Yesterday, I went to an Uncle’s 75th Birthday party in Brooklyn. The whole trip from my place was foreign except down the Palisades Parkway and West Side Highway in Manhattan. The advantage of taking this route was you have a plethora of things to look at then getting stuck on a highway in Staten Island and having nothing but people cuss you out. The party was very close to Coney Island. Recently, I said my friend Jefferson wanted to get me to there to drink at a bar and I’m even MORE likely to go there in the future because of several things my cousins mentioned 1) The Freak Show, 2) The Freak Bar 3) Shoot a Freak and the other attractions which continue to exist like one of the first roller coasters aimed to scare the shit outta ya- the Cyclone.
Well I’d heard of the Freak show, which I believe includes people who stick skewers through their faces, in their bodies and such, and a whole host of other odd things. The Freak Bar was a place that only recently celebrated the anniversary of the movie – THE WARRIORS- a movie about street gangs fighting over turf, which I believe takes place in Brooklyn. The Last- “Shoot a Freak” is precisely that, the place gets a homeless guy, or someone who they probably pay a good cent, dress him up in padding and he dodges back and forth between barriers while you try and shoot him with a paintball gun. I practically fell over laughing as I thought of a Bugs Bunny cartoon where Elmer Fudd or Bugs is in a giant pinball machine bouncing from one bumper to the next. If you ask me, that itself is worth the ride.
When I arrived home after my exhausting day- yes, driving in Brooklyn and finding a parking spot is stressful- I sat down to watch Doctor Who. I’ve never really been a fan, but lately started to watch more recent episodes. Last night involved Doctor Who going back in time to meet Vincent Van Gogh on account of a demon he saw in a window of Van Gogh painting. Essentially, the episode was about the demon inside the artist that no one sees, except in this episode they interpret it- allow you to see the demon, but only in the worlds of Doctor Who and his assistant.
For those of you not familiar with Van Gogh’s work, he was one of the most talented painters in the world, except he suffered many mental issues- even checked himself into an asylum for a period of time. He painted from his soul and barely sold a painting his entire life, being supported by his brother Theo largely, he made his way through the hard lives of people- painting those who portrayed the working man, people who suffered in poverty. He was generations ahead of his time.
I realized I hadn’t been to a Museum to see paintings in some time. For me, it’s very necessary to indulge in art and feel the emotions set forth by the great painters. I hadn’t done it for to long, and it’s left a hole, which needed to be filled.
Years ago, I had a great relationship with a painter I felt was a “living” Van Gogh. We became friends after I’d met him in a fleamarket peddling his paintings. I was so taken by his work (powerful paintings of homeless people, seafarers, whimsical sculptures) I had to see more. When I visited his home, his work BLEW me away, I actually wept- the first and only time-at a painting. I learned about this wise old soul, who suffered as a homeless man, grew up in Jersey City, and fought a tough life; who painted… He was influenced by Pablo Picasso but self taught and painted like no one I’d ever met- till this day. He was NO outsider artist, but a true GENIUS, generations ahead of time- like Vincent Van Gogh.
I purchased work of his over a decade ago, tried to even help him see the success he should have long gained by now, but we’re both temperamental artists. I’m a poet, who wrote the same way as he painted. We’re both highly emotional and explosive when it comes to the passion of our work, but we respected one another and could speak about practically anything. It dissolved because of issues that aren’t important here, but I’ve always maintained and will go to my grave knowing Pietro Barbera is the undiscovered Van Gogh of modern society.
My whole dank and dark mood I’ve been in for the past few days was stripped after Doctor Who. I discovered I was stagnant; dwelling into something I had no control over, but must continue till completion. I missed the philosophical conversations which filled my world with wonder, gave me the ability to create something from nothing and give me reason to move forward. I missed the SPARK.
Two weeks ago a couple of small bears were chased up a tree near my kids school. On Friday night, there was a doe and a fawn that feasted on the clover in my front yard. My yard has become a wild sanctuary in which young animals roam; groundhogs, squirrels, chipmunks, blue jays and now a baby deer. It’s like the Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom in my very yard. I thought how wonderful it is to be close to nature and close to New York City, and how truly lucky I am to be able to do what I’ve done so far; be blessed to wake up and do it again.
Funk isn’t always funky bad…. Most of the time funk is funky good.
Steve
Funk Thunder
PS-Check out previous blogs on our “Best Bar Wednesday Blog Series-MANHATTAN” for a little entertainment- spread the word….