State Street - an Angel of a Book

The poem in this book is as beautiful as the cover. The author brings us along in her life post-Katrina. You will feel like you stood by her side or in her head after reading it.

ORDER HERE.

Watch how you use the word NAZI

The term Nazi is thrown around like a pink play thing these days; "Soup Nazi", "Obama-Nazi." As time passes we are forgetting the real meaning of that term. This documentary, Night and Fog, is a wide-eyed reminder of what Nazi really means. It is also a provocation that warns of the half sleeping monster that lies in wait among us all.

I have not been to the Holocaust Museum in DC. Much of this information was new to me. Shame be onto the Holocaust deniers.

WARNING: THIS DOCUMENTARY PULLS NO PUNCHES.

Hamburger Eyes: A Documentary on Urban Decay

Hamburger Eyes from Nick Fogarty on Vimeo.

These are some great photographs and photographers. They are finding art in the everyday we all overlook or run from in the urban landscape. Inspiring.

Artist Dies for his Art

WARNING: This video is very disturbing and contains scenes of violence, death, and sexuality.



The above movie trailer is for the documentary La Vida Loca made by Christian Poveda. It was made by a french documentary artist who was killed on September 4th, 2009, while working on his gang related documentary project in Tonacatepeque, a rural region north of the capital of El Salvador. He was shot in the head.

I hope you will pause a moment in your busy life to pay respect for this brave artist who gave his life to shed light on the human disaster of poverty and gang related violence.

Monsters in my head

Self-taught animator Bruce Bickford created an amazing world of images. Like many passionate outsider artists it also became his world. Check out his animation at www.monstorroad.com Art reflects our world- as scary as it can be, it is made better when we turn our visions and thoughts into creative actions like this- rather than the easier ways some choose to hurt themselves and others.

Also check out Bickford's Dupree's Paradise.

Hope Filled Designs for 9th Ward, New Orleans

Hope springs like a weed, pushing through the hurt and broken promises with the Make It Right Project in New Orleans. Check out the amazingly bold designs being built right now in New Orleans.

Of Ophans, Art, and Halos

Too bad art therapist have such a hard time finding funding in the US. They do so much good worldwide- we need their halos here too. Check out this video and then take a look at Halo Foundation's Website.

BAD ARTIST! GOOD ARTIST!

CHECK OUT THIS BLOG BY THE ARTIST: http://nicolasheller.wordpress.com/

Modest Mouse ruins my new hobby

Dang it. I just bought a fishing license and new reel. Now whenever I fish for trout I will be thinking of this provocative animation. It's for Modest Mouse's song King Rat and is a dark, graphic reminder of the injustice of illegal whaling practices still common in the world. This project was headed up by Keath Ledger before his death. Proceeds from the first month of sales of this song on itunes will go toward a non-profit fighting illegal whaling. Like all great art, its impact will go well beyond that. Steel yourself before watching, but do watch, and listen, and think.

Modern Masterpiece in the woods

This animation of Fallingwater, Frank L. Wrights masterpiece build on Bear Run Creek in Western PA, is wonderful. It does not however do it justice. What the animator could not put in is how much nature embraces the property. Visiting this building was a highlight of an otherwise personally awful summer. I was awe struck at how carefully Wright slotted this building into the landscape and how well the owners, the Kaufmanns, folded in nature on top of the site with new plantings. Today it looks like God created the house along with boulders and stream. That statement might have pleased the architect- who thought much of his abilities. Vanity aside, Wright has left us a monument to an alternate universe, one in which man lives WITH nature instead of against it. It is a vision of a future that we all should embrace and dedicate our lives to- begin by going to this "cathedral in the woods."

We cannot afford to do without the arts.

Check out this speaker on the importance of creativity and education. As our state supported schools and private schools struggle with budgets they should DOUBLE the funding for creative practices! We cannot spend our way out of a recession, we have to invent our way.

April 13th, 1927 - July 18, 2009

My mother, Elizabeth Shaw, died this past month. I have taken some time off from a lot of small things to process this profound event in my life.

I am inching back into the rush of everyday life and will begin again to celebrate here my passion for great humanist art.

Here is a website I just found and want to share.

Thanks for your continued interest in this funny little blog that, like me, so wants to make the world a better place.

Laughing With...........

Maybe it is because I have a gravely ill loved one in the hospital, but I find this new song by Regina Spektor to be profound.

Recycled Book Publishing

You may have heard of the two reporters being held in North Korea. They work for Current TV. Check out this short (too short) documentary on artists publishing books using recycled material. Check out the other documentaries at Current as well.

Update: I just watch a longer documentary by Current and am a total fan. Check out "Thankyou, Recession." Consider joining the Face Book Group that is supporting the family of the two current journalists.

Something Wonderful from Next to Nothing

In this time of shrinking wealth and growing worry it is refreshing and inspiring to see imagination at its best. The Guggenheim Grotto, an Indie band from Dublin, has created a wonderful music video for their song 'Her Beautiful Ideas.' If you've studied art history you may be successful in finding the numerous art references.