BUREAU ARTS and CULTURE MAGAZINE
ATTENTION NEW YORK CITY READERS, SUBSCRIBERS, ADVERTISERS, SUPPORTERS As of May 24, 2017 : We will be unable to provide the scheduled upcoming Arts Edition, due to circumstances beyond our control. There will be no Annual Summer Fiction Project and we apologize to the many Artists, Designers, Musicians, Actors and Filmmakers who provided original Interviews and content for Our Readers. Peruse the many Archived Editions and stay tuned as we recover from this Interruption of Our Arts Magazine.
Mr. Joshua TRILIEGI
BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine
Contact The Main Office 323-734-2877
contact us by E-mail JohnnyMilwaukee@earthlink.net
VISIT BUREAU CENTRAL WEBSITE:
VISIT The ARTIST SITE
VISIT The WRITER SITE
"THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS"
" I Like The Shifts in The Points of View ... Sleight of Hand ... NICE."
- T. C. BOYLE
Acclaimed Author and Professor of Literature
University of Southern California
A Note About JOSHUA A. TRILIEGI
Mr. J. A. Triliegi is the Author of the Novel, "THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS" which chronicles the lives of Five Culturally diverse families living in Los Angeles. The First Screenplay was a finalist for the Sundance Writers Workshop. The poems were published in Tsunami Quarterly. A Regular Columnist in Fashion Art Design Magazine almost thirty years ago. Joshua is the founder and editor of Bureau of Arts and Culture magazine and a graduate of El Camino College in Los Angeles. Mr. Triliegi has directed and produced award winning films and is a third generation fine artist with a substantial catalogue of Paintings, Sculpture and Photography. Bureau of Arts and Culture Magazine printed over ten thousand copies in a first edition in 2013 and is now on line, with numerous websites offering Articles, Essays and New Fiction in Cities that include: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Santa Barbara, The Mid West, The South and The International Bureau Literary Site.
ON THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOS ANGELES RIOTS OF APRIL 30 1992 BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE IS PROUD TO BRING YOU AN ENTIRE ON LINE SERIES CONDENSED FOR YOUR READING IN THIS PROMOTIONAL COPY OF JOSHUA TRILIEGI'S FICTION PROJECT, ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS A CHAPTER A DAY, SERIAL ON LINE NOVEL BEGINNING IN 2013 THEN FOLLOWING THROUGH IN 2014 AND THE FINAL YEAR 2015.
 |
TAP THIS FREE LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE NOVEL:
"THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS" Novel in ReDux RELEASED ON APRIL 30, 2017 TO THE READERS OF BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE ON LINE READERSHIP WHICH INCLUDES THE MAIN WEBSITE AND A SERIES OF SITES AVAILABLE ON LINE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WIDE WEB. THE BUREAU PROVIDES A LITERARY SITE, AS WELL AS BUREAU SITES IN LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO, N Y C THE MIDWEST, SEATLE, SAN DIEGO, SANTA BARBARA, THE SOUTH AND BUREAU NEWS
On April 30th 1992,
in Los Angeles,
California
U.S.A.
An
Event
changed
a
City
Forever...
Joshua Triliegi has given us a novel, written
spontaneously, and originally published, a chapter a day, Monday through Friday at The BUREAU of Arts and Culture Literary Magazines On Line Readership Sites on the World Wide Web. The BUREAU Summer Fiction Project began rather humbly with the energy and schedule which relates directly to a series of live jazz performances. Working without any written notes whatsoever, on a daily basis, and posting
each days entry, allowed for the novel to be constructed with direct participation of the Reading audience which grew from hundreds to thousands to tens of thousands. Our door to door delivery of ten thousand paper editions in the Spring of 2013, to residents of Cities in California launched on-line readerships which grew exponentially.Season One originated in The Summer of 2013, and it appears in this edition as Part One. Part Two and Three are Seasons Two and Three, which were written with all
the Rules and Structure as the First : No Written Notes.The Novel, in this version, gives us a textured and multi Cultural view of Life in Los Angeles, sprocketing around Five Families. The riot is simply the backdrop for a very real and consistent group of people, who live in The City. The event is not the burning, the looting, the beating, the shooting, the desecration, the destruction, the decimation. In Joshua Triliegi's fictional reflection of his Los Angeles, African mysticism, Mexican mythology, Asian philosophy, Prison politics, Family finances, Rock & Roll Royalty and the Spirit of Ancestral Energy collide, collude and collect a momentum, spiraling downward, upward & outward.Like a live Jazz Recording, This Edition gives us a Look at The Stories of a Los Angeles that reach far beyond the Events of 1992 and The 25 years that burned into history. Here we experience the year before, the year of, and the
year after, through the eyes of over a dozen individuals,each with a Life, a History, a Family, and a Future in a Place Out West : They CALL IT The CITY of ANGELS.
Authors Statement :
Apparently, Twenty-Five years have passed since we experienced The Riots of Los Angeles 1992.It always seems like, just the other day, my City was on fire.
Time is a man made concept,based on a planets revolution.Five times Five = Twenty - Five. The structure of the Novel,is based on simple five count rhythms, related to Number 5. Notes were not utilized, so each chapter break was designed,
with a kind of Basic Mathematical Structure, so whatever challenges arose, in terms of narrative consistency or story development, balance between all the stories was built in. Any and all of The Interviews that proceeded this work of Fiction definitely influenced the characters in The Novel.
For instance,The BUREAU of Arts and Culture interview
with Writer Luis VALDEZ helped to shape Junior and Luis' Story, which play a large role in the book. Obviously, The writers I admire, like Oscar Hijuelos, and his arsenal, make a few appearances.Other influences are wide and diverse. The goal in Season
or Part One was to simply create a group of characters that we could follow, that we cared about, that would take us into their lives. In Part Two, there was a conscious effort to bring two and three characters together, through story, through each persons history and through dialogue between them. By the time year three rolled around,it was clear who every one was, what their circumstances were and the story simply
played out. Back to structure,five families, 5 days a week, kept the actual revolving chapter aspect orderly and allowed for the Imagination and Narrative Intertwining to happen. There are also two archived Interviews included within this edition,the first for Season One in 2013, another for Season Two in 2014, giving readers a glimpse into process.It is said that many Authors have trouble perusing their first Novel, and understandably so. Glancing at this work again,
feels like, listening to a vinyl record with various and assorted musical acts, each contributing a song, with Rock, Soul and other Pop Music genres, eventually creating a Live Concert Album or in this case : The Novel. - JOSHUA TRILIEGI
The NEW YORK EDITION
 |
| image: ©Bureau Arts and Culture Magazine Larry Gagosian Art Gallery Opening Night Festivities |
Scroll for previous articles including: Jack KEROUAC Still ON THE ROAD at 60, Fiction Excerpts from Author Joshua TRILIEGI, The Mallet Brothers Music Interview, Reports from The Mexican Border, A LETTER : HOW TO BE A PRESIDENT, Ryan GOSLING So GOLD, ART SHAY Photographer Plus Direct Download Links to Our FREE 300+ page E-Editions and More ...
 |
| image [ detail ] by Allen Ginsburg Courtesy of Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco CA USA |
In The Spring of 1951, Jack Kerouac began the final scroll version of On The Road with the now famous opener, "I first met Neal not long after my father died …" It would be another six years before the public would even read that line and while waiting for his big break, he almost went insane. When it finally did happen in 1957, the book transformed writing style forever and for twelve years straight : Jack never stopped.
Jack's frustrations started early on and strained many of his relationships with his life long pals and gals. On many occasions, the angst was actually justified. Kerouac knew he had pierced the veil with the new style used in On The Road. He saw it happening all around him, the Arts in America were changing and a whole new WAY of seeing and expressing was happening everywhere. Marlon Brando was screaming from the stages of New York City and Jackson Pollock was on the cover of LIFE. But it would still be too early for the likes of the public to catch up with trailblazers that included both mid - century and mid - decade breakthroughs such as James Dean, Elvis Presley and Jack Kerouac, who would all have major public notoriety by the mid to late 1950s. James Dean with three films back to back: Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant. Elvis Presley with a groundbreaking performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, that did indeed eventually lead to an entire sexual revolution. And of course, Mr. Jack Kerouac with the eventual publishing of On The Road and a lifelong respect and notoriety to originality and love of life.
 |
Image : Allen Ginsberg / Portrait of KEROUAC / Courtesy of http://www.thecjm.org
|
The writer describes in a letter, dated Oct 8, 1952, scribed to his life long friend, contemporary and sometimes foe, Allen Ginsberg, " This is to notify you and the rest of the whole lot what I think of you. Can you tell me even for an instance … with all this talk about pocket book styles and the new trend in writing about drugs and sex, why my On The Road written in 1951 wasn't ever published ?" He goes on to describe his basic frustrations at more inferior books that were published and admonishes many of his friends and associates for being jealous: Which was most likely true. In fact, even Ginsberg himself was learning from the new Kerouac style. On the one hand, Ginsberg had helped to liberate Kerouac's formalities with his free form poetry. Later Kerouac was also informed by the letters of his inspiration for On The Road : Neal Cassady.
"...When Jack sat down to write the scrolled version of On The Road ... All the lessons were over and he became the Leader of the so called Beat Writers and Movement."
On the other hand, each were dearly close to Neal and an unofficial contest began between the two writers. It was not only about who could lay down the best descriptions and who could out do the other in words, Ginsberg stepped up the competition with physical acts that Kerouac could never compete with, nor did he care to. But when Jack sat down to write the scrolled version of On The Road in the Spring of 1951, all the lessons were over and he became the leader of the so called Beat Writers and Movement. Kerouac had yet to be crowned publicly, but everyone in his circle knew he had ascended gracefully. Versions of the novel were being read all over the publishing world, it became a sensation and a point of derogatory conversation among the academics. One such comment, by a writer nobody even remembers anymore was, "That's not writing, that's typing." Kerouac had outdone them all and none could admit it. He was & still is the king of the beat writers. If he were alive today, he might simply ask, had you read his work ? What did you think ? Kerouac believed that Writing was Everything .
"...When Jack sat down to write the scrolled version of On The Road ... All the lessons were over and he became the Leader of the so called Beat Writers and Movement."
On the other hand, each were dearly close to Neal and an unofficial contest began between the two writers. It was not only about who could lay down the best descriptions and who could out do the other in words, Ginsberg stepped up the competition with physical acts that Kerouac could never compete with, nor did he care to. But when Jack sat down to write the scrolled version of On The Road in the Spring of 1951, all the lessons were over and he became the leader of the so called Beat Writers and Movement. Kerouac had yet to be crowned publicly, but everyone in his circle knew he had ascended gracefully. Versions of the novel were being read all over the publishing world, it became a sensation and a point of derogatory conversation among the academics. One such comment, by a writer nobody even remembers anymore was, "That's not writing, that's typing." Kerouac had outdone them all and none could admit it. He was & still is the king of the beat writers. If he were alive today, he might simply ask, had you read his work ? What did you think ? Kerouac believed that Writing was Everything .
Not long after scribing one of his darkest letters to Allen Ginsberg, Kerouac visited William Burroughs at his Rooftop Studio in Mexico City. Burroughs was going through a particularly rough patch himself. The thing to remember and indeed to learn from the Letters of Kerouac, Ginsberg and Burroughs, all of which are now available to the public, is that life as an artist is messy, troublesome, challenged. We often like to picture our celebrities, our icons, our hero's in some state of forever coolness. Well, the fact of the matter is that everybody has the ups & the downs. Life On The Road had its excitement, its entertainment and it's education, but there was always the other side of that coin. The letters provide a very real glimpse into the challenging aspects, the in-fighting, the quarell's and the very difficulty of actually writing, living, publishing and retaining and or losing friends in the battle. In a letter dated Jan 10 1953, Kerouac writes to Neal Cassady and his wife Caroline from William Burrough's flat. "Bill just finally left Mexico, last night, how sad. They were asking for more bond money… I feel like … I will never see him again … And I'm completely alone on the roof. Now or never with a great new novel long anticipated from me in N.Y. - day & night lonesome toil. "
In another letter, written the same week, addressed to John Clellon Holmes, author of the first novel to be published by the beat writers entitled, "GO", Jack describes further Burrough's dilemma. " Burroughs is gone at last - 3 years in Mexico - lost everything, his wife, his children, his patrimony - I saw him pack in his moldy room … Sad moldy leather cases … medicines, drugs - the last of Joan's spices … all lost, dust, & thin tragic Bill hurries off into the night solitaire - Ah Soul - throwing in his bag, at last, picture of Lucien [ Carr ] & Allen [ Ginsberg ] - Smiled, & left. " Burroughs who had shot his wife, in a game of 'William Tell ' had been dealing with legal issues and a court case that went sour when his own lawyer actually shot someone and had to flee the scene. All of this is represented best in David Cronenberg's film entitled, "Naked Lunch." Possibly the best film to capture the nightmarish qualities that dogged William Burroughs and his life.
 |
| Tom GREGG Painter Courtesy George BILLINGS in NYC / LA |
By this time, Kerouac had already patched up friendship with Ginsberg after the recent afore mentioned letter and was now moving ahead with another project. He sometimes worked on several works at any one time. In the same letter to Neal Cassady, Jack mentions a piece he wrote over a 5 day period, in french, that describes a fictional meeting in 1935 between him, Neal and Burroughs in Chinatown: "… And some sexy blondes in a bedroom with a French Canadian rake and an old Model T. You'll read it in print someday and laugh. It's the solution to the "On The Road" plots, all of 'em and I will hand it in soon as I finish the translating and typing." This story written in French over a 5 day period in January of 1953 is most likely the work that is currently in the news. Apparently a canadian publishing house has bought the rights to publish, so the world will finally get a chance to posthumously read yet another 'new' work by Mr. Jack Kerouac.
Jack Kerouac did make several breakthroughs prior to publishing On The Road , and then he knew it was just a matter of time. Finally the cultural malaise that had clogged mainstream America with conservative values of the early Fifties were dissipating. By 1956, in a letter to his agent, Sterling Lord, dated Sept. 17, 1956, Jack describes being photographed by a high profile magazine with Poets Gregory Corso and Allen Ginsberg. " The other night Mademoiselle magazine took our pictures … for a spread … title : Flaming Cool Youth of San Francisco Poetry. Life magazine also wants to take my picture in a few weeks at Corso's reading … Two of my pieces are to be published in Black Mountain Review … I think I'll finally make some money for you finally, so that makes me feel better, all the time and faith you put into me. As the years go by I realize how nice you've been Sterling, and I welcome it with a feeling of warmth, coming as it does from the 'brrr' world of New York Publishing."
 |
| Tom GREGG Painter Courtesy George BILLINGS in NYC / LA |
A year earlier Kerouac had stayed in the Berkeley Cottage of Allen Ginsberg after hitchhiking from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, living on California red wine and commiserating with the poets who would eventually open the floodgates at the now famous, SIX Gallery Poetry Readings in the Bay Area. The poets included : Michael McClure, Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Philip Lamentia & Kenneth Rexroth. Jack would have varying degrees of friendship with this group of poets and plenty of personal opinions and misunderstandings as well. His friendship with both Lawrence Ferlnghetti and Gary Snyder would lead to the writing of The Dharma Bums and Big Sur. The latter also the subject of a recent film of the same name produced by Bureau of Arts and Culture friend and associate, Mr. Orion Williams. In a letter written to Philip Whalen dated Nov 22, 1955 Kerouac describes his stay in Berkeley, " Dear Phil, Thank You for the needed hospitality - Now I know that the hidden reason for my coming to California again when I really didn't want to, was to meet you & Gary - The two best men I ever met - I'll drop you a card from where I'll be next week - Yours forever in the Dharma, Jack "
 |
Image : Allen Ginsberg / Portrait of CASSIDY and Friend / Courtesy of http://www.thecjm.org
|
Kerouac writes to Gary Snyder in a letter dated Jan 15 1956, thanking him for suggesting to apply as a look out in The Washington State Cascade Mountains. "Just finished [writing] a long novel … Visions of Gerard, my best. most serious, sad & true book yet … If I should ever make big money with my books, count on seeing me in Japan for sure… Me, my letters are like this, long and confused, because that's my mind, long and confused, I'm writing a dozen things and typing all the time and all fucked up & enthusiastic and shooting baskets in the yard and running in the woods with kids & dogs and so this letter has distraught look." A year away from publishing On The Road and at an all time low, Kerouac writes to Malcolm Cowley in May of 1956, " I'm in a real straits now, my jeans are all torn, I'm living in a shack with a woodstove, rent free, have no money whatever, don't care (much), and am waiting day after day for word from you concerning … On The Road … it breaks my heart to be neglected so." But within weeks Kerouac headed up to Washington State and renewed his work & attitude.
 |
| Tom GREGG Painter Courtesy George BILLINGS in NYC / LA |
Although, the relationship between Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac was a contentious one, it was also a very true friendship. In the spring of 1957, Allen loaned Jack enough money to travel abroad to visit Bill Burroughs in Tangier. Burroughs had recently taken the cure in England and was bent on gathering his various writings and creating a novel with the help of his friends. Kerouac writes to Edie Parker on Jan 28, 1957 from New York, just before the trip abroad, describing Burroughs, "He is a great gentlemen and as you may know has become a great writer, in fact all the big wigs are afraid of him (W.H. Auden. etc…) Allen never loses track of me even when I try to hide. He does me many favors publicizing my name. Well, we're old friends anyway. But I can't keep up with the hectic fame life he wants and so, I won't stay with them long in Tangier."
 |
Image : Allen Ginsberg / Portrait of Bill Burroughs / Courtesy of http://www.thecjm.org
|
While in Tangiers Kerouac received edited versions of recent works and was aghast at the hack job. Rather than have his work butchered by the publishers, Kerouac holds firm to his belief in his work and writes to Sterling Lord on March 4, 1957, " I'd rather die than betray my faith in my work which is inseparable from my life, without this faith any kind of money is mockery…" Still in Tangier with Burroughs, he follows this up on March 25 1957 with another letter to Mr. Lord, " I feel like I definitely did the right thing… that it will definitely bear fruit in the end. Hemingway went through the same trouble in early 1920s and had he succumbed to the ideas of the editors, there would have been no 'Hemingway Style' at all and nothing great about The Lost Generation. Ditto Faulkner in 30s." Meanwhile, Jack made a living typing up Burroughs' manuscripts in trade for meals and took long hikes around Tangiers, absorbing the culture & the scenery.
 |
| KEROUAC'S TYPEWRITER |
Two things happened in early April of 1957 that changed the face of literature. The first was notification from Kerouac's agent that On The Road had been sold and the second was that Allen Ginsberg's epic poem entitled, "Howl," had been banned and deemed unfit for children to read. Finally, exactly what the two authors had been working on all their lives, for Jack, it was acceptance, for Allen, it was a defiant chance to challenge the establishment. Both had succeeded in their goals.
To this day, both works are taught, studied and read just about everywhere with fine film adaptions of each. In a letter to his agent, dated April 3, 1957, Kerouac describes his appreciation and plans for the future. " It's wonderful, Sterling, the way you have been making things hum. I am going to take advantage of this apparently prosperous year and come right home and set up my abode proper. I have an idea for a wonderful follow up for On The Road … Meanwhile I have been digging Morocco… last night Ramadan, the annual Mohammedan fast, started here, with a blast of cannon shot in the bay and then, like smoke over rooftops at 2AM came the lonely sweet flutes … the saddest sound in the world." Within a month Kerouac had returned to America, had gathered all his belongings and moved to Berkeley California. Within a week, Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights Books was arrested for selling HOWL. One of the most celebrated court cases in history followed. Is it Art or Is it Obscene ? Eventually Allen Ginsberg triumphed and it became a victory for intellectuals, artists & writers who push the envelope.
Jack Keruoac had finally gone public. Neal Cassady, Jacks inspiration for the novel, On The Road, had become a character in another man's work of art. He had been a drifter for years, a wayward and wandering soul. Neal would go on to be an influential part of the American subculture with writers such as Ken Kesey, who penned, "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'. One of the few novels that Jack Kerouac, not only appreciated, but deservedly so, wrote an introductory blurb. Neal himself would be dogged by bad luck from the law, eventually doing time in prison for an entrapment drug deal with a substance that is now used by doctors throughout the world: marijuana. Neal Cassday's letters of this period are available in the book untitled, "Grace Beats Karma: Letters from Prison.' Even to this day, he is the target of lesser than human beings, who have no idea what living is even about. In the final lines of the newly published Original Scroll version of On The Road, Jack Kerouac writes, "I know by now the evening - star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all rivers, cups the peaks in the west and folds the last and final shore in, and nobody, just nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty [ Neal Cassady] , I even think of the Old Dean Moriarty [ Neal Cassady] the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty [ Neal Cassady] , I think of Dean Moriarty [ Neal Cassady] ." The End
©Joshua A. TRILIEGI / BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine
SAN FRANCISCO BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTUREsf.blogspot.com
NEW YORK CITY BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTUREny.blogspot.com
SAN DIEGO BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCultureSanDiego.blogspot.com
SANTA BARBARA BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTURESantaBarbara.blogspot.com
SEATTLE BUREAU http://BUREAUofaARTSandCultureSeattle.blogspot.com
MID-WEST BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCultureMagazineMidWest.blogspot.com
SOUTH BUREAU http://BUREAUofArtsandCultureSouth.blogspot.com
BUREAU LITERARY http://TheyCALLitTheCityofANGELS.blogspot.com
BUREAU NEWS http://BUREAUofArtsandCultureNews.blogspot.com
LETTER + LESSON NUMBER ONE :
" How to be a President " by J. A. TRILIEGI / February 2017
[ This is SATIRE / Esto es Sátira / Das ist Satire / これは風刺です / Это сатира / C'est Satire / Hii ni Satire / 这是讽刺 / این طنز است / זוהי סאטירה / Սա երգիծանք ] SCROLL DOWN For Readers Reactions / A hard copy of This correspondence was mailed directly to The WHITE HOUSE on 2 . 17 . 17
Dear Sir,
First of all congratulations, you have achieved the impossible. And, yes, most likely, you are not a 'bad guy,' o.k, we got that out of the way, good ratings too, granted. Now, here is the real dilemma. All these Republicans hate your guts, and here you are, in a position to work with them, because you ran as a Republican. But let us be honest, and deep down, I think you realize that, you are neither a Rep nor a Dem, you are an Independent, and many of your base, and the others, see you as such: so then, why become a total puppet for extreme Conservatism ? You don't have to do that, you can work with the entire country, there is no need to feed off of divided ideals. That is so obvious. Why not surprise people with some heartfelt moves that would put you in a position to really be liked, respected and admired. A President is the father of a country, the reporters that oppose you, want to see a father they can trust, respect and admire, so then, give them one. Aligning yourself with extreme right wing leaders, is not the only way to fly this ship. If you let the Reps do all the work, and become a showman for their game, you may, at a later date, regret the situation. You have made it to the big time sir, and now the hard work begins. A whole lot of people are going to hand you speeches, give you information and tell you where to stand and what to say, some of that is necessary, most of that, is not at all your style. Somewhere in you is a humanist, a man who would like, very much, to be liked, and, deep down inside, all Americans, want to like their leader, so then, do things through policy, protect us sir, which means, keeping the EPA a thriving entity, after all, it was Richard Nixon whom invented the damn department to begin with. There is no reason whatsoever to be so, 'strong,' that you cannot be compassionate to all Americans, even liberals, ethnic minorities and yes people of all faiths. 911 was a long time ago, very few Americans see that as a threat and quite frankly, scare tactics are rather transparent, as many of us in the general populist are rather hip to conspiracy theory and the big brother game, so, no need to fabricate another event and or exaggerate an issue. Ecology is important, if you want to rip the earth to pieces or start a false war, just look at the legacy of George Bush Jr or Nixon in Vietnam, how lame would that be ? Claiming that you got wrong information, is not going to fly, sir, we already went through that with others. Appoint some moderates.
You are the father of our country, and wether you like it or not, and or realize how deep and lasting the decisions you will make are, it is time to slow down, accept your fate, and do some serious studying of Presidents in the past. I even think, it would be smart to align yourself with recent Presidents of both parties. Actually listen and learn from their mistakes. Do not let ego and past ways of thinking muddle your idea of Independence, a true leader will lead in both directions. You owe it to lead America, not just your voters. For instance, punishing the Arizona economy and McCain for opposing you, is a transparent move, much like withholding funds from Berkeley because a bunch of young people are angry, and may have every reason to be. These moves, even in a casual reaction, seem weak and even selfish or close minded. Your voters got you in, but now you have an entire country on your hands, that is an awesome responsibility. Many of us are beautiful people sir, we may not have money or property, or even well paying jobs, but we are Americans. And by the way, who will do the work that the lower middle class workers of latin dissent currently contract ? Not your voters. While we are at it, why pick on Muslims ? I mean really, is that a danger to us ? There have been some serious missteps, and so that is par for the course, but must those continue ? This is going to sound rather 'out there,' but what we really need is a steady and honest self appraisal, if you make a mistake, admit it. Americans are extremely forgiving when faced with honesty. It is going to be a while before you get a well oiled machine in place, and that's okay, considering your background. You are not a politician, and yet you are our President, people understand that. Forget about getting everything correct the first time around and please, consider being the President for All Americans. Why should you alienate a major portion of your audience ? They say that 50+% percent didn't even vote, but, you are still their President, and wether we like it or not, you are now my President, and I'll be damned if I am going to see you get chewed up by the press, play puppet to the Reps and alienate the Democratic base, some of whom are bright people., just because, thats what the past style has been. Because you are not really a politician, you could do things differently. Surprised by all of this ? Yeah, so am I, but I can't spend the next four, or as you stated, possibly, eight years, railing against your every decision. Especially since I exclaimed that this, 'MotherF#@r,' to quote you, 'will never be President.' So, instead, you are going to hear from me directly and honestly, as if you were a member of my team, Team America, The UNITED STATES of AMERICA. If you get so isolated, they will have you spinning, and someone, from the real world, needs to keep your mind open, I am one of those someones. Presumptuous on my part ? Your damn right it is, but hey, you are the one who became President, so then, here we go. Oh, by the way, I am going to take a lot of heat for this, but I don't care. I love this country too much to tweet and rant and write articles opposing your policies for years on end. So, lets do this directly. Man to man, Citizen to President. Yes ?
Suggestions: make peace with Native Americans, they are so well loved Internationally. They represent such a sacred and important part of our nation, do right by them. Why turn back and alienate Women and the right to control their own destiny, it is an absurd notion, you have daughters, let them decide their fate, regarding childbirth. What does it hurt to have African Americans with well paying jobs, affordable schooling and the possibility to own or rent at affordable prices ? Is it not better for the economy ? Does that not insure less crime in the so called inner city ? The across the board blanket Conservative ideologues have it wrong, that's why they lost the election to YOU. Why should you lead like the clowns that you, 'blew out of the water,' to use a Southern California surfers term. Lets face it, those dudes bit the dust. And, I have to admit, all of the democrats and the liberals and everyone else in America, enjoyed watching you beat their asses, if you don't mind me saying so. I enjoyed it very much. Imagine how much money they spent combined ? Okay, so lets look at this again for a minute. Much of what happened, was based on a backlash from the Obama years, which, off the record, as this whole communication is, were actually pretty good. I know you have to espouse otherwise, but when we look at the numbers and the vibe, the dude did pretty well, and yes he was likable. So then, who is Donald Trump the leader ? He is not the guy who held the rally's, no way. Sure, off the cuff is cool, but constantly clever, quick and reactionary is not necessarily going to get their respect, and getting them to fear you, at least us Americans, is kind of lame, its always a short term gag, and then leads to the disgruntled, simmering hatred, that you won't enjoy. We don't mind if other leaders fear you, but treat us with respect. We are Americans sir and many of us and especially the youth are ethnic, we come from all over the world: America is The World. Imagine that you are the leader of the world and you will have a better idea of what's actually happening here. And lastly, a subject I hate to breach, but must, America is more than a business and yet Wall Street is already wondering what you are up to, obviously so is the entire Democratic base, considering your taxes : Dude, this is really uncool and you gotta do something here quick. Some of us think you are just waiting to get kicked out so the puppet masters can take over. How lame for you would that be ? And look what happened with Reagan and Bush senior, that's some scary history. I for one, like many on the intellectual front, await an emergence of character, independence, growth and shared experience. One more thing, women like Cher and Susan Sarandon and Meryl Streep are really loved, respected and admired by those of us in The Arts. Now that you are the Man, make peace with the Artists, Writers, Musicians and Activists, they are an important part of The American Fabric. Be strong, but, do not battle Individuals, use humor, but use it wisely and remember: You are The President, Sir.
LETTERS IN REACTION TO THIS ARTICLE :
Joshua,
This is hilarious. You are as sarcastic as I am. Great job!
I wouldn’t even know where to begin with this sort of thing. It is always amazing to me how the very people who claim to be compassionate and civil are the fist ones to start calling people names. You know, the ones resorting to violence as if it’s their right.
I certainly hope you are journalist so you can be part of the fraternity that has a 13% trust factor by the American people. Based on what I listed to and read, I think it’s very safe to say that that 13% will only go down and down and down. Hillary lost, get over it already!
Maybe you missed it, but the very reason he was elected was to take on the establishment no matter party affiliation. The more he pisses off the Republican leadership, the better off we are. As for the leftist, radical liberals, they obstruct everything he does anyway, so who cares what they really think. Same goes for the 13% trusted media outlets and so called pundits who have called everything wrong since the start. By the way, I did mean to ask you, when did you become the director of giving out instructions on how to be President?
What publication did you say you were with? You sort of sound like the NY Times or CNN. But I have to believe I am wrong on that. Lastly, I have no idea why I am on this mailing list, BUT PLEASE keep me on it. As I said, I do love sarcasm and dry wit.
it was a sincere pleasure to read your articulate masterpiece of “journalism”.
Best Regards,
Steven Krohn
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
SEASON II CHAPTER TWENTY : H E A R T
Original Fiction Series by J o s h u a A. T R I L I E G I
Each Chapter of SEASON Two was Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes Consecutively in The Summer of 2014. We are reprinting the work now, in Support of Our Jewish American Friends and Hebrew Humans around The World. As a Journalist, an Activist, an Individual American Citizen, my Power is limited, but as a Novelist, there are No LIMITS, No OBSTACLES, No WALLS and anything is possible. Until WE ACHIEVE OUR GOALS of UNITY : Here is My Contribution. In Return, I suggest, You The Reader, find a New Way to express your views and create your future. Scroll for INTERVIEWS, Articles + Free download Links to BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine. Contact Magazine through email at : JohnnyMILWAUKEE@EarthLink.net
Cliff was up all night. He'd been working on the largest painting he had ever created. The entire wall had been covered with large sections that he would attach with stickpins. It was Sunday morning and Dora had several appointments at the office. Many of her clients were nine to fivers who were unable to visit during the week, so she had begun to take hours during the weekend. Plenty of days, Cliff would accompany Dora, he would draw, listen to music on his headphones, he had a little area in the back with toys, a table, a stereo system with a lot of Stan's old records: Live recordings of the L.A. Philharmonic, The Who, Oldies but Goodies, Early Jazz, all kinds of odd recordings from The Poetry of Robert Frost to Stan Frieberg's satirical stuff. There was even a recording of Richard Pryor Live at the Forum.
"Once, while Dora made pancakes and Stan grabbed a cup of coffee, Cliff looked up and said, "The God Damn M*$%#@^&F+!@# just sat there staring at the B*&^%!, Now what you gonna do with a White C*^&%$#@!%* like that, F*&^!" It took them by surprise to say the least. They eventually had to remove that particular album."
Once, while Dora made pancakes and Stan grabbed a cup of coffee, Cliff looked up and said, "The God Damn M*$%#@^&F+!@# just sat there staring at the B*&^%!, Now what you gonna do with a White C*^&%$#@!%* like that, F*&^!" It took them by surprise to say the least. They eventually had to remove that particular album. Cliff was funny like that. He had a lot of heart, is how Dora put it. Stan decided that he wanted to take Cliff for the day. He hadn't spent much time with the boy and wanted to maintain an open channel of communication. So, after Dora went off to work, Stan and Cliff made breakfast. Cliff cracked the eggs into a big bowl and Stan stirred them up. They made it a point to do things, 'with' Cliff, instead of for Cliff. Stan hadn't gone into the boys room, so he had no idea he'd had up all night creating, 'a new masterpiece,' as Dora often put it. After breakfast they jumped into Stan's car and headed through Topanga, down towards the coast.
Stan had been a professor at UCLA after receiving his law degree. It was a wild time to be teaching there. You had Vietnam, Richard Nixon, Chicano and Afro American Cultural Issues, Kent State, The Hippies, Tune-in, Turn-on and Drop-out, The Black Panthers, Patty Hearst and a sort of Native American resurgence. One of his former students had now become a Professor there and he invited Stan to the campus. The former student was receiving an award and felt that without Stan's help, inspiration and guidance, he might not have made it out of his neighborhood, let alone, become a teacher. It was to be a short presentation and then Stan figured, he and the boy would drive down the coast to a place where Dora and Stan had spent a lot of time prior to Cliffs birth. The radio was blaring, '... Roll down the window, take down the top, crank up the Beach boys baby, don't let the music stop, look at these women, ain't nothing like 'em nowhere, I love L. A. ... ' Cliff sang along until Stan joined in. They both kept singing the chorus together. He loved this kid. They drove down the coast, past the Malibu pier and into Sunset Boulevard, a sharp left hand. Down a few miles and a quick right into the campus. There were signs that read, Native American Pow - Wow Weekend. Not much changed around here, Stan thought to himself. They parked in the faculty only space and headed inside. Cliff could hear the drums and immediately tapped into it.
"The radio was blaring, '... Roll down the window, take down the top, crank up the Beach boys baby, don't let the music stop, look at these women, ain't nothing like 'em nowhere, I love L. A. ... ' Cliff sang along until Stan joined in. They both kept singing the chorus together. He loved this kid. "
They walked over to the law library and sat in the back row. The presentation was short, an introduction had been made and Stan's ex student came to the podium and made his acceptance speech. Stan had not been expected to make a statement, but when his ex student asked him to step up to the microphone, he looked at Cliff and said, "Hold tight kid, I'll be right back." Stan told an anecdotal story about the first time this particular student had walked into his class and how he knew right away that the man had potential. Stan was honored to see that something good had come from those first few early years. He met the man's family, added a few more stories to round things off, then looked in the back row to see Cliff. But the back row was empty. He looked around the library, ran out front, than back inside, checked the restrooms, then out back. The boy was nowhere to be seen. He ran outside to the kiosk and asked the security guards, had they seen a young man ? No, they hadn't. "Would you like us to call it in sir ? What was he wearing ? Could you give us a description ?" Stan could hear the drumming from the Pow Wow and said, "No, thats o.k ." He ran to the other end of the campus, the Pow-Wow was taking place on the football field. Teepee's had been set up in a circle and in the middle, Native American dancers were competing from all across the USA They alternated between the Fancy Dancers competition, the blessings and donations and then onto to best drummers, costumes, singing, chanting and honoring the elders.
Stan ran down the hallway which was normally an entry way for star quarterbacks and entered the field. He asked the guard if he had seen a young man with long hair, wearing a pair of blue jeans, white converse tennis shoes & a black turtleneck sweater. The guard, who was giant, looked like the classic model of what people all over the earth had thought of when they pictured what a Native American Chief might look like: dark skin, deep, thoughtful eyes, a nose like an eagle, long hair, in this case, in a pony tail, strong hands, with just a touch of sorrow on his forehead's brow. The man laughed at Stan and pointed to the center of the teepees. Stan slowly walked towards the middle, the drumming became faster and louder as he approached the circle. He could smell burning sage, meat and the sounds of instruments here and there: flutes, rattles, sticks. A group of women were clapping and chanting. Furs, dream-catchers and antlers hung along strings that surrounded each teepee. He got closer and there in the middle of the circle, dancing among the best fancy dancers in the entire country, was his son Cliff. No one seemed to mind.
"A group of women were clapping and chanting. Furs, dream-catchers and antlers hung along strings that surrounded each teepee. He got closer and there in the middle of the circle, dancing among the best fancy dancers in the entire country, was his son Cliff."
The young man was dancing next to a very famous dancer who had been in movies and on television. The men were wearing giant eagle, hawk and turkey feathers. Their costumes were extremely colorful. They danced in elliptical semi circles. Cliff was holding his own and then the drumming ceased. The dancers began to walk back to their respected tribes teepee's, Cliff looked around and walked over to Stan. The man didn't know what to do, he reached over, grabbed the young boy and lifted him high. A Woman walked by and handed Cliff a piece of fry- bread on a paper plate. "This is for your son, he's got a lot of heart." With her accent, Stan had thought she said, He's got a lot of Art. "Yes, he does, thank you." Stan and Cliff got back into the car and drove down the coast. There had been a Lighthouse down at the edge of the harbor. It sat high on a cliff at the southern most point of the city. He and Dora had spent a lot of time there. They thought that maybe Cliff had been conceived at this location.
There was a beautiful guest house attached to the main house and then the actual lighthouse tower with a powerful beacon light that once had guided ships through storms along the rocky coast. They had named him CLIFF because of this particular place. A beautiful and picturesque location that somehow defined their welcoming life together as a family. They were jumping into the ocean of life and had promised to weather the storm together. Stan pointed to the lighthouse and said to Cliff, "We made you here." Cliff looked back at him, cocked his head, looked back at the giant white house and smiled. They walked down toward the cliff and Stan pointed at the rocky mountainous edge, this is your cliff. This is where we came up with your name. The boy smiled again and said nothing, but he knew exactly what Stan was saying. They had lunch at a local cafe, it was the longest running Cafe in the Harbor. Truckers, cops, locals and tourists frequented this spot. When they got ready to sit down, Louis, who had been a busboy there since way back when, cleared their table and smiled at Cliff. He remembered when his own son had been that age, before all the troubles had started and he lost Junior to the system.
"Stan's heart began to beat when he saw that the boy had painted everything they had just experienced. The entire day had been crudely documented, the freeway drive along the beach, the lighthouse to the south and in the middle a circle of teepees. Stan didn't know what to think."
The two men looked at one another, neither men had any idea how their lives had originally intersected. By the time Stan and Cliff had made it back home, the boy was sound asleep. Stan lifted him out of the car and carried him to his room. He put the boy on the bed, turned around and noticed the giant work of art on the wall. It was an entire mural of Los Angeles. Stan's heart began to beat when he saw that the boy had painted everything they had just experienced. The entire day had been crudely documented, the freeway drive along the beach, the lighthouse to the south and in the middle a circle of teepees. Stan didn't know what to think. When he looked closer, parts of the city were on fire, a multitude of buildings were topped with orange and red tipped flames and whirls of black and grey wafted high above like smoke signals. He looked closely at the image in the middle of the teepees. There, in the center was a small drawing, a self portrait of Cliff. He appeared to be dancing right in the middle of a giant heart. Stan looked over at his son, sleeping in the corner and said to himself, and to the Indian Woman, out loud : "He sure does."
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
SEASON II CHAPTER TWENTY : H E A R T
The Original Fiction Series by J o s h u a A. T R I L I E G I
Each Chapter of SEASON Two was Written in a Twenty - Four Hour Period without Notes Consecutively in The Summer of 2014. We are reprinting the work now, in Support of Our Jewish American Friends and Hebrew Humans around The World. As a Journalist, an Activist, an Individual American Citizen, my Power is limited, but as a Novelist, there are No LIMITS, No OBSTACLES, No WALLS and anything is possible. Until WE ACHIEVE OUR GOALS of UNITY : Here is My Contribution. In Return, I suggest, You The Reader, find a New Way to express your views and create your future. Scroll for INTERVIEWS, Articles + Free download Links to BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine. Contact Magazine through email at : JohnnyMILWAUKEE@EarthLink.net
KRISTEN STEWART and
ON THE ROAD The FILM
Kristen Stewart. The Twilight Series, The Safety of Objects, Panic Room, Cold Creek Manor, and Into The Wild. Subtle, attentive, magnetic, bright, funny, not to mention intelligent . She may be the highest paid actress in Hollywood, but you wouldn't know it by the very humble, forth right and giving on screen style. An extremely intuitive performer with a talent for listening to her fellow actors and actresses . Fourteen years of acting for film and television and already she has attracted the type of projects which have made film history. In a town where young actresses unfortunately can come and go in a decade, Kristen Stewart is not a one trick pony. We are honored to have her on the cover of our first edition of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine. She has spoken about writing and we would not be surprised if she were to produce projects in the future. On The Road, her most recent film, which opens nation wide this month, is nothing short of a fabulous performance. Sexually adventurous, explicitly honest and extremely accurate in it' s rendition and loyalty to the original book which was written by Beat poet, Jack Keroauc for about a decade before being published in the late nineteen fifties. Much of Kerouac's work is autobiographical, though On The Road is truly what could be considered the pinnacle fiction as bio novel. See our film review of On The Road for a complete version. Kristen Stewart' s girl - next - door - gone - wild is an outright game changer.
She steals the show as Mary Lou, with her gusto, her truly sympathetic, yet loyalty to truthful friendship and ultimately, her realization through experience. Playing Kerouac' s best friend' s lover, Mary Lou as the nymphonic [new word] element expressed through freedom of choice in a time when women were offered little more than marriage, a job as a secretary, teacher or other subservient role in society. Mary Lou is the quintessential wild woman, in this case, wild girl, set free by love, passion, rebellion, and the big F - U to all those people who bought into all the rest. She pays the heavy price and at the same time retains an integrity that others within the book, film and life in general, do not. A restless soul in search of love, acceptance, adventure, passion and of course the man of her dreams, in this case, the wayward drifter Neil Cassady. A troubled soul, haunted by his father's homelessness, his lack of self appreciation and an insatiable need to be accepted by others at just about any cost, not to mention his sexual libido and addictions. Jack Kerouac, our lead character and writer is caught between Neil and his other best friend, beat Poet, Allen Ginsberg , writer of HOWL. Mary Lou and Jack have this precarious position in common. Neil bounces back and forth between his wife, played here by Kirsten Dunce and Mary Lou, his girlfriend.
Life on the Road includes ecstatic wild parties , stealing food for survival, smoking marijuana, sexual orgies of all variety, bumming rides to and fro, running after life at a hundred miles an hour, going without all that stuff that all the other slobs deem so important, you know, showers, a weekly paycheck, life at home during the holidays, and all those other cookie cutter - white - bread- square aspects of society that were packaged & sold to Americans directly after World War II. A time when Rosy the Riveter was forced back into the kitchen by offering her new machinery to work with: new stoves, mixers, blenders and all that other fun stuff like vacuum cleaners and lots of products which include, '… your own new washer and dryer…', later dishwashers were added in. In a way, Kristen Stewart's role is not directly attached to all of this, but in the context of Mr Kerouac's original book, his experience and his outlook, all of this does come into play. Jazz music. Blue collar. Mexican migrants. Travel by car. James Dean. Marlon Brando. The search for the meaning of life. It is all jammed packed into Kerouac' s vision of America, friendship, experience and downright love of life. Lets put it this way, if Kerouac were alive today, he would surely have fallen in love with Kristen Stewart and her personification of Mary Lou, without a doubt. He would also be very proud of how this film was produced, which brings us to Coppola and Zoetrope Studios.
Imagine if you will, the year 1979. Mr Coppola is in the throws of creating one of the greatest films ever made against all odds: Apocalypse Now. He has put up his house and vineyard for collateral. He has replaced his lead actor Harvey Keitel. He has experienced hurricanes and a civil war on location. His marriage is challenged. His entire family is on location and his new lead actor suffers a minor heart attack, the script is unfinished, Marlon Brando is getting a million dollars a day, is bald, over weight and refuses to work within a given structure. Yes, he has the Godfather and all those Oscars behind him, yes, he is one of the most talented director, writer, producers to ever emerge from America. Yes, his contemporaries all know this. But back home, the press is beginning to turn on him. There is talk about excessiveness, eccentricities, over budget, and being in another country creating a film on Vietnam, for well over a year, the tide begins to turn. Somewhere within all of this madness, Coppola decides to option Jack Kerouac' s Novel On The Road. Imagine that ? This was before he directed Rumble Fish and The Outsiders, two of E.S Hinton' s best creations. Francis Ford Coppola never flinched at his future. The entire world was throwing punches at this guy and still through it all, he optioned projects that were pinnacle to who we are as Americans. He created great stories. He translated important American myths into even more important American cinema graphic masterpieces.
Holding onto an option for over thirty years takes the type of commitment few artists would truly understand. It takes vision, fortitude and a firm belief in the work to do such a thing and we here at Bureau of Arts and Culture commend, honor and revere this type of artistry. The Coppola family, Francis, Sofia, Roman as well as Carmine rival only the Huston's when it comes to talent and winning the coveted Oscars . John Huston, his father Walter as well as Angelica and Danny Huston have all received the kind of attention accolades and criticism that comes with such a success. The American artist is not always popular. We sometimes have to go out on a limb, retain that vision, hold tight to what we believe and sometimes wait thirty years or more to watch it develop before it can be shared with our contemporaries, our fellow artists and indeed the audience, " out there, in the dark ". To quote Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard. The job of the actress, director writer is to illuminate that darkness with our art, our films, our poetry and in the case of Kristen Stewart with our performances. Billy Wilder was criticized by other studio heads the night that Sunset Boulevard was screened for the first time. They said it revealed a dark side of Hollywood that they wished would have stayed in the shadows. His response? A simple and straight forward answer, " F*ck You ". Since then, Sunset Boulevard is lauded as one of the greatest films to ever depict life in Hollywood. It portrays the difficulties of growing old as an actress . A sort of cautionary tale for future actresses, actors, directors and producers. Much like orson Welles Citizen Kane, it transformed film and is often listed as one of the best film ever made. Francis Ford Coppola and his Zoetrope studio has made contributions to cinema that could never have been made by another director, writer, producer. We applaud their commitment and veracity in retaining the rights, producing this film and hiring Walter Salles to direct it.
By J. A. TRILIEGI / BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine
MUSIC 2016 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: HANK WILLIAMS . Guest ARTIST INTERVIEW Realist Painter CHRISTOPHER STOTT . . PHOTO ESSAYS and ARTICLE BY THE INFAMOUS MR. ART SHAY . MATHEW BARNEY at MOCA LA Plus BUREAU PROFILE : ANDREW HOLDER . BUREAU PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERVIEW with LAURA STEVENS in PARIS . BUREAU FILM : BLUE VELVET at THIRTY . ART of MILES DAVIS "The SHAMAN" . PRINCE TRIBUTE plus MUSIC INTERVIEW with Singer-Songwriter: JOSHUA TATE . SOUND ARTIST : CÉLESTE BOURSIER - MOUGENOT with CHRISTOPH COX . DESIGN: ITS ABOUT WALLPAPER . COMEDY INTERVIEW with Andre HYLAND . John DOE . Aimee MANN . Chris STAPLETON . BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL : KWAME BRATHWAITE'S New HARLEM RENAISSANCE . DANNY LYON at THE WHITNEY MUSEUM + R. CRUMB at SEATTLE MUSEUM . Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES RAP MUSIC'S : TUPAC and ICE CUBE with PHOTOGRAPHER Mr. Mike MILLER . BUREAU TRIBUTE TO " LEGENDS OF THE FALL'S," WRITER: JIM HARRISON. Download The FREE Edition in Hi Resolution .
DOWNLOAD LINK:
LITERARY 2016 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: John STEINBECK . NOVELIST IRVINE WELSH . BUREAU GUEST Visual Artist New YORK City PAINTER : Nathan WALSH . Cinema: AMERICAN Director Hal ASHBY & The CLASSIC FILM "BEING THERE". ART Reviews: Emilie CLARK . Michael KAGAN + The Max GINSBURG LECTURE . San FRANCISCO : Photographs Roman VISHNIAC . Bill GRAHAM at The CJM . The South West Photographic Essay Winner Rich HELMER Plus Diane ARBUS . NEW FICTION ENCORE: They CALL IT The CITY of ANGELS Selected Chapters . INTERVIEWS: Sandy SKOGLUND . Shaun HUSTON on Library Comic BOOKS . MUSIC: The MALLETT Brothers Band . Kehinde WILEY in SEATTLE. USA Museums : Arizona . Oklahoma . San Francisco . ART: John MELLENCAMP. BOOKS : ALI & Malcolm X . SPRINGSTEEN . Literature by U.S. Military Vets . The SEATTLE Photographic Essay . FIVE Best Bookstores in BERKELEY +LITERARY Events 2016 S. E.Hinton's The OUTSIDERS + WOMEN Writers RULE. Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES. Download The FREE Edition in Hi Resolution
Download LINK: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jgyu3v7rc0mq5aj/BUREAU%20LIT%202016%20Kagan%20Cover.pdf?dl=0
SPRING 2016 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN The BUREAU GUEST Artist from CANADA Painter and Sculptor Mr. Erik OLSON NEW Interviews + Photographic Essays with Three from The United Kingdom: Street Photographers Craig REILLY, Steve COLEMAN and Walter ROTHWELL. BUREAU Dance: Martha GRAHAM, Plus Mathilde GRAFSTROM : CENSORED German Muralist: Hendrik BEIKIRCH, The CLASSICAL Genius: Daniil TRIFONOV. BUREAU NEWS: David GANS on SUPREME COURT, Plus Mexico's DR.LAKRA Daniel GEORGAKAS on HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST, The OSCARS and Spike LEE 2016, PHOTO ESSAYS: Stephen SOMERSTEIN at The FREEDOM MARCH of 1965, Alex HARRIS showcasing The Afro AMERICANS in North Carolina in The 1970s Artist Tristan EATON + The Post Modern Paintings Plus BUREAU Film: TRUMBO Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES Across America an The World Through Internet. BUREAU is an Official MEDIA Partner for The ITALIAN Film Festival Download the following Link to Hi ResOLUTION VERSION.
FALL 2015 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: BOB DYLAN. Interviews + Photographic Essays with Alex HARRIS on The INUIT, Kanayo ADIBE in Baltimore, Lynn SAVILLE in New York City, Mike MILLER on West Coast Style, Ryan SCHIERLING in AUSTIN and BUREAU GUEST Artist: Melissa Ann PINNEY ART Interview with David BURKE in Bay Area. Plus: Michelle HANDELMAN. New FICTION: THEY CALL IT THE CITY of ANGELS Part III MUSIC Contributor: Sarah Rose PERRY on The Femme PUNK Scene. MUSIC Interview with JAHI. Plus US MUSEUMS: Detroit's 30 ARTISTS Exhibit, Milwaukee's Larry SULTAN, Photo LA, BOOK Stores Across US: BookPeople, Anderson's, City Lights, Book Reviews from STRAND NYC. Classical MUSIC and Rock & Roll: Not So Different After All. Elliott Landy and The BAND. Edward Hopper at The Cantor. All This and More Plus BUREAU On Line Links to The ART Fairs in MIAMI 2015 with Exclusive Audio Interviews, Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES Across America an The World Through Internet. BUREAU is MEDIA Partner for PHOTO LA . + MORE.
Download LINK: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jam8st4tj03z65e/The%20NEW%20FALL%202015%20BUREAU%20MAGAZINE%20.pdf?dl=0
 |
| all Images in this Article Credited to Canadian Painter ERIK OLSON / BRAVIN LEE GALLERY |
RYAN GOSLING And The OSCARS So GOLD 2017
by Joshua Triliegi for BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine
At this years Oscars, millions of Cinema Lovers around the world will be tuning in to watch their favorite actors, directors, producers and stars of the large and small screen gather, to give, receive and honor, one another. This is OSCAR Season and Awards shall be bestowed : There WILL Be GOLD. This year, we are hearing few complaints about the pallor of the participants, for those with a memory less than 365 days, harken back to last years article by yours truly to remember how far we have travelled since then.
Careers in Hollywood and in International Television, Stage and Cinema are fraught with difficulty, controversy and peril. Seriously, if the Critics do not tear you to shreds, than the Audience awaits, and then there are the Studios, the Agents and the individual performers history, family and friends, the ex-girlfriends, ex-husbands and ex-Everything. Every now and then, an individual performer transcends all The X-Everything's and makes IT. The Actor or Actress, the Director or Camera Person or Costumer or Film Editor or Musician or Producer, or Screenwriter, makes a new film come alive: "It's Alive," screams Dr Frankenstein and a new monster exists. We are enthralled. The transformation of those simple and delicate words placed ever so carefully, and sometimes violently, onto paper, from the veins of experience, loss, pain and joy are somehow assembled and reassembled into a very living, breathing and thriving Entity and or Vehicle, in which we aptly call a Play, or a Film, or a Show. Oft times the hood ornament of this, 'Vehicle,' is The Actor or Actress. This year Ryan GOSLING is getting his due, not just for the new Musical, "LA LA LAND," but, to my mind and heart and eyes: A very well apportioned and risk taking career.
Born in 1980, the same year that we lost John Lennon. The same day that the World Wide Web was proposed and that Voyager One space probe reached Saturn, an unassuming Canadian Couple gives birth to a boy named Ryan. Looking back to the year in which Mr Gosling was created, I recall my first film experience on the Set of Raging Bull, in 1979. A time when New Fine Art Cinema was practiced rarely by filmmakers such as Mr Martin Scorsese. Now, one has hope for this type of filmmaking to return, with the likes of Ryan Gosling. For as much as technology and comic books and product placement have replaced talent and content, it is still the performance, that ultimately rules, in my humble opinion : Cinema.
The Canadian and now Internationally renown actor, director and musician, as well as family man, has done what few Mickey Mouse Club members could accomplish, he has graduated from the halls of Disneyland to the very real universe of World Cinema. Sure, Justin Timberlake is a great comedic actor and Mr Gosling's other early compadre's can be seen on television, here and there, but few can truly claim to have taken the dramatic risks and odd career choices that have gained the respect of this writer, and I assume many of you, our readers and more importantly : The buyers of cinema tickets and subscribers of cable networks.
If you are a woman or a girl, you may have discovered Gosling in the 2004 film by Nick Cassavettes, entitled, "The Notebook." A film which my girlfriend has referenced as a guarantee that, love lasts forever, and that when her and I reach old age, our romance may still exist, through the written word. If you are a guy, you might have discovered Mr Gosling in the dangerous and controversial film titled, "The Believer." A story loosely based on real events and brought to the screen with a scrappy film crew, hand held camera work and a dangerous ending that, to this day, has both The Jewish Community and those outside, discussing the dangerous realities and issues, pertaining to self-hating indigenous peoples of all faiths. The Film Critic, Peter Travers, of Rolling Stone Magazine, rightly exclaimed that, "Gosling gives a great, dare-anything performance that will be talked of for ages." This original performance and the film were accurately compared and contrasted to Edward Norton's breakout role in "American History X," and the young Mickey Mouser was now onto something no amusement park could ever provide : Real Danger.
In 2006, Gosling plays a drug addicted teacher in, "Half Nelson," a film which inspired this writer to consider the smaller stories in my own work. See The BUREAU Literary Site for our recent Short Story Series as an example. The on screen chemistry between Gosling and his students is both politically charged and heartbreaking. The actor is unfairly compared to actor Jason Patric, simply because of his chiseled features by Film Critic Dana Stevens of Slate magazine. Actor Ryan Gosling has much more heart, restraint and inner conflict than all performances by Mr Patric combined. That's saying a lot since Mr. Patric has proven himself, at least, for a certain decade, that has long since past. More aptly, Bob Mondell of NPR, regarding "Half Nelson," states that, "Ryan Gosling… is easily the year's most mesmerizing character study." Absolutely.
In 2011, "The Ides of March," guaranteed us that Gosling had total control of his characters purpose within the actual 'workings,' of the story itself. The thriller, aptly directed by George Clooney, pits Gosling's character against the major machinery of election style, behind-the-scenes, presidential politics. Sexual controversy, deal making, and chess-like maneuvering, in both plotting and timing, that rarely make it to the big screen. Gosling holds his own with the late-great, character actor, Mr. Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of the best Washington DC insider performances since reporters Woodward and Bernstein were brought to life in the Nixon Era film exposing Watergate. Once again, film critics ask all the wrong questions, such as UK's The Independent's headline pleading, "Is Ryan Gosling the new George Clooney ?" For years, those outside our industry have asked simple questions to the much more complicated answers that we actually provide. Is this the next James Dean to both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman ? Is This the next Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen and UK's Donavan ? No, this is not the next Anyone, this is the next Ryan Gosling, just as this was the last Ryan Gosling and the future Ryan Gosling. We know they are losing the debate, the conversation, and the entire point, when they compare you, or them, or us, to anyone else. Though, the important factor is that they are, at least pondering, who and what and where we actually ARE.
In 2012, Gosling appears in, "The Place Beyond The Pines," another dangerous film performance that has the film critic, Scott Foundas, of The Village Voice, wanting more. The original work, as cinema, is clearly electrifying, if not slightly off kilter in structure. While the performances of both Gosling, as a carnival performing motorcyclist who returns home, and Bradley Cooper as a do-good police officer, make up for any plot issues that may be lacking. The film itself deals more with time, regret and lost possibilities, rather than redemption or heroism, as is often the case with these smaller stories. There is indeed a long standing tradition in cinema history here, much more in line with the early working class films that have been tried and true from studios such as Warner Brothers in the 1950s. The film also stars Eva Mendes, who is Mr Goslings real life mate and the mother of his children. It is well worth watching. There are few standard wrap ups, in a Gosling picture. Even fewer happy endings, such is real life ? Possibly.
The interesting thing about Ryan Gosling, in the past decade, has been the prodigious output that helped to display his range. He can do action comedy with Russell Crowe, Dark Love Stories in "Blue Valentine," Metaphorical Reality in "Drive," Musical prowess in LaLaLand, drama with just about anyone on the planet and his odd choices set him above and beyond : "Lars and the real Girl," for instance. Where Mr Gosling allows story telling, integral casting and off kilter humor to play center stage. The sort of choices that seasoned stage actors might make, as opposed to a child actor, whom clearly has overcome his past. I recall the day my producing partner and I met Mr Gosling, some years ago, in passing, we simply stated, to the then upcoming star, "We Like The Choices You Have Been Making." And in return, we received that sphinx-like smile, that now shines, so brightly for all to see.
As a disclaimer, and as a homegrown Hollywood Screenwriter and Independent Novelist, I must admit that, I do have Products, Books, Stories and Screenplays that have been submitted to more than one Actor, Director and Producer on the stage and in the audience at this years OSCARS Ceremony, that said, the part of me that watches films, loves cinema and sometimes feels compelled to write about Cinema in this publication, does freely submit this article free of such intentions. For it is The A-List Actors, Directors and Producers who make films happen in today's day and age, not just the studios, not just the cable outlets, not just the corporations. And of course it is you too, the reader, the viewer, the audience. To twist a phrase from Billy Wilder's Classic and scathing criticism of careers and life in Hollywood, in the film, "Sunset Boulevard," those of you, no longer, "…Out There, In The DARK…" The audience today has a rather clear and poignant intelligence, that no twitter account, no established has been participant, no mainstream news organization, no account of the arts, can truly be manipulated or trashed or copied, or falsified or criticized, for too long, without the brilliance and loyalty and eventual championship recognition that comes from a career of choices that simply make sense. To you, young actor, I salute you. And by the way, when you begin to read new works for consideration, your Agents at CAA, have a project with my name on IT. Until then, KNOW, that you, and everyone else, "Up There," have earned what you have been given, So, Enjoy.
VISIT The New BUREAU CENTRAL WEBSITE:
INTERVIEW: BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE : JOSHUA TRILIEGI
American Novelist Joshua Triliegi discusses his New On Line Novel, "They Call It The City of ANGELS," creating believable characters and the challenges therein. Season One, Two and Three are available on line at most of the 10 various BUREAU of Arts and Culture Websites & translatable around the world. All Three On Line Seasons Make up The NOVEL's Complete 55 Chapters.
Discuss the process of writing your recent fiction project, " They Call It The City of Angels ."
Joshua Triliegi: I had lived through the riots of 1992, actually had a home not far from the epicenter and experienced the event first hand, I noticed how the riot was being perceived by those outside our community, people began to call me from around the world, my friends in Paris, my relatives in the mid west, childhood pals, school mates, etc... Each person had a different take on why and what was happening, I still have those recordings, this was back in the day of home message recorders with cassettes. So, after 20 years, I began to re listen to the voices and felt like something was missing in the dialogue.
" I noticed how the riot was being perceived by those outside our community ..."
Some of my friends and fellow theater contemporaries such as Anna Deveare Smith and Roger Guenvere Smith had been making bold statements in relation to the riots with their own works and I realized that there was a version of original origin inside of me. I felt the need to represent the community in detail, but with the event in the background. Because, I can tell you from first hand experience that when these events happen, people are still people, and they deal with these types of historical emergencies differently based on their own culture, their own codes, their own needs and everyday happenstances.
You originally published each chapter on a daily basis, explain how and why ?
Joshua Triliegi: I had been editing The BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine for a few years, we printed thousands of magazines that were widely distributed throughout Los Angeles and San Francisco and had created an on-line readership.The part of me that had dabbled in fiction through the years with screenplays and short stories had been ignored for those few years. On the one hand, it was simply a challenge to create a novel without notes, improvising on a daily basis, on the other hand, it gave the project a freedom and an urgency that had some connection with the philosophy of Jack Kerouac and his Spontaneous Prose theories. One thing it did, was forced me, as a creator, to make the decisions quickly and it also, at the time, created a daily on line readership, at least with our core readers, that to this day has strengthened our community sites and followers on line. Season One was a series of introductions to each character. Season Two, which happened the following year, was a completely different experience all together.
Describe Season Two of They Call It The City of Angels and those challenges.
Joshua Triliegi: Well first of all, the opening line of Season One is, " Los Angeles is a funny place to live, but those laughing were usually from out of town, " That opener immediately set up an insiders viewpoint that expresses a certain struggle and angst as well as an outsider — looking — in — perception that may be skewed. In introducing characters throughout season one, I was simply creating a cast of characters that I knew somehow would be important to set the tone surrounding the riots of 1992 in Los Angeles. With Season Two, and an entire year of gestation, which was extremely helpful, even if it was entirely on a subconscious level, I had a very real responsibility to be true to my characters and each persons culture. I had chosen an extremely diverse group of people, but had not actually mentioned their nationality, or color in Season One. By the time season Two rolled around, I found it impossible not to mention their differences and went several steps further to actually define those differences and describe how each character was effected by the perception of the events in their life. This is a novel that happens to take place before, during and after the riot. The characters themselves all have lives that are so complete and full and challenged, as real life actually is, that the riot as a backdrop is entirely secondary to the story. I was surprised at how much backstory there actually was. I also think my background in theater, gave me a sense of character development that really kicked my characters lives into extreme detail and gave them a fully realized life.
How do you go about creating a character ?
Joshua Triliegi: Well, there is usually a combination of very real respect and curiosity involved. Sometimes, I may have seen that person somewhere in the world and something about them attracted my attention in some way. In the case of They Call It The City of Angels, I knew the people of Los Angeles had all been hurt badly by the riots of 1992, because I am one of those people and it hurt. One minute we were relating between cultures, colors, incomes, the next we were pitted up against one another because some people in power had gotten away with a clear injustice. So with season two, I personally had to delve deeper into each persons life and present a fully realized set of circumstances that would pay off the reader, in terms of entertainment and at the same time be true to the code of each character. Once they were fully realized, the characters themselves would do things that surprised me and that is when something really interesting began to happen.
Could you tell us a bit more about the characters and give us some examples of how they would surprise you as a writer ?
Joshua Triliegi: Well, Jordan, who is an African American bus driver and happens to be a Muslim, began to find himself in extremely humorous situations where he is somehow judged by events and circumstances beyond his control. I thought that was interesting because the average person most likely perceives the people of that particular faith as very serious. Jordan has a girlfriend who is not Muslim and when he is confronted by temptation, he is equally as human as any of my readers and so, he gets himself into situations that complicate his experience and a certain amount of folly ensues. Fred, who is an asian shop owner and a Buddhist, has overcome a series of tragedies, yet has somehow retained his dignity with a stoicism that is practically heroic. At one point, in the middle of a living nightmare, he simply goes golfing, alone and gets a hole in one. Junior, who is a Mexican American young man recently released from prison really drives the story as much of his backstory connects us to Fred and his tragedies as well as legal decisions such as the one that caused the city to erupt as it does in the riot.
You talk a lot about Responsibility to Character, what do you mean and how do you conduct research ?
Joshua Triliegi: Well, if I make a decision that a character is a Muslim or Asian or Mexican or what have you, if I want the respect of my readers and of those who may actually be Muslim, Asian or Mexican, it behooves me to learn something about that character. As a middle aged man who lives in Los Angeles and has done an extensive amount of travel throughout my life, there is a certain amount of familiarity with certain people. But for instance, with Fred, I watched films on the history of the Korean War and had already respected the Korean Community here in Los Angeles for standing up for themselves the way they did. I witnessed full on attacks and gun fights between some of the toughest gangsters in LA and I think even they gained respect for this community in that regard. Fred is simply one of those shop owners, he is a very humble and unassuming man, in season two, he finds himself entering a whole new life and for me as a writer, that is very gratifying and to be totally honest, writing for Fred was the most bitter sweet experience ever. Here is a man who has lost a daughter, a wife, a business partner and he is about to lose all he has, his shop. Regarding Junior and Jordan, I grew up with these guys, I have met them again and again, on buses, in neighborhoods at school. Jordan has a resilience and a casual humor that has been passed down from generations, a survival skill that includes an ironic outlook at life. He also has that accidental Buster Keaton sort of ability to walk through traffic and come out unscathed. Junior on the other hand is a real heavy, like any number of classic characters in familiar cinema history confronted with the challenges of poverty and tragedy. He is the character that paid the biggest price and in return, we feel that experience. There is a certain amount of mystery and even a pent up sexuality and sometimes a violence that erupts due to his circumstances. In season two, within a single episode, Junior takes his father, who is a busboy at a cafe and repositions him as the Don or boss of their original ranch in Mexico.
There seems to be a lot of religion in They Call it the City of Angels, how did that occur and do you attend church or prescribe to any particular faith ?
I never intended for there to be so much religion in this book. But, if you know Los Angeles like I do, you will realize how important faith is to a good many people and particularly to the characters I chose to represent. With Jordan being Muslim, it allowed me to delve into the challenges a person might have pertaining to that particular faith. Fred's life is so full of tragedy that even a devout buddhist would have trouble accepting and letting go of the events that occur in his life. Junior found god in prison as many people do, upon his release back into the real world, he is forced to make decisions which challenge that belief system and sometimes go against his faith, at the same time, he finds himself physically closer to real life events and objects of religious historical significance than the average believer which brings us into a heightened reality and raises questions in a new way. As for my own belief system, I dabble in a series of exercises and rituals that spring from a wide variety of faiths and practices.
You discussed Jordan, Fred and Junior. Tell us about Cliff and Charles and Chuck.
Joshua Triliegi: I don't really believe in secondary characters, but in writing fiction, certain characters simply emerge more pronounced than others. As this project was a daily serial for the magazine, I did try my best to keep a balance, giving each character a fully realized set of circumstances and history. That said, some characters were related to another through family, incident or history and later, I felt compelled to know more about them and see how they would emerge.
Charles is one of those legendary rock and roll guys who was on tour with music royalty and simply disappeared. He's the missing father we all hear about and wonder what would happen if he were to suddenly return into our lives ? His son Mickey, his wife Maggie, his daughter Cally have all gone on with their lives, when Jordan, accidentally runs him over while driving his bus, Charles returns home and a new chapter in their lives begins again.
Chuck is a cop who just happened to marry Juniors sister and they have several daughters. When Junior returns from prison, he and Chuck clash simply because of their careers and history. I felt it was important to include authority in this story and once I decided to represent a police officer, I wanted him to be as fully realized and interesting as any other character, though, clearly Junior drives much of this section of the novel and Chuck is simply another person that complicates Juniors arrival. I should also explain that the arrival of Junior from years in prison is really the beginning of events that lead up to the basic thrust of the story and somehow almost everyone in the novel has a backstory that connects in some way.
Cliff is absolutely one of my all time favorites. He is a mentally challenged boy whose father happens to be the judge on the case that develops into the unjust legal decision and eventually the actual 1992 riots. I have always felt that challenged individuals deserve much more than the marginalized lifestyles that we as a contemporary society provide. Many ancient societies have relegated what we dismiss as something very special. Cliff is challenged, but also happens to be a very intuitively gifted human being whose drawings portend actual future events. Even though his parents are extremely pragmatic, they are forced to consider his gifts.
Cliff is a young upper middle class white boy who is entirely obsessed with the late great comedian Richard Pryor and at very inopportune times, Cliff will perform entire Richard Pryor comedic routines, including much of the original risqué language. Cliff is an innocent who pushes the societal mores to the edge. I have found through fiction the ability to discuss, develop and delve into ideas that no other medium provided me. And as you may know, I am a painter, film maker, photographer, sculptor, designer, who also edits a magazine reviewing art, film and culture.
As a man, do you find it challenging to write female characters ?
Joshua Triliegi: To some extent, yes. That said, I have spent a good many years with women and have had very close relationships with the female gender, both personally and professionally, so on average, I would say that I am not a total buffoon. In They Call It City of Angels, Jordan's girlfriend Wanda and his mom both appeared and bloomed as fully realized characters that I really enjoyed writing for. Cliffs mother Dora is also a very strong female character that I am very proud to have created. Season two presented a special challenge with dialogue between characters that was new territory for me. I have written screenplays in the past, sometimes with collaborators, once with my brother and more recently with my nephew and in Angels, I found it, for the first time, very easy to imagine the conversations and action in a way that was totally new to my process. I would most likely credit that to my own relationships and possibly to the several recent years of interviewing and writing for the magazine in general.
When will we see another season of They Call It The City of Angels ?
We have set a tradition of it being the Summer Fiction Project at the Magazine and since August is a relatively slow month for advertising and cultural events, we will most likely see a Season Three in the summer of 2015. As you may know, I do not take any written notes at all prior to the day that I actually write the chapter, so the characters simply develop on a subconscious level and then during the one month or two week process, I pretty much do nothing at all, but ponder their existence, day to day. This can sometimes be nerve racking as I do plot things out in my head and sometimes even make extreme mental notes, though even then some ideas simply don't make it on the page. During Season Two, I omitted a section of a chapter and later revealed another chapter into a different sequence of events, but besides that it has been a rather straight ahead chapter a day experience that simply pushed me to invent, develop and complete the work of fiction that might have otherwise never existed or possibly taken much more time. I am curious to see how my next project will develop.
VISIT The BUREAU FOUNDER, WRITER AND EDITOR
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS:
NORMAN SEEF, MELISSA ANN PINNEY, KWAME BRATHWAITE, ART SHAY, LAURA STEVENS, CRAIG REILLY, WALTER ROTHWELL, SANDY SKOGLUND, RICH HELMER, STEPHEN SOMERSTEIN, HERB RITTS, JACK ENGLISH, ALEX HARRIS, GERED MANKOWITZ, BOHNCHANG KOO, NATSUMI HAYASHI, RAYMOND DEPARDON, T. ENAMI, DENNIS STOCK, DINA LITOVSKY, GUILLERMO CERVERA, MOISES SAMAN, CATHLEEN NAUNDORF, TERRY RICHARDSON, PHIL STERN, DENNIS MORRIS, HENRY DILTZ, STEVE SCHAPIRO, YOUSUF KARSH, ELLEN VON UNWERTH, WILLIAM CLAXTON, ROBIN HOLLAND, ANDREW MOORE, JAMES GABBARD, MARY ELLEN MARK, JOHN ROBERT ROWLANDS, BRIAN DUFFY, ROBERT FRANK, JON LEWIS, JOHN WESTON, SVEN HANS, DAVID LEVINTHAL, JOSHUA WHITE, BRIAN FORREST, LORNA STOVALL, ELLIOTT ERWITT, RENE BURRI, SUSAN WRIGHT, DAVID LEVENTHAL, PETER VAN AGTMAEL, MATHILDE GRAFSTRÖM , STEVE COLEMAN
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CONTRIBUTING GUEST ARTISTS:
ERIK OLSON, CHRISTOPHER STOTT, IRBY PACE, MAX GINSBURG, NATHAN WALSH, JON SWIHART, F. SCOTT HESS, HO RYON LEE, ANDY MOSES, KAHN & SELESNICK, JULES ENGEL, PATRICK LEE, DAVID PALUMBO, TOM GREGG, TONY FITZPATRICK, GARY LANG, FABRIZIO CASETTA, DJ HALL, DAVID FEBLAND, ERIC ZENER, SEEROON YERETZIAN, DAWN JACKSON, CHARLES DICKSON, ERNESTO DELALOZA, DIANA WONG, GUSTAVO GODOY, JOHN WESTON, KRIS KUKSI, BOMONSTER, HIROSHI ARIYAMA, LINDA STARK, KOTA EZAWA, RUSSELL NACHMAN, KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI. XUAN CHEN
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE SPECIAL THANKS:
LITTLE TOKYO LOS ANGELES, MARCOS LUTYENS, RANDOM HOUSE, KNOPF PUBLISHING, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, JOYCE CAROL OATES, SEAN CONNERY, SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, WHITNEY MUSEUM, IRVINE WELSH, ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION, CITY LIGHTS BOOKSTORE, JOAN SCHULZE, NYMOMA, CANTOR ARTS CENTER, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, PACE/MACGILL GALLERY, NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, GEORGIA O'KEEFE MUSEUM OF ART, FRESNO ART MUSEUM, FINE ARTS CENTER COLORADO SPRINGS, DUKE UNIVERSITY, THE BROAD LA, PHOENIX ART MUSEUM, WADSWORTH ATHENEUM MUSEUM OF ART, ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON, CRYSTAL BRIDGES, UNITED ARTISTS, SPOT PHOTO WORKS, MUSEUM OF FINE ART HUSTON TEXAS, GALLERIE URBANE, MARY BOONE GALLERY, PACE GALLERY, ASIAN ART MUSEUM, MAGNUM PHOTO, CHICAGO MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, FAHEY/ KLEIN GALLERY, TOBEY C. MOSS GALLERY, SANDRA GEHRING GALLERY, GEORGE BILLIS GALLERY, MARTIN - GROPIUS - BAU BERLIN, SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART, DOWNTOWN RECORDS, KOPLIN DEL RIO, ROBERT BERMAN, AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE, SFMOMA, PHOTO LA, JEWISH CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM, YALE COLLECTION RARE BOOKS, RICHARD LEVY.
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE SITE SPECIFIC ARTICLES, LINKS & ON LINE ACCESS :
LOS ANGELES BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTURELosAngeles.blogspot.com
SAN FRANCISCO BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTUREsf.blogspot.com
NEW YORK CITY BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTUREny.blogspot.com
SAN DIEGO BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCultureSanDiego.blogspot.com
SANTA BARBARA BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTURESantaBarbara.blogspot.com
SEATTLE BUREAU http://BUREAUofaARTSandCultureSeattle.blogspot.com
MID-WEST BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCultureMagazineMidWest.blogspot.com
SOUTH BUREAU http://BUREAUofArtsandCultureSouth.blogspot.com
BUREAU LITERARY http://TheyCALLitTheCityofANGELS.blogspot.com
BUREAU NEWS http://BUREAUofArtsandCultureNews.blogspot.com
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA:
BUREAU MAGAZINE TWITTER https://twitter.com/JoshuaTriliegi
BUREAU NEW YORK CITY TWITTER https://twitter.com/BureauNewYorkCity
BUREAU NEWS TWITTER https://twitter.com/BureauNewsNow
BUREAU SAN FRANCISCO TWITTER https://twitter.com/BayAreaBureau
BUREAU FREE PREVIOUS EDITIONS http://joshuatriliegi.wix.com/joshuatriliegi
BUREAU ON PINTEREST http://www.pinterest.com/BUREAUMagazine
DIRECTIONS : Enclosed find A Copy and or Internet Links to The FREE PDF DOWNLOAD of the Electronic Interactive Version of BUREAU of Arts and Culture Magazine. We suggest you view the pdf in the [ Two Page with Cover ] and [ Full Screen Mode ] Options which are Provided at the Top of your Menu Bar under the VIEW section. Simply choose Two Page Layout & Full Screen to enjoy. This format allows for The Magazine to be read as a Paper Edition. Displaying images and Text in Center-folds. When reading on a computer, utilize the Arrows on your keyboard to turn the pages. Be Sure To Download A High Resolution Version at BUREAU of Arts And Culture's Official Magazine Website or any of Our Community Sites with Links Provided Below.
MUSIC 2016 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: HANK WILLIAMS . Guest ARTIST INTERVIEW Realist Painter CHRISTOPHER STOTT . . PHOTO ESSAYS and ARTICLE BY THE INFAMOUS MR. ART SHAY . MATHEW BARNEY at MOCA LA Plus BUREAU PROFILE : ANDREW HOLDER . BUREAU PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERVIEW with LAURA STEVENS in PARIS . BUREAU FILM : BLUE VELVET at THIRTY . ART of MILES DAVIS "The SHAMAN" . PRINCE TRIBUTE plus MUSIC INTERVIEW with Singer-Songwriter: JOSHUA TATE . SOUND ARTIST : CÉLESTE BOURSIER - MOUGENOT with CHRISTOPH COX . DESIGN: ITS ABOUT WALLPAPER . COMEDY INTERVIEW with Andre HYLAND . John DOE . Aimee MANN . Chris STAPLETON . BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL : KWAME BRATHWAITE'S New HARLEM RENAISSANCE . DANNY LYON at THE WHITNEY MUSEUM + R. CRUMB at SEATTLE MUSEUM . Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES RAP MUSIC'S : TUPAC and ICE CUBE with PHOTOGRAPHER Mr. Mike MILLER . BUREAU TRIBUTE TO " LEGENDS OF THE FALL'S," WRITER: JIM HARRISON. Download The FREE Edition in Hi Resolution.
DOWNLOAD LINK:
LITERARY 2016 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: John STEINBECK . NOVELIST IRVINE WELSH . BUREAU GUEST Visual Artist New YORK City PAINTER : Nathan WALSH . Cinema: AMERICAN Director Hal ASHBY & The CLASSIC FILM "BEING THERE". ART Reviews: Emilie CLARK . Michael KAGAN + The Max GINSBURG LECTURE . San FRANCISCO : Photographs Roman VISHNIAC . Bill GRAHAM at The CJM . The South West Photographic Essay Winner Rich HELMER Plus Diane ARBUS . NEW FICTION ENCORE: They CALL IT The CITY of ANGELS Selected Chapters . INTERVIEWS: Sandy SKOGLUND . Shaun HUSTON on Library Comic BOOKS . MUSIC: The MALLETT Brothers Band . Kehinde WILEY in SEATTLE. USA Museums : Arizona . Oklahoma . San Francisco . ART: John MELLENCAMP. BOOKS : ALI & Malcolm X . SPRINGSTEEN . Literature by U.S. Military Vets . The SEATTLE Photographic Essay . FIVE Best Bookstores in BERKELEY +LITERARY Events 2016 S. E.Hinton's The OUTSIDERS + WOMEN Writers RULE. Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES. Download The FREE Edition in Hi Resolution
SPRING 2016 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN The BUREAU GUEST Artist from CANADA Painter and Sculptor Mr. Erik OLSON NEW Interviews + Photographic Essays with Three from The United Kingdom: Street Photographers Craig REILLY, Steve COLEMAN and Walter ROTHWELL. BUREAU Dance: Martha GRAHAM, Plus Mathilde GRAFSTROM : CENSORED German Muralist: Hendrik BEIKIRCH, The CLASSICAL Genius: Daniil TRIFONOV. BUREAU NEWS: David GANS on SUPREME COURT, Plus Mexico's DR.LAKRA Daniel GEORGAKAS on HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST, The OSCARS and Spike LEE 2016, PHOTO ESSAYS: Stephen SOMERSTEIN at The FREEDOM MARCH of 1965, Alex HARRIS showcasing The Afro AMERICANS in North Carolina in The 1970s Artist Tristan EATON + The Post Modern Paintings Plus BUREAU Film: TRUMBO Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES Across America an The World Through Internet. BUREAU is an Official MEDIA Partner for The ITALIAN Film Festival Download the following Link to Hi ResOLUTION VERSION.
FALL 2015 Edition
BUREAU ICON Essay: BOB DYLAN. Interviews + Photographic Essays with Alex HARRIS on The INUIT, Kanayo ADIBE in Baltimore, Lynn SAVILLE in New York City, Mike MILLER on West Coast Style, Ryan SCHIERLING in AUSTIN and BUREAU GUEST Artist: Melissa Ann PINNEY ART Interview with David BURKE in Bay Area. Plus: Michelle HANDELMAN. New FICTION: THEY CALL IT THE CITY of ANGELS Part III MUSIC Contributor: Sarah Rose PERRY on The Femme PUNK Scene. MUSIC Interview with JAHI. Plus US MUSEUMS: Detroit's 30 ARTISTS Exhibit, Milwaukee's Larry SULTAN, Photo LA, BOOK Stores Across US: BookPeople, Anderson's, City Lights, Book Reviews from STRAND NYC. Classical MUSIC and Rock & Roll: Not So Different After All. Elliott Landy and The BAND. Edward Hopper at The Cantor. All This and More Plus BUREAU On Line Links to The ART Fairs in MIAMI 2015 with Exclusive Audio Interviews, Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES Across America an The World Through Internet. BUREAU is MEDIA Partner for PHOTO LA . + MORE.
 |
| BUREAU GUEST ARTIST: NATHAN WALSH |
THEY CALL IT THE CITY OF ANGELS
The SEASON III INTRODUCTION : BREAKFAST
The Original Fiction Series by J o s h u a A. T R I L I E G I ©2013/2014/2015
The year after The Riots, life in Los Angeles continued. People went to work, children were born, time kept ticking and the story never ended. For those in the heart of the story, for those who were touched by the event, for those who lost and hurt and got burned: life would never be the same. An event that was your life, your experience, your history was being told by newscasters, mainstream publications and radio disc jockeys who knew nothing about what it was really like and never would know. The day after The Riots, a child woke, poured a bowl of Kellogg's corn flakes and watched cartoons on the television. The commercials in between told the child that when the milk was poured into the bowl, that it would, 'Snap - Crackle and Pop,' the child looked around the room, looked around the house, looked around the streets and noticed that every-thing had snapped, crackled and popped.
"Police car sirens and lights engaged twenty-four hours a day, soldiers from the army reserves of the United States of America in camouflage standing on every corner, an entire world that, 'Snapped - Crackled and Popped,' and Life went on."
The plastic had melted, the glass had warped, the wires lay open exposing copper, lead and silver, the perfect square box was now imperfect, corners were entirely melted off, the handle that changed the channels had broken and someone had attached a small vice grip tool in its place. The smell of burnt wood, ash and oil permeated the air. Helicopters, sirens and flashing lights became the norm. The curtains frayed at the edges and all along the sides been stained by fire, air, earth and water, the most basic of elements utilized in a fashion that created destruction, instead of construction. The rug was soaked and laden with tiny bits of broken glass, ember and grease stains. Smoke of all color and size wafted through the windows. Angry footsteps inhabited the ceiling, the hallways and alleys. A toy fire truck that lay in the backyard for years was now replaced with a real fire truck that roared incessantly passed its house, at all hours of the night and day. Police car sirens and lights engaged twenty-four hours a day, soldiers from the army reserves of the United States of America in camouflage standing on every corner, an entire world that, 'Snapped - Crackled and Popped.' And Life went on.
Houses went up for sale. Lots stood empty, Ashes piled up. Businesses were abandoned. Families were broken. Dreams were deferred. Third strikes were established by the law and people went to prison for stealing a pizza, a pair of shoes, a case of toilet paper. Men and woman in all manor, in all shapes, in all colors and sizes broke. Screaming through the streets, "Why?" But even a child knows that if you want to learn algebra, you don't ask why. You simply work on the equation, by learning the rules to the diagram, in geometry and trigonometry, there was no time to ask why. Even beer commercials directed the child to not ask why and shoe companies reenforced that ideology by telling the child to, "Just Do IT!" So the child did. Empty slogans had manipulated the population for 100s of years and so the population, in its desperation, in its pain, in it's agony and in its defiance, invented some empty slogans of its own and then quite suddenly, those slogans were inhabited, not so empty after all, for this was not a politician with a team of advisors, this was not a police chief with a speechwriter, this was not a corporation with a dozen brilliant ad executives working on a new account, this was the mother - f*cking - public.
"Houses went up for sale. Lots stood empty, Ashes piled up. Businesses were abandoned. Families were broken. Dreams were deferred. Third strikes were established by the law and people went to prison for stealing a pizza, a pair of shoes, a case of toilet paper.Men and woman in all manor, in all shapes, in all colors and sizes broke. Screaming through the streets, "Why?""
These were real people, this was a real event, this was the city of a child who ate corn flakes while watching television every morning before school. And when its family and when it's friends and when it's neighbors and when its city began chanting the empty slogan that rang through the city like a Bell on Sunday, this child inhabited that slogan: No Justice / No Peace, Know Justice / Know Peace. Dragnet and One Adam Twelve and Police Woman and Baretta and Starsky and Hutch and CHIPS and The Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, to quote a popular phrase in poetry, "...Will not seem so damn relevant, because the revolution will not be televised," and yet: It was televised after all. The transmission of images was blast across the city in the earliest hours of the event. The Parker Center flash-point had ignited hotspots all along the vertical and lateral thorough-fairs through the city of Angels in a giant grid that only those flying in airplanes and helicopters could view. With the exception of those multitude natural forces of life known as the animals, who watched in glee as the humans failed once again at their own game. A game of self extinction, an experiment of too many mice in a maze called Los Angeles.
 |
| BUREAU GUEST ARTIST: NATHAN WALSH |
Hawks circled overhead, crows cawed, seagulls glanced, thrashers, bluejays, sparrows, woodpeckers, pigeons, hummingbirds and all manner of birds flew overhead. Bees returned to their hives, butterfly nestled under branches, spiders strengthened their webs, ants collected bits of this and that, squirrels climbed palm trees to get a better view, coyotes howled through the hills, deer looked on pensively, mountain lions patiently waited, possums stopped playing dead and walked along the tops of fences, a family of bears escaped from the zoo, an elephant stepped on its trainer in a parking lot downtown, snakes slithered to higher ground, raccoons sensed some easy pickings on the horizon and all the while domesticated dogs and cats sat with their owners, watching television. The first time it rained after The Riot, an inordinate amount of chemicals spewed through the streets. Into the gutters, down the sewers, along the pipelines and on into the ocean: Formaldehyde, asbestos, concrete, plastic, tar, asphalt, rubber, fiberglass, aluminum, glass, lead, resin, stucco, lime and drywall.
"The chemicals that trickled down through the ashes, through the soot, through the smoke and through the tears had accidentally informed the organism, transformed the organism, reformed the organism and the child, who had sensed all along that all was not well, would never, ever, be the same again. "
The entire contents of dozens of 99 cents stores which included: bleach, roach killer, hair spray, comet, windex, baking soda, nylon, air freshener, butane, high fructose corn syrup, polyester, lysol, both the regular scent and the new and exciting pine flavor, all rolled into one giant blob of city sludge and plopped itself into the intestines of the City of Angels, rolling through the LA River and dumping itself, directly into the sea. Blue fin tuna, albacore, barracuda, lobster, sea bass and even mackerel were no where to be seen. There were no shark attacks to worry about. Sharks were too smart to swim in waters infested by chemicals of that variety. Within their very organism, they have a built in mechanism that can detect one ten thousands of an ingredient in the water from miles away. This device was originally evolved, no doubt, for survival, in search of something to consume, but due to the stupidity of the human race, the callous nature of the corporations, the shortsighted views of the now angry populist, this devise was used to avoid certain areas and avoid it they did. The chemicals that trickled down through the ashes, through the soot, through the smoke and through the tears had accidentally informed the organism, transformed the organism, reformed the organism and the child, who had sensed all along that all was not well, would never, ever, be the same again. Nor would the place that they call the City of Angels.
The little plastic box that had for decades transmitted ideas somehow still worked, the device that transferred images, sound and motion on a regular basis, continued to do so. Tony the Tiger, exclaimed to the child that the food it was eating, the contents it was consuming, the simple little flakes of corn in all manner of speaking and description could be defined in a two word phrase that was simple and easy to remember: "They're Great!" The big rabbit with the floppy ears was told time and time again that he was indeed a silly rabbit and that, "Trix are for kids!" The Frito Bandito, Captain Crunch, Count Chocula and a Lucky Charm with a Shamrock were also present, representing an old school variety of corn paste, flour, sugar and salt, added preservatives and in some cases food coloring that sometimes caused cancer, with a simple reminder that if you ever ended up in prison, you would indeed have to choose a cereal that represented something familiar to your general genetic make up. And of course there was the award winning commercial that had Mike-y and his brothers, representing a product that somehow encompassed the child's entire existence, by calling itself, 'LIFE'.
"The picture was not as clear, the colors not as crisp, the audio was warped, the depth was foggy, the vertical and lateral lines often separated, but the endless trail of information, disinformation and programming continued on, it taught the child and eventually, the child had learned to transmit its own programs."
"He won't eat it..." his brothers exclaim, as they put a bowl of blocked wheat style cereal in front of the freckled faced child, "...He hates everything." Then, quite suddenly, the boy begins to shovel the wheat blocks into his mouth as his brothers excitedly exclaim, "Hey Mike-y! He Likes IT!" For those with simpler tastes, you had Aunt Jemima and or Quaker Oats, in case you ever forgot who founded this country and what your position in the hierarchy was to begin with. Yes, the little box in the corner with the wire in the wall and the antennae on the roof still worked. And the child watched it. The picture was not as clear, the colors not as crisp, the audio was warped, the depth was foggy, the vertical and lateral lines often separated, but the endless trail of information, disinformation and programming continued on, it taught the child and eventually, the child had learned to transmit its own programs. The child and its family and it's neighbors and its city were all so busy programming, they had no time to wonder, just who exactly was actually eating the giant bowl of cereal that they were all now living in ? The entire city snapped, it crackled and it popped, surely someone was bound to eat it.
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE : NEWS
BUREAU NEWS Would like to commend and recognize The Mainstream Press for recently reporting and holding Integrity and Honesty to the Ideal in which WE AMERICANS care for and support. This may indeed be a temporary reveal, because, much of what is said, cannot be separated from ADVERTISERS, which include AEROSPACE CONTRACTORS, BIG MEDICINE and Our FOOD Suppliers, though, as of Mid February 2017, respect must be paid, and so we mention these three Reporters for their Service.
REPORTERS :
1. CHUCK TODD : https://twitter.com/chucktodd
For Steadfastly and Patiently asking The Questions that Matter.
2. JAKE TAPPER : https://twitter.com/jaketapper
For Simply stating his opinions that reflect many of The U.S. Audience.
3. PETER ALEXANDER : https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander
For Informing Washington D.C. as to simple Grade School Math.
VISIT The BUREAU FOUNDER, WRITER AND EDITOR
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS:
NORMAN SEEF, MELISSA ANN PINNEY, KWAME BRATHWAITE, ART SHAY, LAURA STEVENS, CRAIG REILLY, WALTER ROTHWELL, SANDY SKOGLUND, RICH HELMER, STEPHEN SOMMERSTEIN, HERB RITTS, JACK ENGLISH, ALEX HARRIS, GERED MANKOWITZ, BOHNCHANG KOO, NATSUMI HAYASHI, RAYMOND DEPARDON, T. ENAMI, DENNIS STOCK, DINA LITOVSKY, GUILLERMO CERVERA, MOISES SAMAN, CATHLEEN NAUNDORF, TERRY RICHARDSON, PHIL STERN, DENNIS MORRIS, HENRY DILTZ, STEVE SCHAPIRO, YOUSUF KARSH, ELLEN VON UNWERTH, WILLIAM CLAXTON, ROBIN HOLLAND, ANDREW MOORE, JAMES GABBARD, MARY ELLEN MARK, JOHN ROBERT ROWLANDS, BRIAN DUFFY, ROBERT FRANK, JON LEWIS, JOHN WESTON, SVEN HANS, DAVID LEVINTHAL, JOSHUA WHITE, BRIAN FORREST, LORNA STOVALL, ELLIOTT ERWITT, RENE BURRI, SUSAN WRIGHT, DAVID LEVENTHAL, PETER VAN AGTMAEL, MATHILDE GRAFSTRÖM , STEVE COLEMAN
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CONTRIBUTING GUEST ARTISTS:
ERIK OLSON, CHRISTOPHER STOTT, IRBY PACE, MAX GINSBURG, NATHAN WALSH, JON SWIHART, F. SCOTT HESS, HO RYON LEE, ANDY MOSES, KAHN & SELESNICK, JULES ENGEL, PATRICK LEE, DAVID PALUMBO, TOM GREGG, TONY FITZPATRICK, GARY LANG, FABRIZIO CASETTA, DJ HALL, DAVID FEBLAND, ERIC ZENER, SEEROON YERETZIAN, DAWN JACKSON, CHARLES DICKSON, ERNESTO DELALOZA, DIANA WONG, GUSTAVO GODOY, JOHN WESTON, KRIS KUKSI, BOMONSTER, HIROSHI ARIYAMA, LINDA STARK, KOTA EZAWA, RUSSELL NACHMAN, KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI. XUAN CHEN
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE SPECIAL THANKS:
LITTLE TOKYO LOS ANGELES, MARCOS LUTYENS, RANDOM HOUSE, KNOPF PUBLISHING, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, JOYCE CAROL OATES, SEAN CONNERY, SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, WHITNEY MUSEUM, IRVINE WELSH, ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION, CITY LIGHTS BOOKSTORE, JOAN SCHULZE, NYMOMA, CANTOR ARTS CENTER, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, PACE/MACGILL GALLERY, NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, GEORGIA O'KEEFE MUSEUM OF ART, FRESNO ART MUSEUM, FINE ARTS CENTER COLORADO SPRINGS, DUKE UNIVERSITY, THE BROAD LA, PHOENIX ART MUSEUM, WADSWORTH ATHENEUM MUSEUM OF ART, ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON, CRYSTAL BRIDGES, UNITED ARTISTS, SPOT PHOTO WORKS, MUSEUM OF FINE ART HUSTON TEXAS, GALLERIE URBANE, MARY BOONE GALLERY, PACE GALLERY, ASIAN ART MUSEUM, MAGNUM PHOTO, CHICAGO MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, FAHEY/ KLEIN GALLERY, TOBEY C. MOSS GALLERY, SANDRA GEHRING GALLERY, GEORGE BILLIS GALLERY, MARTIN - GROPIUS - BAU BERLIN, SAN JOSE MUSEUM OF ART, DOWNTOWN RECORDS, KOPLIN DEL RIO, ROBERT BERMAN, AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE, SFMOMA, PHOTO LA, JEWISH CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM, YALE COLLECTION RARE BOOKS, RICHARD LEVY.
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE SITE SPECIFIC ARTICLES, LINKS & ACCESS :
LOS ANGELES BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTURELosAngeles.blogspot.com
SAN FRANCISCO BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTUREsf.blogspot.com
NEW YORK CITY BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTUREny.blogspot.com
SAN DIEGO BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCultureSanDiego.blogspot.com
SANTA BARBARA BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCULTURESantaBarbara.blogspot.com
SEATTLE BUREAU http://BUREAUofaARTSandCultureSeattle.blogspot.com
MID-WEST BUREAU http://BUREAUofARTSandCultureMagazineMidWest.blogspot.com
SOUTH BUREAU http://BUREAUofArtsandCultureSouth.blogspot.com
BUREAU LITERARY http://TheyCALLitTheCityofANGELS.blogspot.com
BUREAU NEWS http://BUREAUofArtsandCultureNews.blogspot.com
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE SELECTED SOCIAL MEDIA:
BUREAU MAGAZINE TWITTER https://twitter.com/JoshuaTriliegi
BUREAU NEW YORK CITY TWITTER https://twitter.com/BureauNewYorkCity
BUREAU NEWS TWITTER https://twitter.com/BureauNewsNow
BUREAU SAN FRANCISCO TWITTER https://twitter.com/BayAreaBureau
BUREAU FREE PREVIOUS EDITIONS http://joshuatriliegi.wix.com/joshuatriliegi
BUREAU ON PINTEREST http://www.pinterest.com/BUREAUMagazine
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
Part One in a Series of Reports by J. A. TRILIEGI 2017
All along the border, double fences topped with barbed wire, trail across the land like so many scars on the flesh of a beaten horse. Humans of all shape and size, age and color, wander on either side, like ants, gathering bits of this and that, simply to survive. The border itself is well fortified. Giant steel posts thrust upwards in a multiple vertical fashion, cold, grey, metal, blocks of concrete and men with guns, stand on either side, they are doing time, they are doing their job, they are taking orders, by a government, by a policy and by a code of service, which may very well, hurt their families, their future and themselves. As for international relations, well, "We The People …," have got some real work to do.
Rain trickles down, unlike finances, in abundance, on both sides of the border. Drops of h2o feel the same from either side. This reporter walks across the great divide, entering simply to see, to observe, to experience and to meet the people of Mexico, or at least, the people of Baja California, which is not exactly, 'M - e - x - i - c - o,' in the same way that, Ellis island, is not exactly, 'A - m - e - r - i - c - a.' And yet, there they are, offering this gringo a taxi ride to and fro. I am on a budget, no publisher or editor or local or national or international publisher would sponsor this sojourn, so I have travelled by bus, a simple twenty dollars from Downtown Los Angeles into Baja, and another 200 pesos, which is ten dollars, gets me into the tourist port town of Ensenada. A destination for the Princess Cruises. In olden day, frat boys, surfers, and tourists of all types descended upon this lovely destination in search of debauchery, coastal beauty and artifacts such as clothes, furniture, objects of value, offered, for much less than anywhere else. Decades of taking have left its mark on this locale, and yet, the new world, the world of technology. the world of commercial enterprise, the world of modern banking has emerged, and stands side by side with the ancient world, we have mythologized about this great land, the land of the Maya and the Spanish Conquistador, mixed, long ago, to create this special race of people, we know as Mexicans and their country: Mexico. History tells us of a country that once sprawled much further north, into the continent that we, as Americans, now inhabit, California, Arizona New Mexico, Texas, etc… The Southwest border states, where, we are now told, that a wall, will be built. As we drive south, over the first hurdle of hills into Ensenada, I can see a double fence, so high, that my eyes have trouble actually measuring its vertical height. Were I forced to estimate, I would guess that the swirling, jagged, barbed wire top sits at least some twenty or so feet in height ? As we drive up and over, I recall the early days of visits to Mexico, taking this same route, with my father, to see the bullfights, with my friends to Surf the coast, and as an artist, simply in search of something different in culture, lifestyle and respite. Since that time, I have been told, by my government, by my friends and by highly propagandized stories of struggle, anguish and fear of overlords, that this place is not safe to visit.
The Western Coast and indeed, the California route from North to South, has a beauty, that is unrivaled and Baja California is no exception. Choose any one mile section of Carmel or Big Sur or Malibu or Baja, and, you will find, they are identical. The earth, the flower, the fauna, the water, the light are all the same. Green valleys peppered with long stretches of two lane highways, merge into gold, rust and creme colored edges that jut downward into rocky cliffs, bays, full with blue, turquoise and white topped waves that careen into the coastal edge. I am on a tourist bus, for the first time in my life. I focus on the coast, as my fellow passengers watch some such film being projected on a television screen, mounted high above their heads. American actors faces dubbed into spanish incongruously describe a false drama that does not relate to the landscape of the earth, the coast, the real beauty of a continent that we share with others. We share this continent with more than one country, that is clear to me, the politics of borders and policies and current views, are not at all as clear as the very FACT, that We share this continent with others.
The tour bus pulls into Ensenada proper, and already I can see a great indian past, the textures of Baja Mexico, are not at all unlike those of Rome or Tokyo or Bangladesh, the history is evident. The street corners, bus stop benches, and even the surface of the streets themselves speak to the viewer, "Where have you been and where are you going ?" I have no answer. I am seeking simply to see what is here now, and what I see are thousands of people walking to and from their homes, their jobs, their responsibilities to whomever and wherever and whatever. Then it comes to me, "Why I am here?" Some time ago, I jokingly told a group of Mexican maids that if Mr. Donald Trump becomes the President of the United States of America, that I will be in Mexico on the day that this incident occurs, and so, I kept my promise, for in less than a day, this man will become the next President of our great country.
Besides occupying my time as a Journalist of some fledgling notoriety, I also write literature of a varying style and length: Screenplays, Short Stories and a Novel, so far. It comes to mind that many in the industry including, Matthew McConaghy, Matt Damon and Ryan Gosling, all very white men of some talent, are married to women with descendants of the latin variety, men whom derive from Texas, from Boston from Canada. A symbol of the sharing of this continent, we call, America. And still we are told that a wall will be built: A Wall. A fence guards against entry, a wall blocks ones view, in obscuring views, perception and reality can be manipulated, like blinders, does this new government wish to obscure our views of one another ? To block our vision ? To control our vista's as well as our Visa's ? It appears so. The Great Wall of China, The Berlin Wall, Pink Floyd's song lyrics from 'The Wall,' explains something about this policy, that most likely, a scared white man in power is, "… Just Another Brick in The WALL."
Like much of America, during the banking bailouts, some eight years ago, Mexico too has been pervaded by a proliferation of Banks. All over Mexico, young upwardly mobile individuals have been employed by this new modern system of checking and deposits, transfers and exchanges. A map of Mexico displays and amazingly flourishing economy of some sort, while on a near by television screen, an attractive young lady speaks excitingly about the new opportunities and services offered by this new technological wonder of modernity. Though this particular town has always had its own economy, and, long before these new technological advances gave them surveillance, invasions of privacy and the desecration of anonymity, this little town had and still retains the old ways of knowing who is here, what they have with them and where they are going, with whom and why. The gained or earned - through - experience, survival skills, of any port or pirate town that, for over a hundred years, has found ways to survive its visitors, its inhabitants and even, it's conquistadors. In this particular case, the Indian past, sits side by side the technological future, old world and new world meet, they make eye contact, they understand one another, they may even assist one another.
Pacific Coast Highway is not Malibu, just as Santa Monica is not Los Angeles and Big Sur is not Northern California. Suffice it to say, that the Coastal Section of Ensenada is not Baja California, by any means. And certainly Baja as a whole, is not at all a representation of Mexico, though, it is safe to say, if you speak to individuals, a bank teller, a bus driver, a casual man or woman on the street, you are indeed talking to a real Mexican, with real human concerns about a very real world that they are living in. I check into my hotel, the room is roughly 12 US dollars and some change, laundry is washed, dried and folded just across the way for under a dollar, fresh food at the local market is priced as such that I find myself giving bags I have purchased for mine own, to those I meet along the way. The first evening passes quickly, rain whips through the town,
the streets flooded with over a foot of water in the lower regions.
Inauguration day arrives without much fanfare here, the television in the hotel lobby displays little about Mr Trump. I am beginning to realize that, the populist of Mexico have already been prepared for this new leader, they understand that American Presidents and most likely all leaders of major powers in the world, then and now, are what they are, a symbol, a face, or, if we search for the latin derivative source: simply a Facade. One need only walk a mile or so east, to find that Mexico, is not unlike any other place in the California's. Middle class neighborhoods lined with houses on either side, one and a half cars per home, some folks living at a higher elevation in the upper middle class areas and those whom own businesses, land and expanses of property of all variety. It is much like any place in the world, some people have money and some people do not. We have heard the new American Presidents criticism's over the past year regarding this country, its people, its past, it's problems. Something comes to mind, as I walk through town, a question arises, " Does any Country in the world send us their best ?" and conversely, "Do we send any other country our best ?" Australia's history tells a story of disbanded and exported individuals whose personal history was somewhat sorted, at least by its own monarchy's point of view, and yet, they seem to have created a land of promise, fortitude and originality, and within that, ab-origin-ality too. Yes, this is digressive, but worthy of note, very worthy.
My clothing is soaked, from top to bottom. I carry my possessions over the shoulder. I am in a country that is not my own. I have little finances, neither a job, nor, a relative in town. I do not speak the language fluently. In essence, for this brief moment in time: I am a Mexican in America. Now I am beginning to understand the beauty, the stoic and sometimes exhilarating aspects of searching to find something more. In this case, I am seeking to learn more about the border, it's realities, it's myths and it's challenges, while many of those among me, are looking for, a better job, some more income, possibly an opportunity, wether imagined or real. I drop off my clothes at the laundry. By the time I pick them up, an hour or so later, several locals are sitting on a couch, watching the television, which displays Mr. Donald Trump uttering the words, "…So help me God." Within a week, he has ordered the building of a wall, the closing of EPA protections and reopening an Oil Pipeline straight through America. My clothes are clean, my conscious is clear and my country is in trouble.
MORE LINKS TO BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE MAGAZINE NEWS:
Read Articles by Joshua TRILIEGI
TAP TO LISTEN TO NEWEST BUREAU LITERARY AUDIO NARRATION:
http://bureauartsmagazine.wixsite.com/joshuatriliegiwriter
New SHORT STORY SERIES "ELMER'S WILL" And Other Short Stories by Bureau Editor J. A. TRILIEGI
 |
FREE DOWNLOAD 300 + PAGE BUREAU MAGAZINE Warhol Lips:
|
Free Warhol Lips Magazine Download LINK :
WELCOME to The MusicEdition BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE MAGAZINE. The BUREAU Guest ARTIST INTERVIEW Realist Painter CHRISTOPHER STOTT . This New Edition Contains The BUREAU MUSIC ICON Essay: HANK WILLIAMS . PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS and ARTICLES BY THE INFAMOUS MR. ART SHAY . MATHEW BARNEY at MOCA LA Plus BUREAU PROFILE : ANDREW HOLDER . The BUREAU PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERVIEW with LAURA STEVENS in PARIS . BUREAU FILM : BLUE VELVET at THIRTY . ART of MILES DAVIS "The SHAMAN" . PRINCE TRIBUTE plus MUSIC INTERVIEW with Singer-Songwriter: JOSHUA TATE . SOUND ARTIST : CÉLESTE BOURSIER - MOUGENOT with CHRISTOPH COX . DESIGN : ITS ABOUT WALLPAPER . COMEDY INTERVIEW with Andre HYLAND . John DOE . Aimee MANN . Chris STAPLETON . BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL : KWAME BRATHWAITE'S New HARLEM RENAISSANCE . DANNY LYON at THE WHITNEY MUSEUM + R. CRUMB at SEATTLE MUSEUM . Reviews & New Online Articles All Year Round at The New BUREAU CITY SITES RAP MUSIC'S : TUPAC and ICE CUBE with PHOTOGRAPHER Mr. Mike MILLER . BUREAU TRIBUTE TO " LEGENDS OF THE FALL'S," WRITER : JIM HARRISON . Plus BUREAU ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS, REVIEWS and ARTICLES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ART SHAY : PHOTOGRAPHER
Mr. Art Shay has famously captured images of The Greatest and the not so great. He is a classic Chicagoan of the rarest variety. A True American from what Tom Brokaw would aptly describe as, "The Greatest Generation." People often think of them as grandma and grandpa, though, having spent a good many years documenting my own family history, via our eldest patriarch, I know very well, that America's, "Greatest Generation," or at least, Mr. Shay's was and sometimes, still is, extremely hip. Sure, a good portion were hooked on Lawrence Welk, but thanks to rebel spirits like Liz Taylor, Ernest Hemingway and Marlon Brando, many from this particular crew went radical. Shay is definitely: one of that gang. He's currently proudly spouting expletives about this politician and recounting stories about that sports personality, it's a damn refreshing experience, to hang with a dude, in his nineties, who's actually, cooler than I am. Having served in World War II and been fired from the best publications in the world, created over a thousand covers of magazines, including: Time, Life, Ebony and Sports Illustrated, to name a few, he is quite certainly one of the last links to a world we will soon lose to history. Mr. Shay is a witness to time, that strange, elusive, man made element that confounds science, creates an ever motivating energy, drives economies, inspires egos and elevates eternity. Shay's outpost was and is Chicago, the so-called, "Second City," a reference to New York City being the first. Though, having been born in Milwaukee, as both my father and his father before, I can testify that, there are no second cities in America, the one you live in is always the first. For Art Shay, Chicago, its politics, its literature, its sports world and its underbelly were all fair ground for documentation: he wrote about it, photographed it, lived it. Shay hung with the pros, befriended the rest, and now, at this late date, his documentation of the American scene, is, quite simply: One of The Best. Shay's catalogue contains moments in time that tell the great American story, our story, which is not simply star spangled, but also peppered with grout, grit and girt. Our American story is not told properly without the realities of racism, slavery, drug addiction and small moments of heroism, that often go unnoticed by the mainstream, be that, film, television or what is commonly known as: "The Official Story." He was on the front lines of political dissension and manipulation, spent decades documenting and creating a family, not just his, but ours too. Shay photographed many of the Presidents in his time, and through it all, most likely, favored the company of real folk, those who inhabited bookstores, bars, brothels. Including his ever famous affiliation with author Nelson Algren, who penned the literary work entitled, "Man with the Golden Arm." A rare and brutally honest novel that welcomes the reader inside the world of addiction, street politics and aspects of life that would later be expounded upon by unflinching American writers such as Charles Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson. Shay's photographs are companions to this type of work and yet, he created a wide variety of mainstream projects from children's books to photographic essays on all manner of life. Art Shay has fought for the rights to own the images he created on assignment and is a stalwart independent minded man who has given this writer/photographer hope that the next fifty years or however long this experiment called life lasts, is well worth documentation of it.
- J. A. TRILIEGI
We Also have alternate covers Special MUSIC 2016 Edition:
" THE EYE "
Tap To Download 'The EYE' 2016 MUSIC EDITION :
or
HANK WILLIAMS : The ICON ESSAY
By BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Editor Mr. J. A. TRILIEGI
HANK 'King' Williams is possibly the most prolific songwriter that America has ever created. He had a rough childhood, he wandered about, learned to play the guitar from an African American local blues singer, whom became a good friend, back in those days, that was sorta taboo. So, it makes sense that his son, and his grandson, are rebel souls to the end. Hank I, Hank II and Hank III have seriously royal credibility with the American Spirit, which also means, they don't give a shit, what you think of 'em, but, they do hope you like the songs. Today, we pay our respects to Country's Greatest Singer - Songwriter, The One and Only : Mister Hank Williams.
Good writers often come from tragic situations, that's just the way it often is folks. That is not to say that, a good life will make you a bad writer, but, lets face it, sorrow is one heaping ingredient for good lyrics, good storytelling and the will to tell it like it is. Hank Williams came from deep poverty, and that led to many, 'first hand,' experiences. His father had worked as an engineer for the railroads, was a Mason, had served in World War I, fell from a truck, and was later hospitalized for long periods of time, leaving the young boy to find his way, elsewhere in the community. The family lived throughout the Southern region of Alabama and eventually settled in Greenville and later, Montgomery. Young Hiram, who later changed his name to 'Hank,' received his first guitar and began taking informal lesson from the local blues man, Rufus "Tee-Tot" Payne. Hank never did learn to read music, which delayed some progress with the formal gentry of Country Music's Grand Ole Opry and the entire Nashville crowd. It is often stated that his drinking and wildcatting with the ladies held up some progress in this regard, though, to study his lyrics, there is a good chance that the mix of religious references and wild lifestyle choices, within the subjects of his songs, was enough to bother some. In one phrase, he'll mention, 'The Lord,' and in the next, he confesses to having, 'The Honky - Tonk Blues.' In Hank Williams' life, there is, the official story, there is, the gossip's story and then there is, the real story. Somewhere among the three is the truth. His mother's boarding house, while father is away, was ripe for conjecture, Lots of people, coming and going, made little time for young Hank to gain a mother's love. Hank was starved for attention, and eventually, through singing and songwriting, he got more than he may have been able to handle. As a performer, Hank had dazzle, he was real folk and his lyrics were basic, though, he was no, 'simple man.' According to interviews, his hero, Roy Acuff, told him, "You have a million-dollar talent, son, but a ten-cent brain," referring to Williams hard living, hard driving and hard drinking lifestyle. Acuff could never know that what drove Williams to drink and take pain killers was a sickness that derived from a spinal disease, that eventually led to a major operation, fusing the young singer-songwriter's discs together. Besides the fact that Hank had survived a broken home as well as a childhood during the Great Depression, with no father in sight for eight formative years, the boy had found his way, without formal training, a natural.
Musical Mandala Wallpaper Designed by Jon Sherman / ©FlavorPaper at flavorpaper.com
Hank is barely fourteen years of age and he's already penned a tune entitled, "The WPA Blues." He receives fifteen dollars, a first prize in a local contest at the Empire Theatre, buys a Silvertone guitar, which he plays incessantly, along the sidewalks of town, and eventually, receives a radio spot, which leads to a regular bi-weekly showcase. At sixteen years of age, Hank drops out of school to work full time, with his new band, The Drifting Cowboys. He tours extensively throughout the South, which includes movie houses and honky-tonks in Georgia and Florida. The band was managed by his mother and Hank continued the radio show when not on tour. Because of the need for playing new songs every week, his output is prodigious. By 1945, at twenty-three years of age, Hank Williams publishes a songbook of lyrics to ten of his best tunes, which led to a recording contract with Fred Rose and eventually, he garnered the attention of MGM records, breaking through the Country Western gatekeepers with the money making hits, "Lovesick Blues," and "Move It on Over." By 1949, Hank finally graced the stage of The Grand Ole Opry, receiving more encores than any other performer ever, he was only twenty-seven years old.
"I'm a rollin' stone all alone and lost
For a life of sin I have paid the cost
When I pass by all the people say
Just another guy on the lost highway"
- Hank Williams / Lost Highway Lyrics
That same year, he travelled to England and Germany, wrote seven hit tunes and birthed his only son. The family move to Louisiana, which led to East Coast exposure via The Louisiana Hayride Show and tours in Eastern Texas guaranteed him a place in Country Westerns most important states and national Radio Exposure propelled Hank Williams into a category that is, to this day, untouchable. Hank created a completely alternative character for his more religious, storytelling style, by the name of, "Luke The Drifter." It was the equivalent of a popular writer, publishing stories under another name, Hank was brand savvy, and it worked. The real problem with all of this, 'Success,' was that young Hank Williams, who was really just a very down home fella, who enjoyed hunting, who loved fishing, enjoyed drinking and was bent on loving and living, was working himself to death. By 1952, he had done just that, leaving the planet, at twenty-nine years of age. Hank Williams had written, recorded, broadcast and performed, well over a hundred songs, throughout his entire life, not to mention his many collaborations and other writers work.
Musical Mandala Wallpaper Designed by Jon Sherman / ©FlavorPaper at flavorpaper.com
Hank's legacy continues through his son, Hank Junior, and his grandson, Hank III. Each are equally rebellious, full of American grit, each songwriters, each performers, each willing to fight to retain the legacy that belongs to only them. Both have friendships and affiliations that will indeed bother somebody, somewhere in this world. Hank Junior has spoken his mind on various occasions and even lost an important commercial contract, due to politics. Well, fuck politics. The Hank Williams Family is pure American musical royalty. If there had never been a friendship between Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, who knows what may have happened to the divisions in this country all those years ago ? American Music is meant to be the place where we all meet in the middle, a sacred spot, the location where we Americans are allowed to say and do anything we damn well please.
"A prodigal son once strayed from his father
To travel a land of hunger and pain
And now I can see the end of my journey
I'm going to Heaven again"
- Hank Williams / The Prodigal Son
Hank Junior describes approaching his inheritance, in this way, "So you're a little bitty boy, that can barley touch the keys of your father's piano, ya know, and, my gosh, you're a little over three when he passes away… You get a little older, heres Jerry Lee Lewis, heres Ray Charles, heres Fats Domino, heres Carl Perkins. I better know how to play some instruments. Because, they all had number one [ hits ] with one of daddy's songs… Joe Stafford, Perry Como, Tony Bennet, and believe me, the list goes on, all the way to [ today ]. So, here I am in this wonderful situation. Then people say, 'Just do your father's stuff, just imitate,' I'm not gonna do that. It's wonderful to have an American Anthem. Daddy had several of them, I'm lucky, Ive had a couple of them." Hank Junior has inherited some of his father's tragedy as well as his talent. Back in the day, Hank Junior fell down a mountaintop, splitting his face in two. It took seventeen operations to put him back together. Years after the accident, and his subsequent recovery, Hank Junior explains, "When I woke up, theres June Carter and Johnny Cash, their there. They covered eighteen hundred miles… in the middle of nowhere, to be there. They were really, really, really, special. How could it get any better than that ? June Carter and Johnny Cash … ? Thats America ! I'm all about America, Baby. I'm all about it"
Musical Mandala Wallpaper Designed by Jon Sherman / ©FlavorPaper at flavorpaper.com
On The subject of songwriting, Hank Junior explains it, plain and clear, "I don't go to writing sessions with five other people. A writing session ? You mean you all are all going to get together and write ? Uh, I don't think so. That ain't how I do it. I am a Williams, ya know." His son, Hank III, is equally as outspoken and conscious of the family traditions, maybe even more rebellious. Hank III pulls no punches. He has opened concerts for Public Enemy, gigged with David Allen Coe, Johnny Paycheck and George Jones, to name a few, and explains his philosophy in these words, "I'm not into pop country, Im not into looking pretty, Im not into shaking my ass, and worrying about the bottom dollar, Im just into playing music." On Songwriting, "We just do what we do… We don't write songs for the radio… We write 'em for us." When his father Hank Junior was recently asked what makes a good song, he pondered the question a moment, then replied, "Good is Good, wether Its Rap or Bluegrass or …" he holds up his hands a second, mimicking a classical quotation, then continues with the final punctuation of the word that has defined his life since before birth: "…Country."As his song states: "A Country Boy will Survive."
"When tears come down
Like falling rain
You'll toss around
And call my name"
- Hank Williams / Your Cheatin' Heart
Hank III was raised by his mother, discovered the music on his own, finding energy in the rock music of Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd, at nine years old. He sites Henry Rollins of Black Flag and bands such as Public Enemy as influences, though, he also has credentials with some of the more open minded Country folk, and has been embraced by The New Outlaw set, which once included The Late Great Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and of course, his grandfather, who, it could be argued, accidentally started the movement long ago. There may even be a verifiable link between what Hank Williams did, 'energy-wise,' and what led to Elvis Presley's Rock and Roll Revolution, which brings us back to Bob Dylan, who too, was inspired by the King's charisma. So then, what is Country music and who owns the right to claim it as their own? As far as this writer is concerned, The Hank Williams Family, is front and center. Hank III, while offering his many musical influences, broke it down, in this fashion, on stage, to a live audience, just before introducing his set of new music, "If You Don't Think This is Fucking Country, Right There Is The Door…" As far as we could tell, nobody used the exit. That is why, on this day, we Honor Hank Williams I, II and III. For surely, if there ever were, an American Country-Western Royal Family : They Be IT.
bureau of arts and culture contributing photographers:
norman seef, melissa ann pinney, kwame brathwaite, art shay, laura stevens, craig reilly, walter rothwell, sandy skoglund, rich helmer, stephen sommerstein, herb ritts, jack english, alex harris, gered mankowitz, bohnchang koo, natsumi hayashi, raymond depardon, t. enami, dennis stock, dina litovsky, guillermo cervera, moises saman, cathleen naundorf, terry richardson, phil stern, dennis morris, henry diltz, steve schapiro, yousuf karsh, ellen von unwerth, william claxton, robin holland, andrew moore, james gabbard, mary ellen mark, john robert rowlands, brian duffy, robert frank, jon lewis, john weston, sven hans, david levinthal, joshua white, brian forrest, lorna stovall, elliott erwitt, rene burri, susan wright, david leventhal, peter van agtmael, mathilde grafström , steve coleman
bureau of arts and culture contributing guest artists:
erik olson, christopher stott, irby pace, max ginsburg, nathan walsh, jon swihart, f. scott hess, ho ryon lee, andy moses, kahn & selesnick, jules engel, patrick lee, david palumbo, tom gregg, tony fitzpatrick, gary lang, fabrizio casetta, dj hall, david febland, eric zener, seeroon yeretzian, dawn jackson, charles dickson, ernesto delaloza, diana wong, gustavo godoy, john weston, kris kuksi, bomonster, hiroshi ariyama, linda stark, kota ezawa, russell nachman, katsushika hokusai. xuan chen
bureau of arts and culture special thanks:
little tokyo los angeles, marcos lutyens, random house, knopf publishing, columbia university, joyce carol oates, sean connery, seattle art museum, whitney museum, irvine welsh, andy warhol foundation, city lights bookstore, joan schulze, nymoma, cantor arts center, stanford university, pace/macgill gallery, national gallery of art, georgia o'keefe museum of art, fresno art museum, fine arts center colorado springs, duke university, the broad la, phoenix art museum, wadsworth atheneum museum of art, art institute of chicago, museum of fine arts boston, crystal bridges, united artists, spot photo works, museum of fine art huston texas, gallerie urbane, mary boone gallery, pace gallery, asian art museum, magnum photo, chicago museum of contemporary art, fahey/ klein gallery, tobey c. moss gallery, sandra gehring gallery, george billis gallery, martin - gropius - bau berlin, san jose museum of art, downtown records, koplin del rio, robert berman, american film institute, sfmoma, photo la, jewish contemporary museum, yale collection rare books, richard levy. #joshuatriliegi
BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE
presents
LITERARY EDITION 2016 Edited by Joshua A. TRILIEGI
This Page Only Displays A Few Samples From The Actual 299 Page Magazine Which is Available, In Its Entirety As A FREE DOWNLOAD at The Link Below, Simply, Tap the Link + Download The Hi Resolution Version NOW. It may take a Few Minutes, Though well worth The WAIT. Hundreds of Images, Articles, Photographic Essays +more.
TAP LINK and Simply DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE MAGAZINE FOR FREE AT:
WELCOME To THE NEWEST Literary 2016 SPECIAL Edition of BUREAU of ARTSand CULTURE MAGAZINE. EXCLUSIVE LITERARY INTERVIEW with NOVELIST : Irvine WELSH, This New 299 Page Edition Contains The BUREAU ICON Essay on :John STEINBECK, The BUREAU GUEST Visual Artist New YORK City PAINTER:Nathan WALSH Cinema: AMERICAN Director Hal ASHBY & The CLASSIC FILM "BEING THERE," ART Reviews: Emilie CLARK . Michael KAGAN . The Max GINSBURG LECTURE . San FRANCISCO : Photographs Roman VISHNIAC . Bill GRAHAM at The CJM The SouthWest Photographic Essay Winner Rich HELMERPlus Diane ARBUS . NEW FICTION ENCORE: They CALL IT The CITY of ANGELS Selected Chapters INTERVIEWS: Sandy SKOGLUND . Shaun HUSTON on Library Comic BOOKS . MUSIC: The MALLETT Brothers Band . Kehinde WILEY at The SEATTLE Museum . Museums : Arizona . Oklahoma . San Francisco . ART By John MELLENCAMP . BOOKS : ALI & Malcolm X . SPRINGSTEEN . Literature by U.S. Military Veterans . The SEATTLE Photographic Essay and The FIVE Best Bookstores in BERKELEY . LITERARY Events 2016 S.E. Hinton's The OUTSIDERS + WOMEN Writers RULE : RESOURCES with Info and Email Links to 100's of Magazines, Publications and Literary Organizations around The World.
image: BUREAU ART DEPARTMENT
BUREAU ICON ESSAY: JOHN STEINBECK By Joshua A. TRILIEGI
Question : What is it, that makes a good writer ? There are over a million answers to that question, simply ask a million writers. Each have their own rules, codes and exercises. John Updike adhered to writing three pages a day, before lunch. Charles Bukowski enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and the peaceful patter of classical music, deep into the night. According to John Steinbeck, in his Nobel Prize winning speech, there are many things a writer cannot think, be or do, to be considered, one of the gang. 1-You may not be Exclusive. 2-You may not be Separate. 3-You may not lack passion. A good many people write books about people who have written books. John Steinbeck, to my knowledge, never did such a thing. He did not have to do such a thing. Riding on the backs of previous authors, telling the reader what this means, what that means, defining the minds of the young, before they even have time to decide what they think for themselves. We, here, at BUREAU of Arts and Culture do not suggest that you buy any books by people who write books about people who write books. As long as you can read the author directly, there is no reason whatsoever to buy a book by someone else. John Steinbeck's Literary work is often challenging. Either for it's length such as, "East of Eden." Or for it's tragic consequence, as in "The Pearl," and "Of Mice and Men." Other times, for its sheer breadth of reality, as in his masterpiece, "The Grapes of Wrath." John Steinbeck probably worked harder than most do at his craft. He also had a deep concern for everyday people. At the same time, Steinbeck was willing to look back and admit, that, whatever his views had been, during a particular time and place, the ideas that may have shaped his books, that many of those views had changed on reflection. The books remained the same, the man, did not.
Since we are a generation very influenced by Cinema, many of us have seen The Films and we now implore you to, pick a favorite, and read the book. East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, to name a few. John Steinbeck's best works come from reality, the people he met, the jobs he endured, the folks he interviewed, the wars he witnessed, the losses he experienced and above all, the empathy he owned. Quoting from his speech of 1962, "I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man, has no dedication nor any membership in literature." The first of several declarations that were meant to knock you, the reader, on your ass. By this time, he is a championship fighter, with about two dozen works of importance under his belt. And ,only four more years of life on this planet. But don't despair dear readers, no one need mourn the death of John Steinbeck. Men such as he, do not die, they do not wither, they do not drift aimlessly across the plains of this great nation, they do not sit like so many monuments across the deserts of this beautiful planet, nor do they flash and blink and rust and corrode, like some long lost forgotten neon sign on a lonely stretch of highway, like just so much dust, in the wind, scattered here and there. Men such as he, are noble, they transcend the critics, they overshadow the cowards, they eclipse the fakes and they inspire the weak, the broken, the battered, the downtrodden and the forgotten. As he stated so concisely, over sixty years ago, "I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession and in the great and good men who have practiced it through the ages." I could not have said it better. That is why, on this day, we honor and celebrate, the greatness that is, was and will always be : John Steinbeck.
"I hold that a writer who
does not passionately believe
in the perfectibility of man,
has no dedication nor any
membership in literature."
- John Steinbeck
Since we are a generation very influenced by Cinema, many of us have seen The Films and we now implore you to, pick a favorite, and read the book. East of Eden, The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, to name a few. John Steinbeck's best works come from reality, the people he met, the jobs he endured, the folks he interviewed, the wars he witnessed, the losses he experienced and above all, the empathy he owned. Quoting from his speech of 1962, "I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man, has no dedication nor any membership in literature." The first of several declarations that were meant to knock you, the reader, on your ass. By this time, he is a championship fighter, with about two dozen works of importance under his belt. And ,only four more years of life on this planet. But don't despair dear readers, no one need mourn the death of John Steinbeck. Men such as he, do not die, they do not wither, they do not drift aimlessly across the plains of this great nation, they do not sit like so many monuments across the deserts of this beautiful planet, nor do they flash and blink and rust and corrode, like some long lost forgotten neon sign on a lonely stretch of highway, like just so much dust, in the wind, scattered here and there. Men such as he, are noble, they transcend the critics, they overshadow the cowards, they eclipse the fakes and they inspire the weak, the broken, the battered, the downtrodden and the forgotten. As he stated so concisely, over sixty years ago, "I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession and in the great and good men who have practiced it through the ages." I could not have said it better. That is why, on this day, we honor and celebrate, the greatness that is, was and will always be : John Steinbeck.
BUREAU GUEST ARTIST: NATHAN WALSH
By BUREAU EDITOR J. A. TRILIEGI
Somewhere between the very concise, concrete and physical realities of time and place in locales like San Francisco, New York City, Chicago and the Ideas of a Utopian Eye of the Mind, The Painter, Nathan Walsh has produced a series of large scale, time intensive works that equal, in counterpart, in scope, and in end result, the works of a master Novelist, Filmmaker or Architect. Nathan Walsh, is setting the bar, so high, on the painters of his generation, and those who actually have, and will, in the future, participate in this publication, that we here, are now becoming concerned for everyone else. The scale, the vision, the intricacy, the colors, the patterns, the schematics and the overall attention to detail is, absolutely, some of the best artwork we have ever seen: Now, Before and Since. His draftsmanship skills are up there with the best of the architects: Frank Lloyd Wright. His paranormal and somewhat panoramic views of intricate cityscapes rival the classicist photographers: Edward Steichen. His vibrant and variable color choices are as good or better than some of the best comic illustrators alive: Daniel Clowes.
Nathan Walsh is doing something quite different, at a magnitude and an altitude of dizzying heights. That all said, the works are mature, whilst still being fun. They are pleasing without losing anything to complexity. They are light sensitive, while still achieving refracted objects in detail. And all the while, they are somehow mathematic, without lacking the very soul contained within all truly great art. The entire body of work contains a strange balance between the sober documentation of an actual reality and an impressionistic and stylized view of a world interpreted by a rather scientific minded work-a-day, no nonsense technician. These days, in the so-called, 'Modern Art World,' becoming a house hold name, often registers automatically, due to a happenstance moment in time or place. A sex tape is revealed, an actor turns artist, a war between two parties creates a stir, an artist pushes a political or allegoric analogy, or the big end all, an artist dies, at the hands of themselves or someone else. The media or the name gallery, or the collector, rushes in and, 'Boom,' fame is bestowed upon and forever tied to the art, the artist and the story therein. Nathan Walsh is going about his business in a manner, a style, a breadth, and a fidelity to excellence, based on his own vision and expectation, that, whether any of the usual art world accidents ever do, or do not occur, he is assured a future. And we here, are proud to have him, in the present, front and center, our Guest Artist for this, our Newest Edition.
Nathan Walsh is doing something quite different, at a magnitude and an altitude of dizzying heights. That all said, the works are mature, whilst still being fun. They are pleasing without losing anything to complexity. They are light sensitive, while still achieving refracted objects in detail. And all the while, they are somehow mathematic, without lacking the very soul contained within all truly great art. The entire body of work contains a strange balance between the sober documentation of an actual reality and an impressionistic and stylized view of a world interpreted by a rather scientific minded work-a-day, no nonsense technician. These days, in the so-called, 'Modern Art World,' becoming a house hold name, often registers automatically, due to a happenstance moment in time or place. A sex tape is revealed, an actor turns artist, a war between two parties creates a stir, an artist pushes a political or allegoric analogy, or the big end all, an artist dies, at the hands of themselves or someone else. The media or the name gallery, or the collector, rushes in and, 'Boom,' fame is bestowed upon and forever tied to the art, the artist and the story therein. Nathan Walsh is going about his business in a manner, a style, a breadth, and a fidelity to excellence, based on his own vision and expectation, that, whether any of the usual art world accidents ever do, or do not occur, he is assured a future. And we here, are proud to have him, in the present, front and center, our Guest Artist for this, our Newest Edition.
CHICAGO IN THE RAIN [ Drawing ] Nathan WALSH BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Photography plays some key role in your style, could you discuss how you utilize the Images from photographs ?
Nathan WALSH : Whilst my paintings are very much the product of studio activity they are also closely associated to the experience of being at a particular location for a period of time. They make direct reference to photography and the photorealist movement of the 1970s. Photography does play an important role in my process but not to a point where I am dependent on it. On a practical level, it is the most effective way of gathering a large amount of raw material when I am visiting a new country or city.
However Instead of a painted photographic record or recreation of my memories of the location, my work exhibits an independent logic and exists solely on its own terms. It's aim is not to mimic our own world and the laws within it but to suggest a different world with it's own parameters. Like a lucid dream or hallucination it aims to describe this world with a precision and clarity equal to photography. [ cont - ]
CHICAGO IN THE RAIN Nathan WALSH / BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Nathan WALSH : [ - cont ] To be fully appreciated the first and perhaps most inventive generation of photorealist artists need to be viewed in real life. I think part of the problem with the work that has succeeded it or been inspired by it has been based on viewing it in reproduction. For example Richard Estes and John Salt were painters first and foremost, the strength of their work rooted partially in the personal exploration of methods and materials. Their work is dependent on expressive mark making and creative thinking, too close an adherence to photography or digital imagery I believe can lead to overly mechanical and artificial outcomes. When I make work I understand that the success of a particular painting will be dependent on my decisions not the solutions a camera or software package might offer me. The more it becomes about my decisions the more it moves away from objective reality, not perhaps where it becomes dreamlike but certainly the best work I’ve made has a hallucinatory quality. Most art movements start out as radical but over time become increasingly conservative. If Hyper / Photorealism is to remain interesting, then its practitioners must find ways of extending its parameters in new and unexpected ways, technical proficiency is a given and not enough to mark an artist out as significant. It will be interesting to see where this new exploration leads us, there are certainly signs over the past couple of years that some artists are making leaps forward.
Nathan WALSH in Studio Creating Drawing 59Th Street BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Your paintings shift between exacting photorealism and abstract animation, explain how you, 'design,' an image.
Nathan WALSH : People often assume my work is an accurate description or document of a specific location or recreation of a view. In actuality this is very far from the case, all pictorial elements are subject to change whether it be their inclusion or omission from a painting or their relative size or position within the composition. So in essence they are an abstraction from reality, I pick and chose what information to leave in and what to leave out. As you have noted this leads to an extended or heightened sense of the world we live in, different views get combined together, colours become accentuated and the paint itself as physical material is explored. I still want the viewer to be convinced by this new world and imagine they could inhabit it but fundamentally its a construct based on my decisions. In the future I can imagine this being extended further leading to the work becoming increasingly divorced from our own world.
Nathan WALSH 59Th Street BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : The drawings that prep each painting, to me, are artworks unto themselves, its really an amazing process, share that early work with readers.
Nathan WALSH : Experiencing the city as a human being is an immersive experience. I wanted to find a way of translating that experience in a convincing way which removed the detachment involved using a camera. My approach to drawing explores this is hopefully sympathetic to this idea, allowing the viewer to see not just what's in front of them but whats around them.
Drawing allows me to make human pictorial decisions instead of relying on the mechanical eye of a camera or software package. This process is open ended and changes from one painting to the next. Whilst I employ a variety of perspectival strategies, these methods are not fixed or rigid in their application. Working with a box of pencils and an eraser I will start by establishing an horizon line on which I will place vanishing points to construct simple linear shapes which become subdivided into more complex arrangements. By using simple mathematical ratios I can begin to describe concrete form within my picture plane. Over a period of time I will draw and redraw buildings, manipulating their height, width or nature in relation to other pictorial elements. By introducing spatial recession to these elements I aim to present a world the viewer can enter into and move around.
Nathan WALSH LITTLE RUSSIA BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : The size of your landscapes are rather healthy, is this due to the amount of visual information you wish to provide ? Explain scale and perspective, in your work.
Nathan WALSH : My paintings are large because I want the viewer to relate to them in a physical way. I want them to function almost as alternative realities where whoever is stood in front of them feels they can almost enter into the world I’ve created. There is a huge amount of visual information contained within the paintings but hopefully there is also space and air for that information to be read effectively. I try to use perspective in a creative and fluid manner. I don't follow any particular strategy nor concern myself too much with making something that is mathematically correct. I combine and use traditional techniques with digital software in an attempt find new ways of describing space. Each new drawing or painting I make is a development from the last, in an attempt to make more complex and convincing scenes based on the world we live in. As an artist I use perspective simply as a tool to be played with not something to stick rigidly too at the expense of pictorial invention.
Nathan WALSH APPLE HIRES BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Lets discuss time and investment in each painting. Walk us through the process of your Painting entitled: TransAmerica .
Nathan WALSH : In 2011, I made a three week trip from the West to East Coast of America, which included 4 days in San Francisco. Before I visit a city I tend not have a clear idea of what I’d like to paint, I just tend to amble around, very much like a Flaneur waiting for something to connect with. When I do find something of interest I’ll take numerous photographs of a location and normally a series of thumbnail drawings in a sketchbook. Back in the UK I will sift though the raw material I’ve collected and make a series of postcard sized drawings which suggest potential paintings. I pin these to the studio wall and live with them for a while, most get rejected but whichever one I eventually chose must have the most visual potential to make a dynamic full scale painting. Once I’ve decided on the size of the painting I start to draw elements in a fairly loose and organic way. [ cont - ]
Nathan WALSH DETAIL of Drawing for TRANSAMERICA BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Nathan WALSH : [ - cont ] This drawing stage can take up to a month for a large painting, In some ways it could be argued as the most creative part of my activity. Once complete I brush over a glaze of oil paint and begin blocking areas of colour with heavily diluted washes of paint. Over the subsequent months paint layers are built up and sanded away. The goal is not to mimic the flatness of a static photograph but to make reference to a rich linage of European and American painting, seeing my work up close reveals a personal system of mark making and investigation of the physical properties of oil paint. Surface and texture has becoming increasingly important to me, finding new ways of applying and manipulating paint leads to richer and unexpected outcomes.
‘Transamerica' Is a reflected view of a San Francisco street seen through a Chinese gift shop. Instead of a real reflection I have 'sandwiched' together photographs taken in front of me with shots taken directly behind. By describing a series of layers of information some opaque, others translucent the intention is to suggest a heightened reality, one we could not experience in the real world.
Nathan WALSH DETAIL of PAINTING TRANSAMERICA BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Nathan WALSH : [ - cont ] I like the idea of dipping into the resources and technology that are available in a fluid and open ended way. The ‘Transamerica’ was a composite of information, part photographic, part observational drawing, part vector based artwork that I’d downloaded then mapped to my preparatory drawing. Many of the objects including the Chinese Dolls in the foreground were bought in the UK and painted from life in the studio. Using Don Eddy and Tom Blackwell’s window paintings of the 1970’s as a point of departure the painting became a palimpsest of cobbled together information. The challenge then of course is get these different types of information to function together in a coherent way. Whilst in essence the painting is a fantasy my aim was still to make it a believable one.
The methods that I’m adopting are in part a conscious attempt at avoiding the numerous pitfalls open to contemporary realist painters. Instead of employing a ‘catch-all’ strategy for making work I’m accessing different approaches in an attempt to reveal new ways of depicting the world.
Nathan WALSH PAINTING GROUND ZERO BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Where did you go to school and how did that particular experience make up who you are as an artist, site influences.
Nathan WALSH : I followed a fairly typical art education in the UK, an interest in art at school led to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at University. I studied drawing, painting, printmaking and typography all of which have left a mark on my current activity. People often assume that I’ve had some formal architectural training but this isn’t the case. Whilst realist painting is not particularly popular in the UK ,I was fortunate on my Masters degree to be taught by two exceptional realist painters, one of whom, Clive Head I have remained in dialogue with till today. Head is one of the most significant contemporary figurative painters and his works and writing have been a significant influence on me.
Joshua TRILIEGI : Do you actually use projection when creating the original impetus, if so explain, if not explain ?
Nathan WALSH : No, freehand drawing is fundamental to all of my work allowing me to take full ownership of photographic material. Rejecting the mechanical transfer of imagery forces me to construct each object from scratch and allows for a fluid and inventive approach. Fixing pictorial elements to separate vanishing points allows the construction of a space independent of both reality and any photographic record of the scene. A shifting horizon line allows to viewer to look up and down into the space, and question their position in relation to the scene. I have nothing against the use of projection as part of an artists methodology, but for me its a limiting activity and would lead to predictable results.
PIRANESI ETCHINGS Influence of PAINTER Nathan WALSH BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Can you recall an early painting influence, visit to a Museum, art book, etc ?
Nathan WALSH : I started collected art related books as a student. This has served as daily form a of inspiration and guidance for my own practice. Looking at significant artists and paintings of the past can often be intimidating but can also suggest ways forward. My inspirations are numerous and varied from Piranesi’s engravings to the decorative tiles of William De Morgan. What connects all of these interests is a strong sense of structure and pattern. Most of the artists and designers I admire had or have a rigorous approach to composition and commitment to process perhaps more than outcome. I often think my own work as “sampling” these inspiring figures, whether it be the palette of Bonnard or the dynamism of a Bernice Abbott photograph.
I also have quite a close network of artist friends which serve as quite a supportive network whether that be through email dialogue or visiting each others studios or exhibitions. Painting by its nature is as a solitary activity so the sharing of ideas and experiences with other like minded individuals is often a healthy exercise.
Nathan WALSH DETAIL of Drawing for Z BAR BUREAU Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : Does music or literature or film help you in your process, if so please site examples ?
Nathan WALSH : Film is probably the most important of the three in terms of an influence on my studio life. I’m not that interested in narrative, more visual language and spectacle. To give you a taste here’s a list of films that I’ve connected with: Alphaville, Koyaanisqatsi, Bladerunner, Man with a Movie Camera, Inception, 2001: A Space Oddyssey, Metropolis, Stalker, Solaris, Brazil, Her, The Seventh Seal, The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari, Synecdoche New York, The Holy Mountain, The Master, Videodrome.
BERNICE ABBOT Photo Influence of PAINTER Nathan WALSH Guest Artist SPRING LITERARY
Joshua TRILIEGI : What drives you to commit to each painting and then to actually persevere ?
Nathan WALSH : I believe some people are born with a desire to respond to their environment by making things. This might be a piece of furniture or jet engine, but the initial impulse is the same. I’m not sure I ever made a conscious decision to try and become a full time artist, but I certainly had a desire to develop and improve the paintings I was drawn to make. The notion of improvement is essential to my activity in that its very difficult to justify spending time on something which I already know how to do. Although many artists have a successful formula for making work the idea of doing the same thing over and over again doesn’t appeal to me. I’m excited to see how far ideas can be explored and how I can find more elegant and complex solutions to visual problems. The paintings are very labour intensive and dependant on their size and complexity I might only make two large works a year. Sometimes I’ll make a smaller work but I find myself drawn to making increasingly larger and more complex work. I usually paint six days a week but often that can turn into seven as one week blurs into the next. My day follows a fairly fixed pattern. I leave the house at 7am and arrive at the studio for 7.30. After cleaning my palette from the day before I start painting at 8 o’clock. I’ll work through till 12, go and have lunch then return for 1. I’ll normally work till 6pm but the afternoon painting session always seems tougher than the morning. This daily ritual is crucial for the work to progress in any reasonable fashion. Painting full time is rarely a physical job but a long day of concentration often leaves you exhausted. There are many potential distractions but in time you learn to ignore them and focus on the ever present problems of painting.
Bernarducci Meisel Gallery
37 W 57th St #3, New York, NY 10019
THE BUREAU GUEST ARTIST : NATHAN WALSH is Represented in New York City By The Bernarducci Meisel Gallery at 37 West 57 Street at 5th Avenue A long established crossroads of the art world. The focus is the presentation of the finest contemporary realist art including established and emerging artists of the genre. Since the Gallery's inception, our artists have exhibited both nationally and internationally and their work has been included in important museum surveys and featured in solo museum exhibitions. In 2010 the Gallery expanded from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet at 37 West 57 where we now occupy the entire third floor. In addition to greater visibility, this larger space gives us the ability to present more comprehensive exhibitions, now and in the years to come. Our goal is to provide the foremost opportunity for the world's leading realist painters and sculptors.
THIS PAGE DISPLAYS A FEW SAMPLES FROM THE ACTUAL 299 PAGE MAGAZINE WHICH IS AVAILABLE AS A FREE DOWNLOAD at The Link Below, Simply, Tap the Link and Download The Hi Resolution Version NOW. It may take a Few Minutes, Though well worth The WAIT:
MICHEAL KAGAN: SPACED - OUT !
By J. A. TRILIEGI for BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE Magazine
Long before Brooklyn based painter, Michael Kagan was born, in 1980, the television told us, through original airings and constant re-runs, that,"Space," was, "The Final Frontier …" Man's obsession with the machinery of morrow and yore have always played a key role in the arts and in history, be it mythological or otherwise. When Louis and Clark set out to document The America's, they utilized a simple vessel, armed with paper, pencils, pigments. We see their journey through maps, through drawings and documentation.
Man's journey to the moon, utilizing a much more complicated device, is a touch more challenging in it's documentation. The power of images on reflection are often uber-fascinating to those of us un-born during the battles. A good many of us have seen how a canoe floats upon a body of water, carrying people and parcels, to and fro. Water, fire, air and earth are trustworthy elements, difficult to deny. Add to that, Gravity, and you know exactly which side is up. In Space, that particular aspect of register is denied and so we must constantly ask ourselves: Where are we and which side is up ? It is one thing to hurl an object through space, it is another altogether, to land it properly, be it on the side of a flowing river, or on a far off, distant planet.
Now, Michael Kagan has taken the stuff of young men's obsessive imagery of a popular variety, Astronauts, Race Car Drivers, Cock Pits and The Concord Mountain, to encapsulate some idea of reaching the top. His oil on linen, application and techniques are laden with a fine art style, loosely and abundantly applied brush strokes that create a final result which, in scale and in form, are indeed impressive. The full size painting, entitled,"There Is No End," which measures 96" x 72", serves as the frontispiece of a recent exhibit, his second one man show at the Joshua Liner gallery in New York City. . Kagan, who is in his mid thirties, has already worked with the Smithsonian, collaborated with cultural mastermind Pharrell Williams and received recent large scale commissions: he is headed toward the top. Of course, for those who race the cars, drive the planes, climb the mountains, there indeed, is and End. Just as every writer, eventually meets the bottom of the page: Happy Landing.
Michael KAGAN : Lights OUT / Paintings Recently Exhibited at The Joshua LINER Art Gallery
540 W. 28th Street NY, NY 10001 / Tuesday – Saturday 11 am - 6 pm / JoshuaLinerGallery.com
BUREAU FILM : HAL ASHBY
BY EDITOR J. A. TRILIEGI / MARCH SPRING 2016
The American Film Director, Hal Ashby, created a series of groundbreaking and wholly original, cinematic gems, throughout his life. Each are deeply rooted in a darkly humanist, yet extremely touching mode of thinking. Since that time, few directors have ever been able to emulate, let alone imitate his contribution. Born on a farm, in Ogden, Utah, to a father who refused to modernize the family business, leading to financial disaster and eventually suicide. In 1941, at twelve years of age, young Hal Ashby is scarred deeply by his fathers death. Americans enter into World War II and young Hal identifies the war machine with the loss of his father. He will forever become a peace activist, the rest of his life. Hal works his way up from office boy at Universal Studios to Apprentice Editor at Republic Pictures, to Assistant Editor for some of the Best directors in the business, including, George Stevens and William Wyler. In those days, not unlike these days, one had to choose projects that might help one rise to position. Ashby had to quit working for Steven's, in the middle of a production of, "The Greatest Story Ever Told," released in 1965, to take over on a new project for Wyler, and the rest is history. Hal became Chief Editor, which led to an Oscar Award by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 1965 for, "In The Heat of The Night," starring Sidney Poitier, directed By Norman Jewison, with a highly sensitive, race related screenplay. One can imagine George Steven's reaction, as Hal Ashby, his former assistant editor, received the Academy Award for work as Lead Editor the same year Steven's four and a half hour epic project was released. Ashby's collaboration with Jewison eventually leads to a directorial debut, five years later, with, 'The Landlord.' A comedy about a wealthy young white boy, thrust into owning and managing an apartment building, in the heart of New York Cities urban life, during the rise of black power groups, such as The Black Panthers. The film stars a young, wide eyed, Beau Bridges and is available for viewing on you tube, in its entirety. A hilarious, and most likely, self referential project, possibly describing Ashby's own journey from farm to city, from innocence to experience, from Utah to Hollywood : The Truly, 'Cultural Education,' that no simple degree from any major or minor university can ever hope to provide.
Throughout the decade of the 1970s, Hal Ashby will create a hand full of films that break genres, make genres, and in general, piss off the critics and win over a youth culture that will eventually become the group of people, here in America, that are now in their sixties. Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, Coming Home, Shampoo, Bound For Glory and to this writers mind, his masterpiece, entitled, "BEING THERE". Starring Peter Sellars, as described by David A. Cook, "An idiot savant gardener, whose knowledge of the world comes exclusively from television." During the same year that films such as, "The Jerk," with Steve Martin, Woody Allen's, "Manhattan," Monty Python's, "Life of Brian," and more serious toned projects like, "Apocalypse Now," "Norma Rae," and, "The China Syndrome," are released, Hal Ashby's North Star productions releases: BEING THERE. Another notable film, in that year of 1979, one that actually gains momentum from Ashby's style and tone, would be the fabulous look at life on the road as a rock and roll singer with Bette Midler's debut film, "The Rose," possibly, and still to this day, one of the greatest and most authentic takes on The Rock and Roll Lifestyle, which Ashby had also experienced first hand, while creating a Documentary on The Rolling Stones. Ashby did not just document, he actually lived the lifestyle and, it is reported, that he overdosed while doing so. He should not be judged too harshly in this regard. Laurel Canyon, where he resided, was a seriously saturated scene of hipsters, of a wide variety. Ashby had been very good friends with Jack Nicholson since their days at Metro in the mid fifties. He lived next to Carol King, just across from Spielberg and around the corner from Fleetwood Mac and Alice Cooper. Hal's producer Charles Mulvehill, is actually referenced in the Nicholson, Classic Film Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and produced by Robert Evans. These were heady times in Hollywood and the power base, the political expression and the artistic purity has never been so intertwined, before or since that time. Warren Beatty may not have ever directed the epic production of REDS, had it not been for Hal Ashby, and their work on SHAMPOO. Hal Ashby made directing films look easy, I can assure the reader that, directing a major motion picture, is Anything Except: EASY.
The most important aspect of filmmaking is collaboration and Hal Ashby, over his entire career worked with six of the best Cinematographers in the business, including : John Alonzo in Harold and Maude, Gordon Willis in The Landlord, Michael Chapman in The Last Detail, Haskell Wexler in both, Bound For Glory and Coming Home and finally, Caleb Deschanel in Being There. All six went on to make a roster of classic films and many still around, doing the best work in the business. During the filming of Coming Home with Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern and Jon Voight, Haskel Wexler's son, who had been working in the sound department, expressed his concerns about Mr. Ashby's direction, to his father. According to Peter Biskind, in his classic book, "Easy Riders and Raging Bulls," Wexler's son told Haskel that, "Were in big trouble," describing the now classic scene where Jon Voight, a returned and handicapped Vietnam Veteran talks to a young group of students about joining the armed forces. "It just doesn't work," he explained, describing the days shoot, Hal, it appeared, simply allowed Jon to ramble on, allowed for improvisation and it seemed muddled. Haskel Wexler, knowing very well that Ashby, having once been one of the best film editors in the business, would simply make it happen, in the editing, responded accordingly, "Give it a chance, you know the way Hal is in the editing room," Sure enough, he put a great scene together, and to quote Biskind, "… Probably won Jon [ Voight ] the Oscar." It is rumored that, the film, "Being There," may have actually been taken away from Hal Ashby, halfway or three quarters of the way through the production, either due to his health, or due to other power scrambling reasons. Because of the connection between actor Peter Sellers, who also worked very closely with Stanley Kubrick, it is said, among Hollywood circles, that Kubrick may have stepped into the production, and or had a hand in somehow assisting the production along. These facts are difficult to verify, but definitely worth noting. Especially since Mr. Kubrick, who worked closely with NASA, and is indeed credited with assisting the United States Government of the late Nineteen Sixties, with propagating and creating a vision of a moon landing that has, to this day, been questioned and denied, in circles of science and theory, as much as Global Warming is today. In many power circles, the deaths of Hal Ashby, Stanley Kubrick and the writer of "Being There," Novelist Jerzy Kosinski, have been pondered, questioned and theorized. Jack Nicholson would go on to work for Kubrick the following year in, "The Shining," and did not at all enjoy the process. When asked what it was like to work for Kubrick ? In his trademark style and grin, Jack famously paused, then wryly remarked that, working with Stanley Kubrick, "Brings New Meaning To The Word : M-e-t-i-c-u-l-o-u-s."
The Shining Film Production itself, according to film analysts and theorists, is a project which is supposedly packed with coded messages of a wide variety, and, on second look, there are many. Rubric's constant references to his involvement with the controversy surrounding his relationship with NASA and the original filming of his classic space film, "2001 : A Space Odyssey," loosely based on the book by Arthur C. Clark, are peppered throughout, "The Shining". The young boy, haunted by ghosts, wears a NASA space ship on his sweater. Thus symbolizing Rubric's history with the space myth, that he may have helped to propagandize. Kubrick, who had risen from Life Magazine photographer to someone who had been used by the power base to create an image that would eventually end up on the cover of LIFE, The Special Edition, with Buzz Aldrin and the phrase in bold capitals: To The Moon and Back. The few astronauts who have been given a chance to speak on the matter, have too, recently made statements that appear to be coded with regret and inference to the possibility that something, indeed was not correct about the journey and or the official story. The only image in US history that has been scrutinized more than the Life Cover Image is the Other LIFE Cover of the false shadowed image of John F. Kennedy's so - called lone assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. In, "The Shining," the two girls haunting the young boy in the hallway are meant to represent two particular sides of a single event, the real story and the official story, the elevator representing the spaceship. Since our publication also celebrates great photographers, this would also be a good time to credit Diane Arbus, whose original series on Twins obviously inspired Stanley Kubrick. In "2001: A Space Odyssey," The astronaut is forced to fight with the machine, after several of his space mates have died, his main goal is to turn off the machine, which is named, HAL. It has been stated that Kubrick had originally meant to utilize the initials from the leading technology company of the time, IBM, and transformed or coded those initials by simply adjusting each letter, one step closer to their previous letter in the alphabet, thus I becomes H, B becomes A, and M becomes L, I-B-M turns into H-A-L. Though, those who like to consider circles of power, have made intimations of another variety concerning Kubrick, who had moved to the Empire of England, and his relation and or ideas about Ashby, who was a stone cold American liberal, with his heart firmly rooted in humanist, films, ideas and causes. Throughout his lifetime, Hal Ashby stood strong for values of freedom of expression, and was always on the side of the underdog, politically speaking. Hal Ashby had met with Cesar Chavez, he had attended Martin Luther King's funeral and upon receiving his Oscar, simply wished for peace to prevail and walked off with a Thank You.
The reader should re-look at the afore mentioned films and decide for yourself, if indeed, Stanley Kubrick attempted to share with the viewer, his personal history. It should be noted that filmmakers of this period, were very aware of each others work, and Nicholson's scene, early on, in "The Shining," where he sits in the office, discussing the new job opportunity, is a replica of his scene, entering the insane asylum, in his award winning film, "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." Possibly Kubrick's in joke, that this particular production, was going to drive the actors crazy, and on reflection, many did feel that Rubric's methods were unsound. Speaking of films of the year Nineteen Seventy-Nine and unsound method's, is, "Apocalypse Now," referencing anything in this regard when Willard, played by Martin Sheen, explains to his fellow marines, describing Marlon Brando's dictatorially position in the jungles of Vietnam, "…Method ? I don't see any Methodat all ?"
"… No matter the darkness of their lives,
no matter the times they endured,
the ways in which they lived or the
power circles they travelled in,
we as purveyors of fine culture,
must honor those works."
It is well known that Coppola needed Brando's participation and ended up paying out an exorbitant daily rate, for what had been an unprepared performance. It should also be recognized that both Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Altman, two of the strongest directors to emerge from the 1970s, were ten years younger than Hal Ashby and according to writer Joe McBride, "Ashby deserves to be ranked with [ them ]." We agree. However and whatever the facts may be, the films and works of art these men made, no matter the darkness of their lives, no matter the times they endured, the ways in which they lived or the power circles they travelled in, we as purveyors of fine culture, must honor those works. And so today, on the eve of a national election, we take another look at Mr. Hal Ashby's political fairy tale, "BEING THERE."
BUREAU FILM : BEING THERE
The first words spoken by a human being in the film production of, "Being There," are whispered by a black maid, into the ears of our hero: Chance. Played brilliantly by actor Peter Sellers. "He's dead Chance, the old man's dead…" She delivers the line like the blues singer, Nina Simone, whispering in the show tune, 'Pirate Jenny,' that a death has occurred, over night, and nothing will ever be the same again. "What are you going to do now, " she asks Chance ? And his simple reply, "I'm going to work in the garden." And thus begins the strange, fairy tale-like journey, from the hermetically sealed life of a simple, child-like man, once cloistered in the small garden of a private home in Washington D.C. for all of his known life, now released into the world, simply by accident, or so it would seem.
"Chance's Journey Takes us Deep Into the
Worlds of Symbolic Power, the Influential
Halls of Government and Quite Possibly
into the Presidency of The USA."
Chance's journey takes us deep into the worlds of symbolic power, the influential halls of government and quite possibly into the Presidency of The USA. Louise the maid continues, "You ought to find yourself a lady, Chance… You always gonna be a little boy ain't you ? " As the body of The Old Man is carried out on a stretcher, the maid, who has taken care of Chance all his life, says good — bye, she appears surprised that he has no ability to express his feelings, regarding her leaving, or the old man's death. As the body is carried out, she insists on leaving before the remains of her employer does, and, her parting comment, while looking at the body, covered by a white sheet, "… He used to be a big man, suppose he waisted away to nothin'." As she walks out the front door, leaving Chance alone, in the home, for the first time in his life.
Televisions surround the entire home, one in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, even a television in the garden. Chance consistently mimics the activities that he views on the little television box of images with and endless barrage of gestures, sayings and rituals. If the lady in tights exercises, than Chance exercises. If the driver of an old horse and buggy tips his hat, than Chance too, tips his hat. If the president shakes hands by holding both hands to a guest, than Chance too uses both hands.* In the scene following Louise and the Old Man's exit, two lawyers, using their own key, a man and a woman, enter into the Old Man's home, unbeknownst to Chance, who sits quietly, watching television, as he has most likely done for the past few decades, untouched by the outside world.
"Chance will utilize an activity, a phrase, a ritual,
a gesture, a term, and it shall be interpreted
in a much wider variety of ways,
than he may have intended."
They introduce themselves as the Old Man's lawyers, his estate is to be settled. "Were with Franklin-Jennings and Rogers, the firm handling the estate." Chance answers, very casually, "Hello… I'm Chance the gardener." And indeed, he takes their hands, as he saw The president do, and greets them accordingly. They are both taken aback by the gesture. This will be the first of many such incidents throughout the film. Chance will utilize an activity, a phrase, a ritual, a gesture, a term, and it shall be interpreted in a much wider variety of ways, than he may have intended. Chance is an open slate for the projection of the beholders perceptions, experience or intentions, be them good, bad or indifferent. And throughout the journey, he meets them all.
*A historical note, Writer David A. Cook, describing the film and its context, reminds us that in the 1970s the average viewer watched seven hours a day of television, the public dilemma was so pervasive that the problems of American's addiction to watching television had actually been debated throughout the very halls of public policy. To use a phrase that was commonly blasted across advertising billboards during that time, "We've Come A Long Way Baby." These days, in 2016, those in power, actually hope we all just sit on our asses and watch television. The populist's participation in the Nineteen Sixties scared the hell out of those in government, and these days, they are indeed pleasantly satisfied that a good majority of Americans care more about awards shows, sports games and the private lives of entertainers, than protesting an issue, voting and getting directly involved in local, state and national dissertations in USA.
The male lawyer, Thomas, who is obviously perturbed by the presence of an unexpected individual, eventually loses his patients, "All kidding aside, Mr. Chance, may I ask what you are doing here?" Chance, in all his simple and honest, open faced sincerity responds, quite simply, "I live here." Thomas, looking over his papers replies, "There is no mention of a gardener… Just how long have you been living here, Mr. Chance?" Now the female lawyer, Miss Hayes, has become intrigued by the situation. "Ever since I can remember," Chance explains, "Since I was a child. I have always worked in the garden." "Than You really are a gardener," She delves? "Yes," Chance replies. By this time, Thomas, is visually flustered, "We will need some proof of you having lived resided here, Mr. Chance." He smiles, "You have me, I am here. What more proof do you need," Chance asks? Their conversation eventually reveals that not only has Chance never driven a car, he has actually never been allowed outside the house. He is the symbol of a baby having not been born yet, a pure product, educated almost entirely by television, with the exception of a few servants and the occasional visitor. He has no identification, he has no bank account, he does not exist on paper. The repartee continues in this vein until, eventually Chance understands that he must leave home.
" My Plans are to Work in My Garden."
- Chance The Gardener / Being There
When asked, what he will do, what his 'Plans,' are ? Chance answers with the only plans he has ever had, the only thing he knows, "My plans are to work in my garden." There is a deep and arching idea of the existence of god throughout the film. The use of the music, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," also utilized in, "2001: A Space Odyssey," is used again here, but this time, the very urban and hip version. On the one hand, this film attempts to level the playing field, at the same time, it's direct use of the most basic and oldest power symbols, poke fun at both the populist and the politicians alike. As Chance enters into society, he speaks to the locals about tending the garden. A group of young urban kids, threaten him, he senses the danger, yet does not panic. He see's a women who looks like Louise and asks her for lunch. Eventually, Chance gets distracted by his own image on a television that sits in the window of a store front, while he attempts to cross the street, he is pinned between a limousine backing up and a parked car. Formally dressed, in the old man's suit, hat and umbrella, and, taken for a Washington DC gentlemen of power and stature, he is invited inside the limo, so a doctor can check his leg, and thus begins the journey, into the houses of power. And at this juncture dear reader, I leave you wondering what happens next. In hopes that you will watch this fine piece of Cinema as soon as possible. As well as any film by director Hal Ashby.
THIS PAGE DISPLAYS A FEW SAMPLES FROM THE ACTUAL 299 PAGE MAGAZINE WHICH IS AVAILABLE AS A FREE DOWNLOAD at The Link Below, Simply, Tap the Link and Download The Hi Resolution Version NOW. It may take a Few Minutes, Though well worth The WAIT hundreds of images and links to events relating to each article and interview, many of which do not appear on this page:
BUREAU MUSIC : SONGWRITING with THE MALLETTBROTHERS
In The Studio, at The Table, and On The Road with This Maine Family Band
BUREAU : What is the impetus, would you say, for writing a song ?
Luke: I like to think of the song itself as the impetus, or some part of that song. It can be a melody, a line, a title, a feeling or even a broader concept. When you're lucky an idea will stick with you, and start to snowball inside your head and you have no choice but to see it through, and hold on for the ride. These are the dust-like particles that artists, of any medium I think, seem to pluck right out of the air. The seeds of creativity. The songs don't come from a writer but through a writer, because all inspiration ultimately comes from something outside of ourselves. We are all filters for reality, whatever our medium of choice may be. The driving force behind any song, then, is to get it out of your own head. To finish it. It's kind of an irrational need that artistic minds share. Say there's a particular metaphoric line that gets stuck in your head like a grain of sand in an oyster. It rolls around and around in your head, getting bigger and growing layers, smoothing itself out until it's finished. They're not all pearls either, but I guess the pearl isn't the point so long as the grain of sand is gone. The real joy for myself comes from moving on to the next idea before it flutters away.
BUREAU : Give us an example of a song you have written and describe the real life circumstances, event and happenstance that inspired that tune ?
Luke: "Late Night In Austin" (http://youtu.be/_AhV74jl0wk), released as the first track on our 2015 release "Lights Along The River" is a song that blended experience and imagination. In March of 2013 we made our first trip out to Texas. SXSW was happening, and Texas being the heart and soul of so many of our musical heroes, it was a big deal for us to be there. We were at the Continental Club on a night off, a room which we would be honored to play on later tours, to see James Mcmurtry play a solo set in the Gallery upstairs. The first lines of "Late Night In Austin" are "One late night in Austin, saw an old man dancing by himself. He was drunk half to death, and I knew just how he felt." The tiny old man wore a battered fedora, a dirty suit but a suit none the less, and a pair of shiny dancing shoes. He was there to use them. It was like being in a movie, watching this odd and obviously very imbibed man spin, slide, and swing his arms around on a dance floor all of his own. The packed room became even more dense as the crowd parted before him. He mouthed the words to the songs, although he obviously didn't know them, and at times clenched his eyes closed, opened his mouth and silently screamed at the ceiling as if his performance was causing him pain. McMurtry is one of the greatest songwriters alive today, in my opinion, but after that night the image of the old gentleman was what had seared itself into my brain. It wasn't until 2 years later, on our 3rd trip to Texas I believe, that the song was finally given life. In 2 years I hadn't been able to shake the images of that night, and it was time to write it down. The second verse is more of a generalization, a sweeping idea of what Austin during SXSW feels like. Music everywhere, bands and fans, parties and high hopes. Some triumphs and some regrets I would have to imagine. The first verse brings me back to a specific moment, while the second conjures a general familiar feeling for me. I like being able to put these two different kinds of thought processes together.
BUREAU : Once a song has been put on paper, walk us through the process of bringing those words to your Band members ?
Luke : The process for each song is different, just as the process for every writer is different. As I said before, a song for me can grow out of a line, a melody, or a concept. Nearly all of my songs are brought to the band as a skeleton, or a shell, and I rely heavily on the guys in this band to make it a TMBB song. I think we're lucky to be in a group that works this way. We often come into rehearsal and say, "who's got secret songs? Who's got something new?" And often times that will lead to something more tangible by the end of the day. Maybe the most important step is bringing the idea to the stage, and letting it make it's final evolution in front of a crowd. One thing we take a lot of pride in is the live show, and that to me ultimately shows what the song was meant to become.
BUREAU : How long have you or your bandmates been writing original works and explain how The Band was originally formed ?
Luke: The Mallett Brothers Band began in late 2009, and we drew from every corner of the Portland Maine scene. Myself, Nick Leen and Nate Soule had recently come out of another project together, but it was the arrival of my brother Will to Portland that lit the fire. We had some song ideas, we had a vague direction we wanted to head stylistically, and we had no idea that this would become a driving force in our lives. Wally Wenzel and drummer Brian Higgins, who had also worked together on other projects, came into the picture shortly there after and from the very first rehearsal we were all hooked. There was a certain chemistry, and a sense of how much fun we could have immediately. Our first time on stage together cemented the deal. Though the line-up has changed over the last six years, the electrifying feeling of being on stage together hasn't changed a bit. As it stands today on stage you will see myself and my brother Will on most lead vocals and guitar, Nick Leen on bass and good vibes, Wally Wenzel on dobro telecaster and vocals, Adam Cogswell on drums, and Andrew Martelle on fiddle and mandolin. "Lights Along The River" also featured our childhood friend and Nashville native Matt Mills on pedal steele, banjo, guitar and vocals, as well as me and Will's little sister Molly on vocals and even our father (and intimidating songwriting magician himself) David Mallett, who just released his 17th studio album this month. We strive above all things to enjoy this thing that we have given ourselves completely over to. When you invest nearly all of your time, energy, heart and soul in something you better have fun while doing it. "Too much fun" has become our mantra.
BUREAU : Discuss the new music, the new tour and what has inspired the latest batch of songs.
Luke : While "Lights" was a collection of songs pulled largely from the road, the next project we have our eyes on will be a collection of Maine logging, fishing, and trapping songs from the 1800's. Will discovered a book in our mother's library of all these forgotten folk tunes from the very woods that we grew up in, and we've been setting the words to our own music. History is important to us, our home state of Maine is very important to us, and this next project combines these things with the music that is so important to us. A few of these have been working their way onto the setlist as of late, and the feeling of bringing these forgotten words back to life is amazing. We're excited to continue making music that captivates us as well as fans. No definite release plans as of yet. Look for some of these new tunes on the stage. Tour is never ending.
