MARCH/APRIL 2023
UP FRONT
The Artists Are Always Right Fifth Anniversary Magnet
measures 4.25" x 3" and is made in the USA.
measures 4.25" x 3" and is made in the USA.
To request your magnet, send an email to:
schwartzart [at] yahoo.com
(replace the [at] with the @ symbol)
The subject line of your email should read:
Magnet Request
Include the following in the body of your email:
Your Name and Mailing Address
That's all there is to it! Only one magnet request
per person/residence. This magnet offer is available
only to residents of the United States and its
territories.
schwartzart [at] yahoo.com
(replace the [at] with the @ symbol)
The subject line of your email should read:
Magnet Request
Include the following in the body of your email:
Your Name and Mailing Address
That's all there is to it! Only one magnet request
per person/residence. This magnet offer is available
only to residents of the United States and its
territories.
I hope you are all doing well.
Welcome to the first issue of Artists Are Always Right since our special January/February fifth
anniversary issue. In case you missed it, you can check it out by going to the PAST ISSUES
page. Judging by the emails we've received, the anniversary issue was a resounding success!
I truly appreciate your kind comments, some of which are included on this issue's FEEDBACK
page.
We have received many requests for the free Artists Are Always Right commemorative fifth
anniversary magnet. If you haven't requested one for yourself yet, we urge you to do so soon
before our supply runs out.
Welcome to the first issue of Artists Are Always Right since our special January/February fifth
anniversary issue. In case you missed it, you can check it out by going to the PAST ISSUES
page. Judging by the emails we've received, the anniversary issue was a resounding success!
I truly appreciate your kind comments, some of which are included on this issue's FEEDBACK
page.
We have received many requests for the free Artists Are Always Right commemorative fifth
anniversary magnet. If you haven't requested one for yourself yet, we urge you to do so soon
before our supply runs out.
With this being the first issue of Artists Are Always Right since our anniversary celebration, I thought it would be a good time to
step back, take a deep breath, and examine the following question. What is art? This is the premise behind this issue's
SPOTLIGHT entitled, What Is Art?...Inside The Image and Beyond. While I may be mentally biting off more than anyone can
chew, I'll do my best to provide an answer...at least my answer to this monumental question.
A few readers have emailed recently regarding my mentioning of "demons and such" in a journal dedicated to art, to which I'll
reply here by saying...why shouldn't I? Whether one chooses to disregard the truth or not, artists are not living in a vacuum or
isolated from world events.
In order to create art, regardless of discipline or medium of expression, artists must have the freedom to do so. It is becoming
increasingly clear to many that if the evil ones in the world have their way, freedom will be a thing of the past. I firmly believe
that ignoring this fact, especially in a journal such as Artists Are Always Right, would be negligence on my part. I won't dwell on
it, mind you...but I won't ignore it either. In keeping with this, I have something to share with you.
Karen gave me a beautiful snow globe for Christmas. It was made by the same company in Austria which made the one used
in the opening of the 1941 classic film, Citizen Kane, and bears a strong resemblance to it. Because Citizen Kane is one of
my favorite movies and I know every scene in it quite well, I felt compelled to assure Karen that I would resist the urge to reenact
the one in which the snow globe goes crashing to the floor. (Of course I would never actually do that! I may be a crazy artist, but
I'm not that crazy!)
Anyhow...as the story goes, Citizen Kane was based on wealthy newspaper tycoon, William Randolph Hearst, who owned and
operated Hearst Communications (the nations largest newspaper chain and media company at the time). Because Hearst was
outraged by this cinematic exposé of his personal life, advertising for the film was banned from any of the newspapers which he
owned. Surprise, surprise!
In spite of Hearst's futile attempt to shut the film down (and keep the true meaning of the term, Rosebud, a secret), Citizen Kane
went on to become one of the most admired motion pictures of all time…some even say, the greatest. How was this possible?
Because of the otherwise creative freedom afforded to Orson Welles (producer, director, co-writer and star), Herman J.
Mankiewicz (co-writer), Gregg Toland (cinematographer), and the entire cast and crew.
Which just goes to prove that freedom, in all its many forms, is not only of paramount importance to every citizen on the planet,
but to every artist and their creative spirit as well. Freedom, in fact, is as necessary as the tools we use as artists or the air we
breathe...and must be defended from anyone attempting to take it away!
Until we connect again…
Douglas Schwartz, Publisher and Editor
"The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage."
- Thucydides
step back, take a deep breath, and examine the following question. What is art? This is the premise behind this issue's
SPOTLIGHT entitled, What Is Art?...Inside The Image and Beyond. While I may be mentally biting off more than anyone can
chew, I'll do my best to provide an answer...at least my answer to this monumental question.
A few readers have emailed recently regarding my mentioning of "demons and such" in a journal dedicated to art, to which I'll
reply here by saying...why shouldn't I? Whether one chooses to disregard the truth or not, artists are not living in a vacuum or
isolated from world events.
In order to create art, regardless of discipline or medium of expression, artists must have the freedom to do so. It is becoming
increasingly clear to many that if the evil ones in the world have their way, freedom will be a thing of the past. I firmly believe
that ignoring this fact, especially in a journal such as Artists Are Always Right, would be negligence on my part. I won't dwell on
it, mind you...but I won't ignore it either. In keeping with this, I have something to share with you.
Karen gave me a beautiful snow globe for Christmas. It was made by the same company in Austria which made the one used
in the opening of the 1941 classic film, Citizen Kane, and bears a strong resemblance to it. Because Citizen Kane is one of
my favorite movies and I know every scene in it quite well, I felt compelled to assure Karen that I would resist the urge to reenact
the one in which the snow globe goes crashing to the floor. (Of course I would never actually do that! I may be a crazy artist, but
I'm not that crazy!)
Anyhow...as the story goes, Citizen Kane was based on wealthy newspaper tycoon, William Randolph Hearst, who owned and
operated Hearst Communications (the nations largest newspaper chain and media company at the time). Because Hearst was
outraged by this cinematic exposé of his personal life, advertising for the film was banned from any of the newspapers which he
owned. Surprise, surprise!
In spite of Hearst's futile attempt to shut the film down (and keep the true meaning of the term, Rosebud, a secret), Citizen Kane
went on to become one of the most admired motion pictures of all time…some even say, the greatest. How was this possible?
Because of the otherwise creative freedom afforded to Orson Welles (producer, director, co-writer and star), Herman J.
Mankiewicz (co-writer), Gregg Toland (cinematographer), and the entire cast and crew.
Which just goes to prove that freedom, in all its many forms, is not only of paramount importance to every citizen on the planet,
but to every artist and their creative spirit as well. Freedom, in fact, is as necessary as the tools we use as artists or the air we
breathe...and must be defended from anyone attempting to take it away!
Until we connect again…
Douglas Schwartz, Publisher and Editor
"The secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom is courage."
- Thucydides
