Revolution

When George Bush said that democracy is possible in theMiddle East, the entire world said he was delusional.  Now, after seeing what’s happened in Iraq, everyone else wants what they’ve got and the Arab Spring is under way.  Of course, it still needed that one person to get it started. I wonder if Mohamed Bouazizi had any idea if anyone would even notice what he did when he set himself on fire. Now the entire region is on fire.

I was inspired by these events to create some “Revolution wear” but I approached the subject cautiously.  We tend to think of revolutions as romantic adventures but more often than not they lead to ethnic cleansing, guillotines, and unspeakable crimes upon the innocents than they do freedom, Ford Mustangs and Rock & Roll. 

The early stages of the revolutions in the Middle East and Africa have been scary and depressing. The atrocities horrific, especially on little children.  Freedom is a long shot.  But the people living there have been on the wrong side of history for a long time.  At least there’s hope this time.  If nothing else, if the outcome could lead to a little more religious tolerance and a little less female mutilation, I think we’d all be thrilled with that.

I used kind of a Russian propaganda poster style for this t-shirt. No, I’m not some commie sympathizer and I’m definitely not promoting communism, socialism or whatever.  I just like the style, OK - 

Go Freedom!

Revolution T-shirts available in S, M, L, XL, XXL

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was one of those things I took for granted. Kind of like Mount Rushmore, you don’t really get it, you don’t really feel what it means, what it stands for, until you see it in person.

I finally got a chance to see the Statue of Liberty a couple of years ago standing in Battery Park on a cold March night. I was with my son Orrin visiting the New York University campus where he would be attending college the following Fall. It was late and we were alone in the park, just my soon to-be-freshman son and me on the deserted waterfront. Looking across the black water it was all lit up and its reflection danced in on the waves.

I was absolutely overcome with the emotion. After all we’d been through up to that moment in time to arrive in New York and seeing the Statue of Liberty just felt triumphant. Sounds corny, but every now and then, corny things happen.

And everything about the Statue of Liberty seemed amazing. Everything it stood for as a symbol of America, as a symbol of Freedom, and even simply as a work of art – it just hit me right then and there.

When I came home, my head was full of New York. And I couldn’t the statue out of my head.  In fact it got bigger. I painted this in August one day about a week after dropping my son off for his freshman year. By this time it had become up close and personal. At 60″w x 48″h, here is the Statue of Liberty: “IN YOUR FACE!” version.

Limited edition signed art prints, canvas mounted prints and art print posters are available at shop.terryluc.com

There are lots of ways to purchase this one.  I am offering it as a signed limited edition print, a canvas mounted print and as an art print poster.  Also, the original is available for purchase.

Donald Rumsfeld

My high school wrestling coach from Glenbrook North, Walt Sherman, told me he remembers coaching against Donald Rumsfeld when Rumsfeld was wrestling for New Trier. Tough and wiry kid back then. Someone who liked to get in the middle of it. 

I painted Donald Rumsfeld soon after 9/11. I was definitely inspired by the intense emotions everyone was feeling at the time. The Secretary of Defense was the most polarizing figure in American politics. And again, he was right in the middle of it. 

The original painting is big, 36″w x 48″h.  Bright acrylics, almost in primary colors. I called the artwork “Redrum” to make it even more provocative, even confrontational. I really wanted people to respond to this painting. I wanted a strong reaction.

The first time I exhibited Redrum, I stood off to the side to listen to the comments of the viewers. Democrats hated it, wondering how anyone could create such a flattering portrait of Rumsfeld. Republicans hated it, panning it as a disrespectful hack-job. 

So I did get a reaction. Turns out that it was all negative, but a reaction none the less.

Recently I’ve seen Rumsfeld on the talk show circuit hawking his autobiography. The cover shot shows him seemingly enjoying his retirement somewhere out West. That conflicts with my image of him.  I like to think of him out there in the shadows searching for the unknown unknowns until his final days.

Original Painting and Art Prints available at shop.terryluc.com

Natalie Woodpecker

Well this is my first official post on the Terry O. Luc art blog. I like to call it the “Put a little art in your life, you’ll feel better” blog. (More on that in future blogs.)  But why now? Why start now spilling the beans on life, liberty, art and the pursuit of happiness.  I guess I am really starting to see how fleeting it all is. Like I tell my kids, “For you it’s a whole lifetime, for me it’s a blink of an eye.” And besides, Keith Richards published his life story this year and I usually try to follow his lead.

In this blog I thought I’d feature one of my favorite and most representational paintings entitled Natalie Woodpecker. Obviously even as a little boy I have always been mesmerized by the beautiful starlets of the screen: Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Donna Reed, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Hara, Heddy Lamarr, Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor – the list could go on and on. Perfect in every way – but for such a short time.  At least they have been kept young in celluloid.  But even that doesn’t guarantee their immortality.  I mean, how many people are watching Heddy Lamar movies today?  At least Donna Reed will always be seen in “It’s a Wonderland Life”.

art print available at shop.terryluc.com

The Stones sang “Time is on my Side”, but they also wrote “Time Waits for No One”.  Keep moving.  Keep creating.  The vultures are in the trees.