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Hello and Welcome to The Jolly Muse-Blog! New blogger here on ArtsKeeper! My name is Kerry and I have been writing since I could hold a pencil. I have five published works and have contributed to several anthologies. I also have two blogs, one is about writing and the other, Mindful Manipulation is about actively participating in your own healing, and ways to be mindful. Granted this is kind of a trend, but I have been writing about it for a few years now, after having taught and practiced karate for almost twenty years. Ever since my first book was published, I wanted to be a part of something which helped support the efforts of artists. ArtsKeeper has the absolute heart of that in mind and I hope everyone reading this will spread the word as well as join. Today is December 21, Happy Solstice! At this time of year I always wonder if artists like to give pieces they have created? When I was a child that was pretty much what I did. I would make a song or poem specifically for a loved one or friend. Even the classic homemade coupon books. Maybe this came from being in grade school, and making neat projects for gifts, and my parents being so thankful, but the notion stuck with me. Receiving something from someone that they made or wrote just fills me with joy. I am curious as to if other artists also focus their creative expressions for gifts as well? Please feel free to comment! For now, I will leave you with my personal “funny” for this time of year. If you recall the name of the blog, The Jolly Muse, I would offer you the reason for the name. December 25th is Christmas, and is associated with celebrating Jesus' birth for Christians. It also happens to be my birthday. The funny thing is that my maiden last name is Jolly. Hence, The Jolly Muse. But at this time of year, I am always most grateful that my parents were kind, naming me Kerry, as opposed to Holly. (Holly Jolly, born on Christmas? YIKES!) Even still, it was quite a source of mirth for classmates. I look forward to offering interviews and reviews about other artists and their works, as well as my own. If you would like to be interviewed, or featured, please drop me a comment or message. Great Success to you all! Thanks for the read! Kerry~

I have spoken about Artskeeper being a Social Enterprise. Let me explain: On the one hand, Milton Friedman claimed that returning value to shareholders was the primary responsibility of business and suggested that “Greed is Good.” Shareholders, of course, could invest their money in whatever causes they desired, but Friedman believed companies should focus their own efforts on creating value for shareholders by increasing its profits. On the other hand, the alternative nonprofit model talks about a nonprofit company having its prime responsibility to society. For this reason, the government supports a nonprofit enterprise by giving investors (called donors) tax benefits for investing or donating to a nonprofit. A Social Enterprise strikes a balance in the middle. It sees its responsibility to society, the company itself, its employees and to shareholders.  At the intersection of the private and volunteer sectors, social enterprises seek to balance activities that provide financial benefits with social goals, such as housing for low-income families or in our case, support for artists and the arts. While earning profits is not the primary motivation behind a social enterprise, revenue still plays an essential role in the venture's sustainability. Sustainable revenue differentiates a social enterprise from a traditional charity that relies on outside funding to fulfill its social mission. This goal does not mean social enterprises cannot be profitable. Instead, it's simply that their priority is to reinvest profits into their social mission, employees, rather than fund payouts to shareholders. Some money or benefits still flow back to donors and sponsors (instead of dividends and tax breaks). The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identifies social enterprises as being highly participatory, with stakeholders actively involved and a minimum number of paid employees. We want to improve the situation of the artist and the arts in society. Our slogan is “help the arts flourish and artists thrive”. The problem: artists are not paid a decent wage. Shelley claims that "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of mankind". The key word is "unacknowledged." Unappreciated, not paid properly. ArtsKeeper's solution: encourage artists of all kinds, support them as much as possible, enable them to get most of the profits of their talents and works instead of giving it to the middleman, help solve their problems, the most important of which are services, exposure, community and income generation. How we earn money: Funding: by selling goods and services to consumers. ArtsKeeper takes a lower commission than traditional retailers or middlemen Through donations, sponsorships and grants. By having advertising on ArtsKeeper By giving services at a beneficial price

Yup, we need an ArtsKeeper theme for our soon to be released Podcast. Here's your chance to help us and get your music heard all over the place. Interested? Contact us!

By Jean Cocteau December 5, 2023 COCTEAU’S EPITAPH IN SAINT-BLAISE-DES-SIMPLES CHAPEL IN MILLY-LA-FORÊT, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. PHOTOGRAPH BY RENAUD CAMUS, LICENSED UNDER CC BY 2.0. Jean Cocteau wrote on anything he could get his hands on, wherever he could. Édouard Dermit informs us that he often saw Cocteau writing next to him in the car, or while lying down, or when at the table (between fruit and dessert courses), using the smallest scrap of paper or cloth. This version of Secrets of Beauty was composed in March 1945, on a long journey back to Paris. Toward the end of the text, he writes: “Why do these thoughts come to me, to someone who is so reluctant to write? It’s probably because … I am writing them on the move, in a third-class carriage that keeps jogging me. I reconnect with this dear work [of writing] on the endpapers of books, on the backs of envelopes, on tablecloths: a marvelous discomfort that stimulates the mind.” Cocteau was like one of those magicians who, having announced that they are going to reveal the secret of one trick, immediately perform another. He offered up “secrets of beauty” so frequently that the volume from which the following notes have been extracted could almost be called New Secrets of Beauty. The book followed in the tradition of Cocteau’s Le Coq et l’Arlequin (The Cock and the Harlequin) in 1918, Le Secret professionnel (Professional secrets) in 1922, Le mystère laïc (The secular mystery) in 1928, and Démarche d’un poète (A poet’s process) in 1954, as well as countless shorter articles in which the poet promised to reveal secrets about his plays or films. These notes remind us of the following lines from his book about Jean Marais: “Beauty hates ideas. It is sufficient to itself. A work of art is beautiful just as a person is beautiful. The beauty I speak of provokes an erection in the soul. One cannot argue with an erection.” Is it therefore pointless to attempt to get to the bottom of Jean Cocteau’s secrets? We will content ourselves with relating them to an answer once given by the Dalai Lama, which Cocteau quoted on several occasions: “The secret of Tibet is that there is no secret. But it is the one that must be defended with the greatest care.” —Pierre Caizergues Poetry can act only as a physical charm. It’s made up of a host of details that cannot be distinguished instantly. If this were not the case, then it would be impossible to expect anyone with concerns of their own to venture into the labyrinth of a style, to explore its every recess, and to lose themselves in it. *** Poetry stops short of ideas. Ideas are lethal to it. Poetry is itself an idea; it cannot express ideas without becoming poetic and thereby annihilating itself. *** Poetry is not holy just because it speaks of things that are holy. Poetry is not beautiful just because it speaks of things that are beautiful. If we are asked why it is beautiful and holy, we must answer as Joan of Arc did when she had been interrogated for too long: “Next question.” *** To read poetry you must be inspired. *** The word poetry is much abused; it is used for everything that seems poetic. But poetry cannot be poetic. Poetic things acquire a borrowed radiance from poetry. *** A poet’s violence cannot be long-lived. Joan of Arc wasn’t around for long. *** The poet is a servant of forces that he does not understand. He must keep the house clean. His progress can only be moral. *** A poet cannot achieve visible success. That which is clandestine cannot become official without ceasing to be clandestine. Those who believe that they are bringing a secret to light are mistaken. They are driven out of the shadows where poets live, and a new clandestinity re-forms behind them. *** Baudelaire’s contemporaries saw only grimaces in his work, and only grimaces they admired. From behind these grimaces, the gaze traveled slowly toward us, like starlight. *** Slackness, lyricism, and words are the downfall of young poets. I advise them to follow an old wives’ regimen, a very simple form of hygiene: Write backwards, join up your letters, write while looking at the paper in the mirror, make a geometric drawing, place words on the points where the lines intersect and fill in the gaps afterward, turn a famous text upside down by inverting the meaning, and so on. In this way they will become athletes and build their mental muscles. Strong goodness is stronger than wickedness that passes for strength. One must overcome conformity to the latter. One must be good. *** The left cannot go right. If it seems to be going right, that is because it has become right; it is no longer left. It will never be left again. That’s the end of it. *** Poetry is subject to specific laws. A serious man who is capable of feeling like a poet can give the impression of being one simply by knowing these laws and by studying the mechanisms that produce beautiful or unusual things. *** Beauty is lame. Poetry is lame. It is from a struggle with the angel that the poet emerges—limping. This limp is what gives the poet his charm. *** If poetry didn’t limp it would run, and it cannot run because it counts its steps and moves erratically. *** A poem stands in defiance of what man habitually considers to be the best way of expressing his thoughts. One must therefore be very humble in order to read a poem without antagonizing it. *** Cinematic poetry: I am often asked what I think of it. I think nothing of it. I don’t know what it is. I have seen films made without the slightest poetic concern that nonetheless exude poetry, and I have seen poetic films in which the poetry simply doesn’t work. Poetry in films derives from unusual relationships between objects and images. A simple photograph can produce these relationships. I have photographs at home that were taken in the warehouse where the Germans melted down and destroyed our statues. The most mediocre statues became great. Poetry works like lightning. Lightning strips a shepherd bare and carries his clothes several miles away. It imprints on a ploughman’s shoulder the photograph of a young girl. It can obliterate a wall and leave a tulle curtain untouched. In short, it creates unusual things. The poet’s strikes are no more premeditated than lightning. Poetry borrows astonishing contrasts that occur by chance. It disorientates; it accidentally establishes a new order. *** Poetry is a precision instrument. A precision shot. A long-range shot. *** People say to me, “You don’t change.” I reply, “I’m too distracted.” *** A poet must concern himself with poetry alone. *** Poets receive only love letters. *** A man without a drop of passionate blood will never be a poet. *** B. wrote poems before he was shot. A man who wants to outlive himself thinks only of writing poems. *** Apollinaire spoke to me about “event poems”: each poem must be an event. Sometimes poets milk events for more than they are worth. These opportunistic poems are always the ones that attract the most attention. *** The absence of rules in poetry forces the poet to discover methods that bestow upon his work the mystique of a secret cult ritual. *** Style is not a dance. It’s a process. *** A poet should be recognizable not by his style but by the way in which he looks at things. *** A poem arises from a marriage between the conscious and the unconscious; between will and a lack of will; between accuracy and vagueness. *** All beautiful writing is automatic. *** A poet must be a saint, a hero, but without anyone knowing it. He must have no fear of death, with which he ought to be on first-name terms. *** A poet hates himself. He respects only the vehicle within himself. *** A poet’s laziness, waiting for voices: a dangerous attitude. It means that he isn’t doing what he needs to do in order to make the voices speak to him. Discover physical and moral hygiene. Always be in a state of grace. The poet’s religious exercises. To sleep is to return to the stable. Don’t sleep too much. Translated from the French by Juliet Powys. An adapted excerpt from Jean Cocteau’s Secrets of Beauty, translated by Juliet Powys and with a foreword by Pierre Caizergues, forthcoming from ERIS in January. Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) was a writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He was prominently associated with the Surrealist, avant-garde, and Dadaist movements. Juliet Powys is a translator of French and Italian. Pierre Caizergues is a poet, an editor, and the director of the Jean Cocteau Committee.

To celebrate this day of giving thanks and togetherness, we have our resident staff poet Tammy Spears, to provide us with some poems to celebrate this holiday. All these poems are part of her book "Flutter of an Eye." Tammy Spears is a good friend and Someone You Should Know. https://www.someoneyoushouldknowpodcast.com/

Pablo Picasso, the renowned Spanish painter and sculptor, once said, "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." This quote emphasizes the transformative and rejuvenating power of art, suggesting that it has the capacity to cleanse and refresh the human spirit from the challenges and routine of everyday life. It highlights the idea that art serves a profound and essential role in offering a reprieve and a source of inspiration for individuals navigating the complexities of existence. Supporting art and being grateful for artists is important for several reasons: Cultural Enrichment: Art contributes significantly to the enrichment of culture and society. It reflects the values, beliefs, and experiences of different communities, providing a diverse tapestry of human expression. Creativity and Innovation: Artists often push boundaries and think outside the box, fostering creativity and innovation. Many breakthroughs in various fields have been inspired by artistic endeavors. Emotional Expression: Art serves as a powerful means of emotional expression. It allows individuals to convey complex emotions, share personal stories, and connect with others on a deep, emotional level. Critical Thinking: Art encourages critical thinking and analysis. It prompts viewers to interpret and question, fostering a mindset that values different perspectives and promotes intellectual curiosity. Aesthetic Pleasure: Art enhances our environment and brings aesthetic pleasure to our lives. Whether it's visual arts, music, or literature, the enjoyment of art contributes to overall well-being. Community Building: Art has the power to bring people together. Cultural events, art exhibitions, and performances create opportunities for communities to come together, fostering a sense of unity and shared experience. Preservation of History and Identity: Art often reflects the history and identity of a culture. It can serve as a historical record and a means of preserving and transmitting cultural heritage to future generations. Economic Impact: The arts and creative industries contribute significantly to the economy. Supporting artists and the arts can stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and contribute to the overall vitality of communities. Personal Growth: Engaging with art can be a transformative experience. It encourages self-reflection, personal growth, and a deeper understanding of oneself and the world. Inspiration for Change: Art has the power to inspire social and political change. Many movements for social justice and equality have been fueled by artistic expression, bringing attention to important issues and promoting positive change. As we ponder Thanksgiving and the blessings we have in our lives, let's remember to support art and to be grateful for artists -- not just about acknowledging their talent, but also recognizing the broader impact that art has on individuals and society as a whole. It enriches our lives, stimulates our minds, and contributes to the overall well-being of humanity. ArtsKeeper is a community of artists for artists. We are working to bring together those who make art with those who provide services needed for artists to make a living by making art. That includes people who appreciate and buy art. In the U.S. this is Thanksgiving week. Let's be mindful of the very real struggles of artists trying make art and also make a living. If you can, please donate to ArtsKeeper using the button on the top navigation bar. We will use funds raised to support deserving artists. This is the ArtsKeeper mission and promise!

An artificial leaf that mirrors nature to generate oxygen out of water and light is opening the door for a number of ground-breaking applications. Air supply is one of the biggest challenges for scientists and engineers when planning our trips into space. Currently, spacecrafts use costly and complex technologies to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. On earth our plant life provides us with the air we breathe, but while an onboard greenhouse seems like the logical solution for space travel, unfortunately plants can’t live in zero gravity environments. But what if we could design a synthetic version of plants with almost all the same capabilities? Developed by Julian Melchiorri, The Silk Leaf is the first man-made leaf that can survive in outer space. The leaf consists of chloroplasts extracted from real plant cells suspended in silk fiber with revolutionary molecule-stabilizing properties. The outcome is a living and breathing layer that when provided with water and light, can mimic photosynthesis to provide oxygen, and help recycle output gases to reach a closed-loop circulation within a spacecraft. Requiring very little energy, not only can The Silk Leaf extend the duration of space travel, but also has great potential to improve the air quality on Earth in our urban areas. The leaf technology can be applied to outer façades of buildings to filter outside air to release oxygenated air to inside of buildings. Details Title: The Silk Leaf External Link: The Silk Leaf - INDEX: Design to Improve Life® website Sustainable Development Goals targeted: Climate Action, Life on Land INDEX: Award Cycle: 2015 INDEX: Award Category: Home Driver(s) of Change: Automation, Climate Change, Entrepeneurship, Globalization, Mega Urbanization, Space Development Designed By: Julian Melchiorri Country of Design : UK https://g.co/arts/WyxgU6MnpT7QA8oFA

BY DANIEL CASSADY - Read the article November 13, 2023 The glass doors of a five-story art gallery in Midtown Manhattan were smashed, and a $100,000 lithograph by Marc Chagall was plucked from inside the dealership and walked down the block, according to a recent report from NBC New York. The early morning heist took place at 2:20 a.m. on September 25, the gallery told ARTnews. The thieves, whose smash-and-grab and getaway were recorded by surveillance cameras, parked their 1996 Honda Accord around 55th Street near Carton Fine Arts, the gallery’s owner, Charles Saffati, told NBC. One of them then walked down the block and began whacking at the front doors with a hammer. Once he had broken through, he pulled the Chagall painting off an easel near the doors.

Caleb J. Murphy November 11, 2023 Whenever you see musicians complaining about not being able to make money from music, they’re probably not making money from music. Because there are definitely ways to use your musical skills to earn a part-time or full-time income. Is it difficult? Yes. As Russ says, you have to be delusional to make a living as a musician. In other words, you have to be ridiculously passionate about music. If you are, you can provide value to listeners and get paid for providing that value. So, below are 12 ways to make money from music. I’ve made or currently make money from most of these income streams, so I know it’s possible. Read the 12 Ways

A medieval painting that was discovered in France in 2019 is now going to The Louvre. ‘The Derision of Christ’ by Cimabue was one of the most expensive paintings ever sold when it was auctioned for €24 million. Cimabue (c.1240 – 1302) was a Florentine artist and considered one of the forerunners of the Renaissance. About 15 of his works survive to the present day and display that he was influenced by Byzantine art. Experts at The Louvre believe that the ‘The Derision of Christ’ was once part of a large diptych created around 1280 and that two other parts of that work also exist: the Flagellation of Christ (New York, Frick Collection) and Virgin and Child with Two Angels (London, National Gallery). The painting in London arrived in England around 1830, which suggests that the diptych was split up at that time. ‘The Derision of Christ’ will go on display at The Louvre in 2025 as part of a special exhibition on Cimabue. Laurence des Cars, Director of the Louvre, says “Being able to announce the acquisition of these two exceptional works is a great joy for me. Firstly because ‘The Derision of Christ’ by Cimabue, constitutes a crucial milestone in the history of art, marking the fascinating transition from icon to painting. It will soon be presented alongside the ‘Maestà’, another masterpiece by Cimabue belonging to the Louvre collections and whose restoration is currently continuing. Together, the two paintings will be the subject of an event exhibition in spring 2025.” Read the entire article and see more of Cimabue's paintings

SARAH BELMONT - November 8, 2023 7:00am Iceland may not be a country most associate with biennials and big art commissions, but it does have at least one cutting-edge art festival, Sequences, which returned to Reykjavik last month with works by 45 international artists. Founded in 2003 by Kling & Bang, the Icelandic Art Centre, and the Living Art Museum, Sequences has gained popularity and grown in ambition, and was helmed by Marika Agu, Maria Arusoo, Kaarin Kivirähk, and Sten Ojavee, who help run the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art in Tallinn. It may seem strange to bring in four Estonians to curate an Icelandic art festival, but part of Sequence’s point is to highlight connections between Baltic nations and Iceland. This festival does so convincingly. Their exhibition, titled “Can’t see,” explores the ever-growing threat of ecological destruction. Divided into four chapters—”Soil,” “Subterrain,” “Water,” and “Metaphysical Realm”—their show was spread across the Nordic House, the Living Art Museum, the National Gallery, and Kling & Bang. For the show, site­-specific installations are placed in dialogue with preexisting works and institutional loans, including a painting by Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval (1885–1972), Iceland’s national hero. “It was important that we allow ourselves to travel back in time,” Arusoo said. “We wanted to look into the local history, to avoid pinning artists, whose works may echo through time, to a specific period.” Below are five must-see artworks at Sequences, which runs through November 26. View exhibit and read the whole article

7 Deaths of Maria Callas may not be opera but its elaborate 90-minute ritual is both funerary offering and personal exorcism. The performance artist Marina Abramović was 16 when, in the early 1960s, she first heard Callas on the radio. She became obsessed; as she said in an interview with the New York Times, “I read eight biographies… and there was so much similarity that I see in myself. We are Sagittarius, the same; we had bad mothers.” Those fairly slender connections lie behind AbramovA‡’s performance piece 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, which has travelled the world since its Munich premiere in 2020. It now arrives in London, coinciding with the Abramović retrospective at the Royal Academy. The London performances are mounted by English National Opera, but 7 Deaths is only tangentially opera. Abramović’s set recreates the room in which Callas died; to one side of the stage, Abramović “plays” Callas, ostensibly asleep in bed. One by one, seven singers enter to deliver, without acting but with maximum feeling, an aria closely associated with Callas: hits from Madam Butterfly, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, and so on. Each is accompanied by the full ENO orchestra, conducted by Yoel Gamzou. Read the entire article