2004-04-09
2004-04-08
Change: our earth is breathing.
The earth seems to breathe. Its magnetic field appears to flip from North to South for very long periods. Its last flip from South to North appeared some 780.000 years ago...
Quick flip of Earth's magnetic field revealed
Magnetic Field Flip-Flop Clocked
Our Growing, Breathing Galaxy
Quick flip of Earth's magnetic field revealed
Magnetic Field Flip-Flop Clocked
Our Growing, Breathing Galaxy
2004-03-27
The creative frenzy of art in the Middle Age.
An excellent article about what seems to be an excellent exhibition of Middle-Age artistic creations. In one word, it's about a creative explosion in all fields. "So many works in such a short time: the concentration is amazing. All the disciplines are at it. In these works, it is the history of painting which starts. To follow it a little more, it is necessary to go to the exhibition of "Primitive French". Its goal is not exhaustiveness but the commemoration and research. Commemoration because an exhibition of the same name at the Louvre in 1904 was a decisive event: the recognition of a long time scorned period and its revelation with the visitors - among whom Matisse and Derain".
In one of the works, "the bed is scarlet, in a room with tended walls of ultramarine blue and gold. The window with the background is of a perfect geometry. The beams of the ceiling are red and green. What does this invoque? The red Workshop of Matisse. And what does one think in front of the drawings of the metal point on the boxwood shelf of a notebook, is it not Dürer? However these drawings allotted to Jacquemart de Hesdin date from the years 1380".
The article is in french but Google or other search engines can give you an internet translation of sufficiently good quality for you to get what it is all about.
La frenesie creative de l'art au Moyen Age
In one of the works, "the bed is scarlet, in a room with tended walls of ultramarine blue and gold. The window with the background is of a perfect geometry. The beams of the ceiling are red and green. What does this invoque? The red Workshop of Matisse. And what does one think in front of the drawings of the metal point on the boxwood shelf of a notebook, is it not Dürer? However these drawings allotted to Jacquemart de Hesdin date from the years 1380".
The article is in french but Google or other search engines can give you an internet translation of sufficiently good quality for you to get what it is all about.
La frenesie creative de l'art au Moyen Age
2004-03-05
Cosmic life imitates art!
Central to my views about the present day evolution of the visual artist's creations is space. It makes absolutely no doubt to me that looking to oneself, to oneselve's world from afar is bound to change our view of the world. Speed of movement, of transportation on earth has been since the 19th century the central shaker of our visual perceptions. Let us forget for a moment the visual art absurdities of the 20th century and try to reconnect with the evolution of painters' visions. We now can envision the radical revolution that space will unleash on us all in terms of our vision of the world. It's not only the brutal acceleration of speed that tortures our vision. From afar we somehow reach a state of plenitude where speed is abolished and discover the mirror in which we are looking at ourselves on earth... This experience has been described by some astronauts in terms of a religious experience. But the recourse to religion is a one way street, a no drive through street where one lands in ideological land.
I firmly believe that visual artists did not go as far as the road of space. We all have been overtaken by the photographic images of and from space. And space in an outwards direction, the cosmos as macrocosm, is but one of the dimensions. What about space in an inwards direction, the microcosm. Both directions somehow converge in the sense that they force us out of our traditional visual certitudes.
The philosophical implications are absolutely staggering and, to put it in soft words, I'm amazed at how our societies have only been mildly shaken as of today. Often I have this odd feeling that scientists' photographs make better art than most visual artists' creations.
"Cosmic life imitates art "
Here are some more links, have a good time with those artists who are been called scientists:
"Dee Breger"
"Ken Musgrave"
"Loes Modderman"
"Tina Carvalho"
"Olympus America Inc., and The Florida State University"
I firmly believe that visual artists did not go as far as the road of space. We all have been overtaken by the photographic images of and from space. And space in an outwards direction, the cosmos as macrocosm, is but one of the dimensions. What about space in an inwards direction, the microcosm. Both directions somehow converge in the sense that they force us out of our traditional visual certitudes.
The philosophical implications are absolutely staggering and, to put it in soft words, I'm amazed at how our societies have only been mildly shaken as of today. Often I have this odd feeling that scientists' photographs make better art than most visual artists' creations.
"Cosmic life imitates art "
Here are some more links, have a good time with those artists who are been called scientists:
"Dee Breger"
"Ken Musgrave"
"Loes Modderman"
"Tina Carvalho"
"Olympus America Inc., and The Florida State University"
2004-03-02
Collectors and art history
A must read. Where should art productions be today if it were not for the "small circle of dealers, scholars and collectors who become interested in unfashionable or unfamiliar art".
" What have dealers ever done for art history?"
" What have dealers ever done for art history?"
2004-03-01
What is art ?
I started this blog one year ago approximately with the ambition to write about art and design. I was , and I must say I remain, very unsatisfied with today's blabla about art in magazines and papers.
My idea is that art (fine art) is a societal answer to the questions and needs of the individuals for sense. Viewed in such a perspective, the artist is someone who is perpetually in searching mode for sense. By sense I mean the philosophical interpretation of reality or to put it otherwise the lightning of the elements that give sense to reality at a given point in time. Our perceptions evolved, very fast those last decades, and thus our questions today are indeed very different from what they were at other times in history.
The following 2 articles by Michelle Marder Kamhi are somehow focusing on the same approach that I personally try to develop. Her conclusions nevertheless are pole apart from mine but that is not of such a huge importance. Another layout is a chance to reflect...
So good reading.
"Debating The Visual Culture "
"Where's the Art in Today's Art Education?"
My idea is that art (fine art) is a societal answer to the questions and needs of the individuals for sense. Viewed in such a perspective, the artist is someone who is perpetually in searching mode for sense. By sense I mean the philosophical interpretation of reality or to put it otherwise the lightning of the elements that give sense to reality at a given point in time. Our perceptions evolved, very fast those last decades, and thus our questions today are indeed very different from what they were at other times in history.
The following 2 articles by Michelle Marder Kamhi are somehow focusing on the same approach that I personally try to develop. Her conclusions nevertheless are pole apart from mine but that is not of such a huge importance. Another layout is a chance to reflect...
So good reading.
"Debating The Visual Culture "
"Where's the Art in Today's Art Education?"
2004-02-26
Classical Music - Too Old? Too Abstract?
"Mainstream classical music is in crisis. To some extent, the crisis is quantifiable. Classical recording is tanking, classical radio is shrinking, and so is media coverage of classical music. The biggest fear is that the audience will disappear, and while conservatives in the business think that won't happen—"So what if the audience is old?" they cry, "it's always been old!"—reports from the National Endowment for the Arts show that even in the past 10 years the classical music audience has gotten older. "
"View from the East: How We Can Save the World "
"View from the East: How We Can Save the World "
2004-02-24
Fine Art Amid the Paper Towels
About art. In the end, in post modern societies, it's all about sales. "Costco applied the same pricing system to art that it did to other goods, marking them up no more than 14 percent above what it pays".
"In Search of Fine Art Amid the Paper Towels"
Times have changed...
Today the works of Rubensses could be found among toilet paper and other commodities! Are art works really becoming commodities? Well in post-modern societies, meaning has been transferred from reason to merchandise. So should we be surprised that art works be sold among toilet paper, toothpaste and candy? But the supreme irony here is that "The artwork is museum quality, matted and framed".
"In Search of Fine Art Amid the Paper Towels"
Times have changed...
Today the works of Rubensses could be found among toilet paper and other commodities! Are art works really becoming commodities? Well in post-modern societies, meaning has been transferred from reason to merchandise. So should we be surprised that art works be sold among toilet paper, toothpaste and candy? But the supreme irony here is that "The artwork is museum quality, matted and framed".
What's going on in our cosmos?
"Anne Kinney, director of NASA's Astronomy and Physics Division, cautioned that final answers on the nature of dark energy will not likely come for a very long time. Science can sometimes be much like art, she said: 'You approach, you don't arrive.' ".
Read here....
"Universe has at least 30 billion years left, scientists say"
Read here....
"Universe has at least 30 billion years left, scientists say"
Genes find their way from pharm crops to ordinary corn
Another interesting news confirming the validity of the conclusions of the latest Pentagon report. The "NEW SCIENTIST" just published this piece about Genetically Modified Foods:
"Crops 'widely contaminated' by genetically modified DNA"
In summary: "Crops engineered to produce industrial chemicals and drugs - so-called "pharm" crops - could already be poisoning ostensibly GM-free crops grown for food, warns the study by the Washington-based Union for Concerned Scientists"
"Crops 'widely contaminated' by genetically modified DNA"
In summary: "Crops engineered to produce industrial chemicals and drugs - so-called "pharm" crops - could already be poisoning ostensibly GM-free crops grown for food, warns the study by the Washington-based Union for Concerned Scientists"
2004-02-23
Chaos
Instructive:
Since decades scientists, artists and others speak and write about the damage done to the sustainability of human life on earth by the logic of capital. They were often labeled extremists.
Today the Pentagon confirms those fears and informs of the coming treads to the USA.
Enjoy the reading... But beware it is not rejoicing news.
"New Pentagon's report on coming chaos"
"Key findings of the Pentagon "
Since decades scientists, artists and others speak and write about the damage done to the sustainability of human life on earth by the logic of capital. They were often labeled extremists.
Today the Pentagon confirms those fears and informs of the coming treads to the USA.
Enjoy the reading... But beware it is not rejoicing news.
"New Pentagon's report on coming chaos"
"Key findings of the Pentagon "
2004-02-13
Could China one day save the West?
Looking at how reality is dscribed from different perspectives....
Here are 2 good articles describing how Chinese view the West and particularly the US. Very interesting reading.
"Why I say China will one day save the West?"
"The evil root of all instability in the world today"
Here are 2 good articles describing how Chinese view the West and particularly the US. Very interesting reading.
"Why I say China will one day save the West?"
"The evil root of all instability in the world today"
2004-02-11
The power of beauty
!!!!!!
Very similar to what I wrote already a few times about in this blog.
"We experience the power of beauty when spiritual value and outward appearance seem inseparable, capturing a sense of what it means to be human in those rare moments of deepest satisfaction".
This commentary is by Elizabeth Sourbut, in the issue of the 14th of February 04 of "New Scientist" about the following book:
"The Secret Power of Beauty: Why happiness is in the eye of the beholder"
By John Armstrong
Publisher: Allen Lane/Penguin
MOST of us would claim to recognise a beautiful person or object when we see it. But we are often unable to explain why we find the object of our gaze so appealing. John Armstrong thinks this is a shame, so in The Secret Power of Beauty he sets out to examine the power that beauty holds over us, and to consider why it's able to touch our emotions. His clear and thoughtful analysis leads the reader confidently through art history and philosophy towards a humane and convincing set of answers.
Drawing on examples from art, architecture, literature and music Armstrong traces two historical approaches. One focuses on the outer, physical appearance of the object and looks for serpentine lines, perfect proportion or the fit between form and function. The other asks what it feels like to find something beautiful and considers the response of the beholder - perhaps spiritual or moral. He argues that the power of beauty lies in a combination of these two. We experience it when spiritual value and outward appearance seem inseparable, capturing a sense of what it means to be human in those rare moments of deepest satisfaction.
An appreciation of beauty deepens our enjoyment of life, and with his elegant and accessible style Armstrong encourages readers to seek beauty in everyday life, not just in high culture. Look around you. Is any of your furniture beautiful, or the view from your window, or the heart of your Valentine?
Elizabeth Sourbut
Very similar to what I wrote already a few times about in this blog.
"We experience the power of beauty when spiritual value and outward appearance seem inseparable, capturing a sense of what it means to be human in those rare moments of deepest satisfaction".
This commentary is by Elizabeth Sourbut, in the issue of the 14th of February 04 of "New Scientist" about the following book:
"The Secret Power of Beauty: Why happiness is in the eye of the beholder"
By John Armstrong
Publisher: Allen Lane/Penguin
MOST of us would claim to recognise a beautiful person or object when we see it. But we are often unable to explain why we find the object of our gaze so appealing. John Armstrong thinks this is a shame, so in The Secret Power of Beauty he sets out to examine the power that beauty holds over us, and to consider why it's able to touch our emotions. His clear and thoughtful analysis leads the reader confidently through art history and philosophy towards a humane and convincing set of answers.
Drawing on examples from art, architecture, literature and music Armstrong traces two historical approaches. One focuses on the outer, physical appearance of the object and looks for serpentine lines, perfect proportion or the fit between form and function. The other asks what it feels like to find something beautiful and considers the response of the beholder - perhaps spiritual or moral. He argues that the power of beauty lies in a combination of these two. We experience it when spiritual value and outward appearance seem inseparable, capturing a sense of what it means to be human in those rare moments of deepest satisfaction.
An appreciation of beauty deepens our enjoyment of life, and with his elegant and accessible style Armstrong encourages readers to seek beauty in everyday life, not just in high culture. Look around you. Is any of your furniture beautiful, or the view from your window, or the heart of your Valentine?
Elizabeth Sourbut
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