Volume III - The Ultimate Music & Art Lounge

Volume III

This Site serves as a venue for expressing, sharing and discussing Music and Art. There will be Articles on the state of the Music Business as it pertains to Artists and Musicians. As Artists we must create ways to express, share and expose our Vision and our Voices to feel whole
Check out the Art Lounge for a peak at our Featured Artist Ray Johnson's, work! The Art Lounge is a showcase for Artists, with relevant articles and observations, but you can go straight to the Mini-Exhibit of this Artist's work.

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Statue Takes a Phone Break

Washington Square Park, New York City is known for its vast array of live entertainment, from Sketch Artists, to Break Dancers, and all manner of visual and audio stimuli in between. Tourists, students and park regulars can expect to be titillated and amused every 40 or 50 steps. On any given day, you’ll likely find Stand-up Comedians and Musicians fighting for the attention of Park patrons. As you might imagine, not all performers are good, although most of them are.
Among the entertainers competing for tips, you may occasionally come across the remarkably skilled “Human Statues”. These performance artists are spray-painted Silver or Bronze to resemble statues. I’m guessing these off-duty actors are looking to earn money between acting gigs. Whatever the case, I'm always amazed at how long they can stay completely still, - seemingly without breathing. This part-time job demands an extremely high level of concentration, considering that amused viewers are laughing and giggling. While some sadistic on-lookers go out of their way to break their concentration. As with all street performers, Human Statues look for a high concentration of pedestrian traffic, to enhance their earning potential. It seems like an easy gig, but I can guarantee you, it is not.
This photo marks the first time I’ve seen a Statue performer engaged in normal activity! As this silvery man passed by it gave me a child-like feeling. Totally amused, I gazed as the performer walked casually to the benches to take his break and make a phone call. Hmmm, I thought, perhaps he was checking in with his agent in hopes of good news about a big movie role. Realizing the image of stark contrast between the sitting Statue and his colorful surroundings sparked a powerful desire to capture the “Art” in the making.

doARTorDIE

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Game Changer:
Paris to New York –“who’s your daddy”

A recent trip to Paris has rocked my whole belief system about the New York being the Center of the Universe for Art, Culture and Cultural diversity. The energized city was so similar to walking the streets of the West village or Tribeca – only without the edge. Like strong coffee without the bitterness. Block after block of ancient buildings with wrought iron balconies and coble-stone streets gave me a unique feeling of oneness with art and history. I imagine for any artist or photographer, it is a deeper, more powerful connection. Like much of New York, Paris is a very walkable city. My daughter and I put in a few miles just taking in residential areas tucked away from tourists and tour buses. An official tour of the city (sans the main attractions) left me breathless. I can’t even articulate the sense of awe I experienced once we actually took a tour of the main attractions. Let’s face it, we’ve all seen pictures of the streets of Paris, and the City’s historic structures and churches in books, magazines and movies - but nothing can compare to seeing Paris live. After a few days, my daughter and I decided to take in a tour of the main attractions rather than struggle with their underground Metro system. As the tour bus drove under a narrow archway (seemingly too small for the double decker bus), we were all gasping as we passed through the other side. It was the Louvre Museum. Quite possibly the most famous Museum in the world, yet none of us were prepared for what we saw. For anyone who is planning on visiting the Louvre someday, I will not ruin it for you. I will only say, I am forever changed after witnessing the Louvre, Notre Dame, and other amazing architecture in the City of Paris.

doARTorDIE

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Wherefore Art Thou, Sophia !

The power of love's chemistry on the human heart is immeasurable. I’m sure you have experienced “fire and desire” that brought you to your knees, at least once. Personally, I plead the 5th. I happened to catch glimpse of this note posted on a column of a staircase in the subway. As I was about to dash down the staircase, this image struck me - chiefly because it was hand written - which is unusual these days. I stopped to take a second look and saw the name Sophia on it. I had a clue what I was in for. This letter was posted in a dozen places around the city. The love sick author poured his heart out to this "Sophia" and all of New York City.
It's refreshing to see a note written by HAND, the old fashioned way - but it was starling, yet so moving to witness the raw, unabashed emotion of young love. It's been a long time since many of us have felt the spark of yearning that knows no boundaries. Unbridled passion and courage, an ingredient we seldom witness outside of a movie or television screen. This is the human heart's many realms that seem to recede as we mature, and experience the "reality" of life. Occasionally, we'll see a glimpse of this on a youtube video, staged to impress an intended recipient. In this case, I'm totally enthralled by this young man (Joe), since he could care less about impressing you or me, or even his beloved Sophia.

He was somehow deeply touch by their meeting, and blinded by his desire to emotionally (and physically) connect with the beautiful girl he met in the subway. In the love letter, Joe indicates that there was strong chemistry as the two of them talked and flirted with each other. Sophia apparently asked this him to call her. I'm not trying to be Sherlock, but this is an important clue as to her level of interest. Unfortunately however, Joe lost his phone, thus could not follow through.
Determined to broaden his reach, the hopeless romantic arranged to have an on-air interview on a local radio station and set up another interview with one of the TV News stations. In this letter Joe writes that he has received over 100 texts and phone calls from women who read his letter, but he is not in the least interested. Wow, he could have had a date every weekend for nearly two years on the residual interest, but he chooses to wait it out. Shakespeare is no doubt smiling at this modern-day Romeo, as am I. I hope that Joe ultimately reconnected with Sophia.
As a closet romantic, one of my favorite lines that depicts the power of love's chemistry comes from the master of the human heart himself...William Shakespeare; "You draw me you hard-hearted adamant, leave me your power to draw, and I shall have no power to follow you" (Helena, in A Mid Summer Night's Dream)

doARTorDIE