John Frame - It is to this life I belong.
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I was very much looking forward to John’s Exquisite Doodle box arriving from Wrightwood, California. To me, John is a fearless and tireless warrior on a quest to fulfill his dream - the making of a very special film. And John’s scroll reminds me very much of his work. Photo: “This is my Body,” ©John Frame
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John’s amazing film is called “The Tale Of The Crippled Boy,” and I can see how his is a mind for directing - setting the scenes, laying out the storyline, playing with light, creating emotion, creating mystery. Truly marvelous.
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A while back when I was creating the cover for John’s Exquisite Doodle box, I decided to make a little paper base with the words “the world is within you.”
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And now, looking at his drawings, I find myself being pulled in and into the deep waters of my mind.
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The artist Agnes Martin once said “not to know but to go on.” Reading John’s tiny writing on his scroll with a magnifying lens, I felt as though I was deciphering a riddle. Using some of his own words, I wrote down these lines below.
This photo is a still from "The Tale Of The Crippled Boy": http://johnframesculpture.com/the-tale. Photo: “O-Man,” ©John Frame
not to know but to go on
the earth abides
but we must go
where to one wonders
and when we’re gone
only our deeds remain
what for one wonders
and so it is that although soon
I shall be gone and forgotten
it is to this life I belong
it is for this life I go on
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Here is the way the scroll turned out after John cut his own paper and started from scratch! See Post 13 to compare. Scroll pic 1 of 3,
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scroll pic 2 of 3,
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and scroll pic 3 of 3.
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In deep waters and contemplating the riddle of life itself, I got to thinking… we arrive at those moments of feeling illuminated not by our thoughts at all, but from the inside by some ancient internal instinct. It’s a little voice that whispers and reminds you that you belong. Paging through my Agnes Martin book, I came across what she said about those moments and about art.
This photo is available for purchase on his website: http://johnframesculpture.com/film.
Photo: “What Is and What Might Have Been,” ©John Frame
(On The Perfection Underlying Life, from “Writings” by Agnes Martin, book published to accompany the exhibition Agnes Martin: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1960-1989 at the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, 1992.)
…”there seems to be a fine ship at anchor. Fear is the anchor, convention is the chain, ghosts stalk the decks, the sails are filled with Pride and the ship does not move.
But there are moments for all of us in which the anchor is weighed. Moments in which we learn what it feels like to move freely, not held back by pride and fear. Moments that can be recalled with all their fine flavor.
The recall of these moments can be stimulated by freeing experiences including the viewing of works of art.
Artists try to maintain an atmosphere of freedom in order to represent the perfection of those moments. And others searching for the meaning of art respond by recalling their own free moments.”
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I have a somewhat memory of...
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feeling inspired… I got out my old typewriter, typed my lines, and then pasted them on the interior of John’s box.
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And now I’ve come to the end and I’ve filled this post with many words. Too many perhaps. But it’s all good. Photo: “Words, Words, Words,” ©John Frame
On John’s website you can not only watch the completed film so far, but you can peruse photo galleries of stills and available photos: http://johnframesculpture.com/film.
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