Perseverance
Paul Johnson's new book Creators is an anthology of sorts of Johnson's esteemed artists - writers, painters, poets, musicians.
Without going into the mysterious talent of the creative genius, what Johnson tells us is that much of the lives of these people (Bach, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Turner) involved the daily grind of work.
Perseverance.
It seems they never let a day pass without working on their craft. But, another interesting insight is that they never worked in isolation. At some point in their work, they consider the outside world, the public, as part of their creation.
I don't think this was a purely commercial strategy, but a realization that someone has to appreciate the work. And also the pure satisfaction that it is appreciated by as many as possible.
But, again, they never dragged it down to it lowest common denominator, and instead insisted that people aspire to the higher level at which they deem their work to reside.
This is a more casual and relaxed book than other fact-filled and intriguing chefs-d'oeuvre from Johnson - The History of Christians, and Elizabeth I: a Study in Power and Intellect.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Foundations
I Corinthians 3:11-17
A message for all walks of life.
A message for all walks of life.
| 11For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. |
Early Spring
At the Toronto Botanical Gardens
Robert Sweet (1783-1835) Rosy Rhododendron
The snow-covered entrance to the Botanical Gardens didn't prevent the early spring crowd from "Getting the Jump on Spring 2007". It was mainly a showcase for the horticultural and garden societies (with even one called "Rock Gardens"!)
There were also lectures for the garden amateurs, to prepare for the few months of garden bliss.
I went to hear the lectures on Botanical Art, and Digital Photography. It was interesting to see the photographer show us her hand painted black and white photographs of plants and fruits, but that in no way is comparable to the beautiful work displayed by the painter Leslie Staple. Unfortunately, Staple has no website or images where her works are displayed. But, I can describe them as a mixture of texture and transcendence, with rich colors. Although her work is mostly watercolor, it looks almost like she added pastels to her technique to bring out the subtly roughened petals and leaves.
Botanical painting is of course centuries old, starting out probably as a way to graphically identify medicinal plants. Later on, the rigidness of botanical illustrations' scientific observation led some painters to try a more poetic and artistic approach, calling the method also an art form. Nevertheless, these are very precise and accurate depictions of plants and flowers.
I did buy, for less than half price!, a Robert Sweet diary for 2007 - I still have lots of days to fill in, and some home-made Rose soap. Unfortunately, the soap wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, but the diary will definitely stay.
 |
Robert Sweet (1783-1835) Rosy Rhododendron
The snow-covered entrance to the Botanical Gardens didn't prevent the early spring crowd from "Getting the Jump on Spring 2007". It was mainly a showcase for the horticultural and garden societies (with even one called "Rock Gardens"!)
There were also lectures for the garden amateurs, to prepare for the few months of garden bliss.
I went to hear the lectures on Botanical Art, and Digital Photography. It was interesting to see the photographer show us her hand painted black and white photographs of plants and fruits, but that in no way is comparable to the beautiful work displayed by the painter Leslie Staple. Unfortunately, Staple has no website or images where her works are displayed. But, I can describe them as a mixture of texture and transcendence, with rich colors. Although her work is mostly watercolor, it looks almost like she added pastels to her technique to bring out the subtly roughened petals and leaves.
Botanical painting is of course centuries old, starting out probably as a way to graphically identify medicinal plants. Later on, the rigidness of botanical illustrations' scientific observation led some painters to try a more poetic and artistic approach, calling the method also an art form. Nevertheless, these are very precise and accurate depictions of plants and flowers.
I did buy, for less than half price!, a Robert Sweet diary for 2007 - I still have lots of days to fill in, and some home-made Rose soap. Unfortunately, the soap wasn't as successful as I'd hoped, but the diary will definitely stay.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
The Errant Architect
In search of the concrete
The National Assembly Building in Dacca Bangladesh, by Louis Kahn
Is architecture the last frontier?
Any self-serving, "artistic" architect can have his day in the field. Once his buildings have been commissioned by the "in crowd", and built, they are there to last. And hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people will get to visit these "emperor has no clothes" structures.
Paintings, on the other hand, go to the single individuals, albeit at exorbitant prices, and no-one else need see them ever again.
So, this is the ultimate conceit of these modern architects. It is a means of forcefully interjecting into society their inner drives and inconclusive ideas.
I think that is why they are such globe-trotters. They cannot commit to a local style, where eventually the inhabitants will demand a building they can relate to.
By shifting geography constantly, they can dot the world's landscape with their inner musings, until they either get rejected, or find another location and move on.
This was how Louis Kahn lived.
His last piece that was built, having taken close to 20 years from design to finished structure, was unsurprisingly in South Asia.
The formidable fort-like National Assembly Building in Bangladesh is another one of those buildings which bear absolutely no relation to the geography, culture and I would venture to say, even the aesthetics of that country.
I would have thought the Bangladeshi would have had more insight than bringing in another foreigner (haven't they been through that already?) to dictate one of the most important buildings of their country.
The National Assembly is where democratic decisions are made, at least in theory. Yet, looking at this building, what comes to mind is a prison.
But then, what we choose is a symptom of who we are. Perhaps it is in the psyche of the Bangladeshi, and let's be fair, of all us modern people, to accept submissively these buildings that get tossed out at us.
Kahn collapsed in a bathroom in New York's Penn Station, and his body was not identified for three days. He had just returned from a trip to India.
The Interior of the National Assembly in Dacca Bangladesh
 |
The National Assembly Building in Dacca Bangladesh, by Louis Kahn
Is architecture the last frontier?
Any self-serving, "artistic" architect can have his day in the field. Once his buildings have been commissioned by the "in crowd", and built, they are there to last. And hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people will get to visit these "emperor has no clothes" structures.
Paintings, on the other hand, go to the single individuals, albeit at exorbitant prices, and no-one else need see them ever again.
So, this is the ultimate conceit of these modern architects. It is a means of forcefully interjecting into society their inner drives and inconclusive ideas.
I think that is why they are such globe-trotters. They cannot commit to a local style, where eventually the inhabitants will demand a building they can relate to.
By shifting geography constantly, they can dot the world's landscape with their inner musings, until they either get rejected, or find another location and move on.
This was how Louis Kahn lived.
His last piece that was built, having taken close to 20 years from design to finished structure, was unsurprisingly in South Asia.
The formidable fort-like National Assembly Building in Bangladesh is another one of those buildings which bear absolutely no relation to the geography, culture and I would venture to say, even the aesthetics of that country.
I would have thought the Bangladeshi would have had more insight than bringing in another foreigner (haven't they been through that already?) to dictate one of the most important buildings of their country.
The National Assembly is where democratic decisions are made, at least in theory. Yet, looking at this building, what comes to mind is a prison.
But then, what we choose is a symptom of who we are. Perhaps it is in the psyche of the Bangladeshi, and let's be fair, of all us modern people, to accept submissively these buildings that get tossed out at us.
Kahn collapsed in a bathroom in New York's Penn Station, and his body was not identified for three days. He had just returned from a trip to India.
 |
The Interior of the National Assembly in Dacca Bangladesh
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Self-expressing Architects
The Turning Torso
Architecture these days seems to be a balancing act, literally.
Toronto's new Royal Ontario Museum
The new Royal Ontario Museum, to be completed in June 2007 (I had last posted that it would have been in January 2007) is one of the latest examples.
Architects these days juggle between engineering, artistic and functional roles. But, they hold on to the artistic the most. And true to modern traditions, that means primarily self-expression.
The Turning Torso
The Turning Torso, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is supposed to represent the twisting human body from a drawing that he made. It took four years to complete and was millions (of Swedish currency, I presume) over budget.
In the end, the building looks as incongruous as the new ROM, and just as unstable.
So, what is behind this rush of strange and daunting buildings? I believe it is a disconnection between the architect and his environment, as both the ROM and the Torso testify, and as I wrote in these earlier posts on a number of other buildings.
Geography is of paramount importance in all the arts. Once we start ignoring the reality of our surroundings, what else do we have left but our imaginations? Then any twisted shape and form can take over our buildings.
In a later blog, I will write about one of the most important and spectacular examples of how geography influenced architecture, down to the perfect last stone.
Architecture these days seems to be a balancing act, literally.
 |
Toronto's new Royal Ontario Museum
The new Royal Ontario Museum, to be completed in June 2007 (I had last posted that it would have been in January 2007) is one of the latest examples.
Architects these days juggle between engineering, artistic and functional roles. But, they hold on to the artistic the most. And true to modern traditions, that means primarily self-expression.
 |
The Turning Torso
The Turning Torso, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is supposed to represent the twisting human body from a drawing that he made. It took four years to complete and was millions (of Swedish currency, I presume) over budget.
In the end, the building looks as incongruous as the new ROM, and just as unstable.
So, what is behind this rush of strange and daunting buildings? I believe it is a disconnection between the architect and his environment, as both the ROM and the Torso testify, and as I wrote in these earlier posts on a number of other buildings.
Geography is of paramount importance in all the arts. Once we start ignoring the reality of our surroundings, what else do we have left but our imaginations? Then any twisted shape and form can take over our buildings.
In a later blog, I will write about one of the most important and spectacular examples of how geography influenced architecture, down to the perfect last stone.
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