Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, J for Jongenotter

Angel in front of our church

 

 Dish of Wisdom

Conception resulting in new life in the shape of a crystal sphere, inspiration, breath of the spirit.

 

Leo Jongenotter 

Born in 1965, Barendrecht.

Sinds 1995 working as a sculptor at the Zaag in Krimpen aan de Lek.
He works with statues, and young people
He works with steel.The statues might be big or small, indoors or outdoors  abstract or figurative,but always with an element of life, that is to say an expression of emotion, movement or passion.The  story is told by the image and discovered by the spectator who listens with his  own ego.
This photo:
Soul-dial of steel in the light of the moon.

We all know the sun-dials. Well this is different. Here the three circles are not closed.  They hardly touch each other. We may think of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Sculpture for Leo's father, who was very ill but never complained and his memory is kept  alive in his family.

The stones were found on the beach of Normandy.

  Sculpture for Leo's father, who was very ill but never complained and his memory is kept  alive in his family.

 At the bottom the body is still healthy and strong, but the higher you get the frailer the nerves and the spine. At the top the body passes away but the mind reaches the victorious top of renewed spiritual life.

 Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar. Thank you Team of O. W. T.!

 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with J.

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, E for Elizabeth

 

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar

 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with E.

Book 1999, materials: copper, velvet and two white tiles.




Elizabeth van de Akker

The first time I met Elizabeth and her friend Susie, 58 years ago, was in an ecumenical workcamp in Zierikzee- Zeeland. The year after Zeeland was flooded in the night  of  Saturday 31 January 1953 and the morning of 1 February 1953, Students from all over the world came to help cleaning. We had to clean the soil of a particular piece of land, and to take all the bricks and rubbish out of the soil.

 

 

There I learned that Bep and Susie were students at the Academy of Fine Arts. That was the beginning of a long lasting friendship. A few weeks ago Elizabeth ( Bep) celebrated her 80th birthday. There were many people. Among them was also Susan. We talked a lot about the two workcamps we had worked in and viewed old photos.

During all this time from 1954 till now, I had the pleasure to see a lot of Bep and her art work.

Elizabeth van den Akker was born in July 1933. After grammarschool in1952 she went to Paris, where she stayed till 1953. Then she returned to Rotterdam and became a student at the Academy of Fine Arts. Her principal subject was monumental wall paintings and murals. After finishing her study,  she was looking for possibilities to exhibit her work and to get commissions.

More and more she was convinced that working with all kinds of textiles was what she wanted and did best.

 Elizabeth always works in series. Apart from textiles she also uses wood, various kinds of metal, cardboard, papier mâché and plastic.

Elizabeth is attracted by nature, music and travelling. In the seventies her first series of textile works was created around the theme "Vegetables". In 1984 Elizabeth began a new series of sculptures titled "What drifts on Water". Transparant fibre refers to a water surface, with on it and under it plants garbage and other objects which move on. In her book "Organisation et Méthode" we see the development of her work until 1999, the year in which she was already widely known.

 

You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

What drifts on water 1984 ( detail of the series)

material: glass fibre gauze, tulle, wood, papier mâché



Fleet of the past 1990 , a series of gondolas

Representing the various stages of art in history:

Greek,  then romanesque ( 900-1300),

 baroque, rococo.

Material: tulle, papier mâché.

Byzantine,1996, detail. Material: cotton,

metal, cardboard,adhesive plastic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These last two works are commissioned by the City of Rotterdam for two public buildings.

Headoffice public transport Rotterdam commissioned

by the city of Rotterdam 1982,material:

canvas,acryl

Police station Maashaven  commissioned

 by the city of Rotterdam 1980, material:

 mortar, plaster, wood, tissue of sisal twine.





ABC Wednesday, I for Issachar

 As I am still with my thoughts in Hadassah synagogue and the 12 beautiful stained glass windows, I dedicate this post to Issachar, a son of Jacob whom we don't know very well.
Wikipedia says:"In classical rabbinical literature, it is stated that Issachar was born on the fourth of Av, and lived 122 years.  Torah states that Issachar had four sons, who were born in Canaan and migrated with him to Egypt with their descendants remaining there until the Exodus".


This Chagall window represents the blessing of Jacob for Issachar: " Issachar is a strong ass lying down between the sheepfolds: and he saw that settled life was good, and the land was pleasant; he put his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave under forced labour".
Issachar/Yissachar was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Leah (the fifth son of Leah, and ninth son of Jacob).

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with I.


For more details click on photo!

ABC Wednesday, B for Benjamin

There are two Benjamins  among my relatives. One of them is my one but youngest grandchild in Australia.
The meaning of Benjamin is Son of my Righthand or Son of my Happiness.


Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel. His mother died in childbirth. He was her second child and brother of Joseph. When Jacob was dying, he blessed all his sons, and said this about Benjamin: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
   in the morning he devours the prey,
   in the evening he divides the plunder.”

Marc Chagall has succeeded in picturing these words in the window dedicated to Benjamin. 

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with B.

ABC Wednesday, W for windows

“This is my modest gift to the Jewish people who have always dreamt of biblical love, friendship and of peace among all peoples. This is my gift to that people which lived here thousands of years ago among the other Semitic people.” ( Marc Chagall)

When Dina asked me:"What would you like to see?" I answered that I should love to see the Chagall windows in the synagogue of the hospital near Jerusalem.It is the Hadassah hospital, where all medical faculties are situated. Recently a new wing has been opened.The Chagall windows represent the 12 tribes of Israel.

Hadassah is blessed with many works of art that enhance the hallways and halls, passages and public spaces; the countless paintings, sculptures and drawings grace both  campuses.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning withW.

Click to see more details.They are worth seeing.

ABC Wednesday, N for Naphtali

NAPHTALI

Second son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, and younger full brother of Dan. According to Gen. xxx. 8, the name means "my wrestling," and has reference to the jealous rivalry of the sisters Rachel and Leah.  In the Blessing of Jacob  the passage which concerns Naphtali has reference to the qualities of the tribe, rather than to those of the individual. "Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words"; i.e., "He is alert, nimble, free-spirited, and has poetical or oratorical gifts" (Driver, Commentary on Genesis, ad loc.).Naphtali was a swift runner and came first to Jacob with the good news that Joseph was alive.


 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or  Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with N.

This is one of the twelve windows created by Marc Chagall in the Hadassah synagogue.

ABC Wednesday, P for Pieck

The Dutch artist Anton Pieck was born in Den Helder on 19th April 1895.At the age of six he and his twin brother took lessons in drawing. When he was seventeen he became an art master, which he was for forty years.

During WWI he was a soldier staying in Amersfoort, where he drew many drawings.
He died on 24th November 1987 at the age of 92.

Anton Pieck was inspired by the past.He didn't like the time in which he lived.He lived in a romantic past. His work is full of humour. He loved to draw fairy tales and romantic scenes.
Was he an artist or a craftsman? He himself said that he was a craftsman.He was an illustrator with a very special way of drawing.

He was asked to help designing the fairy-tale park of the Efteling
Efteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands, and as it opened in 1952, it is one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the south of the Netherlands.

In over fifty years the park has evolved from a nature park with playground and a Fairy Tale Forest, into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland. It is twice as large as the original Disneyland park and predates it by three years. Nowadays, Efteling caters to both children and adults with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement ride .


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

ABC Wednesday, C of Cockatoo and Cape York

Cockatoo: My Life in Cape York by Roy McIvor.
Magabala Books.
My daughter in Australia wrote this book together with a friend of hers. They went several times a week to Roy McIver, who is an uncle of my daughter's first husband, and recorded his stories on an audio cassette. Back at home she put these stories on the computer and printed them. It took her and her friend two years to finish the book in Roy McIver's own words. The cockatoos are the tribal animals of two tribes in Cape York. They are also symbolic for the reconcilliation of the white Australian people and the Aborigines.

The exile of the Indigenous population of Hope Valley — in the coastal region of Cape York in far north Queensland — during World War II is a shameful yet seldom-told chapter in Indigenous Australian history. Roy McIvor was just 10 when he, his family and his community were rounded up by the military and shipped 1500 km south to Woorabinda because of allegations that his people were collaborating with the Japanese under the guidance of German Lutheran Missionary George Heinrich Schwarz. Roy’s community was deserted by the authorities and more than a third of them perished during their seven-year exile. They were decimated by disease amid rumours of deaths by lethal injections and medical experimentation. Cockatoo: My Life in Cape York is an inspirational story of how Roy and his people triumphed over the hardships to which they were subjected, and their eventual return to their country now known as Hope Vale. Throughout his life, art has been a guiding light. Today Roy is recognised as one of Cape York’s leading Indigenous artists and Cockatoo: My Life in Cape York features full-colour reproductions of his work.

Vicki Lane wrote about this book last year some months ago now.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started a new round of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with C.

that's My World, ABC Wednesday, V for Vincent

In September I wrote something about the Kröller-Müller museum in the national park "De Hoge Veluwe". Now I'd like to write about Vincent van Gogh, whose paintings are well represented in this museum.

Wikipedia says:"Vincent Willem van Gogh, born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose work had a far-reaching influence on 20th century art for its vivid colours and emotional impact. He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life, and died largely unknown, at the age of 37, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Little appreciated during his lifetime, his fame grew in the years after his death. Today, he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest painters and an important contributor to the foundations of modern art. Van Gogh did not begin painting until his late twenties, and most of his best-known works were produced during his final two years. He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches.
Van Gogh spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers and traveled between The Hague, London and Paris, after which he taught in England. An early vocational aspiration was to become a pastor and preach the gospel, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining region in Belgium. During this time he began to sketch people from the local community, and in 1885 painted his first major work The Potato Eaters. His palette at the time consisted mainly of sombre earth tones and showed no sign of the vivid coloration that distinguished his later work. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and discovered the French Impressionists. Later he moved to the south of France and was taken by the strong sunlight he found there. His work grew brighter in colour and he developed the unique and highly recognizable style which became fully realized during his stay in Arles in 1888."


That's my World is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with V.

that's My World, Australia, Art, Queensland, Roy McIver

 
 

Please click to enlarge!

Why do I post this entry about Australia in "that's My World"?
Well actually Queensland's Cooktown has become part of my world, because of my younger daughter, who has lived in Australia for more than 16 years now. She was first married to an Aboriginal man of Hopevale, and got two children by him. His family regard my daughter as a relative, as one of them.Because of her, I am also one of them now! My daughter has always been very interested in the lives and culture of the people of Hopevale in Queensland. So for more than three years she had been writing down the stories of Roy McIver, her uncle by her first marriage. Roy is a gifted artist and has had an interesting but not always easy life. What my daughter did was listening to his stories and record them on audio tapes, then write them down. She printed the stories and her friend Margie corrected them and together they helped Roy to write down his stories. Now the book is about to being launched. I am so sorry that I can't be there, for I know most of the people who will be in the Nature's Power House next week.
BTW the title "Cockatoo" refers to the two tribes of Aboriginal people living in Cape York. The white and the black Cockatoos are their tribal animals. It also refers to the black and white Australians

That's my World is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World


 

Please click to enlarge!

Weekend Reflections

 

Click to enlarge!

Almost 60 years ago I worked at a school here in this city. This is a very well-known gate of the city of Amersfoort and very beautiful too! Amersfoort is situated in Utrecht in the middle of our country.
The artist who drew this drawing is Anton Pieck. He also drew my header of this week.

 

Amersfoort lies in the province of Utrecht, where I drew the X.


This meme was started on 27 September 2009, by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

that's My World, ABC Wednesday K for Kröller-Müller Museum

In September I wrote someting about Hoenderloo and the national park of the Hoge Veluwe in Gelderland( see map). In this park there are several buildings. One of them is the gallery of Kröller-Müller, or as we call it the Kröller-Müller museum. It's a modern building and houses many paintings of Vincent van Gogh and other Dutch painters, but also those of other European painters of the 19th and 20th century. For the children there was a quiz which had them look for details of certain paintings. Outside there are statues, some of them modern others traditional.
The museum is named after Helene Kröller-Müller, an avid art collector who was one of the first to recognize Van Gogh's genius and collected his works. In 1935, she donated her whole collection to the state of the Netherlands. In 1938 the museum, designed by Henry van de Velde opened. The sculpture garden was added in 1961 and the new exhibition wing, designed by Wim Quist, opened in 1977.

That's my World is hosted by Klaus,Sandy,Ivar,Wren,Fishing Guy & Louise - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World



With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with K.

ABC Wednesday,C for Culture

Please click to see more details.
Greek: 1100BC,
Viking:1000AD,
Aboriginal:50,000BC,
Egyptian:2000BC

Not so long ago a friend of mine rang me up and we started a conversation about culture. Where does the culture of people start? Does it start when a group of people is going to use written language and write books? We came to the conclusion that culture starts with the prehistoric storytellers, who laid the foundations for religion, philosophy and all kind of art forms, related first to legends, religions and daily life. The Celts and the Vikings had hardly any written literature, but that doesn't mean that they had no culture. They had a highly developed way of expressing themselves in paintings, woodcarving, jewelry, music, dance...The Australian Aborigines had no written proof of their culture either, but they had their storytellers. They created images in words, and in cave drawings each with a very important message. Their rituals are incomprehensible to Europeans, unless one of their elders explains them to us. The sound of clapsticks, bullroarer and digeridoo is unknown to many Europeans and Americans.
I believe that culture also depends on the living conditions of people. People who live in deserts live in tents, they are often nomads. Their food consists of what they find in the desert.
In the arctic regions, where there are no woods, people build their houses of ice. They eat fish and seals. Their clothes are made of skins or testines of fish.

Culture is a combination of living conditions, depending on environment, intelligence,ingenuity and creativity. Survival is the main goal. Food, housing and clothing are the first necessities. Communication is becoming more and more important to fill all those needs. Sounds and gestures are not enough, therefore language comes into being and customs arise. Then when a community is getting well organized, creativity can be used to create art. Language is now also used to amuse and teach people. Music and language together are even better means to tell stories and help to remember facts and legends. Language is now written down; first in stone or clay tablets, later paper is used. Housing is now not only used for accomodation, but people like to build beautiful dwellings, and so architecture becomes a new art form. Clothes are going to be designed not only to keep one's body covered and warm, but to become more attractive and colourful.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started a new round of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with C.

That's my World, ABC Wednesday Z for Zadkine

This statue is called "Destroyed City", We call it "City Without a Heart"or "A Cry to Heaven". It symbolizes the city of Rotterdam after the bombardment in 1940 by the Germans.The whole city was in ruins.The sculptor is Ossip Zadkine (July 14, 1890 – November 25, 1967) a Russian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs.

Zadkine was born as Yossel Aronovich Tsadkin in Vitebsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. His father was Jewish; his mother was of Scottish ancestry.

After attending art school in London, Zadkine settled in Paris about 1910. There he became part of the new Cubist movement (1914-1925). He later developed his own style, one that was strongly influenced by African art.

Zadkine served as a stretcher-bearer in the French Army during World War I, and was wounded in action. He spent the World War II years in America. His best-known work is probably the sculpture "The Destroyed City" (1953), a memorial to the destruction of the center of the Dutch city Rotterdam by the German Luftwaffe in 1940.


Zadkine taught at his own school of sculpture. He died in Paris in 1967 at the age of 77 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse. His former home and studio is now the Musée Zadkine.

The Nazis destroyed Rotterdam on 14 May 1940, without any warning. When we returned from Indonesia( then Dutch East Indies) in January 1946, the town was one enormous ruin and my mum, who was born and bred in Rotterdam didn't recognize anything of it.

That's my World is hosted by Klaus,Sandy,Ivar,Wren,Fishing Guy & Louise - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World



With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with Z.