The Lonely City--Olivia Laing /  by Tim Lane

Olivia Laing’s book, The Lonely City, is a valuable look into the lives of a handful of artists—Hopper, Warhol, Darger, Wojnarowicz, Klaus Nomi, as well as her own—and the city in which they lived and worked: New York City. If you are interested in the topic of loneliness or aloneness, this book should probably be required reading. If you have been struggling to assemble your thoughts and ideas of loneliness—to put your finger on them—then a must read. Ms. Laing articulates loneliness incredibly well. Some of the clinical evidence presented confirms notions I have suspected for some time. I will say no more. I give this book five stars, and high praise. The intersection of bio, memoir and cultural criticism through the lens of Laing’s experience, and the experience of some amazing NY artists, is beyond compelling, and the author writes very well.

#loneliness #olivialaing #newyorkcity #artists #nyc #warhol #basquiat #keithharing #art #bookreview

Oscillate Wildly: An 80s Instrumental Tracks Playlist /  by Tim Lane

The other day I stumbled upon Simple Mind’s song, “Theme for Great Cities,” and it ignited a desire to compile a playlist of 80s instrumental tracks. Off the top of my head, I could think of about a half dozen. After about four hours of research, which included reaching out to friends for input, I was able to gather over fifty tracks. Doing playlist research is always very interesting. But I have to confess that a lot of the material was similar, and the overall results was not very compelling. So I whittled my list down to twenty-five tracks. The first twenty are well-mixed; the final five tracks are bonuses. I hope you enjoy Oscillate Wildly.

*My favorite discovery might be the Tears for Fears track, “Pharaoh.”

**”D.N.A.” by A Flock of Seagulls won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 1983.

***More 80s playlists, including the companion playlist to my 80s coming-of-age ode-to-new wave novel, Your Silent Face, can be found at yoursilentfacedotcom.

#80s #genx #flockofseagulls #tearsforfears #playlists #mixtapes #yoursilentface #yoursilentfacethenovel

New Painting: Teen Age Riot(s) /  by Tim Lane

It has been interesting to ground some of these ideas in expressionistic landscapes. Have I crossed over into a new series? Not sure.

Getting a better grasp of watercolor technique, I think. Thank you for visiting yoursilentface. Check out the galleries, the poetry, the shop, the 80s playlists and the links to my 80s coming-of-age novel, Your Silent Face.

#worksonpaper #artistsoninstagram #watercolors #contemporarypainting #scifi #sonicyouth #80s #genx #yoursilentfacethenovel #yoursilentfacetimlane #yoursilentface #lovelansing #contemporaryart

The Pictures on My Wall(s), a New Painting /  by Tim Lane

The Realities Project series continues.

#worksonpaper #watercolor #innerspace #outerspace #scifi #artistsoninstagram #contemporarypainting #coloredpencil #lovelansing #yoursilentface #echoandthebunnymen

Taken in soft indoor light.

Taken in soft outdoor light.

In Which the Artist Presents a Dream Possibly Triggered /  by Tim Lane

I have always been interested in the way in which Jasper Johns takes an image, often a famous or noteworthy photograph or painting, and abstracts it. His ink and encaustic drawings, Farley Breaks Down, led me to Larry Burrows’ print which appeared in Life Magazine in 1965 (The Mission Over, Farley Gives Way). Johns treatment of the photo is interesting, and possesses its own emotion when or if you get to it, while Burrows photo is just so gosh damn sad and powerful. Johns’ drawings make me think before I get to the emotions; Burrows’ photo creates an ache in my chest that I immediately want to relieve by crying. This life is hell for so many people. What need for a hell beyond this world? People go through hell right here every day. The man in Burrows’ photo was a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War. He had just come back from a mission gone terribly wrong—a crew member had been killed. The photo is in my head. I decided to do a study, which I am including below. I rarely do studies—I mean I rarely execute a study. But my eye is constantly studying. My mind does not turn off. Even while sleeping. This morning I was awakened by a dream. I was dreaming of Sheila’s brother, my brother-in-law, Peter. It was a tender dream. Peter had an aggressive case of Parkinson’s. In the dream, we clasp hands like brothers. Our hands remained clasped. He was young and vibrant, in his 50s, with a thin beard. We were sitting together. Then we embraced and he lightly kissed my neck, just below my ear, the same way I kiss my son when I get a chance to see him.

Blog Post in Which the Poet Adds a Couple of Torchy Twangy Playlists to the Blog-O-Sphere /  by Tim Lane

The playlist-maker must make playlists. *The official video for Lilacs (Waxahatchee) features Marlee Grace. I have included it below. Interesting creative I met while running a gallery space from 2008-2015 in East Lansing, Michigan. I recently came across the video after investigating the single, Lilacs, which was included on a collaborative playlist on which I was invited to compile songs.

#playlist #torchandtwang #waxahatchee #marleegrace #joanshelley #perfumegenius #jesswilliamson #courtneybarnett #drycleaning #lomelda #lovelansing #mixtape

In Which the Artist Revisits a Series from which He Had Moved On /  by Tim Lane

Engine, projector, cell, conduit, eye, creator—I don’t know anymore. The central image of The Reality Project continues to speak to me. There are so many lines to explore. This painting mashes up a painting from The Sublime series with ideas from The Reality Project. Really loving my watercolors—a thoroughly new exploration in itself.

#worksonpaper #quantumphysics #outerspace #innerspace #scifi #duranduran #painting #contemporaryart #coloredpencil #smallworks #watercolorpainting #artistsoninstagram #lovelansing #yoursilentface

Come Undone, 2022

Most Recent Series /  by Tim Lane

Hello, thank you for visiting. You can find 80s playlists, poetry, my 80s coming-of-age novel and all of my artwork at this site. Please take some time to browse.

Your Silent Face
By Lane, Tim