ART ACTION UNION - CREATIVE ACTIVISM

To all those who with private messages or by your comments have been / commenting on my work or those who have favorited it! / This is well received. / A new era has started!People come and go! / People learn or not! / People realise a few things on the way. / Its never easy to learn, but standards must rise up. / The first thousand times do not count!

Following are excerpts from a lecture The future of art in an age of crisis by WSWS Arts Editor David Walsh “Aleksandr Voronsky, the Soviet critic and opponent of Stalin, pointed out 70 years ago, in his essay “The Art of Seeing the World” (1928), that it was very difficult for the artist to discover and genuinely accept the world, to see the world as it is, independently of us, inherently complex and beautiful, “in all its freshness and immediacy.” He pointed to the habits, prejudices, frustrations and the host of other pressures of everyday life that weigh us down, deadening “the sharpness and freshness of perception and attention” and lending reality “a peculiarly gray, doleful and wretched colouration.” Against all this, the artist seeks out, Voronsky wrote, “unspoiled and genuine images of the world,” which he described as “the principal meaning and purpose of art.” If Voronsky was correct, and I believe he was, telling the truth in art has always been a great struggle. It is a demanding mental and physical effort, not to be undertaken lightly.” “Why does it seem there is such a chasm between artistic efforts and the character of present-day life, which for masses of the world’s population involves a daily struggle for survival? Why does art so often seem indifferent or blind to the crisis of human society, and to great historical and social questions in general? We don’t agree that the central focus for art should be the artist and his or her impressions, but the independently existing world and its complexity, including its social complexity.” “I want to emphasise at the outset that the artistic landscape has not been a barren one. The spark of human genius has obviously not gone out. Far from it. One can point to remarkable individual films (or scenes), novels (or passages), individual paintings and so forth that go against the grain, that confront life in a richer manner. In popular culture too, there are obviously enormously gifted, ingenious and energetic people at work. The ability to create dazzling and startling images and sounds has reached qualitatively new heights; nothing seems technically out of reach of contemporary artists. A variety of new media offer almost limitless possibilities for communication.” “The artistic-cultural atmosphere will not be cleansed until some accounting is made of the social indifference, the commercialisation of art to the nth degree, the banality of so much of cultural life. How did it happen? Why did no one notice what was really going on in the world? Where was the elemental sympathy for the plight of others that ought to be integral to the artistic personality?” ”...what the artists need first and foremost at present are historical insight and honesty. The poverty-stricken character of present-day Hollywood, for example, is bound up, above all, with the falsity and shallowness of so many of its images and ideas. And even the more critical films or television programs tend to accept at crucial moments commonplace and conformist ideas (including the essential greatness and legitimacy of “American democracy”). They are only critical to a point. They generally succumb to the various ideological and financial pressures. The filmmakers and others lack deep insight into the social process, their ideas have not been worked through. They either believe in the present system or resign themselves to it. ... It’s not possible to make an artistically convincing work that ignores or fails to address seriously the most burning human questions. Art depends upon utter sincerity. There is a relationship between the commitment of the artist to work through his or her material, to reflect the world accurately and dynamically, on the one hand, and the final product and its impact on the spectator, reader or viewer, on the other. As Trotsky pointed out, the artist is not an empty machine for creating form and the spectator a machine for consuming it. They are both living beings with a psychology and outlook created by social conditions.” “The attack on universalism has had terrible consequences for the artist. If everyone has his or her own narrative, all equally valid or invalid, if truth is entirely relative, if the representation of the world is an impossible undertaking, where does this leave the artist who wants to communicate his or her ideas and feelings and believes them to be important and universal? Art, like all cognition, is universalizing by its very nature. The act of creating art is a presumptuous one: the artist assumes that he or she has something illuminating and original to convey. There are no half-measures in art, no half-victories. The attack by the postmodernists and others on the objectively truthful character of artistic representation reduces art to a game, a purely formal exercise, whatever you like, anything but a serious struggle for truth in which the artist is prepared to pay the highest cost, and in which the stakes are immense. What are the consequences of postmodernism for art? Look around at much of contemporary visual art, for instance—cold, clever, “conceptual,” as unfeeling and uncommitted as stone. These moods and trends, including identity politics, have encouraged self-involvement, narcissism, social indifference, cynicism….” ~ Although the lecture is quite political and reflective historically, it is well written, comprehensive and pointed in its message. I found it more than just an interesting read. Full article here

Watched the 7.30 report on ABC tonight about orphins in Afghanistan and a Australian Afghani woman running a orphanage there, with no money.. and I cried. A friend phoned later woundup about her son and the shit of life. 23 years old and now eventually left home, leaving a mess and no repsect for her. She drove in to see me, and we talked about the shit of politicians police and general life. Ate chocolate and drank coffe ( both wishing for something other ). She left later. And I cried. Where are my children ? Do they exist ? Whydo the police get away with fraudulent documents presented to Federal Government Tribunals, and I get bashed for pointing out the errors ? Again? Why do Coourts allow Politicians to use Family Violence Laws, first naming their female electorate officer,then after defence and counter claim, have it changed to name the politicain,to protect him from prose and ridicule, on the net and in email to, many and various… and describe them as my family. Why do government departments get away with copying protected mental health files, giving them to their solicitors ( Media owned ) and a Bank I never worked for, even thought Health, Privacy, and Freedom of Information Acts prohibitethe copying of “Protected” health files;;; and the Federal Court see no reason to accept my aplication for review, on the correct form… simply because I am not a QC ( Queens Council ) or qualified in the law. Why do Legal aid and advocacy legal centres deny legal aid applications to fight claims or defend against family violence applications by politicians who are not family, and have never suffered violence from me. why do politicians not know how to pronounce Cant . It does rhyme with hunt. Why am I still crying over Afghani orphins. Why was the Secretary General of NATO ( I think that stands for Nazi Aligned Terrorist Organisation,, I could be wrong ) , on ABC LateLine telling me that the war in Afghanistan will go on and on and on.. Why are farmers in Afghanistan called criminals for growing Opium Popies, yet Australian Farmers who grow the worlds largest cropes of Opium Popies for the Pharmacutical Industry,legally are called farmers.. Why are politicians paid and not shot….. Why am I still crying Why when doctors tell me I was misdiagnosed a schizophrenic and it is Post Traumatic Stress, do politicians think I am illiterate. I know my spelling is bad, but not as bad as their speilink

I am collecting images done in simple materials—crayon, marker, pencil, collage—by women with substance histories—both those who are recovering and those who are continuing to struggle. This is a series of 8 images done to simple instruction to be used in a teaching format to train professionals working with addicts. Images can be completed in as little as 15-20 minutes or up to 1 hour to insure spontaneity and focus upon the theme rather than technique. Participants may choose how many assignments to complete and anyone interested in completing even one is asked to help. The work would be collected by digital image along with a signed consent for use in education. Complete confidentiality can be assured or the artist may consent to use of her first name and brief description of addiction history. Professionals who work with addicts/alcoholics, particularly women clients, are often under-educated about the process of the illness and the recovery needs of these clients. If you are interested in participating please contact me through this site or alternate email posted here. My focus is in educating others to better serve those in serious need. Many professionals who will be exposed to this work are attempting to assist women who have experienced severe consequences of their illnesses—assorted traumas including homelessness, sexual assault and other violence, loss of children, HIV, hepatitis, etc. While this work seeks to assist those addicted and in severe need, work from women with all types of experiences are requested. Such an array will help teach the full spectrum of a woman’s experience—from mild to severe. Contact Info: Please Bubblemail

Hello Precious friends. I have now come back from India Mission where I was working with Indian gypsies. These precious people are outcast from society and called and treated as untouchables. God truly has heard their cry. I have many new photographs and testimonies. Please be patient as it will take some time to upload them. I may open a new India Mission site here. I will add a link on my profile page soon. Africa is still my main mission filed, but after prayer, and guidance from the Holy Spirit I have agreed with Gods permission to raise awareness and help these precious suffering outcast people. Full details will follow. Thank you my dear friends for your Prayers and donation. Each adn every one of you are of immense value to me and Gods care of the poor and outcast. I will make a full report as soon as I can. I love you all. Trevor. http://www.philadelphia33.org/ :http://www.redbubble.com/people/joshuatree1