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January 2007 - Harry
Bush, were it not for him ...
it's been a mild month of clouds and
rain here in Rio de Janeiro. not tourist weather at all, but i'm
no longer a tourist, feeling home here as anywhere. the painting
is going fine, and i put the world on autopilot and let the days
linger. back home in North Carolina the morning glories are frozen
withered on the vine.
travel seems to keep everything in tune.
what's wrong there seems somebody else's fault. what's a problem
there is just a rock in a river i've flowed around. what's wonderful
will embed itself forever and what's a waste is left behind, and
hopefully somebody can make something good out of it.
so far, so good. living is pleasure
and little remorse and aging is easier than imagined in the world
of art, friendship and intimacy. while methodists and others war
on their way, i enjoy more than ever being gay and at peace with
the world. bob dylan sings us forward, surfers are surfing, kids
and old folks show the way to be or not to be in a world that
is big and complex, terrifying and wonderful. tomorrow, the forecast
is for the sun to come out and then it will be raining men. all
over this city, shirtless, in shorts and swimsuits, buses and
beaches full of them. so many men, so little time.
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Harry Bush art
was inspirational in my development. Tom of Finland's Kake was
a figure that at times I fantasized and tried to emulate, but
Harry's guys let me know what i already had when i was too naive
to know it. a Harry Bush drawing empowered and motivated me -
i profoundly wanted to be as desired, as physically exceptional,
and uncommonly common.
in this journal section and elsewhere
on the web i've given my own personal reactions and feelings about
Harry, but for now i still can't want to share the letters he wrote to me
when his art career was officially over and mine was just beginning.
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Harry Bush to Tom Jones,
13 March 1988 |
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update July 2010: i've deleted the links to more of the
letters. it seems others can't resist the temptation of copying
them and putting them on their own site. even if their site has
more traffic and clout than mine, i don't like it. .for those of you who are intrigued, this should be clue enough-
"ad,
to think i actually had you in my will as recipient of several
of my
favorite pieces.
after two years of neglect, and just being
busy with other things i
visit your site to find all my harry stuff shown with copy clear,
in
complete betrayal of your promise to blur it. going further you
show his letters without even asking permission. everything has
limits ad, and you've stepped over the line.
you've put yourself the category of all
those who knowingly ripped off
Harry. you're a hypocrite, declaring yourself to respect the art
and
artist while putting it on your own site, with your own commentary,
for
your own purposes.
say you do it for the general good, say
it's the pot calling the kettle
black, say whatever, but you know you've betrayed me and our agreement.
ironic isn't it, that this betrayal epitomizes all harry experienced
and what stopped his artistic motivation. sweet.
tom"
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