George Segal, “The Holocaust”
I have not witnessed war firsthand. But I have walked in the footsteps of giants who have met the fright and friction of war. Those who have witnessed wars’ horrors and have firsthand seen the devils’ imps dancing naked around the maypole drowning our souls.
Calvin Tomkins the preeminent American art critic once wrote, “Calvin Tomkins - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › Calvin_Tomkins “Richard, you have photographed almost everyone I have met...”.
Calvin’s note to me means a lot because I always wanted to be where I would discover inspiration. Photographing Calvin in 1988 was a dream.
Daniel Martinez
It is impossible to list all of the amazing artists who have shrilled in askance, why are we at war. Paintings, etchings and more have stood the test of time from Goya to Haring. Artists have set afire alarms in galleries and museums across the globe. Their art breathes with facts and fictions. We witness the artists heroes and demons whilst we wade in political rhetoric and promises.
Mingling with art is like going to church. Great art touches our souls in unexpected ways. When the moments happen, I invoke ungodly incantations. Dancing atop an infernal landscape can shake anyone out of slumbers. The rarity of those moments still surprises me.
I would have loved to have sat alongside Italo Calvino as he weaved together his fact filled fictional Marco Polo recollecting his travels to the Kublai Khan in “Invisible Cities”. A great story I wish to have told. I have other stories to tell. Art will often reveal stories that matter.
The 60s thru the 80s were an influential period in American art. Most New York artists worked and lived in a densely populated area of less than 2 square miles...Soho, West Village, East Village and Tribeca. I stood one day and many days in this epicenter.
Nancy Spero and Leon Golub
The afternoon I entered the LaGuardia Place studio of the artists Leon Golub and Nancy Spero I realized that my maundering about the lack of relevance in the art world had come to an end. Church was in session.
In a lifetime of stories that I share about my communing with cultural icons, I realize how few times the moments are life changing. Spero and Golub’s commitment to art, the artist struggle, their personal struggles can only be met with devout admiration. They saw and engaged the apocalyptic effects of war on our society and in our minds. They trusted that change could be had with the visual arts They were believers in their beliefs.
Leon Golub
They took my hands as if on a stroll through the park. They shared their two worlds of intertwined agendas paired together like birds feathers. I didn’t understand their passion, I inhaled it in every moment. We three seemed to dance as they shared their paintings, drawings and so much more. I felt as if a world of art history’s conflict with war was a touchstone to this moment. I felt I was being tested for passage into their inner sanctum. Their artistic war vibrated with every image. I was alive in their fight. So many artists were protective of their works and minds. Leon and Nancy opened a floodgate of personal agendas.
When I left to the village streets to remember my afternoon, I thought about a thousand other artists I had photographed: Louise Nevelson, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein and many more who were so committed to their sanctums privacy, that to be given the key to enter was a gift.
Nancy Spero
I endlessly rhapsodize about my photography travels and experiences because I realize I have been given a gift. It has only taken me a lifetime to understand how the visual feasts have enhanced my every waking moment.