Letter to Jeff

Dear Jeff, 

Hope you’re well. I’ve got a broken keyboard on my computer thing and no internet at home. Please forgive my stutter-step correspondances. 

Regarding meditation, in short, I sit in a half lotus position then cup my left hand under my right facing up, then count my breaths as described over the course of  twenty minutes, twice daily. Sometimes I wear my glasses, sometimes not. Sometimes eyes open, sometimes not. Sometimes I switch hands, or legs. I guess the idea of it is to reduce bodily variables, and just listen, let the thoughts happen, and just notice them. It will become more automatic through time.  To me, well, I relate to a sentiment expressed by Eric Hoffer, and that’s the curiosity at adult politicians or, careerists. He’s fifty-five when writing this (in his Working and Thinking on the Waterfront).  And that’s it. How can anyone be themselves. It’s curious. What’s the will to power? This meditation practice helps me realize where I am and go forth. I’ve found it’s better to wear some underwear than go nude, to prevent temptation.  

My days have been wildly interesting in a tedium and variety fourth-year student in an art factory kind of way. I have moved to west Philly, which you know. I walked home from center city last night. I’ve done this a few times, and it counts as my exercise, and helps me to sleep. I slept at the school the night before. I plan to make this a semi-regular occurrence. I’ve learned the virtues of decaf coffee after six, and reserving meal times to twice daily, another bit gleaned from the musings of Eric Hoffer. I’ve been ordering books. I got this book from Gilbert White, who was a favorite author of painter Eric Ravillious. The book is comprised of letters of the Nature of The Natural history of Selbourne, and it’s called the Birds of Selbourne.

“As the parish still inclines down towards Wolmerforest, at the juncture of the clays and sand the soil becomes a wet, sandy loam, remarkable for timber, and infamous for roads. The oaks of Temple and Blackmoor stand high in the estimation of purveyors and have furnished much naval timber; while the trees on the freestone grow large, but are what workmen call shakey, and so brittle as often to fall to pieces in sawing. Beyond the sandy soil becomes an hungry lean sand, till it mingles with the forest; and will produce little without the assistance of lime and turnips.”

I’m making a piece that’s a little poly,er-clay wall kind of like a stage set and it’s painted across with the words “western Art History” a la graffiti, which aside from being a little bitey (of artist lush), it’s I think a good idea and worth doing. Another painting-on-the way is a rip-off of the napoleon crossing the alps motif, but the protagonist is a character fom a  dream of mine, a claked figure (think lord of the rings) with a stone wheel, pocked in a helllinnistic fashion looking square into the camera. It maintains a sense of humor along with its impending. Other projects I won’t elaborate on but I’m much excited ot be “in studio” this year, and to have the guidance and encouragement from a team of critics! My critics are Stuart Shils, Jessica Able, and Didier Willliams, should you care to look them up. 

I’ve stopped going to therapy, my critics fulfill me in a way far superior. Also, the insurance deal was running out. 

My courses are as follows:

That’s it for now! TTYL! 

-KG 

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 11:33 AM, Robert Goethe <goethero@pobox.pafa.edu> wrote:

On Sep 4, 2018, at 3:21 PM, Jeff Jones <austinjack135@gmail.com> wrote:

Mildly freaking out before semester begins

Finished reading The Roots of Romanticism by Isaiah Berlin. Wonderful book.

Have begun compiling illustrations and designing page layouts for a before-semester zine.

Had a day full of dread today. Good fodder for real work to get done. Egads.

Put a small chunk into Dr. Barnes’ book on art, in preparation for a class I’ll be taking from a Dr. Perthes at the Barnes Museum forthcoming.

Tonight some travelers will be coming through. One’s a student I’m familiar with and the other is a friend of hers. They’ll be staying for a few nights tentatively before their housings get situated elsewhere. I don’t know the situation in full, but, such is living in a home of love.

The Myth and Ariadne

Well, I’ve got a little ball rolling in regards to this blog. Seems poised for a fall off, but I’m enjoying it very much until then. Yesterday was fun. I took an early stop on the trolley and walked from 22nd and market to fairmount hardware, where I bought a water filter, a nitelight, food storage containers, an ice tray, a big pot to initiate three of my plants upgrades and a hundred pack of single edge razor blades. Later that day, I sold my bike to a PhD candidate, via Craigslist, and got 120 bucks out of it.

This morning I awoke to a phone call from someone else who was interested in the bike, and wanted to ask a few questions about the frame. This was at 7:15. I politely interrupted and said the bike is already sold- it went fast. And he went, ‘sh, awww, thanks!’. Tbh it was a good alarm. Who calls at 7:15?

My new home address is as follows 4604 Baltimore Avenue. Philadelphia 19143,  and you are welcome to write to me or send small things.

This morning after the phone call, I meditated and transferred three of my plants to larger containers. Here’s hoping the transplants go successfully.

I’m considering buying a printer, the drawback being ownership. Should I start a tally of how many times I go wanting one? What’s the answer to something like this? When I’m in school either I don’t print, (go without) or. I don’t know. What if my process (I’m thinking I could incorporate printing and copying) ends up hung nothing to do with printing and copying? I’ll continue to go without.


Finished reading Persepolis last night and was very pleased with it. The author alludes to Montesquieu’s the slavery of the Africans, and The Secrets of the CIA, and the Freemasons of Iran, and the Memoirs of Mossadegh, and now my reading list is a bit longer.

At the library today, I am checking out a book I’ve had on a list for a while: The Myth and Ariadne by Michael Taylor on De Chirico. I never knew if I was ready, we’ll see if it sticks.

Coffee Martyr

Oof. Keyboard is broke on the iPad. I guess typing on the screen, hey, isn’t so bad. Maybe just as good. I made a schedule for today and stuck with it. I made three thumbnail drawings upon waking (day four of this routine) then started coffee before sitting down to meditate. I think I liked it. I like hearing the sounds of the coffee maker, and much to my joy the sounds of the neighborhood are good too. I can hear trolley cars with their electric cable resonances from a few blocks away, and when they’re outside my building (a three and an attic walk up brownstone kind of), the idling air conditioner units that are situated on top. There’s usually people at our stop, so I can rest assured that our block is a healthy one, and I am happy to be a part of it. The trolley pulls away, and I can hear tires and engines of cars, and sometimes horns. We live just off the road (and overlooking a six point intersection). It’s all suppositions before the final fall semester of my undergrad starts. I’m focusing on sequential and spot illustration right now. Kind of meme like drawings. I have this one that’s a wrecking ball swung back, that reads ‘not saying anything’, and I wrote it in relation to political correctness, as I read DuBois and Hoffer; it’s ‘negriod’, ‘negro’ all over etc., but it’s civil and intellectual and to get to ideas, and truly used in the right way of that time, and it’s more sobering to get with their larger points than to dwell and vet and qualify. Of course such a vague illustration could mean a lot of things, so I like that too, probably better, for it matters less how we get to a thing than what the thing becomes in meaning by the journey. I have this teacher that uses ‘journey’ a lot, and I like that. She recommended a movie from our library, ‘Mindwalk’, which I checked out and watched yesterday morning first thing. I went back to a nap after making coffee and meditating and reading Freud’s intro to his Jokes book. I left my door open so if my roommates were to see in, to wonder why I wasn’t seizing the day, they could see the coffee martyr. ‘Good God, he brewed the pot to drink it not’! ‘What grounds for such boldness!?’

I hope to remember this day forever. I’m on track. 

K Goethe

Yesterdays breakup text got me thinking about the cycles. Well, anyways, it's for the best.

What's strange about 'relationships' is that lack of autonomy that seems to come with it. Most friendships last for years between contact yet in a dating setup there's an 'on call' aspect, the pretense being validation. Am I wrong?

Six Planets Are In Retrograde

Well Angie and Tim's trip went well I think. Time stood still with them, perhaps it's the season's end. Six planets are in retrograde now.

Angie and Tim walked on Saturday and brought their zines to bookshops. Wooden Shoe bought some copies outright, and Atomic Comics accepted some for their commission arrangement. I saw the transaction at the comic shop. Tim and Angie were humble. The clerk asked to see what they had. Seeing the quality, the tone of the clerk opened up and it was expressed like "yeah, we'll take these". I was very inspired by this reception. That night I made a dozen thumbnails in a comic book mindset.

I harvested from a thumbnail that I drew from a picture I took in Florida in the spirit of Ravillious. I transferred the drawing to mat board and did a watercolor painting, trying for some dry brush texturing too, and scraping back to white, exploring. Well, as anticipated, mine came out way more saturated than Eric's, and, some solutions were old hat (purple shadows), so, I'd like do it again. Reading of Ravillious' method hints that it's ungraspable. Ravillious considered his works drawings (even the paintings).

I love my new house situation.

Girlfriend broke up with me from neglect. Thank you.

Angie and Tim

Angie and Tim are coming to visit from their Summer digs in Long Island.

I took a break from eating yesterday and resumed this afternoon with a slice of pizza, a plum, and a coffee. I’m reading Eric Hoffer’s book again, Working and Thinking on the Waterfront and it’s a treasure. I may order another Eric Hoffer Book. He talks about writing about the history of the intellectual and I wonder if he ever got around to it. It seemed to be his big preoccupation in this journalistic work. Well, this might disrupt the rhythm of the journalistic format, but I opened a new tab and ordered two books from Hoffer since the last sentence. I also called my mom and asked for her password to her amazon account, so that I could download an anatomy book for reference.

I was tempted to order another book from Gayatri Spivak but goddam those writings are hard.

My roommates are out in nature somewhere taking photos of each other naked. Part of me wanted to go, and another part didn’t. When I woke up, I thought ‘yes!’ Because I wanted to see people naked, which is weak alibi. I think it’s natural to like clothes. Who wants every part jangling around all the time? Plus, with exception of some critters, we don’t have handy built in pockets.

I turned in my old apartment keys today, with my roommate, former. It was like a long business transaction, our living together, which I think is something like the best scenario for a housemate- nothing too personal. My new housemates sometimes talk of goin in on big meals together for efficiency, and if this too can be non-sentimental, it would be a good thing, whereas when it was pitched to me before I lived there it seemed like a lot of pressure I guess.

I’m thinking of selling the bike, as there’s no sensible route from my new apartment to school, and the trolley is pleasant, and most everything else is within walking distance. I’d put about $250 into the $100 bike; I think I’ll ask $150, or $180 with a lock and helmet. Oof .

There’s going to be a get together at my new place tonight, with sixteen confirmed guests, and I’m looking forward to that. I’ll pick up Angie and Tim soon enough then make my way there to clean and prepare for the night.

I signed up for two more classes during the Fall, on Saturdays no less. Whereas I try to treat Saturdays as holy days, I’m putting a little moratorium on that for the coming semester on the basis that I’m hungry for anatomy, and just want to binge on it. The classes are portrait sculpture/figure option, and Deer Ecorche. If I continue to participate in sunday painting sessions, I will be working seven days a week, which, what’s new, but also I’m thinking maybe I’m growing away from the Sunday painting practice, as it’s a contrived thing, a big chunk of time on the basis of practice, and (I don’t know) I think it’s a ego pit at this point, like I’m some star there, which is whack vibes for a room, so I think I’ll take a break on it. I never missed one last year.

Someone in the elevator here at PAFA said he’s not looking forward to the summer ending. I seconded, ‘it’s more relaxed’. he said, ‘much more’. It reminds me of David Rachoff’s profound hindsight as he neared his end, ( I think he committed suicide), “I just wish I would have enjoyed it more”. Sometime before that, on NPR, he relayed how he cut it off with his therapist, “I think it’s time to terminate”. These things have stuck with me and somehow kept me from reading his book of poems, as I am cautious as to what’s in there. I think he wrote this one; he read it aloud on NPR about the scorpion and the frog, which I think is an established poem, yet Rachoff’s was the first to put it into a pleasing pentameter.

Where should I bring my friends coming to see Philadelphia? I will try to give them plenty and plenty of space. For one thing their souls are going to have to catch up after riding a bus from Manhattan.