October 31, 2005
October 25, 2005
HET LAND VAN... (the country of ...)
dutch hip hop artists LANGE FRANS (tall frans) and BAAS B just produced a new hit called HET LAND VAN, meaning something like "the country of...", a song about Holland. In it they describe their feelings about a country which is their home, yet a home divided by outer appearances and suffocated by fear and ruled by integration which is merely a word but noone can hear it. this song really touches the base of a universal problem: WE ARE IN IT TOGETHER but out of fear, greed and self-centered preoccupation we STAND ALONE fighting a LONELY WAR.
some excerpts of the lyrics:
i am from the country of Theo van Gogh and Mohammed B.
a country where you can ask a junkie for a bicycle
a country that participated in the iraq war because
bush has got balkenende (prime minister) by the balls
a country of stinginess because giving is too expensive
the country of fights between football hooligans of amsterdam and feyenoord
but when the national team plays everyone belongs to the same group.
a country where prostitution and marihuana is legal
a country of queens day and santa claus
a country where i lost and have been cheated
a country where i was born and raised
a country where i come home from vacation ...
N AME picasonic : 5:10 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 22, 2005
CHINESE REALISM
Weng Fen, photographer and artist of international acclaim was just taking part in a group exhibition focused on China at the Vrije Academie in Den Haag. I signed up for the Masterclass to find out more about a man and his art that really caught my attention.
China, undergoing a major bubble type transformation, certainly provides a lot of food for thought and creativity. In the past few years, Weng Fen has integrated the change of the Chinese landscapes and city scapes as main theme of his photography, installations and other art. As far as his photographs are concerned, he likes to work as realistic as possible and then blowing up the photos to life size images. One then has the feeling of becoming part of the image. In the photo above one sees a group of girls staring into the far distance of nature, maybe wondering with anguish and curiosity what the future will bring?
N AME picasonic : 5:01 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 19, 2005
CATCH ya LATER
berlin -- brandenburger tor
it was a fantastic visit with new impressions and new inspiration. it gave me a lot of energy to think about the next step. exciting and unpredictable...
N AME picasonic : 5:43 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 17, 2005
October 16, 2005
NIGHT TRAIN HOME
trains zipping by the hotel room, every train feels like a level 4 earthquake. it enters my dream and causes some strange nightmares, difficult to reconstruct the next morning. i feel on edge but i also like it ... SOMEHOW.
N AME picasonic : 12:53 AM | COMMENT (0)
October 15, 2005
ANONYMOUS
berlin kurfuerstendamm
i know why i love big cities ... it feels like space zero, lines zipping by, sound specs coming and going and noone bothering with the details of someone else's personal expression.
N AME picasonic : 12:50 AM | COMMENT (0)
October 13, 2005
VOICE of the SMALL PEOPLE
BERLIN MITTE
when i see direct statements such as these i can really feel the cry of us, the small people. we feel helpless but the outcries of dissatisfaction soothes our helpless souls. what can we achieve ? i remember back when there was talk about attacking iraq or not, the WHOLE WORLD full of small people cried out loud. many weeks we went on the streets, trying hard for our voices to be heard. still, they went ahead. don't want to say, TOLD YOU SO but it does make me feel that no matter what, the small voices often remain just. still, just writing this, i feel better, just like the owner of this bicycle must feel.
the other week i read that a plane was diverted and landed within the us to let off a woman who was wearing a provocative shirt showing dissatisfaction with current political figures. hmmm, WHATS GOING ON i wonder.
power to the small people because many small voices often bear a BIG TRUTH.
N AME picasonic : 4:56 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 12, 2005
FREEDOM ON DISPLAY
FEELING BEFORE
we have a lot of family in east germany. before the wall came down, things were very different:
... one went to the store to see what product they had on stock for the day. one could not plan ahead what to make to eat for the day because many things were not available regularly.
... at night some people went up to the roof to change the direction of the antenna so they could listen to west-german tv or radio channels. this was strictly forbidden. also when visitors came from west germany, at the border there were strict controls regarding what people were bringing. one was not allowed to bring magazines or any type of western news media.
... it was common that western symbols like mercedes stars etc... were stollen easily.
... one did not have to file taxes because it was taken care of by the government.
... if kids had bad grades, the parent's supervisor got the school report card sent to the company.
... many other things but mainly, one was not allowed to leave.
NOW sitting in the sun enjoying endless freedom is something which can be observed with great happiness and satisfaction.
FEELING AFTER
N AME picasonic : 11:34 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 11, 2005
between NOW and THEN
berlin mitte (taken from vietnamese restaurant looking out)
since the fall of the wall in 1989, berlin has undergone a transformation giving birth to new inspiration without destroying the old. the contrast created is refreshing and hopefully there to stay. for sure it helped that it was excellent weather for 5 days but berlin is a buzzing city without the apparent buzz. a feeling of anarchy mixed in with a modern creative stride stimulates the motivational glands to no end.
more to come ...
N AME picasonic : 9:45 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 9, 2005
FUN B-DAY
was a lot of fun celebrating my birthday with a lot of friends on a sunny day. THANKS TO ALL !
N AME picasonic : 8:20 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 8, 2005
REFLECTING ON THE PAST --- LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE
since my change of career in 1997, i have been slowly but surely moving from the business world to the creative world. it has been a slow and sometimes painful shift but it was certainly worth the effort. now that i have accomplished this U-TURN, i need to put the pedal to the metal and take off.
many options are floating in my head, so in the coming weeks i need to make some decisions and focus on viable projects for the coming years. stressful but also exciting because we have our lives in our own hands. i am grateful for being able to choose so i need to kick myself in the ass, make clear decisions and work on accomplishing goals.
full force ahead ....
N AME picasonic : 4:51 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 5, 2005
DUTCH PHOTOGRAPHY
flat with fill-in flash, "in your face", that is Dutch photography. Dutch photography has a big name in the general world of photography and i have often wondered how this style of photography came about. the obvious fill-in flash style i believe has much today with the typical lighting situation here. either it is super high contrast or just super flat (like the landscape). fill-in flash is a good way to deal with that. however, i find the technique so strong that it makes every photo look the same in my eyes. it transforms every image instantly to below zero. like americans who put ice in every possible drink, even red wine, it kills the taste and fill-in flash kills the feeling.
objects in Dutch photography are often "in your face", very obvious. because it is quite a "loud" culture where everyone says whatever they want to say whenever they want, one needs to be loud to be heard. this also counts for visual communication. too subtle and timid for people here is boring. they want to see the big visual bang.
the photos shown are about cultural blending featuring portraits of chinese living in holland. some are half, some are a quarter, some are 100 percent chinese. the photographer is chinese but born and raised (and educated) in Holland as the images clearly convey.
N AME picasonic : 8:57 PM | COMMENT (0)
October 2, 2005
IN A DAZE (or the reason why my blog has been empty)
i walk around but i am not present
i look but i dont see anything
i talk but noone hears me
i am home but the walls are bare.
..............
welcome to k+y from tokyo. a very special feeling has been added to my environment. seeing a close friend seeing something for the first time makes one see things with different eyes, like a reborn image.
N AME picasonic : 5:59 AM | COMMENT (0)