fresh lemons — Jennifer Chase: Artist

Blog: CHASing My Tale

11/17/25- At a recent Costume Birthday Bash for self-described “Arts Agitator,” Wayne Wood @ The Casket Factory, celebrating his “…first 80 years,” I was reminded that he STILL is, “The Most Interesting Man in Jacksonville” as the title of my 2013 Folio cover story claims. I knew it then, and he hasn’t stopped. Among a couple of hundred of my peers, there was a unified awe at the relentlessly productive, vivacious audacity of Wayne Wood. Read the original Folio cover story linked below.

7/13/25 Chasing My Tale in Madrid a new work of spoken word “¡Viva la Vida!” -a lesson from Frida

From the moment I arrived at my mother-in-law's house this summer, I was confronted with Mexico in Spain. Mexico was everywhere. I realized that I inadvertently brought my little notebook from my 2021 first artist residency with Arquetopia in Oaxaca, Mexico. In it were extensive notes on Palestine, artists, thinkers, activists and conversations with the founder of the program. I read Edward Said, and Angela Davis Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. I joined Jewish Voice for Peace that summer joining meetings virtually from my solitude in the residency during COVID. I read the Oaxacan newspapers almost daily articles in Gaza. That was four years ago and now here I am in Madrid in Mexico. Exhibitions ranging from the Lady of Guadalupe in Spain at the Prado Museum, to Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide’s body of work of ordinary extraordinary people at the Casa de Mexico en Madrid —There seems to be a Mexican Artistic Revolution in Madrid. Conducting research for two of my fall courses in the small villages of Galicia, Mexican history, art, music and artists are here beckoning invitations to trust my intuition to pay attention to our connections of humanity.

Throughout it all, Frida's ubiquitous brow - like the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg- adorns tourist merch: T-shirts, posters, coffee cups, and prints here in Spain- more than 5,000 miles from her home in Coyocan, Mexico.

She wasn't well known worldwide at the time of her death, having had only one solo show of her work in her home country. Yet, Frida's presence and vitality eclipses that of her husband, Diego Rivera the world-renowned Mexican muralist. I have always been inspired by Frida's vivacious and passionate default setting. Her art, intellectualism, relationships, social activism, curiosity, politics, successes, failures, and love affairs all intertwined. She hit bottom many times but remained true to her ideas about fellow human beings. I can't prove it, but I suspect that Frida would not have been silent about relentless murders and bombings of- civilian mothers, children and families anywhere. Frida always stood with the vulnerable.

I'm a singer/songwriter and playwright. I wouldn't call myself a poet. I'm experimenting with lyrical writings intended for spoken performance. My new spoken work work in progress, “Viva la Vida” -a lesson from Frida was inspired by Frida Kahlo's last painting before her death called, "Viva la Vida." It's ironic and iconic Frida. Paradoxical as she celebrates life from her death bed, amidst suffering unbearable pain.

It's ironic that in the country of my birth, my home, one must revert to symbols and code words to avoid being censored for speaking truth about atrocities of war, about being against bombing civilians.

The watermelon, represents the Palestinian flag, solidarity with Palestinian people. It feels weird to use an almost "emoji-like" symbol for something so serious but, that is where we are. It is invigorating to find— again— the inexplicable magic of the language of art when I discovered that Frida's last painting, "Viva la Vida" is a painting of watermelons to celebrate life and resilience even amidst death and suffering. Here in Madrid- and all over Spain -- I've witnessed demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinian people with students, elderly, Jewish, African, immigrant, people standing together.

Even last summer I witnessed a crowd of supporters for Argentina’s far right president Javier Gerardo Milei-a very different ideaology — yet the protestors of Milei’s policies and mere presence in Spain were not grpeeted with violence. Protesters expressed themselves, waving their flags and chanting their mottos of opposition. Freedom of speech.

I often like to describe myself as having "No medium setting." It’s pretty accurate in general. There can’t be a medium setting regarding Gaza. Global media outlets have blocked truth about the constant killings of children and families of civilians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza. The death toll has reached more that 50,000 with most of those being women and children. Artists, academics, bakers, writers, journalists, doctors, nurses, humanitarian aid volunteers, and their hospitals, bakeries, schools, universities and homes bombed to rubble. More than double the amount of the dead are the injured left starving, homeless, orphaned, lifeless, limbless. Humans are dehumanized.

We are muted from telling their individual stories I think in order to prevent empathy, care, support and dignity from empowering anyone. Don’t take my word for it. Dig on your own to find truth. It will jump off of the page, painting, poem, song, interview, and report when you see it. You won’t be able to turn away as easily. That is what those drunk on corruption and power don’t want. I read the stories of the few “allowed” to squeeze through the censorship. One of those is the poet, mosab_abutoha whose book Forest of Noise is honest, heartwrenching, painful and important.

Gazans aren’t the only people in the world suffering and experiencing blows of crimes against humanity, but if I can’t speak out against the atrocities for them, then my decades-long work on behalf of refugees and immigrants, non-traditional college students in my classrooms, women, people experiencing poverty, and other marginalized people experiencing discrimination is meaningless. It shouldn’t be controversial to speak out against bombing civilians. It shouldn’t have taken me this long. I don't think that what I say is that important. It is important though to speak my truth- clearly- and without the "medium setting.” It is way past time to speak up for Palestine.

Photo by Aurelio Cruz Lorente - Madrid, Spain

A Minor: Billie to Bonnie, Josephine to Janis, from Elvis to Stevie and Patti to Pussy Riot…

Art is Provocative -3/4/25

I freaking love A minor. In three decades of songwriting probably 75-80 original songs for my albums and plays, the key is a familiar collaborator. It’s a habit. It’s unresolved but resolved to be unresolved. It’s paradoxical, like contented sadness. I have written so many songs in A minor that my friends used to joke that if I died, they’d put, “She sure loved A minor” on my gravestone.

But during Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Superbowl Half-Time show, (the only part of the Superbowl I ever watch) I’m not gonna lie- I didn’t know what the A minor reference was. Clearly a lot of people DID know. I was pretty sure that the reference wasn’t about the chord though.

I wanted to peel the layers apart. I knew vaguely about the public Lamar -Drake feud, but I knew that the Pulitzer Prize winning artist was not simply going to use his platform solely to address HIS moment but THIS moment. I was right. Enthralled by the choreographed all Black American flag, the spectacle and juxtaposition of Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Sam against rarely muted current occupant of the White House in the audience. Metaphors, symbolism, anecdotes and stories illuminate a broader idea or message sometimes inspiring us to look stuff up. Sometimes to look at ourselves. That’s awesome. So yeah, I had to look the “a minor” reference up, but that’s what art is supposed to do: to intrigue you, thrill, and inspire you to want to know more. To learn stuff.

Art is supposed to be provocative.

My previous experience with the body of Lamar’s music is limited to the song, Be Humble on my curated “Just Run Dammit” playlist. I’m taking a deeper listen now.

Like much of the music I’ve listened to in my life, the performance inspired curiosity and left me wanting to find out more. I don’t have to be a die-hard fan, privy to every detail of the body of work of an artist to respect it. It’s the opposite. Sometimes the activism of an artist inspires me to learn more and I inadvertently end up a fan.

Billie Holiday’s, “Strange Fruit” in 1939 vividly uncovers horrific lynchings of Black Americans. It illuminates those stories in a way that a history book cannot. Because of that song I read more, studied more, learned more.

Josephine Baker worked as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II fighting against fascism and racism, smuggling messages in invisible ink in German occupied France. She refused to perform for troops until the audience was desegregated. Coincidentally, the activism doesn’t always happen at the height of the artist’s popularity or catapult the artist to superstardom. Often it comes with a cost.

It also doesn’t imply that the artist activist has all their shit together. The message can be powerful, courageous, and honest while the artist herself can have many personal struggles. When Janis Joplin learned that her shero, Bessie Smith, known as “The Empress of the Blues” was buried in an unmarked grave she worked with a former employee and NAACP chair for several years to raise the money to create a proper headstone for her. Just two months after this achievement, Janis died at 27 of a heroin overdose.

Bonnie Raitt championed underappreciated blues women too. I discovered Sippie Wallace thanks to her duet on the Wallace tune “Women Be Wise.” I paid attention to her environmental work as a founding member of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) due to being a die-hard fan. Elvis Presley too insisted on recording the song In the Ghetto, some radio stations refused to play it dubbing it “too political” or “too depressing.” Eventually it shed light on generational poverty, systematic racism and inequality The more than five-decade old song is tragically as relevant today.

Stevie Nicks, one of my favorite songwriter/performers and prolific A minor appreciator, works with the Wounded Warrior project, inspiring fans to take a closer look at the important work of the project.

Aside from the album, Easter that I got in 7th grade, I didn’t follow Patti Smith’s music. It was her memoir Just Kids that got me interested in her and her decades long history of activism in environmental issues. Moscow’s feminist punk group Pussy Riot has no use for hyperbole. They are accurately named and effective musician/performance artists who have endured long incarcerations, attacks, death threats. It’s impossible not to be curious to learn more about subject of their work and their lived experience.

I cover most of the artists mentioned above. They have inspired my songwriting and performances leveraging them to illuminate stories and human rights issues I care about including racism, refugees, and immigration.

Hopefully, I too can provoke curiosity and reflection through my artistic work as well as a healthy appreciation for my all-time favorite chord, A minor.