Tag: Eclectopia

Sharon Lynn Stackpole: Follow the Flow

“I am always doing what I cannot yet do, in order to learn how to do it.”
― van Gogh

Soft, watery, Impressionistic, veiled, implied, nuanced: these might be descriptions of the art of Sharon Lynn Stackpole.

She describes her style as “being all over the map” and indeed the pieces have a broad palate of styles. Still, there is a unity and a recognizable style to her work.

What does it mean? Well, that can vary both in message and depth. Speech recalls a traumatic childhood issue with speaking; thus the overwhelming proliferation of words around a Munch-like foreground figure. The delicate grace of Watery Fish reflects just a love and fascination with aquatic life and environs. In A Moment’s Hesitation, the gesture is more enigmatic as if to say, “You, the viewer, must discern the meaning.” This is an artist who goes with the flow and follows where she believes the piece wants to take her. To let the piece evolve at its own pace.

"I try to get out of my own way and not think too much when I'm in the zone. It's kind of like being a leaf in the river. I'm just going along the current and letting it happen."

Which brings up the general discussion of meaning. Do you need an obvious narrative for the art to speak to you? In my experience, I am more often wrong than right in discerning the meaning of a work. That used to confound me, but now I see it as an unexpected surprise and pleasure. When I have the delight of freely wandering a gallery, my pulse quickens as I anticipate that epiphany when a work speaks to me.

To paraphrase the great Joseph Campbell, perhaps we are not looking for specific meaning in art, but rather to have the artistic experience. To be drawn out of one’s self, to surrender, to be swept up in another’s imagination. The world of art awaits our presence – we only need to look.

Sharon talks about her style, process and her thoughts on rules.

The artist talks about the works, Speech and Watery Fish. She lets us know, in a very unguarded moment, about a childhood struggle and how artistic honesty might help others.

02_Sharon_Lynne_Stackpole_Part-2.mp3
Sharon Lynn Stackpole, pt. 2.

Who Shall Smite the Scorpion?

Many things are taught on Robert Fripp’s guitar courses, but one cannot imagine that defensive tactics against scorpions is one of them. Saints preserve us!

I had to point out this most unexpected entry in the RF diary:

22.32 As I was sitting at the computer in my room, a loud crack! as something fell from the ceiling and bounced off the desk or Mac. Looking down to see what this might be – a black scorpion on my left trouser leg just below the knee. It walked around to the back of my leg, where I couldn’t see it. Standing and slowly walking backwards out of the door, picking up a shoe as I went, fortunately finding Aileen sitting on the bench outside. I gave her the shoe, and with loud and expressive shouts Aileen rapidly dispatched the scorpion it by knocking it from my leg, then giving it a hefty hammering with the shoe. This a first, in almost twenty-nine years of courses.  

Artist Ian Bode – The Passenger

After music, I love the graphic arts, photography, film and almost any variation thereof.

Graphic artists, like Ian Bode, fascinate me. I am not filled with envy, but with wonder at their ability to transform a blank canvas or an ordinary sheet of paper into something living, thought-provoking or transformative. How on earth do they do it?

Painting or drawing is about seeing, so I’m going to let Mr. Bode’s work speak for itself. Click through the slideshow above while listening to the interview. You’ll see “the passenger” and a  four-paneled sketch followed by the final result.

Shedding Light Into the Dark

When we are first exposed to educational topics that excite and stimulate our minds, the manner with which the information is delivered becomes the…

When we are first exposed to educational topics that excite and stimulate our minds, the manner with which the information is delivered becomes the template for future learning.

What do I mean? My preference is British.

But, more than British, it must have a glorious British narrator who has gravitas-a certain weight and authority to their delivery and personality. For example, James Galway’s marvelous music history series, Music in Time, had the sparkling Irish charm, but the narrator was a British historian whose voice spoke of deep authority. That’s my quirk and I have to live with it.

Host Waldemar Januszczak’s down-to-earth, almost satiric style takes a bit of an adjustment. From the pointed hair to the use of contemporary slang, Januszczak (a Brit by way of Poland) can come off as trying too hard to reach a younger audience. For example, describing the barbarians’ jewelry as “bling.” 

Still, this is a wonderful exploration of an age that has a terrible moniker that implies it was an age of ignorance. I recall trying to research this era’s art and being told by a librarian that there were “many books on Renaissance art.” This is a real attitude embraced by even the most educated among us. Truly sad.

The so-called Dark Ages is a lively age of art that speaks of a vitality, an exquisite artistic capability and has a way of getting communicating its mystic message across the ages.

Delightful bits that we learn:

  • the rotas square
  • the secret signs of Christianity
  • the sources of the many images of Christ
  • the humble beginnings of the Christian church
  • barbarian is a misleading term and their culture/art is exquisite
Credit athenalearning.com
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Your light-hearted host, Waldemar Januszczak, dispelling that stupid Viking myth.

We learn that the horned Viking helmet was a 19th century opera costume invention and had nothing to do with the real Vikings.

This set had two discs and has four episodes. I liked them all, although I did not really care about episode three which presented Islamic architecture (although the intricate decorations are incredible).

Overall, we learn quite a bit about this mysterious age and the host is very engaging.

Buy it at Amazon.

Sting Goes Broadway

  Sting is a musical icon of mine. That being stated, it pains me to recognize that his solo work is a largely uneven affair ranging from the sublime to the outright dreadful. The first couple of albums were full of fire and conviction. Listen to those albums and Sting sounds like he’s singing for his life.

Soul Cages (studio album number 3) brought gems like “All This Time” and “Why Should I Cry for You?” and others, but overall it was a mess. Something was amiss. Ten Summoner’s Tales followed and with it redemption. The old Sting, the one who write such gorgeous, heart-felt songs, was back from his slumber.

What followed was, as they say on VH1, “Then it all went horribly wrong.”

The muse seemed to have walked out the door with the next three albums. Mercury Falling fell,Brand New Day scraped the bottom and Sacred Love finally came to a complete rest. After this, Sting had a long bout with writer’s block. Coincidence or was his muse trying to tell him something?

Sting, a very educated and often articulate man, often spouts nonsense a la Nigel Tufnel. When the reviews for Soul Cages came out, he said, “This latest album has got the best reviews I’ve ever had – and the worst. There’s a polarity about them which is quite extraordinary and, I suppose, in a way, confirming.”

Perhaps others were sensing that the music being served up was “less than” and the muse finally gave up on Sting.

Now he is taking his music to Broadway.

Regarding the musical, only Sting could say something like this: “I was writing songs for other characters than me, other sensibilities than mine, a different viewpoint,” he continued. “And so all of that pent-up stuff, all of those crafts I’d developed as a songwriter, I was suddenly free to explore without much thinking, actually. It just kind of came out as a kind of Tourette’s, a kind of projectile vomiting. It just came out, very quickly.”

I just bet it’s like that. We’ll see.

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