CThru.com Presents Tony Ward

Nirvana By Mikel Elam

…..Guest Blogger, Patrick Breslin a professor of Speech Communication at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida; writes a commentary about Mikel Elam’s state of “Nirvana”, the studio’s Painting of the Day…….

Mikel Elam’s painting titled “Nirvana” depicts a male figure seated in meditation. The painting is a partial patchwork: the figure’s head encased in an orange square, the torso in a dark gray one. The background contains light colored disks, gold leaf squares, and dark purple 5-spoked behandled circles reminiscent of Buddhist icons, all ensconced in rectangular shapes. The dominant shade at the bottom of the painting is also purple, suggesting a base or ground, and philosophically linked to the icons; the top is adorned with swaths of blue, suggesting sky.

The meditator in the painting is a multiracial collage. The head appears African; the torso a shade of bronze; the lower abdomen and legs partake of a dark Caucasian complexion; the arms lighter—the left hinting at orange, the right bordering on pink—, and both terminating in an empty space of unpainted hands.

The title of the piece suggests several interpretations. Nirvana by definition refers to the ultimate peaceful state, and the multiracial makeup of the subject of the painting seems to propose that the blending of races, or at least their acceptance of one another, might lead to a peaceful existence. In the context of meditation as understood in popular culture, the lower abdomen whimsically lacks a navel, the historically clichéd object of meditation, causing the viewer to wonder whether the meditator in the painting is a holy incarnation not born of a woman. The viewer observes that the head of the subject does not fully connect to the body; the two are separated by a strip of the orange color from the box that surrounds the head. One could read into this that the nirvanic state of the meditator is all within the mind, disembodied, the concept of which does align with classic Buddhist perspectives.

The goal of meditation is enlightenment, whose common metaphor is light. Meditation is practiced in the mind—in the head—, yet the color scheme of the meditator’s body in the painting casts the darkest shades on the head and the lightest ones on the nonexistent hands, reversing the typical expectation and intimating that perhaps through the hands one expresses one’s degree of spiritual development, as Elam may be attempting to do in this work.

Pat Breslin Vulcan Days

Gays In The Military

…..Guest blogger Yoko Grosshans brings us up to date on the continuing political hot potato involving “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”……..

“Gay men have had a very difficult time finding acceptance alongside their comrades in the military. It begs the question; if a man proclaims to be gay, why is he deemed incapable of defending our country? Is it the “effeminate” nature of some gay men that has been exhibited or forced to be proclaimed? If that is the case, why are women allowed to serve in the military?
This brings the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Act” into continual play. A law passed by Congress in 1993 and signed by President Bill Clinton. It is exactly what it states; don’t ask about one’s sexual orientation and don’t divulge information about one’s sexual orientation.
James Pietrangelo II knows all too well about this act and its effects. The former Army infantryman and lawyer was booted from the military after fighting in Iraq in 1991. He returned as a JAG officer in the second war in Iraq and was preparing to return for his third combat tour in 2004, when he openly declared that he was gay. After many appeals the Supreme court is declining to review his case.
President Barack Obama has stated numerous times that he would overturn the act, but thus far no changes have been made. In fact, the Obama administration in its brief last month supported a lower court ruling, stating they acted accordingly in upholding the gay ban! What’s even more suprising and somewhat baffling is that a recent Gallup poll found that most conservatives and churchgoers now support gay men and women to serve openly in uniform, yet still no action has been taken to change the law to date.
It doesn’t seem to make sense that because of a person’s sexual orientation, they should be denied their rights to defend our country. Just when one thinks we have made such great progress in this land of hope, a non-sensical issue such as this arises and makes one question how much progress we have actually made.”

Marketing Widgets-Michael Jackson Movie Release

…..Ed Simmons for a long time now has been the point man for Tony Ward Studio when shooting in Los Angeles. Assistant to TW on the set in LA, accomplished photographer in his own right and blogger, writes about the pending opening of LA LIVE and Michael Jackson’s last rehearsal tapes. Photographs of Ed courtesy, Stephanievovas.com ……..

Ed Simmons Lights Up

There has never been anything like this. The only thing I can think of that come’s close is six big screens, at the Sidewalk Cafe in Venice, all tuned together, to the Andy Griffith Show. It’s a coin toss as to which has more social content. Wait a minute, its not even close; Andy Griffith gets it hands down.?p?
Well, there is still hope for the world. I saw a Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Truck out making deliveries. There are still clubs like the Troubadour. These theaters, at LA LIVE will open in a big way. When have you heard of a movie theater complex with a grand opening covered by World Media? People are flying in from over seas, standing in line for days, to buy movie tickets. Has to be a first!

I am, and always will be, a fan of talent. As I see it, (doubtful that I will), the movie “THIS IS IT”, is about a whole lotta nothing. Videotapes of rehearsals for a concert tour, that never was. As the foundation for a documentary, about a successful Michael Jackson tour with such a demanding schedule is an important part to laying down the story. But there is no story here. This is about wringing out one more pound of flesh.

I had spent no time at LA LIVE prior to going to work in construction at the theaters. It had always been no mans land around there. Any media coverage of the area, up until now, had always been of civil unrest issues or a Laker championship victory celebration. Lot’s of coworkers in construction parked down there, while working on the towers of LA back in the eighties.

I went down looking for work once a couple years back, after returning to Los Angeles from Philly. I ran into my old boss, Jose, from the Cathedral project in Central Los Angeles. He couldn’t put me on; he had just thinned out his crew. After wrapping up work on the theaters, I thought I’d spend a little time around lunch, to see what kind of traffic moved through.

This is a sports and entertainment complex on a grand scale. Dozens of eateries line the open courtyards. I guess they got a no competition clause in their lease. The only coffee to be had is Starbucks. I was getting a little sugar and cream in my coffee during my break, when this sweet young thing came up beside me, to fix her tea. I gave her a little more room, excused my self for spreading out so much at the small counter. I’m at about that age, when young women, see me as someone sweet, fatherly, somewhat harmless. I really have fun with it.
I don’t kid myself, I’m still breathing! She said I was fine, I thanked her; I told her she was fine as well!!!

There are a lot of condominiums surrounding this complex. Not enough people making real money though to fill them up. I thought I’d find lots of people out and about at lunch, after all, about 72 degrees, clear, crisp, autumn air, any other city, this would have drawn them out for sure. I’ve heard this place has been coined the “Times Square of the Left Coast.”

I don’t think I counted more than twenty people at any given time, moving through the courtyards. That must be all wishful thinking. Maybe when the Ritz Carlton wraps up construction, all the pieces will be in place. Now here’s a crazy thought; how about an Organic Pharmacy Super Store, complete with an Old School Soda Fountain, that would sure draw some people in?

Seriously, the problem here is there is no money! More people need good jobs for something on this scale to work and trickle down doesn’t work anymore. It was only a couple of days after Michael Jackson died that work began when promoters developed their new widget. Across the news, word of rehearsal video surfaced. Suddenly, a movie that would be ready for a late October release became the latest MJ headline.

Some big deals had to be cut, timing was paramount. These folks were in court before the poor man was even in the ground! The date for the movie release wasn’t just pulled out of a hat. I worked in construction on the theaters at LA LIVE in the beginning of September. In a little more than a week on the job, I had it all figured out. There is nothing personal in business. I guess this is what makes it all OK. At the end of September it was announced, the Michael Jackson movie, a compilation of rehearsal videos that was posthumously titled, “THIS IS IT” would premiere in all fourteen new theaters, being built at LA LIVE. It is clear to me that the promoters were all over this financial opportunity. The spin was well crafted.

The public was told the rehearsals were video taped. How the world lost a tremendous talent and that the comeback of Michael Jackson would have been triumphant. We all now would have the chance to see the concert that was never to be.

Ed Blogs Yeeha.Org/Art

At Home With Becky Lewis

…..When you enter her home even on the brightest of days it’s dark. The first thing you notice are the black walls. Ms. Lewis chose black because it has a calming effect on her. Perhaps a way to escape the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia’s, Port Richmond neighborhood. She didn’t grow up in the city however, and that’s where her story get’s more interesting.

Becky grew up in the suburbs of Wilmington, Delaware, which she asserts she hated as a child. Her father an emergency room physician. Her mother a registered nurse. She absolutely adores her parents. Good schools, private schools at that, can do great things for the mind of a child. The education opened up many doors to Becky’s inherent creativity. She left the nest early however, just eighteen. College was not in the cards, a yearning for life in a bigger city, she moved to the city of brotherly love.

Fascinated by tattoo’s at an early age, the arrival in to the big city provided her access to Philadelphia’s sizable tattoo culture. Ms. Lewis has become one of the icons of that culture. You’ll be seeing and hearing more about Ms. Lewis soon……

The Love of Tattoo

Guest Blogger Diana Desiderio, in her own words, provides us with a glimpse in to the sporting world of women who wrestle…….

Diana Desiderio Seated

“It’s very hard to believe that it has been almost five years since I hit the ring. Growing up in Philadelphia presented a fairly tough upbringing. So why not take the beating with the guts and the glory? In my early 20’s, I was offered an opportunity to train with a lot of well known names on the Indy circuit. Being a native of South Philly, a lot of the greats that you see today came out of Water and Ritner Streets, where the old ECW venue still remains. Without thinking twice, I fell into training three times a week and doing shows every week for next to peanuts all for the love of the labor involved in the sport.

Ringside

When your involved in what is traditionally considered a “mans sport”, you got to take it like a man. Eventually, I worked for a pay-per-view women’s federation, a completely different world opened up to me there, more glitz and glamour. As my ring savy progressed, I was getting noticed more and more, even on the streets, it was a good feeling. So I contacted a friend of mine who is the producer for the Howard Stern Show. At that time, I was part of the infamous tag team called “Hells Belles”, including the illustrious Annie Social. We were on a roll.

We both worked very hard to try and make in an industry that is very hard for women to be taken seriously, for the skills we possess in the ring.

Unfortunately, during a match, I was badly injured and was forced to resign from my love of taking hard hits. It has been my honor and privilege to have fought with the best of them. It’s even greater to have stories to tell the grand kids.”

Hells Belles

Lovers Kiss

…..Guest blogger, Atomic Bombshell weigh’s in on the Art of the Kiss……….

Movie Kiss

If Helen of Troy’s face could launch a thousand ships, kissing can definitely inspire timeless, artistic creations. You will always remember your best and worst kisses. I think this is because a kiss can leave an imprint on your soul. So much passion and longing can be felt with a single kiss. An ultimate chemistry of connection and sensory, that you share with another person. While there are some people who are not natural born kissers, if you feel strongly about the person you are with and you are open to experience, take your tie and discover kissing together. After all, we all hate those kisses that leave our faces chaffed! Some of the best stories and paintings were inspired by the beauty of the kiss. I wish everyone would take their time and explore the sensual Art of the Kiss!

www.MikelElam.com

Guest Blogger Mikel Elam, “I think this self portrait says a lot about me and my work. My paintings have been mostly about signs and symbols. It started early in my life when I began to notice patterns of numbers shadowing my everyday existence.

First I thought it was just chance and then as time passed, I realize there are very few coincidences. In portraiture and figure studies there are a great deal of measurements used to create an accurate representation. As an expressionistic painter, I use my emotions and my imagination to create images which are symbolic to my thoughts. In essence, they become these dreamscapes and very surreal in nature. I am interested in that place which is somewhere between reality and the ethereal.

A Personal Remembrance

….Comments have been coming in to the studio about the recent blog about the passing of Lou-Pop. When you’ve lived for 93 years a lot of people are left with memories. Lou-Pop was an artist and a landscaper. One of the employee’s of Louie’s suburban landscaping business learned about his recent passing. In his own word’s Don Brunetti, now a singer songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee share’s intimate stories about the times he spent with Pop.

Lou-Pop

On September 19, twenty years ago, my mother died. The next day, on September 20, Irving Berlin, the great songwriter passed. Now Louie has left us on September 21. I’m guessing, if there really is a place called Heaven, the three of them are maybe listening to Trotter and Utah Phillips picking and singing.

Some people pass and are easily forgotten, while other people leave a “hole in the world” when they pass. Louie filled a lot of holes in my life at a time when I needed it most. He had the wisdom of the street, a kind of “bottom up” view of the world. In 1973, when the gas prices went up to the he horrendous price of 50 cents a gallon, I told Louie we were about to have a depression. “Youse hippies don’t know anything,” was his reply, “In a depression, the money doesn’t go away, it just goes someplace else.”

He sure knew how to follow the money. The following summer, we had our best year yet. Another time, he came back from lunch at the “Fox and Hounds” and started yelling at me from a crack in the window of his air conditioned car. No particular reason, he was not what you might call, “a hippie whisperer”. Finally he said, “Why didn’t you do that?”. I yelled back, “Louie, I was going to do that last”. “Don’t do anything last!”

You couldn’t “one up” him either. Louie would always have the last word. I think my favorite story was the time when Trotter and I were walking up the alley one morning. We were both hung over, at least a half hour late and holding each other up. When we got there, Louie was yelling at Louis and Mark for being late. Marko should have kept his mouth shut, and Louie would have turned his wrath on us, but Mark said, “What about those guys, they’re later than us”. Louie turned around with his big shit-eating grin and said, “Youse guys are Hippies, youse can be late!”

As long as I’m around Louie Pop will live on in these stories. And nobody will believe them. About 30 years ago, I moved down to Corpus Christi because I needed a job and Trotter put me on his landscaping crew. I was working with a guy named William, who had his PHD in chemistry, but who preferred to work outside. William and I were riding around one day and I said, “I wonder what Lou-Pop would think about all this?” William pulled the truck over and said, “There’s no such person as Lou-Pop. That’s a story Trotter made up. Nobody could be like that.” “Sorry William, there is such a person and Trotter’s stories are only scratching the surface.”

When my son turned 30, he was starting to get upset about getting old. I used a “Louie-ism” when I told my son, “Don’t worry, the older you get, the more unique you become.” Lou-Pop was, if nothing else, was the most unique person I ever met, and I’ve met a lot of people. I’m sad for losing probably the best friend I ever had.

Drawings By Lou-Pop

Vibe Founder Quincy Jones

…..In 1993 music mogul Quincy Jones launched the magazine VIBE with great fanfare in New York City. Q realized the importance of Hip- Hop music in the American cultural landscape and created a magazine that soon after it’s initial launch, became it’s predominant voice. Quincy attracted an emoromously creative publication team that included, Diddo Ramm, George Pitts, Alan Light, Kevin Stewart and Mimi Valdez, all of whom your’s truly had the pleasure of working with during those early days. This core group of creative’s attracted legions of photographers from around the country who clamored to be published on the pages of the new avant garde publication.

In June of this year, VIBE ceased publishing, one of the fatalities of weak advertising sales, a declining readership and a recessionary economy. The closing stirred memories of a fun period of producing images for the esteemed publication.

Keith Murray

My first assignment was to photograph Keith Murray, a rapper widely considered to be one of the greatest MC’s of all time. Murray had just released his first album, The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World on Jive Records. I loved the title track and was thrilled that I was headed to New York to photograph the young rap prodigy.

Thandie Newton

Several more assignments came in to the studio during VIBE’s glory days. My favorite was this shoot with Thandie Newton, the English born bombshell that starred in numerous films including Jonathan Demme’s Beloved and the female lead Nyah Hall in the film Mission Impossible Two. There is no greater creative exhilaration than directing a movie star for a still shoot.

Vibe Fashion

Quincy has vowed recently to keep VIBE alive on the internet. The studio will be checking…..

IMAGES FOR VIBE

Guest Blogger Mikel Elam added; “I met Quincy Jones in 1989 in California. Quincy and Miles were good friends. Miles asked me to go to Quincy”s house in Bel Air to deliver a painting by Miles to him. Q purchased the painting directly from Miles for his home. I recall the painting was very large and we had some difficulty getting it into one of Mile’s cars, an SUV. Part of the painting stuck out of the back of the vehicle.

Quincy was very nice. I met him again in New York at Miles apartment and a third time in Montreux, Switzerland for the annual jazz festival in 1991. This was a special occasion because Miles played with the Gil Evans Jr. Orchestra. As you know, Gill Evans Sr. was a close friend of Miles and collaborator on many albums, among them “Sketches of Spain”, a masterpiece.”

The Death Of Miles

…..After the death of his friend Miles Davis, guest blogger Mikel Elam returned to Philadelphia to continue on with his painting. It was around that time that I was introduced to Mikel by a mutual friend. I was interested in meeting anyone that knew anything about Miles. So when my friend told me that Miles former assistant was back in town, I immediately wanted to meet him. In many way’s I idolized the jazz legend. I was introduced to his music at a very early age. Jazz music was a focal point of life growing in the Ward household.

My father, Milton Ward adored Miles Davis and so did many of his peers. His groundbreaking album “Kind of Blue”, became an auditory mantra in our home, as well as the many collaborations that Miles produced with other noted performer’s including Gil Evans. Mikel Elam became an encyclopedia of information about Miles, intimate knowledge that any fan would love to learn about. Mikel and I have shared many evening’s reflecting about the life and time’s of the man that was ” Miles Ahead” and here for the first time at Tony Ward Studio, in his own word’s talks about the legends last days….

Solo Works By Mikel Elam

“Near the end of his life Miles commissioned me to create five new painting’s for his Central Park Apartment. One of the last thing’s he said to me in the hospital before his death was, how much he appreciated my artwork and growth as a person. Miles will never know how inspirational he was to me.

There are two things which we can be certain. After birth there will be death. Yet when it happens we are always shocked. It seems like Miles worked almost to the last day of his life, excluding the three weeks in a coma before his passing. The last show was at The Hollywood Bowl. There were the usual legions of celebrities waiting to get a glance, or a few words with the great maestro. I saw Marlon Brando standing outside the entrance of our dressing room. It was a beautiful night.

After the show, Miles rode back to his Malibu home without me. He told me to order some art supplies as he was taking a few week’s off to paint. “Have them delivered”, he said in his raspy voice.

I now lived in Los Angeles full time and Miles was happy I had created a new life for myself out there. He encouraged the move even though he often quoted he was a die hard New Yorker. I began to get concerned when I did not hear from him for several day’s as we usually spoke by phone daily sometimes just to bounce some thought’s around. I called but there was no answer.

One of our mutual friends, Marie Christine called to tell me he was in the hospital. I called him at St. John’s and Miles told me he was only going to be there for one to two day’s, just to check his lung’s. He was prone to pneumonia and was diabetic, so extra precaution’s were taken by hospital staff. He asked me to bring him some friend chicken from a place near where I lived in Hollywood.

I arrived at the hospital and found him sitting in a chair in his room. He was very happy to see me. He was watching television. We talked about everything. He was full of compliment’s for me. I was surprised, as he was always supportive, yet in a less sentimental way. This time it was different, like a father talking to his son.

The next day Miles went into a coma brought on by a stroke. He laid in his hospital bed for about three week’s with his family and closest friend’s around, all hoping he would pull through.

Family had to investigate so many issues. Miles was very close to his brother Vernon and his sister Dorothy. Unfortunately they didn’t have a clue about how to handle his affair’s. I tried to help them with what I knew, yet I only had a small knowledge of his vast empire.

I didn’t expect him to die. Miles was incredibly resilient even though I realized he had a great number of maladies. Somehow he always managed to keep moving, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes.

Many of his friend’s in the inner circle were in a state of shock. Some said thing’s like, “I just talked to him yesterday, he sounded great”. There was a fall tour planned. We all thought we would continue on that splendid journey that everyone knew so well. Now the journey is in my head, even though it has been eighteen year’s since his passing. I still think about Europe in the fall, Japan in the summer, South America in winter and North America in between.”

www.MikelElam.com