I have been exploring the moon as a subject since January 2011, it’s meaning, symbolism and contradictions. The Visceral Murmurs exhibit at the Fruitlands Museum will feature three additional interpretations of the moon.

Depicted here is the first moon, exhibited at the Guided by Gabin fundraiser.

I can not post about this painting with out mentioning George Gabin and the talk he gave at the event

At 3:22 he speaks about the students and teaching, I have attempted to transcribe this talk and have most of it done. I think it is a universally important message about dreams,honesty and work ethic.

“…the other day I looked carefully at them, it gave me a chance to see the differences and yet the quality of the work. For example there is a very small work of a moon rising by Woehrle, who’s from Worcester, and if you look at the moon long enough it will emphatically rise with you, because a moon is a dream and a dream rises.

“…on the other hand,there’s this gigantic painting by Joe D’Apice of a train station that is so incredible for his facilities that I dare say that there are few painters in this building that can paint it as good as that. And so the extremes of a small delicate painting and a big painting and everything in between was adjoined to me, because, I felt, in a sense, I never did anything but that you did it. That you kept the faith, that you continued to paint because that is what it’s all about. You have to keep the faith…

“…so I think that it is important to consider…along with that was to see so many paintings…

“You know, I am very frightened by the world these days. I know I do not have many days left but I am frightened because I fear that the dream may be going out of peoples minds.

“What is the dream?

“The dream that comes from inside at an early age and then it becomes the strength and focus of the future. I see all of us now giving away the dream to machines who’ll do your dreaming for you and your thinking for you and as a result the will be no real dreams.

“…I never really thought of myself as anything but a worker. My father was a carpet worker(?),he taught me, he said ‘Do a good days work and don’t talk about anybody or anything.’ Those two things I have kept in my mind until the very end.

“So when I was teaching, all I was doing was putting in a good days work to the best of my ability and if I ever was of any help to any of you it’s only because it’s a part of the nature of the game. If I had something that was honest and true that would be helpful, I would give it to you, but I would only teach and talk about what I knew and knew best and not what I did not know and did not believe in.

“I believed in art, I believed in the making of pictures, I believed in dreams and to this day it is exactly the same. If you came up to me and gave me this question I would answer it exactly the same way.

“So I thank you all for coming and as they say in Italy when they talk about extended famly ‘tu tu familia’ you are all my family. Tu tu familia”

George Gabin, excerpt of speech given on December 4, 2011.