May 4ths

5/4/1982

(Keith Haring Diary)

In one year my art has taken me to Europe and propelled me into a kind of limelight....things tend to get over-hyped and then consumed and placed into a “safe place” (history). I do admit in some ways this does frighten me, but on the other hand: what is the alternative? Elvis must be Elvis. Looking at Willem de Kooning’s ugly new paintings at the show at the Stedelijk frightens me. I would rather die than become that. However, where I am now is feeling rather good. I mean in some ways it is the situation I always wanted or always dreamed of. I’m not sure where that dream came from, but it is hard to make it go away once it has started. I think the most important thing is keeping it all in perspective. Knowing that it is up to me what happens next. (And knowing when it is out of my hands.) The one thing (and in the end it was always the only thing) that I have control of is what comes out of me and into the world.”  

Abstracted poetry/lyric:

Elvis must be Elvis 

A kind of limelight
Things over-hyped
Elvis must be Elvis

It's hard to make it go away
It's up to me what happens next
Out of me and into the world  

Elvis must be Elvis 

 

5/4/1987

(Keith Haring Diary) 

My real birthday. Stayed in bed till 2:00 PM and then got up and went to the Matisse show. Depressing in a funny kind of way. Too many drawings of tits and ass. I’d think he’d get bored. The drawings of just heads or of more “situations” were more interesting. Also, all of the more abstracted simple ones and of course the paper cut-outs are all great. Still something left me with an empty feeling.

[5/3/2026: Interesting in context with the Matisse show at the AI].

This one is derived from a 5/4/2021 riff where I had referenced an art gallery in the Chicago Loop that exhibits and sells the works of art students. I had always liked going there to check out the new art. Sometimes there would be interesting pieces that had a je ne sais quoi about them.

The phrase that generated the rhythm was "Gallery in the Loop" which has 16th notes in it and I immediately thought of the "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" (or Bryan Ferry's "39 Steps") groove with the stop-and-go bass. In a peripheral way, it is also Music For Places, an art gallery in the Chicago Loop.

I'm reminded of that art gallery in the loop (on Randolph across from the CCC [Chicago Cultural Center]) that exhibited art that was made by art students and various other "amateur" artists. Some of it was really interesting because it was de-skilled—where the errors in the artwork made it interesting--a little smear here and there or the characters weren't painted correctly—it just had a certain charm to it. Ultimately, the value of art comes from [life] its endearment.

 Gallery in the Loop
 At the CCC
A little smear here and there
The characters had a certain charm
The value of art
Comes from [life]

At The CCC by meta4s  

With brass and strings:

 

5/4/2006

They’re staging a performance of John Cage’s As Slow As Possible (ASAP) in Haberstadt, Germany. It will last 639 years. The piece begins with a rest lasting 20 months. Each movement lasts 71 years. The piece is more about time than music. (This is the prime example of the 4th dimension in art: that which puts philosophical positions in the foreground.) Also a good example of expectation and the varieties of “randomly” generated experience, i.e. not knowing when something is going to happen and the surprise at synchronicity.

5/4/2021

When I revisit how I learned music a long time ago, I realize that once I started putting pen to paper and wrote out everything, scales, modes, and so on, I really started to learn music, along with learning piano. This is standard stuff in music school. If musicians can get into that state of mind, even though they're not taking classes, I always suggest putting pen to paper or using notation software on the internet. It’s so rudimentary and useful. Even if you never go beyond that, simply knowing intervals and how to translate it to your instrument opens up an entirely new space for music.

*** 

I read an article recently about Ron Wood’s exhibition of his paintings. He’s had some health issues as well. I think the work is fine and the critics need to go easy on him. Again, people can’t fathom that a musician can do art as well as music. As I recall lots of music fans in the 70s made art about their favorite artists—mine a pastel of Jeff Beck, circa 1976 of the pose on Blow By Blow. (Somebody’s got a leaf blower...I wonder what pitch that is).#riff

5/4/2022 

I was just watching a Genesis concert from July of 1980, fronted by Phil Collins. I remember that time so it’s like looking back in time. If young people just saw this, they’re essentially seeing the “light” from 40 years ago and might be very impressed by it. That’s how nostalgia works–it’s on its way and it might take light years for it to reach you. And once it reaches you then you can fully appreciate it. Watching these kinds of things on YouTube is probably much more advisable than the usual political rants. 

***

Another geometrical Unity photo:

 

5/4/2026

AI music for me brings me back to those days 1996-1997 when I thought I'd be writing music for other artists and was making demos and shopping them around. Now you don't need to do any shopping; It's all done online.

*** 

Dynaxiom draft: It's not how you play music--it's how you look at it. If you look at music as a set of memorized patterns and shapes, it will sound different from music played using chromatic and diatonic scales, pentatonic scales, and so on.