Saturday, March 17, 2012

let's celebrate the end of historical time





okay, it's not a new concept. that said, on a personal level, the internet gives me the whole of the past, including art, science, religion, etc. i've caved into this fact, buying a new, fast laptop and the updated ipad this week, and i'm eligible for a new smartphone. you say, you, the world-traveler, how can you do this to yourself? yes, i sacrificed a trip to paris, a walk in kyoto, all for virtual adventure. luckily these tools arrived after i'd squandered my youth.


and speaking of that glorious, miserable time, i ran across this modigliani painting on my tablet:




okay, it's a pleasant picture, how does it relate? this reproduction, large-size, pinned above the bed where i first got laid, fifty years ago. i won't be too indiscreet, but i simply couldn't get it up the first night, rising to drink coffee and hiding my shame. does the event exist out there in the universe, replaying itself, time no longer of any consequence? seems like it. we certainly remember the anxious moments vividly, for whatever reason. this story had a happy ending, for her too, her first time, though ignorance doesn't necessarily bring bliss.


here's a photograph from an earlier era, my first year at an advanced educational institution, valparaiso unversity, where they allowed dancing on campus for the first time, never at a loss for lust, i'm sure. yes, i began my girl-watching in earnest that season.




this dorm next to the railroad tracks. every time a train passed, dust rained down from the ceiling. i did at least complete one campus tradition, kissing a coed on the bridge over the tracks as an engine thundered by underneath. yes, life not really linear, merely a collection of episodes. 


at one point many moons ago, polish circus posters fascinated me. in those days you couldn't find many reproductions. suddenly, last night, i felt inspired and looked them up on the web. there they were in all their glory. 




my god, what a feast! i downloaded over a hundred of them and began drawing big-top drawings of my own. 




you can see more: http://www.pbase.com/wwp/cyrk we've found eternal life, even if it doesn't last that long.