A Short Break
A Short Note From Me
I wanted to take a small moment today to connect with the subscribers of Dispatches From Bohemian Splendor to say that as of late, I have been immersed with projects offline. This includes a series of paintings, working on a feature length film, as well as finalizing some edits on a monograph of my collage work—a book which contains over twenty years of selected collage work. The book itself is just over a year in the making. Also, I am concentrating on smoking cessation, eating and sleeping better.
With the results of the election, whatever you feel about them, it seems a good moment to retreat from the terminally online lifestyle of a newsletter writer, get off the screen, go get some sunshine and remember there is a world out there worth exploring. A world that oftentimes bears little resemblance to the online world we are so accustomed to.
On the 23rd of November, I will be turning 38 years old. I have been hard at work in this life as an artist for so many years, and still, I feel as though I have only just begun. After my birthday, and closer towards the new year, I will be back posting a bit more frequently. To the subscribers, that means you can expect a dispatch about once or twice a week. I would like to commit to more long form posts, posted less frequently, rather than jamming up your inboxes four to five times a week. My Op-Ed column at Wrong Speak will be published the same—every other Thursday.
In this spirit of taking a short break, I wanted to offer a kind of annual recap of my most popular articles from a list of 75 essays/posts this year. If you have not had the chance to read any of these, they are all here, tidied up in a short list. I encourage you to peruse some of the articles that have helped garner a growing audience for Dispatches.
Thanks again for your support and readership,
JSV
2024
Vir Heroicus Sublimis
By now, a good many of you have commented on the meme shared by Michael Woudenberg, involving A.I., in contrast with a particular painting, Vir Heroicus Sublimis. I assume many more have seen this thread, even without commenting. For clarity, the meme is below:
Travel Sketch: From Los Angeles to Brasil
I don’t know if I can stand this place anymore, I thought to myself. It was a Thursday. I was sure it was a Thursday. It was, in fact, a Friday. But it mattered none, as the titles of days had lost their significance. Even the hour or minute was no more relevant than the ticking second-hand of a fictional wristwatch. Was I in the very middle of the cala…
One Surreal Morning
I went out this morning. I would say “nothing unusual”, because taking a morning stroll is the height of banality. Particularly in the big city. And if not in the morning, then certainly in the afternoon, where, for the artists at least, there is a lull in the work. You’ve said all you could…
Work well the smithy of your soul, JSV!
I prefer the wilderness
Between my ears
Tempered glass prison
Reflecting curated
Suedo reality consuming
Peace, freedom and love
Spitting out artificial
Garbage for you to
Filter
Even the
Garbage
Is
Artificial