Material Girl

If I had a chance to start it all over, I might have become a material girl , i.e. textile designer.  Fabrics fascinate me since I can remember. My mom used to have this beautiful midnight blue dress with elaborate and dimensional black motifs. It was from 1976 and if I hadn’t chopped it, I might as well show off in it right now…But of course I chopped it. Chopping was a definition of the first decade of my life. Mentally rolling back time (you can’t do it otherwise, can you?) I wonder and admire my mother, her flexibility and her support of all our “creative attempts”. Or perhaps it was the only way for a full-time-working mom to keep us busy and happy, I don’t know. 

 Image ETRO

  Anyway, my every visit back home ends bringing back a suitcase of sparkly, rainbow-bright and totally unusable fabrics. Once in a while a new exotic pillow appears on the sofa, but mostly they sit among proudly pale linens (shocked and sniggering) looking a little outlandish. But I can’t help, it. The textile bazar in Khojent is a miraculous place. My sister inevitably starts rolling her eyes if I mention the imminent trip to the market… I don’t mind, I let myself enjoy the surrealistic beauty. I am playing Alice in wonderland:

`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' 

For Christmas among the other beautiful presents I got this book. A tiny dream come true. I love to use textile designs in my works. They allow a painting to be figurative and abstract at the same time. Fabric designs - just like mosaïque – offer endless variations of colors and defy dimensions. 

In the painting I am working on now, fabric designs are not just a way to depict a subject, they ARE  the subject. Stunning dresses women wear in the South of Tajikistan take months to decorate. All stitching is made by hand and natural dyes are used to give fabrics this vibrant look.  “Kulobi Dancer” is still in progress, it measures 150 cm x 50 cm and is acryl on canvas.   

And if you are as mad (or mildly interested)  about textiles as I am, and you are located in Switzerland, do go and visit «Soie Pirate. Textile Archive Abraham Zurich» in Zurich National Museum. "The Abraham Archive with its vast array of textile treasures sheds light on the most diverse aspects of fabrics and fashion in the second half of the 20th century. The charismatic personality of Gustav Zumsteg, the innumerable fabric patterns, swatch books, and photographs on show, as well as a printing table and glimpse into the future of the archive will transport visitors into a fascinating world of exquisite craftsmanship, innovative artistry, and glamour".

I wish you a colourful week.

Love, 

AB

And This Too Shall Pass

My latest painting is titled “This too shall pass”.

When my big sister and I were kids and something tragic happened (we got a B in  Geography or boys we had crashes on didn’t pay us any attention) our mother would console us and say: “And that too shall pass”. It didn’t make much sense back than, but it came with the hair stroking, so it did make us feel better.

For many years I thought the saying belonged to king Solomon, but lately I found this story and I would like to share.

130 cm x 130 cm, acryllic on canvas. 2011

One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it."

"If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?"

"It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility.

Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of he poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah.

He watched the old man take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile.

That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled.

To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimel, zayin, yud, which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor"— "This too shall pass."

Have a good week and enjoy it, because after all it too shall pass.

Love,
AB

It’s time!

Well, ok, it’s ALMOST time! Three weeks left until my exhibition and I feel like I am running out of time. Contradictory enough ideas start to arrive in batches, which reminds me of a dialog of Calvin and Hobbes (a great cartoon I’ve discovered lately. I know. I KNOW. But better late than never.):

“-You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
-What mood is that?
-Last-minute panic.”

I did try to find a theme for my next event. I can’t. I really can’t. Inspiration comes from all over the place: childhood memories, short winter days, old black and white photos, pin up models, books, a view outside the window. How can one paint it in the same style? It is like to say: OK, I really like spinach (I do) and I am going to eat spinach every day for the rest of my life. Or: I am happy today, so I am going to stay happy to the end of days. Perhaps some are consequent like this, but not me. I am the Queen of Inconsistency.

The only consistent aspect is RED. I can’t help it. A friend told me lately: “Why don’t you paint blue?” Good question. Honestly. I had a clear picture in mind recently. It was definitely blue. It stayed blue for two days, but when I finished it, it came out red…with a skull. 

I don’t try too much to analyse what I do. But people often ask questions like: “What are you painting?” , “In which style do you paint?”. And obviously one (me) has to come up with some sort of a smart answer: “Landscapes of memories” or “Portraits of souls”, that kind of thing. Ask a six year old in which style he/she paints. Most likely you’ll get: “In MY style, duh!”. It’s much more complicated with adults. We (yes, I am slowly accepting the fact of being an adult) need categories, logical frameworks, precise definitions, don’t we?

That makes me think of the Little Prince: “If you were to say to the grown-ups:

“I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,” they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: “I saw a house that cost $20,000.” Then they would exclaim: “Oh, what a pretty house that is!”

Just so, you might say to them: "The proof that the little prince existed is that he was charming, that he laughed, and that he was looking for a sheep.

If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists.”

And what good would it do to tell them that?”

But I am sure you know better. If you have read this till the end and didn’t feel a bit bored. I hope I see you in February.

Love,
AB

If love is the answer could you please rephrase the question?

At the end of each year and well into the beginning of a new one we tend to look back at the last 365 days of our lives. We retrospect and make all kinds of lists: best books, worst films, failed resolutions, kept promises, etc, etc.

According to Yahoo! the most popular questions of 2010 were:

1. How to Tie a Tie
2. How to Lose Weight
3. How to Kiss
4. How to Write a Resume
5. What’s the World’s Only Immortal Animal?
6. Which City Has the Best Tap Water?
7. Which Natural Disaster Shortened Earth’s Days?
8. What Is Love?
9. What Causes Lightning?
10. How to Boil an Egg

Striking range, isn’t it? From practical tips to purely philosophical topics. "What Is Love" is a good one to ask Yahoo!... Is there a definition of love? Sure. Thousands of them. And we still don’t know. Century after century creative minds try to unearth the essence of love. Look for Love quotes – it will take years to read. 

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love." - Sophocles

"Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away." - Dorothy Parker

"Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it...It really is worth fighting for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more." - Erica Jong

“Do not seek the because - in love there is no because, no reason, no explanation, no solutions.” – Anais Nin

Or how about: “If love is the answer could you please rephrase the question?” It’s a video created by Bettina Disler, an artist from Canton Aargau, one of the local artists of the year, chosen by the Aargauer Kunsthaus and the Aargauer Kuratorium for Auswahl 10. This traditional annual exhibition of Aargau artists offers a review of the various current art practices in the Canton of Aargau. 

Image courtesy of www.aargauerkunsthaus.ch

To be completely frank I always feel somewhat lost after visiting this yearly event. Many works seem very conceptual, although the concepts are not always understandable. Probably for this reason Bettina's video was my favorite exhibit this year, because after all love needs no explanation. Naturally one can join a group and the guide will elaborate (as far as interpretation goes) on artist's ideas and intentions, but I prefer wild guessing. 

And when I run out of wild guesses I go to the 1^st floor to see the permanent collection of the museum.  As site description puts it, “the Aargauer Kunsthaus is home to one of the most beautiful and comprehensive public collections of recent Swiss art. It is an ideal venue for encountering the great diversity of Swiss art – from the 18th century to today.” Comprehensive and beautiful - a truly precious combination...

Max Pechstein Liegendes Mädchen, 1910

The annual exhibition will last till Sunday, January 9, 2011. More information about Auswahl and other events you can find here: http://www.aargauerkunsthaus.ch/en. 

I hope you had a lovely start in 2011.

Love,

AB