#744 + GRACE #8 / YOU ARE MY GRACE I AM YOUR GRACE / 40″ H x 26″ W / CATHERINE L. JOHNSON + Anthony Cox’s DARK METALS + Charles Lloyd’s Modern Quartet

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GRACE #8

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40″ H x 26″ W

2017

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The last GRACE painting of the 40″H x 26″W scale.

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Please click on each image to enlarge.

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Please click on the links below for the GRACE series:

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/737-grace-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-2017-catherine-l-johnson-pablo-neruda-of-everything-i-have-seen-what-am-i-to-do-love-loved-one/

 

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/741-moving-grace-movinggrace-gracemoving-j-s-bach-the-six-cello-suites-pau-casals-recorded-193639/

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NOTE:

The color of the GRACE series cannot be translated digitally.

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Like all of my art,

the experience is only known with an actual experience.

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The color is custom and arrived after intensive experimentation

to resonate with the sonics/vibration

of the color

with the hue in my imagination.

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The color is a blush, an orchid blue

 which oscillates,

slowly and suddenly,

from the full color

to white

depending on the ambient light

and

the position of the viewer.

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Dynamic attending likened to

intentional open hearted

listening

to an improvisational solo cello performance

– the spaces are the silent intervals.

Meditative.

Serene.

Hushed.

Quiet.

 Whispering.

Intimate.

Loving.

Eternal.

Visceral.

Sweet rapture.

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The text is inscribed in graphite,

and washed over with paint

quieting its voice to a sweet whisper.

The second part of the text:

I AM YOUR GRACE

is inscribed

and

is visible when one attends carefully

– echoing the lower circle

– a hovering cycling circle.

Whispers whispering…

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THE GRACE SERIES IS A COUNTERACTION

TO THE CONSTANT BOMBASTIC BARRAGE

DEAFENING OUR NATION’S /WORLD’S

SENSES SINCE NOVEMBER 2016.

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ART HAS THE CAPACITY TO CAUSE THE SUBLIME.

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DONALD TRUMP’S DESPICABLE WORDS 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2017/08/14/donald-trumps-despicable-words/?utm_term=.b20d4324e166#comments

“…Here we are in the year of our lord 2017

and

the president of the United States lacks the moral courage

to condemn Nazis and white supremacists.

And they are not even making it difficult.

They are saluting like Nazis

and

waving Nazi flags

and

chanting like Nazis

and

spewing hatred like Nazis.

Maya Angelou was not wrong.

When someone tells you who they are, believe them.

Especially if what that person is telling you is “I am a Nazi.”

Barely, after two days,

he has managed to mumble that their ideology

has (should have) no place in our society.

Silence sells hats, I guess…

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…At some point you have to judge more than just the act of fighting.

You have to judge what the fighting is for.

Some principles are worth fighting for, and others are not.

Certain truths used to be self-evident,

to quote a man whose words were often better than he was.

But to Trump, they aren’t.

Trump’s words are no better than he is.

They are terrible words.

They are the worst words.”

 

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Donald Trump, from His Tower, RAGES at “the Other Side” in Charlottesville

http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson-sorkin/donald-trump-from-his-tower-rages-at-the-other-side-in-charlottesville

 

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The genius/guiding sonics,

the exquisite brilliant sonic stars,

ARTISTS,

whose sonics called out the pearl of the GRACE series

from the deep night sea of my imagination:

Anthony Cox’s DARK METALS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5BiW9cKA_o&list=PLlncbYlXsunLkCfZkt-XiTpA3TWUewHVk

+

Charles Lloyd’s Modern Quartet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJL4qx9xUCg&t=4s

 

 

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ART HAS THE CAPACITY TO CAUSE THE SUBLIME.

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#741 + MOVING GRACE MOVINGGRACE GRACEMOVING + J.S. Bach/ The six cello suites – Pau Casals / recorded 1936/39

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My hands.

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/ipromise-ipromisetotell-ipromisetotellthewhole-ipromisetotellthewholetruth-16-december-2015-catherine-l-johnson-artist-patti-smith-people-have-the-power/

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THE HUMILITY OF GENIUS

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Casals studied the suites for 12 years before

he first offered his rendition to the public.

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He discovered the score by accident in Barcelona at the age of 13

and

later declared that this incident “changed his life”.

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Casals was the first to play all the suites in one concert.

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PRIVATE RHYTHM: MOVING GRACE    (40″ H x 26″ W)    Catherine L. Johnson  2009

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/april-4-1968-26-february-2012-new-neuro-pathways-i-believe-beautiful-fortitude/

http://www.mnartists.org/artwork/private-rhythm-beautyisdivineisbeauty-2009X 

 

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 GRACE #3    (40″ H x 26″ W)                                                           Catherine L. Johnson  2009

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/737-grace-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-2017-catherine-l-johnson-pablo-neruda-of-everything-i-have-seen-what-am-i-to-do-love-loved-one/

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#740 + CIRCLE= universal/ sacred/ divine/ infinite nature of energy/ inclusivity of the universe + “…express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create.”

SINCERITY 

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In Zen Buddhism, ensō (円相 , “circle”)

is a circle

that is hand-drawn

in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes

to express a moment when

the mind is free to let the body create.

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The ensō symbolizes

absolute enlightenment,

strength,

elegance,

the universe,

and

mu (the void).

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Ensō is characterized by a minimalism

born of Japanese aesthetics

and

Zen Buddhism’s disciplined meditation. 

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“The circle is a symbol of the Self. 

It expresses the totality of the psyche in all its aspects,

including the relationship between man and the whole of nature.”

Carl Jung

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11 July 2017    St. Paul, Minnesota                                                                    Photo credit: ME!

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Halo: CIRCLE                                                                                       Catherine L. Johnson  2007

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2015/08/13/halo-circle-2007-catherine-l-johnson-empathy-exhibition-instinct-art-gallery-21-november-2015-15-january-2016/

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/sonic-artists-create-music-not-music-boxes/

 

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BODY&SOUL                                                                                            Catherine L. Johnson  2011

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/elementsperiodic-table-of-a-super-hero-and-the-sacredprofane-body-and-soul-of-humanity/

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/23-august-8twenty-third-august-23/

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HEAVENINMYMOUTH                                                                      Catherine L. Johnson  2012

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/heaveninmymouth-20128-januarysilver-circlesindigo/

https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/a-great-teacher-living-like-water-waterfall-portfolio-2004-catherine-l-johnson-water-is-a-great-teacher-that-shows-us-how-to-move-through-the-world-with-grace-ease-determination-and-humility/

 

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PRIVATE RHYTHM: MYTHROATSINGINGYOU                       Catherine L. Johnson  2009

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/private-rhythm-beautiful-fortitude-urgent-rhythmic-songs-that-resound-with-the-elixir-of-desire-wonder-awe-profound-moments-of-discovering-love-touching-what-could-not-be-touched-what-can-o/

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GRACE #7                                                                                            Catherine L. Johnson  2017

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https://catherineljohnson.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/737-grace-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-2017-catherine-l-johnson-pablo-neruda-of-everything-i-have-seen-what-am-i-to-do-love-loved-one/

 

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The most common first scribbles of children are circles and crosses,

basic symbols of wholeness and spirit.

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Concentric circles, or circles within circles,

 have a long historical association that depicts the cosmos and its spheres

as a microcosm within a macrocosm.

These early shapes are imprinted deeply in the soul,

emerging through expressive art forms

and

within dreams-spontaneously.

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TANTRA PAINTINGS FOR MEDITATION

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/17th-century-modernism/

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The circle embodies a spiritual energy.

Consider the circle symbol meaning with the Native American medicine wheels

-the integration of energy and matter – spirit and humans,

combining for the purpose of greater spiritual understanding and evolution.

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The most sacred learning/teaching dynamic, I BELIEVE,

is a

a testament of a bone/heart/soul/blood education

that recognizes and incorporates  

the principle of cycles within cycles

-that is, deeper levels of meaning

are  found in every learning/teaching process,

and

presents something for everyone to learn,

at every stage of life

acknowledging the levels of maturity.

The willingness, capability and readiness

TO learn

is GRACE and the unfolding inquisitiveness of the learner’s

 (not paralleling with the Western educational model with a temporal sequence)

 developmental capabilities and processes.

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The best teacher is an open mind

and  

is embodied by the teacher/individual

who is a tender and fierce gardener of the student’s soul.

ORGANIC, not ONLY academic!

The teacher is a vehicle, a vibrational conduit.

The teacher is NOT  “I am the MASTER” 

and you, the student, serve me (!)

-that is a rigid POWER OVER stance demonstrating hubris, insecurity

and toxic displaced arrogance.  

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 Learning is call and response,

a gospel song of exploration; humility; experimentation;

redemption and improvisation

that breaks open uncharted earth, waters, fires and skies

with awe and wonder.

 

GRACE.

 

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Concentric rings are among the most complex symbols

in Native American ways of knowing

because they represent relationships between

all symbols in the system as well as all processes.

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The Native American Medicine Wheel suggests, by its very structure,

a relativistic approach to human experience.

There are four directions, an inner circle and an outer one.

Things appear differently depending upon your position,

where you are on the wheel of life.

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It is possible to capture the meaning of concentric circles

in the below bulleted list,

yet, the list runs the risk of being reductive.

In general, concentric circles represent:

• processes,

• interrelationships,

• wholeness,

• systemic view of nature and universe,

• usually physically represented as a place or location

  from which stories and experience emanated

  and to which the people and stories are historically tied,

  and layers of meaning.

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“Every myth has its concentric rings of meaning

and is told and retold in this way.

The telling of a myth begins with a simple version for children,

then moves to a slightly more complicated version for adolescents,

to a deeper version for initiates,

and

to a still deeper version for the fully mature”.

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Circles were protective emblems to the Celtic mind.

Circles were often drawn as protective boundaries,

not to be crossed by enemy or evil.

Circles were also  Celtic symbols of the cosmos

– noting, in symbol, the intangible procession of time.

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In Chinese macrocosmic symbology,

the circle expresses the shape of heaven,

with earth signified by a square.

When we see a square inside a circle in Chinese art,

it represents the union between heaven and earth.

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The deeply significant yin yang symbol is circular,

and speaks to us of encompassing

the whole of duality

with intent for unified balance.

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The Traditional Chinese characters 陰 and 陽

for the words yīn and yáng

are both classified as radical-phonetic characters,

combining the semantically significant

“mound; hill” radical 阝 or 阜

with the phonetic indicators yīn 侌 and yáng 昜.

The first phonetic yīn 侌 “cloudy” ideographically combines jīn 今 “now;

present” and yún 云 “cloud”,

denoting the “今 presence of 云 clouds”. 

The second phonetic yáng 昜 “bright”

originally pictured 日 the “sun” with 勿 “rays coming down”.

This phonetic is expanded

with the “sun” radical into yáng 暘 “rising sun; sunshine”.

The “mound; hill” radical 阝full forms

semantically specify yīn 陰 “shady/dark side of a hill”

and

yáng 陽 “sunny/light side of a hill”.

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The Simplified Chinese characters 阴 and 阳 for yīn and yáng

combine the same “hill” radical 阝

with the non-phonetic yuè 月 “moon” and rì 日 “sun”,

graphically denoting “shady side of a hill”

and

“sunny side of a hill”.

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An extremely rare early Ming blue and white ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ brushwasher, Yongle period (1403-1424).

Dragon=yin. Phoenix=yang.

 

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GRACE #1                                                                                            Catherine L. Johnson  2017

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