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pensive.jpg (44592 bytes)     SKETCHES - The WhyART Newsletter  
                 "Transforming Education Through Art"            May 2005   

Welcome to SKETCHES, Michael Gerrish's WhyART.com newsletter. I offer thoughts to stretch your mind and spur your actions to produce positives for you and those you touch. Author Daniel Pinkwater said, "I believe it is impossible to make sense of life in this world except through art." Artist Francis Bacon said, "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery." This "talking head" sees truth in both statements; let's start making sense by exploring and expanding the mysteries which surround us!
Artists On The Edge....and Pushing Through

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is...are the ones who have gone over."
Hunter S. Thompson

"Genius can probably run on ahead and seek out new ways. But the good artists who follow after genius - and I count myself among these - have to restore the lost connection once more." Kathe Kollwitz


I don't enjoy being on the edge of a precipice. I avoid border towns. A blank canvas or clean paper is an irritation calling out to be smudged. Edges, whether ones of height, span, or state are uncomfortable for me...I like to pass through quickly to the other side, moving on in the direction of progress and completion. It isn't that I am afraid; I just want to end the tension of being confined to one side of the observers' deck, immigration checkpoint or creative process.

And yet, as Carol the hopeful gardener reminds me, edges are where growth occurs. Edges are by nature unstable because they are places of transformation and possibility. Whether you strive to be like Hunter S. Thompson, who criss-crossed edges of rationality on a daily basis, or Kathe Kollwitz, who sought to reconnect hope onto the frayed edge of a world unknit by despair, it is good to remember that places we fear and avoid might be where we need to look for directions. 

Part Two...

Can 30 plus years really have passed since I first saw Garth Fagan's Dance Troupe perform? Hard to believe, but Mr. Fagan's energetic group has been around that long! When Garth Fagan's Dance Troup performed at The Egg on April 22nd, Carol and I were in the first row.

Why do we attend Mr. Fagan's performances whenever he is nearby? Well, it's more than Carol being dance groupie for Steve Humphrey...it has to do with an appreciation for absolute genius in motion. We were captivated by an old favorite (Discipline is Freedom) and charmed by something newer (DanceCollageforRomie). Go see Garth Fagan Dance when you have the opportunity: you will be amazed!
Artist Surf

I know I will never learn enough Art History! Perhaps I can make up for it by sharing information about someone you may not know well. This month's star is Kathe Kollwitz. Imagine a life scarred by tragic personal losses from two world wars. Consider the frustration of an artist whose life work is cast aside by governmental decree. Ponder the circumstance of an artist surviving while her art is destroyed. Kathe Kollwitz endured all of this and more, yet those who have seen her work consider her one of the master printmakers and expressionist artists of the 20th century. I had the good fortune to see a few of her prints in New York recently; her simple images powerfully radiated raw emotion and humanity. Google her to learn more. 

"I do not want to die...until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig has grown." Kathe Kollwitz

Sketches is a free newsletter of WhyART.com and is available by subscription. Your contact info will not be shared, and you may unsubscribe at any time. I appreciate your thoughtful comments.         Michael Gerrish • 159 1st Street • Troy, NY 12180 • (518)266-0304 • mrg@whyart.com
                                                                                                               ©WhyART.com 2005