What shows
how little
we know?
What can be is
oft far less than
what we expect.
What is now
has never been
what it was.
07/25/2024 j.g.l.
value beyond
Simplicity.
Is there emotion in austerity?
Humanity?
What do you see when attempting
to define your limited visibility?
Minimalism, abstract impressionism
or incorporeal thought.
Less is more, but is it enough?
Texture, tone, and value beyond
your current scene. If you take it to an
extreme, you will question
what it means.
What is really there?
What line do you cross?
Can simplicity be complicated, or
should it even be attempted?
07/23/2024 j.g.l.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Things will not go as planned. Intentions will be disrupted, even overlooked, in the aftermath of an unexpected reality.
Where you are headed will not be the place you end up, undoubtedly or undeniably. No matter how hard you attempt to make each gesture, brushstroke, promise, prayer, or pastime as perfect as you believe it can be, many times you will not arrive at a perceived destination. All too often your endeavors never hit the mark; at times your work may be better than expected (celebrate those moments), but everything (even your judgement) is subjective.
You are not limited to, or by, the colours in your paintbox or progression of your process.
Imagination is as limited or expansive as you want it to be. Give it time to blossom; in certain instances, you may even have to reel it in. This is all about possibilities, no matter which media, method, or style you are beholden to.
You owe your art (or life) nothing but your presence; the value comes from the practice, as rudimentary or spontaneous as it is or will become.
07/22/2024 j.g.l.
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Posted on March 6, 2023 by j.g.lewis
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I used to get a chuckle when I’d catch one of those public television concert specials where they’d tramp out pop artists from the past: The Temptations or the Pips, or some of the one-hit wonders from the Woodstock era or long before that.
The cameras would pan the audience for shiny happy people obviously having fun, or show close-ups of people clapping and singing along to the music of their youth. The blue-rinse set would be out in full force, senior citizens dancing even with their canes and walkers.
Last Thursday I realized I was at some such event.
Former Talking Head Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew are out on the road right now with a nine-piece backing band performing Remain in Light; a review of Talking Head hits surrounding the seminal 1980 album.
I was 19 or 20 when the album came out.
This was the music of my youth.
It was also the youthful music of those older than myself at the time, there were a lot of people well into their sixties and seventies at the packed Danforth Music Hall.
I suppose it makes sense; both Harrison and Belew are each in their mid-70s.
We all grow up.
The music, obviously, was ageless and it was a damn good concert (I wasn’t the only one up dancing to the hits). I suppose I’m just coming to terms with the fact that that I, like the music and musicians, am obviously getting older.
We all grow old.
03/06/2023 j.g.l.
