New Poems – Patching Me Together – Cover Design: Grant Goodwine

Following the critical success of Particle Pinata Poems, Harrell’s new release doesn’t disappoint. It more than delivers. “Margaret Ann Harrell stands in direct lineage with the poet prophets of old while simultaneously being a modern cutting edge experimental poet. She steps off the edge and into the unknown. In her own distinctly original poetic voice, she performs a whirling dance with the numinous creative forces of the universe, with Rumi and Blake and Rilke and Yeats. PATCHING ME TOGETHER is the work of a master. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Ron Whitehead, U.S. National Beat Poet Laureate

ALSO PUBLISHED IN 2022: 

ELECTRICITY “TRANSPORT TRAINS”:

Cover Designer: Grant Goodwine

Let’s dive down into our relationship to the universe’s creative impulse, creative energy—the energy that can move mountains, can explode cities— through our common affinity for and content of . . . ELECTRICITY. Electricity “Transport Trains” presents “some personally experienced secrets of how we get roped into the universe’s scenes and stories.” Margaret A. Harrell spent the decade of the 1990s at her computer, but it was no ordinary experience. The computer worked with her, in what is called “computer PK.” In this parapsychological phenomenon, the computer repeatedly restructured portions of a whole page of text that was on-screen, reducing it to mouthfuls. No page printed the same way twice. This was a collaborative experience between artist and, if you will, spirit illustrator (humorously put). With piles of examples of this type of refocusing, not only did she have her consciousness altered and expanded, but she used the illustrations in her Space Encounters series, some of which are reproduced in Electricity “Transport Trains.” The Space Encounters series was published in Romania while she lived in Belgium. Resurfacing out of this ten years of seclusion and artistic hermitage in 2001, she relocated in the United State with a shipping container that held many examples of this nonstop ten years of creativity, all supported, or instigated, by “the spirit world.” Blinking in the light of returned-to everyday reality, she published more books, but shifted focus. Now she is aiming for short, easily accessible, entertaining books that have a very deep undertone. In addition, she brings insights into how human electricity interacts with the electricity-filled universe that she learned but did not understand in an initiation in 1985. Decades later, it’s all so clear. And she shares it in this book.

Chuck full of meditative Sun creations. In fact, there is a section title: The Sun as Painter.

Book Description on Amazon:

How does Leonardo’s theory of chance images, “accidental” inspiration, relate to clouds? In Cloud Conversations & Image Stories, Margaret A. Harrell weaves her own cloud photography into the art history of chance images, bringing in related drawings, scrying, and our relationship to Mother Nature. Regarding Robert Desnos’ trance drawings, Andre Bréton called the “tangled web of lines” a result of chance, but the figures that “appear suddenly from this chaos,” he said, were “born somewhat like those one sees in clouds or in the cracks in walls.” Soak up the beauty as these clouds reveal images, many of which look like paintings. In nooks, in corners, of the photo, an unexpected face or whole scene appears. Harrell began photography, walking in the steps of dreams that showed her looking up, seeing scenes unfold, shifting panoramas everyone else failed to notice. One day the dream stepped into reality. In this book, Harrell gives Leonardo da Vinci a prominent role, as he found clouds and other nondescript stimulants to the imagination useful. He had a theory about stains, blots, clouds, as have other artists, such as Victor Hugo. Harrell brings them in, joining with her to take on a relatively untackled topic in art history and creativity: where creation comes from. She asks repeatedly whose images is she photographing? Why do they appear to her in clouds but not on a blank canvas? Printed in full Premium color, each image composed only of sunlight dazzles down on the page.

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Looking at the cloud photograph, which I took in Belgium in the late 1990s, when I took several rolls of these sky images every day, then sorted out which ones to later have professionally scanned, I see painting-like scenes in patches. Isolated areas where a “painter” set up an easel and made a work of art. Only, it happened in the clouds. Also, before snapping the image, I did some intentional staring meditatively. For me, this brought it into focus. This image is the cover of a book in progress – very short – by me on cloud artwork, its history, its effect on me, with examples of painting-like clouds.

The event takes place at The WHITE SPACE Gallery CHELSEA (555 West Street N.Y.). The Italian art curators sponsoring the event, Salvatore and Francesco Saverio Russo, are going ahead in spite of Covid. And so they must have a plan. My work is on video display. Other painters, sculptors, photographers, video makers, performers, graphic designers, stylists, also included in the event, may have full-size paintings or other artwork or may present on video. The curators write:

New York brings together the best of art, design, architecture and music of all the world. A place of dreams and emblem of the “new world,” New York is a symbol of travel overseas, of different cultures and styles that meet every day in its frenetic and very rich extra-ordinary daily life.

Besides the video exposure of Faces in Star Burst at the White Space Chelsea Gallery, October 21 – 24, 2020, the cloud giclee film photograph will be displayed in the Italian magazine Art International Contemporary Magazine in the September/October issue. And in an exhibit catalog “The Stars of Contemporary Art.”

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The Dancer

Sometime ago, I had the lucky opportunity to wander alone through the rooms of these drawings in Bruges. A small but significant, highly interesting exhibit of Picasso’s  drawings. As always, there’s a lot of wit, and what amazed me was the ability to say so much with so few strokes of the pen. It’s here that a drawing of mine was on exhibit in December 2018. After leaving here, it’s going to a yoga institute in Bruges for two months, on sale. After that, if not sold, it has another beautiful spot to go to, the het Toreke Museum in Tienen, a town I lived in for many years.

The Face of Peace

Corrida

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Sun Spotlight on Faces Margaret Harrell

In a September art event, the publication The Best Modern and Contemporary Artists 2017 was launched in Berlin at the Georges-Casalis-Hall. It is curated in Italy. And I was invited into it. How I would have loved to attend in person (sigh). The location was the Französischer Dom.

An condensed online description reads: “You won’t get any more central that this. The French Cathedral (called the Französische Friedrichstadtkirche or the Französischer Dom) stands in the middle of Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin’s historical city centre. As a

“Clouds Floating” – Variation of “Cloud Gathering”

venue for receptions, events, conferences and cultural events, it has the best possible location in Berlin . . . The great hall, with its 700 square metres, has room for 500 – 600 guests. A further highlight of the French Cathedral is the stunning Georges-Casalis-Hall – an oval room with wooden parquet floors – perfect for lectures, conferences or receptions for 100 to 150 people.”

Another online description adds “The edifice commonly known as the Französicher Wikipedia gives a little history:

Berlin Französischer Dom art event – Margaret Harrell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Französischer Dom (the term is German for “French Cathedral,” but in the case of Gendarmenmarkt, Dom refers to the French word for English “dome” and not to a cathedral. Neither church on Gendarmenmarkt was ever the church of a bishop. . . .

Louis Cayart and Abraham Quesnay built the first parts of the French Church from 1701 to 1705 for the Huguenot (Calvinist) community. At that time, Huguenots made up about 25% of Berlin’s population. The French Church was modelled after the destroyed Huguenot temple in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France.

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This was awarded inside the  Congress Palace, Galileo Galilei Room,  in Pisa, Italy.

Galileo was very interested in art since boyhood. He is known as the father of many sciences: observational astronomy, modern physics, the “scientific method,” even science. But like others in his age, that didn’t cover his gifts. As Wikipedia puts it in his biography,

Galileo also studied disegno, a term encompassing fine art, and in 1588 obtained the position of instructor in the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence, teaching perspective and chiaroscuro. Being inspired by the artistic tradition of the city and the works of the Renaissance artists, Galileo acquired an aesthetic mentality. While a young teacher at the Accademia, he began a lifelong friendship with the Florentine painter Cigoli, who included Galileo’s lunar observations in one of his paintings.

But then he accepted the position of the chair of mathematics in Pisa.

With that inspiration as a background, it’s wonderful to have been invited into a small art group in this city. And to have had the photo above included in the magazine below in January/February 2017. May there be more of this kind of opportunity in 2017-2018 and may I actually attend such an event in person. OK. Let’s set that wish in motion.

Art International Contemporary – Galileo Galilei Award

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Spanish Dances

Jan Mensaert drawing made while he was waiting to write.

Honky Tonk

FROM THE MARGARET HARRELL YOU TUBE CHANNEL

In 2017 I have the honor to be on a Gonzo Fest literary panel on Hunter Thompson coming up in April. Here is a photo from 2016, where in an unforgettable evening, thanks to Jinn Bug and Ron Whitehead, I met and had dinner with Juan Thompson at the Brown Hotel:

In 2014, when I first went to Louisville and participated in the Gonzo Fest, Nick Storm (Storm Generation Films) made a video of the presentation, and there are a couple of clips from that hour-long event below. Contact me if you would like to purchase the full DVD at a minimal cost.

2014: GONZO FEST – EXCERPTS of Margaret’s Presentation at Carmichael’s Bookstore – hour-long video by Nick Storm, journalist and film maker

Victoria (AYRIAL TalkTime) talks with author Margaret Harrell who shares her intimate experiences with Hunter S. Thompson, founder of “gonzo journalism,” along with highlights from her book, a memoir series; Keep This Quiet!

Victoria (AYRIAL TalkTime) talks with author and light body worker Margaret Harrell about dream interpretation, meditation and Keep This Quiet!: More Initiations, the fourth volume in her legacy memoir series.

Victoria (AYRIAL TalkTime) talks with author Margaret Harrell talks about the value of meditation and her relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, founder of “gonzo journalism,” along with highlights from her book, a memoir series; Keep This Quiet!

REAWAKENING YOUR BRILLIANCE with Julie Coraccio. A Skype interview on Julie’s show, a bit long but I think I made some good points as I talk about my experiences and dreams while at the Jung Institute.

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It took place at the Ximenes-Panciatichi Palace, built in the 1400s.

Ximenes-Panciatichi Palace

About the palace: It was recently restored: “The central ballroom (176,000 sq ft x 330 ft height) and all the adjacent rooms were returned to their original splendor with stucco work, decorations and colors of the 18th century. The structure was improved and made more precious by tapestries with coat of arms, old paintings, ancient busts, valuable pieces of furniture and authentic 18th century chandeliers and wall lamps.”

Photo-Painting: In beginning cloud photography in the 1990s, I hoped to create “Photo Painting”; that is, my film images looked to me like paintings in the sky, bringing to life dreams from ten years earlier, of animated cloud scenes. What do you think? Does the image look like a painting?

– Sandro Serradifalco, Italian art critic and editor of Effeto Arte – writes about Cloud Tapestry, in the full–color exhibit catalog Contemporaries in the City of the Uffizi:

The intensity of beauty is expressed through a rare use of perspective. When we talk about landscapes, we imagine them in an ordinary way, structured with order that follows the rules of reality. Here, instead, we have a totally new perspective that is mind blowing to  the spectator, offering a new point of view from which to observe what surrounds us,  to find the real inner beauty of things. A technically talented artist . . . reproducing an intense inner moment of solitude, alone with the sky and the clouds.

The inclusion plaque (translated roughly from the Italian) mentions “the elevated stylistic composition of her work. . . . A big thank you for this artistic contribution.” I say a big thank you back! I always loved Italy, loved Florence the two times I was there, and now love it even more. I never expected to have a photograph actually exhibited in one of its ancient buildings.

The post Florence, Italy, Art Award/Critique – November 2016 appeared first on Margaret A. Harrell.

In Vienna I joined a small group of artists – in a book. The first part of the book displayed works of very famous – prominent – modern artists. The second part had contemporary artists in which I was one. I really wish I could have flown in. Although I cannot at this point just hop in a plane and go in person, I am excited and the book – and the event attendance itself – surpassed my  expectations. That is, that inside these marvelous Old World buildings and rooms, in some small way I am there, my art is there. Who would have thought?

The photography below- Cloud Scenes – was in the art event that I participated in, in Europe in November in the Sternberg Palace (Vienna), office of the Italian Consulate ad of the Italian Culture Institute.

Cloud Scenes – Behind the Sun series

Art Award – 2016 Vienna – Margaret Harrell

P.S. The book arrived today and it is gorgeous.

Art Review – Harrell

The inclusion plaque (translated roughly from the Italian) mentions “the elevated stylistic composition of her work. We are honored to have her included.”

 – About Cloud Scenes, Salvatore Russo, curator and art critic, writes in the full-color catalog:

A sun appearing among the clouds; a blue sky that allows a glimpse of light; the darkness makes its appearance. In this work of Margaret Harrell we find all these elements. The artist has been able to seize the moment. A moment that brings with it diverse reflections.

Here is a link to the same book in 2015.

The Second Art Event I  participated in in Italy in November

It took place at the Palazzo Ximenes Panciatichi (Florence, Italy), built in 1498. There for a few few days Cloud Tapestry, film photography that aims to capture painting-like scenes, was just exhibited. Long ago in this palace hung works of Sandro Botticelli and Paolo Uccello, and Napoleon Bonaparte briefly lived in there in July 1796.

November 10 – 13, Cloud Tapestry entered this wonderful procession for a moment.

It joined works by 11 Italian painters and photographers (one image each) and by 12 or so non-Italian painters, sculptors, photographers. One reason I was so pleased is that I didn’t have to elaborately mail (through customs) the artwork. The display was projected onto a large screen. That’s a fun thing that I did not get to see in person! I would love to say, “Florence, here I come.” For more on this event inside this site, click here.

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Here is one of my newest images, though it’s poor quality. It’s being rescanned right now and I’ll insert the new scan next week, after it’s returned and I work on it a bit.

Cloud Scenes

Here is some background from Wikipedia:

The Ward-Nasse Gallery, founded by Harry Nasse, first opened as a commercial art gallery in Boston during the early sixties. When Harry Nasse moved to New York in 1970, he switched to artist-run cooperative status for the gallery. All modes of contemporary art are exhibited, from traditionally executed works to more experimental art forms. Artists from across the country share walls with artists from Europe, Asia and South America.

Because Ward-Nasse Art Gallery presents mostly group exhibitions, for the more than 40 years of operation the full list of artists who have exhibited is quite extensive, and numbers in the thousands. Some New York City artists who have started their careers or who continue to exhibit at Ward-Nasse are Laurie Anderson, performance artist; Jessica Diamond and Mark Dion, both represented by the American Fine Arts Co.; Paul Laffoley, represented by the Kent Gallery; Daniel Ouellette, represented by the Alexander Gallery; Harvey Quatman, represented by the McKee Gallery; Nicholas Arbatsky, exhibited at Artist’s Space and the John Baer Gallery; Amy Ernst, exhibited at the Anita Shapolsky Gallery; and John Miller, represented by metro Pictures ; John Marshall, Perry Hoberman, Harris Barron, Horst Liepolt, Amanda Fraser, Anthony Coffey, Olan Montgomery, Petr Šálek and many more.

Thanks again to Ward-Nasse. May it bring in sales!

Postscript: Ward-Nasse has just moved to New Jersey. Read about it here. Nothing else has changed, though, except the location.

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Hans – how he actually looks

Hans’s face – camera trick I didn’t do

Hans Harrell – looking normal again

And then this . . .

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