Leonardo Da Vinci’s Science, Technology and Art Exhibition

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This came to me from the Maryland Science Center. Although a trip to Maryland might not be in your near future, check out the liks. There are many interesting things to see on line about this wonderful exhibition. I have included a link to the site for the group that is responsable for putting together this exhibition about Leonardo Da Vinci. Enjoy!

http://www.davincithegenius.com/

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Science, Technology, and Art
Thursday, November 5, 20097:30 pm
Maryland Science Center
601 Light Street
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

In conjunction with the Maryland Science Center’s Da Vinci – The Genius exhibition, Da Vinci expert and television host Jonathan Pevsner, will present “Leonardo Da Vinci’s Science, Technology and Art” on Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 pm at the of the Maryland Science Center.

“Leonardo Da Vinci’s Science, Technology and Art” will offer insight into the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci and chronicle the life of a man whose ideas and life’s work has influenced generations of people. Dr. Pevsner is a faculty member in the Department of Neurology at Kennedy Krieger Institute. He has written and lectured extensively on Leonardo, and is a cast member of Discovery’s hit series “Doing Da Vinci.”

Da Vinci – The Genius at the Maryland Science Center features more than 65 of Da Vinci’s inventions crafted from his personal codices (notebooks). Among the creations on display are visions for the glider, parachute, and precursors to modern helicopters, automobiles, and submarines. Many of the inventions have been crafted by using techniques and materials of 15th century Italy, with some built to scale.

Admission to Dr. Pevsner’s lecture is free to the public, but advance registration is required, for more information, or to register please call 410-545- 5980.The Maryland Science Center is located at 601 Light Street at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. For information and tickets, visit www.marylandsciencecenter.org or call the 24-Hour Information Line at 410-685-5225.

Local newspaper article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-ae.li.davinci01oct01,0,6601080.story

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Vogel's Book Now on CD!

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Southern California artist, Larry Vogel, has developed a clear exposition of how to accept the challenge of a life of self-exploration through willful acts of creation. Going on the assumption that we are innately creative but in need of some encouragement and guidance, Vogel draws upon psychologists G. Wallis and Jacob Getzel’s “Five Stages of Creativity” — First Insight, Saturation, Incubation, Illumination, and Verification — which provide the reader with mind exercises and examples of each stage drawn from his own creative experiences.

Vogel takes us chapter by chapter through these stages. First Insight is a passionate connection to our initial subject or problem; Saturation involves information gathering from diverse sources; Incubation pertains to pondering (both conscious and unconscious) the problem; this inward journey often leads to a sudden moment of enlightenment or Illumination in which the solution is envisioned; and, finally, Verification, the most difficult stage: acting, a doing in which one makes the unseen, seen. Ideation is realized in artifact.

Although Vogel’s book targets the fledgling artist, giving him or her tools with which to unblock creative insights, collateral damage is done to every person’s tendency toward mental inertia and fear of exercising one’s imagination.

Excerpt from the Foreword by James R. Hugunin, American Critic, Artist, and Professor of Art History, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Creativity/The Seeker's Journey now on CD

$20 plus tax & shipping

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To order go to www.lavogel.com/book

or contact Larry Vogel at vogelart@cox.net

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The Bar Has Been Raised

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Photo by L. A. Vogel From the Paris Color Series

Song writers can no longer write lyrics like:

“Love, Love Me Do” (The Beatles)

“I Got You Babe” (Sonny & Cher)

The Bar Has Been Raised

“It feels like lightning running through my veins every time I look at you.”

With lyrics like that from David Gray…

The Bar Has Been Raised

As photographers, we can no longer stand in front of an object, click the shutter and present a simple image:

The Bar Has Been Raised!

With the advent of digital photography we have a whole new set of tools. These new digital tools gives us the ability to participate in the creation of photographic imagery like no other tools previously available to photographers. To not use them would be to deny yourself the ability to take control of your creative potential.

For many years photography has struggled to become more than a mechanical medium. And now, more than ever, we have to show that digital photography is more than just a button pushing medium. Ansel Adams said,

“I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term -- meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching -- there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster.”

Well guess what, it has become infinitely easier to make a photograph! Now the potential to “produce a superficial image” is more likely than before.

With digital technology, we have the ability to do so much more; a chance to show the expression of the artist. However, if we are to call ourselves Fine Art Photographers we must first understand what that means. John Ruskin says, “Fine Art is that in which the hands, heart and mind all come together.”

It is easy to do the hands part, just pick up your camera and get to work. The mind part is perhaps a little more difficult. This requires some training and education, know your medium, know its potential. The heart part; Ruskin was very wise to add this to the list. This is what separates the arts from the crafts, kitsch from the masterpiece and makes the ordinary extraordinary. However, this heart part can be the most elusive part of Ruskin’s formula. It is something that must be actively pursued.

Betty Edwards, author of Drawing From The Right Side of The Brain, says, “Perhaps we can take a step in the direction of gaining access to that part which knows...more than it knows it knows - the same part of the brain that asks the beautiful question, ponders the unsolved problem, takes the initial step in the creative process: First Insight” Betty Edwards is identifying the first of five steps known as The Five Stages of Creativity.

As Artists, we spend so much of our lives trying to tap into that place deep inside. This is the secret to making a deeper connection with your art and a deeper connection to the viewer.

Think about being able to unlock that viewer response……the one that goes beyond Ooh and Ah, and making the AHA moment happen!

The bar has been raised.

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Loss of a Renaissance Man

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The news came to me yesterday, long time Orange County, California resident, artist, friend, teacher and activist Jerry Burchfield had died on September 11, 2009.

In the last twenty five years, I have had several opportunities to work with Jerry. Our artistic lives have crossed paths many times. I have felt privileged to be included in some of his many projects and exhibitions. Throughout his life Jerry was generous with his time and connections in the art community. He invited many friends and fellow artists to participate in his publishing's, projects, and exhibitions. He opened doors for students and photographers to exhibit at the college where he taught.

Jerry Burchfield has long been a presence in the Orange County art scene. I have aways had a certain respect for him as an artist. I admired his ability to evolve as an artist. He was not afraid of taking creative chances. Photography was his vehicle, but was not a photographer. He was an artist. In my book Jerry qualifies as a New Renaissance Man.

As a teacher, Jerry was continually provoking his students towards a more creative expression. He was a mentor to many and will surely be missed in that capacity.

Please visit Jerry Burchfield's website to view his work:

http://www.jerryburchfield.com/index.html

I wrote a piece of poetry years ago and love to share it in moments such as this. I present it here for a friend, artist, and fellow Renaissance Man - Jerry Burchfield.

We Touch

In life we touch
and many lives have we embraced
some for years and others only briefly
but the touch is everlasting

In life we touch
and encounter those that will fall away
but it is the way in which we touch
that makes our soul wiser

In life we touch
and like the finger of God to Adam's reach
it beckons us to connect from afar
and leaves us yearning for more

In life we touch
and when there is no more and all feels lost
can we find it within ourselves to reveal the blessedness
because we have touched
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Not The Lost Archives of Diane Arbus

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"Trinity" ©Bennett Richards

The photograph of the two Alice's with the white rabbit is not from the lost archives of Diane Arbus. The image "Trinity" belongs to a good friend and photographer Bennett Richards. He describes the experience of making this image as an almost lost opportunity due to the inevitable scrutiny by critics and the public as a "rip-off" of the great Diane Arbus' style.

Bennett's image was not a set up that he orchestrated, but rather a spontaneous moment that caught his attention. He says, "As I looked through the viewfinder I realized what I saw reminded me of a Diane Arbus shot, so much that I almost didn't want the shot... and I knew that IF the shot turned out the first thing people would say was Arbus...This all went through my mind in a flash. But I took the shot as the sunlight vanished. I decided that the image I had seen in front of me ... the moment.. was so unique unto itself that it should be preserved... And yes... people that know photography always bring up the Arbus factor... but I have never regretted taking the shot. The shots I didn't take are the ones I have lived to regret."

The following quote and comment are from the chapter "First Insight" in my book, Creativity / The Seeker's Journey.

Ralph Waldo Emerson warns us about failing to recognize our insights, and the consequences we may suffer. Emerson says, “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within.......” Emerson continues, “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.” As creative artists we will never feel more pain than to recognize our unfulfilled dreams accomplished by another. We must seek, feel the inspiration, and act on our impulses. This is the life of creative thinkers.
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The Fine Art of Appropriation, or Are We Just Stepping on Toes?

Homage to Hockney?

"What is art?" Plain and simple, I believe it is Art because the artist said so. "This art sucks!" Yes, we can always argue the value or merit of any piece of art. "Hey I've seen this before!" This is another issue all together different. Is it appropriation, copyright infringement, or just plain old inspiration? Any Warhol, Jeff Koons, Claes Oldenburg and many others have built careers on appropriating imagery.

My chosen medium, photography, is perhaps unique among the arts. Photographers have the ability to stand in the exact tripod holes of other well known photographers and make images in many recognizable locations with iconic scenes. The photographer, sometimes knowingly, or unknowingly snaps the shutter and re-records the scene. Traveling through Yosemite, one would be hard pressed not to replicate many of the well known images of Ansel Adams. Walking the Streets of Paris we encounter the familiar haunts of Atget, or Bresson. Many people have walked the ground that we now travel with camera in hand.

The cynic in me believes, as a collective whole, we have taken so many photographs that we could paste them all them together and replicate the world into one large Hockneyesque image. So why do we continue to create, even at the risk of duplicating images and ideas; even at the risk of stepping on friends and mentors toes?

Landscape photographers struggle with a repetitious attempt to capture the environment in a way that has not been done before, without much success. In the end we create another pretty picture. A great acronym of ARAT was used by a group I belonged to several years ago. We were all pretty much landscape photographers and with a tongue-in-cheek attempt to name the group it was suggested we use the ARAT title, Another Rock, Another Tree.

Sooner or later we have to lighten up and get on with the work. We must also resist the temptation to feel insecure when a friend or peer has stepped into our "tripod holes" and steps out with work that may look or feel all too familiar. Instead we must celebrate and encourage all those who come after us, just as our peers did for us.

What is our intention when we create, or recreate a recognizable scene? Only you know for sure, but there can be many reasons. As already stated, you may not realize that the scene has been done before. We may be attempting an exercise, trying to see as the master sees; sort of, "walking a mile in their shoes". Which can be a great learning experience. It has been said, "If you are going to re-do something, you had better attempt to do it better." Although, "better" is certainly a subjective value. We also frequently find inspiration from our mentors and peers. The least desirable reason for working after the manner of any artist may be about the intentional stealing of an idea for monetary, or personal gain. Then Appropriation becomes Plagiarism!

As musicians, poets, painters, or photographers is it wrong, or unimaginative to rework images or places that have already been done? Probably not. Many artists have "borrowed" work and ideas in order to make statements about appropriation, or to challenge the ideas of originality. As we go about our creative lives, we should work unencumbered by the thoughts of, "has this ever been done before". This frame of mind will only lead to a nonproductive life. A friend once admonished his fellow artists, "If you think you are doing something new and original, you just haven't looked at enough art." I say, do what you do and let the rest of the world sort it out for you....and believe me they will!

Creativity/The Seeker's Journey

My hand-made book, Creativity/The Seeker's Journey was released in 2007. Since its release the special edition book has sold more than one hundred hand-made copies!

The book's eleven chapters take the reader through the stages of creativity and inspiration. I have included more than one hundred quotes in the book. The quotes provide inspiration for the reader and support for the text I have written. In addition to the Forward by James R. Hugunin, my long time art dealer and friend, Susan Spiritus has written the Afterword.

Recently, after two price increases Susan Spiritus sold a copy at the UCLA Book Fair for $225. In addition to the beautiful hand-made edition, we are currently working to make the book available on CD. When the CD version is available I will make the announcement here on The New Renaissance Man blog. Stay tuned!

For more information about my special edition, hand-made book Creativity/The Seeker's Journey follow this link: www.lavogel.com/book