2012 Calendar
Betelgeuse and Mintaka Calendar
12 December 2011
From my Series Blueberryland
Blueberryland – The adventure in the Blueberry Hole
Blueberryland is full of unpredictable and unexpected phenomena.
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| The Adventure in the Blueberry Hole - acrylics on canvas 40 cm x 40 cm by Kasia B.Turajczyk |
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| A detail from The Adventure in the Blueberry Hole |
20 November 2011
A great trio from the past - surreal female artists: Remedios Varo, Kati Horn and Leonora Carrington.
Before June 15, 2011 I had never heard about Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington or Kati Horna. It just so happened that I had been reading about Leonora Carrington in Time magazine (June 13, 2011) in the Milestones section. She had passed away at the age of 94. Not that I knew Leonora Carrington very well. But because she was a partner to Max Ernst and I am a big fan of his art it made me curious about hers. I decided to begin a search for this female surrealist painter, sculptor and writer; very much unknown to me. First I went through all my books about surrealism, about modern art history. I found nothing. I searched in the books that I posses about Max Ernst, nothing either. The next step was getting online of course. I wanted to discover more about her and her art work. Most of the posts I could find online mentioned her death. Independent, Guardian, Telegraph all the papers were telling the story about Britain's lost and unknown great surrealist painter. “English surrealist painter and sculptor regarded as a national treasure in Mexico” (from The Guardian). Within her own family, Leonora Carrington was rarely mentioned, the rebel who had run off to be an artist’s model. But when Joanna Moorhead tracked down her long-lost cousin in Mexico, her eyes were opened to the extraordinary story of the last surviving member of the great Surrealists (from the Daily Telegraph). And so on and so on.
I went to Amazon and did a search for surreal female artists. I ordered three books which were available about female surreal artists. One is an album including paintings of most surreal female artists. The other two are wonderfully written and illustrated books. One is a biography about Remedios Varo (maybe more about her artistic achievement) written by Janet A. Kaplan. The last one is about the friendship and artistic creation of three surreal artists from European backgrounds who all lived and worked in Mexico. I discovered that Leonora Carrington had two very good friends in Remedios Varo and Kati Horna. Remedios Varo was a surreal artist and writer like Leonora Carrington herself. Kati Horna was an exceptionally brilliant photographer. Kati Horna as well as Remedios Varo were/are incredibly original and talented artists. They are as great as Max Ernst, Man Ray, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Meret Oppenheim or Andre Masson, Paul Klee or Rene Magritte (who by the way wasn’t really a good painter – he was a great illustrator). They are absolutely better than Frida Kahlo (from my point of view).
From the great trio: Carrington, Horna and Varo; works of Remedios Varo and Kati Horna speek/ convince me most.
The book about Remedios Varo included almost all her work. I fell in love immediately with her paintings. They are amazingly mysterious, scientifically imaginary, mathematically sophisticated and aesthetically absolutely beautiful.
You can probably imagine my feeling of embarrassment, surprise and disbelief that not even in one of the thousands books about art that I own could I find even one mention of her. After seeing her incredibly original art I felt kind of stupid and ashamed that I didn’t know Remedios Varo before. Expect lots of posts about her in the near future from me……..maybe even tomorrow!
I went to Amazon and did a search for surreal female artists. I ordered three books which were available about female surreal artists. One is an album including paintings of most surreal female artists. The other two are wonderfully written and illustrated books. One is a biography about Remedios Varo (maybe more about her artistic achievement) written by Janet A. Kaplan. The last one is about the friendship and artistic creation of three surreal artists from European backgrounds who all lived and worked in Mexico. I discovered that Leonora Carrington had two very good friends in Remedios Varo and Kati Horna. Remedios Varo was a surreal artist and writer like Leonora Carrington herself. Kati Horna was an exceptionally brilliant photographer. Kati Horna as well as Remedios Varo were/are incredibly original and talented artists. They are as great as Max Ernst, Man Ray, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Meret Oppenheim or Andre Masson, Paul Klee or Rene Magritte (who by the way wasn’t really a good painter – he was a great illustrator). They are absolutely better than Frida Kahlo (from my point of view).
From the great trio: Carrington, Horna and Varo; works of Remedios Varo and Kati Horna speek/ convince me most.
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| Kati Horna, Stairway to the Cathedral, photo-montage; Spain 1937 |
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| Remedios Varo, Harmony, 1956, oil on masonite. |
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| Remedios Varo, Phenomenon of Weightlessnes, 1963; oil on canvas |
The book about Remedios Varo included almost all her work. I fell in love immediately with her paintings. They are amazingly mysterious, scientifically imaginary, mathematically sophisticated and aesthetically absolutely beautiful.
You can probably imagine my feeling of embarrassment, surprise and disbelief that not even in one of the thousands books about art that I own could I find even one mention of her. After seeing her incredibly original art I felt kind of stupid and ashamed that I didn’t know Remedios Varo before. Expect lots of posts about her in the near future from me……..maybe even tomorrow!
26 September 2011
From my new surreal/fantastic series - The Blueberry Lovers
This is the first painting from the surreal/fantastic series 'The Blueberry Lovers'. We have a boy called Blueberryer and a girl called Blueberryess. They are very much in love. But Blueberry Land is full of sophisticated robots, dangerous insects, unforeseen and unpredictable phenomena. Blueberry Land is also a land of mad scientists with their insane but at the same time brilliant inventions. The Quantum Blueberry Land.
This is the beginning of their story:
There is a golden night in Blueberry Land. The Blueberryer is cycling on his golden bike. He is in a hurry; he is worried about his Blueberryess. She is hidden in a golden cage. She was hidden there by a vicious Spider-witch. The witch wants to suck the delicious blueberry sweet-scented juicy life from the Blueberryess. Can the Blueberry Biker arrive in time to rescue his lover? Can they live together happily ever after in Blueberry Land?
This is the beginning of their story:
There is a golden night in Blueberry Land. The Blueberryer is cycling on his golden bike. He is in a hurry; he is worried about his Blueberryess. She is hidden in a golden cage. She was hidden there by a vicious Spider-witch. The witch wants to suck the delicious blueberry sweet-scented juicy life from the Blueberryess. Can the Blueberry Biker arrive in time to rescue his lover? Can they live together happily ever after in Blueberry Land?
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"Blueberry Biker on his way to his lover hidden in a golden cage"Own technique on canvas, 40 cm x 40 cm; 2011 (sold) |
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| Detail - Blueberry Biker |
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| Detail - the spider's golden cage |
10 June 2011
Visionary art in Cornwall - Tom Paddle
I have a ritual when it comes to my own birthday; I like to be on the road. Generally, I think that a birthday, for various reasons, practical as philosophical, is an event which is best not to talk about, which should be quickly erased from ones memory. This year we had planned to go to Florence, Tuscany, but we ended up in Cornwall, South West England, instead. It was absolutely beautiful, very windy, wild, historical and highly artistic. We stayed in the Artist Residence Hotel in Penzance which was run by artists. The staff was extremely friendly. - I sincerely recommend it.
We decided to devote the last day to the arts. Within the framework of Cornwall Open Studios, we visited two group exhibition in West Cornwall, and one individual studio in Mid Cornwall. The last studio that we visited was an unusual one. From a list of two hundred and five artists and craftspeople, I wanted to see this the most. Why? Because it was the studio of a visionary artist. This was the only visionary painter I could find in the whole catalogue. And so it happened that we went to Sunnyside Cottage in Trescoll, Lockengate, close to the Eden Project. There we met Tom Paddle.
Tom Paddle is a remarkable person, not unusual for someone from the peace-happiness-flower-power-generation. He told us that he has always been immersed in the study and practices of paganism and the occult – gods and goddesses, mythology and folklore. He is surrounded by a magical, beautiful nature.
Back to his art; he is a very good craftsman, an excellent one. Personally, I am not a big fan of visionary art. I find that lots of art works that belong to or are classified as visionary art are very kitschy and “cheap”. In contrast to the surrealists, they tend to be rather serious and lacking in humour. There is no place for playful idiocy. However, I have to admit that I really like most of Tom’s paintings. The majority of his paintings are created in acrylics or water color crayons or a mixture. He paints lots of visionary landscapes, scenes and gods/goddesses, and other creatures from diverse mythologies, the early history of our planet and folklore. His technical skills are excellent. For myself, I love his portraits, faces of the goddesses, spirits of nature, shamans and other creatures. They are really magical. We bought a print of one of his visionary portraits; Woodspirit. Here is the image of this work.
I think he is a good portraitist. But decide for yourself, here are two other images of Tom's paintings, the one I liked.
Here is the link to his website with diverse work: http://www.tompaddleart.co.uk
We decided to devote the last day to the arts. Within the framework of Cornwall Open Studios, we visited two group exhibition in West Cornwall, and one individual studio in Mid Cornwall. The last studio that we visited was an unusual one. From a list of two hundred and five artists and craftspeople, I wanted to see this the most. Why? Because it was the studio of a visionary artist. This was the only visionary painter I could find in the whole catalogue. And so it happened that we went to Sunnyside Cottage in Trescoll, Lockengate, close to the Eden Project. There we met Tom Paddle.
Tom Paddle is a remarkable person, not unusual for someone from the peace-happiness-flower-power-generation. He told us that he has always been immersed in the study and practices of paganism and the occult – gods and goddesses, mythology and folklore. He is surrounded by a magical, beautiful nature.
My art is my life. Everything I paint is a reflection of my surroundings in the beautiful Cornish countryside. My inspiration comes from looking for shapes and patterns in nature however mundane. Similarly, when I paint, I allow images to emerge from the random patterns on a semi-blank canvas and have always found the practice similar to "automatic writing" of psychicsHe is also a naturalist and herbalist. He spends much of his time in the woods. He is also a trout and sea trout fisherman. He is a very diverse person. He is also known as a musician playing Celtic folk and mediaeval music, and he has a collection of historical instruments. He also writes poetry and fiction and performs as a storyteller with a gang of bawdy puppets. Woo, he is a real Renaissance Man.
Back to his art; he is a very good craftsman, an excellent one. Personally, I am not a big fan of visionary art. I find that lots of art works that belong to or are classified as visionary art are very kitschy and “cheap”. In contrast to the surrealists, they tend to be rather serious and lacking in humour. There is no place for playful idiocy. However, I have to admit that I really like most of Tom’s paintings. The majority of his paintings are created in acrylics or water color crayons or a mixture. He paints lots of visionary landscapes, scenes and gods/goddesses, and other creatures from diverse mythologies, the early history of our planet and folklore. His technical skills are excellent. For myself, I love his portraits, faces of the goddesses, spirits of nature, shamans and other creatures. They are really magical. We bought a print of one of his visionary portraits; Woodspirit. Here is the image of this work.
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| Woodspirit by Tom Paddle |
I think he is a good portraitist. But decide for yourself, here are two other images of Tom's paintings, the one I liked.
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| Puck - Woodland God |
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| Pneuma - The Breath of Life |
Here is the link to his website with diverse work: http://www.tompaddleart.co.uk
29 May 2011
The enigmatic poet of Nostalgia and Melancholia:Giorgio De Chirico; Part II
Click here for part I of De Chirico the enigmatic poet.
In Paris from 1911 until the outbreak of the First World War Giorgio de Chirico developed his ‘metaphysical painting’. Those artworks are very enigmatic, self-consciously enigmatic. There is lots of inspiration and influence from mythology, philosophy, Freudian psychoanalysis and probably his own experience. De Chirico was born in Greece in 1888 from Italian parents. He was born in the city of Volos, an ancient mythological city, the city where the expedition and the adventure of Jason and the Argonauts search for the Golden Fleece began. De Chirico identified himself with the gallant heroes of old Greece, and especially with Odysseus; I assume for his symbolic meaning: imagination and allegory.
Most of De Chirico's paintings from 1911 until 1917 are very sad, I would say. There is almost a feeling of no familiarity, a feeling of something inexplicably unpleasant, and a feeling of mysterious melancholy. Without any doubt they are great in a strange way. There is lots of feeling of the ancient past, lots of meeting between words, objects, architecture, history, and the sound of silence, the weirdness of the perspective, persons, the imagination, and fantasy. It is a perfect, beautiful match between a poet and an artist.
There is one painting I absolutely adore. I didn’t see it in the flesh unfortunately. Maybe if I had, my perception of it would be different. It is ‘The Disquieting Muses’ from 1916.
In the background appears the Castello Estense or the Castle of Saint Michele of Ferrara. Ferrara was considered by De Chirico as a metaphysical city. In the centre of the painting are two tailors’ dummies, waiting for something unexpected, for someone to rescue them from the nostalgia, thinking about a glorious past, talking to their own unconscious. Who knows? Moreover the answer isn’t important at all, what is important is the melancholically beautiful poetry of De Chirico's imagination.
In Paris from 1911 until the outbreak of the First World War Giorgio de Chirico developed his ‘metaphysical painting’. Those artworks are very enigmatic, self-consciously enigmatic. There is lots of inspiration and influence from mythology, philosophy, Freudian psychoanalysis and probably his own experience. De Chirico was born in Greece in 1888 from Italian parents. He was born in the city of Volos, an ancient mythological city, the city where the expedition and the adventure of Jason and the Argonauts search for the Golden Fleece began. De Chirico identified himself with the gallant heroes of old Greece, and especially with Odysseus; I assume for his symbolic meaning: imagination and allegory.
Most of De Chirico's paintings from 1911 until 1917 are very sad, I would say. There is almost a feeling of no familiarity, a feeling of something inexplicably unpleasant, and a feeling of mysterious melancholy. Without any doubt they are great in a strange way. There is lots of feeling of the ancient past, lots of meeting between words, objects, architecture, history, and the sound of silence, the weirdness of the perspective, persons, the imagination, and fantasy. It is a perfect, beautiful match between a poet and an artist.
There is one painting I absolutely adore. I didn’t see it in the flesh unfortunately. Maybe if I had, my perception of it would be different. It is ‘The Disquieting Muses’ from 1916.
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| The Disquieting Muses - oil on canvas, 1916 |
28 May 2011
The enigmatic poet of Nostalgia and Melancholia - Giorgio De Chirico
Surrealism was very concerned with this essential quest “The wish for absolute freedom”. In particular the early fathers of surrealism wanted to set people free. They were as serious and dogmatic as the Catholic Church in its most rigid period (most of the time I would say). The natural clan leader was André Breton. He borrowed the word ‘sur-reality’ from Apollinaire. That was in 1917 after he had watched the ballet “Parade”. I read somewhere (probably in one of Robert Hughes books, he is the only art critic that I read, I like his style, although I don’t always share his feelings) that Andre Breton behaved like a demanding and touchy Pope. The group around Breton had dogmas, rituals, catechism, saints and excommunications. N.B., how can you propagate “the Idea of absolute freedom”and at the some time act like a tyrant? A very obvious contradiction. Maybe ‘Absolute freedom’ is only possible if you don’t have your own will and your own thoughts. You surround yourself in all aspects of your being, both physically and psychically with something, someone….you free yourself from feelings and thoughts….and act like a collective. (I just thought of Star Trek the next generation and the Borg Collective.)
Back to the early years of Surrealism and the Surrealists, to the period that they didn't call themselves surrealists. Giorgio De Chirico is seen as the most original and by some the best surreal painter of all time. That sounds odd if you consider the fact that De Chirico represented the early surreal trend and only for a very short period, between 1911 and 1917. After that time, in the eyes of the surrealists, he had so betrayed his talent as to have become an UNPERSON. His work and his style changed more than anyone could have imagined, from the essence of disquieting poetry to candid, mock-classical art. He also faked his own early work, starting soon after 1920, and kept doing so to the absolute confusion of art dealers and collectors. I agree that this is an obscure kind of behaviour, and an obscene betrayal of the psychic integrity of his paintings from 1911-1917.
During his stay in Paris from 1911 till 1917 and during his ‘romance’ with the surreal art scene he created absolutely fabulously enigmatic surreal paintings. De Chirico has been influenced by Freud's ideas, by the art of Arnold Bӧcklin (I will blog about him very soon) and Max Klinger and by the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. In his own words from the Paris period he concluded:
“To become truly immortal a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken it will enter the regions of childhood vision and dream. It is most important that we should rid art of all that it has contained of recognizable material to date, all familiar subject matter, all traditional ideas, all popular symbols must be banished forthwith”.
Being true to his own feelings and his beliefs he shaped his ‘Nostalgias’ and ‘Melancholies’ in a real unreal, theatrical landscape (mostly from Turin) with his dummies/mannequins lost (immersed) in their enigmatic existences and their surreal unconsciousness.
I haven’t see a lot of De Chirico's paintings, the original ones. I think most of them have been bought by private collectors. There are a few in MOMA in New York, some of them really poetical. Three in the Tate Modern in London, a few in German Museums (I am sure some in Stuttgart), two in Belgium in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. In the Guggenheim Museum in Venice are The Red Tower and The Nostalgia of the Poet. Those are the paintings that I have seen. I discovered also a few paintings in different cities in US. But I didn’t see them. I love the one in Guggenheim in Venice The Red Tower
Cont. tomorrow
Back to the early years of Surrealism and the Surrealists, to the period that they didn't call themselves surrealists. Giorgio De Chirico is seen as the most original and by some the best surreal painter of all time. That sounds odd if you consider the fact that De Chirico represented the early surreal trend and only for a very short period, between 1911 and 1917. After that time, in the eyes of the surrealists, he had so betrayed his talent as to have become an UNPERSON. His work and his style changed more than anyone could have imagined, from the essence of disquieting poetry to candid, mock-classical art. He also faked his own early work, starting soon after 1920, and kept doing so to the absolute confusion of art dealers and collectors. I agree that this is an obscure kind of behaviour, and an obscene betrayal of the psychic integrity of his paintings from 1911-1917.
During his stay in Paris from 1911 till 1917 and during his ‘romance’ with the surreal art scene he created absolutely fabulously enigmatic surreal paintings. De Chirico has been influenced by Freud's ideas, by the art of Arnold Bӧcklin (I will blog about him very soon) and Max Klinger and by the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. In his own words from the Paris period he concluded:
“To become truly immortal a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken it will enter the regions of childhood vision and dream. It is most important that we should rid art of all that it has contained of recognizable material to date, all familiar subject matter, all traditional ideas, all popular symbols must be banished forthwith”.
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| A Melancholy of the Beautiful Day - 1913 |
Being true to his own feelings and his beliefs he shaped his ‘Nostalgias’ and ‘Melancholies’ in a real unreal, theatrical landscape (mostly from Turin) with his dummies/mannequins lost (immersed) in their enigmatic existences and their surreal unconsciousness.
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| The Red Tower - 1913 |
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| The two Mannequins - 1920 |
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