Empty Subway…

Having lived in Washington, DC for over 20 years, I’ve taken countless metro rides throughout the great city and surrounding metro area.

While journeying via the metro to the Shady Grove stop for a business meeting late yesterday morning, I realized that it had been years since I had ridden to any of the “last stops” on the system. I lost track of time gliding through the tunnels as I mentally flipped through the years attempting to pinpoint the last time I had the experience. No luck. As I lifted my head out of the futility of my memory haze, I noticed that I was the sole passenger on the car.

I quickly glanced to both the left and right to see if I could see a distant profile of some other rider lost in a newspaper or iPhone. No one.

It’s a surreal, dreamlike, short-lived and rare experience to be the only person in a passenger car on a metro system that shuttles over 2.5 million people annually. So, of course, I reached for my iPhone to make quick use of my favorite camera app to quickly visually document the fleeting experience. After a wee bit of tweaking in Photoshop, I present the results here for you to enjoy.

If you ever find yourself alone in an otherwise crowded space, after taking a moment to take in the Zen of it all. Grab your camera, visually document, and then let me know. I’d like to see what you come up with and I’d like to share it here.

(and please remember folks - all images in this post ©Michael Sprouse 2012)

Click on the image below to see a larger version in a new window

Pardon me, is that a head in your bag? Say Cheese!

What kind of twisted American society have we created where the first impulse someone has when they have the unfortunate and horrific experience of stumbling across a severed head while walking through the park is to have a photograph of taken of themselves posing next to the hideousness with a smile?

What if their second impulse is to list the macabre image to a photographic licensing firm so as to get at least a 5 grand asking price from the media frenzy as they each attempt to claim it?

I envision snarling, angry junkyard dogs leaping wild eyed for a gnarled bone dangled from the hand of an inbreed mouth-breathing freak.

Horrifying though this thought may be to the sane few who dwell amongst this culturally decimated society , it's all true. You can find the sordid details here.

How rich the irony that this news item appears on the same day photography giant and American icon Kodak files for bankruptcy?

Remember, say cheese...

STRIKE AGAINST CENSORSHIP

More Free Facebook Covers!

The last time I posted some recent Facebook covers that I designed for free, they became very popular. So, being that I’m in a generous mood today – I’m posting more. Share as you will and enjoy!

I created these in Photoshop using either my own original photographs, or digital collages from vintage and/or retro photographs.

To use them, simply click on the image below for the larger version which is the size you’ll need for the cover image. Then

1. Go to your timeline
   
2. Click Add a Cover
   
3. Choose choose “upload a new photo” and direct it to the are where you have saved the image
   
4. Once you choose a photo, you can reposition it by clicking on the image and dragging it up or down
   
5. Click Save
   
6. Enjoy!
   

Kim Novak Lashes Out?

According to an article I ran across in The Mainichi Daily News, Kim Novak feels “violated” because music from the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece film “Vertigo” is used in “The Artist” (the new  French black-and-white homage to the silent-film era and expected to be a front-runner at this year's Academy Awards).

Violated? It’s not as if she co-composed the film’s astounding score, and I’ll make the safe assumption that the film’s score wasn’t being piped onto the set during her scenes in the film. 

Let me mention that I am a tremendous fan of both Hitchcock and Novak and “Vertigo” is truly an outstanding work of cinematic art. Masterfully directed by Hitchcock, the magical and skillful performances by Novak and the late great Jimmy Stewart are integral parts of the film’s mystique and allure.

That being said, I find this reaction by the now faded, but still treasured, star over the top. Was this really worth having a “statement released by her manager” to document her disdain?

According to the article, Kim feels that her "body of work has been violated by 'The Artist.' This film took the love theme music from 'Vertigo' and used the emotions it engenders as its own. Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart can't speak for themselves, but I can. It was our work that unconsciously or consciously evoked the memories and feelings to the audience that were used for the climax of 'The Artist.'"

Perhaps, but I sense that this smites more so of bitter grapes then anger over music. Novak was at the pinnacle of her film career in the early to mid 1960’s. She made a handful of forgettable theater and television films in 70’s and early 80’s culminating in her last film appearance, 1991’s “Liebestraum”. According to Wikipedia however, “owing to battles with the director over how to play the role,” in that film, her scenes were cut. “Novak later admitted in a 2004 interview that the film was a mistake.”

In 2007 she said in an interview, that said that she would consider returning to the screen "if the right thing came along."  Personally, I would love to see her on the big screen in a meaningful role. Where’s Taratino when you need him?

That interview was over 5 years ago. Perhaps Kim felt that some attention getting, rattling of the cage of the film industry was in order over what she considers to be a cinematic no-no in connection to a master film that she starred in over 50 years ago.

It isn’t.

Vintage New Years Cards Facebook Covers

In order to kick off the New Year with a good start, I created these New Years Eve themed Facebook Cover images for the new FB design. These have been fashioned in Photoshop from vintage, early 20th century Postcards to work perfectly as cover images in Facebook. Click on the image below for the larger version which is the size you’ll need for the cover image. Then  

1. Go to your timeline
2. Click Add a Cover
3. Choose choose “upload a new photo” and direct it to the are where you have saved the image
4. Once you choose a photo, you can reposition it by clicking on the image and dragging it up or down
5. Click Save

Happy New Year and Good Cheer!

Risky, dangerous, selfish behavior…

Following suit of surrounding states,  last year Delaware wisely banned the use of a speaking on a phone while driving (unless a hands free device is being used) and all texting. Even though there is a stiff fine attached to the law's violation, I still see people blatantly ignoring it every time I get on the road.

Every. Single. Time.

Clearly, the law isn't being enforced. I find that surprising considering there have been people killed in phone related accidents in this area in the last few years. I cringe when I see people doing it. They're usually easy to spot as they are usually the ones driving slower than most and weaving in and out lanes.

I once heard an interview with a policeman who said that they recognize phone related distracted drivers because they drive just like like drunk drivers. That's how dangerous and problematic this is.

I'm on the road frequently between Delaware and DC. If I could shoot a laser beam from my eyes that would transform the cell phone someone is chatting or texting on while driving into the rotted, fetid corpse of a dead fish I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The New York Times has a very good article in the December 17th issue titled “2 Habits Hard to Break: Smoking and Phone While Driving - Reframing the Debate Over Using Phones Behind the Wheel” .

There’s a great line from Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University Medical Center, in the article that reads, “even addicted smokers, he said, do not light up in theaters or churches. The same thing can happen with distracted driving. “If we create a different culture,” he said, “some of the people who feel addicted will stop.”

If you read the article, you’ll understand the context. And you’ll understand why he’s right.

The Artwork of Josh George

I had a pre-sunrise, aesthetically pleasing, eye-opening experience this morning of stumbling across the work of artist Josh George. 

Even a brief visit to the gallery on his website reveals a truly gifted painter who has forged a clear mastery of paint to recreate his vision onto canvas honed with immense skill.

His work is beautifully composed and rich with depth and emotion. His color choices are  visually completely appropriate for the work as the perfectly meld like long lost puzzle pieces snapping seamlessly together into a dreamscape of surreal narratives that waft into the subconscious of the viewer and tap them on the shoulder releasing misted memories of the past. Like the scent of burning wood from a distant fire undulating through the frosted air of a winter’s night, his paintings give one pause as they strike hauntingly familiar chords from music that you know you but just can’t quite place.

If you get a chance, visit his site and see for yourself. You’ll be impresses to say the least…

“To Regale Luxuriously and Give Free Scope To” 48 x 48 © All rights reserved by Josh George

www.joshgeorge.com

A speech to be remembered by history…

Amazingly, I can't find the words to express how important and moving this Hillary Rodham Clinton’s address before the United Nations in Geneva is. The Advocate describes it as a speech "to be remembered by history", to which I agree. In my opinion, if you are a member of the LGBT community, or care for someone who is, then it is absolutely vital that you watch the speech and then  - share it. This is how equality begins... 


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shakes hands after her speech on human rights issues at United Nations headquarters in Geneva. (Anja Niedringhaus, AP / December 6, 2011)

WATCH: The Speech You’ve Been Waiting For Hillary...

iPhone Finger Dysfunction….

It's rather frustrating when you've just left a voice-mail for someone via your iPhone and you think the call has ended and you begin singing rather loudly along with one of your favorite Steely Dan tunes from the Aja album that starts playing in the background and you just happen to notice when you hit the chorus that you're still being very much recorded onto the voice-mail from the call that never ended in the first place. Very frustrating indeed...

“Where the needle goes, the thread must follow”

I have exhibited the work of several fiber artists over the years in galleries and exhibitions that I have curated, so I’m no stranger to fiber arts. However, these works were usually large wall pieces richly constructed from of a variety of materials assembled together in all kinds of different ways. Whether the materials were sewn, glued, bolted, tied, or woven together, these works were impressive and heady constructions that were more like soft wall sculpture rather than fiber works.

That’s why I was so impressed with the delicate miniature portrait embroidery of fiber artist Cayce Zavaglia that I discovered  when I came across an interview with her on mymodernmet.com.  


© Cayce Zavaglia

While her pieces are usually just under life size and take approximately 6-8 months to create, these new works are much smaller in scale, measuring only about 8" x 12".  Though smaller than her traditional work, these gems still pack a visual wallop. They are insightful, compelling and deeply sincere. All at once, they successfully present a full circle portrait that reflects not only the humanity of the subject, but a deep awareness of the sitter’s psyche and spirit.

A viewer of these stunning works isn’t simply looking at a well executed portrait, they are bonding with it. The viewer’s eyes lock with the subject’s eyes thusly opening a channel of myriad back stories and memories, mist, light and shadow. The works are so successful, that the fact that they are composed of countless and deliberately placed stitches (normally one of the most important aspects of the works) almost becomes background music to an unforgettable scene from some classic film.

Zavaglia has so adeptly created these mini-masterpieces that once they leave the artist’s hands and studio, one gets a true sense of them beginning a life of their own with a symbolic tapestry of life experience created with one ply embroidery floss. In my opinion, Zavaglia has obtained a goal that many artist share but so few achieve – the ability to create work compelling enough to stand on it’s own without a tipping of the hat to the work’s creator. Viewer’s of these works are compelled to learn more about that artist from viewing the work – not the other way around, which, in my opinion, has become a bane of the contemporary art world.

You can read more about these stunning works and see examples of her artistry in the interview here - mymodernmet.com.

To learn more about this fantastic artist and to see examples of her equally impressive largr works, visit her website at www.caycezavaglia.com.

The Umbrella Man

On the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Errol Morris explores the story behind the one man seen standing under an open black umbrella at the site in a fascinating and well-produced video short...

The Umbrella Man - Video Library - The New York Times

Recent Work

Here are three recent works – all digital collages of my original photography and vintage photographic imagery.

These are soon to be available as a personally hand-crafted mixed-media print on canvas in a variety of sizes ranging from 18" x 18" to 6" x 6" on gallery stretched canvas for extremely affordable, you artist friend wants to continue to exist, holiday friendly prices. The copyright information will not appear on the purchased prints.

Email or message me if interested for more information. Also, I can create astonishing works from your old family photos and letters that will make you the envy of those who purchase their wall art from the likes of Pier One and Target. Really. ♥ and Happy Holidays....


”Triplets” – digital collage with mixed media on paper and canvas. Copyright ©2011 Michael Sprouse

”Inclusion” – digital collage with mixed media on paper and canvas. Copyright ©2011 Michael Sprouse

”Autumn” – digital collage with mixed media on paper and canvas. Copyright ©2011 Michael Sprouse

Ghouls and Zombies Of The Past…

With Halloween just days away, I thought it would be appropriate to rummage through my old trunk of vintage photographs to see what spooky snapshots might be lurking about. I was in luck. It seems that the undead have been undead for quite some time.

Happy Halloween. Muhahahahaha…. 

The Visual Joy that is Autumn…

This Monday morning brings  sweet autumn air of calmness after a true whirlwind of a weekend composed of art gallery receptions, dinner parties, live jazz concerts,  sparkling and witty conversation of general socializing and travel that all took place between three states and the District of Colombia.

I enjoyed some superb live music thanks to the Rehoboth Jazz Fest, saw and helped to sale some wonderful original art, and ate some spectacular food. I met several great new people that I hope to run into again, ran into others that I’ve met recently and visited with dear old friends that I’ve not seen in a while. Despite the hurly-burliness of it all, it was a fantastic ride of a weekend.

Fortunately, during the drive back to Delaware from DC yesterday on a crisp late Sunday October morning, there was a welcome couple of hours of calm between engagements. My partner and I wisely decided to stop at the rustic Adams Fruit Market.

Nestled in the pines just past the Maryland/Delaware state line on route 404, Adams is located about 8 miles west of Bridgeville, Delaware. I’m not certain how long it’s been there, but I feel it’s safe to say at least 45 to 50 years or longer.

It was a lovely and peaceful experience. With the breeze rustling through the pines, everywhere I turned were the colors of autumn. I took some quick photos with my iPhone. Rather than post them as traditional photos, I felt like adding a bit of an artistic twist to them this morning  so I incorporated a bit of a kaleidoscope treatment compositionally in Photoshop.

Perhaps it will help to transfer the experience of being surround by the richness and vibrancy of the color that is Autumn.


© 2011 Michael Sprouse


© 2011 Michael Sprouse


© 2011 Michael Sprouse

© 2011 Michael Sprouse

© 2011 Michael Sprouse


© 2011 Michael Sprouse

If you'd like to experience an Autumnal Kaleidoscope of color in real time of your very own, I suggest you stop by Adams Fruit Market if you find yourself in the area. They have a tremendous amount of pumpkins, gourds, mums and more (I'm looking forward to the Jack-O-Lantern I’ll be carving soon from my Adams Fruit Stand pumpkin). Or, if you get the opportunity, take a drive out in the country and visit your own locally owned produce stand before the season passes. You’ll be glad you did.

Visual Jazz…

My thanks to the many who attended the opening reception for Visual Jazz last night at Prudential Gallo, REALTORS® in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was a spectacular event and a fantastic time was had by all.

Special thanks to Julie Borden and Sydney Arzt for their inclusion of their beautiful and fascinating work and to Touch Of Italy for their greathearted donation of delectable foods.

Also - a very special thanks to the fantastic people of Prudential Gallo Rehoboth for their tremendous support and invaluable and truly generous help with this artistic and worthwhile endeavor which just seems to get better and more successful every time.

Artist Julie Borden chats with Jazz and Music Promoter Sydney Arzt.

Art appreciator and Music Promoter Sydney Arzt.

Enthusiastic patrons attend the event


Enthusiastic patrons attend the event

Enthusiastic patrons attend the event

Is this portrait a lost Leonardo? | Art and design | The Guardian

I've blogged about the entirely fascinating story of La Principessa before. It seems a new chapter, quite literally, has opened in this amazing story...



Is this portrait a lost Leonardo? | Art and design | The Guardian

An enlightening interview with wise being

I’ve mentioned several times on this blog how two of Eckhart Tolle’s books, “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment” and “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose”  helped me to not only change my outlook  on life and existence, but to “awaken” through a shift in consciousness.

I’ve read each one several times over the last few years since I first came across them on my journey and I highly recommend them. I came across a very well written interview with Tolle on his website that may serve as a basic introduction to the shift in consciousness that he presents in these life changing books.

The article and interview titled “The Awakening of Eckhart Tolle” is written by Paula Coppel for Unity Magazine and may be found here.

Life Imitating Art with a big price tag…

I find it admirable that one of the tactics Samsung is using in defense against Apple’s current patent infringement suit is the claim that Stanley Kubrick actually had the original idea behind the iPad and not Apple.

Here’s a still from the scene that according to this article on abcnews.com, Samsung says proves that at least the concept of the iPad came from someone other than the developers at Apple - not just years mind you - but 4 decades before the pricey tech tool was released! The amazing Kubrick film “2001: A Space Odyssey” was actually filmed in 1965 prior to it’s release in 1968.

Here is the  actual clip in reference can be seen on youtube.com by clicking here.

I think the reason that I like this tactic is its mix of the old “David verses Goliath” story and the fact that art from over 4 decades ago is being referenced as a source of inspiration for very current technology.

In my opinion, even though it’s being used as a tug-of-war tool so to speak between two mega-tech industries over fortunes that are practically impossible for us to comprehend, it quite elegantly underscores the eternal beauty of art itself.

One of the wonderful qualities of great art is its sense of  timelessness. Art itself borders on the eternal because, ultimately, it is the manifestation of an artist’s creative mind which is based in the eternal. It’s the same “eternal” that lives within us all.

Perhaps the final story here is the fact that an artist’s vision is being used in a court of law, regardless of the reasons, perhaps may just let those of us who notice reawaken the eternal in ourselves as well.