Wait a 2nd

Eike Waltz, poet Sheila Halligan-Waltz, painter 1. Eike Waltz I consider my poetry "post-modern DADA". "Subversive and irreverent, DADA, more than any other movement, had shaken society's notions of art and cultural production. Fiercely anti-authoritarian and anti-hierarchical, DADA questioned the myth of originality, suggesting instead that everybody should be an artist. Anything could be art". Despite traditional critics arguing that political poetry can-not exist. Poetry and politics connect through expression and feeling. It is a way of critical thinking in which you don't simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are exposed to but rather have an attitude involving questioning such arguments and conclusions. Political poetry has existed from the earliest times, including the Roman, Horace ( 65 BC – 8 BC). American political poetry arguably dates back to the turn of the 20th century. 2. Sheila Halligan-Waltz Indeed, this work by Sheila Halligan-Waltz screams SEX. It doesn't mean it. The works are erotically posed but not pornographic. They are stories circling a central idea. The artwork, and the subject is living passionately. Maureen Davidson: "What a pair they are, Sheila & Eike; she from a small Illinois town, then Chicago, where she began her art studies at the Art Institute before moving to Santa Cruz and meeting Eike, who had been a ballet dancer in Berlin, then an MFA graduate of the Royal College of Art in London with a concurrent degree in industrial design (MdesRCA) and a successful engineering and business career. Over the years they each and together continued and deepened their art practice, expressing their shared views through art, aiming to effect change thereby". Alan Bamberger: "Art is about expressing yourself creatively and sharing that expression with others. To make a series of paintings that shirtsleeve your feelings, to rent a gallery space in downtown San Francisco to show those paintings, to share your pain with people you've never met, all with no intention of selling a single penny, is not only an act of bravery, but it's what art is all about at its very central innermost core. No matter what your position on the current administration, this was worth seeing. And if you're an artist, talk to the Halligan-Waltz's. They'll remind you why you do what you do".

Eike Waltz, poet Sheila Halligan-Waltz, painter 1. This is why I wrote "Wait a 2nd" Sheila and I turned into concerned citizens but reject the association with "activism". By speaking up, speaking out with our art we faced an American specialty: "I don't care" …facing silencing…facing ignorance. Yes, we Americans are taught our entire lives, that we are the freest Nation on earth and the rest of the world only envies us…Bullshit! According to the World Governance Indicator (2017) 40 nations enjoy a higher level of democratic freedom. And contrary to having the most trustworthy news in the world…we were ranked #46. It is your duty to check this out. And then, we have that paranoid need to bear arms by sustaining an out-of-control gun culture or more accurately, an out-of-date, seriously perverted "2nd Amendment". Why can't we make the 2nd Amendment human again? Please note, only three nations at this time have the right to bear arms as a provision in their constitution. Of those three, only the USA does not include restrictive conditions, and thus providing for that daily deadly 2nd Amendment inhuman tally, that free-for-all, that makes every citizen a target. I hear: "We Americans need to protect us from our government." If we had a democratically elected 21st century functioning government and claim to be a free and educated nation, we will not have to fear for our rights. It is ignorance and fear that castrates your rights and makes you less free. Imagine, our elected government would turn into a hated dictatorship. Remember, there was a MAGA equivalent in Germany. As a result, Germany had lost its moral compass and left its people forever in a deep shame of collective guilt. "How was it possible? Will it happen again? These are questions, still haunting me." And today I have to ask: doesn't this sound all too FAMILIAR? Like in the past, there will be the day for repentance. The 61 million will say one day: "I had to vote for Trump. I was just an innocent bystander". Don't forget, this perverted innocence makes you guilty just the same. If you like it or not. And then, if you, white man, look long enough at a black, well-engineered AR-15, you too may be convinced that the AR-15 is designed to protect the evangelical white-man's belief that the American ruling class can only be white. The cynics would say: "Let's stand our ground". Yes, many of us are angry and disillusioned with government. Globalism opened a new door for the wealthy and shut doors for the every-one else. But I am even more disappointed with my fellow citizens who repeatedly seem to vote against their own existential interest and are ever so impressed by reality show personalities, power, and money. This is what Americans say about them-selves (words after Mark Manson): The greatest flaw of American culture seems to be its blind self-absorption. In the past it hurt only other countries. But now our blind ambition for progress is starting to hurt ourselves. We became obsessed with fear and now fear everything. How can we call America a democracy when we are unable to differentiate between a modern social democracy and democratic socialism and bluntly call it all communism. Yet, referring to "saving our democracy" when we practice an oligarchy! There are many things I love about America, and this is why America became my adopted home. I certainly do not hate money or for that matter, America. But my turbulent European upbringing taught me to be critical and to be on the watch. I could tell you many beautiful stories about America. Sometimes its naiveté or freshness that brings tears to my eyes, which inspires me to write poems of endearment, which in turn lets me rest in all its lush lands and seascapes and, above all…lets me be…who I am. European is my house and being American, are my daily chores. Freedom to me is not the national popular indoctrination of superiority but to be open-minded and not to be the tyrant of one's own mind. 2. I consider my poetry "post-modern DADA". "Subversive and irreverent, DADA, more than any other movement, had shaken society's notions of art and cultural production. Fiercely anti-authoritarian and anti-hierarchical, DADA questioned the myth of originality, suggesting instead that everybody should be an artist. Anything could be art". 3. Sheila Halligan-Waltz Indeed, this work by Sheila Halligan-Waltz screams SEX. It doesn't mean it. The works are erotically posed but not pornographic. They are stories circling a central idea. The artwork, and the subject is living passionately.

Who is Eike "Ike" Waltz Born Frankfurt a. M. Germany Married to Sheila Halligan-Waltz For artistic accomplishments see www.f-artstatements.com Business Middle School, Germany. Maschienenbau apprenticeship, Germany. Classical Ballet Dancer (Augsburg, Munich, Wuppertal, Hamburg, Paris, Berlin). First publication of poems "Gänseblümchen" (Dandelions), 1963 Munich. Akademie für Grafik, Druck und Werbung, Berlin. London College of Printing, UK. Royal College of Art (MdesRCA) – master's in engineering design and sculpture, UK. Sculpture exhibitions in London, UK. Chief Engineer (ITT Components), UK. British Standards Institute (BSI) Chief Delegate to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC SC48D), UK. Technical Director and International Technical Advisor. Setting up manufacturing companies in the UK, USA, and Japan. 1984 permanent move to the USA. 1997 US citizen. Inventing electromechanical/cooling solutions for the international electronic industry. Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE 1101.x Chair), USA. American National Standard Institution- United States National Committee (ANSI-USNC) Chief Delegate to IEC SC48D (20+ years), USA. IEC 1906 Award. VME International Trade Association (VITA) Hall of Famer, USA. PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG) Distinguished Service Award, USA. Since 2004 writing poetry and participating in many public readings and slam competitions. 2017 reader at the National Endowment of the Arts "NEA Big read poetry slam" at the Salinas Steinbeck Center. Since 2004 participation in many sculpture exhibitions (SF, LA, NY, Sacramento, Chicago, Barcelona, etc). 2021 privately printing a book of 650 pages of poetry called "I hate history as it repeats itself".