Author | Lightnews

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 11h

I love Leonora Carrington! Everyone should read her novel THE HEARING TRUMPET.

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 18h

I don’t think, as a country, we get to the MAGA pathology w/o moral cauterization — that attempt to deaden our collective conscience, our sense of right and wrong, was spearheaded by ideologues like Cheney and Rumsfeld. Now, the Hobbesian universe of full spectrum violence seems all the more normal.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 19h

Death may answer many questions. But whatever the answers may be, only a monstrous universe, one ruled by devils, would allow torturers to be absolved of their crimes. Dick Cheney died today. It is time to remember what America remains desperate to forget: the acts committed in his name.

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 19h

In this remarkable piece, Phillip Gourevitch and Errol Morris ask us to imagine cameras at Calvary capturing the gruesome spectacle of a nearly naked man being tortured to death.

www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...

Exposure

The woman behind the camera at Abu Ghraib.

www.newyorker.com

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 19h

John Elkerr
“Hooded Man, Leashed Man - Abu Ghraib Study No. 2"
9.5" x 7.5"
Colored ink on cardboard meatbox

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 19h

John Elkerr
"Torture By Any Other Name - Abu Ghraib Torture Study No. 1"
9.5" x 7.5"
Colored ink on cardboard meatbox

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 19h

A short stretch of years ago, I asked my friend John Elkerr to use his considerable artistic talents to help us remember Abu Ghraib. Next, I’ll be sharing two pieces that arose from that conversation…

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 2d

John Elkerr
"Meet Me At Temple Bar"
26" x 22"
Colored ink on paper

To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

This striking piece depicts a Dionysian night of dancing at Temple Bar, a beloved all-inclusive LGBTQ nightspot in the Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit, MI.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 3d

youtube.com/watch?v=3Yww...

‘If I must die’: Remembering Palestinian Poet Refaat Alareer

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English

youtube.com

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 3d

I imagine that this uncanny spinning top was inscribed with past, present, and future. The faster it spins, the closer the top grows, until we are inside. And yet we’re struck by the stillness within. A place, now, where past, present, and future are blended into a single color.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you! This is the best “Alt Text” I’ve ever read. Already I’ve shared it with friends on three continents.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 4d

Arresting. Doors waiting to be opened. Doors in and around other doors. A cluster of doors. A collapse of perspective around a cluster of doors. The same collapse for handles. Hinges. And all the implied hands reaching for, or letting go of those doors. And the question: Who needs perspective?

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 5d

What a perfect day to careen into the macabre! You’re welcome.

THE CHILDREN'S HOLIDAY (English)
vimeo.com/807495629?sh...

LA FÊTE DES ENFANTS (French language version)
vimeo.com/970282676?sh...

The Children's Holiday (2023)

This film explores THE CHILDREN'S HOLIDAY, a quill and ink drawing created by Detroit-area artist John Elkerr. Mixing details from the piece with a retrospective…

vimeo.com

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 5d

John Elkerr
“Capture of the Minotaur”
30” x 40”
Acrylic and Oil Pastel on Canvas

To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 6d

John Elkerr
“The World Is an Asylum with Guns”
8.25” x 11.25”
Collage with ink on paper

To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 7d

This morning I woke up hearing this song in my head. Lucky enough to experience Kurt sing it at The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Chicago. Like the gangster ambiance, smoke you only wanted to breathe in. Now, a decade later, it’s useless to hunt for words.

youtu.be/s8WxZfAV3Bc?...

Nature Boy

YouTube video by Kurt Elling - Topic

youtu.be

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 7d

John Elkerr
“Circe’s Cabaret”
19” x 24”
Colored ink and graphite lighter burns on paper

A jitterbugging enchantress snaps her partner into an animal. Blue tears. A spasm of joy.

Please visit: johnelkerr.com

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 8d

John Elkerr
“Medusa”
7.75” x 10”
Ink on ruled paper

With phalluses for hair, this Gorgon reminds us of the addicting fluid secreted by Burroughs’ Mugwumps in “Naked Lunch” (1959).

Please visit: JohnElkerr.com

#SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 8d

We just saw Hadestown on YouTube. Superb musical! Couldn’t resist picking up one of their t-shirts.

You can literally sit in the audience with this link:

youtu.be/Jk7BCMZ_C2g?...

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 8d

My eye always seems to land on Phoenix’s fingers: how gently she draws Mars closer to the sun. As if hoping no one will notice. Of course she has to step out of her famously flamboyant character. Still, if only she could woo that world a little closer, then she would be the mother of a water world.

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 8d

www.juancole.com/fitzgeralds-...

If you’re interested in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and you haven’t seen Juan Cole’s commentary, here’s the link. The Rubaiyat will never be the same!

FitzGerald's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám: Commentary by Juan Cole with Original Persian

I am reprinting here my blog entries from Informed Comment that serve as an extended commentary on Edward FitzGerald's Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The original entry is hyperlinked in the title. For eac...

www.juancole.com

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 8d

John Elkerr
“Phoenix Draws Mars Into the Habitable Zone”
5.5” x 6”
Colored ink on paper

Here’s another piece demonstrating the comic genius of Elkerr.

Please visit: JohnElkerr.com

#ArtistonBluesky #SurrealArt #FineArt #SurrealismToday #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 9d

Intriguing piece. Thanks!

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 11d

John Elkerr
“Epiphany of the Minotaur”
19”x24”
Quill, ink and graphite on paper

To see a short film exploring the Minotaur in the work of John Elkerr, go to: vimeo.com/596984370?sh...

#art #surrealism #drawing #surreal #ArtistonBluesky #SurrealArt #FineArt #SurrealismToday #drawing

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 13d

John Elkerr
“My Days Are Wind”
8”x10”
Quill and colored ink on cardboard meatbox

For more information about Detroit-area artist John Elkerr and his work, go to: johnelkerr.com

#art
#surrealism
#drawing
#surreal
#ArtistonBluesky
#SurrealArt
#FineArt
#SurrealismToday
#drawing
#BookofJob
#JobBible

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