the present, and will look towards the future equipped with the knowledge of what to do when nature strikes again.

The Red Cross and The Salvation Army, and many more charitable institutions need our donations. America will respond.