Captured on Canvas

Hendrick ter Brugghen

Melancolia

(Art Gallery of Ontario)

I was struck by this painting at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  I immediately thought of migraines, rather than its title of Melancolia.    The artist, Hendrick ter Brugghen has perfectly captured the mood.  The woman is in a dark room with her head in her hands.  She is looking at a skull, as though she is searching for an answer as to why this is happening to her.  The candle on the table represents the burning and throbbing pain that this affliction brings.  The flame has a red colour at its tip, which makes the emphasis and focus of that pain even more obvious.

Scene / Seen (Major Stink Eye)

Poe has attitude.   And yes, notice the vast accumulation of books and magazines in the background.  Yikes.

A Tale of Two Cities ----Widow Basquiat: A Love Story (Jennifer Clement)

This book is a very quick read.   The author, Jennifer Clement, combines snippets of Suzanne Mallouck's memories with her own prose.   It is not the traditional biographical recounting, but, rather, a series of vignettes.  It is like sitting around with a friend, reminiscing about a person who is no longer with us.   "Hey, remember the time when.....?"  In so doing, it brings back a time and place that is gone.
.
New York City in 1980 was actually two cities.  It was an exciting time for artists of all genres.  There were many clubs and the music scene was diverse.   Artists were making use not only of the lofts that were still affordable in the yet-to-be gentrified districts, but also of the streets themselves.  Graffiti art was making a headway.  Galleries were opening and taking a chance with these new artists.  Andy Warhol mixed with these new artists.
.
However, amongst this creative New York was a city of destruction.  The drug market was so open, that the goods would be lowered in a bucket outside of buildings.  There was a lot of coke and heroin making the rounds.  People were just beginning to get ill with what would become known as the AIDS virus.
.
Suzanne Mallouck left her abusive father in Canada at an early age.  In this book, her relationship with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is recounted.  The two of them lived together for a while and she offers the reader some insider knowledge as to the meaning of his paintings.  She met him before he became famous and watched his increasing use of heroin.  Within their circle were people like Rene Ricard, Madonna and Keith Haring.
.
This is also the tale of a black man in an Armani suit who could not hail a cab, for they would not stop for him.  Suzanne was friends with Michael Stewart, an unarmed man who died after being stopped by the police.  The book briefly recounts her attempts to seek justice for him.  It discusses why Basquiat took water into a museum and secretly sprinkled water in corners---for there were no black artists hung there.
.
Despite her own usage of heroin, Suzanne stopped and went to medical school.  She currently treats addicts.
.
As an aside, I am adding information on the Michael Stewart case at the link below:
.
Michael Stewart case

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) -- Happy Halloween

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- The Unexplained

This is one I've posted before, but still remains to be explained.  It's a shot I took on a ghost tour. The photo was taken without a flash.  All the others came back dark, dark and dark.  I had the camera pointed in one direction, as there were people beside me.  We were in an old church in Quebec City, where people from a cholera epidemic had died.  There were reports in the church of people seeing a woman.

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- The Chateau

The Chateau Frontenac, like many hotels, is said to have a ghost.  So much so, it was made famous by a stamp last year.
.

.
The rumour was that the deceased's heart was mailed to his beloved.  Finding that rather morbid, she returned it, and Mr Frontenac roams the halls to this day.
.
Below are shots of the hotel, in all its fall glory.  It's a wonderful place to stay and the bar is a classy place to drink.
.

This was taken just as the sun was coming out.  The old wooden boardwalk was empty and the place lit up.  The roof is made of copper and it shines in the light.  There are excavations under the boardwalk, as there was an older fortress.  When you go through it, there are exhibits of items being dug up.  You can peak down through those plexi-glass boxes that are visible in the photo.
.

 The thing to the right, with the sign that reads "funiculaire," is an elevator-railway, that takes you down to the lower town.  It is very old and the building it ends up in at the bottom is  hundreds of years old.

 That wall is part of the fortifications of the city.

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) ---Not so mellow yellow

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Small Town Sreet's Halloween

The street scene below might be familiar.  This is the park where a carousel was placed and used in the television series Mystic Pines.  The fruit stand is just down the street from it.
.

One of the Most Disturbing Songs for Halloween

.

I was on a web site once, and a question was posed about the most disturbing song.  I posted this one.  It was interesting, as a few other people did also, even though it's not well known.  What makes it even more so, I heard an interview once and it was stated that the lyrics are based on a true story.  Urban legend, one hopes.  I have this on vinyl---the original greatest hits release, but I can not listen to it.  It's selling for 49.99 new on vinyl and a few dollars less if it's used.  Mine is in perfect condition.  Put the lights on and don't listen to it if you're prone to being haunted by "what if" questions.  And trust me, I'm not easily effected.

Siouxsie And The Banshees - Spellbound HD ( Official Video )---Atmospheric Classic

.

This is from one of my favourite albums.  It may be old, but she was well ahead of her time.

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Halifax headed Halloween

 The above building was a circular shaped structure that was built in 1922.  It was a rink for skating and also used for events.  In 1928, it was destroyed by a fire which took the life of a young girl.

 The above shots were taken in Halifax, when the sun was just coming up.  The first shot is of an old graveyard.  The other is in the vicinity and was a wonderful old building.

The white church spires in both photos are observed from a train window.  A fast moving storm came in when I saw the first church.  The sky went black in an instant.  In the second, the trees around the church were showing full fall colours.

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Tales from the Crypt

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Black Cats

What would Halloween be without a black cat?  This is one as appreciated by the Egyptians.
.

The rest are mine.

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Damp Days Bright Sights

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) ---Decorations

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Pumpkins at the Plains

Scene / Seen (Thirty One Days of Halloween) --- Harvest Gold

Canada Votes

Out to pasture!!!!  The grass has got to be greener...