no room for hipsters

[ from addair who is listening to The Beatles (White Album) ]

what i can do. acrylic and ink on wood. detail.

Levon found a book in a trash pile on Madison Ave of Harlem (the beneficial aspect to the NYC custom of garbage removal via sidewalk littering) and brought it home to me.  

I’ve learned to adopt this library collection philosophy.  I use to hem and haw about bringing a found book home.  With all the moving around we do,  I’m keen to remember the heft of a box full of books and the monotony of traveling and keeping stuff.   These practical concerns battled the amorous sensations that any bibliophile understands. 

what i can do. detail.

But  Levon taught me that with all the possible book encounters in the world, when a special book catches my eye and crosses my path, it’s probably worth following fate and taking it home to read.

Thanks to Levon and an anonymous resident on Madison Ave, I am now reading Nothing If Not Critical by Robert Hughes, a collection of essays  on art and artists.  

what i can do. detail.

 He reviews shows from artist with florid seals of validation from the art world.  This plunge into “the scene” and it’s commerce  jolts me from my mindscape of ideals, personal priorities and fervor for color  into disillusionment. 

The book is raking over emotional land that is already volatile with insecurity.  Lately, I’ve felt harassed by the weight of corruption, meaningless fads, the necessary death in progress and the empty promises of history.

what i can do. detail.

But I’m saved from total despondency.  I like this quote I found on a friend’s (Amy Haag)  Facebook page ”  …and may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.”  I’m assuming she wrote it.

what i can do. full view.

I’ve resolved that I will push for this.  To be awake and straining for the infantile possibility of real and lasting good.   Maybe we’re doomed;  but if I can give relief or bring sweetness or create beauty or stand in authenticity than why shouldn’t I?  The significance and durability of these actions isn’t likely to be known to me in my lifetime, and my efforts will be plauged with impurity but it is the best that I can manage.  To be awake and to share my awakening.

And when a book presents itself to me I will read it.

Tags: activism, art world, audacity, bibliophile, books, commerce, crisp greens, discouragement, dwell magazine, fate, garbage removal, harlem, homes, ink, littering, madison ave, motivation, new york city, nothing if not critical, optimism, painting on wood, philosophy, robert hughes, self sustainability, stuff, the beatles, what i can do, white album, wind energy