Post by Jane on Mar 8, 2010 21:10:52 GMT -5
James Christensen
“Christensen likes to think of the world as his classroom. His hope is that through whatever he creates — be it a porcelain, fine art print or book — he can convey a message, inspiration or a simple laugh. He believes that teaching people to use their imagination helps us find solutions to soothe the stresses of everyday life or get a little lift to help us keep going. In short, all things are possible when you share James Christensen's philosophy that "Believing is Seeing."
Inspired by the world's myths, fables, and tales of imagination, James Christensen wants his work to add up to more than a beautiful — if sometimes 'curious' looking work of art. James C.
Christensen is one of the few people fortunate enough to create a world of his own and make you wish you could live in it. Christensen fills his "land a little left of realty" with wonderful people, places, and things as real as your adult dreams and as beloved as your fondest childhood memories. The result is a unique kinetic kingdom where recognizable human emotions are often manifested as fish or fowl, utilizing the viewer's own imagination as no other artist does.”
James Christensen conveys similar themes in his work. Some of his most popular themes are a floating fish, checkered floors, Shakespearean themes, music, suspension, and collective items. His art is considered intriguing and thought-provoking.
“The way it feels to me is that the conscious mind, whose driving force is analysis and logic, rules the design. But the “other mind” distills the concepts, visions, ideas, and memories in the imagination’s card file. Active imagination synthesizes groups of seemingly disparate things and ideas. I’m also intrigued with the illusions created by movie sets. They look very real, but as you walk around them you can see what goes into creating the illusion”
-James Christensen
From what we know, we can safely infer that Michael is a fan of fairytales and myth. When photographed out, you’d usually find the man in a bookstore. He also loved art; he studied many artists and he had many paintings done for him. What we’ve also noticed is that the hoax isn’t just what we see on the surface. The same goes for Michael’s life. I’m sure Michael used many artistic sources of which he comprised the similarities in his life. I want you to read this post and think about this on your own, and for these reasons the explanations will be slim. Enjoy
I cannot recall where at the moment but I saw a picture or read something about Michael and James Christensen and what sparked this memory was the following painting:
(The Responsible Woman)
I honestly cannot recall what sparked this memory in me but I know for sure that Michael is a fan of James Christensen. I guess you’ll have to give us the benefit of the doubt. So, what about this? I’d like to analyze some paintings with you.
We’ll start with the one with the most intriguing title: “Michael the Archangel Battles the Dragon While Almost Nobody Pays Attention”
What’s interesting about this painting, at a first glance, is that no one seems to notice that Michael is battling the Dragon at all. Everyone is just enjoying each other’s company and minding their own business. You’d think someone would notice that they had a dragon in their yard! To explain a little about this painting, "This piece," says artist James Christensen, "talks about the power you have to be good and righteous in taking on the evil in this world. The title says "…almost nobody pays attention…," but you see Michael and the Dragon. What are you going to do? These skirmishes happen daily, not a world away, but in our own cities, towns and neighborhoods. They can be as blatantly obvious as they are innocuous. Being aware has little to do with one's social or economic status: it is the degree you perceive that the world isn't on course and what action you are willing to take to rectify it." This seems to be a common theme Michael’s message as well. Now we will ask you to look at this painting again and notice some other fine details. The first thing that jumps out at me is the checkered floor, which I will get to in a minute. Speaking of Dragons, see this photo:
The name of the book is “The Book of the Dragon” by Ciruelo. Here is a copy up close:
Here you can find more information on Ciruelo and his book: www.dac-editions.com/dragons.htm
A little about it:
“For sure some of these images painted by Ciruelo are familiar to you. They have been reproduced dozens of times on the internet,
sometimes without the proper copyrights. All are included in the legendary The Book of the Dragon by Ciruelo which is well known by all fantasy art lovers. Throughout history dragons and human beings have been unable to live peacefully side by side. As a result, mankind has not been able to benefit from ancient dragon knowledge. Man's craving for power and religious beliefs have kept Europe engulfed in interminable and bloody struggles.
The dragon lords could not understand the reasons for man's self-destructive behaviour, and kept well out of the way, retreating to remote hiding places far from all this confusion.
Shrouded in mystery, the dragon's trail remained lost in the obscurity of legend. However, the dragons secretly pursued their quest for knowledge without completely excluding the human race, since they accepted and taught those few men who sought the essence of truth.
This book is about dragons. Everybody knows what a dragon is: an enormous, fierce, bloodthirsty creature appearing in fairy tales and legends as an accessory whose main function is to set off the bravery of the knight challenging him. But the dragon is something else. He is admirable, intelligent and an educated creature, who leads a very interesting life. He has some fascinating characteristics in addition to those occasional glimpses we are given through fairy tales and legends.”
Back to Christensen, here are some examples of the recurrence of checkered floor in Christensen’s work:
(Burden of the Responsible Man by James C. Christensen)
(One Light)
(Hold to the Rod, the Iron Rod)
(Outside the Box)
Here’s a clearer closeup:
“Brett-Livingstone Strong's "The Book" (1990)
Clearly there seem to be two Michaels in this painting: the one we see up close and the one farther off in the background. Then, there is a artist working on Michael’s painting. But which Michael is he painting? The one we see up close, the one in the red.
There is one more painting of Michael that includes a checkered floor, but I’d like to come back to that one later.
A little about Brett-Livingstone:
Brett-Livingstone Strong is an Australian born artist (b. 1954) best known for his philanthropic spirit and eccentric nature. He is an architect, sculptor and painter and has been called a modern day Michelangelo by Michael Jackson because of his work in both sculpting and painting media. Strong painted portrait of Michael Jackson entitled The Book which reportedly sold for $2.1 million to Hiromichi Saeki Corp in 1990, making it the most money every paid to a living artist for the sale of a portrait. This portrait is claimed to be the only portrait that Michael Jackson sat for an artist's rendering and made its first appearance since 1992 on Thursday July 2, 2009. It was displayed for public viewing in Harlem NY near the Apollo Theatre to honor Michael Jackson. Here are some other works for Michael by Brett-Livingstone:
Here is a link where a few more can be seen:
www.michaeljacksonart.com/categories.php?cat_id=28&sessionid=7h50d808h7v4eqitipotpig
Here is another work of Michael by Ariston Anderson, and it’s entitled “Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II”
The story of this painting is as follows:
“The massive Rubens-inspired oil, called "Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II," swaps out the Spanish monarch's face for Michael Jackson's. The story behind the 2009 painting is as legendary as any tale in Jackson's book.
As it goes, after seeing Wiley's work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Jackson contacted the artist for a commission. Jackson, who frequently had himself painted as a king made a natural match for Wiley's magical-realism depictions. After Jackson and Wiley spoke for nearly a half-an-hour over the phone in 2008 about the artistic vision behind the piece, they agreed that Wiley would photograph Jackson in an Old Masters pose. Thoroughly impressed with Jackson's knowledge of the painting process, Wiley sent Jackson a set of reference images but then stopped hearing from him and was unable to contact him after Jackson changed his hotel several times.
Following the star's death, Wiley decided to complete the piece, a large royal sprawl as majestic as the King's work himself. Choosing to paint Jackson at the peak of his career, the images shows a figure comfortable in his own body, confident behind a wall of armor atop a bowing horse. With bold blues and reds, and surrounded by heavenly cherubs, it's a portrait that would have made the King of Pop proud. Miami visitors, this is a must-see before it falls to the home of a private collector.”
Who is this King Philip II that Michael wanted to be painted like him?
“He ruled one of the world's largest empires which included territories in every continent then known to Europeans. During his reign, Spain was the foremost Western European power. Under his rule, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, directing explorations all around the world and settling the colonization of territories in all the known continents. He was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive." The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious."” After living in the Netherlands in the early years of his reign, Philip II decided to return to Spain. Although sometimes described as an absolute monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority. Philip's reign saw a flourishing of cultural excellence in Spain, the beginning of what is called the Golden Age, creating a lasting legacy in literature, music, and the visual arts. He was born in May 21, 1527.”
Michael too, was an attractive, courteous, gracious, and tasteful “King”. He also escaped for a while during the allegations and came back to find a constraint on his authority back home. He also created a huge legacy in music and arts.
A few of you spoke about the hoax’s connection to A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Christensen employs a lot of Shakespeare in his work; he even wrote about it. Speaking of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, here is a painting by Christensen entitled “Queen Mab In the Ruins”:
For those of you who are unfamiliar with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Queen Mab is a Faerie Queen and is one of the characters in the play. Here are some other works by Christensen involving the Shakespearean theme:
(All The World’s A Stage)
(Shakespearean Fantasy)
(The Listener)
Now, I want you to think of Dr. Murray, and see this painting:
(The Oath Of Hippocrates)
A little about it:
“For every doctor who believes laughter is truly the best medicine!
A PARTIAL INVENTORY of medical items depicted in The Oath, practical, historical and fantastical (but which are which)?
Hippocrates himself
Leeches
Pager
"Medieval" eye chart
Alchemy fundamentals: sulphur, antimony, etc.
Crystal ball-for every doctor who says, "if only I had one"
Forms, more forms and yet more forms!
St. John's Wort, goldenseal, garlic
Patient with a "minimal" urine sample
Ubiquitous latex gloves
Nervous rabbit-not too excited about participating in the diagnostic process
Gray's Anatomy, PDR, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine-standard text
Traditional black bag
For 2,400 years, physicians have honored Hippocrates’ sacred vow to treat a patient with empirical, scientific wisdom and ethical consideration. However, as James C. Christensen wittily reveals in The Oath, not all aspects of medical antiquity have stood the test of time and Hippocrates could never have imagined some others. Just as attorneys everywhere warmly responded to the self-deprecating humor of Christensen’s image A Lawyer More Than Adequately Attired in Fine Print, we think members of the medical profession will appreciate a healthy dose of The Oath.”
Now I’d like to come back to the second painting of Michael with the checkered floor that I spoke about earlier:
This is called “The Mad Hatter” and is by Nelson De La Nuez, a modern pop art artist. First I’d like to point out that this painting is one of Michael’s and obviously has an “Alice of Wonderland” theme. First, I’d like to tell you a little bit about De La Nuez:
“De La Nuez is a "who's who" of the art world today. Collected by loads of celebrity clients and featured on hit TV shows. Using traditional American iconography, his collages of vintage ads, cartoon characters, and anything Americana provokes a nostalgiac yet joyful response. Much of his artwork has enlarged 3" edges which are wrapped with related imagery and ready to hang on your wall, he refers to this as "art on the edge." Step inside the world of De La Nuez and find yourself on the cutting edge of the American art form.”
Before Michael died, he ordered 2 pieces of art for his children, all by De La Nuez: "Alice in Dali Land," "Lost Fairy Tales" and "Flavor of the Month".
The tmz article can be found here: www.tmz.com/2009/12/02/michael-jackson-paintings-children-artwork-gifts-photos/
This brings me lastly to Alice in Wonderland, which by no doubt of mine was a big clue. There are many things there that pertain to the hoax and I would like you all to find them on your own, because it's an adventure I also suggest seeing the movie. Hope you all enjoyed the ride, if you made it this far
by Nicole and Jane
“Christensen likes to think of the world as his classroom. His hope is that through whatever he creates — be it a porcelain, fine art print or book — he can convey a message, inspiration or a simple laugh. He believes that teaching people to use their imagination helps us find solutions to soothe the stresses of everyday life or get a little lift to help us keep going. In short, all things are possible when you share James Christensen's philosophy that "Believing is Seeing."
Inspired by the world's myths, fables, and tales of imagination, James Christensen wants his work to add up to more than a beautiful — if sometimes 'curious' looking work of art. James C.
Christensen is one of the few people fortunate enough to create a world of his own and make you wish you could live in it. Christensen fills his "land a little left of realty" with wonderful people, places, and things as real as your adult dreams and as beloved as your fondest childhood memories. The result is a unique kinetic kingdom where recognizable human emotions are often manifested as fish or fowl, utilizing the viewer's own imagination as no other artist does.”
James Christensen conveys similar themes in his work. Some of his most popular themes are a floating fish, checkered floors, Shakespearean themes, music, suspension, and collective items. His art is considered intriguing and thought-provoking.
“The way it feels to me is that the conscious mind, whose driving force is analysis and logic, rules the design. But the “other mind” distills the concepts, visions, ideas, and memories in the imagination’s card file. Active imagination synthesizes groups of seemingly disparate things and ideas. I’m also intrigued with the illusions created by movie sets. They look very real, but as you walk around them you can see what goes into creating the illusion”
-James Christensen
From what we know, we can safely infer that Michael is a fan of fairytales and myth. When photographed out, you’d usually find the man in a bookstore. He also loved art; he studied many artists and he had many paintings done for him. What we’ve also noticed is that the hoax isn’t just what we see on the surface. The same goes for Michael’s life. I’m sure Michael used many artistic sources of which he comprised the similarities in his life. I want you to read this post and think about this on your own, and for these reasons the explanations will be slim. Enjoy
I cannot recall where at the moment but I saw a picture or read something about Michael and James Christensen and what sparked this memory was the following painting:
(The Responsible Woman)
I honestly cannot recall what sparked this memory in me but I know for sure that Michael is a fan of James Christensen. I guess you’ll have to give us the benefit of the doubt. So, what about this? I’d like to analyze some paintings with you.
We’ll start with the one with the most intriguing title: “Michael the Archangel Battles the Dragon While Almost Nobody Pays Attention”
What’s interesting about this painting, at a first glance, is that no one seems to notice that Michael is battling the Dragon at all. Everyone is just enjoying each other’s company and minding their own business. You’d think someone would notice that they had a dragon in their yard! To explain a little about this painting, "This piece," says artist James Christensen, "talks about the power you have to be good and righteous in taking on the evil in this world. The title says "…almost nobody pays attention…," but you see Michael and the Dragon. What are you going to do? These skirmishes happen daily, not a world away, but in our own cities, towns and neighborhoods. They can be as blatantly obvious as they are innocuous. Being aware has little to do with one's social or economic status: it is the degree you perceive that the world isn't on course and what action you are willing to take to rectify it." This seems to be a common theme Michael’s message as well. Now we will ask you to look at this painting again and notice some other fine details. The first thing that jumps out at me is the checkered floor, which I will get to in a minute. Speaking of Dragons, see this photo:
The name of the book is “The Book of the Dragon” by Ciruelo. Here is a copy up close:
Here you can find more information on Ciruelo and his book: www.dac-editions.com/dragons.htm
A little about it:
“For sure some of these images painted by Ciruelo are familiar to you. They have been reproduced dozens of times on the internet,
sometimes without the proper copyrights. All are included in the legendary The Book of the Dragon by Ciruelo which is well known by all fantasy art lovers. Throughout history dragons and human beings have been unable to live peacefully side by side. As a result, mankind has not been able to benefit from ancient dragon knowledge. Man's craving for power and religious beliefs have kept Europe engulfed in interminable and bloody struggles.
The dragon lords could not understand the reasons for man's self-destructive behaviour, and kept well out of the way, retreating to remote hiding places far from all this confusion.
Shrouded in mystery, the dragon's trail remained lost in the obscurity of legend. However, the dragons secretly pursued their quest for knowledge without completely excluding the human race, since they accepted and taught those few men who sought the essence of truth.
This book is about dragons. Everybody knows what a dragon is: an enormous, fierce, bloodthirsty creature appearing in fairy tales and legends as an accessory whose main function is to set off the bravery of the knight challenging him. But the dragon is something else. He is admirable, intelligent and an educated creature, who leads a very interesting life. He has some fascinating characteristics in addition to those occasional glimpses we are given through fairy tales and legends.”
Back to Christensen, here are some examples of the recurrence of checkered floor in Christensen’s work:
(Burden of the Responsible Man by James C. Christensen)
(One Light)
(Hold to the Rod, the Iron Rod)
(Outside the Box)
Here’s a clearer closeup:
“Brett-Livingstone Strong's "The Book" (1990)
Clearly there seem to be two Michaels in this painting: the one we see up close and the one farther off in the background. Then, there is a artist working on Michael’s painting. But which Michael is he painting? The one we see up close, the one in the red.
There is one more painting of Michael that includes a checkered floor, but I’d like to come back to that one later.
A little about Brett-Livingstone:
Brett-Livingstone Strong is an Australian born artist (b. 1954) best known for his philanthropic spirit and eccentric nature. He is an architect, sculptor and painter and has been called a modern day Michelangelo by Michael Jackson because of his work in both sculpting and painting media. Strong painted portrait of Michael Jackson entitled The Book which reportedly sold for $2.1 million to Hiromichi Saeki Corp in 1990, making it the most money every paid to a living artist for the sale of a portrait. This portrait is claimed to be the only portrait that Michael Jackson sat for an artist's rendering and made its first appearance since 1992 on Thursday July 2, 2009. It was displayed for public viewing in Harlem NY near the Apollo Theatre to honor Michael Jackson. Here are some other works for Michael by Brett-Livingstone:
Here is a link where a few more can be seen:
www.michaeljacksonart.com/categories.php?cat_id=28&sessionid=7h50d808h7v4eqitipotpig
Here is another work of Michael by Ariston Anderson, and it’s entitled “Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II”
The story of this painting is as follows:
“The massive Rubens-inspired oil, called "Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II," swaps out the Spanish monarch's face for Michael Jackson's. The story behind the 2009 painting is as legendary as any tale in Jackson's book.
As it goes, after seeing Wiley's work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Jackson contacted the artist for a commission. Jackson, who frequently had himself painted as a king made a natural match for Wiley's magical-realism depictions. After Jackson and Wiley spoke for nearly a half-an-hour over the phone in 2008 about the artistic vision behind the piece, they agreed that Wiley would photograph Jackson in an Old Masters pose. Thoroughly impressed with Jackson's knowledge of the painting process, Wiley sent Jackson a set of reference images but then stopped hearing from him and was unable to contact him after Jackson changed his hotel several times.
Following the star's death, Wiley decided to complete the piece, a large royal sprawl as majestic as the King's work himself. Choosing to paint Jackson at the peak of his career, the images shows a figure comfortable in his own body, confident behind a wall of armor atop a bowing horse. With bold blues and reds, and surrounded by heavenly cherubs, it's a portrait that would have made the King of Pop proud. Miami visitors, this is a must-see before it falls to the home of a private collector.”
Who is this King Philip II that Michael wanted to be painted like him?
“He ruled one of the world's largest empires which included territories in every continent then known to Europeans. During his reign, Spain was the foremost Western European power. Under his rule, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, directing explorations all around the world and settling the colonization of territories in all the known continents. He was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive." The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious."” After living in the Netherlands in the early years of his reign, Philip II decided to return to Spain. Although sometimes described as an absolute monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority. Philip's reign saw a flourishing of cultural excellence in Spain, the beginning of what is called the Golden Age, creating a lasting legacy in literature, music, and the visual arts. He was born in May 21, 1527.”
Michael too, was an attractive, courteous, gracious, and tasteful “King”. He also escaped for a while during the allegations and came back to find a constraint on his authority back home. He also created a huge legacy in music and arts.
A few of you spoke about the hoax’s connection to A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Christensen employs a lot of Shakespeare in his work; he even wrote about it. Speaking of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, here is a painting by Christensen entitled “Queen Mab In the Ruins”:
For those of you who are unfamiliar with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Queen Mab is a Faerie Queen and is one of the characters in the play. Here are some other works by Christensen involving the Shakespearean theme:
(All The World’s A Stage)
(Shakespearean Fantasy)
(The Listener)
Now, I want you to think of Dr. Murray, and see this painting:
(The Oath Of Hippocrates)
A little about it:
“For every doctor who believes laughter is truly the best medicine!
A PARTIAL INVENTORY of medical items depicted in The Oath, practical, historical and fantastical (but which are which)?
Hippocrates himself
Leeches
Pager
"Medieval" eye chart
Alchemy fundamentals: sulphur, antimony, etc.
Crystal ball-for every doctor who says, "if only I had one"
Forms, more forms and yet more forms!
St. John's Wort, goldenseal, garlic
Patient with a "minimal" urine sample
Ubiquitous latex gloves
Nervous rabbit-not too excited about participating in the diagnostic process
Gray's Anatomy, PDR, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine-standard text
Traditional black bag
For 2,400 years, physicians have honored Hippocrates’ sacred vow to treat a patient with empirical, scientific wisdom and ethical consideration. However, as James C. Christensen wittily reveals in The Oath, not all aspects of medical antiquity have stood the test of time and Hippocrates could never have imagined some others. Just as attorneys everywhere warmly responded to the self-deprecating humor of Christensen’s image A Lawyer More Than Adequately Attired in Fine Print, we think members of the medical profession will appreciate a healthy dose of The Oath.”
Now I’d like to come back to the second painting of Michael with the checkered floor that I spoke about earlier:
This is called “The Mad Hatter” and is by Nelson De La Nuez, a modern pop art artist. First I’d like to point out that this painting is one of Michael’s and obviously has an “Alice of Wonderland” theme. First, I’d like to tell you a little bit about De La Nuez:
“De La Nuez is a "who's who" of the art world today. Collected by loads of celebrity clients and featured on hit TV shows. Using traditional American iconography, his collages of vintage ads, cartoon characters, and anything Americana provokes a nostalgiac yet joyful response. Much of his artwork has enlarged 3" edges which are wrapped with related imagery and ready to hang on your wall, he refers to this as "art on the edge." Step inside the world of De La Nuez and find yourself on the cutting edge of the American art form.”
Before Michael died, he ordered 2 pieces of art for his children, all by De La Nuez: "Alice in Dali Land," "Lost Fairy Tales" and "Flavor of the Month".
The tmz article can be found here: www.tmz.com/2009/12/02/michael-jackson-paintings-children-artwork-gifts-photos/
This brings me lastly to Alice in Wonderland, which by no doubt of mine was a big clue. There are many things there that pertain to the hoax and I would like you all to find them on your own, because it's an adventure I also suggest seeing the movie. Hope you all enjoyed the ride, if you made it this far
by Nicole and Jane