What Do You Like About Art?

She posed the question at the end of her reply to a COMMENT I made on her blog.

I was so pleased with myself I had to post it here for posterity....my own, of course.





Although I admire fine draftsmanship, I am drawn more to non-representational work, including that found in performance pieces such as this.

Sha Sha Higby

(I have yet to find a video that conveys the artistry of Ms. Higby's work.)

My parents were artists (Dad a musician and conductor; Mom a painter) and from a young age I was encouraged to look, listen and notice subtleties. As my aesthetic developed I discovered art provided moments of ineffableness ... that "time" between when the eye perceives and the mind recognizes.

I prefer paintings and sculpture (to movies or videos) as they offer elements of texture not available in photographs. Also, I am slow to process and static works afford me the time to "absorb" them.

That said, I was an early fan of Robert Mapplethorpe's portraits and enjoy the work of Richard Avedon, Man Ray, and some of Sally Mann's work. (I have a proclivity toward the female figure.)

Both Kristen Mendenhall
https://newmexnomad.blogspot.com/2016/10/kristen-mendenhall-in-jemez-springs.html

and Michelle Cook have excellent compositional eyes and capture some astounding images though Ms. Cook rarely makes her work available to the public ... except for cat pictures on Facebook. Here are a couple of her videos from decades ago:

Smokin' White Folks I

Bad Eggs In Low Light

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.cook.900




But, back to your question ... it is through art that I have gained insight into myriad ways of seeing. I lack imagination and through art have been able, as a voyeur, to enjoy a broader spectrum of experience.

I practiced Uechi-ryu (martial art) for 30 years (now fully integrated into consciousness) 

and had several experiences that gave first-hand appreciation of the power of chi / qi-gong.

My lifestyle as a nomad provides frequent encounters with the numinous (Jungian). For the past several years I've been practicing Margot Anand's techniques (mostly by myself) as a means of further expanding my ability to "notice."

But it is through works of art that I most commonly find unique sensibilities. It is in the arts - visual, performance, music - that I most frequently experience the thrill of discovery; an appreciation of new perspective and, with luck, a measure of sensuality.

I have spent my life seeking this experience and consider myself to have been lucky to find it in nearly all of my relationships (I'm a devout hetero) ... nearly all of whom are, or were, artists.

Margot Anand Documentary

Updated: 1, December, 2019 at 8:57 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

HHUURRRRAAAYYYYY!!!! YOU DID IT!!!! 

$52,877.00  pledged toward a goal of 50k.




This woman's done more than anyone to promote unconditional love except maybe Winnie-the-Pooh.

Dear Michael, Lire en français ci-dessous. Dear Friends Of Margot Anand, My name is John Antonelli.  I’m making a documentary film about the amazing life and work of Margot Anand.  I’m reaching out to you with Margot’s permission.  We’ve created a Kickstarter campaign for the project.  Complete information including a sample of the film is available by clicking on this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnantonelli/higher-love Your email information is protected and won’t be used by Kickstarter or anyone else as a result of this contact.  If you’d rather not I have your email, please reply to this email that you want to be taken off the list.  You may have received this email previously. We've been unable to reach some email addresses, so our team just wants to ensure our message is received.  Thank you to all of you have already made positive comments about the campaign. The early pledges are extra meaningful because they let others know that there’s a strong community that supports the project.  We hope that once you see the film sample and read about our plans to share Margot’s story with the world, that you’ll join us by pledging a few dollars or a few hundred, or even a few thousand. No pressure, of course. All donations of whatever size will be greatly appreciated. There are some wonderful incentives for pledging anywhere from $50 to $10,000.  Kickstarter campaigns run on an all-or-nothing basis. Please help to keep the progress moving forward so we can reach our goal.  Don’t be shy about making a smaller pledge. Everything that moves us even a little closer is meaningful to us and to everyone who is considering pledging. Margot and I really appreciate your support.  Warmly, John Antonelli ******************************************* Chers amis de Margot Anand, Je m'appelle John Antonelli. Je fais un documentaire sur la vie et le travail étonnant de Margot Anand. Je vous contacte avec la permission de Margot. Nous avons créé une campagne Kickstarter pour le projet. Des informations complètes, y compris un échantillon du film, sont disponibles en cliquant sur ce lien: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnantonelli/higher-love Vos informations de courrier électronique sont protégées et ne seront pas utilisées par Kickstarter ou par quiconque à la suite de ce contact. Si vous préférez ne pas avoir votre courrier électronique, veuillez répondre à ce courrier que vous souhaitez supprimer de la liste. Vous avez peut-être déjà reçu cet email. Nous n’avons pas pu accéder à certaines adresses e-mail. Notre équipe souhaite simplement que notre message soit reçu. Merci à tous d’avoir fait des commentaires positifs sur la campagne. Les premières promesses ont plus de sens car elles permettent aux autres de savoir qu’il existe une forte communauté qui soutient le projet. Nous espérons qu’une fois que vous aurez vu l’exemple de film et pris connaissance de notre intention de partager l’histoire de Margot avec le monde entier, vous nous rejoindrez en promettant quelques dollars, quelques centaines, voire quelques milliers. Pas de pression, bien sûr. Tous les dons, quelle que soit leur taille, seront grandement appréciés. Il existe de formidables motivations pour promettre des contributions allant de 50 à 10 000 dollars. Les campagnes Kickstarter fonctionnent sur une base tout ou rien. Aidez-nous à faire avancer les progrès pour que nous puissions atteindre notre objectif. Ne soyez pas timide pour faire une plus petite promesse. Tout ce qui nous rapproche un peu plus est significatif pour nous et pour tous ceux qui envisagent de donner en gage. Margot et moi apprécions vraiment votre soutien. Chaleureusement, John Antonelli" Message endorsed by Margot Anand. Margot Anand

For more information about Margot Anand, her bestselling titles, and teachings, visit her new website at margotanand.com

On the Tantra Trail

As I've mentioned numerous times over the past several years, thanks to Jozien Keijzer, I have become a devotee of Margot Anand. (It was Jozien who, disdaining Margot's book as too technique-oriented, sent it to me.) Anand's work led to The Function of the Orgasm (link is to a 38-page pdf) by Wilhelm Reich who led to Bronisław Malinowski and his trilogy about the Trobriand islanders.

I have yet to discern the connection (perhaps someone can enlighten me?) between Reich's work and the Trobriand peoples, but I suspect it has to do with the islanders' sexual practices. (Haven't had time to read what with Cook's sciatica and all the cat-sitting.)

But this morning's delving took me to the first pages offered on Amazon of the first volume (of the trilogy), Argonauts of the Western Pacific.

What I found striking is Malinowski's comment (on p.5) about the (white) folks already on the island: "Here were men who had lived for years in the place with constant opportunities of observing the natives and communicating with them, and who yet hardly knew one thing about them really well. How could I therefore in a few months or a year, hope to overtake and go beyond them? Moreover, the manner in which my white informants spoke about the natives and put their views was, naturally, that of untrained minds, unaccustomed to formulate their thoughts with any degree of consistency and precision. And they were for the most part, naturally enough, full of the biased and pre-judeged opinions inevitable in the average practical man, whether administrator, missionary, or trader, yet so strongly repulsive to a mind striving after the objective, scientific view of things. The habit of treating with a self-satisfied frivolity what is really serious to the ethnographer; the cheap rating of what to him is a scientific treasure, that is to say, the native's cultural and mental peculiarities and independence -- these features, so well known in the inferior amateur's writing, I found in the tone of the majority of white residents."

Although I've never thot of myself of scientific bent, (albeit, according to Good Luck Duck by virtue of being a polyamorist I DO qualify as qweer...a form, I'll propose, of bent-ittude), Malinoski's description brought to mind the Bud Lite & Big Tires folk in their gray t-shirts and khaki shorts.

I'm also intrigued by the recent adoption of the beard affect. Hit youstuh be a signature sign of beatniks and poets (think Allen Ginsberg). Wha' happint?

Margot on Freedom

Several years ago Jozien (yes, that's her in the first two photographs), you've seen her comments on some of the posts, sent me a copy of Margot Anand's The Art of Sexual Ecstasy: The Path of Sacred Sexuality for Western Lovers. I've been exploring Anand's ideas ever since. A few days ago I discovered her blogs and there is a video.


The video....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=361&v=j82AaLIGqxw



This article is about her most recent book, Love, Sex, and Awakening which I read a bit of each morning the way some folks read Happy Aphorisms for the Wan & Ennui-struck. Just ignore the cover; it doesn't have anything to with anything except marketing. Her story includes her philosophy, both a guide to discovery as well as personal accounts of her own travails and delights.

Good reading, Maynard!

Margot Anand's Video

A good synopsis of her philosophy...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=3Z9aBuUV8Gc

The High Road to Monte Vista - Part I

Out ahead, the road melded into the horizonless expanse of the monsoon. After more than two hours of grey clouds and intermittent showers I had succumbed to the deep depression that affects New Mexicans whenever the sun goes out. I was trundling north solely motivated by smoldering patriotic fervor: I would do what I could to aid in the economic recovery by burning gas. (Does that qualify as a "burning" desire?) I pulled onto the shoulder and got out the map.

After intense perusal, I spied the dirt road along the Conejos River. Executing the necessary u-turn, I caught a whiff of the subtle change that signals "alignment."  

That afternoon, as we passed the final vestige of civilization (an RV Park) on Forest Rd 250, a woman in a small group looked up and gave a friendly wave. Too far to discern more than the gladful energy, her gesture inspired a gentle stiffening in Eggbert's white. I smiled as he straightened his cummerbund and perched himself a bit higher on his shoes. 

The one daunting aspect of the stretch between highway 17 and Platoro is the restricted camping -- only in designated sites, in this case...campgrounds. Being Lucky Herrmann I often find the one & only dispersed site available. (Dispersed is Nat'l Forest speak for an undesignated campsite i.e., wherever I choose. RVers refer to it as Boondocking.) But as sundown drew nigh without even a hint of an alternative, we resignedly pulled into Spectacle Lake Campground.

The campground's hand-pumped water is severely sediment-laden so when Richard, the host, offered use of his purification setup, we gratefully accepted. He recommends the 50 micron filters rather than the 30.


A whole greater than its parts.

The pump came with clips. Richard converted the negative connector to a long-term solution (above).

The filter canister (below) required a couple of adaptive nipples to fit this application. 

Richard recommends the 50-micron filters rather than the 30 shown below.

The water, which was brown when it went in, came out clear. It took less than a minute with the 50-micron filter to process five gallons. Thanks Richard!

It was an uneventful night and nearly everyone left the next morning before nine. I sometimes puzzle over where people are going at that hour. Now that they've freed themselves from their constraints, you'd think they'd spend the morning making love (scroll down to "Erotic Writings" under Literary Career).