Artnotes: What's in a Book?

 

Things that Bug Me   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 11 x 8”  28 x 20cm   75.00

After purchasing yet two more “used” books at a price beyond their original sale value, I found a library with a large collection of English books.  I love physical books (I have a couple thousand), but I simply can’t afford to buy many more.  Case in point:  I just tried to purchase a 1995 “bodice ripper” (with a Greek twist) that a friend of mine loves and recommends.  It sold for 4 dollars new -- today’s price for this same paperback, used, on Amazon? $21.00.  This is not an art book, mind you.  Art books are over-the-top.  One museum catalog I looked for, in paperback, was 235.00 Euros on World of Books.  Currently World of Books in UK is my go-to bookstore.  I was able to get Man Ray’s Self-Portrait biography delivered for less than 20 Euros from them.  Formerly I found my best used books on ABE books, but I believe the company was sold to Amazon.    They still have some stores they work with in Italy and Germany, which I buy from if it’s a mostly pictures book.

Bumper Cars   Blair Pessemier  Acryllc/Canvas  14 x 20”  35 x 50cm   490.00

I suspect this sudden jump in prices has to do with the millions of used books recently sold to the tech industry for educating AI.  The back and spines of these books are removed and the content is fed through a scanner to train AI programs. There is an actual term for this:  scraping.  Many rare and incredibly valuable texts, are being destroyed (info courtesy Forbes).     I am worried some books might be relegated to online only reading as a result, and we all know how easy it is to change online content.  I am supporting my writer friends who are suing the perpetrators of this travesty, for copyright infringement.  If you have written a book, there is a website where you can check to see  if your material is being pirated.

Still Life with Wood, Rope and Apples   Laurie Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  17 x 18"  42 x 45cm  490.00

This has caused a rift between me and Claude, my AI program.  I am off the service at the moment, but it is likely I will be forced to use it again.  When has technology ever gone backward?   I feel like Mark Twain with the introduction of the telephone.  Twain had among the first private telephone lines installed in his house in Hartford in 1877 – and later had it removed, as he was convinced it just brought unnecessary noise and annoyance into his daily life — no future.

Early Apples red / yellow   Laurie Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 11  x 8”  25 x 20cm   75.00 each

In any case, I discovered that the library in Bologna has one of the largest English language lending collections in Italy.  And, I can go to a library significantly closer to my home (Monteveglio or Castello di Serravalle, both in the Bologna province) to pick up books I order from the Bologna facility.  When it cools down a bit, maybe we’ll go check out the Salaborsa Library in Bologna in person.  Bologna is a “no car” city, so one must walk 15 minutes to the library, and out (carrying books?  Blair says we can bring the caddy).    My card also includes books from the library of Belle-Arti, the visual arts center in Bologna.

St. Teresa Stamp Box    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 11  x 8”  25 x 20cm   75.00 eac

I am enjoying reading about Man Ray.  I never knew he was actually  an American who spent lots of his life in Paris.  We had an art show on rue Campagne Premiere at the place he lived and worked; our gallery on rue Servandoni backed up to his rue Ferou residence.   His time in Paris covered much of the same ground as ours, but his was 50 years earlier.   I would have like to have  had his marvelous array of artist friends.   The Salon of Miss Drier, who Man Ray worked with in New York City, before his time in Paris, makes me think of developing our own salon into something more.  Isn’t it amazing how a book can inspire us?

Another Bunny Day     Blair Pessemier  Acryllc/Canvas 12 x 9.5”  30 x 25cm   290.00

Artnote is taking a vacation break next week, and possibly the following… see you mid September. HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our paintings at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com

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INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8 PM   NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM

Artnotes: Reach for the Stars

 

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A Day at the Beach   Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  18 x 12”  45 x 30cm   490.00 “It doesn’t start until 8,” our neighbor commented as we passed with our so-last century-shoebox-camera,.  I thought the eclipse started at 7:30 (I also thought it was going to be closer to a total eclipse) In fact, he was closer to the truth and it was barely a 60% event. Swimming Trunks   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm   75.00 each I wasn’t really very excited about the solar eclipse.  I’d seen one TOTAL eclipse, and more than one partial.  In all cases, it wasn’t the eclipse the “eclipsed” me, but the other people surrounding me who wanted to experience this rare and amazing phenomenon.   Here we all are, staring out into the universe, looking for something.  Where we came from? Blair recently said to me, if an alien spaceship landed nearby, I think we ought to go with them.  I initially thought this was a nod to our age/ultimate death, but actually I think it is just that Blair (and I) want to know more, to experience more.    We’re ready, ET. View on via Balugani   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  panel 10 x 14"  25 x 35cm  290.00   We walked up via Balugani.  Around 7:45 the sun was already dipping  too low for us to see. (sunset loomed, in less than an hour).  Our box camera kept telling us -- yes, the moon is passing.  But really, at least part of the time, we just weren’t holding the box straight.  Finally, we called it on account of limited visibility. However,  I did notice, not far away, where we walk in the morning, the sun was still shining. Hats OFF!    Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm   75.00 each We hopped in the car and drove over there.  A man and a woman pulled up behind us.  The man, smiling through a compromised set of teeth, and his lovely lady companion, stepped out of their car.  “Here,” our friend said,” try these,” and he handed us soldering glasses.  “You can look straight at the sun with them.”  I did, just as the moon was passing in front of our star, and felt all was right with the world. The two people moved on as the partial eclipse started to conclude. Blair pointed out to me that he was the man who tended the grapes with such lovingness, that I wrote about a month or so ago.   He lives in the house with the big tree swing.  The ropes must be 25 feet long, and the ground drops away right in front of the swing.  I’ve seen some ecstatic kids experiencing flight right there. The Hat Makes the Man  Pessemier  Acryllic on printed paper 12 x 9.5”  30 x 24cm   75.00 each This morning, at coffee, a man offered me and Berlino his table. First time ever.  I felt so touched that someone actually cared we were there.  It must be the eclipse. Year of the Dog  Blair  Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas panel   9.5 x 13”  24 x 30cm   190.00 HOUSEKEEPING:  We make art to order, including portraits by Blair Pessemier.    Follow us on Instagram @lauriepessemier See all of our paintings at https://paintfox.com Most of our work is available as reproductions, custom sized and framed. Write to me at lfpessemier@gmail.com   sign up for Artnotes, our weekly art missive, by contacting me at lfpessemier@gmail.com or https://mailchi.mp/341f508cecf8/artnotes INVITING All Artists to present their Work:   Paint, Literature, Crafts, Food.... Pessemier's Sunday Salon Weekly on Sunday  No Reservation Necessary   How it works: Bring a piece of your ART: that could be visual, like painting or printmaking; or literary, as in poetry or prose; or crafts, like metalwork or knitting; or food, or music.  Something you made, or feel particularly inspired by.  You have about 5 minutes to present, and we'll ooh, ahh, or answer questions you have.  You can also come and see how we work before diving in.  Just show up on Zoom at a minute or two before the hour.    No selling, no networking until after everyone has presented.  No politics, no sales pitches, please. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88093708954?pwd=M04zNHB4dFZkREp3bThweUd1YnVDZz09 Meeting ID: 880 9370 8954 Passcode: 886402 Rome 8 PM   NY 2 PM; LosAngeles 11AM