one dollar more

“To escape from the world means that one's mind is not concerned with the opinions of the world”

- Dogen - - - I seem to become invisible in Manhattan’s Chinatown - free to move around and observe without feeling I am being observed. I know I am really not invisible but the degree to which I am ignored allows a certain level of escape from my usual awareness of myself. Seems my seeing and being are a little more liberated when the opinion of others doesn’t matter.

Wayne, mighty good street painting! My sincere compliments! Cheers! PDE

Wayne, there's an allegory built into your narrative. Certainly, your ability to wander in NYC Chinatown almost unnoticed reveals a level of comfort the residents have when seeing visitors. If the circumstances were reversed, Chinese people visiting an area in which no or just a few Chinese people live, they would draw discomforting looks at the very least. - - - - - What I found to be the most effective element in this image is the level of energy produced by people going about what possibly their ordinary routines. This made me wonder whether I'd ever get back there. Your painting technique produced a great deal of what Sartre described as "facticity." - - My best always, michael

Many thanks, Pierre.

Many thanks, Michael, for taking time with this piece. I sense more than understand Sartre’s meaning of “facticity” and think your associating it with this image is spot on. What drew me to these scenes of Chinatown is how the people, the store, markets and signs all seem inseparable.