27 Jan 2013

Carlo Scarpa - coolness of bearding and smoking


One of the purposes of this blog, besides communication with some people I know and respect and possibly engaging few more people around certain ideas I like to explore is quite simple.
In case I am being struck by something on the head, and my long-term memory is hopefully short-term affected by the trauma this could be one of the band-aids.
I hope a diary of recollections of things that "made a spark for me", will help to reconnect enough synapses to rebuild some memory and consequently to "restart the engine".
And if my short-terms memory goes, oh well, who needs to remember last weeks' snow or yesterday's breakfast...



This is the little book by Taschen that I love and made me seek more about his work.
----->
 

 
from thesnapassembl.com
  

















He combines wood and concrete in such a way that mere concrete is elevated to a state of nobility, it binds together with wood or metal like precious stones set in silver and gold.

13 Jan 2013

I am a patriot - part II

There was a discussion on the CBC Radio on that very subject.
The issue was simple - would you buy a BlackBerry or and iPhone.

I am a patriot and I use iPhone.
But my shirts are made in 中华人民共和国. (Ch...)
I am a patriot and I vacation in Canada.
And I compost.

12 Jan 2013

"Buy local" corporate gift

Original, useful, local, beautiful, unusual corporate gift ideas:

  • Native-made object from the Manitobah Mukluks - an array of hand-made accessories, moccasins, gloves, you name it. If it doesn't fit the person who had received he will give it to his daughter of a neighbour, or maybe it will fit him like glove... It will not end up in a garage.
    Items costing as little as $15.00 to the hundreds. Look: http://store.manitobah.ca/collections/accessories/products/mitt
Disclaimer: I do not work for this company and I do not get paid to advertize, I do not own their product but as soon as I have some disposable funds I may... I would surely like to have their moccasins or winter gloves!!!
  • Set of Limited Edition prints by local artists - prints on archival paper, nicely packaged, described, certified and ready for display.
    Cost starting at, say, $120.00 depending on the number of prints and size.
    Link to the proposal coming soon...
Disclaimer: I DO produce such Limited Edition, I make them totally professionally and beautifully.

11 Jan 2013

I am a patriot!

I do appreciate the inexpensiveness of some common goods and I do understand that they mostly come from far away. Perhaps buying some things from Asia is OK because the world is our home too and people in China or India deserve being able to export their products.

However, in more specific cases I always promoted and sought local product and local talent.
In my professional life I emphasized in the contract bidding that my largest graphic display units are made in Canada, right down to Chicoutimi-generated aluminium parts.
I was surprised how little weight this particular this position had - even though the displays were not more expensive than the imports.

1 Jan 2013

Cranach - Four takes at Melancholy

Further to my favourite study of Big M:
Here is the little lightbox of images of Melancholia.
Apparently Lucas Cranach, the Elder created four versions of Melancholy - shown below from various sources.
Two images are the bottom are coming from the Flickr site, uploaded by pertrus.agricola.
He includes an amazing close-up of one of the paintings.

At a first glance I have no idea what the paintings are all about and what's it got to do with Melancholy. For my money, having so many naked babies around me playing with spheres and arrows, dogs and partridge running loose around the kitchen - I don't know anyone who wouldn't get melancholic in the face of that disaster.
I know, I am getting a little..... overwhelmed.

The works are obviously veiled and rather crypted.
I am yet to learn terribly a lot, armed with a copy of the Klibert, Panofsky, Saxl, book  Melancholy I.
This book became my little Christmas wish, I found it online and it is on its way...

At the moment, it seems that the eyes of the lady, especially in the versions from 1528 and 1532 may be those of Katherina von Bora, the wife of Martin Luther.
They new each other and Cranach was a close friend of the family, something I had read pointed to those eyes of the model.
There was something I had read about the this painting --->

Madonna under the fir tree (1510), Archdiocesan Museum, Wrocław. One of the most distinguished and elaborated of the Cranach's Madonnas.





Or maybe poor old Luc Cranach who knew Katherina from before she got married to Luther (I think so) and once he saw her with her babies thought holly crap, poor Kate...
something like this. I don't know. Maybe she was getting, like --- depressed....

I cannot see the eyes in the first two pics - they are too blurry so the search continues....

Melancholia - Lucas The Elder Cranach












 

There is a really interesting post and related comment on newly found blog:
http://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/melancholy-by-lucas-cranach/
I just read a bit of this blog and it is absolutely fabulous read for those husky golden retrievers as I...

It is the source of this pic --->
Lucas Cranach, the Elder
Melancholy
(1532) Oil on panel. 51 x 97 cm.
Copenhaguen, Statens Museum for Kunst)






photo











Lucas Cranach the Elder
The Melancholy
[1528]
One of four version, that Cranach painted with that topic.
Private Collection, on loan to the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburg
photo










Lucas Cranach the Elder 
The Melancholy, detail [1532]
One of four version, that Cranach painted with that topic.
Colmar Musée d'Unterlinden


photo 











A fortified castle "on the rocks"
Lucas Cranach the Elder 
The Melancholy, detail [1532]
Copenhagen National Art Museum (Statens Museum)
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