If the big things aren’t right, the small things won’t matter.
Make it so that small things matter.
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Category: pLog Pith
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pLog Pith XVI
You follow rules to go somewhere.
You break rules to go somewhere else.
You ignore rules to go nowhere.
—TJA
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pLog Pith XV
We need to be reminded: there is no beauty without rules and there is no better rule book than nature.
—TJA
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pLog Pith XIV
Dogma is the illusion of power.
Craft is the power to create illusion.
—TJA
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pLog Pith XIII
Religion requires the suspension of Reason.
Little Good is unreasonable.
—TJA
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pLog Pith XII
Where there is Dogma, there is a Devil.
—TJA
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pLog Pith XI
Dogma empowers the Charlatans.
Craft empowers the Sincere.
—TJA
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pLog Pith X
Where Velázquez is Grace, Caravaggio is Guts.
Where Velázquez is Economy, Caravaggio is Ambiguity.
—Nietzsche
Many thanks to Charles for his gracious hospitality and inspiring exuberance.
(And thank you, Venchi, for what may be the best gelato ever.)
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pLog Pith IX
First, find the structure, then find the skin.
And never underestimate the power and beauty of a one inch wide hog bristle brush.
—pre-dishwashing thoughts after a long rewarding day in the studio.
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pLog Pith VIII
A few words now about technique, so that there may be no misunderstanding as to its importance. It is a poor thing that cannot be abused, and I do not want you to be afraid of the word, or to surround it with mystery.
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pLog Pith VII
Why is it that those so quick to believe man-made absurdities are the first to deny Nature’s rich mysteries?
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pLog Pith VI
It is this deep sincerity, this deep appreciation of the significance of things that makes one picture great among a thousand lesser ones, and causes us to feel, when we behold it, that we have thought and felt that way all our lives.
– John F. Carlson, from Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting, circa 1929.
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pLog Pith V
If you want Warhol
walk the aisle of a supermarketIf you want Koons
watch VHS pornIf you want Hirst
visit the morgueBut
If you want Caravaggio
build a bonfire in a caveIf you want Velazquez
plan a trip to the moon with a slideruleIf you want da Vinci
hike the highest mountain in Abruzzo in May– TJA
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pLog Pith IV
Da Vinci tells us to take a 2 dimensional surface and make it 3 dimensional.
Modernism took a 2 dimensional surface and made it 1 dimensional.
– TJA
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pLog Pith III
Socrates said you are only educated when you’ve understood how ignorant you are. You can only find that out by questioning and doubting all the time.
– Christopher Hitchens, in a recent debate with Rabi David Wolpe.