Keep on Readin' an' Make it Happ'n!

BH Wishes - by Kobina Wright

Perhaps you’ve read several articles on how to make things happen for yourself in your life.  I’ve read too many to count.  But I keep reading them.  You know why?  Because I believe that you never know when the juiciest nugget will pop up and click something on for you and then change your life forever.  You just never know.

The following post is an ETR essay from Dr. Sandeep Sohal, titled, “Make Your Dreams Come True.”  He writes from a different perspective here.  He doesn’t tell you to write down anything or look up anything.  This essay challenges you to think – then act. 

Enjoy.

Make Your Dreams Come True

By Dr. Sandeep Sohal

When you believe that you control your destiny, that's when the real thought experiment begins.  That's when you are ready to ask yourself the deep, penetrating questions that truly matter. 

These might include:

How have you become who you are today?

What is it that you visualize yourself to be?

What do you want your obituary to look like (as an endpoint that drives you to organize yourself in the present)?

When you are ready to truly answer these questions, it shows a degree of resilience that most people never achieve. And this allows you to become invulnerable in the face of any circumstances.

I am an optimist. I believe that any individual in any walk of life can become the best possible version of themselves. 

My studies in anthropology have shown me that humans are not only a socially driven species, but that we also thrive with delivering a personal touch to others. 

If you are a caring, successful mother, there are people out there who need your opinion and advice. If you are an awesome cook, there are people out there who crave your food. If you are an amazing driving instructor, there are teenagers out there who need the confidence and trust that only you can teach and inspire. If you are a daycare teacher, there are children out there who desire your dedication and foresight. If you are simply a compassionate person, there are countless individuals in nursing homes who need your attention. And if you are someone with professional expertise, then you are truly fortunate, as there are a myriad of people who value your services.You would be doing a disservice to them and to yourself by not taking control of your destiny and bringing your talents to the world.

Some of us are gifted with natural talents, but I think if one builds on attitude, then there are only two things that matter: doing active good and having the willingness to serve.

When I was a teenager, I did this naturally only because I wanted to do it.  I pushed wheelchairs, I comforted the dying, I played Bingo with the elderly, I watched The Three Stooges with stroke victims who could not speak, and I fed those who could not eat on their own.

It never boils down to merely what your talents are in the final analysis. Skills can be taught, but a helping attitude - like the one you exhibit - is difficult to instill in those who don't have it. If you don't have the attitude that seeks and strives to be unyielding in doing active good and willingly serving, then you don't have what it takes. 

Finally, all things come together when you are passionate.

Everything we do as humans originates from a feeling. No matter what anyone tells you, we are not derived from logic. Is it logical to love someone? So the question determining your success really is, "How much of a helping and giving person can you allow yourself to become?"

When you are searching and seeking, you will find what you are looking for. You have to allow what you are and wish to become effervesce to the surface.   It literally should bubble over. 

All things come together when you are passionate.  Passion clarifies and crystallizes your mission in life.

Passion allows you to digest and endure your experiences with resilience, using them for your benefit, selecting out what you truly need to galvanize the right attitude from within at all times.  It becomes your second nature. Nothing can hurt you. Nothing can take that understanding away from you. In fact, every circumstance in the field of experience becomes your tool in finding inspiration toward what makes you passionate.

You can call me quixotic. You can call me a renegade. That's fine, but let me tell you just one thing...It's all about your resilience, your attitude, and your passion. If you remember nothing at all, remember simply to become passionate. Remember to do what you simply must. It's that simple. Doing active good originates from your true passion. 

And that is what will make all the difference in the world for you.

New Art: Pictures! Lovely Pictures!

 

In about one month I’ll be heading off to Thailand.  Who knew this trip would ever happen (I was totally thinking I would be in the Netherlands or Belize first).  And now that I’m taking care of the little things like vaccinations and how I’m going to pay my mortgage while I’m gone; I’m also planning out the art installation I’ll be exhibiting while I’m there.

The concept of the unrealized creation is a mash up of sorts, inspired by Tibetan prayer flags and the language I created, Hodaoa-Anibo (pronounced sha-DOE-ah ah-NEE-bo).  I’m pretty excited about it, but I’m also painfully nervous.  That’s my confession (enjoy it ‘cause those don’t come often).

A month ago, back when I was trying to raise money for a band trip for my daughter, I began a mixed media art series I had been rolling around in my head for a while.  It doesn’t have a real name yet, so for the time being, I’m calling it the ink and watercolor 2012 series.  That name will change.  I guarantee it.  It’s not catchy at all.

Yesterday, right after I did a little medical research about a quivering in my daughter’s ears, I uploaded 10 works from this mixed media series to create a slideshow to give you a sneak preview as to what the series is all about.  So you can feel where my mind has gone since the last series, inspired by ancient and modern physicists.  I’m also making 5 of these works available through Fine Art America (framed and matted upon purchase) in case anyone is interested.

I had this little idea about documenting my Thailand trip on The Wrighter while I’m there.  Super original – I know… But it may be quite interesting.  We shall see…

From "The Hollywood Suites, 1974-1977" - A Photo Study

From "The Hollywood Suites" - S. Kahn

This photograph found me through email, courtesy of the Joseph Bellows Gallery.  It is part of an upcoming exhibit at the gallery by photographer, Steve Kahn.  The series is titled, “The Hollywood Suites, 1974-1977.”

Reviewing other black and white photographs from the series, this one (I’m not sure of its official title) is the one photograph in the series available for viewing online at the gallery’s website, that seems to capture what I believe to be the essence of the series.  It stands out as the others toggle from studying curtained windows and doorways to topless women.

The above photograph of a woman’s legs in a chair is mostly telling of the period, although those platforms could surely be a snapshot from today’s fashion.  The shag carpet is my favorite.  Absolutely.  Its iconic presence along with the super short skirt is reminiscent of a decade earlier.  It is a time period teaser.

The shoe in the velveteen chair; the subject’s raised leg and her hand at the back of the chair suggests a high level of familiarity with the room, the company or the situation (or the portrayal of it).

There is a cool in the subject’s body language, the half we see, that we normally would instantly recognize in her face, if it were here.  She’s either sure of herself, or she’s acting, which of course ties in perfectly with the series title, “The Hollywood Suite,” eluding to the search for fame; hinting at the clichéd “casting couch.”

The background walls have a dingy wear that serves as a reminder of Hollywood’s gritty side.  Without the cameras; without the fame; without the realized dreams.

Steve Kahn’s series, “The Hollywood Suites” will exhibit at Joseph Bellows Gallery from November 10^th through December 21^st, 2012.

Visit the gallery online: http://www.josephbellows.com/upcoming/#1.

Chicken: A poem

"Chickens" - by Kobina Wright

Chicken

 

A song charming swings in the breeze and floats

through the vapors hidden behind the white of the clouds

 

 

sung from the molecules , micro-sirens to my senses

lulling and swaying in seductive sleepiness enticing

 

 

but I bent over my evening following the call from love

to breathe life into a short contract

 

 

a promise of sorts without the use of the word

that I would call him back at nine (his time)

 

 

to send a simple reminder  that his chicken is in

the company’s refrigerator – in the commons

 

 

so that he doesn’t drive home and forget.  And love

told me he wouldn’t hold it against me if I forgot.

 

 

 

The Great Habit: Ducking Email...



By Kobina Wright

Today is an ETR repost I’m tempted to repost once a week (don’t worry, I won’t).  Lately I’ve been having somber discussions about the time people waste behind their computer screens and our unhealthy addiction to gadgets that we suddenly can’t live without.

This essay is by Craig Ballantyne, and reminds us that curbing one action that is a time sucker can dramatically increase our overall productivity IN LIFE! 

Enjoy.

Slip Sliding Away

By Craig Ballantyne

"Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away, You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away" - Paul Simon

This happens to all of us in one facet of life or another. We build a habit that starts off strong but then, over time, often ends up slip sliding away.

It could be the diet we started so strongly on January 1st has become a shell of its former self by SuperBowl weekend. It might be your attempt to reconcile a relationship, a promise you made to a loved one to be home in time for dinner more often, giving your word to call more often, to be there for someone. Or it might have been that your plan to set aside money for a rainy day has all but dried up.

We make great plans while God laughs.

Life gets in our way.

"We work our jobs, collect our pay, believe we're gliding down the highway, when in fact we're slip slidin' away," sings Simon.

Your editor is not immune to the slippery slope. This week I realized that one of my personal strengths was slip sliding away.

But first the story about how it became a personal strength in the first place.

In 2005, as a young man addicted to email, I used to marvel at Michael Masterson's articles describing how he did not check email until 5 p.m. To me, this was better than a magic trick. How could anyone possibly do this? But Michael had good reason for doing so. Not checking his email allowed him to get more work done. And as for all of those "problems" that people were emailing about? Well, not replying simply encouraged people to solve their own problems rather than relying on him.

And so I took his advice to heart. Slowly but surely I chipped away at my email time. It went from being the first thing I looked at when I woke up at 4:30 a.m. (back in my personal trainer days); to something I could delay until 7 a.m. From 7 a.m. I fought for every minute until it was 8 a.m. Finally, it seemed to settle on a plateau of 9 a.m. In fact, in my original "12 Rules for My Life", rule #3 stated, "I do not check email until 9 a.m."

But I knew I could do better. Recently I had a copy of my rules laminated and included in my daily document review (see them all in this video). In this latest version I updated rule #3 to 10 a.m. The new email time worked...for a while. Then my travel schedule got busy. I was in different time zones, and my email schedule started slip sliding away. Soon I was back to 9 a.m.

I needed to "sharpen my saw", as Dr. Stephen Covey wrote in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". It was time for a period of mental rejuvenation. Fortunately, I was inspired by a recent interview that I stumbled upon in my monthly newsletter subscription from the Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle. This inspiring conversation between host Dave Dee and Henry Evans, author of HourADayBook.com, got me fired up to shift my email session to later in the day. But not back to 10 a.m. No, this time I was going to model Mr. Evans and wait until 12 p.m. before checking and responding to any email.

Now you have to understand, while noon might still seem early to some people, by that point in the day I've been up for eight hours. For a "normal" 7 a.m. riser, that's the equivalent of checking email at 3 p.m. I'm still not at Michael Masterson's 5 p.m. time slot, but still, it's incredible progress for a former addict.

Equally as important, I've set a deadline of 6 p.m. as the cut-off for reading any email that day. No more checking email at 8 p.m. and getting wound up about something that can - and should - wait until the next afternoon.

I'm able to do this because I have a team in place to handle the large amount of email that I receive. First, I have an assistant that checks for emergencies, and then sorts the email into various folders (I believe you can setup Gmail and other email platforms to do this automatically...however this isn't an option in the service I use).

In his interview, Evans also brought up a factor that was missing from my system, one that might have been allowing my dedication to slip away. That missing factor was having either a punishment for failure or a reward for successfully sticking to the desired behavior. I've since implemented these for my email schedule.

If I give in and check email before noon, my punishment is to go without reading the website and blogs of great authors that I enjoy each day at lunch. My reward for sticking to the plan is simply a feeling of great accomplishment, for I know that I've been a better steward of my time and that more essays have been written and products created. That feeling of product completion is the ultimate reward for me.

Since implementing this new email schedule, the results have been overwhelmingly positive. My writing production has almost doubled and my work-related stress has decreased (not that I was under enormous pressure, but it's a great feeling to get my newsletters done far ahead of deadlines).

And most importantly, this time I'm sticking to it. No more letting my goal of waiting until noon to check email to slip slide away. It's now a rule with both punishments and rewards.

I believe in the power of rules and personal philosophies because they make everyday decisions a lot easier. As Dan Kennedy wrote recently in one of his weekly faxes to Diamond Members, "This is why Ayn Rand made such a defense of philosophy. Each person needs one. A thought-out, developed, challenged, and ultimately settled on set of fundamental decisions made once that do not need made again, that can govern other decisions. If there's no concreteness to this, neither direction nor discipline is possible."

Another virtual mentor of mine, Dave Kekich, agrees. As he states in Credo #39, "By adhering to a strong honest philosophy, you will remain guiltless, blameless, independent and maintain control over your life. Without a sound philosophy, your life will eventually crumble."

Don't let your good habits slip slide away from you. Write out your personal philosophies, your rules to live by, your big ideas for life, or whatever it is that you want to call them. You need them.

Just as I believe that waking up early makes almost everything better, having a set of well-defined personal philosophies makes every decision quicker and easier. Add these to your life today.

Arthaus Art Director, James Bacchi

Project gallery – CANDID MOMENTS – new paintings by Jhina Alvarado

Jhina Alvarado, "And The Winner Is" - 36”x36” Oil and encaustic on panel

Courtesy of ArtHaus

James Bacchi, one of Arthaus’ art directors, has agreed to be featured on The Wrighter, so today, I’m posting his interview.  I’m hoping it will spark an interest in visiting a gallery or museum somewhere near you this weekend.

James Bacchi

Gallerists James Bacchi and Annette Schutz opened ArtHaus in San Francisco's historic Nob Hill in 1996. Since then, the gallery has relocated to 411 Brannon Street, in San Francisco, California.

To visit the Arthaus Gallery website, go to: http://www.arthaus-sf.com.

 

Where are you from?

I’m from Medford, Massachusetts.  I moved to San Francisco in 1993 from New York City where I founded and co-owned  ON THE WALL and Jagendorf/Bacchi Galleries, and was an Associate at ArtVue, a corporate art consulting firm.

Is there any particular event that drew you to the art world?

During the late 80’s in New York,  art was a very important aspect of the nightclub scene.  The Palladium re-opened with frescos by Sandro Chia, and installations by Keith Harring and Kenny Scharf.  With ON THE WALL PRODUCTIONS I co-curated

Exhibitions and benefit events at Limelight, Palladium, 12 West and Dancetaria.

Our following kept growing and led to opening ON THE WALL in the East Village, later Jagenforf/Bacchi in Soho.

 

Donald Roller Wilson

“Madonna and Little Inez seen nearing the house where Chumley and Mr. Peabody lived.”

Who is your favorite artist?  Why?

While I have many favorites, Donald Roller Wilson ranks high.  His narrative which accompanies his masterful execution of personafied animals appeals to me as a writer and collector.    

Are you an artist yourself?  What mediums and subject matter do you gravitate to?

As a writer and collector, I do consider myself an artist.  I’ve always gravitated to figurative work; paintings, sculpture and photography.

 

Adam Kurtzman, "NO CONTEST"

24 enalel on cast cement sculptures.

Courtesy of ArtHaus

What is the most outrageous thing you’ve seen at the gallery?

NO CONTEST, a sculpture installation by Gallery Artist Adam Kurtzman.

What are your interests outside of art?

Contemporary design, from industrial to automobile to functional – can’t see enough.  Milan rules.  This, old school R&B and brainstorming with colleagues, and of course – my quest to find East Coast style egg foo young in San Francisco.

Patter Hellstrom

"Twin Impulses" 48”x72”

Acrylic ink on polypropylene/mounted on acrylic

Adam Kurtzman

"Building" 48”x15”x15”

Leaded glass atop cast cement base

Courtesy of ArtHaus

Astrid

"Concert Sans Notes" 24”x24”

Solarized photograph, edition of 3

Courtesy of ArtHaus

This is GREAT... but on the other hand... so is THIS!

I do hope that my wonderful daughter reads this article today.  My poor girl sometimes is paralyzed into inaction when faced with important decision making.  My goal has been to get her to realize, sometimes when faced with good options, there is no bad decision, only choice.  Of course it is important to be able to recognize when this time arrives because there are times, if not thought out enough, a decision can break your heart. 

I’ve reposted an ETR essay by Michael Masterson about making hard decisions when both options look good.  I hope it helps someone.  Enjoy.

 

How to Decide Between Two Equally Good Things

By Michael Masterson

Number Three Son had narrowed down his summer internship choices to two. But he was stuck. Where should he go? The office in Mumbai or the one in Melbourne?

Each had its benefits and drawbacks. India was more exotic, but Australia was more familiar. India might offer him more challenges, but Australia would give him a more personalized mentorship. India had more resources, but Australia was focused on what he wanted to do.

How do you choose between two good options when they are so evenly balanced?

Number Three Son asked for advice. His mother said one thing. His aunt said another. His friends were equally divided.

I was sitting on the porch, enjoying a Padron Aniversario 1964 (Natural) when he put the question to me.

"This is driving me nuts," he said. "How do I decide?"

"Why don't you flip a coin?" I suggested.

"Flip a coin? Is that how you make your important decisions?"

"Not always. But sometimes." I said.

"I can't believe that."

I told him the story about how I got into the direct-marketing business. If you are a long-time ETR reader, you may have heard it before, so I'll retell it very quickly.

It was 1981. I was sitting on a beach in Key Largo, watching jet skiers cutting back and forth on the Gulf's crystal blue water. Next to me sat Tom. Tom's hair curled at his shoulders. He was smoking what was then called a "doobie." Tom's job was to put people on the jet skis and then take them off. That was it. And it appeared to be about all he was capable of doing.

I had just been offered three great job opportunities. A desk position at the Miami Herald, a reporting job at the St. Petersburg Times, and an editorial management slot with a newsletter publisher in Boca Raton. In my mind's eye, I could see three career paths ahead of me: publisher, journalist, or marketing maven. All three appealed to me. I couldn't choose.

So I decided to leave it up to Tom. I explained the jobs, the benefits, the drawbacks, and my thoughts about where they could lead me. Tom listened semi-attentively. Then, when I had told him everything there was to tell - all the details and all the nuances - I put my hand on his bronzed shoulder and said, "What should I do, Tom? Which way should I go?"

He took a what-we-then-called "toke" from his doobie, exhaled contentedly, and with a glassy-eyed gaze said, "Boca. Go Boca, man."

That, in fact, is exactly what I did. I took the Boca job and things turned out very nicely.

Just hours before Number Three Son had tracked me down on the porch, MaryEllen Tribby and I had spent some time with Brian Andreas, an ETR reader and an attendee at our business-building boot camp. In describing his amazing success in business, Brian said, "Everybody thinks that you can go through life making logical decisions based on factual input. One logical decision after another. But when I think about my career, it is clear that many of the most important directions I took were impulsive or arbitrary. Life doesn't unroll in a straight line. It's more complicated than that."
I thought about The Black Swan, the best-selling book by Nicholas Taleb that made a similar point. Life's most critical events, Taleb argued, cannot be predicted.

Those thoughts were in my head when I suggested to Number Three Son that he flip a coin. Both opportunities were likely to be very good to him. But it was impossible to predict how they might develop and what benefits they would provide.

I pointed out that asking Tom to make my decision back in 1981 was the equivalent of flipping a three-sided coin. I wasn't relying on Tom's wisdom. I was simply using him to arbitrarily pick one of three good choices. What I did with those opportunities and what I got from them would depend on my actions later on.

So Number Three Son went into his room and put on some music. And when he was ready, he flipped a coin.

"What did the coin tell you?" I asked.

"It said to go to Australia."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I feel good, actually."

"That's great," I said. "So now you've decided. Now you can go forward and make something of that opportunity. It's entirely up to you."

I didn't tell him that if the coin toss had made him feel bad I would have told him to ignore it and go to India. That's one useful outcome of making decisions arbitrarily. Sometimes they will show you how you really feel about the choices you're considering.

This happened to me about eight months ago. The stock market had me worried, and I was thinking about pulling out all my money and putting it into cash. I called up one of the advisors I most respect and asked him what I should do. He made a very cogent argument for staying in the market. I thanked him for his advice, hung up the phone, and sold my stocks. Not because I don't trust him. I do. But because his advice forced me to reckon with what my gut was telling me. And my gut was telling me to get out.

We store our emotional intelligence in our limbic brain. We do our rational thinking in our neocortical brain. The two are connected, but they don't always communicate well with one another.

Sometimes you need a coin toss to help you know what your limbic brain wants you to do.

For Number Three Son, his limbic brain had already told him to go to Australia. That's why he felt good when the coin toss came up Australia.

Just to be clear - I am not suggesting that all decisions should be made by tossing coins. I don't believe that at all. Quite the opposite, I believe we should use our rational faculties to analyze problems, to break them down into smaller issues and figure them out. But when the rational answers are in, you must compare them to your gut instinct.

Good decisions are made when both parts of your brain are saying the same thing. And when your rational mind tells you that both options are good and you are not sure what your limbic brain is saying, then an arbitrary decision-making process like flipping a coin can be very helpful.

 

Celio Barreto of SoHo Art Gallery - Osaka, Japan

Celio Barreto

Every blue moon you come across an interview answer that actually makes you laugh out loud. Fortunately, today was the day. I've posted an interview with art director, Celio Barreto, from SoHo Art Gallery, and I'm very happy he agreed to be on The Wrighter because his answers to my questions were very thorough and thoughtful and sometimes even laugh-out-loud-funny (see his answer to the most outrageous thing he's seen in the gallery).

The gallery is temporarily closed for the next couple of weeks, but you can visit the website at: http://www.soho-art-gallery.com.

TRACE series, Kotaro "Hatch" Hachinohe,  No Man's Land, June 2010

Where are you from?

This is actually gonna be a long answer, hahaha! I was born in Costa Rica and grew up in Brazil, Argentina, Central America and Canada. After all that the most natural thing I could do was move to Japan in 2003.

Is there any particular event(s) that drew you to the art world?



My parents both made artwork in their free time. They both painted and decorated the house with a lot of their works. They really encouraged me to read a lot and draw. Then came the Star Wars films when I was quite young and I would dream about becoming a special effects technician some day. I drew and drew thousands of pictures about spaceships and aliens and even attempted to write a story once. Even though I loved drawing and sculpting in art class, I didn't make a conscious decision to get seriously into art till at the end of high school, when I chose to study studio arts and art history. I've always had the desire to both create and to research and to know the story behind the works of art.



Excavation, Matthew Fasone, November 2010

Who is your favorite artist? Why?

There have been many along the way. Each one becomes more prominent at a different stage of my life. As a kid I loved the Japanese anime such as Mazinger Z (Transor Z in the US); Cobra and others such as the feature films Akira and later Jin Roh. Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and M.C. Escher were my earliest and greatest influences. I loved the way they manipulated space through their work. Wright's fusion of Japanese and American architectural philosophies and aesthetics stunned me. Le Corbusier's forms and simplicity of line seemed to create a much grander space than the humble constructions materials would suggest. As I finished up university I was enthralled by the minimalists of the 60s, in particular LeWitt, Flavin, Judd, and Andre.

Today, emerging artists like Zaya Sambuu of Mongolia, Gaku Azuma, Youichi Itakura and Kotaro "Hatch" Hachinohe of Japan are amongst my favorite artists. Their works are imbued with such incredible power and executed with expert delicacy and sensitivity. I really admire their work and whenever they show me their new pieces they never fail to impress the living daylights out of me. I have learned so much about art from them because they approach it from such a uniquely Asian way. They draw from history, fairy tales, traditional culture, ancient religion, calligraphy and the latest technologies to come up with work that needs to be seen by as many people as possible. Watching them work is inspiring and their paintings and performances are breath taking.

 


Ryohei Obata: New Works, September 2012

Are you an artist yourself? If so, what medium and subject matters do you gravitate towards?

My own artwork is about light. I love light and its beauty. I create light paintings with my camera and project them or display them on bright monitors. It has been a while since I've created new work however, as I've focused fully into the work at the gallery. What I get to do now that is truly exciting and rewarding is bringing artists together, curating large group shows of between 50 to 100 artists from nearly all disciplines and creating a cohesive whole that is strong both by the individuality of each piece and the harmony they produce together. Here in Japan team work is so important and such an engrained part of the philosophy of life. It is really wonderful to be able to reflect that in an exhibition. The shows are a means to connect the artists to each other, as they come from all over the world. It's challenging to say the least, but when it comes together it's the most wonderful feeling in the world.

 


Twelve Goddesses, Gaku Azuma, May 2011. All works Japanese ink on paper

What is the most outrageous thing you've seen in the Gallery?

 

That has got to be a performance piece we had during Gitai Art Union's exhibition back in 2009. The performance artist made blood curdling screams that I felt would shatter the windows! At the same time she dropped raw eggs onto a frypan on the floor. The performance was both indoor and out, and when it moved to the sidewalk and the screaming became even louder, the faces of the neighbors in the buildings around the gallery, in the cars on the main road and pedestrians on the sidewalk were a sight to behold.

 

Our neighbors asked us not to do that again.

 

 

What are your interests outside of art?

I'm really interested in ancient history, the beginnings of civilization around the world. Living in Japan now for nearly 10 years I'm fascinated by the philosophy and aesthetic of wabi-sabi, but also the antiquity of the Chinese characters used in the written language. I'm dumbfounded by the way people in Japan can use 4 or 5 different scripts simultaneously to convey their ideas. It's a language that really requires you to think quite differently.

My other major interest is technology, both software and hardware. Science fiction films have always been something I quite enjoy and understanding the ways in which technology and society interact and influence each other is simply fascinating.

 

 

 

Catherine Asquith - Gallery Director

Catherine Asquith 2010

Today on The Wrighter I’ve posted an interview with gallery director, Catherine Asquith, of the Catherine Asquith Gallery in Australia.  Though I’ve never been to the gallery in person, I consistently visit the Asquith Gallery website, always curious about what’s being exhibited.  I finally asked the director if she’d be willing to grant an interview for The Wrighter.

 

To visit the gallery's website, go to: www.catherineasquithgallery.com.

 

Where are you from?

Melbourne, born and bred

Is there any particular event(s) that drew you to the art world?

I had studied Art History at university in my undergraduate degree and had travelled to Europe as a young student, visiting all the main galleries and museums. Some of my lecturers no doubt had impressed me with their knowledge and passion for the subject. I was drawn to further studies, including studying overseas, and I continued travelling throughout Europe.



Dianne Gall, "Homecoming", from forthcoming
exhibition, "Femme Noir" which commences
16th October 2012

I guess my first trip to New York in 1995 was probably the catalyst for my eventual 'entry' into this very unique world. At that time, I was chaperoned by a New York collector around the Manhattan gallery circuit, visiting the major commercial galleries, and being privy to the hidden 'delights' of their stockrooms! I was wined and dined (not sure why?) with some of the most pre-eminent dealers of NY, people of whom I had 'studied' at university, or at least, their galleries. Ironically, I felt very at home with these people, with their values and lifestyle, the city itself - it was very seductive. I returned to New York many times thereafter, and at one point I was seriously considering re-locating. After my last trip to New York in 2000 I returned to Melbourne and decided upon setting up my own art gallery.

Who is your favorite artist? Why?

The American realist painter, Edward Hopper (1882 - 1967). I think with any 'favorite' it's about how you are introduced to that artist. I took a unit in American Art, in my undergad degree and the way in which my lecturer presented Hopper just impressed me. Then when I finally saw his work, at The Whitney and MOMA, well, I was a committed fan. The sense of narrative, the inclusion of the solitary, isolated figure, the inferred existentialism, and these attributes just really appeal to my sensibility. I like work that asks questions, expresses ideas about the nature of humanity, and evokes an emotional response. Hopper did this with his paintings.

Are you an artist yourself?

Barbara Bolt, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being",
from forthcoming exhibition, "Streetwise"
which commences 16th October 2012

No, I am not an artist, and to be honest have never wanted to be. For a start I don't have the talent. But I do want art in my life, and I am still, after 10 years as a gallerist, passionate about it

I absolutely believe in the necessity of our society supporting the arts.

What are your interests outside of art?

Owning and operating an art gallery is a full time commitment, it's really a 'marriage' of sorts. Any travel now will invariably include a work related event, such as an international art fair, or a visit to an artist's studio interstate, or attendance at a biennale. I search out literature and film which has an 'art content'.

Truthfully - art is a constant in my life. It circumscribes pretty much all my social life - not that one has that much time outside of the gallery!