Having grown up and spent most of my life in Australia, I have always been drawn to the wild red desert areas – like a spiritual calling I guess you could say. I found this discovery of extremely ancient cave art in the Kimberley Ranges of North West Australia incredibly interesting – not just because of the beautiful art, but also because of the suggestion of:

“the existence of an advanced culture with sophisticated intellect and social organization well before the history of civilization, as we know it.”

Along the seven rivers of the rugged Kimberley Ranges, enigmatic rock paintings, protected by shallow caves and overhanging ledges, confront the skilled survivors visiting the harshest and most inhospitable place on Earth. The pictures bear witness of an advanced civilization that existed long before the ancient cave paintings of Europe, long before man is believed to have acquired the intellect of expressing concepts in art.

These are the Bradshaw Paintings also known as Gwion Gwion by the local Aboriginal people.

Skilled and realistic representations of portraits, highly choreographed group actions, and seemingly emotional interactions of two tell about an advanced civilization that existed in the last Ice Age, or probably as long ago as one Ice Age before. Photo enhancements show the compositions were designed and sketched before the artists filled in the paint. Furthermore, the pictures were retouched, indicating a long lasting tradition and appreciation of the paintings.

The Bradshaw Paintings are incredibly sophisticated, yet they are not recent creations but originate from an unknown past period which some suggest could have been 50,000 years ago.

……Peter Robinson, Project Controller of the Bradshaw Foundation.

In 1996 one of the paintings was dated by analyzing an ancient wasp nest covering it (using thermoluminescence). The nest was found to be over 17,000 years old, indicating that some paintings are at least this old. Debate rages as to who actually created the art. On one side of the debate is Grahame Walsh, an amateur archeologist and the leading expert on the Bradshaws with over 1.2 million images he has amassed over 21 years studying them. His hypothesis claims that the Bradshaws were painted by a culture predating present day Indigenous Australians. On the other side are the mainstream scientific community who believe that it is completely plausible that the art was produced by the local people.

The rock paintings were discovered by Joseph Bradshaw and his brother in 1891. The new settlers had set out to find grazing land for their cattle and became lost in the rugged Kimberley Ranges. Since the initial find by the Bradshaw brothers, over 1,000 paintings have been discovered. The painted sites extend in an area of about 50,000 square kilometres.

Fascinating story don’t you think? Who were they and where did their obvious sophistication and sensitivity come from? And – I’m also wondering what art marketing looked like back then? (Sorry – I couldn’t resist thinking that!).

The original article that I used for source material is no longer online. However you can find out more about the Bradshaw Paintings at Convict Creations and The Bradshaw Foundation and of course Wikipedia.

As a child growing up in Australia in the 1970′s my life was framed by polaroid moments. My Uncle worked as an engineer, traveling all over the world on big ocean-going cargo ships. Each time he visited us he brought many wild and exotic presents – many of them featuring the latest technology. His visits were a time of great excitement and heightened awareness of the joys of life.

Andy Warhol – “Jean-Michel Basquiat” 1982 – Polaroid

My greatest source of fascination was the polaroid camera he brought with him when he came to stay. It was a big clunky folding thing – but if felt like a doorway into a magical world – instant photographs. Somehow it seemed like a whole team of chemists and scientists were at work inside that little box!

Ever since then, the polaroid camera came to symbolize for me, and for many others, the synthesis of warm happy childhood moments, art, and technology before it became a data stream.

I love the analog qualities of film. It offers the opportunity of an infinity of variations not available to digital cameras. And the polaroid took that one step further by adding an element of immediacy. I don’t think that any other camera captured so many “moments” in the lives of so many – each one a unique moment that could never be re-captured in the same way.

My artist friend and business partner Josse Ford expressed it perfectly when she said, “Polaroid captured ‘moments of truth’ whereas with digital photography we don’t know what is real anymore”. In each photo we could see the talent of the artist – it wasn’t something that could be adjusted or photoshopped and made to lie. “Polaroid symbolizes our desire to return to a more honest world”.

Artists everywhere embraced the polaroid. Names like Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and William Wegman to name but a few..

Polaroid was founded in the Boston area by the inventor Edwin Land who amassed a team of the best and brightest minds from MIT. It was the Google or Apple of its day. Think about that…

But as we now all know only too well Polaroid didn’t change with the times. The company didn’t adapt well to the world of video and then digital cameras. In 2001, it declared bankruptcy, and to the great sorrow of instant-film aficionados around the globe, stopped production of instant analog film in June 2008. A sad day….

So it was with great excitement that we recently happened upon “The Impossible Project” – a venture based in The Netherlands with a mission to bring back instant film:

“Impossible b.v. has been founded with the concrete aim to re-invent and re-start production of analog INTEGRAL FILM for vintage Polaroid cameras..”

Impossible b.v. embraces the philosophy of Edwin Land himself:

“Don’t undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible”

Don’t you just LOVE that!

Further details from The Impossible Project website:

“Impossible b.v. has acquired the complete film production equipment in Enschede (NL) from Polaroid, has signed a 10-year lease agreement on the factory building; and has engaged the most experienced team of Integral Film experts worldwide.

The Impossible mission is NOT to re-build Polaroid Integral film but (with the help of strategic partners) to develop a new product with new characteristics, consisting of new optimised components, produced with a streamlined modern setup. An innovative and fresh analog material, sold under a new brand name that perfectly will match the global re-positioning of Integral Films.”

One really special thing we can see is the great love that people have for this project. It symbolizes the desire that we all have to bring back infinite variations of light and creativity – unlimited and unconstrained by the quantization distortions of our current digital age.

Bravo to The Impossible Team!

Malibu Sunset

Today we took a short break from the studio and drove up the Malibu coast for a couple of hours to take in some nature. Often there are dolphins rolling in the surf – just amazing!

Not long after leaving Santa Monica the traffic along the coast highway slowed and we saw in the opposite lanes the aftermath of a very serious car accident involving 3 cars and a motorbike. It was that period just after an accident happens where everything seems still. The motorcyclist was on the ground – obviously in great distress, and several people had gone to his aid, including a doctor who had stopped his car in the middle of the road to give assistance.

I felt a great sadness for the motorcyclist and the experience he was in the midst of. I felt very acutely how quickly life can change for any one of us.

The traffic started to move again and as we drove there were emergency service vehicles, ambulances, and fire engines coming from all directions at the greatest of speed. And I thought to myself – how amazing – this is the very best of humanity that people will drop everything to come to the aid of a person in great distress. Traffic stops, business must wait, and no expense is spared to save the person – because we recognize the precious value of life.

Then I thought to myself – what if we treated everyone like that all the time – not just when they are in the midst of an emergency. Is that possible? And what would that world look like??

A Most Interesting Story…..

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin. It was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds – and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping – continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention, was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried – but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk – turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were:

in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world – playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

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Great story don’t you think? Getting back to my Jasper Johns analogy – I’ve seen some amazing art on the streets of New York and Berlin – how many of us have walked past a true artistic genius without even a thought? I’m sure I have.

I’m traveling in Berlin at the moment. I arrived yesterday from New York, and last night I was very tired and jetlagged and could not sleep.

If you’ve never experienced it (jetlag), you are truly blessed. If you have, then you know how difficult it can be to stay in balance and some of the challenging thought forms that can come up. In my case I was feeling very anxious about whether I had achieved my purpose in this life. It was a very stressful feeling – in my slightly out of balance state, the thought of possibly having wasted a precious life was almost unbearable.

And then I thought about art. I thought about my love of curating, and the amazing feeling when you open an exhibition and people experience the symphony of art. I remembered how it feels to see someone truly connect with a painting or sculpture. I remembered the great joy of being in the presence of a true artist at work: To me, they are the navigators of the invisible worlds who bring back their journeys and create windows so that others can share the experience.

As I relaxed into these feelings, I realized that no lifetime could ever be wasted for me as long as I had my attention on art. It has nothing to do with fame, or fortune, or even success. Just simply immersing in the flow of the great river of art, wherever it may lead me is what it’s about.

Today I awoke rested and happy. I still did not get enough sleep, but I felt very alive with the realization I had that art is so important to me. And though I did not go to any galleries or exhibits, I did enjoy a lot of very amazing Berlin grafitti as I was walking some of the streets. Suddenly life is deliciously full of happiness and purpose!

(Image from BusinessWeek)

Last week was the Mavericks Surf contest in Half Moon Bay and today the elite of the world surfers wait on call, for the go ahead for Eddie Aikau invitational big wave surf event at the Pipeline in Hawaii, for the waves to meet the 40 foot requirement. The New York Times ran an article on the preparation these surfers put into their craft. As well as being superb athletes they spend hours studying weather patterns, ocean currents and whatever it takes to understand the movement of the ocean. Such painstaking preparation can mean the difference between life and death. With waves over 50 foot high there is no room for error.

I paint on location. The first thing I do when I arrive in a beautiful place such as Hawaii is spend a few days just looking at the ocean. Studying it’s waves, it’s light, it’s energy until I feel I have reached an understanding of the special gifts that the location has to offer. This is absolutely vital if you want to capture the spirit of a place on the canvas.

Art is like surfing. You have to love it and be willing to do whatever it takes to master your craft. You have to have a big vision and you have to have a big passion for the vision that you want to share with the world. You have to be willing to whatever it takes to get it out in the world. I can think of no more noble calling than to help up a torch for what is great and beautiful and light. The following picture is one of the great surfing locations on Maui. I painted it because when I watch Big Wave surfers I am transported into a place that reflects the courage and grace of the human spirit, dancing with the enormous power of Nature. A great piece of art like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” or one of Turners paintings does the same thing for me. So how about you, what inspires the arti spirit for you?

Big Wave by Josse Ford.

Technorati Tags: art, art marketing, artists, Hawaiian, ocean

Here’s a call to action from Nietzsche:

“We, the new, the nameless, the hard-to-understand, we firstlings of a yet untried future – we require for a new end also a new means, namely, a new healthiness, stronger, sharper, tougher, bolder, and merrier than any healthiness hitherto. He whose soul longs to experience the whole range of hitherto recognized values and desirabilities, and to circumnavigate all the coasts of this ideal “Mediterranean Sea” who, from the adventures of his most personal experience, wants to know how it feels to be a conqueror and discoverer of the ideal – as likewise how it is with the artist, the saint, the legislator, the sage, the scholar, the devotee, the prophet, and the godly Nonconformist of the old style: __ requires one thing above all for that purpose, great healthiness – such healthiness as one not only possesses, but also constantly acquires and must acquire, because one continually sacrifices it again, and must sacrifice it! __ And now, after having being long on the way in this fashion, we Argonauts of the Ideal, who are more courageous perhaps than prudent, and often enough shipwrecked and brought to grief, nevertheless, as said above, healthier than people would like to admit, dangerously healthy, always healthy again, __ it would seem, as if in recompense for it all, that we still have an undiscovered country before us, the boundaries of which no one has yet seen, a beyond to all countries and corners of the ideal known hitherto, a world so over-rich in the beautiful, the strange, the questionable, the frightful, and the divine, that our curiosity as well as our thirst for the possession thereof, have got out of hand __ alas! that nothing will any longer satisfy us!

- Friedrich Nietzsche, Joyful Wisdom

Technorati Tags: art, artists, journeys, ocean, spiritual art

I was wondering what this would be like applied to art. Can art nourish not only our Souls but our bodies and our emotions?

• What effect to the images that we surround ourselves effect our emotions and the way we see life?
• What happens to some of the cutting edge “hip” art so popular with collectors today. Do they display it proudly in their living room, like a trophy, to provoke their friends or does it end up in some bank vault, an investment for a rainy day
• How much affect does our state of consciousness at the time of painting affect the finished piece?
• What are some of your favorite artists that nourish you on a deep level? (Mine are Van Gogh, Nicholas Roerich, Georgia O’Keefe, Agnes Martin

Speaking of favorite artists: Van Gogh’s drawings are on display at the Metropolitan from October 18, 2005–December 31, 2005.

Technorati Tags: art, artists, culture, spiritual art

1. Build a support network of NY artists. No one is a better ally in your fight to get the recognition you deserve here than other artists. They’re undoubtedly the most qualified critics of your work, they understand completely what you’re going through, and if you share what you hear about opportunities with them, you should be able to expect the same in return. There’s strength in numbers. Get some artist friends.

2. Submit your work to registries. These are curated generally, so your work may still be rejected, but they do indeed lead to group exhibitions and other opportunities. There are two primary registries you should apply for: the one at Artists Space and the one at White Columns. Please note that both of these spaces focus on emerging artists engaged in the “contemporary” dialog, so if you’re more of a traditionalist, you might not be accepted…all I’m saying here, is consider their mission before you submit.

3. Take a survival course. Two to consider: Artists Space offers an amazing series of workshops. And the Bronx Museum of the Arts’ “Artists in the Market Place” is a remarkable program that I’ve seen change everything for some of its alumni.

4.Get involved in another way in the meanwhile. Best advice I ever got before I opened my gallery was “You MUST get in the game.” So much of getting the career you want is being aware of the opportunities. Being involved in the art world (in any capacity) greatly increases your chances of hearing about those opportunities. So organize an exhibition, write reviews, work for an art handler, work for a museum, hell…work for a gallery, teach, join an artists’ crit group, start an artist crit group, go to salons, go to lectures, go to openings. Be out there, be seen, be heard, look, hear…etc.

Technorati Tags: art, art opportunities, artists, emerging artists, nyc art

The first and most obvious place to look is the bottom line – your sales. If you are selling handsomely, it’s a good sign that you are doing things well.

In the online-world, marketing results are measured with website statistics packages which track useful information such as:

• How many visitors you had, where they came from, & how they found you
• What they looked at and how long they looked at it
• How they clicked through your site & how many times they returned

Website statistics packages allow you to measure the results of your promotion and search engine optimization efforts. You can then make informed decisions about where to put your precious marketing dollars to get the best results.

To find out more about website statistics packages do a search on “website statistics” on your favorite search engine and explore!

Technorati Tags: art, art marketing, artist websites, selling art