Monday, October 25, 2010
My new hobby/endeavor
I have put in some thought as to what I am interested in pursuing. I am interested in people in history and I think I will pursue this however many months ago I wanted to conduct in-depth research about a person I find important and interesting. I think that my research will suit this blog and discussion between us. I want to seriously research the Marquis de Lafayette. He was French and American and I want to read his writings and better understand his contributions to both France and the United States. I am quite interested in this and now that I have made it known, I will have to begin...
A journey of a thousand miles always starts with a single step..
I have not written in a long time yet, it is not because I do not wish to do so anymore but rather because of time. A few months ago, I had the idea to write about various cities in the world. The reason behind the selection was that they were mostly lost in the middle of nowhere but held once, a certain status or at least they did and still have to me.
Some of them have a historical value, others have been the goal of some expeditions while most of them have an inspiring name. I do not really aim to make a specific point about them. It is just that they hold an interesting significance to me and I probably wonder deep down why some cities stay in the sunshine while others are forgotten like these ones.
My list of cities includes:
Timbuktu, which was for long time thought as legendary
Zanzibar, a haven for slave trade and departure point of famed explorer D. Livingstone
Archangelsk, a lost city in the north
Vladivostok at the end of the Transiberian
Dawson City, starting point of the Klondike Gold Rush
Samarqand, a very old city and main stage on the Silk Road
Ushuaia, at the edge of South America
I hope to be able to finish this project in a not too far future!
-Croissant
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Joan of Arc lecture
Oh how the tale is twisted. This evening I attended an Alliance Française lecture presented by Norman Stokle entitled ‘Joan of Arc: Fact or Fiction’. The presentation was kicked off with a retelling of Joan of Arc’s story and how she became the French heroine and Godly legend. This mystic story fabricated but this aligns with most stories surviving the test of time. Though I found myself getting swept up in Joan’s fantasy story, and somewhat wishing it were all true, I was enlightened by the second half of the lecture.
Stokle look various aspects of Joan’s life and related physical evidence to what was most likely, or rather most plausible. It is likely that Joan was not the peasant shepherd that she is portrayed as. He began critiquing her beginning as the child of Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée of Domrémy, born in 1412; there is not any birth record for Joan and there are accounts of local residents claiming they did not even know of Romée’s pregnancy. Also, during Joan’s heretic trial, a close friend with whom she played as a child, testified that Joan was older than her by several years and she herself was born in 1410. Joan’s date of birth can now be believed to be 1407 or 1408. Again there is no such record for her birth at that time. However Stokle claims that another birth of an illicit match taking place in 1408 could have sent Joan into the country to be raised. This match was between Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, the mother of King Charles VII of France, and Charles, Duke of Orleans. This would make Joan and Charles VII, whom she crowned king, her brother. This would explain her ease at being able to meet with him, convince him to give her an army, and her ability to persuade him to Reims to be crowned legitimate king of France. Additionally, Stokle claimed that Joan was well educated from her letters, her use of language that was not native to Domrémy, and her demonstrated ability to converse with nobility which if she was a peasant would be highly implausible.
Joan had claimed also to hear voices, those of St. Margaret of Antioch and St. Catherine of Alexandria which were claimed later by the Catholic Church to have never existed. So who then was speaking to her?
Further contestation of Joan of Arc’s story lies with the death itself. It has been detailed that Joan was burned at the stake however she was placed on a platform that was higher than any other stake used in execution and her head was covered. It was illustrated that in the square in which she was burned all of the windows were nailed shut. There is also on record that there were two other women being tried for heresy at the same time and held in the same tower, at Rouen, as Joan. This would lend to the idea that it was not Joan of Arc that was burned at the stake but rather another convicted ‘witch’. This is further evidenced by later letters and receipts containing her name, Jeanne la Pucelle. Such letters showed the same acquaintances which can demonstrate that an imposter was not possible.
One final comment that caught my eye about Joan’s stay at Rouen—the British man who oversaw the trail of Joan of Arc was the Earl of Warwick, Richard Beauchamp. Though the trail was held by the Church, the results were directed by the English. Is this why the French helped her escape death? Was the desire to rebel against the British the reason for her survival or was it due to gratitude of Joan’s accomplishments?
Stokle ended by claiming that her military victories and her crowing of the king are assured. These are true and alone can demonstrate her great contributions to unifying France. However, for these tings to happen it was necessary for her to have the confidence of the King and the military. As this confidence was in place, Stokle believed there must have been more to the story.
I enjoyed the discussion that Stokle led but I wonder how much of this research is true and how much of this research can be added to the many other theories surrounding Joan. Scholars can argue that Joan was crazy, a lesbian, a Protestant, and they can defend their arguments. Stokle can defend successfully his arguments that Joan was not born a peasant but half brother to a king and was indeed not executed. Though he displayed evidence such as letters after her presumed death and demonstrated the lack of evidence surrounding her supposed birth date, I am interested to know how whether this is enough to change her whole history. Though this research was convincing, I find that it doesn’t really matter. Jeanne d’Arc has proven herself as a hero and with that she gains the glory that comes with it—the glory of an epic history.
Stokle look various aspects of Joan’s life and related physical evidence to what was most likely, or rather most plausible. It is likely that Joan was not the peasant shepherd that she is portrayed as. He began critiquing her beginning as the child of Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée of Domrémy, born in 1412; there is not any birth record for Joan and there are accounts of local residents claiming they did not even know of Romée’s pregnancy. Also, during Joan’s heretic trial, a close friend with whom she played as a child, testified that Joan was older than her by several years and she herself was born in 1410. Joan’s date of birth can now be believed to be 1407 or 1408. Again there is no such record for her birth at that time. However Stokle claims that another birth of an illicit match taking place in 1408 could have sent Joan into the country to be raised. This match was between Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, the mother of King Charles VII of France, and Charles, Duke of Orleans. This would make Joan and Charles VII, whom she crowned king, her brother. This would explain her ease at being able to meet with him, convince him to give her an army, and her ability to persuade him to Reims to be crowned legitimate king of France. Additionally, Stokle claimed that Joan was well educated from her letters, her use of language that was not native to Domrémy, and her demonstrated ability to converse with nobility which if she was a peasant would be highly implausible.
Joan had claimed also to hear voices, those of St. Margaret of Antioch and St. Catherine of Alexandria which were claimed later by the Catholic Church to have never existed. So who then was speaking to her?
Further contestation of Joan of Arc’s story lies with the death itself. It has been detailed that Joan was burned at the stake however she was placed on a platform that was higher than any other stake used in execution and her head was covered. It was illustrated that in the square in which she was burned all of the windows were nailed shut. There is also on record that there were two other women being tried for heresy at the same time and held in the same tower, at Rouen, as Joan. This would lend to the idea that it was not Joan of Arc that was burned at the stake but rather another convicted ‘witch’. This is further evidenced by later letters and receipts containing her name, Jeanne la Pucelle. Such letters showed the same acquaintances which can demonstrate that an imposter was not possible.
One final comment that caught my eye about Joan’s stay at Rouen—the British man who oversaw the trail of Joan of Arc was the Earl of Warwick, Richard Beauchamp. Though the trail was held by the Church, the results were directed by the English. Is this why the French helped her escape death? Was the desire to rebel against the British the reason for her survival or was it due to gratitude of Joan’s accomplishments?
Stokle ended by claiming that her military victories and her crowing of the king are assured. These are true and alone can demonstrate her great contributions to unifying France. However, for these tings to happen it was necessary for her to have the confidence of the King and the military. As this confidence was in place, Stokle believed there must have been more to the story.
I enjoyed the discussion that Stokle led but I wonder how much of this research is true and how much of this research can be added to the many other theories surrounding Joan. Scholars can argue that Joan was crazy, a lesbian, a Protestant, and they can defend their arguments. Stokle can defend successfully his arguments that Joan was not born a peasant but half brother to a king and was indeed not executed. Though he displayed evidence such as letters after her presumed death and demonstrated the lack of evidence surrounding her supposed birth date, I am interested to know how whether this is enough to change her whole history. Though this research was convincing, I find that it doesn’t really matter. Jeanne d’Arc has proven herself as a hero and with that she gains the glory that comes with it—the glory of an epic history.
Monday, August 2, 2010
St. John's Church
Though I am still on holiday and have not the time to write an extended article, I want to briefly share my notes about St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.
This church was made famous by the convention that was held there in 1775. Patrick Henry made the notable speech including the line "Give me liberty or give me death". This was an early instance of American treason against the British crown. Every Sunday during the summer the speech is reenacted with a collection of 18th century statesmen. It is an interesting portrayal including an organ concert prior to the main event.
I enjoyed the ardently patriotic event despite its slightly peculiar cheesiness. My quick note however was regarding the patriotism regarding the separation from England. This event takes place in an Episcopal church which is the American Church of England. It follows the practices established by Henry VIII. This church still follows the Book of Common Prayer, derived from the monarchs of Britain but praise themselves for American separation. A British flag hangs next to an American flag over the door. If this reenactment was so much about the revolution and resulting separation from Britain, then why is the church still following this religion? Of course religion transcends time and national revolutions but it is somewhat ironic when you see these things combined.
This church was made famous by the convention that was held there in 1775. Patrick Henry made the notable speech including the line "Give me liberty or give me death". This was an early instance of American treason against the British crown. Every Sunday during the summer the speech is reenacted with a collection of 18th century statesmen. It is an interesting portrayal including an organ concert prior to the main event.
I enjoyed the ardently patriotic event despite its slightly peculiar cheesiness. My quick note however was regarding the patriotism regarding the separation from England. This event takes place in an Episcopal church which is the American Church of England. It follows the practices established by Henry VIII. This church still follows the Book of Common Prayer, derived from the monarchs of Britain but praise themselves for American separation. A British flag hangs next to an American flag over the door. If this reenactment was so much about the revolution and resulting separation from Britain, then why is the church still following this religion? Of course religion transcends time and national revolutions but it is somewhat ironic when you see these things combined.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A summer at the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Art in London offers the possibility to see two exhibitions this summer: Sargent and the Sea and the Summer Exhibition.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is an American expatriate painter, popular for his portraits. However this exhibition do not focus on this part of his life. Indeed, the aim of the exhibition is to “demonstrate the role that the sea played in Sargent’s early development. As it name implies, focuses on its works about seascape and marine, reminds me a lot of impressionists and Barbizon school, notably Eugène Boudin. Mainly because they painted the same subject: sea, coast and beaches and boats sceneries involving mainly fishermen and fisherwomen rather than bourgeois on vacation and the effect of climatic conditions on the seascape. Sea storms seem to have inspired him which is unsurprising given that Sargent’s inspirations have also included John Mallory Turner. His travels during his youth, in Europe, seem to follow a fashionable path amongst the painters of the time. He went in Brittany and Normandy, which were popularised thanks to the development of the railways, to Capri and Naples under the shadow of the Vesuvio and close to the buried Pompeii and through various ports and harbours like Venice in between. In addition, he also painted during his transatlantic travel which is more unusual. As I said earlier, if his style was reminiscent of previous and contemporary prestigious painters, the way he depicted the sea was something of a novel as he tried to avoid representing the limit between the sky and the ocean.
On a side note (slightly off-topic and probably ludicrous I reckon), paintings of naked kids brought to me the question: Does painting young naked kid would seem paedophile nowadays? I do not know if Sargent painted them directly on the beach or from memory, most likely in his studio, but I wonder how an artist painting that kind of subjects now would be criticised and worse, if he would be pursued for paedophilia. Yet, in this case it is art. I am not saying that paintings displaying that kind of explicit content should be banned but I find this discrepancy ironic. On a different subject, there was also an other exhibition at the Royal Academy and as I could get in for free, I did not mind checking it out.
The Summer Exhibition 2010 is quite a fun exhibition where unknown and more famous artists show their works of the year and where people can buy them. It is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art exhibition, now in its 242nd edition. A leaflet with the price is provided. There are works for the taste of everybody on various medium: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film. It is a rather large exhibition as it occupies a little less than a dozen of rooms which are defined by a common topic. Some artists are members of the Royal Academy and some are not. Although, most of them seem to be English by their name and their number, according to the Guardian, seems to reach 11,000 which seems a lot to me. 1,100 would be closer to the reality I suppose (here is a list of the exhibitor last year, I could not find it for this year.)
Overall , the Summer Exhibition is a good opportunity to see new things and to develop a taste in art that one would not be naturally drawn to. Some of them are really weird like this video of a woman licking some hair (i couldn’t figure if it was an animal or the head of someone..) for 3 minutes, and I think that the price was around £800. But that is what makes this display fun and entertaining.
-C
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is an American expatriate painter, popular for his portraits. However this exhibition do not focus on this part of his life. Indeed, the aim of the exhibition is to “demonstrate the role that the sea played in Sargent’s early development. As it name implies, focuses on its works about seascape and marine, reminds me a lot of impressionists and Barbizon school, notably Eugène Boudin. Mainly because they painted the same subject: sea, coast and beaches and boats sceneries involving mainly fishermen and fisherwomen rather than bourgeois on vacation and the effect of climatic conditions on the seascape. Sea storms seem to have inspired him which is unsurprising given that Sargent’s inspirations have also included John Mallory Turner. His travels during his youth, in Europe, seem to follow a fashionable path amongst the painters of the time. He went in Brittany and Normandy, which were popularised thanks to the development of the railways, to Capri and Naples under the shadow of the Vesuvio and close to the buried Pompeii and through various ports and harbours like Venice in between. In addition, he also painted during his transatlantic travel which is more unusual. As I said earlier, if his style was reminiscent of previous and contemporary prestigious painters, the way he depicted the sea was something of a novel as he tried to avoid representing the limit between the sky and the ocean.
On a side note (slightly off-topic and probably ludicrous I reckon), paintings of naked kids brought to me the question: Does painting young naked kid would seem paedophile nowadays? I do not know if Sargent painted them directly on the beach or from memory, most likely in his studio, but I wonder how an artist painting that kind of subjects now would be criticised and worse, if he would be pursued for paedophilia. Yet, in this case it is art. I am not saying that paintings displaying that kind of explicit content should be banned but I find this discrepancy ironic. On a different subject, there was also an other exhibition at the Royal Academy and as I could get in for free, I did not mind checking it out.
The Summer Exhibition 2010 is quite a fun exhibition where unknown and more famous artists show their works of the year and where people can buy them. It is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art exhibition, now in its 242nd edition. A leaflet with the price is provided. There are works for the taste of everybody on various medium: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film. It is a rather large exhibition as it occupies a little less than a dozen of rooms which are defined by a common topic. Some artists are members of the Royal Academy and some are not. Although, most of them seem to be English by their name and their number, according to the Guardian, seems to reach 11,000 which seems a lot to me. 1,100 would be closer to the reality I suppose (here is a list of the exhibitor last year, I could not find it for this year.)
Overall , the Summer Exhibition is a good opportunity to see new things and to develop a taste in art that one would not be naturally drawn to. Some of them are really weird like this video of a woman licking some hair (i couldn’t figure if it was an animal or the head of someone..) for 3 minutes, and I think that the price was around £800. But that is what makes this display fun and entertaining.
-C
Monday, July 19, 2010
Art Hop
I have recently attended an art function in my hometown called Art Hop. Art galleries twice a month open their doors to the culturally curious. The artists are on the premises to talk about their pieces and there are refreshments provided at every location. It is an amazing idea for the culturally starved region and the art that is produced has been of high caliber however in this town there is always something wrong...
The event takes place on the first and third Thursday of every month between 5pm and 9pm. Though this is a fun mid-week entertainment opportunity how regular can attendance or motivation be? I think the premise is good but those hours are difficult to accommodate if the person is working. Unless the person plans to only visit one venue, this is quite restricted.
These venues are also quite small--artist studios or galleries or just exhibits in parks. They are nice to look around but as they are fairly small it would be more reasonable to attend multiple locations and exhibits. The problem here is that they are all scattered throughout the city. Though certain areas are more concentrated than others the need to drive between venues is a large deterrent to attending such functions. Further, a large portion of area residents do not own cars. This is discluding to large portions of the population (probably the population that might benefit the most).
My next note for improvement--artists and sales. This event has turned into more of a sales event for budding artists than exhibits. My most recent participation involved two venues: a watercolor exhibit (with images inspired by Georgia O'Keefe) and an sculpture exhibit (largely tea sets). The artists were on hand to discuss their pieces and it was quite interesting yet, I would rather peruse their work in peace. I felt compelled to ask them questions because they were excited to have anyone looking at their work. Even more so did I feel like I needed to by something because they are standing over me as I look. I felt uncomfortable especially when there were things I did not like (mainly the watercolors). Though artists need recognition and sales, I think that making this event revolve around sales will limit people that legitimately like looking at art.
Though I like the idea there needs to be more appropriate time for the event, closer venues, or shuttle transportation options, and there needs to be a greater emphasis on art education and appreciation than sales. This area is greatly in need of cultural advancement and growth and this idea is moving in the right direction but it unfortunately neglects people from the start.
The event takes place on the first and third Thursday of every month between 5pm and 9pm. Though this is a fun mid-week entertainment opportunity how regular can attendance or motivation be? I think the premise is good but those hours are difficult to accommodate if the person is working. Unless the person plans to only visit one venue, this is quite restricted.
These venues are also quite small--artist studios or galleries or just exhibits in parks. They are nice to look around but as they are fairly small it would be more reasonable to attend multiple locations and exhibits. The problem here is that they are all scattered throughout the city. Though certain areas are more concentrated than others the need to drive between venues is a large deterrent to attending such functions. Further, a large portion of area residents do not own cars. This is discluding to large portions of the population (probably the population that might benefit the most).
My next note for improvement--artists and sales. This event has turned into more of a sales event for budding artists than exhibits. My most recent participation involved two venues: a watercolor exhibit (with images inspired by Georgia O'Keefe) and an sculpture exhibit (largely tea sets). The artists were on hand to discuss their pieces and it was quite interesting yet, I would rather peruse their work in peace. I felt compelled to ask them questions because they were excited to have anyone looking at their work. Even more so did I feel like I needed to by something because they are standing over me as I look. I felt uncomfortable especially when there were things I did not like (mainly the watercolors). Though artists need recognition and sales, I think that making this event revolve around sales will limit people that legitimately like looking at art.
Though I like the idea there needs to be more appropriate time for the event, closer venues, or shuttle transportation options, and there needs to be a greater emphasis on art education and appreciation than sales. This area is greatly in need of cultural advancement and growth and this idea is moving in the right direction but it unfortunately neglects people from the start.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Renaissance Drawing at the British Museum: from Fra Angelico to Leonardo
The exhibition begins by focusing its attention on the innovation that developed the profession of artists: the paper. In fact, it points that the Chinese invention of papermaking had been brought to Europe via the Islamic world. The invention of the printing press in Germany in the 1450s gave a huge impetus for papermaking, above all in Italy which was the most literate and urbanised region of Europe. Renaissance paper was handmade from cloth fibres (not wood pulp as today) obtained from old clothes, sails and ropes. To complete the explanation, a video shows how paper was made and visitors are invited to touch different types of papers to feel the differences. This is obviously a detail, but it is a good way to put into its historical context this artistic breakthrough.
Although I have never been a huge fan of this period artistically speaking, I can still appreciate the precision of these drawings and this exhibition allow the visitors to observe the artists’ talent with their pencil and sometimes even compare these with the finite paints, notably Lorenzo Monaco’s tryptich. The historical side, was an interesting side of the exhibition, showed that artists had a huge ambition and how through this war between them the style of the Renaissance evolved progressively from a religious theme to everything that the artists wanted to show.
-C
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