Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press: Snow

December 20, 2022

Christmas Haiku #38

New solstice prayer:

Chemo, kick some cancer ass;

And heal everyone.

Image: Painting by Rockwell Kent, at the Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA. Image capture by me.

Posted at 08:59 PM in Art, Cancer, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Emotions, Greensboro, NC, Love, North Carolina, Other Artists, Rolodex Of Haiku, Snow, Stu Jenks, Travel, Virginia | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 31, 2022

Circles & Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #11: August 31st, 2022

"Abandon All Hope, Joe McFall, Hickory Art Museum, North Carolina." (c) Image captures by Stu Jenks, 2022.

1) Before I get into a commentary about Outsider Art and Art in general, a health update:

Alexa is slowly on the mend. It's going to take a while.

I'm slowly on the mend. Looks like it's going to take a while for me too.

I'm having nerve pain and gastrointestinal issues, post-radiation on my prostate area, more than I had during the entire 8 weeks of my cancer treatment. I didn't expect that. My lovely urologist Juan in Tucson says it's going to take a few weeks for me to heal, that all of this is normal. My anxiety lessened with those hopeful words from Juan, but the pain and discomfort has not. I'm two weeks out of radiation. I'm not going to freak out until October if it all still hurts the same as today. They say 2 to 6 weeks. Guess that's what it is. Acceptance doesn't mean approval.

2) Now, some art criticism:

Included in this newsletter are image captures of Joe McFall's amazing piece "Abandon All Hope", which is on permanent display at the Hickory Art Museum, here in North Carolina. They have an extensive collection of what they call "Folk Art", which I tend to call "Outsider Art". Traditional, this work is made by not formally trained artists who have a certain vision about the world, sometimes religious, sometimes humorous, sometimes fueled by a bit of mental health and substance abuse issues. Notable among these are Vollis Simpson, Horace Pippin, Morace Hirshfield and many others.

At the Hickory Art Museum, I learned this, or rather I thought this:

There is also bad and exploitative folk/outsider art. Much of what I saw there felt like a con. Sorry but it did. Some work was amazing too, but other stuff felt like some people were just trying to cash in on the popularity of people like Vollis Simpson, who late in his life, did make some serious coin from his work (as he should have, because he's brilliant), but much of what I saw felt more like a way to make money and less about projecting your artistic vision. Except some pieces, and the work of Joe McFall.

And, not surprisingly, when I got home and searched the internet, I discovered, again, that a lot of this Outsider Art is bringing huge prices at art auctions.

Let's talk about Joe McFall for a second.

Not much is known of him, and I searched a lot. No wikipedia page. Only auction house tallies of his work sold, not by him but by art collectors. Joe does or did have some serious substance abuse issues. "Abandon All Hope" was created after he got out of a substance abuse detox center. And it appears he was originally from Tennessee. That's about it. I could have found a curator to talk to at the Hickory Art Museum who probably knew more, but I didn't that day. There was a little info on the label for the piece but not much.

I really love this piece. It shows his views on addiction, both his own and of the world at large. It shows the seriousness and consequences of addictions, but also the humor of living an addict's life. It's a complicate piece and I really liked it. Addiction and recovery is a complicated thing. Just is.

However, what disturbed me, is it appears, by looking at how much money his pieces are bringing at auctions and also, by the inauthentic quality of the some of the work I saw in Hickory, that art dealers are taking advantage of addicts, alcoholics, and mentally ill people, and that pisses me off. Or maybe it's my mood regarding my cancer. Shit, I don't know, but it all smelled bad.

Where I am truly naive is, art dealers, and art business people have been screwing over artists for centuries, whether they be relatively-sane creative folk like me, or people who have some serious mental health and/or addiction issues. I guess I just should accept it, but it still sucks. And I'm sure Mr. McFall was happy to make money off his work when it initially sold, and I'm going to guess the Hickory Art Museum did not taking advantage of Joe and paid him a fair price.

I, as an artist, have only been majorly fucked with a few times, i.e. aggressive haggling of prices for my work; reneging on the buying of my work after delivery; the stealing of images off the internet; once not getting work back from a gallery; small things like that. I've been lucky to have two great art rep in my life, and really good people I have worked with and who have shown and promoted my work. I'm grateful to all of those good folk. But it still bugs me when artists are taken advantage of by people with money and power.

My mother Mary Jenks once corrected me when I said, "Money is the root of all evil." "No, son," she said, "It is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil, not the money itself."

Greed and avarice. An old story that never goes away.

This artistic missive here may be tainted with the penile and intestinal pain I'm experiencing now. I don't know. I do know I saw some very good art and some just terrible folk/outsider art at the Hickory Art Museum the other day. And I believe that people like Joe McFall may have been exploited in the past. Not the Hickory people doing it, but the art auction people and the wealthy people who bought his and others' work for a song.

Here endeth the rant.

3) Saw some great Grandma Moses paintings in Roanoke, VA recently, as well as a 'perfect' painting by Rockwell Kent from 1943. They are here as well on this post.

4) Remember to registar to vote and to vote in November. Truly our democracy depends on it. And don't fret. Trump will be indicted and convicted for probably a small felony. Proving intent is not necessary. They have him dead to rights. He'll probably cop a plea. He will not be President again, because of this conviction. Now there probably will be certain counties in America I might not want to drive in, given my bumper stickers, but I don't fucking care. I'm a liberal with a handgun and they don't scare me. Most bullies are cowards.

As I said in January, 2017: There are more of us, Independents, Democrats and reasonable Republicans, then there are of them, the greedy, lying, avaricious fascists. We just need to fucking vote.

It's Roe-vember, baby.

Love you all,

Stu

Posted at 09:22 AM in African Americans, Angel/Ghosts, Art, Cancer, Ethics, Humor, Love, Money, North Carolina, Other Artists, Sickness & Health, Snow, Social Justice, The Sky, The South, The Woods, Trouble With The Law, Virginia, Women, Women Artists | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 17, 2022

This and that, from my studio...

Posted at 12:07 PM in Ancestors, Arizona, Art, Beech Wood, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Coalmine Canyon, Dartmoor, England, Family, Good Folk, Hopi, Love, Mountains, Mountains of North Carolina, Native People, Night Photography, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Snow, Stars, The Moon, The Sky, The South, The West | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 03, 2021

A deep dive into my hard drives, and a few new images as well...

So recently I've been doing deep dives into my hard drives, to perhaps find some images I had overlooked, or reprocess some photos from the past that I can make better. It's been fun.

Here, is a Zippo lighter image, shot at dusk at Council Rocks in Arizona a few years back. (I may need to do more flame tower images here in North Carolina. Hmm.) I popped the color a bit and sharpened the photo a little. I really like this image and this place. It is the place where the Apache chief Cochise lived, and where he made peace with the Americans in the 1870's. I miss Arizona so.

Other old and a few new images are below. If you want a print of anything, reach out.

And may you all have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Love y'all.

Stu.

"Washington Monument 1961, D.C." (c) Image capture Stu Jenks 2021, photographer unknown, from a postcard.

"Crowned Buddha, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina" (c) Stu Jenks.

Posted at 11:20 AM in Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Blue Ridge Parkway, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Composition, Current Affairs, Dartmoor, Faith, Flame Towers, Good Folk, Indigenous People, Mountains, Mountains of North Carolina, Nevada, Night Photography, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Prayer, Religion, Sculpture, Sky, Snow, Spirituality, Stained Glass, The Apache Wars, The Road, The Sky, The South, Travel, Valleys, Virginia, Washington, DC, Windows, Women, Wyoming | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 28, 2021

"Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Snow Drift, Gila County, Arizona" (c) 2013, 2021 Stu Jenks.

All images on this website can be printed by me on my archival printer, using archival paper, then signed, boarded, glassine-bagged, then mailed to you

8 1/2 by 11s are $45, plus S & H. 13 x 19s are $95, plus S & H. (Image rights are also for sale. Cost of those are specific to the client and the job.) Shipping runs between $10 and $20.

Contact me via email at [email protected], or through Facebook Messenger, if you want to buy something.

Stay safe. Love y’all.

Posted at 09:28 AM in Arizona, Art, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Snow, The West | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 16, 2020

Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair Renewed & Preserved.

The PBRC was looking a little torn up from the floor up lately. Since the photographic series began almost 10 years ago, my deceased sister's toddler chair has been from coast to coast: from New York to San Francisco; from the high desert of Arizona, to the low country of South Carolina; from the snows of Utah to the shores of Virginia, North Carolina, California and The Gulf of Mexico. It's that 'getting wet' part that has really bruised the chair. So I sanded her down smooth, leaving some of the patina to show her long history, then oiled her with teak oil, then polished her with 00000 steel wool, and finally buffed her with a soft cotton rag. She has never looked so shiny and pretty. The chair hasn't be fully restored but renewed and preserved, so that perhaps someday my step-daughter will inherit it, and then she do what she will do with her dead step-aunt infant rocking chair. Bottom line: she's good to go, and ready for her closeup.

"So will you be putting the chair in the water again," said my wife Alexa with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, "I'm pretty sure I will."

Also, in this post, are images from recent days, both with and without a chair in them.

Merry Christmas, everyone,

Stu

Posted at 09:54 AM in Air & Gravity, Angel/Ghosts, Art, Buildings, Fezziwig Press, Forgiveness, Greensboro, NC, Love, Mountains of North Carolina, North Carolina, Snow, Spirals, The Road, Trains, Travel, Trees, Windows | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 07, 2020

Images From The Holiday Season.

Posted at 11:22 AM in Alexa McColl Smith Jenks, Ancestors, Arizona, Art, Beachs, California, Churches, Colorado River School, Deserts, Good Folk, Love, Mountains of North Carolina, Nature, Night Photography, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Prayer, Rivers, Rocks, Sky, Snow, Stones, Stu Jenks, The Road, The Sky, The South, The West, Virginia, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 02, 2019

Two things I resolve to do in 2019...

Two things I resolve to do in 2019.

Stay sober. Stay alive.

Other things are of course important in my life: gainful employment, producing more income so I can support myself and my family; gradually getting out of the hole of debt; being sweet and loving to my beautiful wife; continue to make art, music and books; being kind and compassionate to my friends and family and even to those I do not like; being of service to my community and to the world; bringing social justice to my country, in my own small ways.

But without breath in my lungs, a heartbeat in my chest, and a head clear of mood-altering chemicals, none of the above is possible.

Stay sober. Stay alive.

It's really that simple sometimes.

"The Rev. Dr. William Barber II of the Poor People's Campaign, during the Watch Night Revival, Dec. 31st, 2018, at Pullen Baptist Church, in Raleigh, North Carolina" (c) 2018, 2019 Stu Jenks and The Poor People's Campaign.

Posted at 11:04 PM in Ancestors, Angel/Ghosts, Arizona, Art, Birds, Black & White Photography, Books, Canyons, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Churches, Civil Rights, Death, Earth Spirals, Emotions, Faith, Fezziwig Press, Fiction, Flora & Fauna, Forgiveness, Fun Facts, Good Folk, History, Love, Memoirs, Metaphysics, Money, Mountains, Nature, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Photography, Politics, Raleigh, Religion, Science, Sepia, Sickness & Health, Snow, Spirituality, Stones, The Moon, The Poor, The Sky, The South, Travel, Trees, University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia, Water, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 03, 2018

Fezziwig Press Images, New & Old, from 17 External Hard Drives...

I've been going through all 17 of my external hard drives, part of a house cleaning and studio cleaning before Alexa and I move to North Carolina (Due to some hickups, looks like it won't be until September of 2018 when my wife and I move to Greensboro.) While doing that, I revisited some old images, and found some discarded images that deserved a second look.

Also, the images from my new "Two Newlyweds" series are in this post as well as some other new stuff. Hope you enjoy them too.

And as always, everything is for sale, either as a digital file or as a print. Simply contact me at [email protected] for prices.

Happy Spring, y'all.

Stu