AT AGE THIRTY-TWO, I wrote a small contemplative book, “Maybe I’m It, Maybe I’m Not.” I pledged myself then that upon turning sixty years old, and that if I looked weathered enough, I would start a performing career based on the book. I had some understanding that this material written by a 32 year-old musician required a person of some age and presence; which I was willing to wait for. I had no idea how thick that little book would become. My sovereign twenty-eight year-old promise to myself is now a reality.
Aging has certainly brought about a shift in what I care about. In fact, the trivial and the irrelevant, having been survived, have all been summarily deleted from my life. This new venture, now with fewer people and organizations to impress, will celebrate aging, youth, wisdom and the continuing struggle with our own humanity, with honorable mentions to the incursions of despots, tailgaters and other less enlightened species. Maybe your humanity is under control and behaving. Mine waxes between the pastoral and the vitriolic, is keenly aware, alive and generally likable from what I hear.
I’m inviting you to explore together the fullness of being human through our deepest connections with each other and through the fine arts. This is simply what I do. It’s been a choice burdened with enormous disappointments, personal and professional; but the sketchy income made up for it all. I hope you will come enjoy the shows, but leave encouraged to liberate your inner artist; or whatever else needs liberating.
With perspective and just a touch of humility. ~ Gary Powell