EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST

Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,

Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from
the ends of the earth!

Rudyard Kipling, exerted from: The Ballad of East Meets West

PROPOSAL FOR A CROSS CULTURAL VISUAL ART PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

No truer words have been spoken than by Rudyard Kipling, over 100
years ago, which currently describe and reference our current moment in the
space time continuum of the planet earth.

Our planet is in a turmoil. A turmoil created by the human inhabitants of

this magnificent planet earth. There is such global division brought on by
fear and ignorance of the true nature of man. We have such diverse and
seemingly opposite views in all our systems of thought, government,
science, religion, medicine and the arts. There was a time in human history
when all these disciplines were one and not compartmentalized as is the
present situation.

This has been brought on by humanity itself and incorrect thinking on its
part. Its as if man lives in a beautiful multi-storied building but never leaves
the room he is in and isnt even aware of the beauty that exists on every
level of his dwelling. Such is the earth, a multi-dimensional wonder that
most of humanity isnt even aware exists or of the possibilities to escape
from his own self-imprisonment into that ever present wonderment.

No one man can change the world. Although one man can be the catalyst
for progress, it takes a multitude of cooperation and energy and effort by

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humanity for this catalyst to be actualized. Take for instance Nikla Tesla, a
true visionary in every sense of the word. But alone he was incapable of the
materialization of those visions. Through huge multi-human effort and open-
minded acceptance and cooperation his dreams have become some of the
most beneficial advancements know to mankind. As well as some of the
most destructive.

This brings to mind the ancient Hindu principle of Tat Tvam Asi. Thou
art that and on a more personal level, I art thou and thou art I It embodies
the idea that all people are the same and one. It is the recognition that we all
share a common creative consciousness that unites and binds us together.
When we share this commonality we create miracles and become of service
to all humanity and life on this amazing metaphysical planet we call home.

Due to the universal law of duality the planet and its inhabitants are in a
great re-balancing. One side of the duality has become so overloaded with
incorrect perception and thought that the opposing side is unquestionably
seeking faster and faster to rebalance itself. Humanity is awakening to its
true nature with alarming speed and accuracy. I feel so privileged to not only
be aware of the rebirth but to share and be a part of it.

I personally feel we currently could be approaching the end of western

culture without intervention of individuals, who share ideas, to try to reverse
the turmoil and fear that exists now. We need to break down barriers, labels
and borders and learn respect and consideration for all cultures. Even though
this project is a small part of it, it is a part, and that is how change occurs.
Change always starts with baby steps. And balance comes from
imbalance.

I would like to play a greater part in this re-balancing than I previously have
which brings us to the topic of this project, East is East and West is West.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Two years ago while visiting the island of Java in Indonesia I was
privileged to be offered a solo exhibition of my paintings in a very
respectable gallery, Semerang Contemporary Art Gallery in Semerang, Jawa
Tengah, Indonesia.

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http://www.galerisemarang.com/main.php

I met the gallery owner, Chris Dharmawan, on a visit to Semerang where

I had taken my 5 year old daughter and her mother, who live in Bransong, a
village about 30 miles north of Semerang. I had taken them there to give
them their first experience of contemporary art. Chris and I looked at my
work online and he offered me a solo show. We both realized that being a
three-story gallery it would take more work than I currently have on hand. I
suggested to Chris that we could do a group show. A show of myself, an
older Western artist, combined with the younger Indonesian artists that he
represents and possibly others. He was very receptive to the idea. Quoting
the gallery website: Chris Dharmawan, a collector and art philanthropist,
has an unquestionable opinion that the encounter between human, culture,
art and idealism in a single space will always result in beauty for the
complete human life.

After returning to the US the idea started to gel and formulate in my mind
but I was unaware of how to make it a reality until another synchronistic
event happened. Luz De Jesus Gallery ( laluzdejesus.com ) in Los Angeles,
California became aware of my work and I was offered a solo show there as
well when the body of my work was large enough to accommodate the
gallery space.

La Luz De Jesus Gallery is owned by Billy Shire and directed by Matt

Kennedy. It has been a gallery exhibiting art that reflects multiculturalism
for more than 25 years. Billy Shire is a world traveler and adventurer who
has a great appreciation for the similarities inherent in all the cultures of the
globe through direct experience with them.

I then realized, why would I want to do a solo show when the possibility
exists of sharing my exhibition at La Luz De Jesus gallery with the young
Indonesian artists and give the people of Los Angeles an opportunity to
experience their creativity as well as more global exposure for the artists
themselves. As I said previously, nothing happens or is accomplished alone
on this planet.

The idea then occurred to me to go to Semerang for a period of one year,

open a studio there and work directly with the young artists themselves. We
would do collaborative pieces as well as our own individual work thereby
combining my western sensibilities with their extremely diverse and creative

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ideas. I have taught in two universities and always learned more from my
young students than I possibly could have imparted to them.

We would do filmed interviews, discussions and works in progress to be

published online on a dedicated website as well as You Tube as the project
continues forward. Films, as well, of the culture as it unfolds itself to me and
I react to it and the Indonesian artists and as they react to me and my
experiences of having grown up in Western culture.

After the exhibition closes in Semerang we would bring the available

work back to Los Angeles at La Luz De Jesus Gallery for another exhibition
giving Los Angeles an opportunity to experience the creative and shared
experience of two cultures seemingly at such odds with each other
combining into one shared, creative experience. And then hopefully travel
the exhibition to other galleries and regional museums.

OVERVIEW OF JAVANESE HISTORY AND CULTURE

Javanese culture is a rich and diverse entity unto itself not limited to its
historical and contemporary aspects. There are currently over three hundred
different languages spoken in Indonesia with many of them spoken on Java.
While the majority of the people of Java are Muslim, Java has a diverse
mixture of religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures. Each of these
languages has its own micro subculture while there is a predominant
modern culture which permeates it all with the official language of Bahasa
Indonesia.

Javas known history extends as far back as Java Man, Homo Erectus,
with the discovery of 1.7 million year old fossilized remains found along the
banks of the Bengawan Solo River. A chain of volcanic mountains and
associated highlands running the length of Java kept its interior regions and
peoples separate and relatively isolated. This kept the myriad amount of
cultures separate for centuries. A limited amount of roads were built in mid-
17th century. Mid 7th and 8th century Hindu and Buddhist cultures arose.
During the 10th century trade took place with China and India. Early in the
14th century trade began with Islamic countries and Islam became the
predominant culture by end of the 16th century. Mid 16th century brought the
Dutch colonialists to Java.

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 During the 18th and 19th centuries power swayed between the Dutch,
French and British. With power being restored to the Dutch in 1814. As in
any colonial power-backed countries there were good and bad aspects to the
colonization. Indonesian nationalism took hold in the early 20th century and
Indonesia gained its independence in 1949 at which time Java became the
center of Indonesian social, political and economic life. Java has
traditionally been dominated by an elite class consisting of S.E. Asian,
Arabian, Persian and more recently Chinese immigrants.

The current population is 140 million people on Java. It is one of the

most densely populated areas of the world with 35,000,000 people living
currently in Semarang alone.

All this leads to a cultural melting pot where all the traditional arts,
dance, music, theatre exist independently of one another. This is the area that
excites me and I look so forward to exploring with the artists of Semarang
and sharing my western cultural knowledge and experiences with them.
Some of the artists I will work with still practice traditional work and some
have been influenced by the interconnectivity of the internet and outside
cultures. Im sure the experience will be beneficial to myself as well as the
artists I work with and the public we share our experiences with through
exhibitions.

ABOUT PHILIP SLAGTER

Although I simply call myself a painter I have been recently labeled as

one of the original pop-surrealists by Matt Kennedy at La Luz De Jesus
Gallery. A title I gladly accept and look forward to extending that definition.

My work has always been influenced by other cultures and artists from
prehistory, Sumerian, Egyptian, Renaissance, early colonial American,
European Faux, Surrealism, Dadaism, the abstractionists of mid 20th century,
pop art and right up to contemporary street art of today as well as Asian,
Middle Eastern, Indian which are now so easily accessed through the
amazing technology of the internet. I have always found it all fascinating
and an amazing view into the history of humanity.

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 Unlike other artists who stick to one discipline or style throughout their
lives my work has always changed with each new experience and areas of
the world I have lived and painted. I have never been able to separate art
from life as I think the two are intimately entwined.

Certainly this ease of accessibility has also caused a great confusion

among cultures of today. How does one any longer determine reality and
react to it? For me the answer is simple, through parody, at times humorous
and at times quite wry. I am not a political painter but at times react to
geopolitical events but never attempt to make a definitive statement about
the situation at hand. Rather I hope my work opens questions in the viewer
that only they themselves can ask and answer.

I of course started from a point of realism initially taught by my

Grandfather who was a Sunday painter of wildlife who hated the
abstractionists of his day. It wasnt until college when I reluctantly joined in
the art classes in my third year because of insecurity at the amazing things I
had seen in the art departments and I was only a painter of birds. The art
history classes were an amazing eye opening experience as to how the gift I
had been given could lead me to an exploration of another of one of my
main interests, the nature of truth. What was mans commonality rather
than mans differences. Through art I began this exploration which I
continue to this day. Im not sure any longer that there is an answer to that
question but I do have my hunches as to its nature and try to reflect those
in my current work.

I spent a short 3 years in advertising and illustration in New York City

after college, thinking that success must be financially based, and was
deeply dissatisfied with the lack of truth, this was not art to me. I left New
York and moved to a remote area of northeastern Connecticut and made a
conscious decision to dedicate my life to painting, no matter the
consequences. And the consequences at time have been immense. For
instance I have lost several wives due to this bullheadedness and lived a life
vacillating between monetary comfort and absolute poverty.

After Connecticut and a few group shows in New York I moved to the
desert of southern New Mexico to experience an environment that was
completely alien to me. What I initially perceived as the lack of color there
gave way to brilliant colors in my work mostly influenced by the local
campesinos and their lack of fear of color in their everyday life. This period

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also produced my first pure abstraction as I deconstructed the already surreal
world of my own reality. It led me to pure form and color referencing the
formal aspects of art with no regard for a common reality. I was also
fortunate enough to teach at New Mexico State University for a short period
as a visiting professor. I loved the experience of the young newly opening
minds of my students.

I then moved to and started exhibiting in Los Angeles, California. My

work there remained an abstraction of the new reality that I surrounded
myself with. Everything from the colors, shapes, activity and graffiti world
that was just beginning there became the source for my work. I had a studio
in the just beginning Brewery which is now an artistic institution in LA. I
gave presentations to docent tour groups from MOMA LA and the Los
Angeles county Museum that would visit my studio. These were more
wonderful experiences to be able to view and hear the opinions of collectors
and art-interested people.

I started to experience a dissatisfaction with the art world and galleries as

I felt locked in to a certain style and I felt growth was stymied. I produced a
series of black and white pieces that simply explored the method of action
painting and form that could be read as anything the viewer desired and was
told by my dealer that, I cant sell black and white art Philip.

During my time in LA I had made a trip to Kenya in Africa with one of

my collectors in exchange for some work. In Kenya I had the female
members of a Maasai tribe in the lower rift valley reproduce some of my
abstract work with their traditional beadwork on dried goatskin and asked
them to add their tribal patterning to it. Unfortunately the work went
missing at Abercrombie and Kent in Nairobi when it was being shipped
back to the states. I had also produced a series of woven rugs in Teotitlan
Del Valle in Oaxaca in southern Mexico on another trip. They wove my
abstractions into large rugs and I asked them to add their dream imagery
during the process of weaving. They were quite stunning and sold
immediately upon arrival in LA.

This wet my appetite for travel and exploration of other cultures on a

personal basis. One morning at breakfast I was discussing how to move my
inventory of more than 300 pieces of art with my main collector so I could
free myself of it for a new beginning. After some business suggestions he
asked how much I wanted for the entire body of work. With no regard to

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what might be the actual or perceived value, I named a figure. He extended
his hand and said sold. In shock I shook his hand and I agreed. We drove
back to LA and he emptied my studio and put the work in storage and
handed me a pile of cash. A new chapter in my life had just begun.

Shortly thereafter I boarded a flight to Singapore where I intended to

catch a freighter to Jakarta and wander through Java and eventually end in
Bali. The flight unexpectedly made a stop in Bangkok, Thailand. I guess the
lure of the then currently popular song, One Night In Bangkok,
overwhelmed me and I deplaned, fully intent on continuing my journey in a
few days. It took me 5 years to leave Thailand. I traveled, painted,
exhibited, produced murals, opened a gallery and was artist in residence at
a small boutique resort on the Island of Koh Samui in southern Thailand. I
became married to a wonderful Thai woman and the joy of my life was born
there, my daughter Dao Ann Slagter. Being a father became the most
important thing in my life. When we are gifted with angels we have a huge
responsibility to care for them in a manner that the universe would smile
upon.

I left Thailand in a hurry amid extreme circumstances. We had been

targeted and a group of child traffickers had attempted to steal my then two
year old daughter. We fled back to America with the help of the U.S.
Embassy in Bangkok. They were extremely helpful and I am forever
indebted to their help and concern.

I then found myself as if an immigrant to my own country. Basically

penniless, no drivers license, only a passport and no home. With the help of
wonderful friends my wife, daughter and I were able to survive. I was
fortunate enough to secure a position as chief carver, designer and director
for a man who had recently moved to LA from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was
well connected to the Las Vegas Casino design and development industry. I
worked with him for 3 years and was able to purchase a home and care for
my family. I consciously made a decision to take a break from painting to be
the best father I could be. I could not perceive of the phrase not now honey,
Daddys busy in relation to my two year old daughter and her wellbeing.
When I paint I am an obsessive driven person who cannot turn off the 24/7
dialogue that permeates my consciousness.

When my daughter was 11 years old and entering junior high we moved
to Montana as I wanted her out of the LA school system permeated with

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gangs and lack of real education. I wanted her to have roots and experience
the four seasons, the cycle of death and rebirth that people in LA have no
contact with. I felt when she was an adult she could make her own decision
about locality but she would always have a place in her heart to return too.
After she became a young adult she understood her father loved her deeply
and I was able to return to my obsessive behavior of painting with her grace.
I again started what I was born to do.

During my time here in Montana I travelled with a crew to Macau, China

for nine months and painted 250,000 square feet of sky murals in the
Venetian Casino there as well as a private commission for 200 of murals in
a restaurant in the casino.

Unfortunately, 5 years ago in 2012, my daughter passed in an automobile

accident on her way to school one morning. It equally ended my life. I have
never felt the devastation and pain of the moment the four policemen, after
my being awake for 10 minutes, told me my daughter was dead. It took me
three and a half years to even realize that I was not only still alive but that I
had been condemned to an earthly life with no love or beauty, only pain. I
was sixty-five years old when she passed. I sat down for those years and
medicated myself with beer and cannabis. I destroyed my body. I did not
enjoy life in any manner. I could find no beauty in anything.

I have no idea how, but one day I recognized what I was doing to myself
and to others around me. I had nothing of the wonderful gift of creativity to
share any longer with anyone. I struggled through some paintings and grew
slightly stronger. Strong enough to want that flow of creativity, happiness
and joy that had been my constant companion throughout my life. It came
back in spurts. I began to repair my body and mind. Some people call it
meditation I simply call it closing my eyes. This way it has none of the
baggage associated with the religions or movements that advocate it. I quit
medicating myself so as not to block the constant gift of creativity that flows
through all of us at every moment of our lives. The joy of waking up in the
morning has returned as well as the joy of painting and expressing that flow
and sharing it with others.

During my stay in Macau, China I inadvertently helped conceive another

child. The daughter I mentioned earlier in this dialogue. Now a beautiful
seven year old girl with a wonderful mother who loves, cares for and
protects her. I have not been there as a father for her in the way I feel is the

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responsibility necessary when gifted with angels. So admittedly there is a
selfish ulterior motive to my wanting to initiate and fund this project in
Indonesia. This in no way, I feel, will detract from the project itself only
enhance the joy I now feel and support the project itself. For my daughter to
be with her father, the other artists and people that are succeeding in life will
support a belief that does not exist in her current world. The belief and
knowledge that a person can do anything in life that they desire and set their
actions toward. She is not being raised this way currently and does not
understand even this concept. That is not a hope for the majority of the
people in the villages of Indonesia as their lives continue on in a robotic
manner without hope.

OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT

1. An initial month long trip, by myself, to review, locate and secure studio
space. The purpose of this trip is to inform myself of the materials available
and other logistical concerns in Semarang and again meet with Chris
Dharmawan, the owner and director of Semerang Contemporary Gallery.

This will be a good opportunity to be introduced to other artists that will

be involved in the project as well as the collectors and patrons of the arts in
Semarang. Chris has already committed that this is his intention as well.

Visit the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and inquire to any possibilities of

sponsorship or endorsement.

Inform myself of the requirements for and secure a long-term visa with
the help of Chris Dharmawan and the other informed individuals in the art
world and local government.

2. Upon my return to the States, initiate other sources of funding as at this

point the project will be a reality.

These sources include Crowd Sourcing and then a Crowd Funding effort
and program.

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 Contact the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department with whom I have
worked with on two projects in the past. as to their interest and grant
possibilities

Contact other galleries and regional museums that may have an interest in
continuing the exhibition and who possibly could help with the financing.

3. Seek from whoever is reading this initial proposal further funding

commitments and ideas for funding as the project progresses.

4. With an initial investment of $20,000.00 I feel we can start this project

and have a slight surplus of funds available upon my return to initiate the
remainder of the funding.

5. I will not be undertaking this amount of work on my own as I have an

assistant who has worked with me for more than twenty years. He is well
versed in computer knowledge, video film production, editing and
animation. He is currently working with Warner Brothers Studios on
animation projects. His name is Eddy Millan and his website is
www.semigod.com You can go there to see his talent as well as some of his
thoughts and music.

Eddys responsibilities in Indonesia will include press promotion, video

documentation of the entire project, production, editing, general studio
maintenance and also involving himself in some of the artwork and painting
as he is an extremely talented young contemporary artist with his pulse on
the current popular contemporary scene as you will see when you visit his
website.

I am currently scheduled in May of this year for an exhibition of my work

at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles.

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from
the ends of the earth!

Rudyard Kipling, exerted from:

The Ballad of East Meets West

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Philip Slagter

641 Gray Fox Lane philipslagter9@gmail.com

Corvallis, MT 59828 www.instagram.com/philipslagter/?hl=en
(406) 381-3568 www.facebook.com/philip.slagter

A SELECTION OF PAINTINGS BY PHILIPSLAGTER WITH

REFERENCE TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT

Taking a Selfie With Suamiku Lele

57 x 26, acrylic on canvas.

This painting translated to English is Taking a Selfie With My Husband Catfish. It is in

the series Ancestors. It references the multitude and complexity of cultures throughout
Indonesia with a direct reference to the Wayang shadow puppet performances that
permeate South East Asia. Note the lime green iPhone in the hand of the Wayang puppet
figure in center left.

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Houdjinni, Carry On
60 x 65, acrylic on canvas.

This painting is from the series Supernatural Magic which is combining the myriad
amount of beliefs of supernatural beings, found in every culture of the world, with the
Las Vegas magic act.

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Texting Words Of Wisdom
18 x 16, acrylic on canvas.

From the series Supernatural Magic.

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Ancestors, Panspermia
72 x 36, diptych, acrylic on canvas.

From the Ancestor Series. If you have never heard the word Panspermia, look it up.
Not just wiki but go to some science sites or evolution sites or quantum sites even Nasa
scientists. Although formulated in the 1960s, It is just now being seriously considered as
the next paradigm for the theory of evolution.

A gentle open mind is the first step to awareness. Awareness is the first step
to consciousness. Consciousness is the door to the future.

Thank you for taking the time to read this proposal and hopefully enjoying
it. I look forward to you response and feedback.

Philip Slagter

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