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excerpts & illustrations
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number 46
December 1998
News & Letters
pages 2 - 3
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Letters from:
Christophe Doucet (France)
...I attended the ICCM International Centre for Culture and Management in Salzburg...a real opportunity for me to develop my
forest art project. There were 21 participants from all over Europe including Estonia,
Poland, Slovakia, Bellorussia, Russia, Kazastan, Romania...
I would encourage you to participate if...
you need help to develop a culture management project... We didn´t practice art but talked with each other about our
projects, aims, marketing, and fundraising. It was really intensive and stimulating... If you are interested in further information
you can contact me via Arts Dialogue.
Ank Buch (The Netherlands)
...the Dutch Bahá´í Dance group, Awake (were) twenty young men and women.. performing the Clap Dance,
...followed by the energetic dances: Man and Woman and Black and White dances... There was applause and appreciation
and many people returned for the second performance later...
Gina & Russ Garcia, (New Zealand)
The Art and Spirituality conference organized by the Bahá´í community was wonderful -fabulous spirit and tremendous works of art of all kinds in the
various ´branches´. Our show Pageant of the Prophets, was about progressive relevelation. We used slides with two off-stage narrators to read quotes from all
the prophets with musical background and had a choir singing song between the quotes... had three actresses to play May Maxwell, Juliet Thompson, Lua Getsinger...
Tony Lee (U.S.A.)
Some thoughts on devotional music at Bahá´í gatherings.
...At that time in the 1950´s, anything which even remotely resembled church music was considered inappropriate to Bahá´í events, including singing hymns (God forbid!)
or songs of any kind, as a congregation (we would also have gagged on that last word). The first distinctively Bahá´í music that I can remember that anyone could actually sing
along with were Bahá´í folk songs at youth conferences. But these never made it into the Feast or any other serious Bahá´í gathering. I think that the breakthrough came
with the song God Is One , This was actually written as a children´s song, but somehow captured the imagination of the community in the early 60s and was sung everywhere on all
occasions. The other breakthrough was actually the chant of ´Allah-u Abhá sung to an African melody that...
Reviews
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pages 3 - 4
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Ben Koen
and the Unity Ensemble, U.S.A.
Jazz CD : R e l i a n c e
order it from Ben at koen2@osu.edu
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Tenor saxophonist/composer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Koen is carving a unique place for himself in music.
He has performed in over 30 countries and territories of the world, including being part of New York City's cutting edge
creative music scene...
...O Son of Spirit! follows with a South African feel which is created by a kind of Algerian 6/8 rhythm on the drums. Again one can
hear a similiar contour of ascending and returning -the foundation is sung, then repeated by the saxophone, followed by each
instrument being sequentially added to create an ensemble sound rising to a celebratory height then returning to the place it began...
pages 4 - 5
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ISEA's Terror in Manchester. U.K.
(www.isea98.org.uk)
by Sonja van Kerkhoff, The Netherlands.
Review of the InterSociety for Electronic Arts International Symposium.
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Detail of Revolution for all
by Luchazar Boyadjiev, Bulgaria.
Visitors' faces were inserted into a projection of a socialist-realist
painting of Lenin preaching to the masses in St. Petersburg. A light-hearted dig at putting us and other temporal visitors into the picture.
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Detail of the floor projection
from Skies by Don Ritter, Canada / U.S.A.,
at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada, 1998.
An interactive video and sound installation,
17 x 17 metres.
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Viewers encounter two 4 x 6 metre images of a night
sky projected onto the floor and wall. As viewers walk onto the projection,
black paths appear under their feet and the imagery (and sound) transforms into day skies, or water or land imagery.
There are 32 different video-audio sequences available, selection determined by the number and the location of viewers
on the installation. As people more around, they must cooperate with each other to activate the various sequences, such as by
standing on all five paths that form a five pointed star, which then activates the video sequence of the sun emerging from
behind clouds. In various cultures rituals are enacted to bring about a cooperation with nature. Here Ritter is using high tech
to put us in touch with nature.
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Artist Profiles
pages 5 - 7 & 10.
Miep Diekmann, writer, The Netherlands, part 3.
In this interview Miep Diekman discusses her two books, Een doekje voor het bloeden (A cloth for the blood),
Leopold Publishing, 1970, and In de dagen van Olim (The days of Olim), Leopold Publishing, 1971.
One of my first memories after our move to Curaçao was when my sister asked why the taxi driver's hands were white on the
palms. I thought to my nine year old self "now this will be interesting," but my parents didn't say a word. That made a deep
impression on me and in reaction to the silences when it came to black and white interactions, I always tried to find an answer,
rather than bear with the silence. Discrimination often happens because of not knowing what to do or what to say.
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pages 10 & 11.
Alexis Hunter, visual artist, U.K. / New Zealand.
Arriving in England in 1972, she joined the first groups of the Feminist Art Movement, going on to make some of the most radical
work of the 1970's in the U.K., the "Approaches to Fear" series.
These photographic sequences were seen as paradigmatic of the change
in women's lives and were shown by the British Council in all the major U.K. museums, and internationally.
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Conscious Thoughts, 1996,
acrylic on paper,
by Alexis Hunter,
U.K. / New Zealand.
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Since 1981, Alexis Hunter has shown figurative paintings, exhibiting regularly in London, where she lives, and in Wellington
and Auckland (New Zealand). She has had solo exhibitions in Europe and New York and has participated in numerous group exhibitions internationally.
She recently curated an exhibition of eight leading women figurative artists from Britain alongside eight from China. These included, along with
herself, Paula Rego, Alison Watt and Jenny Saville. One of the Chinese artists, Deng Lin, is the daughter of the former premier, Deng Xiaoping.
You can view her work at: http://www.alexishunter.com
pages 11 - 12
Ian Kluge, poet / writer, Canada.
I believe the collage is the quintessential artwork of this age, (see my play, Hommage to Kurt Schwitters)
since the world is becoming a collage.
Postmodernism is the natural style of this age, which does not, of course, mean that every work must directly and
obviously manifest what currently passes as postmodernism...
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....excerpt from the poem,
Knives
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and the knives of all hearts
honed with whetstones of anger
greed
prejudice
slicing up worlds
and faces,
slashing the beauty of stars,
and the yellow of daffodils
let them become like leaves...
From his book of poetry,
For the Lord of the Crimson Ark, 1995.
Contact Ian about his books or CD of poetry and music at:
iankluge@netbistro.com
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Mari Lwyd, 1998
Woodcut by William Brown, Wales, U.K.
Thirteen ways to look at the Mari Lwyd or the death's
head mid-winter Celtic horse god revisited.
Thirteen mythological and political folk treatments in March illustrated by
William Brown and written by David Greenslade.
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page 12
William Brown,
printmaker / painter, Wales.
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Lucien Suel, Belgium, performing the poem, Le Chat de Guabecque, in Lille, 1997.
This poem appears in the book,
Le Nouveau Bestiaire: poems by L.Suel and woodcuts by W. Brown.
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Le kipper mystique / The mystic kipper
woodcut, 1997,
by William Brown, Wales, U.K. |
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Directness, simplicity and the satisfyingly manual method all appeal to me. The robustness
of the surface of the woodblock invites experimentation with wonderfully different papers.
I hand print -burnishing my small editions (25 max.) with a wooden spoon. I'm not particularly
'Green', politically, neither am I 'Gnomic', but the idea of an almost 'cellulose' (environmental friendly)
art form tickles me...
The New Bestiary - Le Nouveau Bestiaire, is a book of woodcuts and poems (in French with English translation), made in collaboration with the Belgian poet, Lucien Suel.
Price: 20 British Pounds.
March, is a book of woodcuts and myths in collaboration with the Welsh poet, David Greenslade.
Price: 4 British Pounds.
Send your cheque to William Brown at:
31 Newcastle Hill, Bridgend, S. Wales,
CF31 4EY, U.K.
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Poems
pages 8 - 9
Spanish America
by Janet Ruhe U.S.A.
an excerpt...
The panther
autumn comes
I dream of gold leaves
falling covering the plaza
a thin layer
the gray light makes them look like
real gold
Purpose / Doel
by Michel Verheecke
Belgium.
What little life I have's
The Dreamer's Gift
He chose for my desire
A dash of silver rain
A sprinkling of decay
From purpose or necessity
To bloom
And go to seed
And cure the selfness of the deaf.
Translation: Sen McGlinn, the Netherlands.
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Sydney 1994
oil on canvas
by Alexis Hunter
U.K. / New Zealand
Het beetje leven dat van mij is
Kreeg ik van de Grote Dromer
Die schiep mij als verlangen
Een vleugje zilveren regen
Wat druppeltjes verwelking
Met als doel of noodzaak
Uit te bloemen
Zaad te sproeien
En doven te genezen van zichzelf
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page 12
more Poems
The Desire
by Peter E. Murphy, U.S.A.
excerpt:
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...
I fell back into sleep, into dreams--
There were rivers I had to cross and recross,
and fires starting in every forest I came to,
and cars screeching around corners,
about to go off a cliff,
about to crash in a desert
where I am thirsty all the time.
Train Depot in Cd. Chihuahua,
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O Son of Being!
Thy heart is My home;
santify it for My descent,
Thy spirit is My place of revelation;
cleanse it for My manifestation.
Bahá´u´lláh
mixed media collage
by Eddie Hall, South Africa.
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by Chris Cholas, U.S.A.
excerpt:
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We fade in and out of yesterday's stroll
And today's scroll of colors across the sky
With moments for dozing off in between
That seem to last weeks.
I talk to Sea Gulls, by Elizabeth Bowers, U.S.A.
You write because you see
life through a bamboo tree;
I write because I float
alone in a small boat.
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excerpt
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Evolving
stone sculpted in Zimbabwe, 1996,
by Myriam Bargetze, Lichtenstein.
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Creative Writing
pages 13 - 14
why / is the sound of one hand clap / ping
by Lloyd Lawrence, U.S.A.
Excerpt
...I counted the signs leading to the traffic all the cars stopped their rubber soles against the concrete--
But what had washed up from some other shore-- was moving across my skin like a jackal cannot put
head or tail on it what manner of beast haunting me --what kind of mirage-- surely I have seen it before--
Calling to me from across the street --infecting my telephone-- crippling my t.v. --how many times did I have to gag
the radio-- I wasn't letting this stink enter my home --but no one called me nigger in Japan-- well at least not in
English --But there it was a clear as day --the face-- the fear --the ignorance daring to look at me-- saluting like a
space-ship alien...
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Articles
pages 14 - 15
Finding the Music of Qawwali,
by Kevin Tilbury
Lithuania. Part 3.
Excerpt
...One evening, I recorded a procession returning the Granth Sahib to its resting place. Many songs were sung
with great spirit and energy. The way they took the melody, words, ritual and filled them with spirit, energy,
reverence made up for the lack of musicianship. Sweets were given out and prayers said...
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A Sikh putting the Guru Sahib to bed. He carries it on his head,
above himself, as a sign of respect.
Photograph by Kevin Tilbury, Lithuania.
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Horse in snow, photograph by
William Muñoz, U.S.A.
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Rabi'a, by Susan Maneck, U.S.A.
She is significant in the history of Islamic mysticism in that she marks the transition
from the early penitential mysticism associated with Hasan al-Basra to the higher love mysticism typified by Sufis such as
Rumi. Then of course, there is the fact she was one of the very few notable femaile Sufis...
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Photographs and Illustrations of work by:
Sara Buist, U.K., William Muñoz, U.S.A.,
Mary Gregory, Finland,
Don Ritter, U.S.A., Tina Herslund, The Netherlands,
Eddie Hall, South Africa, Pavel Roucka, Czech Republic,
Jacqueline Wassen, The Netherlands, Keith Brown, U.K., Line Clément, France,
Tom van Teijlingen, The Netherlands., Luc Wolff, Luxembourg,
William Brown, Wales / U.K., Myriam Bargetze, Lichtenstein,
Luchazar Boyadjiev, Bulgaria, Alexis Hunter, U.K. / New Zealand and
Kevin Tilbury, Lithuania.
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Arts Dialogue, Dintel 20, NL 7333 MC, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
http://Bahá´í-library.org/bafa email: bafa@bahai-library.com
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