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| Transport Bus in Dakar, Senegal. Photo by Ed Tajchman |
Ed's Art Workshop is Redone, Also Discussing Dakar and New Painting
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Labels: abstract, art, painting, photos, watercolor
Thoughts on the Comedian as a Social Scientist, Teacher, Artist
Good stand-up comedians are doing performance art. Key word being good comedians. Maybe good isn't the right word. I'll elaborate..... comedians whose stand-up routine includes insights into the human condition, are doing great performance art. Important work. I am being totally serious.
It has occurred to me recently (and many times before) that some of the biggest influences on my way of thinking have been comedians (more specifically their stand-up routines, which, like a work of art, are often developed and polished over a period of time.) People like; Bill Cosby, Bill Hicks, Bill Burr, Bobcat Goldthwait, Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Andy Kauffman, Lenny Bruce, Sarah Silverman, (and many more).
“Folks, it's time to evolve. That's why we're troubled. You know why our institutions are failing us, the church, the state, everything's failing? It's because, um – they're no longer relevant. We're supposed to keep evolving. Evolution did not end with us growing opposable thumbs. You do know that, right?” ― Bill Hicks
It's amazing to me how artists like these manage to tackle subjects including: social commentary, political commentary, satire, philosophy, truth to power, and more; with deep insights into these subjects, and sell it to the audience. Things that are hard to talk about maybe in daily conversation, things you don't see on traditional media like television, film, and newspaper. Sometimes things that you are not going to learn in any classroom. So this is just a little tribute to the stand-up comedian/world philosopher role that is very important in my opinion, to modern culture.
I want to mention Andy Kaufman specifically, who didn't do stand up as much as he did actual performance art. Check out the documentary A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman (1995). Or any other of the many different media forms out there that talk about him. Andy's art (I call it performance art more than comedy) was misunderstood by a lot of people I think.
"What's real? What's not? That's what I do in my act, test how other people deal with reality." - Andy Kaufman
To me his work was about how much of a reaction he could get out of people, by manipulating their basic emotions with his antics, for his own twisted gratification (which is kind of awesome). Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, using simple things in a moment of poetic whimsy, like a jazz artist might. Example - Kaufman's "Mighty Mouse Theme" skit. If you judge Kaufman's work sheerly as comedy maybe some of the critics have a point. But in my opinion his work crosses over into social commentary and really great performance art. Like a lot of good art, it transcends any label you might try to put on it. I am one of those hoping that his pre-mature death was his last great bit of work, and he is still out there somewhere, sweeping up the floor of a deli, quietly enjoying life.
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Labels: comedians, conceptual art, culture
Watercolor Painting by Ed Tajchman: Female Spright
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| "Female Spright" by Ed Tajchman © |
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Labels: abstract, art, creative process, modern art, painting, watercolor
Almost Formless 2013, Watercolor and Ink by Ed Tajchman
For a long time I painted almost only formless works (the process and thought behind of which, you can read about on past posts of this blog). This new style that I am now beginning to reveal here are works from the past 3 years and they combine figurative, symbolic and formless elements to varying degrees. This is one of the more formless ones. As I said last post, subscribe to this blog and my twitter feed - @EdTajchmansArt for more updates of these works.
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| Almost Formless May 2013 by Ed Tajchman, watercolor & ink. |
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Fish-Man by Ed Tajchman
This marks the beginning of a social media push of all my new paintings. You can receive updates as mentioned in the first paragraph. The work is in acrylic on canvas and watercolor and ink on paper. The watercolors are 11 x 15 inches (like the one below). It's tentatively called Fish-Man. It gives you an idea of my new work. New means all these paintings I have been embarking on in the last 3 years, which I have striven to give a consistent style. It combines exaggerated figurative elements with varying levels of abstraction.
As usual all images of my work are under my copyright and all rights are reserved. You can link my artwork for personal use (no ads on page you display it on) as long as credit is given (Pinterest & Twitter etc. are okay with credit and link to where you found image) . All other uses needs my permission. My email is (no spaces): e d t a j c h m a n @ g m a i l . c o m
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| Fish-Man by Ed Tajchman © 2013, watercolor & ink |
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Italian Investigators Cannot Admit Their Mistakes in Amanda Knox Investigation
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Review of Independent Movie: APART
I am willing to forgive the weaker elements because those delusional moments are so interesting to me purely on an aesthetic level. The times in the movie when the shared delusions, or whatever they are; happen. I enjoyed the way that those intense moments are expressed with symbolism and metaphor. Simple - yes, but also very poignont I thought. Things like time standing still with frost and ice forming, right after a relationship ended. Or the way that the two perceived space/time as seeming to slow down and speed up or crash together with their thoughts, when one of those moments was about to happen. APART straddles science-fiction, horror, and drama. Using metaphorical elements to portray intense emotional and pyschological states were the key moments for me.
People who like well made music videos will like this movie. For me it's those moments that make the rest of the usual trite stuff almost unimportant. Those that want a great arching story or romantic comedy might not like it.
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