Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The Museum of Innocence

“In fact no one recognizes the happiest moment of their lives as they are living it.

It may well be that, in a moment of joy,

one might sincerely believe that they are living that golden instant "now,"

even having lived such a moment before, but whatever they say,

in one part of their hearts

they still believe in the certainty of a happier moment to come.

Because how could anyone,

and particularly anyone who is still young,

carry on with the belief that everything could only get worse:

If a person is happy enough to think he has reached the happiest moment of his life,

he will be hopeful enough

to believe his future

will be just as beautiful, more so.”

― Orhan Pamuk, The Museum of Innocence

Monday, March 13, 2017

“When I went on anyway, my body began to grow cold, and I thought I
was dead. Face pale, my dead self sat down on a bench and began to turn
toward my real self, who was watching this hallucination on the screen of the
night. My dead self came nearer, just as if it might want to shake hands with my
real self. That's when I panicked and tried to run. But my dead self pursued me
and finally caught me, entered me and controlled me. I'd felt then just the way I
felt now. I felt as if a hole had opened in my head from which consciousness
and memory leaked out and in their place the rash crowded in, and a cold like
spoiled roast chicken. But that time before, shaking and clinging to the damp
bench, I'd told myself, Hey, take a good look, isn't the world still under your
feet? I'm on this ground, and on this same ground are trees and grass and ants
carrying sand to their nests, little girls chasing rolling balls, and puppies running.”
― Ryū Murakami, Almost Transparent Blue

This is a story about a bunch of disaffected Japanese youths who waste their time with gratuitous sex, drugs and violence. ‘Almost Transparent Blue’ is the other Murakami’s debut novel which was received to critical acclaim and won the coveted Akutagawa prize. It is also one of the must read books on the 1001 list. This is not an easy book to read and I’m sorry to say that it’s not as good as ‘In the Miso Soup’, although it has its moments. Favourite bits include the opening chapter and the bit where they are at the American air base during the thunder and lightning sequence.

The strongest aspect of the book is its gross imagery and the unfathomable sadness of lost youth. The characters (of which the narrator shares the same name as the author) are all stuck in their own desolate vacuum of apathy, moving from one moment to the next in a haze of indifference. Murakami’s image of post-war Japan drags the reader down the dark alleyways of an insular and unyielding culture. His characters allow us to penetrate the stereotypical lacquerwork of strong Japanese moral values and gaze at the ‘other japan’, the one that lives side-by-side with Western ideals. This drug-like cocktail is at once fascinating and repulsive.

Maybe it’s just me, but there were times when this novel didn’t make any sense, but then again this is a ‘mood heavy’ book, and there is not a pronounced plotline, so the narrative sort of echoes the tumultuous lives of decadent Japanese youths. This book reminds me of ‘Exit A‘ by Anthony Swofford which had a better storyline and is also set around an American airbase in Japan. Both novels contain a central theme of degeneration and crime, but ‘Almost Transparent Blue’ is decidedly more corrosive and far more bold than Swofford’s offering. ( source )

Sunday, March 12, 2017

THEODOR AMAN MUSEUM

Theodor Aman s-a născut pe 20 martie 1831 la Câmpulung-Muscel. După lecţii de desen cu pictorul Constantin Lecca, la Şcoala Centrală din Craiova studiază la Colegiu Sfântul Sava din Bucureşti de unde pleacă în 1850 la Paris. Aprofundează pictura cu Michel Martin Drolling, apoi, din 1851, cu Francois Edouard Picot.

Se dedică picturii influenţat de maeştrii Renaşterii italiene. Revenit pe meleagurile natale s-a inspirat din viaţa muscelenilor lăsând mai multe pânze cu peisaje din Câmpulung şi împrejurimi. Numele său a rămas în istoria artei româneşti nu doar prin valoarea operelor semnate, ci şi prin contribuţia avută la întemeierea primelor şcoli de Arte frumoase, la Bucureşti şi Iaşi. Prestigiul de care s-a bucurat Aman a fost sporit şi de funcţia sa de director al Şcolii naţionale de arte frumoase, încă de la înfiinţarea acestei instituţii (5 octombrie 1864). În pictura sa de o rigoare academistă, simbolurile evocărilor istorice aduc o anume prospeţime, în sensul situării artistului în actualitate. Noutatea pânzelor sale ţine astfel mai mult de răspunsurile tematice la preocupări sociale şi politice din perioada fondării statului naţional român. Nu lipsesc însă şi unele încercări de luminare a paletei, de surprindere a instantaneului, ce ne vorbeşte despre ecoul, fie şi palid, al experienţelor unor artişti francezi care pictau în aer liber, la Barbizon, în împrejurimile Parisului, unde în deceniul al şaptelea şi al optulea, se pun bazele impresionismului Începe să picteze încă de pe atunci o serie de compoziţii istorice, unul din genurile sale preferate în care va excela. Trece la cele veșnice pe 19 august 1891 .

Muzeul Theodor Aman este una dintre cele mai frumoase reşedinţe particulare din Bucureşti, construită în anul 1868 după proiectele proprietarului, care a fost pictorul Theodor Aman. De asemenea este una dintre puţinele reşedinţe care nu au suferit modificări în decursul timpului, fiind prima casă-atelier de artist din România.

De la planurile casei şi decoraţia exterioară (realizată în colaborare cu sculptorul Karl Storck) la decoraţia interioară: pictura murală, vitraliile, decoraţia pictată pe tâmplărie, stucatura tavanelor, lambriurile atelierului şi mobilierul casei, toate sunt reflectarea viziunii lui Theodor Aman.

Muzeul Theodor Aman a fost deschis în anul 1908 şi este unul dintre cele mai vechi muzee memoriale din România. El păstrează atmosfera vieţii private din perioada Belle Epoque alături de cea mai mare parte a lucrărilor pictorului Theodor Aman.

The Theodor Aman Museum is one of the most beautiful private residences in Bucharest, built in the year 1868 following Theodor Aman’s own designs. It is also one of the few buildings which has remained unchanged during its existence, and is the first workshop-residence in Romania.

From the architectural plans of the house and exterior decorations (done in colaboration with sculptor Karl Storck) to the interior design (mural paintings, stained glass, stucco ceilings, wooden panelling in the workshop, and the house’s furniture), the house reflects Theodor Aman’s vision.

The Theodor Aman Museum was opened in 1908 and is one of the oldest memorial museums in Romania. The house maintains its intimate atmosphere, gained during the Belle Époque period, and holds a large part of painter Theodor Aman’s works.

Theodor Aman was one of the most important Romanian painters of the XIXth century. His works blend Romanticism and Academicism, as well as bearing characteristics of early/Pre-Impressionism. He took drawing lessons with the painter Constantin Lecca, at Central School in Craiova, and in 1850 he leaves for Paris. Here, he studies painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, under the supervision of Michel Martin Drolling and François Edouard Picot. He returns to Romania in 1857, already established as a painter. His workshop becomes one of the most popular meeting places of high society, „the only artistic center of Bucharest's elite of that time“. His contribution to Romanian art transcends his work, by his important contribution to the establishment of the first Fine Arts School in Bucharest (1864), where he was both the first teacher and the director.

The thematics approached by Theodor Aman in his works - historical painting, gender and Oriental scenes, scenery, still nature - are distinctly represented in the exhibition, through works of important heritage value. The techniques employed by Theodor Aman range from easel painting, engraving and drawing. Moreover, his works range from large scale painting (particularly heroic representations of the past and historical portraits) and small scale works (contemporary or daily life projects).