24.10.12

TRAVEL DIARy


Preparing for departure again, see you soon in one week time. I will make the best to capture as much as possible on my travel diary to share with you later on. 
With a bit of luck I will visit the Design Week in Eindhoven. Keep fingers crossed for me.

In the meantime you can follow me more closely on here.



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23.10.12

TOYS TOYS




+++ I have previously talked about my love for old toys like mechanical tin ones, old illustrated fairy tales, wooden toys and things like that so I like visiting toy musea when I can. 

All pictures above are taken by me in the Deventer Toy Museum, well worth a visit if you happen to be in the neighborhood. There's a nice permanent collection, changing exhibitions and a play area in the attic(see last picture) where children can have a go with -among others- grocery shops, puppet theatre, build with a lot of lego bricks. There's also an interesting section where to play role games, dressing up and so on[which we unfortunately did not have time to do].

I have a little collection of tin toys myself. They keep me company in my study room and are often source of inspiration. Have a peak here if you like. Since then it has grown a little with a special tin u.f.o. guest and other little ones I might share shortly.

Have a lovely tuesday.


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22.10.12

PORTFOLIO PEAks [2]

  ... Peaks into my etching portfolio




shoes, miss you, the swimmers



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19.10.12

mOVie friDAy.09 | AMARCORd


I wanted to mention this film for a long time I did not dare though. Everything has been said about this masterpiece which makes it difficult for me to add anything about it. I will just say I love this Italian comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi-autobiographical tale about an adolescent boy  -Titta- growing up in 1930s Fascist Italy among an eccentric group of characters in Borgo San Giuliano, near Rimini 




+ The film’s title is a neologism for "I remember" in local Romagnolo dialect. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and was nominated for two Academy AwardsBest Director and Best Writing, Original Screenplay.


It goes from early spring 1932 to spring 1933, in a dream Rimini rebuilt in Cinecittà, exaclty as Fellini remembered it in one of his dreams. 
In the first scenes a young woman hanging clothes on a line happily points out the arrival of manine (puffballs floating on the wind). The old man pottering beside her replies, "When puffballs come, cold winter’s done." In the village main square, schoolboys jump around trying to pluck puffballs out of the air. The town idiot looks into the camera and recites a poem to spring and the swirling, drifting manine.


The film is simply about life in the village with his festivals, the "Fashist Saturday" gatherings, and most of all its special inhabitants. All characters are unique and unforgettable but some are particularly special and had entered the immaginary.
Here just a few of my favorite ones:

+ Titta Biondi [Bruno Zanin], the rosy-cheeked adolescent protagonist based on Fellini's childhood friend



+ the stout and buxom tobacconist [Maria Antonietta Beluzzi], who fires the desires of the young guys of the village, not least Titta who tries to seduce her in a rimarcably unforgettable scene









 + Gradisca [Magali Noël], the village beauty ageing but still yearning for eternal love.







+ the teenagers of the village taken from a bully sexual explosion. Memorable the scene where they observe in trepidation women sitting on their bikes 



+ professors, students and their school life. Memorable the math teacher, "fierce like a lioness" who occupies the forbidden dreams of many boys in their lust discovery



 + Volpina, the girl that goes with everyone



+ Titta's uncle locked up in a mental institution. On a day-out with his family in the country side he climbs up a tree and scream all day long "I want a woman" until the nurses from hospital wil resque him.

These are just few of the many unique characters Fellini was able to portray in the film. Among these particular emphasis was laid on Titta and his entire family, also worth notice. Through the events of his childhood, the young man will begin a journey that will take him, slowly, to maturity.






I love the scene where the village inhabitants go with little boats at sea to salute the cruise liner Rex, floating illuminated  in the middle of the night like in a dream. 
It's magical and breathtaking.

++ Though the film has no specific plot, one finds out that a lot can happen in this small town in a year. Love is lost, love is found, the fascists come to town, families change, people die and everyone seems to be engaged in tales nearly glamorous dreams.






+++ The film ends with Gradisca's wedding dinner in open countryside. You see Titta observe everything from afar, the blind accordionist whispering the title of the film, the seller of seeds, with incomprehensible diction apparently greeting the public. The time fails, the bride and groom depart and an ending music for accordion fades.


+++ Amarcord is very autobiographical. Probably is what Fellini recalled of his own youth, of his country, his youth, his friends and all the other orbiting around it- everything shown then through the eyes of his alter ego Titta.
Perhaps he so acutely captures the mysterious moments of adolescents on the verge of manhood because he set it in the time and place where he himself made this transition.

Amarcord is in my opinion truly one of his most enjoyable work. 




  { credits: photo 1 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16  }






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PORTFOLIO PEEKs

+++ peeks into my children illustrations portfolio














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17.10.12

BONJOUR


Sometimes we all need a special bonjour...



* photos taken at the WoonBeurs Amsterdam, taken by my friend and travel companion Stefi M.



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16.10.12

THINGS I LIKe | STUDIO DE WINKEL

 I like these vases,
 ...these cups,
   and these dolls!



All items and pictures from STUDIO DE WINKEL.
Look for more of their lovely design here.



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15.10.12

ADS I LOVE

+ Is there a time in your childhood when watching ads on telly was a special event?
If so, maybe you are Italian, born in the 60's and were waiting to see Carosello before bed time.
For the ones not knowing what am I talking about: Carosello was a tv program broadcasted daily from 1957 to '77. It consisted of a series of films (often sketch comedy or musical), followed by advertisements. The rigid format of Carousel was not just a container of advertisements. The concept proved to be a huge success; Carousel remained for many years one of the most popular TV shows, coming to represent a typical round of the Italian family, and even today the phrase "in bed after Carousel" has been part of the spoken language.
For children my age was infacts a happy moment before going to bed, moment when you felt you were really grown-up if you were allowed to watch telly so late.
In those years many characters were invented to push sales of everyday products, but the characters and the stories were more important than the advertising message itself: for instance the lovely black chick Calimero became soon more famous than detergent advertised.

++ You see, that is why there are more reasons why I like ads of the 60's and 70's. Some of them are not only very good for their graphics, illustrations or concept, but also they remind me of my youth.

+++ When I see stands selling old ads at flea markets I am all happy and my research of those characters starts. The past summer I had found some interesting posters (that I will have to hang on the walls soon. Some re-styling projects are much needed around here).
I did not find Calimero, Susanna-tutta-Panna or others of my faves but a lovely Bertolini yeast poster that evokes lovely scent of freshly baked cakes [see picture1] and lovely ads of Martini and Campari that I really like.

++++ But... the best find are two Olivetti ads from Giovanni Pintori, one of the Italian graphic artists of the period I most admire.
His name is linked to a long and very successful series of posters, advertisements, book covers, outdoor signs, stands. Among his best known works of recent years are the posters dedicated to the calculation and calculators Olivetti, like "abacus" or "numbers", or again, the cover of the famous book "Olivetti 1908-1958."

I love his use of color, their simple and pure lines, the visual connection to pure typography. They are now 60 years old yet do look so good and kind of contemporary today. Great design with no time.

Ok, the posters in pictures 2 & 3 will soon hang on my walls, hopefully I will find also the ones you can see here below next to Pintori himself.








{ * last images from here }




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A DAY IN JULY & FRIENDSHIp



... The Chinese red string theory is the idea that all matter is composed of tiny, vibrating strings. is a Theory of Everything and is based on this simple proverb:
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle but will never break."

At the end of July I met a dear friend of mine for lunch. It was 3 years we did not see each other, but we connected as not so much time as passed but just one day. 
We know each other since kindergarten days, went together to primary and secondary school, we shared so many exciting adventures together.

I like the idea of an invisible red ribbon connecting us, knowing that even if life is very hectic and we now walk different roads, this red thread will always be there and will shorten sometimes enough for us to meet and have a lovely chat in front of sushi like we did this summer. Hey, I missed you a lot!
{ This post should have been posted yesterday, as it was her birthday so I would have like to surprise her with this. Sorry Giusi I did not make it in time } 

To the ones finding themselves here today, maybe your day will be filled with shortened red string to the people you love. Long-life friendship is priceless.



Black heart (cards)




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13.10.12

BLUE THINGs





A polkadots bakelite ring from the 60's I found in a flea market this summer. How could I ever resist?

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12.10.12

mOVie friDAy.08 | THE LIFE OF OTHERs

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HI! Sorry I did miss quite a few movie fridays posts recently. I'll try not to miss any in the future. I had a completely different film lined up for this post, but listening to a wonderful radio program about actor Ulrich Mühe and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmack encounter,  really made me change direction. This two people destiny crossing paths, infacts, led to most beautiful and touching film The life of Others (Das Leben der Anderen, 2006) that I wish to recommend with no shade of doubt.

+ The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of early 1980's East Berlin by agents of the GDR's secret police, the Stasi.
Successful playwright Georg Dreyman is considered one of the most important intellectuals of the regime, who escaped the interests from the government due to his staunchly pro-Communist views and his internationally recognized talent. One day though the Party's Minister of Culture- who attended one of his performances- falls in love with Georg's partner, the actress Christa-Maria, and therefore decides to ask a Stasi agent to spy the two of them.

++ Wiesler, the agent, soon learns the real reason behind the surveillance and is horrified by the Minister's abuse of power. Through his surveillance, he knows Dreyman and Christa-Maria are deeply in love. Nevertheless Minister Hempf uses his knowledge of the actress' addiction to prescription drugs to engage her in sexual liaisons.
George will found out about their relationship through Wiesler's indirect help, and implore her not to meet him again. She refuses and flees their apartment at first, but later she meets in a nearby bar agent Wiesler, who, posing as a fan, reminds her of her talent. The encounter convinces Christa-Maria to return to Dreyman.

+++ At this point Georg Dreyman is at the same time a dedicated Communist, but also increasingly disillusioned with the way his blacklisted colleagues are treated by the State. When his close friend Albert Jerska, a blacklisted theatre director, gives him the sheet music to a piece titled "Sonata about a Good Man" and shortly afterwards hangs himself, George decides to write with a secret (unregistred) typewriter an article about the concealed East Germany suicide rates, and publish it anonymously in the newspaper.


The Stasi obtain a copy of the typed manuscript and realize it was written on an unregistered typewriter with red ink. Meanwhile, Minister Hempf is livid at being jilted by Christa-Maria and orders the Stazi to destroy her. Arrested as she attempts to buy drugs at her dentist's office and threatened with the end of her career, Christa-Maria reveals Dreyman's authorship of the article. When the Stasi search the apartment, however, they do not find the typewriter. 
Gradually, listening to his 'victims' conversations, knowing their thoughts, listening to their music, entering into their lives, the Stasi agent will substitute blind loyalty to the Party with a more dignified loyalty to ideals. Wiesler's heart moves from contempt and envy to compassion. 

The situation becomes complicated, as Wiesler is warned by his superiors that failure will cost him and Christa-Maria both. Eventually the actress will recognizes him as the man from the bar and tells him where the typewriter is hidden, agreeing to become an informant, but when the Stasi team return to Dreyman's apartment the typewriter is not under the floor boards, where she told it was. They do not know that Wiesler has already seized the evidence. 
His help won't prevent the worse to happen: when she sees the horrified look on Dreyman's face as he realizes she informed on him, ridden with guilt she runs into the street and is struck by an oncoming truck and killed on the spot. Dreyman runs downstairs and holds his dead girlfriend in his arms, weeping inconsolably. 
++++ Wiesler will be as punishment demoted to four years and seven months of steaming open letters in a dank, windowless office, until the fall of the Berlin Wall, when he finally walks away from his job.
Only years later, looking into the Stasi secret documents, Georg realizes that Agent "HGW XX/7" had knowingly covered up Dreyman's authorship of the suicide article and had removed the typewriter. Moved, he will dedicate him a novel and 2 years later Wiesler himself will buy that book and read on the first page the note "To HGW XX/7, with gratitude".

Rightfully rewarded with many prizes, the film is memorable for a beautiful screenplay and the extraordinary Ulrich Mühe's Oscar winning performance, who played the solitary figure of a Stasi agent symbol and emblem of a political and human defeat.

After the Berlin Wall fall, as it happens in the film, people were allowed to look into Stasi secret files. Unsuspectedly, milions of documents revealed that not only the professionally trained agents but also family members, friends, colleagues were spying on eachother.
Even Ulrich Mühe himself found out things he did not want to know. . As he says, he immagined to be under government control; in facts everyone knew hidden agents were everywhere but somehow that was part of normal life in those days. Less normal for him was to find out about 4 of his colleagues/friends who worked as unofficial Stasi's informants. But the most shocking and painful discovery, was for Mühe to discover that his beloved wife Jenni was on the informants list as well. Although she would never admit it until her death, it was totally heart breaking for Mühe to have to face such a possibility.
I think this gives his performance -actually in a role that is opposite to the one he had in real life- a very special angle and depth. 

As he puts it, The life of others' screenplay was to him very realistic and personal as it describes so well the story of a spy and of two artists who were spied, divided, manipulated and betrayed. It was infact also his story.

Interesting to know the film was so well written by a young director with little esperience who actually did never live in eastern Germany, and was just 16 years old when Berlin's wall fell. Amazing work.
When they meet to discuss the opportunity of working together, Ulrich Mühe asks Florian "How can one play the role of a troubled men who sits hours and hours in a solder spying on someone else?" the director simply replies "Maybe one does not have to act it at all". 
That was the perfect answer for Ulrich and decided to play the part.

Sadly, Mühe was already seriously ill at the prize-giving ceremony in Los Angeles in February 2007 when Das Leben der Anderen was awarded its Oscar, and flew back to Germany hours later for an urgent stomach operation. He died the same year, on july 22nd. 



{ credits: photo 1 | 2  | 3-4-5-6 }




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