Adventureland

The words absurd and abstract occur to me while walking around aimlessly in Adventureland.

Abstract is more believable a word than is the word absurd—at least I’ve come this far. I get something tangible out of the abstract, having taken out something out of abstraction for me to possibly use in my writing or in making my paintings, only then to put something else back in. The absurd is a different animal, the inner voice of creation in which the meaning invariably becomes clear to the speaker who just said the word absurd out loud or sotto voce and knows instantly what the word absurd means and can pass the word on to others for private or public scrutiny.

I hadn’t been to Adventureland, which has been contained within the larger context of Disneyland itself for many years, but the place still feels very close to me, part of my actual life.

‘Two Political Activists Come to the Door’, painting-in-progress, acrylic and oil paint stick, 24” x24”, September, 2026