Years ago I stumbled upon a print of a painting by an artist I now love, Man Ray.
Admiration of the Orchestrelle for the Cinematograph
Man Ray (American, 1890-1976)
Some thinking on the piece which I ‘pieced’ together online and just below, the song it inspired me to write nearly 20 years ago…..I can hardly TELL you how appropriate the song is to me today…in so MANY areas of my life. Clearly some angel channeled it to me to write those several decades ago. (I’m obviously fast at learning SOME things, and notably remedial at others….see my recent post, ‘Late Blooming and Dear Friends’).
Man Ray wrote that by this time he had realized that he wanted to find a new way of making and seeing art, freeing himself from the conventions of his time and the artist’s traditional baggage of paints, brushes and canvases. For some years he had worked in the advertising field as a mechanical draftsman, and he had learned, among other techniques, the use of the airbrush. In 1917 he applied it to his art in the making of aerographs, as they are generally known, which seem infused with breath and light.
In Man Ray’s drawing, not subject and object but subject and structure are one…Man Ray also takes his sexual interpretation of the machine. The female ‘Orchestrelle’ leans over invitingly to the beaming Cinematograph. ‘ABANDON OF THE SAFETY VALVE’ trails through the air like one of those advertising slogans still to be seen pulled by turning aircraft, but a novelty then. And in a strip up the side of the drawing, even, passion begins rising, then reaches climax and crosses the edge of the sheet.
The figurative elements in Admiration of the Orchestrelle for the Cinematograph (1919) look like two umbrellas, or one umbrella and the sort of morning-glory-shaped horn used to amplify records on a Victrola, or the most elemental shapes that might suggest a dancer, skirts twirling. A simple sans serif text in white spiraling up and outward into pictorial space reads: ‘ABANDON OF THE SAFETY VALVE,’ perhaps a description of the dancing figures of tightrope walkers, or a nod to the working progress of a life in the modern arts, or both.
His line inspired a song I wrote for my one woman play, Through Ruby’s Eyes, entitled, ‘You Gotta Wait’. The chorus reads….
You gotta wait, and it’ll come to you,
be patient too, be patient too,
it’s alright, it’s okay,
Abandon of the safety valve,
Value You,
Value You,
Come on baby let it all come true,
believe in, believe in, believe in you, you, you!
And how appropriate for where I am today….art inspiring life, inspiring art, inspiring life….and so the circle goes….in a twirl and a twirl and a twirl… passion giving life, creating passion, creating life….creating passion…
There are some wonderful energetic shifts happening on our planet right now…some interesting commentary from a rather ‘gifted’ woman who seems in touch with worlds I perhaps don’t see as clearly….yet. Her column is called, ‘Emerging Earth Angels’. Perhaps not for everyone, but I enjoy her perspectives with my interest in worlds I can’t see with my eyes. I feel them. She’s more often than not been ‘dead on’ with what I’m experiencing. Apparently our summer solstice brought in a vibrational wave of energy that is shifting our world. I certainly feel it with the recent eruptions in my day to day routine.
‘The solstice, as it usually does, shook things up for many. Much that had still not left its old and familiar groove, was suddenly usurped and thrown up in the air, creating sudden losses, catastrophes, and instant changes of direction. Energies (within individuals) that had not yet made their decisions, were now very suddenly forced to look at things, address things, and make some kind of change or decision. The solstice on June 21 was indeed a catalyst for many, and it succeeded it creating new growth and movement at different levels….
The new reality is very new indeed. It is a blank canvas waiting for our artist brushes to apply the paint, guiding the colors oh so precisely in order to create whatever we choose. It is indeed empty now, so that we can start very new…all over again from scratch. So even though we may have the paint and the brush, it is up to us to decide what we are going to paint…
Surrendering can help in identifying our new direction. Allowing it to unfold while being willing to accept things grander than we have ever imagined, and that were seemingly not our idea, can help as well. This is because we are stepping into the next phase of our soul shoes, and this next phase is amazing, grand, and allows us to become so much more of our original soul blue print and intention. This next phase is what we really came here for. It is absolutely finally time. It is the fun and juicy part.’
And WOW, has MY world been erupting over the last several weeks and bigger than ever THIS week. Hold onto your hats folks….this ain’t yer ordinary solstice. This ain’t your ordinary time in history!
Let the new and better times roll! I’m all about fun and juicy!!! ‘Bout time now….. it’s ’bout time!
And so it is! With gratitude for it all!!
BB Webb