His Point of View

This week I was able to attend a performance of  the one man play “Thurgood” starring Laurence Fishburne.  This was a magnificent performance.  I often had to remind myself that Fishburne was only playing a role.  The play is near the end of its run at the Kennedy Center in DC, and unfortunately its sold out for the remaining performances. If you can I would advise you to go to make sure you see this show when and if it comes to a theatre near you.  I did not know until I began doing a little research for this post, that this play has been on going on and off broadway since 2006, when the role was performed by James Earl Jones.  I only wisht that I would have known about the show so that I could have seen what Jones brought to the role.

As can be expected the play details many of the highlights of the life of former US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.  The performance focuses on his early years as a budding attorney, and his fight to win Brown vs. The Board of Education, as well as a few other cases that were crucial to the civil rights movement of the mid 1900′s.  Surprisingly there was quite a bit of humor which I did no expect, it just goes to show that there is a human side to everyone, no matter what their public image may be.  The was much I did not know about Thurgood Marshall, and I now have a desire to do more research into the life of America’s first African American Solicitor General and Supreme Court Justice.  I hope that the 90 minute show continues to shine a light on a man who did so much to change America.

***Update*** Gil Scott is performing in DC June 17-20, 2010 at The Blues Alley***

‘I’m New Here’ is the title of Gil Scott Heron’s latest album/CD.  If you don’t recognize the name Gil Scott Heron, you need to get familiar… Once you do some research I am sure you will find a poem or two created by him, that you have heard of.  His latest work of poetry is an excellent combination of music and spoken word poetry.  I can relate to so much of what he speaks of, and I do not doubt that you will relate to something on this CD as well.  Gil Scott Heron was fairly popular a few decades ago, and many people who were fans of his, unfortunately are not even aware that he has released a new work.  To whomever is responsible for promoting this album…please get on the ball, there are many fans out there who would surely make a purchase if they were made aware of this album’s release.

You can go to his website to hear the album now, while you are there read some of the press about him so that you can get familiar right quick… And you can order the CD from BestBuy.com, good luck attempting to find a copy of the CD locally.

Oh yeah my favorite tracks are ‘running’, ‘me and the devil’, and ‘On coming from a broken home’.

I think I will start a new periodic piece here called a moment to share, where I will post random things that I have observed or heard personally out in the “real world”.  I will begin with these B&W photos I took around DC during two afternoons/nights this summer (2009).

Remembering our Veterans and their families who sacrificed so much in the name of this nation.

Recently I have decided to venture into the world of Independent /limited release films, and I must say that I am disappointed in the fact that I have not done so sooner.  Last night I saw one of the best movies I have seen in a long while.  In my mind Full Metal Jacket is the bar when it comes to military movies and I can only think of one other movie (aside from the movie I saw last night) released in the last few years that comes close to the bar, and that film is We Were Soldiers.  Las night I saw the movie titled “The Hurt Locker” which is about a bomb squad team serving in Baghdad.  The movie has no real “stars” (but it does have a few familiar faces) and i think that is the major reason it is not a mainstream film.  If you like war movies this is definitely a must see, you can go to the movie’s official web site to find a theatre near you that is showing this flick.

If you live in the DC metro area you should check out the E Street Cinema, I will be there frequently this summer and fall, as it appears there are several more excellent Indie films to be released this year.  Even if you don’t live near DC you should check out the link to the E Street Cinema to find an affiliated theatre near you, and to read the description of some of the films currently available.  I must add that many of these movies have stepped their game up tremendously… no longer do independent films have that notorious “low budget” appearance.  Many of these films are shot using equipment of similar if not equal caliber to what major studios use. 

If you ever wonder how you can view some of the films that you hear about or read about winning major awards at film festivals such as those in Cannes and Utah ( Sundance Film Festival) you should find your local theatre which shows Independent films.   If you are concerned about prices,  the admission prices at the E Street Cinema are actually cheaper than the major chains in the area (tickets are $10 after 6pm).  Also, for you film producers many of these theatres have events where you can show your works to the public.

It’s time to expand your horizons, let’s go out and seek entertainment instead of being spoon fed the same repeated themes by the major production studios.  

(If you know of some other venues, especially in DC or ATL that show good independent films please let me know)

These are the films I plan to check out in the coming weeks… (sadly it seems that I just missed the Unmistaken Child, as it’s showin gin the DC area ended yesterday…)

Last fall (2008) I was wandering around the “gas lamp” district of San Diego, CA when a painting in a window caught my eye. I saw that the establishment was an art gallery/studio, and it happened to be open so I decided to take a look inside. What I saw when I entered was a collection of the best oil paintings I have had the pleasure of enjoying. We all know the art of the old standards such as Picasso, Monet, Bacon, Matisse, etc… and I recognize their work as being great… but its not really art that moves me or that I can relate to, with few exceptions. I recognize all of their work as being great… but as far as art that i would hang in my office or home I would place Tim Cantor above all of the previously mentioned artists. When I say that Tim’s art jumps off of the panel that is what I mean. The colors, the shading, the lighting were unlike anything I had ever seen done before with oil paints.
His works appear as if they are computer animations displayed on an HD screen (hopefully that is interpreted as a compliement). In fact I had to ask one of the staff members if the images were paintings or Computer Generated Images (CGI). The images you will see below do not fully capture the brilliance of these paintings as I experienced in the gallery. Tim’s work reminds me of Cirque du Soliel for more reasons than one… but primarily because he has taken something so familiar and put a whole new spin on it, just as Cirque has done with the traditional idea of a circus. Now I say that last statement because his style is new to me, perhaps there are many other artists with a similar style… Tim just happened to be the first I was exposed to, just as Cirque was the first circus experience I have had of that type. And to any reader out there if this style of painting has a name please do share it with me. If you are ever in San Diego and you appreciate art I urge you to stop by:

Ashby Galleries . 527 Fourth Avenue . San Diego . CA . 92101
619.235.6990

If you like the images below please do visit his site at: http://www.timcantor.com Be sure to click on the “Detail Views” link if it exists for the image you are viewing, it will zoom in to show you some of the featured details of the painting.

When you visit Tim’s site please see the “Limited Editions” page for prints which you can purchase (many are under $2000 framed or unframed), or the “Available Works” page for works which range in price from around $700 for a sketch  to $32,000+ for an original oil on panel or canvas.

All images are from http://www.timcantor.com

“En Pointe” Oil on Canvas

“sine qua non” detail close up of bee

“sine qua non”full-painting, oil on linen

“Sword of Damocles”, Oil on Panel

All images are from http://www.timcantor.com

“Ghost of You”, Oil on Canvas

“Grain of Sand”, Oil on Panel

“Journeyman”, Available as a print

“Born Again”, available as a print

“Stalking the Scarecrow”, available as a print

“The Hollows”,Oil on panel & available as a print…This is the image that attracted my attention. The leaves of the tree appear to jump off the canvas toward you if seen it in person. This shows how the artist captures lighting effects in his paintings… I absolutely love this effect (…but I am a photographer so I appreciate attention given to proper lighting).

All images are from http://www.timcantor.com