Way-cool Hospital Report #2

I am happy to report that I am quickly recovering from my scheduled laparoscopic robotic simple prostatectomy which I received on Thursday.  I was in the hospital just one night and am now here in my studio making art.  My prostate was in pretty bad shape but NO CANCER!  I have had very little pain in my recovery, certainly a lot less than in the four years dealing with the day to day problems of the condition. The catheter is to be taken out this coming Wednesday.  Thank goodness for Medicare and thank you all who have asked about me for your concern. - Warm regards - Richard

This Semester's Studio Goal
...and a step toward an ultimate quest for a thesis subject.

Triptych know as The Garden of Earthy Delights - Hieronymus Bosch ca. 1503-1504

In reviewing the successes and failures of my work, both current and in the past, it has come to my notice that those of my works which have more depth and interest to the viewer have been based on my interpretation of works of literature which have inspired me. My goal for this semester (and a consideration for the subject of my thesis) is to generate some serious artwork which is inspired by, but is not intended to illustrate Dante Alighiere's great 14th century epic poem Divine Comedy, specifically the section Inferno.

The Inferno - Canto 22 -  Gustav Doré - 1857

This great work has been a popular subject for illustration and artist's commentary since its writing, and perhaps a great pitfall to avoid by any prudent artist. I am sure that artists with more talent and prowess than me have failed in their attempts to do justice to this great work of religious sarcasm, hence my decision to not attempt to illustrate the work and be trapped in the realm of illustration, but to merely allow myself to be inspired by it.  Obviously another source along the same line of reasoning and contemplation of the religious tenor of its time is Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron. Written half a century after Divine Comedy, this work was obviously inspired by Alighiere's work and shares the disdain for the apparent crimes of the clergy and laymen of the culture of Christianity of the 14th century.  

The Story of Nastagio Degli Onesti from The Decameron by Boccaccio - Sandro Botticelli - 1483

Clearly this commentary on Medieval Christianity is germane today and there are those, this writer included, who believe that nothing much has changed in the political landscape of the The Church of essentially every denomination.  This in itself is good reason to avoid the pitfalls of commenting on a subject that is emotionally important to many people of today and my goal is not to insult the viewer's religious proclivities, but to achieve a subject that is as universal to human experience as is possible.  This underlying theme of the work of both men is clear and clearly universal: death.  An Episcopal priest I knew well once gave a sermon in which he simply stated "...the mortality rate in this world is 100%."  Death is an experience in which we ultimately all must participate, and I believe that we are all at least curious about what that experience will entail.

I have used the subject of death in my art extensively in the past.  Some of my works have been blatant in their imagery of death, such as the works using mummies and skeleton images related to my major in anthropology.  Other of my images have been much more subtle, as in my more recent "Hope is the Thing With Feathers" suite.  It is obvious to me that the more successful of the two approaches is the intellectually more complex, emotionally more subtle method, and this will be the basis for this semester's oeuvre.

My first piece of the semester is in the works now. I have had several false starts, but I believe the basis of what I want to do is established in my mind now. I will post the first study if not the first work in this post when it is complete.  Critique is welcome.

Richard

Thank you all for your concern for my hospital episode.

Thank you all for your concern for my hospital episodes on Friday June 28th and Saturday the 29th.

Thanks especially to Miah who, as a competent First Responder, took charge and as good as saved my life. This was my first trip in an ambulance, which was kind of exciting in itself, but I can't say much for the Boston bumpy roads on the way. Fortunately I was not having the heart attack that was feared, but only my first bout of kidney stone, which by the time all the tests were done at the hospital had resolved itself.  I talked them into discharging me and walked the mile and a half from Brigham and Women's to class.

Many thanks to Louise: Unfortunately, Saturday noon I had another bout and Louise was kind enough to take me back to the hospital again. By the time I got there the episode was over, but the doctor warned me that it still could be a heart attack or blood clots in my lungs, which could kill me in the pressurized atmosphere of the airplane flying home, so I agreed to stay for more tests.  By 10:30 that night all the tests were normal and they discharged me.  Apparently the stone is gone and I have not had any more problem with it to date.

Special thanks to Janna who was kind enough to run some errands for me on Saturday, including picking up shipping boxes, and help me figure out how to pack my art on Sunday.  I really couldn't have done without her help.

You all have been so wonderful to me in your concern.  It's great to be in the AIB family.

Richard

My Semester 2 Show on Newbury Street