Arkhip Kuindzhi - Innovative Landscape Artist

 Art of Russian Landscape

A Birch Grove, 1879,

Gorgeously rich discovery of the work of Russian/Ukranian (depending on historical/political boundary-line changes/'ownership') Artist, Arkhip Kuindzhi (1841-1910), whose death is commemorated on this day, 24th July.

Night on the Dnieper, 1892

Not only incredibly accomplished, but innovative. Amazing studies of the effects of light - both throughout the day, and in moonlight.

His painting, Snow, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition in 1874, winning the bronze medal.

Spots of Moonlight in the Forest, Winter

Effect of Sunset on Snow, 1900s

I had never heard of him before, or seen any of his work. So much depends on what makes it to the school curriculum, I realize. And, I believe there is less and less take up of it being studied at university level. This is such a great shame. Art nourishes the soul & is invaluable. I'm loving raiding these old store cupboards of Artworks, with the natural response of wanting to share the booty. Enjoy!

Sunset, oil on cardboard, 1890

The Colourful Sphere of Philipp Otto Runge

 Childhood Romance: Art!

Growing a lovely collection of new-to-me artists.

Today, 23rd July, is the birth-date of German Romantic artist Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810). As a sickly child who had to be kept at home, his mother introduced him to scissor-cut silhouettes as a form of entertainment, sowing the seed of creativity he kept up in later years; as when he took art classes whilst an apprentice for a 'proper job'.

Self-Portrait in pastels, 1804/5

Casper David Frederick (who I had heard of & studied) was a fellow art student.

Moving in Colourful Circles

He also met and became friends with Johann Wolfgang Goethe at that time - sharing a passion for colour studies and theory.

His book Farben-Kugel (Colour Sphere) was published in 1810, had he lived longer he would have refined those early studies, which were taken up by others.

He was influenced by Jakob Bohme, a Christian mystic, believing that red, blue and yellow were closely aligned to the Trinity. Fascinating.

A Passion for Painting Children

He loved painting children, and fathered 4 himself, but having contracted TB, which caused his untimely death, he never saw his 4th child, born the day after Philipp died.

(right): Hulsenbeck Children, 1805

(Below) The Nightingale Bushes, 1810

I love how he is able to fluently paint both Romantic and Biblical scenes; the sublime and the epic:

Arion's Sea Journey, 1809

Peter Walking on the Sea, 1806

And his evident delight in the subject of Light - throughout the day, as in Morning:

Lovis Corinth: Ecco Homo

 Drawing Strength

Another Artist discovery on the anniversary of his birth-date: Lovis Corinth (21st July 1858-1925). His draftsmanship was evident at a very early age, and went through an evolution of skill and style that was shaped further by his suffering a stroke in 1911, leaving him with severe shaking in both hands, but within a year, he was able to paint again, simpler subjects, and landscapes, and keep up the tradition of painting a self-portrait every year on his birthday.

Lovis & wife, Charlotte Berend, Berlin Studio, 1908, left;

The Artist's Wife, Asleep, 1902/3, below:

Degenerate Art

Not everyone favoured his style; Hitler had nearly 300 of his works removed from the public sphere, 7 of which were sent to the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich in 1937.

                              

Ecco Homo, 2nd from left            

                         

Behold the Artist as Biblical Illustrator:

The Deposition, 1895

Christ Lamented by the Magdalene, ,1883, left

I was pleased to learn that Jewish Art Collector, Curt Glaser, was able to fund his escape from Nazi Germany, when they came into power in 1933, by selling one of Corinth's paintings (the painting: Roman Landscape was later returned to his heirs in 2007).

There's a wealth of info that came out of exploring who this curiously named artist was, (a pseudonym he adopted in 1888): art history; changes in style; politics; the sanctuary of a happy family life - really happy to have made his acquaintance. Enjoy!

The Morning Sun, 1910

Walchensee landscape, 1919

Artist of the Apocalypse

 The Boom of Doom & Gloom 

I made a new discovery today: artist, John Martin was born on 19th July 1789. I'd not heard of him before, but learned his work is the kind that goes in & out of fashion; almost disappearing at times, then being exhibited in major UK galleries in 2011. He specialized in epic, wildly dramatic canvases - huge - which added to their effect. Not surprising that he was an influence on the epic-scale cinematography of DW Griffith & Cecil B DeMille. 

He made history and Biblical scenes come alive. Disasters and misfortune become the working material of artistes, and he was surely provided with such when, in one year, he experienced the death of his mother, father, grandmother, and young son.

Great Day of Wrath

More tribulation came when he almost bankrupted himself in his efforts to bring fresh water, and an efficient sewage system to London, where people were dying from contaminated water. Being a skilled engineer, he was able to draw up plans, which, although never came to fruition, were recognized many years later as having merit; preceding the work of Joseph Bazalgette, by 25 years.

For all the vagaries of public reception, he was favoured by Prince Albert, who bought The Eve of the Deluge'; was made a Knight by the King of Belgium, and gifted Sevres porcelain by the King of France.

He was also a big influence on Dante Gabriel Rossetti & the Pre-Raphaelites. Fashion is fickle; in discovering these artistes from the past, there's a common pattern of their not being fully recognized in one's own life-time (or country); falling out of public awareness, sometimes for decades, even centuries, before being re-discovered - often by a biographer - who brings a spotlight to their work once more. On this occasion, he did receive recognition in his lifetime; and I'm happy to make his acquaintance further down the line.

Joshua Commanding the Sun

Belshazzar's Feast, 159 x 250 cm, 1820

Effective Presentation

The Architecture of Good Presentation: Types of Presentation: 

Formal

It's important to know the tone of the presentation in order to make the material and presentation appropriate and most effective for the purpose. A few examples of 'formal' are:

* Lecture / Educational Presentation:

Formal does not have to mean boring! The more complex and data-filled the presentation the more engaging it needs to be to capture interest and remain in mind. Variety, the use of examples, diagrams, colour, and clarity are vital. 

* Business Pitch or Proposal

The most famous example of this format is the T.V. series Dragon's Den. Many have excruciated at poor presentation in such a loaded setting with so much depending on its outcome; mumbling, fuzzy figures, errors; and cheered with along with those who have succeeded, especially if they had to work hard to win over the dragons.  

This guy was a success; he was warm, friendly, engaging, and passionate about his product; that, together with all the factual elements and research into costing, marketing, etc, made him a viable business partner. His authenticity engendered trust - the most crucial aspect in the world of business and high financial risk. 

* Press Conference

Kayleigh McEnamy, Trump's Press Secretary was so good at her job I found myself hooked on following her presentations: consummate skill in action. She was very obviously well prepared; would have an answer for every query & riposte; could be seen to be turning to relevant sections of her own notes. She handled being in the line of fire from harassing reporters exceptionally well. A joy to see. 

Informal Presentations would cover:

* Creative Pitch: Ideas & proposals to a team of colleagues as opposed to actual clients. 

Presenting an initial idea or concept with a skeleton-style structure that's open to being fleshed out by colleagues and other members of the team, before being firmed up to use with clients. 

Loose, and free-flowing, allowing for input and feedback within the process. It still requires confidence, clarity, and engaging style, interaction, eliciting responses, and open to change. 

* Funeral Celebration of Life Video Slide: 

As the approach to funerals has become more open to individuality and creativity (celebrants rather than clergy; coffins made of natural materials, even decorated or painted by friends & family), the use of a slide presentation of the life of the one who has passed is a common thing to see in the background as people meet and mingle after the service or presentation boards

with photographs or a table for albums and ephemera.

* Pecha Kucha

An interesting format that started as a craze in Japan, that's quite tight in structure, which keeps the presentation fun and flowing.

Styles of Presentation:

Lots of options and scope for variety here. Probably the most engaging would be a Visual Presentation with good use of relevant images; videos; 'props' - tangible items to handle and examine. Scientific or statistical data is more effectively shown in diagrammatic form - with color. A good time to take on board the impact color can have with a graphic presentation! [from:  https://www.presentation-process.com/powerpoint-infographics-6.html]

          

Freeform Style - for the confident and intrepid; less rehearsing, more going-with-the-flow; improvised, in-the-moment. Perhaps even inviting input and 'riffing' with it. 

Coaching & Teaching Style - which would be wise to include as much interaction and elicited response as possible; a little bit of role-playing, or question and answer opportunity, with plenty of examples to back up what is being presented. 

Story Telling Style - this might be the best approach when dealing with children, or a mixed audience of families that would engage everyone. As a narrative form, a clear linear presentation would be best with Beginning - Middle - End (not Beginning - Muddle - End).

Presentation Skills

* Technical Skills a good working knowledge of the device you're using; its tools and capabilities; keyboard shortcuts on PC/Mac. Also of the format you're using: PowerPoint or any other presentation template; good knowledge of software, such as Illustrator; In Design; Photoshop, etc. making good use of resources available.

* Design Skills - An overview at the very beginning is helpful in setting the stage for what you are about to present. Clear structure with visible text and relevant images; nothing too busy or too much text that would keep your audience reading rather than listening or switching between the two. 

Consistency - keeping the same format throughout your presentation. A good sense of order and natural flow - without needing to double back, and without repeating oneself. Less is more. 

* Performance Skills - Clear vocal presentation, not mumbling or letting sentences fade at the end. Head up; eye contact, engaging with the audience. A relaxed body stance without flapping or fidgeting, or being inward. 

Understanding the target audience is what might determine much of the above; a presentation to scientists would be very different from one made to teenagers or a room full of business clients. 

Legal and Ethical Issues

 Legal

Intellectual Property Rights

This applies to the authorship and ownership of anything written, including fonts; artwork, including trademarked logos and symbols, for instance, the tick used by Nike; animation; theorems; scientific papers; parliamentary speeches; music, sound recordings, for example, the sound that signifies Netflix, anything that is protected by copyright, or trademark. This applies even after the death of the author unless permission is received from those responsible for the estate of the author. My personal experience of this is submitting an ekphrastic poem based on a painting in Brighton Museum & Art Gallery that was accepted. The artist had died quite a long time before, but the editor was unable to get permission to reproduce the painting from the family's estate, although she did apply, as required by law. A 'placeholder' image was used in the literary magazine instead, and a link to the painting was the closest she was able to get to its being used. I appreciated the effort she made on my behalf, but it was an education that you can't just use an image because you like it! 

Data Protection Act: Privacy

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), was implemented in the UK in 2018, this regulates how a company or organization stores and uses personal data, and protects the privacy of clients entrusting their personal details.

In the above example, around 87,000,000 personal details were 'harvested' for advertising from Cambridge Analytica during elections. 

Infamous breaches of trust and confidentiality do much harm to the integrity of businesses and corporations.

Libel and Slander

Libel is serious defamation of character in written form, most often by newspapers, although novels and other forms of literature, who appear to be using a 'character' as a thinly disguised attack on someone's character, have also found their way into courtrooms in the past. 

An example of this is Scarlett Johansson who sued French author, Gregoire Delacourt for, as she saw it, his writing her into his novel as a model who has multiple affairs. Unfortunately for her, the court did not agree with her belief that the book had defamed her, and lost her case, being awarded only a fraction of what she applied to gain. 

It's often celebrities we hear about who have these kinds of trials as they are fiendishly expensive, and highly revealing / exposing, which has its own high cost.

Slander is the spoken version of defamation. 

'He said - She said' - and a lot rides on who and what is believed in court. The aim is to prove that the defamation is entirely false. Any 'fuzziness' is costly in every way.

The moral of the story is - be sure what you say and write is true, and if there's no escaping the libelous, slanderous nature of the truth - keep silent. 

Equality Act 2010: Accessibility

This Act is a non-discrimination law that provides a legal structure to protect human rights in an equal society. This law, in terms of web design and layout, ensures the information is accessible to all users, taking into account users may have a variety of disabilities. 

4 main categories have to be taken into consideration and made accessible to all:

Language: This must be simple and clearly communicated, with an option for translation. While it is not a legal requirement to provide other languages, it is most certainly advantageous to all concerned, especially government sites or those relating to benefits, and they include an accessibility statement at the foot of their website.  They also provide templates to make this more accessible to their staff: 

[from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sample-accessibility-statement/sample-accessibility-statement-for-a-fictional-public-sector-website]

This shows their policy towards those with impaired motor efficiency in providing a keyboard option as opposed to using a mouse, plus the speech recognition facility; those with impaired visibility can increase the size of the text, and also have a screen reader. Other amendments are in providing subtitles and Alt. Text so that those who have hearing loss are able to access the information on the screen. 

Obscene Publications Act

This was passed as an Act in 1959 and amended slightly in 1964 to protect the populace from depravity and corruption being foisted on them, as determined by a test that's adhered to. 

A famous example was Oz Magazine, known for its satirical content. In 1970, fearing they were losing touch with their audience, and wishing to broaden their audience, they invited schoolchildren to edit the May edition, which proved to be a contentious decision. It led to a serious charge of 'conspiracy to corrupt public morals'. They were found not guilty on that count but sentenced for lesser offenses to a term in prison. 

The Act covers not only matters to do with sex but also extreme violence or abuse put out in the public area. 

Computer Misuse Act 

The main purpose of this Act is to protect against the threat of cybercrime, that is, hackers, malware, viruses, spyware - any unauthorized access to computer material, with a further criminal offense if plotting to use that information with ill-intent. 

Prince Phillip's contribution to our being currently protected was due to his own personal View-Data Message Box that was hacked by 2 ne'er-do-wells. But it seems the duo were trying to highlight the insecure nature of B.T's technology. the result, either way, is that the 1990 Act came into force.

Contracts

Contracts of employment are there to protect the interests of all parties involved. Some contracts include a N.D.A. or Non Disclosure Agreement, this might be applicable in situations such as to prevent the end of a TV series being revealed, or details about any possible sequels for films or books, or something that threatens national security. Trust is all-important.

A contract is an agreement entered into with full knowledge of intention and what is being agreed. Contracts can be hugely varied, detailed, and specific in length, terms, and complexity, but they must all include these 5 important elements in  order to be of legal standing:

* Offer.

• * Acceptance.
• * Awareness.
• * Consideration.
• * Capacity.

Clarity is key, as any 'fuzziness' of meaning, any clauses that could interpreted other than that which was intended is liable to problems if contested. Terms and conditions have to be agreed, but if there's any elasticity in meaning, the case in a court hearing can become complex, lengthy and expensive.

Lorraine Kelly, TV presenter, received an enormous tax bill and demand for National Insurance payments 4 years after she left the company she had signed a contract with. She appealed against the HMRC tax authority and it was put forward that she had not been an employee working for an employer, but that she had offered her services as an artiste; this was borne out by her not being eligible for holidays or sick pay, as other staff members were; she was also free to work on other jobs. 

Judge Dean said: "We did not accept that Ms Kelly simply appeared as herself - we were satisfied that Ms Kelly presents a persona of herself, she presents herself as a brand and that is the brand ITV sought when engaging her.' 

I sense a bit of fancy footwork there. Nimble work. A contract should keep everyone on their toes. 

Relationships with Clients

This is more of an ethical issue than a legal one, having to do with treating one's colleagues and clients with respect; without discrimination or preferential treatment based on skin colour, gender, religious practices and beliefs, or disabilities. 

It's also about keeping the relationship at work professional and not personal; elastic boundaries can lead to problems that could have been avoided. Much like a contract, but not legally binding, is the use of House Rules - a set of guidelines of behaviour that all agree to adhere to for everyone's benefit. This might apply to where smoking is allowed in breaks, and not using personal email accounts while at work. There's an expectation of honesty and trust, decency and consideration. 

Blasphemy

In England and Wales 'blasphemy' and 'blasphemous libel' laws were abolished in 2008, but still retained in Ireland and Scotland. I'm sorry to discover a poet I admire for his Monostichs, James Kirkup, wrote a poem I'd not heard of that graphically sexualized the character of Jesus Christ, which brought the publisher of Gay News Magazine to trial in 1977 on a charge of blasphemy. It was the last successful prosecution of such in the UK. 

1977: Gay paper guilty of blasphemy

The Gay News and its editor Denis Lemon have been found guilty of blasphemous libel in the first case of its kind for more than 50 years.

The case was brought as a private prosecution by the secretary of the National Viewers and Listeners Association, Mary Whitehouse.

She objected to a poem and illustration published in the fortnightly paper last year about a homosexual centurion's love for Christ at the Crucifixion.

Campaigner Mary Whitehouse objected to a poem called 'The love that dare not speak its name'

[From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/11/newsid_2499000/2499721.stm]

Representation

OK, but what does that mean exactly? Elucidate. Enlarge on that.

Or, to put it another way:

After the initial snort of laughter, if one was to actually apply the test...

 

Creative Collaborations

Together is Better

As if multimedia wasn't exciting enough in its own right, the power and scope that can be achieved when different Creative Media combine and work on collaborative projects together are all the more magnified. Take a master of one medium, a rock star, and put them together with a master in cinematography, say, or virtual reality, and the result is a creative masterpiece. here are just 3 examples to get a taste and flavour of what's possible.

Fantastic Reality

Bjork has been wowing audiences with her idiosyncratic vocal performances for around 25 years, attracting a faithful following from her early days fronting the Sugar Cubes. Her evolution as a performing artiste involved her breaking out on her own to pursue a solo career; some acting, and an attention-grabbing line in costumes. Cue: James Merry, long-time collaborator, and mask-maker extraordinaire: a uniquely matched pairing of innovative creatives over a period of 10 years. Merry, with his academic background (including ancient Greek) and love of embroidery, and wildly original designs was stretched beyond anything he had created before by Bjork's new venture into the world of Virtual Reality, in Vulnicura VR. In fact, everyone was stretched by the requirements of this particular concept. New ways had to be invented for mastering and mixing the audio for the VR, a task that was taken on by mastering engineer, Mandy Parnel, and Martin Korth, who had to work out ways of mastering 'stems' and real-time - all totally beyond me, and it took them months to accomplish the task; a huge undertaking, to create the right kind of 360-surround-sound. But, that's what comes of the creative urge, and Bjork's love of keeping abreast with, if not forging ahead with, new technologies - it's up to everyone else to keep up! Hard to boil it down to one partner - so much was expected of so many to make the project work. 

Moving on from previously used Samsung Gear V.R. to HTC Vive headset, and two hand-held controllers, made for a more immersive experience with its full room tracking. In her own words: 'I build bridges between tech and the human things we do'. In fact, she believes VR will one day be as available as iPhones, but at this stage, it's much like anyone who practices their craft for hundreds of hours so that it appears effortless. Huge kudos to all involved - whole team who were needed to make the magic happen, including directors Warren Du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones. And then there's the animation...a mycelium of hidden collaborators all working together as one creative organism.

 

So, who would go to experience the Bjork Digital on its tour? The old faithfuls, for sure, but also techie nerds; costume designers; and, starry-eyed escapists from Reality-Reality.

A Body of Work

In any dance performance you would naturally assume, even expect, that the costumes play as much a part as the dancers. This couldn't be more so than in Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body, (otherwise known as 'Lumps and Bumps'), a creative collaboration between American dance choreographer, Merce Cunningham, and Japanese High Fashion Designer, Rei Kawakubo, who founded Comme des Garcons. What did they have in common? 

Both could be described as Radical. Merce was known to push boundaries in his field, challenging the roles of dancer and audience; detaching the dancer's movement from the dictates of the rhythm, mood and structure of the music: flying in the face of convention, and, as it happened eager to embrace technology, being a pioneer of using T.V., video and computers, as well as body sensors, as a choreographic tool. 

Rei Kawakubo is also a Radical, and Revolutionary Visionary, or vice versa; challenging traditional forms of garments, notoriously pushing the limits of wearability. She once described her work as similar to Zen koans - unsolvable puzzles. A perfect match for Cunningham who favoured the use of chance and randomness in his pieces, often using the I Ching or throwing dice to determine certain outcomes; he gave Rei free rein in her design concept. The result was bound to be extraordinary.

Kawakobe made a point of emphasizing sexualised aspects of the human body; but then, hasn't that always been the case? Think of bustles, and corsets. There's also a nod to the growing phenomenon of body dysmorphia that's being played out. The weight and shape of irregular bulges make balance and movement an issue; compromising both, which is what extreme body-consciousness, and the grip of fashion will do; how pregnancy can affect a woman's body-sense; how obesity, or deformity changes how one carries oneself. There's more here than meets the eye. Talking of which, Kawakobe prefers to keep mirrors out of the dressing room, insisting clients get the feel of the clothes, rather than focus on the look. 

Unlike Bjork's 'non elitist' nature of VR, this kind of dance, this kind of fashion, is more of an acquired taste; usually attributed to the higher echelons of moneyed classes. And that's key. High fashion fetches high prices. For all the unwearability of Kawakobe's pieces, they bring a turnaround of about £215,000,000 a year. That kind of notoriety is attractive to many. But it's also about artistes being prepared to take risks, the kind no-one else would try! The dancers would have had to feel into their moves, as nothing they had done before would have been of any use in managing the size and weight distribution of their crazy costumes. A fashion reviewer's dream.

                                         

Exciting! Novel. Profitable. 

Building Success

Art and Architecture, like Family, can be closely related or distant and at odds with each other.

But if disaster strikes, people tend to rally and pull together. This is, in effect, how this next creative collaboration was born, in the aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011,and the coming together of British artist, Anish Kapoor, and Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki to create Ark Nova. 

The name of this temporary, inflatable, mobile, concert hall capable of seating 500 people carries with it the association of securing life in the midst of disaster; of survival; of protection. God's breath brought First Man to life, and air is what makes this structure come alive. Art alone could not have achieved the necessary requirements of the right kind of acoustics, it needed the expertise of an architect to ensure the best conditions were met that would enhance audibility and visibility. Care had to be taken in managing how to anchor and support the tensile engineering that supports the inflatable skin. Access and emergency exits, also had to be part of the design considerations. 

It's poignant to learn that the wooden seating is made of ancient cedar trees that were uprooted by the seismic catastrophe, finding creative new life in an eminently practical form. This, I'm sure would have been much appreciated by those who attended concerts when the hall toured the areas of upheaval, two years after, that something good could be salvaged from what would otherwise be an even greater tragedy. A triumph of art, architecture, engineering, ecological re-purposing, music and marketing! 

And what art! The translucent membrane diffuses natural light, as though one is inside the belly of a whale - another Biblical place of refuge in stormy seas! The undulations and curves of this organic form have a pleasing feel - like an embrace; a big hug of a building; or a big bosom of soothing comfort. The color and tensile skin were the artist's choice; purple on the outside; warm red on the inside, creating a sense of magic and transformation.

This, primarily, was aimed at uplifting those who had experienced their lives being uprooted, and livelihoods lost; with the assurance that it's there for everyone, and can be shared by many as it travels around the country, even abroad. It's generous, and full of hope. It's innovative and bold, not defeated by what has gone before, but spurred on by it. It finds common ground between two art-forms that can often be opposed to each other, in conflict. Japan is a country that understands respect; the older folk would attend in that regard, the young would flock to be swallowed up by its novelty. It found common ground between two artistes, who both had an understanding and familiarity with large scale projects; engineering feats, and aesthetics. It would also bring commercial profitability to any area it visits - giving back to the community what it had lost to the elements.