Frida and me.

I finally got to view the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Walker.

I completely forgot how hot the Walker is... I kept thinking to myself, 'I cannot believe how warm they keep the galleries!' The new galleries are so cramped and IMO, poorly lighted; Kahlo's work was difficult to see, especially since the exhibit was so crowded. There were at least 3 docents conducting small group tours at once. They are always fun to listen to, because they so often get things wrong - either about the art or the painter. No doubt, I would be a very fun tour guide - let me tell you.

"Yes, this was painted when she was sleeping with..."

Viewing Frida's work was like visiting an old friend I never got along with, yet loved dearly. Everything was fine if I always told her what she wanted to hear. With Frida one has to listen to her go on endlessly about Diego and listen to the story of her traumatic injuries and surgeries - over and over. It would be okay if you could drink and smoke while you are with her, but you want to get away quickly before she insults you. That is pretty much Frida Kahlo.

Misery loves company.

I discovered Frida around 1990. I had finished a major work entitled "The Descent Into Hell" - it was a painting I made - "with scenes from the life of" - that is, it contained a central panel of the descent of Christ into hell, with scenes from my life in 15 little boxes. I did it as an altar piece with trompe-l'oeil niches on either side containing painted statues of saints. (No - there is no photo available.) I only tell you about it because it was the first time I combined icon-style painting with my Latino style retablo, in a trompe-l'oiel composition. Each vignette carried a scroll with verses from the Abbey-Road album by the Beatles. I kept the piece hidden until a friend told me it reminded him of Frida Kahlo's work and I ought to exhibit it. (Long story short - I exhibited it and it was sold.)

Painting a life.

I soon investigated Frida and was astonished how closely my work fit in with some of her pieces. Before discovering her art, I thought my blend of religious style art with secular themes was almost sacrilegious. I understood her work, and yet I was repulsed by some of it. In some cases, such as "A Few Small Nips" and "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" (two of my favorites) one can have the experience of looking at crime scene photos. While some of her surgical paintings can come off as metaphysical x-rays of the artist.

Almost immediately I understood that what Frida had been doing in her art, was documenting her life, as well a few well chosen significant events outside of her immediate experience, which resonated with her. Her work, no matter how self-absorbed and dolorous, exists as valuable documentation of a person - indeed, a personality - living during the chaotic epoch that was revolutionary Mexico. Her art mirrors the cultural malaise that Mexico experienced within her lifetime.

I was not at all surprised - nor enlightened by the exhibit - as I said, it was like going to visit an old friend. Which is why I avoided the photography exhibit, I didn't need to be reminded of how tragic her life had been... Her paintings say enough about that.

[Art: Top - "The suicide of Dorothy Hale" Middle - "A Few Small Nips"]

The writer's strike.

The only good thing about it is that I watch much less TV since all the shows are reruns. But it is very bad for all those affected by the strike - not just the writers - but set people, camera people, lighting people, everyone involved in a television production. Don't forget the advertisers... it all has an impact... you know - the economy stupid.

My patron for 2008...

St. Peter Chanel

The saint chosen for me to be my patron this year is St. Peter Chanel, and the devotion chosen for me is the devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus - which is a sinner's delight, let me tell you. I know who St. Peter is, and I have devotion to the most Precious Blood, which I will renew with the help of His grace. But I will have to examine the life of St. Peter more closely to determine why he chose me.

My thanks to Angela for orchestrating all of these graces for me.

Celebrity look-a-like bloggers.

I told Vincenzo that I thought Cathy of Alexandria looks a lot like Kathy Najimy - actually, I think they are one and the same. Vinny and Cath had been discussing who Fr. Z looks like - Bobby Darin or Kevin Spacey. (I could go either way - whatever - Father looks very cool in shades and his cassock.) I love to pick out celebrity look-a-likes. I'm often told I look like Aaron Eckhart - but I don't really see the resemblance myself.

Maybe I'll do a post on what celebrities my other favorite bloggers look like - don't steal my idea now!

What I really think... and other New Year's resolutions.

Wouldn't that be a great post - or series of posts? "What I really think..."

I want to do it - you know, how I'm always critiquing Spirit Daily - I could do the same thing with other blogs. But my New Year's resolution is a restraining power and that means I am going to try and stop saying (writing) and posting inappropriate things. I'm going to try really hard to be nice to people and say good things, things people need to hear, things that will really help them. I noticed when another blogger linked to a post I did, he felt the need to add the following cautionary statement - "Be forewarned, Terry sometimes writes things that may offend some people." (I had no idea I did that. No wonder certain blogs I respect do not link to me, and those who once linked, no longer do so.)

Some British bloggers have referred to me as "off-the-wall" and I believe one even suggested I was eccentric. Now that is coming from British bloggers and you know how fond British people are of their eccentrics - like the Royals! (Also, keep in mind some of the British TV reality shows, such as, Absolutely Fabulous, Faulty Towers, Keeping Up Appearances, and others like them which document normal life in the UK. Yeah - really normal all right. And yet they think I'm eccentric and off-the-wall - I don't get it.)

So from now on, I'm going to try and be normal.

(Photo: Homely, old, fat-lady blogger who failed in her New Year's resolution to lose weight and bought a corset instead. - - - What?)

My last post for 2007...

Happy New Year everyone!

Photo: "Ride of my life!" The boy whose wheelchair got stuck on the front of a semi and was pushed miles down the freeway before the unsuspecting driver was flagged down. The boy never even spilled his soda.

My predictions for 2008!

Every New Year's Eve I do my psychic thing and lay out my predictions for the coming year. This is the first year I am publishing the predictions however, and I hope they get picked up by Spirit Daily and a few other webloids. My accuracy has been about 99% in the past. (Everyone around Minneapolis will remember how I accurately predicted the name of the new coadjutor archbishop to replace Harry Flynn. I also foretold how Cathy and Adoro would both find new jobs this past year. And don't overlook the fact I foretold how Our Word blogspot would makeover their website. So here goes with my forecast for 2008... drum roll please!)

1) To start, what everyone is anxious to know, Hilary Clinton will indeed be elected the first female president of the U.S. and Obama will be the first black vice-president in history.

2) Oprah will be ordained as a minister and start her own Church where everyone just loves, eats, and prays.

3) The David Letterman Show will be cancelled because it is boring.

4) Elizabeth Taylor will pass away of natural causes.

5) Jon Lovitz will make a dramatic comeback reprising Ernest Borgnine's role in the 1950's film, Marty.

6) Madonna will return to the Catholic Church after visiting Lourdes (with her daughter Lourdes) for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions.

7) Many people will die throughout the world each day during 2008 - and only those closest to them will know about it.

8) Rosie O'Donnell will split up with her partner, and one of her children will write a tell-all book, similar to Mommie Dearest, and Rosie will play herself in the film.

9) The first arrests of bloggers on the grounds they committed hate crimes with their blog-postings will take place shortly after Hilary is elected president.

10) The situation in Pakistan will worsen when an as yet unknown man, with close ties to bin Laden, takes over the government in early summer.

11) The New Madrid fault will erupt near Memphis and swallow up Elvis' Graceland.

The rest is too horrible to reveal.

Gettin' ready for New Year's Eve...

An unidentified Twin Cities blogger practicing for her New Year's party.

Why I don't go out much...

These creatures are always following me.

When your secret is all found out...

When there are no more lies they can tell...

This morning I watched Sunday Morning on CBS - along with 60 Minutes, it is my favorite news show on television. They did a 12 to 15 minute segment remembering all of the notable people who died in 2007 - it was a long list of saints and sinners.

What became apparent throughout the montage of personalities, was the fact that all of these dead people, despite wealth, fame, accomplishment and so on, left everything we esteem important behind. The jaded Queen of Mean, Leona Helmsly, and the sweet sinner-convert-holylady televangelist, Tammy Faye, disappeared into the shadows of death. Death seemed to neutralize their reputations, and I simply felt sorry for them. They left everything behind. Despite their fame, they may not even garner a memory, save as a footnote in history. The inventors and sports figures who died perhaps left a more lasting legacy, as had entertainers such as the powerful Merv Griffin, and in comparison - the lowly Charles Nelson Riley. Yet remembered after death or not, their memory is but a shadow of the illusion their lives became for us.

The saying is cliche, yet true, death is the great equalizer. Again, Sting's lyrics come to mind:

"When the doctors failed to heal you

When no medicine chest can make you well

When no counsel leads to comfort

When there are no more lies they can tell

No more useless information

And the compass spins

The compass spins between heaven and hell" - "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" - Sting

Taking flight...

You know - the child Jesus may have been about two years old when the Holy Family took flight to Egypt.

Blog-o-drama...

I'm locked out of Abbey-Roads2 again.

This happens periodically and as usual, I'm annoyed about it. I usually do my more serious stuff for Abbey2, although I post serious things on Abbey1 as well, albeit more personal and oftentimes more silly. I don't know how long I'll keep that up however. And I may just post here exclusively. After viewing Cynthia Large's work, I want to resume painting. In addition, I'm running out of things to write about on my blogs, and I don't want to simply post news articles.

As you may have noticed, I have been reading Caryll Houselander - just bits and pieces - and I find her insights somewhat helpful - although I have some difficulty with her spirituality, which I find to be a bit feminine for my taste. Actually, a few of her thoughts reminded me of these lyrics by Sting:

When you're down and they're counting

When your secrets all found out

When your troubles take to mounting

When the map you have leads you to doubt

When there's no information

And the compass turns to nowhere that you know well... -"Let your soul be your pilot."

Houselander on psychologically expensive friends.

The expensive people are those who, because they are not simple, make complicated demands — people to whom we cannot respond spontaneously and simply, without anxiety. They need not be abnormal to exact these complicated responses; it is enough that they should be untruthful, or touchy, or hypersensitive, or that they have an exaggerated idea of their own importance, or that they have a pose — one which may have become second nature, but is not what they really are. With all such people we are bound to experience a little hitch in our response. If we are not sure that what they say is true, we are embarrassed. In time, our relationship with them becomes unreal. If we have to consider every word or act in their company in case it hurts their feelings or offends their dignity, or to act up to them in order to support their pose, we become strained by their society. They are costing us dearly in psychological energy. - Caryll Houselander

So anyway - if you have posted comments to Abbey2 and they are not up - the reason is I can't get into the site to edit or write. Usually, in a few days, I'm able to get back in. In the meantime - I am here. I'll be posting things which may seem disconnected, however, they grabbed my attention and were meaningful for me. It will all make sense in time.

The work of Cynthia Large.

Astonishing!

I happened upon the artist, Cynthia Large while searching for an image of St. Christina the Astonishing. Her work is masterful! Please visit her website here to view her all of her work. What follows is a brief biography I took off her website:

I was born in Northern California in 1972, and raised among the redwoods. Between the ages of 15 and 17 I lived in some isolated areas of Utah and tangled with small religious movements and heresies. Curiousity has not yet killed the cat, and the study of both orthodox and heretical faiths continues to inform my work.

Theology is combined in my paintings and assemblages with ideas about music and mental illness; these themes form the (sometimes) overlapping spheres of genius, madness, and spiritual ecstasy.

In 1990 I moved to New York, received my B.F.A. from Parson's School of Design in 1994, and then spent two years in the Netherlands, examining the art and religious upheavals of the late Middle Ages. During this period I studied the techniques of the early Flemish painters, and developed a method of painting based on what I learned.

Egg tempera and oil are my primary mediums; the process is labor intensive, and each painting takes nearly two years to complete. The frames are handmade of various woods, with inlaid marquetry panels, and I often incorporate salvaged piano keys and organ pipes in my work. In 1999, I received a grant from the Money for Women / Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for my paintings of the composer and pianist Clara Schumann. My current series of paintings, "Holy Mischief", portrays the lives of the most restive and unruly figures in the history of religion.

I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends, and believe that artistic talent is a gift from God, as all gifts are. I strive, in my daily work, to honor that gift, and to remember the One who bestowed it. I currently live in New York. Cynthia Large, Quaker Artist

[Art: Julian of Norwich, Cynthia Large]

Saints who must have been nuts...

Crazy Saints.

I certainly do not think it is an exaggeration to suggest some of the saints may well have suffered from mental illness, or at least some form of neurosis, at one point or another in their lives. Yet many people tend to resist that idea because mental illness has been so misunderstood throughout history. Mrs. Parkes has an interesting post of famous people who have been diagnosed bipolar, which occasioned my reflection upon what saints may have suffered from mental illness, either episodic or long term. The following is my list of candidates of saints who may have suffered some form of mental illness in their lives.

St. Benedict Joseph Labre. Even Fr. Benedict Groeschl says that his namesake was probably psychotic. Of course, that doesn't mean he was a raving lunatic or a danger to himself or others. I suspect he was maybe a borderline personality with bipolar or something. The trials of the dark night would have cured him, I'm sure.

St. Therese of Lisieux. Something was wrong with her when she was little - so maybe she was bipolar too? A couple of her biographers suggested she may have had some early mental illness.

Christina the Astonishing. For sure! She stood in freezing cold water for hours, attached herself to a mill wheel to be repeatedly dragged under water. Astonishing, yes - normal, no way!

St. John of God. His conversion had been so intense he was confined for a time as a lunatic. With counsel, he devoted himself to caring for the poor and destitute, amongst these - prostitutes and vagabonds, whom he invited to live with him. (Imagine the Twilight Zone theme song here.) He endured great criticism and many people continued to think him insane. He went on to found a great order of hospitallers.

Camillus de Lellis. Maybe not nuts - but obsessive-compulsive - and depressive. He was quick tempered and addicted to gambling before his conversion. He also went on to found a nursing order.

Catherine of Genoa. She had to be a depressive - known to be somewhat humorless, she sought escape in the high society of Genoese social life, before entering her deepest depression, which culminated in her conversion. I don't think she was ever fun to be around however. ("Yeah! Let's call Catherine and get together for a drink!" - I don't think anyone ever said that.)

The Penitents, Thais, Mary of Egypt, and other harlots. Thais had a huge public bonfire of her clothes and jewelry before being admitted to monastic life. (Drama is a characteristic of bipolar behavior.) Mary of Egypt... just read about her - not so normal.

The Holy Fools, Basil, Xenia of Petersburg, and others. Basil went about naked in Russian winter and insulted the Tsar, Ivan IV - you know, "Ivan the Terrible". (That's normal.) Xenia was more or less like a bag lady.

Margaret of Cortona. I'm convinced that Margaret went a bit crazy after she discovered her lover's dead body, and the depression which accompanied the rejection she experienced by family and society after her conversion. I'm also of the opinion she wasn't the best mother - she definitely exhibited symptoms of borderline personality disorder in the manner she cared for her son. (I'll bet you anything she called him bastardo a few times.)

These abnormal people give me hope!

[Art: St. Christina the Astonishing, painted by, Cynthia Large]

Grateful the house-guests and relatives finally left...

God approaches gently, often secretly, always in love, never through violence and fear. He comes to us, as He Himself has told us, in those whom we know in our own lives. Very often we do not recognize Him. He comes in many people we do not like, in all who need what we can give, in all who have something to give us, and for our great Comfort. He comes in those we love, in our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters, our friends and our children. Because this is so, we must not be content ever to love with only natural love. We must also love everyone with a supernatural, sacramental love. We must love Christ in them with Christ's love in us. It would be well if those seeking perfection ceased trying so painstakingly to learn how not to love and learned instead how to love well. - Caryll Houselander

More signs Christmas is over...

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack. - BBC

"I hate it that Christmas comes and goes so fast!"

Have ya got yur tree down yet?

My best friend Darold said it when I spoke with him this morning: "I hate it that Christmas comes and goes so fast!"

I said, "What do you mean? Christmas just started on Christmas Day!"

He said, "Well yeah - that's what they say - but it's really over. Some people have even taken down their tree already."

"I'm so glad it's over!"

"I'm so sick of this Christmas b--- s---!"

Yep - that was my mom around 6PM on Christmas Day, still hung over from Christmas Eve - although drinking for the cure.

Another blog was asking readers to leave comments recalling their family's Christmas traditions and customs - but I didn't think mine would fit in. (Story of my life! LOL!)

[Anyway - I could never have told my mom this, but Christmas just begins on Christmas Day. Yay!]

Photo: Movie still - party scene; "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

Waking up to Cathy's Precious Moments Christmas...

Precious memories...

Few people realize what a huge fan of Precious Moments our blogger-buddy Cathy is. One year she even made a Christmas pilgrimage to the Precious Moments Chapel (pictured above) where she finally gave in and purchased her massive Precious Moments Nativity set, the central portion of it shown below. I ought to mention that it wasn't easy for her to give up her Hello Kitty Nativity - but that was the old Cath. (Knowing her love for the Precious Moments line of decorative figurines, we can now understand why Cath is always dressed in those billowing, chiffon, pastel-dresses at Mass.)

Wishing all of you a very happy Christmas day.

This Christmas Eve...

Santa called in sick.