LAWRENCE RUSS: Soul, Art, and Society
The soul, spiritual matters, social justice, photography and the other arts, and the reality in which they are all joined.
“[The] notion that man has a body distinct from his soul is to be expunged; this I shall do, by printing in the infernal method, by corrosives, which in Hell … Continue Reading Windows and Doors and Waves and the Well
Lo, in the silent night A child to God is born And all is brought again That ere was lost or lorn. Could but thy soul, O man, Become a … Continue Reading WISHING YOU PEACE AND JOY FOR CHRISTMAS
For his wonderful collection of short, imaginative poems from world literature, called The Sea and the Honeycomb, Robert Bly rewrote Frances Desmore’s translation of a Chippewa poem. And I think that it’s … Continue Reading A Poem for 2017 and Every Year That Follows
I drove by the site late one day and took a few photos for my final-stretch planning. After dinner, when I looked at the photos on my computer, I did … Continue Reading Who Really Made That Photograph? – Part 2 of 2
There is a virtually-unkillable part of us that, when anything we’ve touched is considered successful, wants to proclaim to everyone in earshot (even if that’s only us), “Mine!,” “I did … Continue Reading Who Really Made That Photograph? – Part 1 of 2
Photographers, or artists of any kind, are probably more aware than most people are of fortuitous coincidings, of happy or regrettable appearances and disappearances: “I could kick myself for not … Continue Reading At Home in the Secret
I wish you all for thanksgiving what, in a sense, but only in a sense, we already have — a world of wonders. Or, rather, I wish that we would all enter … Continue Reading Wishing You a Wonderful Thanksgiving
[The ink painting above, by Sengai, pictures a scene from the famous Zen koan in which the Zen teacher, Nan-ch’uan, tells his students that he will chop the kitten in … Continue Reading Alligator Intellect
What follows is the preface of a book that I’ve just had printed, featuring a fifteen-image photographic poem of mine, The Arcane Machine. The book is 10×10″, 34-pages long, including this preface, the … Continue Reading THE ARCANE MACHINE – new book of photographs by L. Russ
Okay, forgive me. I’ve “borrowed” and recast this title from the short poem that W.B. Yeats wrote for his tombstone: “Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / … Continue Reading Cast a Cold Eye on Acceptance, on Rejection. Artist, Pass By!
Shadows or darkness, fog or cloud, curving shapes, blurred or fantastical objects. Why should photographs with elements like these help to bring on that state of deep calm and heightened … Continue Reading Summoning the Genie’s Power – Post 2
“Mushrooms & Trees 5” by Van Chu Post 2 of 2: The Tradition, The brief artist statement on Van Chu’s website, http://vanchuart.com confirmed my initial impression that his photograph reflects … Continue Reading A Story of Creation – Post 2 of 2
“Mushrooms & Trees 5” by Van Chu Post 1 of 2: The Photograph, From time to time in these posts, I’ll write about an image that has caught me in … Continue Reading A Story of Creation – Post 1 of 2
What I’m about to say to you is, in a sense, simple, though its ramifications are not. This will be an essential foundation for much that I’ll have to say … Continue Reading Art as Experience
