Welcome, Tourist, to Eden
A slightly revised version of this essay about artist, William (Bill) Girard of Royal Oak, Michigan, was published in the ill-fated online arts journal, www.dogwoodjournal.com, under the title: Welcome, Tourist, to Eden, in January 2006.
About Professor William (Bill) Girard
Former Professor of Art Girard is a life-long Royal Oak, Michigan resident, who got all of one semester of formal art school education before moving on to fatherhood. He later returned to the art college he had abandoned, but this time as an instructor. Ultimately, he spent 30 years teaching would-be artists at Michigan's premier private art college. His "traditional" approach to art imagry never earned critical acclaim; in fact, his approach fell completely out of favor at the onset of his career. Nonetheless, he has created and sold a tremendous amount of work over a 44-year career. Girard's work generally appeals to those who appreciate classical iconography handled with a bit of irreverence and impeccable technique. View a gallery of Girard paintings, drawings, and sculpture that I have cataloged to date.
Girard is also veritable fount of technical knowledge about painting materials and techniques, fresco, casting, framing (he makes his own), etc. He's not famous, just a tip passed between those who recognize art even when it's not trendy.
Should you wish to contact him, I believe his phone number is listed.
The article begins thus...
"The burglar who broke into our house paid no attention at all to our collection of Girard paintings and sculpture. Naturally, this led to a bout of depression. My naturopath subsequently instructed me to treat this and all life issues with the balm of gratitude. She would undoubtedly be pleased to know that the burglary has taught me to be grateful for boors.
In the fine art game, the highest compliment-aside from an offer to buy-is theft. Private and public art collections around the country and the world are full of fabulous pieces of work that are, "on indefinite loan." I recently read about a legal wrangle over the ownership of a group of Gustav Klimt paintings now in the collection of the Republic of Austria. After due consideration, our Supreme Court allowed that the surviving heir of the original owners, now a naturalized American citizen, has the right to sue for ownership in U.S. courts some 60 years after the paintings were "borrowed" by the Nazis. These spoils of war passed, in turn, to the disinterred and newly democratic Austria we know and love today. (Note: In January 2006, five Klimt paintings were awarded to the plaintiff by an arbitration panel of the Austrian government. They are said to be worth nearly $150 million American dollars today. The plaintiff is the niece of the original owners and is now in her 80s. ) If Klimt weren't already famous, this would surely make his reputation..."
Click this link to continue.
Selected Poems by David Chorlton of Phoenix, Arizona
"David Chorlton is to vision as pigment is to paint. His appearance reminds me of a candlewick: scorched, desiccate, yet unconsumed. He speaks of his contemporaries with the thunderous affection of John the Baptist inveighing against Herodias. The surprise is that this discomfiting personality possesses the lyric vision of an Isaiah. His poems and paintings sizzle with color, compassion and understated humor as they expose our dark corners, our overlooked humanity, and our struggle to survive a manic contemporaneity. They are as manna for the hungry, but they will not feed the weak.
"One of my favorite poems by David, Marina Tsvetayeva, predates digital life and has yet to make the transition. Perhaps he will allow me to offer it as a wav file, as I have it on a cassete tape. Meanwhile, please visit these poems for a taste of the master's work."
