The 29 Pieces Story 2:48 PM

Film by John Katz, Editing by Fast Cut Edits, Special Effects by Radium, Music by James Neel Music House, scripting by Poppy Sundeen. This is the back story of 29 Pieces.

Genghis Khan & Jeanne Moreau 8:38 AM

The spirit of Genghis Khan or Jeanne Moreau? You choose.

A woman I know recently went to Malta – a tiny island in the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, to go on a “Goddess Retreat.” She told me that this trip was to reconnect with the feminine side of things and to reinforce her own sense of feminine empowerment, which she feels has been taken out of modern religious and western society in general. She feels that doing this experience will help her with feminine self esteem in general and therefore improve how people are treated as a whole. I was intrigued by this very energetic display and willingness to improve one’s self and therefore everyone that a person might consequently come in touch with. It seems that very few people in general are willing (or able) to go to these lengths in a quest for self-improvement. Going to Malta is probably not a prerequisite. Your own living room might provide an adequate venue. How far each  person is willing to go is up to them, but it is surely a journey worth embarking upon (once the kids are put to bed, hubby is suitably engaged watching “Dave,” the dog has been brushed and walked, the cat’s hairballs have been vacuumed up, and the kitty litter has been “de pooed.”) I admire people (usually women) with this kind of self awareness.

Genghis Khan – through brute force – carved out an enormous empire, at an estimated cost of 40 million lives. He united his people, gave them a unified writing system and promoted religious freedom. All of these achievements for his people have vanished today.

Jeanne Moreau, a star of the French New Wave cinema, and leading lady of “Jules and Jim,” introduced millions to the power of love, commitment and romance.  You Choose.

— John Katz

www.JohnKatz.net

Click HERE for tickets to 29 Pieces Masquerade Ball 

www.29Pieces.org

Jeanne Moreau in Jules and Jim

THE GATES 9:45 AM

The Gates: Installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in New York's Central Park

Having just seen the Maysles brothers film of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude New York City installation in Central Park of a few years back, you cannot help but admire how they overcame the tsunami of bureaucratic morons, naysayers, and people in power who take pleasure in saying no to everything, even something as innocuous as art. 25 years of persistence is admirable and rare. Maybe not in the art world but in life. The best quote in the film is an Italian couple as they are walking through the gates, “That’s New York” he says “It's beautiful even if they say it looks like a car wash.” That about sums up the art world, out of the mouths of innocents comes a certain undeniable truth. And that is what makes it art. I’m sure that Christo & Jeanne-Claude would agree.

— John Katz

www.johnkatz.net
www.29Pieces.org

What’s in a Name 2:08 PM

Helen Keller Kitty aka HKK

My sister in law decided to take in a small cat that a friend rescued after a neighborhood watch sent out an email of its existence, living in a box at a ladies house. After taking her to a vet to get her checked out, the vet decided that she was about 10 years old, hard of hearing and partially blind. Either that or her dilated pupils indicated she was on some really good dope.  Thinking that the existing pets, (3 cats, 2 dogs and a rabbit) wouldn’t mind the addition, she took in the cat . . .  who has cleaned up nicely and is finding her way around the house, (the braille method). In a stroke of brilliance she named her Helen, a charmingly old fashioned name that you don’t hear much these days, although her papers just refer to her by her acronym HKK (Helen Keller Kitty). Everyone needs a leg up at some point, and it’s people with a big heart that usually provide it.

— John Katz

www.JohnKatz.net

www.29Pieces.org

Death and What We Leave Behind 8:16 AM

IMAGINE mosaic, at Strawberry Fields, in New York's Central Park

Written on Dec. 8^th, 2010

Today is the 30^th anniversary of John Lennon’s senseless murder. I think that very few people go through life planning what they will leave behind as their legacy. The fact that he was cut off at what appeared to be a re-entry and resurgence of his creative output makes his demise all the more tragic. Most people go through life doing the best that they can. Some people leave behind more than most, and Lennon was one of them. At times, he led a torturous and tormented existence . . . which might have been the font of his creativity. Regardless, when creativity is cut off at the knees, as it as appears to have been in this very public event, it is all the more awful. Everyone’s existence on the planet is valuable in some fashion. Whether we recognize it or not is up to us and is a measure of our value.

— John Katz

www.JohnKatz.net

www.29Pieces.org

What's in a Number 8:34 AM

The 29 miners in the New Zealand coal mine

29 ….. Pieces of art, spiritual in nature, transformative in intent, the genesis which began this creative reaction was an act of extreme violence by a stranger. 29…. is also the number of miners that died recently on the other side of the planet in a New Zealand coal mine explosion. The lives of everyone who knew those miners will be changed forever, initially in a very terrible way. Yet out of that awful destruction might come, over time, seeds of rebirth and creativity. We never know. Many are crushed and understandably destroyed by tragedy. Others can, by some mysterious means, survive and turn that awfulness into something that might help others. People who have that ability should be encouraged and supported, for it is a rare talent.

— John Katz

www.JohnKatz.net

www.29Pieces.org

27 of the 29 men whose lives were lost in the New Zealand coal mine

I am an Artist 11:16 AM

TEXAS ARTISTS TODAY, with preface by James Surls

The other evening I went to a book signing at a Contemporary Arts Gallery. It was the usual scene, lots of trendy looking people (+ me) walking around with glasses of white wine in their hands and 12 year old waifs walking with trays of canapés for you not to munch on. The book itself was an elaborate affair, (not so much coffee table size as dining room table size) . . . a photo book entitled  “Texas Artists Today.” The book's contents consist of photographs of current renowned Texas artists and their work. The thing that caught my eye however was that there were several book signing tables where the people behind them had name tags on that stated “I am an Artist” with their page number in the book, the idea being that you would take your newly purchased book and they would sign their particular page, thus increasing the value and desirability of your book. Curious, I spoke to one of the signers and asked her how long she had been an artist, she replied “since the age of 9.” Now to me, every child at the age of 9 is an artist, but she had persisted and had shows in several notable venues. The point being that the notable thing about this collection of “artists” was not their artistic abilities, but their grasp of what to do with your efforts to get them noticed by the white whine set.

— John Katz

www.JohnKatz.net

www.29Pieces.org

Just Sticks 6:03 PM

You Can't, You Don't, and You Won't Stop, Phase 1, March 3rd - April 27, 2010

Bamboo: the fastest growing plant on earth . . . this grass is stronger than steel, yet versatile, flexible, and plentiful. Pandas won’t eat anything other than its shoots. I have a friend who just paid $85.00 for a custom case made out of the stuff for his iPhone. Thor Heyerdahl could have made his raft out of it (but didn’t). And if you plant it in your garden and it takes hold, it is almost impossible to get rid of, but looks nice anyway. The Starn brothers (identical twins - Doug and Mike) are two inventive photographers with a long history of looking at everyday objects in a sometimes startling way. They've done an installation on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, (amongst other places) that takes bamboo into new realms. It might be “just sticks” but it's what you do with them (to state the obvious) that counts. Check it out at: http://www.starnstudio.com/

— John Katz

www.JohnKatz.net