Inspirations

“Leonardo da Vinci strongly suggested artists to be inspired, inspired by anything.
And so indeed I am, by books, music, geography, films, political climates and moods, by change…
I am likewise inspired by people of all walks of life, and below I share a partial list.”

—Ritchard Rodriguez

People:

  • Gene Colan, comic book artist
  • Brion Gysin, Asemic writer/artist
  • Brian Wilson, modular music composer
  • Marlon Brando, actor and activist
  • Jose Saramago, author
  • Joan Mitchell, painter
  • Lee Krasner, painter
  • Manfredo de Souzanetto, contemporary artist
  • Willem de Kooning, painter
  • Franz Kline, painter
  • John Cale, singer/songwriter
  • Chico Buarque, singer/songwriter
  • Jacques Brel, singer/songwriter
  • David Thomas, singer/songwriter
  • Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht, theater revolutionists
  • Charles Mingus, music composer/musician
  • Robert Ashley, new music composer
  • Kip Hanrahan, music pioneer, composer/songwriter
  • Bela Bartok, music composer
  • Sergei Prokofiev, music composer
  • Vaslav Nijinsky, dancer and choreographer
  • Gilbert L. Stone, artistic mentor
  • Vincent van Gogh, painter
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, painter
  • Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama
  • Julian Assange, publisher and activist, founder of WikiLeaks
  • Noam Chomsky, cognitive scientist and political commentator
  • Lady Borton, Quaker author and journalist
  • Alan W. Watts, philosopher, writer and speaker