Steve Cotler

Steve Cotler

Category Archives: Art

Sea Ranch Chapel

Less than a mile from the Pacific, unmanned and open to all, the Sea Ranch Chapel appears to be protected by its own beauty, for vandals neither spray-can nor gouge it. A non-denominational sanctuary for prayer, meditation, and spiritual renewal, it is an architectural wave on a sea of grass just off California’s Route 1, [...]

On the Bull’s Back

America, in skin and shorts, sleeps
on Wall Street’s back
the beast
appetite and direction, ignores
flies
It is five a.m. and raining
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Cell phone photo: Anonymous, July 2009. Look closely. A man lies supine upon the statue.

Space Shuttle Atlantis & Hubble …Crossing the Sun

What an image!
The NASA space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope, seen in silhouette during a solar transit at 12:17 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 13, 2009, from west of Vero Beach, Florida. The two space craft were at an altitude of 600 km above the earth. It took only 0.8 seconds for them to [...]

The Babson Boulders of Dogtown

In his 1905 book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, German economist and sociologist Max Weber theorized that capitalism’s ascendancy owed much to Protestantism’s emphasis on hard work and worldly success. Whether or not Weber was actually right, the term he coined, “Protestant ethic,” has, to many, become accepted as part of our [...]

Racial Identity: “Hapa” Obama

A comment on my recent post (Rule Book Racism: Can a Black Athlete Celebrate?) deserves a full response.
Lanny writes:
“A young, black, athletic man will soon be our president.” Why don’t you call him white? He’s just as much white as black. Is my wife, Karina, yellow or white, Japanese or American? Her mother is 100% [...]

Arms and Armor at Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art is in the midst of a massive renovation, so only a fraction of the collection is currently on display.
But there is still much to see. The Arms and Armor Room is magnificent.  Its many artifacts illustrate the armorer’s craftsmanship, art, and weapons development, as well as the pomp and ego [...]

Birthday

Today is my birthday.
Also born on this day in 1944 was Odd Nerdrum, a prominent Norwegian painter.
Our names were switched at birth.
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“Wanderers at the Beach” 2001

P(achy)casso? — Elephant Painting an Elephant

An excited correspondent sent me a link to this video of an elephant painting a picture of an elephant.
YouTube –  Elephant painting an elephant

It is an engaging video, and comments on other websites from eyewitnesses (most often reporting their visits to Thailand) to such “artwork creation” give good evidence that this is not a fraud. [...]