VIKTOR DONOVAN

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A GARDEN IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD

If I were to give a piece of advice to someone choosing a life partner, I would say to to look for someone who likes gardening because in a gardener, there is plenty of tender loving care and energy and patience.

People find ways of gardening where they can and some have the possibility and drive to carry out larger projects.such this:

MIKE MOODY ROOF GARDEN IN TORONTO

"The roof garden began in an informal way back in 1995 through the efforts of Property Manager, Mike Moody , a plant aficionado and seasoned gardener. Already a treasured gathering space for tenants, it has evolved into a 6,500 square foot cedar deck, resplendent with flowers, vines and bushes – many of which have been grown from seed - and a lush blanket of sedum that covers close to 3,000 square feet of roof beyond the deck. There are also a number of large planters that hold trees and perennial shrubs that winter over on the roof. " Read more.

Monday, April 23, 2012

SPACE FASCINATES IN OLD RUSSIAN POSTERS

I suggested in an earlier entry that OCCUPY posters might one day become valuable. It appears that old Russian space propaganda posters are now fetching high prices according to WIRED SCIENCE, Regardless of politics, these posters certainly are very dramatic and decorative.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT THAN US -- WHY ROMNEY DOES NOT GET IT ABOUT HIS DOG

Huffington Post headline today - the 1983 story that does not go away.

Mitt Romney has had another chance to explain (and regret) having placed a large male Irish setter in a dog transportation case on top of the family car during a 12 hour car trip to Canada in 1983. His actions are so cruel, bizarre and character defining, that the story will not go away and now, Mitt Romney and his wife had the chance to do some damage control when being interviewed by ABC's Diane Sawyer. But no. Romney regrets the incident - but only because of the attention it has got. And his wife brushes it off, saying the dog loved traveling in the crate on top of the car and the dog got the diarrhea due to turkey it got on the (kitchen?) counter (turkey they all must have eaten and they were fine?).

It appears that a great number of Americans believe that the dog was scared to death and therefore covered the car with diarrhea during the trip. But the Romney couple seem not to care or they are extremely obtuse. Is it simply that, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once said "the rich are different than us." Very different, it appears, in their attitudes to their possessions. I remember an old and very well dressed lady in Chelsea walking her similarly old dog in this wealthy area of London. The dog, who seemed the fittest of the two, walked in front of her and she, clad head to foot in haute couture followed slowly after.

I said to her "That is a beautiful dog you have", and she answered slowly and politely in very upper class English, as a fine old lady would, "Yes I do rather like it." Maybe I'm picky, but to this wealthy lady her dog was not a he or a she or a him or a her. Her happy little pooch was an IT. "Yes I do rather like it."

I wonder if this was the way the wealthy Ann and Mitt Romney were thinking about their dog? An "it" to be put on top of the car. After all, they could have chosen to put the luggage on the roof, but they placed the dog there. And yet still, they strangely maintain that IT liked there, in its little container, strapped on top of the car for 12 hours, with no chance to move or even to communicate with the owners that it needed to defecate. Americans might ask themselves if they wish to be treated like that if Romney is elected.
The Ed Show also brings up the story:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Saturday, April 14, 2012

TIME TO INVEST IN OCCUPY POSTER ART ?

Art occurs, it seems, whenever one is inspired to express him or herself with images, in caves, on canvasses, on murals or in posters such as these decorative Occupy Posters (all available and credited here).

Maybe one day, when the Occupy movement has achieved a balance in society, the originals of these posters will be auctioned for enormous sums at major auction houses.

Friday, April 6, 2012

ENGRAVED SWEDISH GLASS AT ITS VERY BEST

Simon Gate 1923
THE OXEN HEADS URN

Simon Gate 1923
THE OXEN HEADS URN detail

Simon Gate 1925
THE BACCHUS PROCESSION

Simon Gate 1925
THE BACCHUS PROCESSION detail

Simon Gate 1929

Simon Gate ca 1930

Edward Hald 1919

THE DRAPERY BOWL

Edward Hald 1920

GIRLS PLAYING WITH A BALL

Edward Hald 1921

THE FIREWORKS BOWL

Edward Hald

Edward Hald 1925

THE BALLON AND GONDOLA

Edward Hald

Edward Hald 1930

THE SKY GLOBE

Edward Hald 1930

THE SKY GLOBE detail

Edward Hald

Cactus exhibition detail

Edward Hald

Cactus exhibition

Foto:Hans Thorwid/Nationalmuseum

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

ZACCHEUS -- GET DOWN FROM THAT TREE !

In the distant past, the Swedish church dominated everyone's life. The clergyman visited the homes of people in the country to make sure that people knew their Bible properly.

The Swedish primitive painters in the province of Dalarna, often used dramatic religious incidents for their subjects and the story of Zaccheus, the short sinful merchant in Jericho, who climbed a tree to properly see Jesus on his way to Jerusalem (and then is asked down by Jesus), fascinated the painters and here is a painting, recreated in the old style by Leif Södergren of Gothenburg. The story ends well with Jesus visiting Zaccheus in his home and Zaccheus giving away a lot of money to the poor.

Zaccheus in the tree by Leif Södergren.
Acrylic on wood 60 cm x 80 cm
You can buy a poster or greeting cards of this painting here.

(detail)
Here they stand, man against man. The short and sinful Zaccheus up in the tree and Jesus, the son of God.
Both Zaccheus and the buildings look very 1800th century Swedish.
Today Zaccheus' tree has become a tourist attraction, but the real tree looks different from this fantasy-tree imagined by the primitive painter.






Zacchaeus song



There was a man in Jericho called Zaccheus.

There was a man in Jericho called Zaccheus.

Now the Hebrews, they were tall, but Zaccheus, he was small,

Yet the Lord loved Zaccheus, better than them all.



The Lord went walking one day through Jericho town,

And the people began to gather from miles around.

But Zaccheus, he couldn't see, so he climbed a Sycamore tree,

And the Lord looked up and said, “Zaccheus, come down.”



The Lord said, “Zaccheus, I am dining with you today.

Zaccheus, I come to your house, come lead the way.”

Then, Zaccheus, he gave a cheer, but the people began to sneer,

“This man is a sinner, does the Lord seek lodging here?”



Now Zaccheus was small of stature, but he could show,

That a man who is stout of heart can grow and grow.

“If I have cheated young and old, I restore the goods four fold.”

And salvation came that day to his whole household.

NEW BOOK!

Much of human activity is centered around food. We think of food whether we’re hungry or not. We spend a great deal of time buying it. We take hours preparing it (well, some do). We talk about it. We read about it in cook books. We watch television when chefs talk about it (sometimes to excess). When we socialize, it is often centered around the communal intake of it. We give it as gifts. Food, we can’t escape it! Some people become keenly interested in preparing food for themselves and others; many have become what we call “good cooks”. Usually a degree of creativity is involved together with a keen interest to entertain and a need to take care of others, to be a good host. It is such people that one remembers, and that is how I got started on Food & Folk, remembering, for example that excellent couple, Beatrice and Clayburn La Force on their ranch in Alpine California. After that I just kept going.

MY HOMETOWN GOTHENBURG

A series of closeups (224 photos) of Gothenburg, Sweden. Language: English and Swedish.----- This book consists of a series of closeups of Gothenburg. It is no history book but, hopefully, it will generate some curiosity about our city. When you walk in a city like London you are struck by Britain’s colonial past and its enormous wealth which manifests itself in buildings and institutions all over the city. When you walk in “Little London” as Gothenburg is often called, one is keenly aware of its importance as the best fortified city in Northern Europe. Two forts still watch over it. Remnants of the seventeenth century wall, and the meandering moat are a reminder of the city’s military past. Positioned on the West coast of Sweden, Gothenburg was once a world leader in ship building and shipping and evolved naturally into a merchant’s city. The English and Scottish heritage here is very important. There are clues and traces everywhere. One has only to look.

A GARDEN IN MY HOMETOWN

A book in English and Swedish about the Garden Society of Gothenburg--TRÄDGÅRDSFÖRENINGEN -----The Garden Society of Gothenburg is one of the best preserved early 19th century parks in Europe. It is situated directly downtown, offering lovely walks in the park or in the shaded woodland areas along the canal/moat, waterfront. The garden recently went through a major renovation under the auspices of Ulf Nordfjell, the internationally known landscape designer. The aim was to bring the garden back to its old nineteenth century glory. Carpet bedding returned and five new woodland areas were designed by five international garden designers. A superb new rose park was added, a successful blending of historical roses and perennials.

Love letters from my Swedish grandfather Folke to my American grandmother Olga 1909 - 1961

My American grandmother, Olga, met my Swedish grandfather, Folke Jonsson, in Brussels in 1909. Olga was 18 and Folke, 23. They settled in Gothenburg and Särö, Sweden. Olga, being American, had her family in Florida, and Folke soon came to realize that if you marry a woman from another continent, and this woman is charmingly independent, innovative and brave, and has her own means to boot, she is bound to want to visit her native country some time -- or several times -- or more than several times. To Folke, a sensitive soul, the long separations were quite painful and he suffered till his darling Olga returned. He “talked” to her in his frequent letters. Olga saved all his letters, in their original envelopes, in neat little bundles held together with different coloured ribbons. They were a treasured lifelong testament of his love. Olga and Folke corresponded in English as Olga was American and preferred writing in English. Had my grandfather Folke married a Swedish woman who had stayed at home, there would not be this stack of his letters today. He never intended the letters to be shown to others, but more than one hundred years have passed since Folke wrote them to his darling Olga. I have enjoyed getting to know my grandfather in this manner and I think others, not only relatives, should also share that privilege.

A pictorial Companion to the letters in the book above: 150 pictures of Olga & Folke 1909-1978

NEW BOOK BY DONOVAN O'MALLEY

REVIEW: "...O'Malley continues to prove that he is one of the more important writers around, a writer who with every book brings into our lives some very strange, often exceedingly humorous, and now, frequently very lonely people. His ability to create language for each of his characters is sharp, well studied and written, and without belittling anyone he, in language, shows the difference between class, and education, and exposure. Likely that comes from his experience in writing plays where characters are alive and moving, but with his considerable literary skills he makes his written page people morph into real life folks. He is in top form here ... " Grady Harp, June 12 (Hall of Fame reviewer)