On artistatexito’s riverblog is a story being told and retold in so many ways everywhere. These are stories of wanton destruction of the Natural world to the view that human life is totally expendable in all the spheres in which politicians and profiteers strive to conquer and control everything and everyone that opposes their greed driven agendas. James Cameron’s film Avatar brought all sorts of people into the screenlands to see the big beautiful blue people confront the might of industrial development backed by military support. Who did you root for? Hmm? Is there anyone out there who did not want the beautiful blue people to succeed in protecting their world from gross exploitation? Now imagine that the people are not big and blue and startling beautiful exotic beings but ordinary brown-skinned people who have been living in the rainforests all their lives. Does their lack of intriguing physical appearances change how we view the same conflict and issues? Do we support them less because they are not creations of movieland but are flesh and blood human beings? Well such real people in Ecuador have been waging a legal war with the oil giant Chevron for over 17 years. Other indigenous people have been and are currently engaged in similar struggles to protect their homes which have importance for the health of the entire Earth. Is everyone and everything expendable for profit? If you’re thinking so what am I supposed to do? I’m just one person with no connections to anyone important. Well we are all important. We are all connected. One thing we call all do is share information. Knowledge is power. The more of us who are aware and know what’s happening–the more difficult it becomes for the insanity to continue. We can imagine better ways of living in which everyone and every living thing WINS! The way things have been and are does NOT have to continue. Person by person we are those who dream, imagine and can create wonderful new ways to live. We begin by supporting each other through awareness, tolerance and mutual respect. We can support each other by sharing knowledge.
Oil is a limited resource. We must cease being dependent upon it. The video from Amazon Watch is direct and to the point.
More about Amazon Watch can be found via the link on the sidebar. Click the photograph and visit the Amazon’s issues and people.
Yes, the modern natural heirs to the value, cultural and psychological legacy of Christopher Columbus are clearly represented by Oil companies like Chevron, Shell, and BP. If the people of the Gulf Coast really want to see their future after coverage of the BP disaster fades from mainstream news media they can look at the ongoing legal battle between the Indigenous people of Ecuador and Chevron Oil. Or they can consider the terrifying decades long running conflict between Indigenous people and Oil companies in the Niger Delta . Recently corporations which were granted ‘personhood’ rights for political contributions have been granted immunity from legal actions for the kidnapping, torture and murder of anti-Oil activists. Yes, Oil companies get to have their cake and eat it too. Well, I guess that would be they get to pump oil without responsibility. This is just one environmental issue on which Indigenous Peoples are on the front lines facing down corporations that ‘develop’ the natural resources to the detriment of all living things, including themselves. Heads up, corporations are composed of people, human beings, and guess what –all human beings are vulnerable to toxic pollutants.
Where are the instruments of our own destruction? In our gas tanks. In our minds. In our values. In our lifestyles. In our hearts? In our DNA?
What’s happening? It’s the struggle to survive. And it’s coming to your home whether you believe it or not. This isn’t an “if”, it’s a “when”. Think the issues in Avatar were just a figment of a scriptwriter’s active imagination? LOL. Indigenous people are not big and blue. They’re red, black, and brown people and they’ve got more than a few clues based on direct experience.
Think that just plugging that spilling in the Gulf of Mexico is the only problem of big oil companies? Oil companies which by the way want nothing more than for everyone to remain DEPENDENT on the black gold they mine and want to continue mining until THEY have alternatives ready to roll for their profit machines. Want to know how oil companies deal with local populations then just click to http://www.amazonwatch.org/ the site of Amazon Watch where there much to ‘wow’ about regarding Chevron’s tactics for legal evasion of responsibilty for their well informed and deliberate toxic adventures in Ecuador. Or check out what’s spilling in Peru.
Could it be that the folks who select who will receive a coveted, and very expensive booth, at the Country Club Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, Missouri have discovered that some of us like a little ‘meat’ on our art bones? Or was it just plain dumb luck or the colorfield appeal of the work of several artists that brought them to the land along Brush Creek?
Yes, folks, there was a welcome smattering of more than just home decor art here and there at the Art Fair. Moi gives thanks for the unexpected discovery of the art of Nicario Jimenez, Athlone Clarke, Ronnie Phillips, and Suzy Scarborough. Depending on what you desire from the art in your life, well, you might also appreciate work that goes beyond color coordination with the couch and rug set.
Nicario Jimenez cites himself as “Artist of the Andes” and according to his website he is indeed from a village in Peru. Though he now resides in Naples, Florida. But–what matters is his art–and it’s something to spend some time visually digging into. Jimenez creates “retablos” –self contained portable boxes of art. They’re like galleries you can carry hither and yon. And Nicario’s galleries are stuffed full of political, social, and cultural commentary via all the people and words that fill each box. He has a sweet online gallery at: www.retablosnicario.com .
A real surprise was the work of Jamaican born Athlone Clarke whose 2 D mixed creations seek and find for display every sore racial-cultural-political nerve that persists in the past and present–from swimming pools to slavery, he’s in touch with the raw nerves and does not hesitate to put them on display. You can check him out at:
Ronnie Phillips was a return artist to the Plaza. How ever did he slip in with those babies in the laundry washing machines? Oh yeah. While his work is more subtle than the two artists cited, it has its edge regarding African American history and issues. I relish his rich use of color and what he can convey with facial expressions.
My lone woman find was an eye intriguing delight even from a distance: Suzy Scarborough, whose large landscape was luminous from afar and not hurt one bit by sunlight. Scarborough was at the Plaza for the first time and me so does hope she returns just so I can enjoy so much of her work all in one place and at one time in person. Of her acrylic paintings on wood formats–figurative, abstract and landscape–my favorites are her collage landscapes which incorporate ‘found’ self educating book textual material into the backgrounds with overlaying colors and shapes. Decide for yourself which of her formats trips your fancy at www.SuzyScarborough.com .
I also enjoyed the photography of Rick Preston ( Miramonte, CA) who still uses the same 4×5 film camera he’s employed for the last thirty years. Apparenly Preston enjoys hiking–and photographing–at night. And the results can be intriguing when he plays with his coleman lantern.
Greg Davis’ photography also got me into his booth for a longer look at people and places of lands distant from midland Missouri. Visit www.gregdavisphotography.com and you can travel too. His mantra is: “There is no reason to look back. You’re not headed that way.”
Oh and at the UN-Plaza Art Fair on the grounds of the All Souls Universalist Church on Warwick there was the stone craft of Marty Bolyard–Netsuke Carver, Stone Sculptor –Wood, Tagua and Stone Turner. Bolyard’s exquistely detailed small creations are marvels of intricate craftsmanship. If you desire something truly unique in stone or wood, Marty is the Man for making it. Inquiries can be made via MUSEVISIONS1127@aol.com
Q’Orianka Kilcher, star of The New World, is quickly proving that she has definitely more than beauty and acting talent as she has been publically speaking out in support of the Indigenous People protesting the proposed destruction of their rainforest homes. Yes, the young woman has the audacity to actually call out Alan Garcia for committing genocide against the Peruvian Indian Prostestors.
It’s very compelling, and overflowing with irony, when an eco fashion site like greenloop offers coverage of the Indians’ protests in Peru while mainstream American media seems intent on ignoring the events. Apparently American corporate run news has a limited attention span–ie, Iran is all that matters–and who wants to touch ‘genocide’ in action? Especially ‘genocide’ that boldly illustrates the fundamental values war emerging on a global level.
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