I read about this mural in the Hartford Courant today.
Where to start. I suppose we all could sing the opening lines of The Circle Game and change the dragon fly to a firefly which of course we all remember catching in a jar as children. Bad little boy in wonder holding the life of the firefly flashing inside of the jar to warn other flies “Do not come near,” Danger. Yes, as we all well know that humans be they small time or big time are a grave danger to all life on the planet. From the tiniest creature to the largest. As many of us go about trying hard to rearrange our lives and hopefully the world we must teach our children and anyone willing to listen respect for all life, this is of the utmost importance. We do not capture fireflies in jars even if we plan to let them go after our amusement is satisfied nor do we shoot elephants for their tusks or leopards for their fur. Can art teach us and help us not to do this? I should think so at least it should try. It does not use old ideas of what is important and what isn’t. Thank heavens the boy in the mural is releasing the fireflies, but he really shouldn’t have been catching them in the first place. And no artist who at least calls him/herself this should be promoting such an act via their art. No, it isn’t cute. Call me a kook, call me a flaming PETA nut job, or a grumpy old man, I don’t care.
I do hope that many will not be caught up in how big the mural is. Who really cares. But I will add this, anything that is called art that is that big had better be doing something, and something real, something that tells us something, something that moves us from here to there. I do not give one fig for a person’s talent, and I can only hope we are not moving back in that direction.
We are reminded here that many a good thing comes in small packages, the cramped artist studio in New York City due to the parasite landlord and real estate grab and the artist still makes art, or the locket purchased for your love, and of course we cannot leave out the old saying “it’s not the meat it’s the motion.” Big is not always better.
A further discussion of this mural and some of the ideas about it will be published on Furbirdsqueerly next week.
I would love to see more abstract art in these spaces, rather than the preoccupation with portrait murals. Hartford has a tendency to lean into the traditional; let’s change that. Please give us exciting, visually stimulating works that aren’t representational.
My wishlist would be more wildlife portraits. We don’t have anywhere near enough of that. Give me ten storey foxes. Skyscraper bears. Showcase our other relatives.
Richard
I read about this mural in the Hartford Courant today.
Where to start. I suppose we all could sing the opening lines of The Circle Game and change the dragon fly to a firefly which of course we all remember catching in a jar as children. Bad little boy in wonder holding the life of the firefly flashing inside of the jar to warn other flies “Do not come near,” Danger. Yes, as we all well know that humans be they small time or big time are a grave danger to all life on the planet. From the tiniest creature to the largest. As many of us go about trying hard to rearrange our lives and hopefully the world we must teach our children and anyone willing to listen respect for all life, this is of the utmost importance. We do not capture fireflies in jars even if we plan to let them go after our amusement is satisfied nor do we shoot elephants for their tusks or leopards for their fur. Can art teach us and help us not to do this? I should think so at least it should try. It does not use old ideas of what is important and what isn’t. Thank heavens the boy in the mural is releasing the fireflies, but he really shouldn’t have been catching them in the first place. And no artist who at least calls him/herself this should be promoting such an act via their art. No, it isn’t cute. Call me a kook, call me a flaming PETA nut job, or a grumpy old man, I don’t care.
I do hope that many will not be caught up in how big the mural is. Who really cares. But I will add this, anything that is called art that is that big had better be doing something, and something real, something that tells us something, something that moves us from here to there. I do not give one fig for a person’s talent, and I can only hope we are not moving back in that direction.
We are reminded here that many a good thing comes in small packages, the cramped artist studio in New York City due to the parasite landlord and real estate grab and the artist still makes art, or the locket purchased for your love, and of course we cannot leave out the old saying “it’s not the meat it’s the motion.” Big is not always better.
A further discussion of this mural and some of the ideas about it will be published on Furbirdsqueerly next week.
Linda Pagani
I would love to see more abstract art in these spaces, rather than the preoccupation with portrait murals. Hartford has a tendency to lean into the traditional; let’s change that. Please give us exciting, visually stimulating works that aren’t representational.
Kerri Ana Provost
My wishlist would be more wildlife portraits. We don’t have anywhere near enough of that. Give me ten storey foxes. Skyscraper bears. Showcase our other relatives.