“Nothing is forever in this world, even our problems.” – Charlie Chaplin
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                                                                                                                        Ashes to Art
    The recent catastrophic January 2025 wild fires in Los Angeles which caused much carnage have left many people stressed out with needing to heal from the trauma, both physically, emotionally and spiritually.  -
We offer prayers for all those impacted and their lost loved ones.
Many prayers also offered to the lost pets and wildlife, also the survivors.
Many thanks also to the brave fire fighters and all the heroic crews who worked tirelessly on the efforts to quell the fires to save lives and property.

     Aside from the fire events themselves, there is also now the ecological impact of more dangerous poison toxins in the air, in the dirt and in the nearby ocean.
      There are many birds, fishes, whales, dolphins, sharks, sting rays and all other type of aquatic life who have suffered adversely from this environmental disaster.
   Lots of people have felt helpless and feel a strong human need to help their community and environment somehow. Many people have volunteered to help and efforts are ongoing.

      ​As artists who believe in the empowerment of art, there is a need for an output of creative expression and evocative reactions.  
From Ashes to Art.
Many Los Angeles artists have stepped up with their talents to help heal and transform lives and also raise funds for their communities through the internet. 
     At Obey Giant their art reflects a Re-Build/Re-Think mantra on the situation and they have been making lots of Limited Edition print series to disseminate their positive visual messages. -- 
     “We can re-build, but we also need to re-think. CA is the nation’s most environmentally progressive state, but that alone cannot solve a global problem; more needs to be done.” – Shepard 

 But what about the effect of Art & Alchemy ?
      At its core, alchem­­y is a practice of transformation, both on a physical and spiritual level.
Alchem­­­y and Art are interconnected ways of seeing, and transforming, the world.  Alchemy is the Art of transformation, inner liberation and change.
     In the creation of art, there is an alchemical process of turning raw emotions, life experiences into something tangible, relatable and profound, while also raising serotonin levels & advancing intelligence of the brain. 
Yes, art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions and the nervous system.
   As well on the appreciation of, experiencing of and cultivation of arts.
   A University of London study demonstrated that “looking at beautiful (to the beholder) art can create an instant dopamine release, creating feelings of happiness and gratitude akin to looking at someone you love”
So Creative alchemy is the transformative power of translating personal feelings into art and meanings.
Spiritual alchemy is connected with freeing your spiritual self from your fears, limiting belief systems and lack of confidence 

Ashes to Art
---This new and fresh contemporary art series, Fire-Aid, has been described as a mix of humor, social activism and self help.
    Certainly some of the best Art out there. Or as one pundit explains as “The banality of Pop mixed with social parody and activism to express a transformative vision of Arts culture into a positive outlook for society." 
Among the semiotics, social commentary are also at play and a form of Fair Use (no infringement intended)
What does"Fair Use" mean? Under section 29 of the Copyright Act, "fair dealing (fair use) for the purpose of research, private study, criticism,education, parody or satire does not infringe a copyright.
What else does it mean?
The meaning is up to the viewer and there are different interpretations depending on one's mindset. 
Art Awakens. 
Art Transforms.
Art Reflects.
Art Laughs.
Art Speaks. 
Art Sings.
Art Empowers.
Art Dances.
Art is the Dance.
Art is Transcendent.

Art raises awareness of life and culture.
Art puts us in the moment.
Art is one of the only real things left in life. 
​- John Cat
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“Accepting the absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience, it should not become a dead end. It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful.” – Albert Camus.
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Ashes to Action
A portion of the monetary proceeds from the sale of this Fire-Aid series of art goes to : 
​(Or please go to any of the links and make a direct donation )
Heal the Bay. org
Pasadena Humane society  (because Paris told us too)
Los Angeles Fireman foundation
Surf Rider foundation
Medecins Sans Frontieres ( Doctors Without Borders)  
All purchase records of art kept by Square and verified by a CPA.
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We should not be surprised that Nature happened.
For those who wish to learn more about California wild fires --
 The Case for Letting Malibu Burn by David Smith, seems to express dire portents humans face by not respecting nature.

    “What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject-matter, an art which could be for every menial worker, for the businessman as well as the man of letters, for example, a soothing, calming influence on the mind, something like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.” - Henri Matisse - painter

 SKULLS for PEACE ART
        Skulls for Peace is a new contemporary art conceptual about using art to inspire positive change and elevate ourselves as humans to a higher consciousness of life. This can be both on a personal level as well as related to the world's problems with conflict, genocide, bombing of civilian populated areas & other war crimes in our current times.
          The human skull, has captivated artists for millennia, serving as a haunting reminder of the fleeting nature of life and something we can all relate to as we humans all inhabit the same structural anatomy. The skull protects the brain and supports the face.
It's made up of 22 bones, including the cranium and facial bones.
            Skulls are something we can all appreciate as they house our brain, the so called “seat of intellect”, as well as of course the place of our hearing, seeing, smelling and tasting.
         When we practice meditation we are advised to close our eyes and focus on the inner "third eye", which sits in the middle of the skull between them. 
The human pineal gland  "third eye" is an extremely active neuro endocrine transducer and when "opened", you might experience a heightened sense of intuition, a deeper connection to your inner self, increased clarity of thought, vivid dreams, a feeling of inter-connectedness with everything around you, and sometimes even subtle sensations like tingling or pressure between your eyebrows; essentially, a more profound understanding of reality beyond the physical world, often described as a "knowing".

           To "Use your skull" essentially means "use your head" - which means to think carefully, use common sense, or apply your brain to a situation; it's a way to tell someone to think logically and make a good decision.
So, Skulls for Peace is an Art movement which encourages higher intelligence.

 Skulls depicted in art can be both thought provoking & humorous­.
Although the most common symbolic use of the skull in ART is as a representation of death, they can also be used as a symbol of:
-- respect
-- strength & protection
-- wealth
-- toughness
-- humor
-- transformation
-- bravery
-- a life-and-death struggle
-- display of power
     Skulls also symbolize life and in other cultures the skull is used to celebrate the deceased or to reconnect with the spirit world.
Throughout all history, humans have been fascinated by anatomy and the skull. Skulls can appear in ancient carvings such as Petroglyphs and yes, skulls appear in  “Fine” art too.

Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette is an early work by famed French artist Vincent Van
 Gogh (b.1853 - d.1890) The small and undated canvas painting featuring a skeleton smoking a cigarette was most likely painted in the winter of 1885–86 as a satirical comment on conservative academic practices.
Van Gogh was a young student at the time as the study of anatomy is a prerequisite for any aficionado of art in general.

          Mexican artist, lithographer & engraver, Jose Guadalupe Posada (b.1852 - d.1913) who is perhaps best known for his animated skeletons (calaveras) created works like La Calavera Catrina at a time when photo-mechanical technology was in its infancy. Most of his works were engraved or etched in relief on type metal for publication in daily publications and pamplets meant for the masses printed on cheap newsprint.
             Often expressionistic in content and style, the art of Posada also has a satirical acuteness and fosters
 social engagement with humor.
          Art involving skulls is ­­­often t­­ermed as belonging to the trope of 'memento mori' – named after a Latin phrase meaning "remember (that you have) to die or remember death, remember the dead".  It can be used to ­describe a practice, object, or artwork that serves this purpose.
            The phrase comes from the Bible, in the opening lines of the Book of Ecclesiastes.Artwork reminiscent of memento mori endeavors to symbolically remind its viewer of the present moment of life & the inevitability of death. The most common motif is a skull, often accompanied by bones.
 
        In modern art, artist of all stripes and disciplines have used the skull motif and even in the Pop Art movement.

In 1976, American artist Andy Warhol (b. 1928- d.1987) created a 10 part large canvas silkscreen series called simply, Skulls.
Famous for 1960’s Pop Art commercialism of the banal & celebration of fame, Warhol's Skulls offer the notion of death as the blank afterimage of life, rather than as a melancholy fate.
 
  Further on and into the New York art circus of the early 1980's, the super talents of artist Jean Michel Basquiat  (b.1960-d.1987) emerged into the cultural mix, if only for a short time.

Basquiat quickly became one of the most famous artists of that era and arguably still is.
His prolific oeuvre is filled with symbols scratched, words scribbled, words crossed out, phrase, screaming faces, anatomical drawings and also contain Skulls in his unique style.
 
In our new times, Skulls for Peace conceptual art seeks to engage the viewer via Skulls, as an inspirational peace initiative for all to embrace, utilizing the expressionistic message of art as a tool to heal, transform and transcend an ill society.

 Los Angeles based artist James Sasso (b. 1960) created the Skulls for Peace conceptual & art as a continuation of the artistic cultural traditions of mankind. Sasso's definitive and distinctive style involves semantics & semiotics as a prevalent theme in his mixed media artworks filled with color and meaning.

Skulls For Peace art acts as a bridge to elevate the viewer into a higher consciousness of positive energy for themselves as well as the  betterment of society.
www.SKULLSforPEACE.com  Hardback Art book coming soon.

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before swine… “- Mathew 7:6  Jesus Sermon on the Mount

“Congress shall have the Power . . . To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” – United States Constitution, Art. I, Section 8

( Artwork examples depicted, TEXAS ROAD TRIP ( aka TEXAS MODERN) is an example of a completely ORIGINAL & DEFINITIVE style Fine Art canvas) 
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      In 1790, the Constitution enshrined in American law the principle that an author of a work may reap the fruits of his or her intellectual creativity.
   Copyright protects through law original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations. Today, copyright provides to an author the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute his or her work.
The Copyright Law also provides, in the case of certain works, a right to publicly perform or display the work; in the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission. The author may also grant to others a license to engage in these activities.
We hope this educational blog will help Artists (and others) to be aware of and protect their art from the unauthorized copyright infringement, unlawful derivatives or usage by for profit entities without them ­­­­­­paying the artist any fees or residuals.

We hope artists young and old will learn to protect their artworks or definitive style as the copyrighted & valuable intellectual property that it is.
Similar to music rights and royalties, artists should be paid for their works usage on anything, including consumer goods. Each item.
Even though the copyright holder is automatically protected against infringement, the artist should also register their works with the Library of Congress as a singular or collection submission, so as to give more weight and teeth to their actions against criminal violators of their works.
A good work of art can have tremendous commercial value beyond the physical piece itself. Protect your rights against the parasites of culture so that you benefit financially to your satisfaction.
You the artist owns the Copyrights to your works.
We hope that any artist reading will learn something about protection of their work  especially when submitting their artwork to others for specific circumstance such as a “cause” or purpose. 

The Basics:

1. To start, artists need to know that copyright is an “automatic right.” Copyright automatically protects your work from the moment it is fixed in a tangible form. In other words, once you create a piece of art, write a story, or write down or record a musical composition, it is protected by copyright.
2. Copyrights protect the author’s ideas and controls their material up to 70 years after their death, or less if the author is a corporation. The protection covers writing, music, artistic works, and digitally stored material including books, songs, poetry, art, films, graphic designs, computer software, website content, and architecture.
3. What is criminal copyright infringement? -- Criminal copyright infringement is a violation of federal law when a person intentionally and willfully uses or distributes another’s copyrighted material for financial gain.

The FBI has made ‘intellectual property’ theft a priority of its criminal investigative program.

For your information and according to online sources:
 The FBI's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) program investigates theft of trade secrets, counterfeit products, and copyright and/or trademark infringement cases.
       Intellectual property crime is committed when someone manufactures, sells or distributes counterfeit or pirated goods, such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs or literary and artistic works, for commercial gain.

Is copyright infringement a crime?
Yes, copyright infringement can be a crime in the United States. Criminal copyright infringement is defined in 17 U.S.C. § 506(A). 
This is the principal criminal statute protecting copyrighted works, which provides that "[a]ny person who infringes a copyright willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain" shall be punished as provided in 18 U.S.C.
When is copyright infringement a crime? 

• When the infringement is intentional and for commercial gain.
  
• When the infringement involves the reproduction or distribution of multiple copies of a copyrighted work.
  
• When the infringement involves the reproduction or distribution of works with a high retail value.

What are the penalties for criminal copyright infringement? 

• Fines of up to $250,000
• Imprisonment of up to five years
  
• Seizure, forfeiture, or destruction of the material involved.

What are other types of copyright infringement?

• Civil infringement: When one party sues another for copyright infringement 
• Willful infringement: When the infringement is intentional. 
•  Fraudulent use of a copyright notice: When someone intentionally misuses a copyright notice 
•  Fraudulent removal of notice: When someone intentionally removes a copyright notice 
•   False representation: When someone intentionally misrepresents information about a copyright

If you are the author artist of the Copyright to an original work, you need to be aware that you also have the copyrights to any derivative works.
A derivative work is one that is constructed largely of a pre-existing work or derives from it.It can be a series or edition.
Original works are the work created directly and personally by a particular person/artist, while infringing derivative works are based on the original work of someone, an imitation of others' work, style or renderings.
 
Is producing derivative works of someone's art a copyright infringement crime?
Yes, creating a derivative work without the copyright owner's permission is copyright infringement and considered a crime.

• The copyright owner has the exclusive right to create derivative works from their copyrighted work.

· The copyright owner can sue someone who creates a derivative work without permission. 
 · The derivative work must be substantially different from the original work to receive copyright protection.
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On a different note but same page:
      Sometimes cultural images in history can be appropriated for movements or political slogans.
People committing Art theft of paintings, or appropriations, plagiarizing, making derivative works or such things for commercial or idealistic ­­­purposes is nothing new.  
People will steal when they want something good but don’t want to pay for it.
      The swastika is at least 11,000 years old. The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit word svástika . In the early 20th century, the swastika was a symbol of good luck in the West. In China, the swastika is called the "Wàn" and denotes the universe or the manifestation of God.

      The Nazi movement of ww2 stole/appropriated this symbol from the Buddhist, Indian & other cultures which consider it a good luck blessing.
       By subverting the context & purpose of the powerful symbol for their own visual usage & power, they committed a form of cultural art theft/copyright infringement, to go along with all their many other crimes against humanity.
        Now when most people see this symbol they don’t think of good luck, blessings or other feel good stuff but they think of the Nazi movement & some countries have even outlawed this ancient symbol.
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         Closer to our recent times is the artist Frank Shepard Fairey (b.1970) & his Obama poster situation and how the issue of copyright violations come into play during the 2008 presidential run.
Fairey is a popular artist who uses new technology to create his art works and became very well known after his powerful Obama Hope poster caught the public’s eye.
Fairey's art has been described as a "bold iconic style that is based on styling and idealizing images."
   The Hope Obama art image was heavily used to politically market the presidential candidate & helped to get him elected. The image was widely described as iconic and came to represent Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

]      Artist Fairey used an AP (Associated Press) photo by freelance photographer Mannie Garcia, without permission or credit to "create" a new image, and was eventually sued by the agency for violating copyrights. That case was eventually settled.
       The digital process simply involved creating a source bottom layer for the photo which he presumably found online, then used layers placed over it to create the vector art image on top of the photo. Later the photograph layer is either deleted or the art image is flattened to render source photo invisible.
This supposedly creates a "New" graphic image without the actual photo visible but in reality is just a form of copyright infringement or image theft by producing derivative  works from it.
 
      With digital technology advancements in the last 20 years, Modern Contemporary Art has changed along with it & artists have adapted with the revolutionary medium of the computer as a drawing tool.
       It’s almost like anyone with a computer can be an artist and in fact, in our opinions, everyone IS an Artist or has the capabilities but most don’t exercise this part of the intellect or brain.
 Either way, we still like Fairy’s work a lot & think his art style is interesting statement on the times of how artists adapt to new media..

To any people reading this we hope this is a learning moment and they can understand right and wrong when it pertains to using imagery without compensation or credit due the artist.
Ethics:
It’s  hopeful that a business type person will read this and be educated about ethical behaviors as it relates to the respect of artists, their artwork, Intellectual Property Rights, copyrights & why can be such a heinous crime against the culture of America.
 A good practice is to pay for art and in the event of numerous reproductions on anything such as consumer goods then it is standard that an artist royalty be attached to each item produced, similar to songs. This royalty can be any amount from pennies per item to any $$ amount. It is more beneficial to both parties & the best way to conduct things as copyright infringement is a crime which not only hurts artists and keeps them from making new art for everyone but it hurts a culture.
​Who is John Galt?
Two questions to ask about Copyrights are: 
1.) Would the second, third or fourth or other works (derivative works) exist or be done without the first original work  (mother work) ?  -- If the answer is no then it's probably Copyright Infringement.
​2.) Would the average person ( public, jury member) find the second, third or other works to be from the the first original work & derivative of it? --  If the answer is Yes, the average person sees the similarities & likeness to the first work, then it's probably copyright infringement.
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The End.
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Blog part 2 coming soon: Copyright Law: The Road to Perdition & Bags
(Excerpt Below) ---- 

       In year 2011, Calabasas, California banned single-use plastic bags, becoming one of the first cities in Southern California to do so. The ban encouraged residents to use reusable bags or recyclable paper bags instead and July 1 2011 was when the law went into effect at local grocers such as Albertsons.
A few years later a stricter state wide law went into effect about reusable bags because they are bad for the "environment".
     In 2014, while talking about the state of California’s strict new bag law, a Phil Rozenski, the director of sustainability and marketing at plastic bag manufacturer Hilex Poly (now employed at Novolex as Vice President of Government, Public Affairs & Sustainability) , he claims the new law is not about plastic bags or the environment.
Instead, he says, it is about: “False Environmentalism” and “billions of dollars in profits going to retailers.”  (quote from a September 15, 2014 article in Chemical & Engineering News)
--
    Meanwhile, self proclaimed "Community minded & environmentally friendly" Earthwise Bag Co. formerly based in city of Burbank but now in Glendale, California, is the leading manufacturer and distributor of “reusable” plastic bags found in large American grocery store chains, most notably Albertsons ( 375 U.S. stores) , as well as Kroger, Trader Joes and many others including small chains. Albertsons was the first retailer in the United States to sell reusable bags for $0.99.
     Earthwise Bags, was founded in California (2005) by South African native Stanley R. Joffe ( current age 77) , who is the CEO. Joffe used to be in the clothing business until he turned into an environmental do gooder, which is his way to market & sell the millions of bags he makes & spreads around.
Seems to be a family affair as his nephew, U.S.C. grad Steven Batzofin (age 47) , is the co-founder/Vice President and spits out the same rehearsed environmental marketing garbage as his mentor.
  In 2013, Albertsons presented environmental warrior Batzofin with a “Vendor of the Year” award for providing their stores with “eye catching designer reusable bags”.  

    According to online press stories, both of these recyclable bag makers shout about a “closed loop environmental sustainability” recycle spiel under the ­­mantra of “benefiting the community” to sell their millions of “eye catching designer" bags to all those grocery stores.
       Most if not all the bags are produced/manufactured in the South East Asian country of Vietnam.  The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam.
      Earthwise Bags, since early February2016, is now owned by a huge worldwide corporation based in London called Bunzl (also Bunzl Distribution North America).

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In a previous blog, DEATH TO PLASTIC by John Cat, there is more factual information about "recycled" plastics & how "the success and dominance of plastics starting in the early 20th century has caused a widespread environmental problem, due to it's slow decomposition rate in natural ecosystems." ------- 

"Painting was not invented to decorate houses but is an instrument of war to be waged against brutality and darkness."
"No, painting is not made to decorate apartments. It's an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy. The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web."-- Picasso On Guernica
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Have you heard of the artwork Guernica?
Guernica is a very large year 1937 oil painting on canvas  by artist Pablo Picasso (b.1881 Spain - d.1973 France) painted in Paris, France & named after Guernica, a small town in Basque Spain which was bombed by the Spanish Fascists & German Nazis  in 1937.
Many people think of Guernica as an anti-war statement and a prescient warning about the war (WW2)  that would soon engulf the world. 
Much of the painting’s emotional power comes from its overwhelming size, approximately 11′ 6″ x 25′ 6″ (eleven feet tall and twenty five feet wide) and it's limited color palette of black & white with muted blue grays.
Guernica is in black and white because it is digging into the truth behind pictures. The discarding of color intensifies the drama, producing a reportage quality as in a photographic record.
     It is one of Picasso's best-known works, regarded by many art critics as the most moving and powerful anti-war painting in history. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war & it challenges rather than accepts the notion of war as heroic.
      While art critics and historians have different opinions about the symbolism in Guernica, there is general agreement that the painting represents the horrific tragedy of war and the suffering it inflicts on individuals, particularly innocent civilian populations.
With unjust wars and crimes against humanity being committed even today in 2024 against civilian populations, anyone with any degree of higher consciousness would agree that ART is still the only answer to this evil carnage of cicular violence. The same lower primitive mind set of toxic masculinity which created these situations will not be the same ones to solve it to help the humanities heal.
Guernica WAS controversial when it was made (intentionally), but for political reasons, not artistic ones.
   Probably Picasso's­­­ most famous work, Guernica is certainly his most powerful political statement, painted as an immediate reac­­tion to the Nazi's devastating casual bombing practice on the town. It was history's first intentional aerial saturation bombing of a civilian population by a State Army.

T

 The paint used was a brand called One Shot which is a very high gloss, oil based lettering enamel made to be used on metal or brick outdoors. The Made In America paint has been around since the 1940's and in the 1950's became a favorite of artists who pin striped & painted cars.
The artist also mixed some of his own colors & applied two coats when possible.

     The artists goal was a Transformative Art experience as a vehicle to communicate an appreciation of good energy & visual stimulation.
 World cultural Art, Surrealism, Modernism and artists like  Leonardo Da Vinci, Alexander Calder, Piet Mondrian, Peter Max and others were meditated on during the paint process but merely as inspirations rather than influence, as the style is wholly original in itself as a signature work.

             With art operating on such a much higher frequency than usually experienced, the physicality of the color structure is only part of the equation and the sub conscious plays a role in the communication as well since there are no words in this abstract piece.
 You see it only once and know it, there is no filter, as the art is a bridge to a higher consciousness and creative evocation of the life force.
  The sub-conscious and visualizing played an important role in this art rendering on the Mini Cooper. The goal involves a transformation of consciousness through color & form.

      During the weeks long process of painting, the artist became aware of the writings of American mystic & esoteric philosopher Franklin Merrell-Wolff ( American b. 1887- d.1985 ) & it became a part of the artwork as it merged well with the Stream of Consciousness flow aspect of the Mini paint undertaking.
        Wolff devoted himself to the goal of transcending the normal limits of human consciousness. After exploring various mystical teachings and paths, he dedicated himself to the path of jnana yoga, which is the yogic paths of knowledge, action (karma), of loving devotion to a personal god and the path of meditation.
He also studied the writings of Shankara.

   Wolff wrote the Philosophy of Consciousness Without An Object A Discussion of the Nature of
Transcendental Consciousness.
More here -- https://www.merrell-wolff.org/
“The ultimate objective is to facilitate, as far as possible, that event which, when achieved, is called Fundamental Realization or Enlightenment.”  -- Franklin Merrell-Wolff

The  Mini Art Car now seen in Venice Los Angeles ( update: 01/29/2024 the Venice Mini now lives in Reno, Nevada U.S.A.

Thank you for reading this, The Mini story ,which is part 2 of another blog entry about Art Cars called Art, Art Cars & the Beautification of our Urban Communities 

       We hope that artists or anyone else who loves art and who have experienced the loss or theft of their artwork will learn more about it and successfully recover their work or be justly compensated.
Art theft in any form is a serious crime against the people and culture.
 Art theft can take many forms but this blog entry is about the theft of a physical works of canvas artwork.

  Besides the physical, another form of art theft is copyright infringement using reproductions or replications of intellectual property as direct copies or as appropriated and derivative works. ( future upcoming blog).

For your information and according to online sources:
 The FBI's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) program investigates theft of trade secrets, counterfeit products, and copyright and/or trademark infringement cases.
Intellectual property crime is committed when someone manufactures, sells or distributes counterfeit or pirated goods, such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs or literary and artistic works, for commercial gain.
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We recently interviewed an American artist we will call "Artist" about the art theft (& recovery) of an Untitled Abstract canvas he was still working on before it was surreptitiously removed from his studio without his knowledge or consent.  This relates his experience & perspective.
We will trace the painting on it's journey from birth to eventually being liberated by the artist from the people who attempted to keep it.

Catso:  Have you ever had someone steal a piece of your artwork?
 
Artist: Yes it has happened more than several times in one form or another ever since I started circulating my art & no doubt happens to many other people too. 
        When something comes from a deep creative place and has soul then people will want to steal it because they in fact are missing something in their own souls.
It's for sure a low conscious level thing of someone operating on a very low frequency.  It's just not a very smart thing to do and it can also cause emotional harm to the artist.
Catso: Tell us the details.
Artist:  In around 2017-2018, someone absconded with a large Abstract canvas of mine that was on the wall of a temporary Pop Up Studio concept I was attempting to do in Dallas, Texas.
 I briefly started the work in Los Angeles 2014 and then brought it to Dallas in 2015 on a visit there to work on it further with some other art. It was a part of my life for several years ( and is now back ).
    I tend to work on many pieces at once and sometimes there are gaps of time between the process. Sometimes my work goes through many changes and this painting is no exception. So in 2017 it was moved to the attempted Pop Up.
After all, many great artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso etc sometimes spent years on a painting and lived with them during the process.

     Catso: So it turned up missing?
Artist: It was gone and I only had one not very good photo of it (shown above) but this was from right before I added the white lines & other paints to it.  I was leaving & worked on it right before I left. Didn't do a new photo  it before I left.
        So I had no photo of what it actually currently looked like because I had returned to LA the morning after I worked on it. I couldn’t even show others what it looked like or file a theft report. I knew what it looked like of course but it's hard to describe painting. I also didn't really want to get the people in trouble but i wanted them to pay for it or give it back.

Catso:  Tell us about it. Did you ever give up on recovering it ?
 
Artist: Hell no I did not give up on recovering it.
It took some time dealing with over a few years but I was  going to keep searching & eventually locate it. My paintings, especially the large ones, are precious beings and lovely creations coming from the hand and heart of my soul. They all have a life of their own & project Transformative amazing energy. This is not a game.
  They are like my children and if one is missing it hurts my soul very much.
      They are a part of my life and then I might show it or someone buys it. They get their place. I knew or was hoping  I was going to eventually get the painting back but I had to know where it was first, before it went underground.

Catso:  What was the painting like?
Artist: It was a large colorful abstract work (around 6 feet tall x 11 feet wide un-stretched canvas) that went missing ( was stolen) from the attempted Dallas Pop Up.
      It started out in Los Angeles with a teal aqua color and black outlined circular forms with abstract colored shapes then eventually ended up with the flowing white lines and movement so you can't really see the circles much anymore. Or at least overtly see them.
        I say missing but eventually I found out that it was actually now hanging in the living room of a house in Dallas which I did not know the location of but I knew the person’s name and that they worked at an Architecture firm in some sort of capacity.
       I knew if I made too much noise that it might get hidden away and I might never get it back. They could say I was harassing them or something if I just asked about it.  If I raised a ruckus then it would get too hot for them and they might even destroy it as evidence rather than admit they had it.
    Plus I know the owner of the Architecture firm and didn't want to involve them or cause perceived drama and I felt stupid  dealing with such stupid people or something along those lines.
Not to mention I was 3 states away.

 Catso: So you contacted them off and on but they never responded or got back to you.

Artist: No response but this seems like the playbook for people like that. A variation has happened before.
There was a large  ( 6' x 6' ) canvas mixed media collage Cowboy/Snake painting I did get back years before this (1993-1994)  from different people & they did the same thing.  I did get it back after I found out they had it.  It's this sort of thing where they ignore you,  meanwhile this large painting of yours is hanging in their house that nobody paid for. This Cowboy/Snake painting i had actually donated for an auction to raise money for a charity & so there was a stipulation in the contract about it being returned to me if it was not sold. I am not sure it even made it to the event and auction because I didn't go. But somehow it ended up somewhere else so...

  Catso: So these new people with the Untitled Abstract painting did the same thing  and  ignored your attempts to contact  them?

Artist:   I barely knew the people who had it in their house (met them once briefly) & the person wouldn’t respond at all about the painting of mine that was literally hanging in their living room. A large beautiful painting like that is not something you forget as it empowers the whole environment. I know for a fact that my art can transform a room because I've seen it with my own eyes.  A place might be nice and look good but you add my art and you can't see the room without it anymore.
It projects an energy and soul that is palpable. Art.
They just completely ignored me when I contacted them on social media or another person involved said they didn’t know what I was talking about when I messaged them. Or they would act like I was bothering them and or try to flip the story.
I just wanted to discuss a fair price if they liked the work and was willing to accept some sort of payments or the return of the piece but got zero response.
    I wasn't interested in anything else. If they liked the art and wanted it then I wanted them to have it as well. For a price which was never discussed and I had no idea about.
 

  Catso:  Did all this make you feel bad? Pissed off?
Artist:   Sort of yes of course. They really thought they could just take a large painting like that and not pay for it. It was very disrespectful and demeaning to me as a human being and artist.
     Through the course of several years of off and on efforts, I was trying to locate the painting while I lived 1,600 miles away in Los Angeles. It's a difficult and time consuming thing to do alone from a distance while also trying to work on new stuff & survive.
Plus the Covid times and that whole vaccine scam. LA had a disgusting response to it all and their policies actually killed more people. Closing the beaches and hiking trails? Total nightmare & ridiculous.
 
     But one day in 2021 after the covid experience of having lots of time to think in the draconian lock downs we experienced out here in LA, I had enough, and so finally got their home address from someone helpful ( Thank you person ) & I then wrote a letter or somehow got it to them right away & gave the people a specific 1 week time frame ultimatum to either return the painting to a specific location in Dallas, I could have a courier pick it up at their house or they could face legal consequences for failure to do so.
       Once I had their address I did start to file a stolen art report even though the theft happened 3-4 years ago but they gave me the number to the local neighborhood station in the area where it happened and then things were solved before it got that far.
 
In Jan 2022, when I finally got it from the place they dropped it off in 2021,  I was very overjoyed to see this large abstract canvas again in person and absorb the energy. It was a big relief.

Catso: We are happy you got it back and persisted in this.
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 People committing Art theft of paintings, or appropriations, plagiarizing, making derivative works or such things for commercial or idealistic ­­­purposes is nothing new.
People steal what they perceive to be valuable and then don’t want to pay for it. In the case of an original piece of artwork, it becomes a different sort of theft.
 
The Theft That Made The 'MONA LISA' a Masterpiece
      On Aug. 21, 1911, the then-little-known painting known as the Mona Lisa, was stolen from the wall of the Louvre Museum in Paris.  --- And a legend was born.
        Before its theft, the "Mona Lisa" was not widely known outside the art world. Leonardo da Vinci painted it in 1507, but it wasn't until the 1860s that critics began to hail it as a masterwork of Renaissance painting.
      After the Louvre announced the theft, newspapers all over the world ran headlines about the missing masterpiece and this became an incredibly famous painting — literally overnight.
     The hapless French intelligence had no clues and many wild theories abounded about the culprits who stole it. Innocent and surprised by the accusation, famous artist Pablo Picasso was also considered a suspect and was questioned.
         2 years and 4 months later, the painting was recovered and the Italian who stole it arrested. He had left it with an Art Dealer for appraisal in hopes to sell it and the painting was quickly identified and recovered.
 
     "He said later that he was trying to return it to Italy — that he was a patriot and it was stolen by Napoleon — and he was trying to return it to the land of his birth," according to writer and historian James Zug.

SInce the Mona Lisa was painted in Italy then carried to France by Leonardo where he died, we can sort of see the point of the patriotic art thief. 
How did the greatest painting in the world end up owned by France ?  It was painted in Italy over the course of many years the artist carried it with him.  We previously write about the Mona Lisa in our blog about Mr. Brainwash here.
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JACKSON POLLOCK painting found in garage could be worth $15 million.
     Not really stolen but successfully recovered, in 2017, a lost Jackson Pollock painting was found in an Arizona garage and later authenticated as the real thing.
After digging through the garage the painting was located underneath some paper stuff and posters.

‘God, that looks like a Jackson Pollock,” appraiser Josh Levine told CNN.

The Pollock painting was later sold at auction for $15 million.
 
    In other incredible recent Pollock news, on March 22, 2023, officials in the country of Bulgaria say they discovered a previously unknown painting by Jackson Pollock during an investigation into an international art trafficking operation. The painting could be worth as much as $54 million
 
We hope if you are an artist or collector that you never have art stolen but if it happens we hope you get it back.
-John Catso

Do not despise my opinion, when I remind you that it should not be hard for you to stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or the ashes of a fire, or clouds, or mud or like places, in which, if you consider them well, you may find really marvelous ideas. “ – Leonardo Da Vinci : A Treatise on Painting. Codex Urbinas written between 1482-1519 & Published 1651

SAMO© AS AN END TO MINDWASH RELIGION, NOWHERE POLITICS AND BOGUS PHILOSOPHY. ---- Literary Graffiti of SAMO ( Al Diaz & Jean-Michel Basquiat) Circa 1980 NYC.

       One fine Sunday we made plans to venture out into the dystopian landscape of sunny Los Angeles to visit the Mr. Brainwash Art Museum in the posh city of Beverly Hills.  A Pop Up museum with plans to travel, it sits in a bustling area and more so on this day when a crowded art fair was open across the street in a park. 
      The moniker Mr. Brainwash, a “nom de guerre” & artistic persona, was spawned out of the 2010 documentary movie, Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is a fascinating  story in itself about an art genre they call “Street Art”. 
   A newer label of art branding, "Street Art" is considered a subgenre of Graffiti . Since the term Graffito  (to scratch or draw unto walls) has been around since humanity began, then it’s probably correct.  Mr. Brainwash calls his own movement by the label "Street Pop" and the museum houses some of his oeuvre since he entered the arena of Pop.
      A man larger than the life itself, Mr. Brainwash not only evolves as a work of living art & a busy artist brimming with energy but is also a skillful raconteur who already knows the game well. He seems to be having fun doing it because for him -- Life is Beautiful.
     Two important American artists (both long dead) not mentioned in the Exit Through the Gift Shop movie yet seem to play an inspirationally important role in the Mr. Brainwash Art Museum concept is Artist/Activist Keith Haring  (b.1958-d.1990) & Neo Expressionist artist Jean Michel Basquiat (b.1960-d.1988).
        Both are NYC artists who exploded like rockets into the 1980’s art world money speculation scene yet sadly both succumbed as the decade closed in on their short burst.  Both careers began and ended on the same NYC streets as artists of the graffiti subculture (Street Art) and their resultant infamy catapulted them both into worldwide art world fame.
         Starting in 1980, Haring’s  animated simple cartoon like imagery first drawn in white chalk on blank black subway advertisements, was seen by millions of people on the NYC subways before most people knew what it even meant or even who it was doing it. 
        What is it advertising? Strange lined figures dancing or gesturing up at flying saucers, a radiant baby, many radiant babies, more figures running around a barking dog...
       From 1980 to 1985 it is estimated that Haring drew over 5,000 images in the NYC subways alone and this helped launch a highly successful art career. Haring even opened a NYC retail store called the Pop Shop to purvey his wares he had produced.
In Haring's world the mantra is, "Art is for Everybody."
     Keith Haring sometimes (oftentimes) drew and painted in a somewhat calligraphic  "Stream of consciousness style " using fluid acrylics, oils and sumi inks with brush or marker. In his own words : "There was also this stream-of-consciousness thing – this mind-to-hand flow that I saw in Dubuffet, Mark Tobey, and Alechinsky"
--
 During these times, ART as  a sort of Art-To-Go, became the norm as anything created sold & some artists of the time (Haring) even referred to it as "Fast Art".
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      Artist Basquiat meanwhile first gathered infamy (along with his art collaborator friend Al Diaz) with the creation of a fake religion under the tag of  SAMO© . The slogan tag SAMO stands for Same old (ole) Shit & according to a later Basquiat interview, was “first created to be a logo like Pepsi.”
The "Literary Graffiti" of SAMO became an icon in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where the cultural influences of rap, punk and street art coalesced, heavily influencing the aesthetic of the decade(s) to come.
      Starting in 1978 while both were still in high school, the SAMO  writings would appear large on walls as words, phrases, bombastic prose and untold truths,. It usually appeared in black writing along with a copyright symbol, spray painted or hand drawn on walls with such information as  :

SAMO© MY MOUTH, THEREFORE AN ERROR.  PLUSH SAFE...HE THINK.

MAKE SOUP. BUILD A FORT, SET THAT ON FIRE. - SAMO©

SAMO© SAVES IDIOTS AND GONZOIDS...

SAMO©  AS AN END TO BOGUS PSEUDO INTELLECTUAL.

SAMO©...4 MASS MEDIA MINDWASH ,NOWHERE POLITICS AND BOGUS PHILOSOPHY.

SAMO© AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOD.

SAMO© ... 4 THE SO-CALLED AVANT-GARDE.

      Al Diaz says “SAMO was like a refresher course because there's some kind of statement being made. It's not just ego graffiti.”
   Art critic Jeffrey Deitch called it "disjointed street poetry" and yet Basquait quickly went onward to capitalize on the attentions generated to quickly becoming a heavily collected & much shown artist in galleries worldwide.   
     Working primarily on canvas or paper ( other medium could be old discarded doors or windows, wood panels etc)  Basquiat combined African, Aztec, Hispanic, and ancient Roman and Greek imagery with his own invented iconography and graphic marks in works that emphasized the physical and the gestural aspects of the artistic process.  Repetitions of words, lists, names, scrawls, cartoons, anatomy drawings and voodoo incantations alike, his visual savagery articulated a vivid mind eager to cash in on the buying frenzies at the time.
    Even before Basquiat ever showed his work in any galleries or was known, Blondie (Deborah Harry bought the first canvas he ever sold ( $200) when they met on the music video ( 1981) shoot for her hit song Rapture.
      He even befriended Andy Warhol (b.1928- d.1987) & they later collaborated on a series of large paintings together.  The wealthy older Warhol took an interest in the younger artist, even renting him a loft/studio from his real estate portfolio at one point. It was the same loft where Basquiat in 1987, age 27, was later found dead from a heroin overdose. 
 
      In 2017, Basquiat became the most expensive American artist ever sold at auction when one of his “Untitled 1982” skull paintings sold for a whopping $110 million. This painting was first shown and sold at Basquiat's debut American solo exhibition in the Annina Nosei Gallery in year 1982. It is one of the artworks he painted in her gallery basement space there where he ensconced himself to work (a sometimes controversially viewed arrangement in the art world.)
      Annina Nosei will forever be associated with Jean-Michel Basquiat whom she helped launch into the mainstream art world as his first American art dealer, and whom she set up in a spacious studio where he could paint large canvases. Her connection with Basquiat was a career highlight, but only one event in her distinguished and ongoing art career.
The "Untitled" 1982 Skull painting's provenance can be traced from it’s original 1982 studio inception in the gallery basement when he was 21 years old, to it's purchase price of $4,000.  
2 years later it sold for $19,000 . Not bad for a painting which most likely took no longer than 10 hours (imo & experience 8-10 hours max) for him to paint & later in 2017 sold for the hefty $110,000,000.
If you like the artist Basquiat and want to learn more about his work then we have a  first edition hardcover book for Sale here.
       Many of the second floor paintings we saw at Brainwash Art museum revolved around a heady display of Mona Lisa canvas reproductions in gold gilded frames with artful scribbles and artfully applied paint added for effect.

       The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, is considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world".   
 
      Enter Mr. Brainwash…

         Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect.  Although he is best known for his dramatic and expressive artworks, Leonardo also conducted dozens of carefully thought out experiments and created futuristic inventions that were groundbreaking for the time. His keen eye and quick mind led him to make important scientific discoveries, yet he never published his ideas. 
       His Treatise on Painting,  taken from pages in his notebooks from 1482-1519, was first published in France in 1651. The main aim of the treatise was to argue that painting was a science
    In year 1503, Leonardo began work on an oil painting ( Mona Lisa) that was still in his studio when he died in year 1519. It was painted & worked on intermittently over these many years on a piece of 2′ 6″ tall x 1′ 9″ wide Poplar Wood panel. Later X-Rays have revealed his own fingerprints on it. 
     So we know it was a highly valued treasure by the artist as he carried it with him during studio moves & never parted with it during his lifetime. Some theories, based on his own writings, point to it being a portrait of his own mother, Caterina, whom we know later lived with him under his care.

On the museum rooftop were some cool spray painted metal sculptural car shapes. Maybe they are real cars? We have already delved into Art Cars extensively as the "Ultimate Street Art" --   Art, Art Cars & the Beautification of our Urban Societies. Published in November 2021.

      Since Pop is a key part of the Mr. Brainwash recipe, we feel that further reading on the subject may help better to sense it all and what better source than the master himself., Andy Warhol, to help understand the playbook.
         Warhol wrote two books about Pop Art. Both Popism:The Warhol Sixties and The Philosophy of Andy Warhol ( from A to B & Back Again). The enigmatic, legendary Warhol makes the reader his confidant on love, sex, food, beauty, fame, work, money, success, and much more.
        In The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, told with his trademark blend of irony and detachment, this compelling and eccentric memoir riffs and reflects on all things Warhol: New York, America, and his childhood, as well as the explosion of his career in the sixties, and his life among the rich and famous.

     Another best seller Warhol tome is the later Andy Warhol Diaries which also covers his thoughts and relationships with both artists Haring and Basquiat, among many others. Spanning the mid-1970s until just a few days before his death in 1987, the book is a compendium of the more than twenty thousand pages of the artist's diary that he dictated daily to a co-author.
     Filled with shocking observations about the lives, loves, and careers of the rich, famous, and fabulous.  Warhol's journal is endlessly fun and fascinating. 

 "Pop will eat itself " -  anonymous 

   All in all, the creation of the Mr. Brainwash brand itself might be his best work yet as he is now successfully enshrined into the pantheon of the Street Art Gods he himself so enthusiastically encapsulates in this epoch.

     In the Mr. Brainwash religion, his Pop is a regurgitated culture on a continuous  loop that will never die but only continue to eat itself on an endless cycle (unless he comes up with new ideas). Parasitic by nature, Pop Art as we are led to believe it, becomes both the champion and victim to it's own demise.

   A persona now larger than life, Mr. Brainwash walks a tightrope between his creative evolving persona as a living sculptural entity, acting out his own art his-story, while also creating, manifesting and spinning a mix up mash of sensitive shlock to the culture which happily laps it up.

  With simplistic mantras like, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, he possesses an idealistic life vision but most certainly not a naive one. Like all great artists in a century, his best work is either what he is currently working on now or has not even been made yet and his largest audience just being born.

 In true Warholian fashion, we also interviewed another Brainwash museum goer about her thoughts on the art inside:
"Idk well his whole thing is art can be whatever you want it to be. You can take inspiration from the past and make it new. He wants people to smile and laugh and to enjoy the art as if they were a child again bringing back feelings of nostalgia.  And to see things from different perspectives. And Life is Beautiful ." -- Tammy 28, Fashion Consultant

Also as Art2go, Art to Go, makes unique evocative & transformative art to make the world a more beautiful place to be. Thank you for reading.

Color symbolism:  The color Black has always played an important role in the development of art and literature. As the first pigment used by artists in prehistory and the first ink used by book printers for text.
  Black is an easy color to read in art. In early cartoon animations from over 100 years ago, (Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat etc) black ink was painted unto clear sheets for filming.
      In color psychology, black's color meaning is symbolic of mystery, power, elegance, wealth and sophistication. In contrast, the color meaning can also evoke emotions such as sadness and anger. People wear all black to funerals as well as for purposes of a cause or movement.
       Man in Black is a protest song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, originally released on his 1971 album of the same name. Cash wrote the signature song to explain the social conscience behind his wardrobe choices.
Man in Black opening lyrics:
Well, you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on

    
----at the still point, there the dance is, –  T.S. Eliot

           Now that we know what the term Space Junk usually refers to these days, we can delve more into the space of the mind’s imagination & the practice of meditating in that area.
       A decade ago, 2012 to 2013, the environmental children’s story entitled, Space Junk, was published.  It is the first children’s story about the topic of Space Junk pollution.  Created in a spontaneous stream of consciousness writing style, these hand written (old fashioned style with ink and brush) stories were not formally edited  & feature unique works of art.
      In the Space Junk stories are several main characters ( Yama, Ali & a nameless black dog) along with other introductory peripheral ones.  Here is a brief analysis and understanding of the snake character named Ali and brief research into the possible meanings to decipher and understand more about this Space Junk story.
         The plot is really about nothing and is almost an inconsequential aspect of the whole concept.  The plot merely offers a simplistic narrative about the trashing of the environment of space by humans. The subject matter acts as a bridge to the artworks which operate as a cultural salve to benefit humanity with art.
        The space of our minds is oftentimes filled with a clutter of ideas, emotions, mental formations, memories and thoughts about random things.  Mental clutter refers to times when our mind has too many thoughts which makes it difficult to process and focus. A cluttered mind is disrupting and it hinders our productivity, balance and even our mental health. This relates to the sub conscious as well.
       A daily practice of Meditation is a useful tool to unclutter the mind, get into the present moment and offers great health benefits for people of all ages. People practice meditation for many reasons but the main goal is to quiet the mind & focus on the NOW, the present moment and sub conscious.

     When our thoughts slow down and we focus on nothing & attempt to clear our minds, there is a space for cosmic energy to manifest.  This space is where things like personal healing, ideas, helpful insights & creative inspiration comes from. The present moment, the eternal now where God energy resides.
     Some people focus on their breathing to enter this nothing state of the sub conscious, while others silently (or sometimes loudly) recite a MANTRA.  As we related before, space also means emptiness and nothing. Yet form and emptiness are inseparable and they cannot be understood in isolation from each other.
     Emptying the mind is a useful tool to learn as it helps you give your brain a break. According to the dictionary, to EMPTY YOUR MIND means to try your best to think about NOTHING. It means to purposely put a stop to the constant stream of thoughts that are with us every day. This also acts as a form of brain detoxification as well.
      The practice of daily meditation is also a way of healing traumatic stress and raising performance. 
In his book, Catching the Big Fish: Mediation, Consciousness, and Creativity,  Director and Artist David Lynch intones that "ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper. "
      Another big proponent of the powerful practice of meditation is Dr. Joe Dispenza, a researcher of  epigenetics, quantum physics and neuroscience.  Dr. Joe has done extensive research on the effects of meditation and creating a new reality for your life.

Meaning & Symbolism:  Snakes and serpents are a much maligned species throughout history and literature.       People sometimes scream in fear when they encounter snakes or recoil in horror. A dishonest person is referred to as a snake.  'A snake in the grass' means a deceitful person or harmful thing that is hidden.

   According to the bible’s creation myth story about the Garden of Eden, a snake helped bring about the fall of mankind when naked Eve ate the apple from one and then tempted naked Adam. 
     God told them they would die if they ate the apple. Death was God's warning, before “the great fall,” and the loss of innocence for mankind. We all know the story and remember it well from our bible studies in youth.
 
    But a snake is not all bad as far as symbolism & meaning goes.  Snakes are symbols of primal energy, referred to as Kundalini, which is an ancient Sanskrit word from India.

     Prana (another Sanskrit word) can be translated as “life force energy,” “vital energy,” “breath of life,” “spirit-energy,” or “vital principle.” This term is used in yogic teachings as a general reference to the manifest energy of the entire universe. This original creative power is constantly flowing around us and inside of us.  
  The practice of Yoga can harness the bodies energy channels  & cause an upsurge of the powerful life force energy (Prana).
           Kundalini is a healing form of divine spiritual energy that is sourced at the base of the spine & can be activated by breathing exercises, meditation, chanting & the practice of certain yoga postures.
 This specific energy (Kundalini = serpent power) that lies dormant in all of us is also our our untapped potential. True enlightenment can be attained as a sort of "awakened" state from this release of powerful energy.
         
       Kundalini means 'coiled' or 'circular'. The serpent symbolizes this exact type of energy that lies inactive , coiled like a sleeping snake, at the base of the spine ( root chakra) in all humans. 
Ancient texts such as the Bhagava described it as 'the coiled power'.
The Sanskrit term "Kundali Shakti" translates as "Serpent Power".

       On another note about snakes, the ouroboros or uroboros is an ancient symbol of a serpent eating its own tail, variously signifying infinity and the cycle of birth and death. The ouroboros was adopted as a symbol in Gnosticism and most notably in alchemy. The term derives from Ancient Greek.
      The ouroboros is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death, and rebirth; the snake's skin-sloughing symbolizes the transmigration of souls.

      The artist/author picked a snake character to avoid the cliché of cute and cuddly because polluting space is not nice and there is nothing happy about it.
      A snake character is not typically commercial. The snake Ali will probably never appear as a mass produced cuddly toy or sold as a Happy Meal character as these reptiles are usually not used in children’s stories and the subject matter is about the pollution of our earth in space. 
The subject matter is really about nothing since space equals nothing.

Using ART as a bridge, Art-To-Go seeks to heal & enlighten culture as unique creativity mixed with humor, as an environmental lesson.

Next blog entry -- Space Junkers: Art as the Aesthetic Ideal -(part 3)

In 1897 New Orleans, Louisiana, a certain local politician declared a law that "whoring was illegal" in any neighborhood of the city EXCEPT those bordered by a set of 16 blocks. This "Cathouse Neighborhood", soon became known as "Storyville" and where a photographer known as Bellocq (1873–1949) shot a series of 84 sympathetic photographs of a group of Storyville prostitutes. Only of women, none of these photos depict any sexual acts or any implied erotic content but seem to be merely records of someone's obsession & documentation of the times.
Nude with a Mask, ca.1912, a 12.8 × 18.1 cm (5 1/16 × 7 1/8 in.) gelatin silver print from glass negative, owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one such photograph.
Storyville is not only known for the world's oldest profession, it is also the incubation area for the time frame in the creation of the JAZZ music form.

   Another American, Edward Weston, was a vital pioneer of Modernist photography, who helped elevate the status of his chosen medium to that of a revered art form. He found early commercial success with a pictorialist style of image-making, using a soft-focus lens to create painterly portraits, but by the 1920s had adopted an increasingly experimental approach to his craft.
On a trip to Mexcio, he spent the next 5 years developing the radical stylistic traits that would come to define his later practice. This involved using a close-up lens and natural lighting “to make the commonplace unusual”, and saw rocks, clouds and plants rendered remarkably sculptural studies in line and texture.