Brainstorm

You're safe and you're warm
Got a break from the storm
And it's visiting time in the past
And you've just reached the part
Where you're losing your heart
And your spirit is leaving you fast
And then the storm blows a scream
And it crashes your dream
Like a fist through a curtain of glass
And there's a giant of darkness
Surrounds you with fright
And the only way out
Is to stand up and fight
And so you shout, scream
Give me back my dream
I need one to get through the day
If it’s lost and if it’s gone
I won’t keep hanging on
And the storm can just blow me away
Blow me away
It’s a long way to dawn
And you got to get warm
'Cause you're shivering deeply inside
So you turn on the light
Try to burn up the night
But your spirit has run off to hide
There's nowhere to run
So you wait for the sun
Nowhere to run
You wait for the sun
You shout, scream
Give me back my dream
I need one to get through the day
If it’s lost and if it’s gone
I won’t keep hanging on
And the storm can just blow me away
Blow me away
So you shout, scream

 

Upper: Marble carved mask of an old man, Greek (date tbd), Roman-Germanic Museum, Cologne


Lower: Limestone carved face on corbel, British (15th century), Victoria and AlbertMuseum, London

Song--- Brainstorm -- Kevin Ayers * 
 

* I’ve heard an excellent earlyversion of this troubling song, quite close to the finished product inarrangement, that was recorded by the artist absolutely solo (voice; allinstruments) using a jury-rigged old-fashioned telephone answeringmachine as a recording device.  AsMichael Gambon (playing King George V)  said in The King’s Speech : “Easy when you knowhow.”

For Mike Kelley, Ollie Halsall and John Schumaker:   RIP

There Is Mourning In Kandor: Artist Mike Kelley Passes Away

LOSANGELES (AP).- Artist Mike Kelley,described by colleagues as an "irresistibleforce" in contemporary art, has died,police said Wednesday. He was 57.

Kelley wasfound at his home Tuesday and it appeared he had committed suicide, South Pasadena Police Sgt.Robert Bartlsaid, without providing further information on the artist's death. An autopsy waspending.

"Kelley'swork in the 1980s was part of how one defined the Los Angeles arts scene. He had a remarkable abilityto fuse distinction between fine and popularart in ways that managed to perturb oursense of decorum," said Stephanie Barron,senior curator of modern art at the Los AngelesCounty Museum of Art.

A familyfriend who was concerned about Kelleywent to his home and called 911, Bartl said.

The friendtold investigators that Kelleyhad been depressed because he had recently broken up with his girlfriend,but no note was found, Bartl said.

"Mike wasan irresistible force in contemporary art. ... We cannot believe he is gone. But we know his legacy will continue to touch and challenge anyone who crossesits path. Wewill miss him. We will keep him withus," Kelley's studio said in a statement that theLos Angeles Times published on its website.

Kelley's workwas included in the upcoming 2012Whitney Biennial out of New York.

Kelley used many mediums andsource materials. "He was always breakingboundaries and challenging convention," Barron said.

Some of hisgreatest works were large scale installations, she said. "Some of hisroom-sized, full-gallery sizedextravaganzas are truly impressive."

Kelley was astudent of John Baldessari. His1994 retrospective organized by the Whitney,which came to LACMA in 1995, established himas a major figure in the art world, Barronsaid.

"Hiswork was widely collectedand exhibited internationally. He had a voraciousappetite for all kinds of art. He was enormously curious and worked incredibly at his craft.He was never afraid to thing really big. Artists like that don't come around very often," shesaid.

Born inDetroit, Kelley founded the band Destroy All Monsters with three othersin 1974.

He left theband in 1978 to attend California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, near LosAngeles.

"He wasextremely intense, very serious, phenomenally well read. He would go very deepinto his subjects, a real artist scholarbut with a real passion for whatever he wasinvestigating," Barron said.

Afterencounters with him, Barron said, "I always came away learningsomething new, thinking about things differently and in aweof his curiosity."

Although shecorresponded with him in the last couple of weeks, the last time she saw him was a month ago.

"It'sincredibly sad. It's hard to imagine somebody with the life force and intensity that Mike brought to bear is no longer with us. His impact will be seen withdistance as all the more powerful and we'll have to begin to process this," Barron said.