Sundance 25

September 2, 2012

This journal entry is a departure from Art and / or my art with the exception that it is also about Murray Archibald's design for Sundance.

Once again, Murray has hit the disco ball into a glittering land of light, music and dance. Nowhere does any of the literature promoting Sundance talk about the fact that Murray Archibald along with his partner, Steve Elkins and a small army of volunteers at Camp Rehoboth are responsible for creating the setting for the huge party celebrating another season of sunshine and fun at our beach. Of course, the title of “Camp Rehoboth” refers obliquely to the history of our community as a Christian based summer camp. And, that factoid refers to the values of the organizers, organization and volunteers at Camp Rehoboth. Nor does the literature delve much into the fact that the Camp Rehoboth organization is responsible for creating one of the most diverse and inclusive vacation communities in the USA. A vacation community that ranks 4th in LGBT population in the country. Having said that, I mustn’t forget that Rehoboth Beach itself is “the summer capital” of the United States, and that the Lewes, Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach communities together represent the greatest family friendly beach resort on the mid-Atlantic seaboard. Now that I’ve finished the infomercial for Camp, and Rehoboth Beach, take a look at my cheesy video showing the Twenty-fifth Sundance.

Camp Rehoboth Twenty-fifth Sundance Auction

Once again Joe and I were Sundance slaves this past week. ☺

Every year since we retired we spend the week before the auction and dance turning the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center into one massive stage set designed by Murray Archibald to sell gifted merchandise, furniture, dinners, cruise and other vacations, and art of all kinds. During the Auction there is a cocktail buffet and open bar with silent auction followed by live auction. We worked yearly on several different art auctions in Lancaster, Pennsylvania before we retired. However nothing compared in scale to the Camp Rehoboth Sundance Art Auction. This year, the 25th year of the Art Auction Murray’s design is better than ever.

I always put an artwork in the auction that sells under value, but it is all in a good cause for the LGBT community of Rehoboth Beach, one of the best places in the country in which to retire whether a member of our community or any other. In fact, it is primarily due to Camp Rehoboth and its founders, Steve Elkins and Murray Archibald that Rehoboth Beach is one of the most diverse and friendly TO ALL vacation (as well as year round) communities in the country. This year I had two works in the Art Auction.

The first, a pastel, “Broadkill River #2 (2008), 24” x 40,” and the second, a digital photographic montage of mixed media work and my photos titled “Romance of the Tropics #8,” winner of a judges Recognition Award in the Arts United 2010 exhibit in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and exhibited in the retrospective of those exhibits this past spring in South Beach, Miami, Florida.

These artworks were among hundreds of other items at the auction, and I include a short video taken with my iPod the night of the auction.

The Eye of God

I must be a deist. A blog entry in which I digress to my personal thoughts about the nature of God. *

The Artist's Version, "The Eye of God." *2

No! Actually I can't be a Deist because I don’t believe that God stepped aside after the creation and watched from his/her/its lofty perch without interference in human affairs. Actually, I believe that God is everywhere and in everything including each one of us, which makes me more of a Gnostic, thus an anachronism. If God be in all things including each person, then "He" can't help but participate in our affairs. The Bible says, “God knoweth all things,” 1 John, chapter 3, verse 20. First Corinthian, chapter 2, verse 10, and I paraphrase, states that God perceives all things, which is not quite the same as being in all things. However, I quote Ephesians, Chapter 4, verse 6, “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” At the same time, the Catholic Church and its entire varied offspring have placed the emphasis on God being out there somewhere, and that we human beings are flawed and must constantly beg for “His” help and forgiveness for our shortcomings.

I make no claim that we are God, or that any of us are perfect. NOT CLOSE! What I do claim is that we can find God inside, as well as outside, if we search deep and hard enough, sorting and sifting through all the junk of our constructed personhood. Which, by the way, brings me to this fundamentalist notion that human sperm, and/or eggs fertilized or not are persons. ABSOLUTELY NOT! Personhood is constructed by our parents and our culture, beginning the moment of our birth. I use passive tense on purpose because, in the beginning we are closest to God before our parents give us a name and start building the person we will become. We will again be closest to God upon death, when we give up our constructed personhood. My personal belief, and it borders on “faith” is that I am made of star stuff, a piece of God’s actual creation, and that deep inside that physical thing - hidden below the socially constructed self - is the kernel (the spiritual seed) of God that I was born with. However, that seed has absolutely nothing to do with my socially constructed person! At the same time that seed is so much more than my person precisely because it is a part of God. We should all have a reverence for that kernel in all things. Thus those persons and human institutions that claim a reverence for human sperm, eggs, and fetuses though they have no problem destroying other living things (including any part of our living planet) have committed the egregious sin of destroying part of God. Thus, I believe that each living human being / person must make his/her own decision in each life or death instance, that no other human, human institution and/or government has the right to make that decision!

I wish that I could say that like a deist, I have reasoned these things intellectually based on my observation of nature. But, I cannot. Yes, some of it is based on logical thought, many hours devoted to careful thinking about the nature of the world, this universe in which I find myself, and God. However, some is intuitive, based in meditation and prayer. SO, I've woven the two threads together, reasoned logic, the warp thread and intuition, the weft. The fabric created contains the revelation that God is in everything including my very own physical body. That does not make me, or you, God. It does make us an intentional part of his/her/its creation. I purposefully describe God as male, female, and neuter because “He” is more than God the father. The church’s insistence upon anthropomorphizing God as “the father” is too limiting. God is so much more than “the heavenly father.” Symbolically “He” is the Holly Family; father, son (Jesus, the Christ), daughter, and mother. Beyond that, as I've been maintaining in this blog entry, God is in all of nature, the earth, the heavens, and beyond. Thus, I know that God is infinite, and "He" is also part of every human being.

Notes

* My thoughts here lead to another question. Can I still be Christian but reason and believe as I do? Ah, I've found the topic for a future blog entry.

*2 The Design on the dollar bill, is meant to be the eye of providence. The "all seeing eye of God" was part of the design created by John Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson for our dollar bill. They based their idea on the Ancient Egyptian eye of Horace, which I think is kind of cool. Anyone who misinterprets the eye of God as a symbol of the devil demonstrates that the devil lives in their head, not on our dollar bill.

Mixed Media Distressed Paint

Dictionary Series: Steps 3,4,5 & 6

Every time I “Google” mixed media distressed paint I find pages of URL’s about distressed furniture, and distressed paint surfaces. In many of these Websites, there is talk of "the look of age," and - I also wish to hint at the passage of time, and history - though I have no need to include walls or furniture in my work except through the ironic use of photographic images (perhaps). I have seen other artwork that looks something like these, though I’m quite sure those other artworks aren’t as many layered as are mine. However, evidence hints that there is no such technique as Mixed Media Distressed Paint, and that must say something about the creative thought process. At the very least I am the only artist who has thought to name his/her technique.

I won’t explain exactly how the layering process works and cast that information into the vacuity of the Ethernet. Suffice it to say that I work back and forth between the virtual digital world of imagery, and the actual physical world of real images, paper, glue, acrylic and tempera paint. Though there is much irony, even intent to inflict pain and / or frustration, there seems to be very little subversive intent in Twenty-first Century Art. Still, I insist on having some secrets.

One more Gay Marriage, One More Small Step Toward Equality for All LGBT People and All Mankind!

The artwork in this entry is the personal, social and political journey my partner of 44 years and I take through our marriage.

 Mission Accomplished!!!

The Reverend Pat Bumgardner married us Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at Metropolitan Community Church of New York with a few special friends in attendance, followed by a wonderful dinner at Dos Caminos, Park Avenue restaurant. The church ceremony brought tears to our eyes because it was truly the most special day in our lives together. Thank you God for granting us this special day of union, and these many years together. *


Note

* Despite all the claptrap to the contrary - Neither God, nor Jesus Christ, his son discriminates. Some churches and some of the people belonging to those churches do.

Rush Limbaugh

said what?

Actually, I don't know any Democrat who has said or is saying that anyone will be eating dog food. I'm the only one, and I'm being facetious.

Dictionary Series

I’ve begun work on a new batch of mixed media distressed paintings. The image above shows the first six pieces at the same level of completion after working the first five steps in creating the bottom two layers of paint on each. As always the works will involve hidden meaning, a history, fiction and reality. However, this marks a departure from “The Waterworks.” The new dictionary series does not involve, invoke, describe or have anything to do with water except by complete accident. Instead, each work will be based on one word. I’ll not discuss the concept further here because I don’t want to give myself away any more than I have in this journal entry. Suffice it to say that I’m going to have a great deal of fun with this project.