From a beige perspective....

26" of persistence

 Here's a link to a story that will encourage you. 

Read: A story of Persistence

The poster below is a several layer visual, literal & symbolic definition of the theme. The main symbol origins from ancient west African Akan culture. "Wawa aba" (seed of the wawa tree) , a  seed that is extremely resistant and difficult to crack. 

The seed symbolizes strength and is meant to inspire the individual to persevere through hardship.

Captivating cave art

"Panel of Horses" - Chauvet Cave, France

Just the other day I received a link to a blog / website which gives insight to  archeological treasures in Europe, Russia and Australia.

It has lots of great photos and info about the findings.  You can enjoy the art and learn new and surprising facts about pre-historic times.

My link send you straight to the Chauvet cave in France where you can take a look at  incredible wallpaintings created more than 30 000 years ago. The fascinating element with these paintings is that you can feel the artists effort in trying to understand the animals physics. It is truly a study in ani-motions! From my little journey I found these other amazing photos: 

Disc of Nebra - Bronze age

To the right you see a 3 600 year old sky disc from the Bronze age; believed to have been used as an advanced astronomical clock. The design could just as well been from a present fancy product design.

Lapti - Russian bast sandals

And what about some Stone age shoe trends? These bast sandals belongs to findings in Russia and are believed to have been available
5 500 years ago.

To take the journey and be an explorer yourself, visit:

Chauvet cave w/navigation to other archeological sites

Spellbinding facts about Trolls (Internet & Real world)

The homeland of Trolls

Lately I've stumbled across several articles addressing internet trolls and how they can make life miserable for anyone having internet sites depending on interactions with readers and customers. For many, success lies in the numbers and responses you accumulate on your site, but in the long run bulk responses and internet trolls can have a strong negative impact and hurt your credibility as a dependable source of information.

NPR (Public Radio) is one site that has initiated a troll hunt. To read more check this article: Public radio decides it's time to chase trolls away.

TechCrunch a popular blog about all things tech related has minimized the problem by using a Facebook commenting plug-in:  Facebook comments have silenced the trolls - but is it too quiet?

But here's the creative twist of today: I am introducing you to the old world of trolls. To get you in the right ambiance we need some music! You've probably heard this piece numerous times from commercials and  movie or perhaps you've hear it from recordings made by "The Who", "Electric Light Orchestra", "Erasure" or "Metallica". Originally composed by Edvard Grieg and premiered back in 1876. "In the hall of the mountain king":

What you might not know is that this piece is a description of a human being facing the horror of the Trolls in a mountain. And you are hereby warned about explicit lyrics:

Slay him! The Christian's son has bewitched
The Mountain King's fairest daughter!
Slay him!
Slay him!

May I hack him on the fingers?
May I tug him by the hair?
Hu, hey, let me bite him in the haunches!
Shall he be boiled into broth and bree to me

Shall he roast on a spit or be browned in a stewpan?

Ice to your blood, friends!

Mårten Eskil Winge 1872
"Thor's battle with the Ettins"

Trolls first appear in Norse Mythology about 1000 years ago. They have numerous forms and shapes and are grouped into categories. Without explaining every category they can in general be categorized as fierce (but not very smart), ugly beings usually with a bad agenda.

Found in isolated areas and rough nature like mountains, caves and thick woodlands and some lives in waters and in the ocean too. They can be big or small. Some are human looking and some are true monster-like with several heads. Enemies of  Gods, all things good and humans in particular. They operate between sundown and sunset because exposed to sunlight they turn to stone.

The popularity of the new movie "Thor" is another entry into the subject since he is known for having fierce battles with giant trolls ("Jotuns") It's really exiting to see Norse mythology being used as creative inspiration for new movies in 2011. The Norse mythology is a kaleidoscope of Gods, colorful figures, trolls, drama and myths. If you are into Greek mythology I highly recommend you  to explore the world of Asgard! : "The Norse Gods"

After the Viking era and the Christianity of Scandinavia the myths and legends from Norse mythology continued to live on in Scandinavian folklore evolving into a rich fairytale tradition and as an inspiration source for traditional art forms like poems, paintings and music. Even in modern times it is a cultural phenomena still having influence on it's surroundings. Do you know there are mountains  and roads named after Trolls, like "Trollstigen" ? (The Troll ladder).You  have oil fields in the Northern Atlantic discovered in 1979 named "Troll". So is a science station and a landing base in Antarctica and even a record label too. Trolls has become modern time tourist attractions and popular souvenirs.

Teodor Kittelsen 1906

As a child I grew up with the colorful world of fairy-tales, myths and trolls making each walk in the woods an exiting and imaginary place and they certainly has contributed to creativity. But there is another side to fairy tales that might not be so well known. From old times they have played a significant role as advisories and even as "parental guides". Through story telling back to times when people could not read and write they functioned as entertaining guides to what was wrong and right, good and bad and how to be smart and overcome the "trolls" in life and sometimes just being a simple guide to common sense. To give you an example, here's a short story translated to English:

"Boots Who Ate a Match With the Troll" 

Today the myths about Trolls continue to inspire modern creators and here's a trailer to a dark comedy movie "The Troll Hunter" first released in 2010 with recent viewings in 2011 at the Sundance FilmFestival, San Fransisco International Film Festival and Boston Independent Film Festival:

I might be far away from the origin of Trolls and sometimes I think I know how Thor must have felt falling down in the Nevada desert. The tropical landscape of Florida is far from rugged mountains, but still there are reminders. I've heard stories about the "Chupacabra" and the "Pechuen" from South American Mepuche mythology so in some sense I know there are other similar myths. Nevertheless we are just entering into a summer season when Thor makes his sound remarkable vivid around areas like Miami (he must have a hang for the tropics like I do :-) Reminding me of old landscapes, heritage and most importantly about being strong and fight the wicked ways of trolls. You don't believe me ? Trolls love to intervene and poke with humans. Beware! 

Crayola Artwork

It's amazing what you can do with Crayola colors. Check out how Nashville artist Herb Williams took his childhood fascination one step further:

The incredible Crayola sculptures even the White House could'nt ignore

Salvador Dali is in the building !

The new Salvador Dali museum in St.Petersburg, Florida

A great reason to visit St. Petersburg Florida. Not only does the city house the biggest collection of the works of Salvador Dali, but the architecture of the new museum itself is astonishing. Developed as a tribute to the artist and with environmental concerns in mind, like visual landscape and hurricane protection. The new Salvador Dali museum opened in January 2011. Check these links for more photo's and information:

 Salvador Dali Museum - Now Open 

Biography - Salvador Dali


One of the artists famous paintings:

The Persistence of memory 1931 - Salvador Dali

When art hits the hard reality of ....reality shows.

Van Gogh self-portrait - 1887

Here's an interesting article from Jonathan Jones, The Guardian that draws a bridge between art , modern pop culture and our perception. Philosophically speaking it should give some food for thought in our world of expecting everything from art to revolutions to be a success story as long as there's honesty and talent behind it.  But that is not always what happens. The truth is that Jonathan Jones is right. Van Gogh would not have won the X Factor, being like he was; a sometimes clumsy, silent, moody and difficult artist. He would probably have ended up in a big argument with the whole production crew of X-factor.

Modern pop culture is a world of diversity and Susan Boyle is an example of the opposite. She would never had been  discovered if it wasn't for the reality talent shows. All odds were against her, until she opened her mouth and started to sing and it was the moment of surprise that captured the audience. But thoughts go out to other artists where talent is obvious, but due to personality, looks or not being able to meet the demands of the star factory there is no audition or chances. Something to think about in regards to Van Gogh and the legacy he left behind as one of the world's most celebrated painter.

Here's the link to the article: Van Gogh would never have won The X Factor

Priceless art

"The Scream" - 1893, Edvard Munch

This is "the scream" Hitler hated. Painted by Edvard Munch banned along with other artists by the Hitler regime as creators of degenerate art. (Of course any reminder of human pain must have been an ordeal for a dictator causing so much it). An almost laughable anecdote is that Hitler and his regime were art fanatics and had a big thing for earlier painters originating from the same country as Munch. Painters representative for the art style  national romanticism  (1840 - 1960) "Ref footnote"

"The Scream" has survived several burglary attempts and belongs in the same category as "Mona Lisa" and "Starry Night" as priceless paintings. It's absurd trying to figure out a value but the insurance of 200 mill dollars should give an idea.. Hypothetically,  if this painting were to be sold estimates are around 300 - 400 mill dollar.

The main reason for this blogpost is to open up new perspectives about Edvard Munch as an artist. It has for a long time been known that he wrote texts and passages in letters. But through research and release of new texts it is clear that he was a writer composing literary texts as a vital part of his life as an artist. The Munch Museum have a new exhibition this year from January 11th through April 25th called "Text & Image" Here is an introduction (in English) to the exhibition giving insight to Munch's  literary works : 

To visit the museums web page (in English): "Munch Museet"

Footnote: National romanticism is an art style celebrating cultural and national phenomenons and folklore, strongly influenced by philosophy, medieval and ancient Greek values, encouraging the use of what we in these days would call "special effects" (fantasy). So in regards to the last, Hitler enjoyed this art style based on his own conditions and adopted it as representative art for his regime. Ironically fantasy and dreams belongs to a free mind which clearly is on a frontal collision course with any suppressive totalitarian regime controlling peoples right to expressions. A couple of examples representative for the style:

"Bridal party in Hardanger" - 1848 Tiedemand & Gude

"American Progress" - ca.1872 John Gast

Digital Museums

"The Merchant Georg Gisze" - 1532,  Hans Holbein the younger

Hooray - more art - Thanks, Google! This link give you the chance to visit several famous museums around the world. And the best part, technology has made it possible to go real close to study the artworks.

Give it a try!: Art Project powered by Google

To read more about the project, check this article from New York Times: The Work of Art in the Age of Google

Egyptian Blue

This could certainly have been a title of a sad blues song these days. As mentioned in the blogpost Have a colorful new year! I am trying to squeeze in some time  dedicated to a  project about colors. Ironically, before and during the early days of the riots in Egypt research lead me to Egyptian blue.

Some may have been be astonished, even shocked  to see how rocks, slings and primitive tools have been used in this war of freedom. I think it is important to remember that we are talking about a civilization that in prior times have been one of the most advanced in its time. What is truly fascinating is to understand how modern the ancient Egyptians were in their thinking and in their perception of the world. If you're not so into the history of colors here are some simple facts you need to know:  In the beginning all colors were developed, processed and extracted from plants and minerals all over the world and colors were an  important source for wealth and power - a big business commodity that in our days would have been traded on Wall Street! These were times were colors could have enormous power. As an example, the color purple was so sacred in some regions of the world that in our times it would have led to tickets and jail sentences if you wore too much of it not being a priest or a "holy" man.

Egyptians loved their blues and used many variations in a vast production of arts & crafts. Egyptian blue is made of silica, lime, copper and alkali and considered to be the first synthetic pigment invented and developed by the Egyptians thousands of years ago. An alternative to the much more expensive  mineral (stone) Lapis Lazuli. What really is astonishing, this accomplishment were a result of Egypt as a settled agricultural society far ahead of most countries. A civilization looking into the future encouraging growth of a non-labor workforce (like clerics) and advancement in science and the arts. It's time to look into the future again. Continued growth and expansion have better chances through a democracy giving the people, especially the young hope and strength and to avoid isolation in a globalized world.

Love of an elevator

 Here's an article about art literally finding new spaces to fill in New York city and I think it is a great idea! As it sometimes happens with this blogger I got this allegory to this music video from 1989:




To read the article: In New York, an Elevator is an Art Gallery

Everything moves in circles..

A humble reference to British artist Bridget Riley. Compared to the artwork on my "wall" could you say we use the same object to explore opposites like chaos versus order ? Born in 1931 she was part of a progressive op art movement in the 1960's, later becoming a worldwide famous artist with both artistic and commercial influence. She is now 80 years old and it's remarkable to think about how "avantgarde" her artwork was and still is; highly relevant in our digital age. Here's a video from "The Guardian" presenting her newest exhibition: 

To read an article about the artist: Bridget Riley at the National Gallery - review

Signs of "Pixelism"

David Hockney

In my opinion digital art still has a long way to go in regards to be generally accepted, but the artform has actually been around since the 1970's. The inspiration for this blogpost was an article I stumbled upon recently about David Hockney who makes digital art. 

You may even oppose to use the word "digital" as a category for art, and some would even say how can you call it art when there's no traditional canvas or paper? It's like it doesnt exist! Well it does; but on a hardrive (and it can be created for the purpose of being printed too). 

But isn't it always like that. It's pretty human that it takes time to accept and get used to new trends and directions. Many thought Monet was "crazy", splitting up beautiful lanscapes into little dots, not to mention Picasso's impressions of a human face. I wonder what the painter's in medieval Italy would say about future artists; the fresco painters who had to produce their own colors and  paints using walls and ceilings as canvases. What would their opinion be about modern painters who could buy ready paint and canvases in a store? 

To read about David Hockney's digital artworks:

In Paris, A Display From Hockney's Pixelated Period 

Read about digital art in Wikipedia: Digital art

Art jewel

A 17th-century paintings of the Lama Lhakhang

A wonderful art discovery in Bhutan, a tiny ancient country located in the Himalayan mountains between India and China. Here's an article about the art recently discovered:

Bhutan's endangered temple art treasures

 

The transition artist

Yesterday was Cezanne's "birthday". Here's a chance to learn something new about the artist which ended up having an impact on art history. He may not be so famous as Monet and certainly not like Picasso. But what you might not know: he was  a  bridge builder creating the path from impressionism to cubism. Paving the way for... yes Picasso which were an early admirer of Cezanne's work. 

To read about Google's digital celebration of Cezanne and his life:

Paul Cézanne at 172: still life and landscapes run deep

Dancing in the street

A pop-up performance in Oakland, Calif.,

A new phenomena you will definitely see more of in 2011. Interestingly it can be also linked to a more commercial trend that you could read about in Trendspotting 2011 posted Dec.28th, where "planned spontaneity" is listed as one of the trends for the new year. It makes me think of this old music video, but Bowie and Jagger is not alone anymore!:

To read article about spontaneous gatherings: Art Attack! Random acts of culture

Article about taking the art to the street: Rupert Christiansen's culture diary: the perils of pop-up art

Amazing Art

The birth of Venus - Botticelli

An incredible opportunity to take a look at some old masterpieces; Leonardo, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Bronzino to mention some. There has recently been added a digital version of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua Italy (1303 - 1305). The truly amazing part is your opportunity to study details of the artworks; all thanks to digital technology and Haltadefinizione. Enjoy!:

http://www.haltadefinizione.com